arbitro

He did alright. Judging players from performances in friendlies is really difficult so I'll reserve judgement until I've seen him in a competitive match.

Because it's City and they are backed by a wealthy state who are becoming more and more influential in world football..........probably.

The intention of today's game today was achieved in that the players got some competitive game time. Until the changes we played at a decent tempo and pretty much dominated deservedly taking the lead through Ohashi. For the start of second half we switched to a back three and left big gaps which Accrington exploited. We then reverted back to a conventional back four and were the better team again. Gueye scored a smart goal which turned out to be the winner. I was sat close to the technical areas and heard Ismael on several occasions demanding more work from his players particularly when pressing. Another week of training and a game against Everton on Saturday gives more opportunity to build up the fitness levels.

The under 21's had a game at Celtic today so maybe they were there. I haven't been able to find what the team was.

Was it Honeyman?

I think you see a camera pointing in your direction and you push the people around you out of the way. Either that or you have just guffed. 😂😂

If he sounds like an ITK, writes with the authority of an ITK he is usually a bullshitter. This window has seen them grow exponentially. One even mocks up any linked player up in a Rovers shirt to try and make his nonsense more convincing. For many reasons I'll be glad when August is done and these people hibernate until January.

The real worry for me is that in the corridors of power at Rovers they don't seem to be learning from previous errors a recurring theme from the last decade and a half. We lost Lenihan, Rothwell and Nyambe because of the way they stalled on contract negotiations which in the instance of those three Covid was blamed. They might have wanted to go anyway but I think the delays in negotiations helped them feel unwanted and strengthened their resolve to leave. Similarly now we have several key players out of contract at the end of the season and the longer it drags on I really think the chances of them staying diminishes. And no agreement by January will be critical as they could start to coast or be sold for a minimal fee. It really is a mess of Rovers own doing.

I thought Szmodics asked not to play in friendlies rather than refused and Eustace complied. Personally I don't believe the 'refuse to play' part alleged by the author of this. If Rovers have accepted his leaving as a fait accompli then it would be silly to play him.

In some ways I'm sorry to see Joe leave but it's absolutely the right move for his career. He is 26 now and needs to be playing and keeping fit although the latter was, I believe one of his downfalls at Rovers. Tomasson got the best out of him and his performance at Huddersfield a few seasons ago was outstanding (although we only drew the game) but one of my best memories was against Bradford in the League Cup. We had Phillips and Morton as centre halves and they had a grizzly old centre forward called Andy Cooke who was bullying them physically and verbally. Joe smashed him with a couple of tackles and got in his face when we equalised. Job done. He also got stuck into Cork after the final whistle when that lot beat us at Ewood. Cork had gone over the top on Dolan and should have been sent off. Good luck to Joe.

And yet Girona and Man City were allowed to both play in last seasons Champions League. The City Football Group are the majority shareholders of Premier League champions City, while they also own 44.3 per cent of LaLiga club Girona. Another 16 per cent of the Spanish club is owned by Pere Guardiola, the brother of City manager Pep.

I think it's fair to say that Herbie6590 stands out in a crowd 😂.

New Season, New Fanzone? It looks like they are creating one on the small car park adjacent to the Blackburn End.

It's a strange announcement. Apart from two there is no mention of whether the games are home or away or kick off times. I know they are BCD and supporters won't be able to attend but it just seems vague.

The only change to the original list is that Hull away is now a 12.30 kick off but still on the same day. That only applies until the end of September though. Changes to any games up to FA Cup third round day will be announced before the season starts.

It could well be mate as it was a late decision to screen it. If it is it seems a bit ghoulish to me.

Nobbers are playing Liverpool on Sunday in a friendly. It will be a sell out crowd and amazingly it is being screened live by ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player. That will be a few quid in the bank for them.

They have a nice wedge coming in soon as the loan deal for Flemming became permanent when that lot got promoted. It's rumoured £7m.

A BRFCS team - now you've got me thinking.

Chorley are looking for teams to play in friendlies. As yet we there is nothing scheduled for two of these dates. Somebody should tell the Punekars. A local derby and a chance to get an appearance fee. The players could drive there so no money wasted on fancy coaches. Chorley FM could cover the game. What's not to like? 😂

I'm sure Rovers would point to the number of youngsters who have signed extensions as a success but the reality is these kids would have been easy to deal with as, in the main they just want to be professional footballers. Dealing with established players is a whole different ball game and Rovers have been found wanting. I would imagine that is why any negotiations for potential new signings seem to be so protracted. I just don't believe we have smart enough negotiators in situ who can get deals over the line. I really think it will get to the point where the players and their representatives just say 'sod this' and are either sold or let their contracts just run down.

Normally apologies are sent in advance of meetings so if that's the case they should have an idea beforehand but I don't know how these meetings operate in respect of normal protocol. I'm sure I've seen pre meetings mentioned in the past too but maybe that was only for FF members.

Do you get to know in advance who is representing the club?

Another low in the last fifteen years. What a way to treat people. Shame on you Rovers.

I would imagine the Sky lawyers are already rubbing their hands if this happens. The greedy clubs won't be too pleased though. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cy0wpvqwdw9o