So we are strengthening a position which is arguably the strongest in the squad by signing a 27 year old incidentally from Broughton's old club. That scouting network must have worked overtime for this one. And what about ROI? Didn't Broughton specifically example a 27 year old midfielder with no ROI as a non starter?

I know that Rovers pay a set fee to play there (as do Burnley) and that the LFA keep the gate receipts but I don't know who sets the admission charge.

Under 21 league matches are normally free for season ticket holders which is usually stated when the game is advertised but we had to pay for the International Premier Cup. Perhaps Swag has seen a loophole to differentiate between league and cup games and it trying to capitalise on it.

Today's match has been called off.

FAO Swag. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/football-fans-stadiums-pouring-beers-28983631

My hope for this game is that we, at the very least compete and put a few tackles in. Get a few yellow cards too but not for technical offences, for actually smashing into a few Bristol players. In other words I want to see some commitment. Too often since the World Cup we have rolled over and allowed ourselves to be bullied and out fought, a terrible indictment on any professional sportsman. Show some pride in that famous shirt you are privileged to wear, have a go, show us you at the very least care. And if you can't just fuck off.

That was some deal for Hirst. He was our number one target, we paid tens of thousands for him to contribute nothing (apart from missing a penalty), generally warm the bench, didn't score and we send him back six months early because he is crap. Well done Greg.

Honestly Leonard I don't think that will ever happen. Some still see them as knights in shining armour who are keeping us going. The best analogy is that it's like being run over by one of their Bentley's, being critically injured and on a life support machine and they are paying the electricity bill to keep the machine switched on.

Just remind me where we were when these owners rocked up? Harry Redknapp called us the best run club and an example to every other PL club. How many season ticket holders did we have? A really good commercial department, excellent senior management, great players and huge tv payments from Sky and many other aspects of the club to be proud of. And then it came to a shuddering halt. How lucky we are indeed.

I much prefer to call it realism rather than negativity based on twelve years. From our perspective there isn't a solution that we can influence. The paradox is that they created this whole mess and we are now beholden to them to keep throwing away good money after bad to simply tread water. I just don't see anything positive about their ownership past, present or future.

It's a question that the sensible Rovers fans have asked thousands of times and despite the speculation nobody has a definitive answer. I can't for the life in me understand why they are still here throwing money down a black hole for absolutely no return. They haven't been to a game since 2014. I believe the only way they will come to getting any money back is by us getting to the Premier League and the riches that go with it and then selling us whilst our stock is relatively high. But we as as far away from the Premier League as we have been so I've resigned myself to them being here for the foreseeable despite my intense dislike of them and the irreparable damage caused by them.

Our club has been systematically plundered and neglected by these owners for twelve years now and people have faith in them over the next few years to deliver a plan or project. It won't happen and despite the rhetoric from Broughton and Tomasson these errant owners are the big stumbling block and the main reason it won't. They are the worst thing that has ever happened to our club and still, unbelievably some think they will come good.

Interestingly Edun was stripped to play and on the team sheet but didn't play. I saw him going to a car about forty minutes before the game and didn't see him after that. I'm speculating here but I wondered if he is going out on loan and it was decided not to risk him.

An entertaining match at the Academy today in which Everton played their part. It was a pleasure to watch a Rovers team playing progressive football through the lines and going long when required, a total contrast to the tripe we saw yesterday. Some decent performances from Rovers who played with some intensity and put in lots of aggressive challenges, again a total contrast to the players yesterday. Tomasson was there and significantly Markanday and Phillips were withdrawn in the second half presumably to protect them for Bristol next Saturday. I would like to think the way we played might have some influence over him but the realist in me says no chance he will.

I mentioned that at the end yesterday. He was hurting - the rest of them looked like they wanted to get back to their designer wash have and coming over to the fans was an inconvenience.

I praised Hyam last week but yesterday him and Ayala were fine exponents of walking football. At times it was embarrassing as they played their own little passing game between themselves.

And they spell Lowe as Low (unless they are referring to the bar set by Swag and his cohorts).

I looked at half time and we hadn't even fouled an opponent and I mentioned this to several people who were aghast. I always found as a referee that when a team is losing, not playing well and being out fought I needed to heighten my awareness because invariably the players would be angth and want to kick their opponents. Our lot just melted and to me it speaks volumes about the players and management. I remember the infamous Spurs game under Kean when we committed an extremely low number of fouls and Gary Neville couldn't believe it.

Five of our last seven games league games have been 12 or 12.30 kick off times and the four defeats we have suffered in these five games have been riddled with lethargy, ineptitude and a general lack of intensity which in turn resulted in defeats, some embarrassingly so. I honestly don't know what to read into this but surely it's more than coincidence when the commonality of the defeats appears in them all.

Aside from the elementary getting out fought yesterday how many crosses did we put in that were over hit? I don't expect us to score from every cross but yesterday the lack of quality in such a basic part of the game was worrying. I'm still angry about the lack of fight which says a lot about the lack of character in the squad. Too many shoulder shruggers to whom losing doesn't hurt enough. By the way Rotherham had two debutants in their defence yesterday. They didn't give us a sniff and will now give Rotherham a good chance of staying up. That's what new signings can do, they give the club a fillip and give us some encouragement. But we will prevaricate until the very last day of the window and then bring in some cross that nobody else wants. But never mind we are only at the beginning of the project so let's not be too dissenting 😠😠

This project talk is nonsense, it's like all of a sudden football has become an exact science and the likes of Phillips and Wharton will fulfil their potential, be sold for zillions and fund our promotion to the Premier League. What if they crash and burn (as has happened many times before)? Do we wait for the next cab off the Academy rank and pin our hopes on him? Football is riddled with far too many variables and you simply cannot apply normal business practices to it, it simply won't work. It's about the here and now, Rotherham today and Brstol next week. This project nonsense used as an excuse for a shocking defeat and performance today by some. Win games, get points and get promoted. This mealy mouthed bullshit from Tomasson and Broughton is driving me to despair.

I'd read him comments but I meant he should, in my opinion have come towards the supporters in some apologetic gesture. The players did and I would have liked some acknowledgement of it from him rather than an interview in an empty stadium. I really do think he has a massive ego with arrogance to match.

Fuck me Remy we've sold this project to these mugs, another three years of this lark.

That would make a great caption competition.

There were boos from the one that were left. I spoke to a few long standing supporters coming out who were critical of the style of play he is imposing on us. Tomasson shook hands with his Rotherham counterpart and promptly disappeared down the tunnel with not even a glance towards the fans he wants to apologise to.