I watched Stanley beat Charlton last night and they were excellent. The tempo, intensity and work rate was first class and Colby Bishop, who scored both goals, looked like a proper striker. Huge credit to John Coleman for assembling an attractive team on peanuts. On the evidence of last night our main local derby next season could be against Stanley.

Approaching clubs and actually signing players are sometimes worlds apart. Every transfer window things move alone at a snails pace when it's about incoming transfers. We are on the bones of our arse for centre halves and all we have is approaches. It's well over a month since Wharton and Williams got injured. We should have been talking to clubs from then with a view to signing in the early days of January. Instead we are walking a tightrope from an injury perspective and playing a midfielder there who hasn't played there before in a long career.

As Sparks said there is movement in the market but we, aside from letting players go out haven't done anything. These 'troubled times' clearly aren't affecting all clubs, some of whom aren't as desperate for players of a certain position as we are.

Of course I don't know who or how long we have been looking but they knew in early December that Wharton and Williams would be out long term and we would need cover. Historically we have been a slow off the mark, mainly it's been said because of the owners but whatever the reasons we could be left high and dry which will be compounded even more by the fact we have already let one centre back go out. We could be in another Raya situation here. We let a player go without having cover in, get gazumped and then bring in second raters. It's the way the club is run I'm afraid.

We have known the desperation for centre halves for some weeks now and stalling could cost us again. We have already seen that deals can be done by virtue of the fact that some of our players have already moved.

It's good to see the buses registered in Blackburn with the 'CB' and 'BV' registrations. With such a registration on their cars Rovers fans and their cars were often targeted at away games.

Congratulations to you and your wife/partner Mike. This is the biggest life changer you will undergo. 😁😁

Ayala also turned us down in the summer too as he sought a better deal elsewhere. When his big money move to the Middle East fell through we signed him. Any of us would do the same as Kipre did to better himself. And beggars can't be choosers

A happy and healthy New Year to one and all. Our footballing woes, moans and groans are currently put into perspective by this bloody virus. By the time the season ends I hope the majority of us have been vaccinated and get back to some normality even if it means going to Ewood for a good old moan. 😁😁

And yet he was on the bench last Saturday when we didn't have a central defender there. Mowbrays logic defies belief.

The story goes Nick that in the game at the Dell John Bailey had allegedly called several of the Southampton players 'has-beens' which pricked the egos of the likes of Osgood and Ball. Their retribution was to kick lumps out of him at the return game some weeks later.

Which begs the question why the f** did he sign him? And to compound Mowbrays nonsense and bullshit he gave him a three year deal. Here's a prediction. Before the end of his deal we will pay him off.

I said it on Saturday and again last night - why on earth wasn't Hayden Carter on the bench as cover for the fragile central defenders? We are allowed nine substitutes so not to have him there is a total dereliction of duty by Mowbray. Once again we were poor, disjointed, shapeless at times, lethargic in possession and many more things which contributed to the defeat. Of course players have responsibilities which some are abducting but the buck stops with the manager. He is responsible for results and his latest deflection interviews are a disgrace. He simply has to accept the responsibility of managing a club like ours by accepting his part in the mess we are in rather than be in denial about his deficiencies. And once he does that the honorable thing is to resign.

The documentary is on BBC iPlayer and is live on BBC Scotland on Sunday at 19.15. I'll watch that.

I had a vague memory of this incident but never realised the horror the people involved must have gone through. This should resonate with older fans who have stood on packed terraces and exited grounds through inadequate exits. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/B0cJMZS3B1/Fiveboys

And on the back row next to the end is the legendary Peter White, a local journalist who had blue blood running through his veins.

It's all so frustrating. Mowbray has got most of the pieces of the jigsaw to get us into a top six position in my opinion but the main factor behind the reason we are not is him. In his nigh on four years here he hasn't come up with a way to beat teams who are prepared to sit in and defend. His current obsession seems to be a passing game but it seems teams have sussed that one and as a one trick pony there isn't a plan B. His stubbornness with playing Gallagher out wide is frankly embarrassing. It's clear to the vast majority that it isn't and won't ever work but it's like he's trying to prove a point invariably though at the expense of the team. Results are everything in this game, they determine the on and off field success and Mowbray is falling well short in his feast or famine tenure In my view he has run out of ideas, not just him but his coaching staff. He still tries to talk the talk though and some of his interviews do him no favours. We have gone from stability to stagnation under Mowbray in four years.

We were woefully inadequate all over the pitch as we really struggled to play with any tempo or control. Our passing game of earlier this season has regressed massively and we currently look like we couldn't pass water. Wednesday, as with most recent opponents had the measure of us and defended deep and in numbers content to pass it around in non threatening areas. It's almost ridiculous to say that we aren't even in January and it seems our season is over but that's how I feel. I'm worried that we are now pinning our hopes on Dack as other players are struggling for form. I don't think we'll see the best of him for some time by which time we will be anchored in mid table obscurity.

I personally would have liked to have seen a bit more defensive cover on the bench which has only one recognised defender on it. Good to see Dack in the squad and I guess the intention is to give him some time on the pitch if circumstances allow.

That is iconic and to me sums Rovers up. Seated in a working class surroundings and bloody well proud of it.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11681/12170460/joachim-andersen-fulham-defender-available-for-boxing-day-southampton-visit-after-ban-overturned The Fulham captain, Anderson has had his appeal upheld and will not be banned. I defy anybody to tell me that this isn't a clearer sending off than Lenihans at Brentford when our appeal failed. I said at the time it's crucial that the evidence supplied is really important and I understand Fulham put up a compelling case. I don't know what our evidence entailed but appealing is really a random process. Incidentally Anderson had been booked earlier as Lenihan had but a retrospective yellow card cannot be applied.

Merry Christmas to every Rovers supporter. Have a peaceful and enjoyable time. Is a nine point haul too much to ask Santa for?

I saw it Den and it was probably the most in depth crime series I have seen. It was an awful time as fear was rampant in the north. The catalogue of errors from senior policeman clearly lead to more fear and deaths. The temerity of the one who, because of his incompetence retired early, bought a villa in Spain and then sold his story to a tacky tabloid.

Is that a Tony Mowbray selfie? 😁😁😁😁

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12170236/2020-21-sky-bet-efl-season-january-fixture-schedule-on-sky-sports Rovers not included in the next tranche of live games announced by Sky. I guess we just aren't box office enough.