They could well do but that is almost certainly the best way to regress. We could absorb a Garratt or Wharton into the match day squad but as regular starters? Even bringing players in from a league below is a huge risk using Pickering and Edun as a yardstick.. In my view we need Championship ready players to cover the three of them and that will cost.

We can debate the footballing merits of Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell until the cows come home and still not agree but what is irrefutable is that it's going to cost money, a considerable amount of money even if we only bring in players of a similar ilk. I haven't a clue what the budget afforded to Tomasson is but I really do think that replacing those three will considerably eat into it. That is where this while saga is crazy to me.

It also looks to me like they are two different types of material.

Have you seen anything that has changed to allow anybody at Ewood to approve a spend over £5k EH? A big stumbling block has always been how slow the process is to get anything approved due to the silly chain of command and almost mistrust. I am optimistic about the new football set up the the non football side frustratingly appears to remain the same.

I envisage the usual transfer window to which we have become accustomed. We will have interest in players but will be slow out of the blocks and be usurped by other clubs. A lot of this will be because of the dysfunctional chain of command. We will wait until deadline day, panic and make a plethora of random signings more in an effort to boost the numbers than to improve the quality. And, perhaps more importantly we will have played seven games by then which will more than likely shape our season.

We paid nigh on a million for two left backs (Edun is a bit part midfielder too) and neither are anywhere near the calibre of Nyambe. Replacing him is going to cost money, even for a downgrade on Nyambe.

What really concerns me is that some £8-10m (my estimate) of player has walked away. What will be the cost of replacing them and how much will we have to pay their replacements? I could accept one leaving but three? There is something wrong for this to happen. And we might have a similar situation with Brereton coming up. Another question is will this newly thought of 'pay structure' play a part in our recruitment as we need to bring in a significant number of new ones now.

We have just drawn Hartlepool United at home in Round One. I wonder if that will affect the upcoming friendly at Hartlepool?

I don't think using an unfair comparison is splitting hairs. Had we had an Early Bird offer similar to Preston do you think we'd be at the 7,000 or so sales right now? That's the real nub of the debate for me that other clubs of similar stature can incentivise offers but we just say same as last year. No imagination or feel for the fans and it appears very little effort to grow the fan base.

And he wears Levis too. This bloke is really growing on me. 😂😂

Mill Hill St Peters and Darwen Sun Leisure if I remember correctly Andy. I came across him a few times too and really polite lad who knew where the net was. Was he also in your Orphanage Cup team or is my Alzheimer's kicking in 😂😂.

You mentioned in an earlier post about not comparing apples with apples but that's exactly what you are not doing. A fairer comparison would be to ask your PNE contact how many they sold at the early bird price.

August looks imbalanced with six games but only two at home. Having said that two are a fair distance (Swansea and Reading) and it's better to do these in Summer rather than the depths of mid Winter. I suppose we'll have to wait until Sky get their grubby prints on them before making plans. The reality of a new season starts today 😄😄.

Lucas Neill, Zurab Khizanshvili, Hakan Suker, Tugay and Bellamy were others who were National team captains under Hughes.

I always knew it was tough - still do but the reality of relegation used to hit me like a brick when they announced our prestige pre season matches against the likes of Wigan and Stoke when we had Barcelona and PSV not long before.

Does anybody know if the new kits in children's sizes will have the Totally Wicked logo on them? I have had a quick look at what is and isn't allowed but I can't find anything specific to vaping products.

Bloody hell mate don't apologise 😄😄. You have done some sterling work which I'm sure has been appreciated by everyone.

The other side of the coin is that in a year he is a free agent and any suitors wouldn't have to pay a fee for him. Any agent will tell you this is Manna from Heaven for them in getting an exceptional deal for their clients. It's a difficult one but my choice would be not to run the risk of this and try and sell him now but him and his representatives have all the aces here.

I have a feeling this one might end in tears. As you rightly say he needs to be offered a deal that can keep him here for another couple of years (with caveats) straight away as if this goes beyond the Summer window and he hasn't signed his value will drop alarmingly. I worry about this 'wage structure' (which came to light last season) could really impede any negotiations and he walks for nothing next summer. My personal view is cash in now and don't run the risk of blowing a potential £20m sale especially when you consider we have already lost two (possibly three) players in similar circumstances.

Until last Monday Carvahal and Farke would have absolutely been my preference but right now I'm glad we have JDT over them. There is a freshness to him, an exuberance that I haven't seen for many years. His meeting of all the employees was a masterstroke and immediately got everything off to a positive start. If course he could crash and burn, it goes without saying but right now I'm more content about the football side of our club than I have been for a long time.

I really don't think we will be shifting any players out (with the exception of BBD) until our new coaching team have thoroughly assessed everyone and their suitability to play the way JDT wants to play. I think these pre season games will tell us a lot about the new managers ethos and requirements from players and anybody not able to comply will go, perhaps in January. It really is something I'm excited to see evolve over the next few months.

What an iconic picture this is. There is something evocative about a black and white photograph. The concentration shown by Ronnie Clayton is terrific. Probably my favourite Rovers photograph. Mind you the Liverpool manager might have asked a question of two mahogany four of his team were marking nobody.

What really sticks in my craw is somebody down there only needed to read this thread (or speak to fans) to get lots of ideas and initiatives they could have considered. Things like an 18 (or whatever) game ticket for shift workers and schoolchildren with an option to buy individual tickets for the extra games by giving the club notice of their intent. And priced accordingly. Similarly giving the club notice of non attendance and their seat could be sold. That amongst many other suggestions would have increased revenue in my view but more importantly the club had nothing to lose. But instead we got a 'price freeze' offer which stunk of laziness. In fact since then they have pushed the deadline date back twice and introduced the new family ticket which appears to have gone down like a lead balloon. No imagination and no foresight in such an important income stream.

And keep them in situ (which in itself then begs a question - why). From what your saying Pasha must be complicit and happy with the incompetence or is he of that ilk too?

And the real worry in my view is that they really do think it's an exceptional gesture.