arbitro

The caveat which I mentioned was keeping fit. I believe he can become Championship standard if he is given the opportunity. He should get chances to impress in pre season and if Ismael doesn't think he's up to it then he will move on, perhaps permanently.

You are missing the wider point here. There is an upwards trend in women's football and typically we are going against this by, if the reports are correct disbanding ours. Why not try and look for sponsors and try and increase commercial income (does that sound familiar) rather than just throw the towel in. We paid £1.2m on agents fees and pay ridiculous amounts to under achieving executives. A proportion of that would fund the women's team. When posters say they would welcome administration you come back to them about people losing their jobs should it happen. This is no different as people will lose their jobs through this. it simply doesn't have to be this way if the owners would fund it.

Completely irrelevant. How many watch the under 21's and youth teams? Shall the club stop funding them too? This will affect other Rovers girls teams too.

I would imagine Waggots wage alone eclipses the budget for the women's team.

I agree although I do have an element of sympathy. I was told the other week that Pasha and Swag were questioning the viability of the women's team. The national media would be all over this and shine the spotlight once again on the Punekars and their acolytes over here. It's essentially a free hit for the coalition if true.

Those awards auger well for next season when Batty can hopefully become a regular squad member and given opportunities to play. He undoubtedly has many attributes but seemed to lose his way towards the latter end of 23-24 season but this almost certainly was exacerbated by injuries. I saw him a few times for Accrington where he played both full back and wing back and was equally adept in both.

I watched the BBC documentary on the Bradford City fire last night in 1985 when 56 people lost their lives. I was a great piece of television and included lots of interviews from supporters who were there and families who lost loved ones. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3r8r1408jro

For me one of the biggest issues is that the incompetents at Ewood are given a financial target to reach and the volume of sales is really secondary to this. It breeds laziness and puts no pressure on them and keeps them comfortable in the knowledge there are around 8000 diehards who will usually but irrespective of price.. The targets should be both financial and numbers sold. I remember Fraser Read and Waggott boasting about record sales financially but we still had thousands of empty seats.

Perhaps not but that's not really the point.

With thousands of empty seats surely any current season ticket holder who wants to transfer should just be able to do so through the normal online/in store process. Making things difficult is the only thing that has improved since the Punekars darkened our door.

Phase 1 deadline is May 14th but the Phase 2 isn't available until May 21st. Am I missing something or are tickets effectively off sale for a week? Who dreams these things up.

I watched the first let of Partick against Ayr in midweek and Ayr brought a substitute on called Ethan Walker. He looked familiar so I googled his name and sure enough it was the lad we took from Preston in similar circumstances to Dolan. I saw him play several times for the under 21's and never thought he was good enough for the Championship. It's good to see him playing at a decent level.

Sunderland got their tactics spot on and the old fashioned 4-4-2 worked perfectly as the front two dropped deep when Coventry had the ball rather than pressing high up. Coventry really didn't have an answer and whilst they might point to possession and other stats being well in their favour it showed there are many ways to win football matches not just the possession based style which many managers and coaches obsess over.

Lunacy. Last season an under 18 in the Upper JW outer was £59. The early bird price this season was £99 and the Phase Two price has gone up to £149. How on earth can they justify an almost 200% increase?

Nobbers won't be too happy with this article. 😂 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp34kj9p8xno

Football is a cutthroat world and whilst Gilsenan is undoubtedly talented his injuries have really impeded him and will have played a part in this decision. Being injury prone could be a factor in his next move and future and I wish him well.

I was looking through the list of names for Junior Rovers birthdays and two stood out (if they are who I think they are). One is a local radio presenter and the other played Premier League and international football.

After an injury hit season Sam Barnes has been released by Barrow. Hopefully he can get fixed up somewhere and stay injury free to fulfil the potential he showed at Rovers.

AhI thought I'd seen some announcement that they had committed (they have certainly been offered deals).

That day is right up therein the Rovers memory bank Gav. A 4-1 win, carrying Stuart Metcalfe shoulder high from the pitch at Vale Park and Gordon Lee announcing to us from the Directors Box that we were the champions. We were on the special train that day and the journey home was fantastic.

We don't sack managers. The last two have left of their own volition because of broken promises and a lack of ambition from above. The one before was treated awfully and kept in abeyance regarding his future by the people below. We are no different in that respect than Watford because we have erratic owners and self serving governor board level.

Have I misunderstood your inclusion of Eze and Higgins? They will both become first year scholars this summer.

He is a confident lad for sure and I don't think stepping up would faze him too much. As for next season he is likely to be the under 21's regular keeper if, as expected the plethora of keepers we have are released. Personally I would be happy to see him getting regular football with us unless it was National League or even League 2. A good first half to the new season would potentially be the platform for this to happen.

Excellent summary and thanks for your efforts during the season. On the whole I would think that Rovers have been disappointed by the loans out although that could be the main factor in how Rovers decide their futures.