arbitro

Arran Avenue until 1964/5 when we came to Darwen.

He still has the programme from the game. It's in Latin 😁

November 1963 was my first game. A 4-1 win against Arsenal which included a Fred Pickering hat trick. I remember catching the bus from Shadsworth to the Boulevard and then getting one of the football specials to Ewood.

Extending the deadline is an admission they got it wrong in the first place (although they'll never admit it). The figures don't lie.

Of course there are lots of incidents which affect the season but I was specific about Pears error at Bristol because a draw there would have seen us get into the playoffs and not having had the pressure of having to win yesterday.

Their predecessors didn't all leave because they moved to bigger clubs. Broughton and Park (twice) were marginalised and victims of the power struggles. There are other recruitment staff who have left who simply couldn't work for this regime. The evidence is irrefutable.

I know and that emphasises my point. The lack of continuity and constant departures should worry every Rovers supporter. Why do you think it will be any different under Gestede?

One aspect of Ismaels time so far where I think every supporter agrees on was persisting with Toth over the calamitous Pears. Since Toth came in at Luton we have only conceded three goals in five games and none of them were down to him. It's difficult to point to any one incident that cost us a playoff place but I can't help but think back to Bristol City away when Pears gave Twine two thirds of the goal to shoot at from a free kick. Drawing that game would have seen us over the line.

Losing staff is a symptom of how the club is run I afraid and I honestly don't see that changing with the likes of Gestede being given more power.

My granddaughter cried happy tears when we scored and floods of sad tears at the end. On the train home I explained to her that those two emotions are common in football but not usually in the same game. She doesn't really understand about poor ownership, snide directors and the like - she just wants to see Rovers win every week and there are many kids like that. It's up to us older ones to keep some pressure on these wretches to try and ensure the club is safe for generations to come.

There was clearly a game plan today which up until the equaliser played out pretty well I thought. If we hadn't conceded so soon after going ahead I could see us going to a back five with Forshaw coming on in a three man defensive midfield as we have successfully done recently. Them scoring within eight minutes meant the other option covered by Ismael was all out attack. In that respect I thought he left it five or ten minutes too late but I could also understand his reasoning as conceding a second with so many attacking players on would have given us a mountain to climb. We were in with a chance of promotion up until the last kick of the season. Had that been said a few weeks ago the poster would have been deemed certifiable.

Recruitment would work better if we could keep hold of staff. The turnover of personnel in that particular area cannot be conducive to success, there is very little continuity. And one of the reasons for this recently has been the power struggle going on which in turn goes back to poor ownership and leadership.

Alas it wasn't to be but for a short while the dream was on and how that nine minute period really got the adrenaline flowing. The excitement amongst the Rovers fans was something to behold and made me realise why this club means so much to us. I really think that if we could have held on for another five minutes we would have won. The 50th minute was just too early to go a five man defence and just defend for our lives rather than throwing on attackers in search of another goal after Sheffield equalised. Although Sheffield had some chances after that we undoubtedly finished stronger and with a bit of luck could have scored to send us into delirium. The season was a real rollercoaster of emotions with the winning and losing runs being the reason but overall I will give the players a lot of credit as I thought we would be in a relegation scrap so just missing out on the playoffs exceeded my expectations. It's clearly going to be an important summer but I think Ismael has done enough for us to have some faith in him but once again the lack of funds and ambition could bring an end to some promise. It was good to hear the Venky's Out chants today and that has to be every supporters mission to get rid of them and the awful acolytes of theirs.

He didn't mention that he voted for the Sky deal and that a reported £3m per club is what they actually receive to compensate for irregular kick off times and days. It has been another income stream which has offset the owners inability to send money over (and probably contributed to Swag's huge pay rise).

The only place I've seen £150 season tickets mentioned is the odd post on here so for them to hide behind that and say we need to sell 23000 to maintain current targets is real misnomer. If that is the case why not price them at £300 and aim for around 12000 which would then meet their targets. Once again they go for the soft option, the low hanging fruit and prey on the loyalty of existing supporters.

Is that £15k a basic wage or the maximum he can earn including bonuses? It's not as simple as plucking a figure out of the air as contracts are complex and can be onerous. With bonuses £15k could easily become £20k.

Three weeks ago who would have thought that we would be in with even a slim playoff chance? The only certainty about following Rovers is the uncertainty.

Get him booked on the train and granddad can pay 😁 10:13 Manchester Piccadilly TransPennine Express Advance Single Manchester Piccadilly, Victoria, Oxford Road or Deansgate to Sheffield 11:08 Sheffield t 15:11 Sheffield TransPennine Express Advance Single Sheffield to Manchester Piccadilly, Victoria, Oxford Road or Deansgate 16:09 Manchester Oxford Road

I'm guessing you got them 😁

Only online again.

I really hope the phone signal at Bramhall Lane is better than it was at Leicester and Millwall on the last day of the previous two seasons. With all the likely permutations it will be purgatory again having to rely on somebody several rows away keeping us updated.

Looking for omens? This season so far we are unbeaten in our three games in Yorkshire.

Charlie Olson scored at the weekend. Unfortunately it was of the OG variety.

The number at the time of the meeting is what will be reported.