I can envisage a situation where all the fixtures are released (as yet there is no date for this) and the leagues are thrown in disarray as clubs go bust. And from a Rovers perspective the wage deferral was only until the end of June. The wage bill will be proportionately higher for the next couple of months until the deferrals have been settled.

The mantra coming out of the PL and EFL to justify 'project startup' (that name is cringeworthy enough) was to protect the integrity of the competition. The decision to impose the Sheffield Wednesday points deduction next season blows that out of the water when the charge related to an offence was committed during 2017/18. It's an absolute dereliction of responsibility by the EFL board who, once again have shown themselves as not fit for purpose. I really hope Charlton take this further in the interests of 'intergrity'.

After the last few days it's difficult to predict what is going to happen next week let alone October. It's pure speculation at best. With Championship clubs having paid £210k for CV-19 testing to enable them to train and play then presumably clubs in League's One and Two will have a similar amount to find or at least pro rata based on staff numbers. That only covered the six week period to get the games played and with October being over 12 weeks away I just don't think many can survive when you factor in wages and other expenses. The only answer is to get a vaccine that works.

Relegating Barnsley and a subsequent appeal could have big consequences for the scheduled start of the Championship on September 12th. With the best will in the world it would be extremely difficult to set the wheels in motion and hear a court case in six weeks. EFL = Extremely Flawed Leadership.

He could have got injured in training, that's football. I might be old fashioned but in my book footballers should want to play.

Why would anybody want cameras in their house and following their every move warts and all. Lack of class from Dack in my book.

Smallwood wouldn't have been out of pocket by going out on loan. He would have been paid by the club loaning him and the rest of his wages made up by Rovers contractually. I still find it strange that he chose to train regularly and not play any football. Once it became apparent that he wasn't going to play he should have been offered a settlement. Each to their own.

I think, as usual the EFL will take the path of least resistance and impose the 12 point deduction. The last thing they want is a court case. In my view they will take a black and white approach and enforce the rule. As an aside I wonder how much the QC is costing Wigan.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/17703772.boss-india-talks-staying-contract-negotiations/

Doesn't Venus do the deals?

And now duly departed.

This is the story from the mouth of their chairman. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/11328253/burnley-bust-coronavirus-premier-league-lockdown/ The story demonstrates how around two thirds of the PL clubs are built on sand.

I believe the budget thing is a red herring as I think if there is a budget it will be small. Transfer funds will come from outgoing players. I was told that there is a £10m his on the table now for one of our players which I think will be used to fund new signings.

I didn't realise that. I'm sure though that feelers would be put out via agents to alert clubs of potential availability. Either way it's going to be a busy time for Waggott and Mowbray to sort the wheat from the chaff and get negotiating.

Another real worry is that any one of them can talk to other clubs from January 1st 2021. That's just over four months away. Losing some of them for nothing (or compensation in some cases) would be up there with the stupid decisions of the last decade.

This is an interesting article on players currently under contract and their duration. Looking at those expiring next summer it looks like Mowbrays slow build philosophy has some time to go yet. https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackburn-rovers-player-contracts-transfers-18675251

Being a yard off the pace. Experience can mask that sometimes but I thought Downing showed signs of just not being up with the tempo of the game. As I said though that has to be balanced against his earnings in terms of adding value.

I agree Andy. Age seems to catch up on players really quickly. Mulgrew is the best example I think. Against Middlesbrough the season before last Assombalonga rag dolled him in the first half and Mulgrew looked shell shocked. He bailed out early in the second half with an 'injury' and we hardly saw him again. It hasn't been as apparent as that with Downing but post lockdown the signs have been there. That has to be assessed against his wages and for me it's a no deal.

Only if they are part of a bubble according to the link below. I can foresee problems here not only for Rovers but a lot of Championship and PL clubs. https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/26/manchester-city-vs-real-madrid-champions-league-tie-exempt-government-spain-quarantine-rule-13039817/

Football is exempt from the rules that apply to us mere mortals for quarantine. https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/26/manchester-city-vs-real-madrid-champions-league-tie-exempt-government-spain-quarantine-rule-13039817/

Does anybody know from social media postings if any Rovers players are in Spain? With two weeks quarantine on returning home that would potentially give only one or two weeks pre season time if any players are currently there.

I agree. Smallwood was good in League One but hung around for 18 months in the knowledge there was very little chance of actually playing. I remember a Lancashire Cup match against Accrington last season and Mowbray (stupidly in my book) gave senior professionals who weren't getting game time the option of playing. Danny Graham played and put a real shift in but Smallwood was nowhere to be seen. That was disappointing to me.

Sorry to see Danny Graham go but it's the right decision. He's been really good for us and his contribution should never be underestimated. He seems like a great professional and a decent bloke. A nice interview here. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2020/july/danny-grahams-fond-farewell/ I'm not sorry to see the others go. Smallwood (in league one) aside they have contributed very little and had a few years of earning good money. I wouldn't keep Downing neither. His post lockdown from has been distinctly average and his wages could be put to better use.

There simply wasn't time Andy. Maybe one for another day ??.

This time last year Mowbray was talking about changing to a possession based game and (I honestly don't know) I would hazard a guess and say that the possession numbers are higher but in every game were we have had more of the ball we haven't hurt the opponents. As demonstrated last night we are so easy to play against. I personally think it was a case of Mowbray talking again without thinking. How many of our players are able to play an incisive passing game? Very few in my book. After three years we have no identity in terms of how we play and if Mowbray wants to address this he needs to sign players who can play that way and play the right tactical game. I am really fearful of our chances next season under Mowbray but after a decade of mismanagement throughout the club I shouldn't be. Another fundamental issue has been the dropping of 28 points from winning positions which just shouldn't happen. I believe the root cause of this has been a lack of real leaders, another area where Mowbray has been negligent.