That is a really good point and a glut of postponements, lockdowns etc could impinge on this season and next. The blazers domestically and internationally will be petrified of the already tight schedule being disrupted. Once again though their prime consideration will be financial.

Well us laymen don't hear what is said internally very often so we hear pundits using baffling terms, as I said to try and impress. But you proved my point with your second sentence 😁😁. I spent lots of time in and around football clubs with managers and coaches who I would speak to. The majority used to talk about the simplicity of the game and not over complicating it.

The only thing that has changed is the wording in a rebranding exercise, it's simply cosmetic. All this new speak for exactly the same thing is to make the people using them look clever and try to impress us laymen.

I've said before that I don't blame any fan for not going after the debacle of the last decade. I stopped going when Kean got us relegated and when Coyle was appointed and the seeds were sown for another relegation and I have no regrets or built about doing so. Many supporters predicted these relegations but the owners went ahead and effectively cost the club tens of millions in lost revenue. Every wrong turn this club has taken in their tenure is down to them and to blame the fans who aren't going any longer is plain wrong.

I agree. Over the course of a season you finish where you deserve to based purely on results. Desperate managers often bemoan their luck but very rarely the converse.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11945/12494889/champions-league-last-16-re-draw-to-take-place-after-error-involving-atletico-madrid-liverpool-and-man-utd Deary me. These people are entrusted with the governance of European football and can't even get this right. Shambolic.

The recent carrot dangling on here about radical changes at the club had me believing that the structure at the top was about to be dismantled and a new one brought in. To hear the news that they are buying some land in the Ribble Valley has honestly left me underwhelmed. We have an Academy that works as evidenced by the number of players currently in the first team squad. It's been said many times that the Academy has been the one redeeming feature of the last decade so for me it they are spending money it should be on areas where there has been massive under investment. I would rather see the money spent on improving the Riverside, the ground in general or spending on a real promotion push next month. Badly advised again?

One thing which has become apparent over the last few games is how our game management has improved. We are pushing the boundaries on all restarts when we go in front and yesterday shortly after periods of Bournemouth possession we had players going down with 'injuries' which didn't advise require treatment but used up enough time to stop the flow of the game. Maybe some purists won't be happy to see this but ultimately it's up to the referee to control this aspect of the game.

Progress to round four would almost certainly mean the postponement of the away game at Swansea. And in turn that would mean for away travellers another night match in the back of beyond. Still I suppose it will be worth it to put the pie eaters to the sword.

I haven't posted on here for a few weeks due to personal circumstances after my mum passed away but I have seen all the games live and what I would say first and foremost is that the last few games have been similar to watching Rovers under Mark Hughes. We have been defending properly with blocks, by winning tackles and headers but we also have some creativity and guile. Hughes got the balance right for me and I'm seeing signs of this with the current crop. In the last few games I have found it difficult to actually pick an outstanding player as the sun of all the parts has been key. Who knows where this will end up but I'm enjoying the ride at the moment. However my bottom six prediction is looking dodgy I am delighted to say.

The Sheffield match was the best we have played this season, that is indisputable. We looked solid defensively, probably more so than any other time this season. I agree Ayala has been good this season but dropping Wharton sends out the wrong message to the players and fans. However as I said in my earlier post I expect there to be changes.

Anything but the same team and tactics from last time out will be wrong in my view. But I don't believe that Mowbray can help himself so I expect changes. I also expect him talking up Bristol City who have taken a measly 7 points from a possible 24 at home this season in which they have only scored 6 goals.

It's amazing how history is trying to be rewritten regarding BBD. He was banished to the under 23's to try and regain some from and confidence. He has also scored more goals as Brereton-Diaz than he did as just Brereton. Bradley Dack, in the most recently video mentions his problems. If a player isn't performing fan's have a right to criticise and that is the way it's always been and always will be. I'm sure I have also read or heard Brereton being critical of himself in his first two and a half years here. The moral high ground taken by some is nauseous.

The timing of Venkys arrival and our demise couldn't have been worse. Hanging on for another year would have seen us get a larger portion of the £3.018 billion, up from £1.782 billion on the previous deal which expired in 2013. Another reason to detest the owners. https://www.sportingfree.com/football/history-of-premier-league-uk-tv-rights-deals/

It's time this myth was put to bed. I was there and there was absolutely no booing. There was a cheer as the numbers went up and I still don't know if it was for him going off or the player coming on.

What scenarios have I painted? You used the word fickle as you say it epitomises some of our fans who criticised Brereton but your continual criticism of Mowbray and Waggott is not fickle. Can you not see any difference? My point is anybody can be criticised as they are in the public eye. Providing it doesn't get personal that is.

So anybody who criticises Brereton is fickle but criticising the owners, Mowbray or Waggott is allowed. I took humbrage with your description of fans as fickle for criticising Brereton but you can slate the others with impunity it seems. That in my book is double standards.

Does that fickleness apply to supporters who are critical of Mowbray and Waggott? In your quest for the moral high ground you are guilty of double standards.

Wow. Even Bradley Dack criticised his first three years on the video. That isn't words on a message board seen by a few hundred, it's gone out to millions of people. I criticised him and feel no shame whatsoever.

Excellent post.

The owners should get interim financial reports during each year but still allow us to spend up to 187% of our income on wages. I really don't understand why some think Venkys are exempt from the P & S fiasco.

Is this the first time an opposition supporter has done the match preview? 😉😉

That hits the nail firmly on the head. If the huge overspending happened once and they put measures in place to stop it happening again after the first time I could support Rev's view but this has happened in every year of their tenure. It's bizarre to blame anybody but them. If course Mowbray and the others played their part but the buck stops with them, the owners. Or can we go back to the apologists default position - they were badly advised.

From the carrotts being dangled by some posters it appears that Venkys are going nowhere but there will be changes to the management stucture. Again hypothesising but the only assumption I can make is that Waggott and Mowbray will be amongst the ones to go. Now how ridiculous and unprofessional is it that this information has been passed on to supporters? If it's correct it's another example of how poor our owners are sums up the last eleven years. Again I stress that these are my assumptions.

It was said on here that we are paying £10k to Leeds for Poveda. I don't know the accuracy of this but the lowest paid player at Leeds is a reputed £17k.