arbitro

Jordan's whole argument was based on a rumour, speculation that Eustace would go because Derby is nearer to where he currently lives. I haven't seen any quote from Eustace mentioning or moaning about the commute to Blackburn. It's just a lazy assumption made to justify his arrogance.

My understanding is that everything has to be signed off in India since the court case. Eustace was promised money in the summer and the owners renaged on this promise because of the financial uncertainty. Incoming transfer monies have been used elsewhere rather than what it was earmarked for. That was the first nail in the coffin.

Similar. The matches are our real sanctuary from the plethora of other issues going on. It might go quiet for a while but as sure as eggs are eggs another stumbling block is never far away. And as long as these people are around nothing will change.

He isn't the decision maker. He is the conduit for the Punekars and right now the only one with a direct line to India. They ultimately make the decisions based on what he tells them.

I wonder if that was the reason for the sudden departure of Stuart Jones?

When the Portsmouth match was in doubt and an early inspection planned he was at home in Brighton leaving the arrangements to the locally based staff who were at Ewood. In all my dealings with professional football clubs I've never known a secretary not be there on match days. The malaise at Rovers runs deep.

Hardly any of them have met him because he is rarely (if ever) in Blackburn.

The recently appointed club secretary (or Head of Football Administration), Brett Baker lives in Brighton and actually works from home I'm told. Very few of the Ewood based staff who he manages haven't actually seen him let alone met him.

I think he is being, as he always has professional. And his professionalism and the clubs lack of is one of the main reasons he wants to leave.

I was told that he is the confidante of Pasta and they both were of the opinion that we didn't need to spend any money in January and relayed this to the Punekars. Although he has only been here a short while I believe he is complicit in this latest chapter in our demise.

It really was a joke but also a veiled criticism of anybody who believes that Eustace will leave to be closer to his family.

Yeah but Leicester is closer to his home in Bournemouth 😂😉

I have resigned myself to the fact Eustace is going but looking ahead my biggest worry will be how it affects the players, many of whom have gone on record and praised his management style. He is a players manager and in my view that has gone a long way to squeezing every drop out of the squad. A new manager with a different philosophy could quite easily upset the dynamic of the squad. Whatever happens over the next few days from a managerial point of view it won't alter the problem which is regularly occurring and that is the structure of the club. We have at least three Executives in situ and not one of them has any autonomy or authorisation to make decisions. Everything has to go through India and, as the last decade and a half have proved this is not how to run a football club. Whoever gets the job I fear we will be having similar conversations in the not too distant future.

With no job to go to. Life doesn't work like that. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was the way the club handled the transfer window.

Why? He owes us nothing. If he leaves it will be with my complete understanding as to why.

If Eustace stays he has to see through this imposter and keep him on the bench.

At times the difference in quality was stark but it was to be expected given the value of the Wolves team against ours. I was quite impressed by the three debutants of whom Dennis and Kargbo have us something completely different with their movement and pace. Incidentally the leaving of players up from an opponents corner is something I've been crying out for and today if Kargbo had been on the ball instead of Cozier-Duberry he would have been in on goal. There were some good performances particularly defensively with Hyam and Batth. The midfield two were okay and more often than not looked to get us on the front foot when possible. Once again Cantwell was a huge disappointment. His languid style gives the impression of not giving a toss and at times he is so weak and almost feeble. My biggest frustration with him is how often he loses the ball or gives it away. If I was playing in the same team his attitude would annoy the life out of me. The bigger picture however is trying to keep our manager.

Derby will have out the feelers out days ago and I'll be surprised if they haven't spoken to Eustace's representatives in the interim. It appears a done deal to me.

Waggott, Gestede and the other bloke will be typing up the NDA as we speak. The club is a shambles.

At the Q&A with Eustace in October he told us he had never met or had even spoken to the owners (I'm sure Tomasson said similar). The conduit is Pasha (or whatever his name is) and everything goes through him. There is clearly a disconnect between the various parties and I think Gestede is feathering his own nest by siding with Pasha. It's only my view but Gestede seems to be poisonous and his objective is to become Chief Exec by hook or by crook. That is evidenced by the way he left as a player by effectively downing tools. The club is a mess, that is indisputable.

Twelve months on and the reality is that history could well repeat itself. Poor form, an uninspiring window and clear disenchantment from the manager. I don't know if Eustace will be interested in the Derby job but what is apparent from his recent interviews is that he feels let down. He has had players foisted upon him and while his stock is still high he has to make the most of it. If he goes the vast majority will know why and fully understated his rationale.

The under 21 team was well beaten by Man City today. City moved the ball around really well whilst we were often ponderous in possession which inevitably led to lots of turnovers in play. That said we were only one down for a long period and did have a couple of chances to equalise. Two quick City goals later in the game out paid to any hopes of getting something from the game although we did pull a goal back with a smart finish from Bell. I didn't think there was any outstanding performers in the day but, as you would expect City had lots quality all over the pitch. Nobody can have any complaints about the score today as City were superior pretty much all over the pitch. Rovers under 16's were playing on an adjacent pitch against Villa in what I was told was a cup quarter final. The final score was 3-2 to us I think (trying to watch two games at once is difficult) but the Rovers celebrations at the end confirmed the win.

I lost count of the number of times they went down and squealed holding various parts of their anatomy. Despite this their physio only came on once to treat a player who was genuinely hurt. There was a comical moment in the second half when one of their strikers went down like he had stepped on a land mine. Matty Litherland was clearly annoyed at his antics and as he lay on the ground Litherland stood over him and had a go at him. Whatever Litherland said of did worked because the Spaniard miraculously jumped up and ran after Litherland in a Lazarus like act. Frankly it was embarrassing

Travis did take control but I maintain that the penalty taker should be known before the game starts and the manager is the man to do it. Seeing players publicly squabbling isn't a good look

With the managers policy on penalty takers (let them sort it out amongst themselves or similar) we hopefully have some tranquility when deciding the order should this game go to penalties.