arbitro

Patrik Farkas has gone on loan to Prescot Cables until January. Hopefully he will get some game time in the NPL which is the lowest level we should be sending loanees to in my opinion.

You say 'people still will' with such authority. I know of Rovers fans who, before this came in, who would go to a local game during international breaks. Now they just watch them on tv. Having shown them before is irrelevant, my point still applies.

I understand Rovers are playing the Dingles in a friendly on Friday morning at their training ground. Hopefully some of the fringe players will get some game time.

It was mentioned recently on here that Joseph, because of his size was more likely to physically dominate opposition players as he came through the system but last night (in the second half) both of Orient's centre halves were the equal of him physically. I thought he coped really well against them both. He does have a strange gait and at times looks unathletic but I have been told he is really quick which along with his physicality is a real asset.

Powell was playing wide on the left of a four. He was probably the pick of the bunch on the night. Isaac Dunn was there but in a boot - a broken foot I believe. Litherland is injured but I'm not sure what it is.

On Saturday 14 games from Leagues 1 and 2 are being shown live at 3 pm. There are also two matches kicking off at 2 pm and 5.30 pm being shown live. During an international break lots a lot of PL and Championship followers used to take in a game or two at this level. They probably won't now

A win is a win and these have been in short supply for the under 21's this season so the objective was achieved but really they made hard work of it. I said after about 70 minutes that you couldn't tell that we had an extra player such was our lethargy. Going ahead and playing against the the men I expected much more but the play was quite insipid with very little intensity and far too often the easy option was taken. Orient deservedly equalised and Honour made a couple of smart saves and as the half time whistle went Batty, in an act of frustration volleyed the ball across the pitch. We toiled again in the second half but got the penalty which seemed to knock the stuffing out of Orient and the third came as a result of this although in between Orient did have another couple of chances which Honour dealt with. The players were taken off the field twice during the match. On the first occasion it was just after we scored our second goal. Prior to the penalty being taken there was the usual gamesmanship and a couple of verbal spats. I wondered if something untoward had been said but just about as we were were entering stoppage time I heard the linesman telling a few players they were going off again. Cue confusion as nobody had a clue what was going on. It transpired (I heard a steward talking) that there was a drone overhead and it was deemed (correctly in my view) unsafe.

As an office junior he won't be allowed time off 😀.

Maybe it's just me but I would have thought his rehabilitation and fitness levels would have been the priority. Having said that he is working for a manager who organised training the day before a game around his birthday celebrations. Edit: Mystery solved. What's good for the gaffer I suppose. 🤔

Rovers u under 21's are at home to Leyton Orient tonight in the Premier League Cup. The game is being played at Lancashire FA HQ in Leyland and is free for season ticket holders. Perhaps more in forlorn hope there might be a few first team squad players getting some game time. I use the word forlorn because in his tenure Ismael hasn't done so

I said at the time it was a strange move to give him another year.

Individual errors have really done Norwich in today. Carelessly losing or giving the ball away is the story of the game for me.

In quite a lot of the games three out of the back four are new. We have conceded some sloppy goals primarily down to individual errors.

Both of his tackles were from our corners when the centre halves were forward. Stoke got the first contact from the corner and countered. We weren't really pulled apart in a conventional footballing sense. Give me some examples of his positioning sometimes not being great. Having seen every game he has played I can't remember one occasion when he has been caught out through poor positioning.

Yesterday's match saw what I thought were text book examples in the art of tackling. Twice Alebiosu made terrific challenges with the added pressure of potentially being sent off if they were mis timed. Similarly McLoughlin made another perfect challenge to prevent Stoke breaking away. In all three the ball was won absolutely cleanly and gave us all a lift

Cantwell's little exchange with Kargbo in this clip is really good.

And yesterday Ismael revealed that Kargbo stood up in the changing room on Tuesday and apologised to the players.

Sadly it's the world we now live in with cowards hiding behind a pseudonym on social media. I was angry on Tuesday, not really about him losing the ball but just giving it up and not trying to atone for his mistake. And yesterday I had a little whinge to my family and friends when he came on but I'm so pleased he made me eat my words with his goal and general performance. Hopefully he will learn from his error.

After being critical of the manager recently I think he deserves some praise today for his substitutions. Ohashi for Gudjohnsen was a no brainer given the latter's lack of appetite but I wasn't too enamoured when Kargbo and De Neve came on. Both have us some pace and width and suddenly we were on the front foot and getting in behind. Kargbo could have had a hat trick and De Neve was a real threat. I wasn't too disappointed with our first half show and felt we should have scored at least one goal. I don't like making scapegoats and I can live with players not playing well but I don't accept players who don't out a shift in and Gudjohnsen tell into that category. I can't remember him sprinting at all and I was genuinely surprised when he came out for the second half. In the final analysis I feel slightly disappointed with a draw (although I would have snatched your hand off for that when they scored). We created some decent openings but don't have the type of player who can take advantage of them. Hopefully we can work on some things over the next two weeks and play consistently like we did in patches today. Alebiosu was our best player again today. His two last ditch tackles were of a high quality and his forays forward were really good. Our centre backs were generally good but Ribiero is out of form. TGH and Tronstad looked decent together and Hedges maintained his early season form. Morishita was disappointing again. I know it's early but I was expecting more from him. Cantwell over elaborated at times but he is still out most creative player by a country mile. Coming from behind was something we don't do too often so that was satisfying. We are in a scrap but some of the stuff I saw gives me hope that we can compete.

You've just reminded me that as we were exiting the ground after the official announcement against Ipswich the Travis song, Why Does It Always Rain On Me was played over the PA system.

Why are the floodlights on three hours before the game starts? 🤔

Official club coaches are leaving at 9 am. https://www.stokecityfc.com/news/2025/september/12/ticket-information-blackburn-rovers/

It doesn't appear that Rovers have a planned inspection. Surely, given the weather and forecast there should be an announcement about a designated inspection detailing what time this will be and to watch Rovers social media channels for further updates. I have already seen today many posts from non league teams outlining their plans. It's a common courtesy really.

I would like to think that Rovers have a plan in place for an early pitch I inspection and have been liaising with the match referee. Given the early kick off the referee should be staying locally and for a 12.30 kick off would normally arrive around 10 am. He will do a preliminary inspection, look at an up to date forecast and speak to the ground staff. With Stoke supporters leaving between 10-11 am I would hope this is factored in along with the other criteria. I would say it really is touch and go right now but the referee needs to be decisive.

I sincerely hope your endeavours are rewarded with a win. Looking at the Met Office forecast right now I don't think there will be a problem with the game going ahead.