He could well be sacked next week too. A walking egotist if ever I saw one.

The last few games have been different and today the penny dropped for me as to what I think is a fundamental difference. The last few games have seen some interplay between the centre halves but not the full backs who are pushing higher up as this is happening. Invariably it's a two v one with the centre halves against a central striker.That means that our opponents can't press too high as their wide players are deeper to stay with our full backs. Prior to a few weeks ago you could have tethered our back four with a piece of string and the full backs were involved in the square passing. Clearly this is not the only change as I believe the tempo and intensity is far higher than it's been for some time but this and some other subtle changes have been huge in my view.

What chance Reading looking for a new manager next week?

Firstly I thought today was a really good game of football between two teams who got on the front foot as often as possible. More important though was the win, an extremely hard fought win which in some of the post World Cup games didn't look like we had that fight in us. There has almost certainly been some changes to mentality, tactics and work rate and the result of this is remarkable. I honestly wasn't unduly worried about Sheffield equalising today, I thought we were comfortable as we kept our shape and discipline as they pushed on searching for a goal. Lots of really good performances today but I thought we were excellent in midfield as we closed down, passed the ball and tackled. The biggest change for me since Rotherham has been the intensity which has made us really difficult to play against. With intensity comes pace and all of a sudden the pitch looks a lot bigger as our side players hug the touchline and stretch teams. It's difficult not to get carried away with our current form but the management and players have to keep their feet on the floor, keep working hard and see where we end up. Well done Rovers again today.

Today's referee is Josh Smith who has had us three times this season and we've put in three of the worst performances (Luton, Wigan and Preston). Expect to see a few yellows as he is currently over four per game. When I have seen him in the past he lacks awareness particularly to the darker arts such as time done which Sheffield are quite good at.

A really good piece on David Raya with a mention of a £40m transfer fee in the Summer. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12824369/david-raya-the-rise-of-brentford-goalkeeper-from-non-league-southport-to-one-of-the-premier-leagues-best

https://newsletter.rovers.co.uk/i/N1xAJuKN9lepynpVw4SKcBpuu0D3SNSHyUcPOvGZNNs Have I read this right and there is a BOGOF offer for beer and pies on the concourses from 11 am tomorrow?

Ticket prices have been set and are on sale to Sheffield United fans on Monday. Hopefully ours will too but as yet no announcement. https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2023/march/03/blackburn-cup-tickets/

As I said it was only what I was told and nothing official has been issued. I guess the delay in the game now gives them more breathing space now with regard to tickets allocations. If it is true though I think part of the rationale is to keep the idiots away. An allocation of 2800 would more than likely be snapped up by regulars rather than the Neanderthals who want to cause trouble.

Don't shoot the messenger but I was told they are only getting the top tier on police advice. They fear a pitch invasion which would undoubtedly entice some of our lot onto the pitch and mass disorder could ensue.

They play each other on April 10th which could be pivotal to our thinking.

Their main defender, Anel Ahmedhodzic is suspended for this. It's akin to us missing Hyam. https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-face-big-suspension-blow-for-blackburn-reading-trips-as-key-man-ruled-out-4041736

The new Morecambe and Wise, Laurel and Hardy or even Reeves and Mortimer.

That's daft mate - you are implying that our lot know how to operate an oven. 😃😃

In the days after the window ended Broughton said he accepted full responsibility. His next interview will be interesting.

Our away form in cup matches this season is a 100% success whereas at home we have only won one.

So Broughton was right when he said he didn't think we would win an appeal but we went ahead anyway and cost the club tens of thousands. I wonder who sanctioned that spend. We need a complete clear out of all the lot of them.

What was his excuse for his beloved Leicester last night then? Smarmy prick he is. 💩💩

Good find. It's clear from the report that someone really fucked up. And we use the excuse of playing at Birmingham on deadline day as one of the reasons. Embarrassing.

An appeal to the EFL failed and now an independent arbitrator has thrown out our case. Everything points to complete incompetence by somebody at Rovers. St Gregg has promised us full disclosure - I await with bated breath. And this was the basis of the appeal (it reads to me like they were looking for a loophole): The club challenged that decision on the basis of a legal interpretation of the Regulations around meeting the relevant deadline.

Lewis O'Brien has been collateral damage in this mess and I hope it doesn't have an adverse effect on his career. He will probably be out of pocket through not playing by missing out on bonuses and appearance money. All through incompetent people who are at our club.

A big chunk of the money the players so valiantly earned last night has been wasted on legal fees as a result of incompetence. Operation Face Save has failed and we have to be told the truth about the whole sorry saga. Seemingly the appeal was based on this: The club challenged that decision on the basis of a legal interpretation of the Regulations around meeting the relevant deadline.

Will the real David Brent please stand up.

I really hope the broken promise and failure to invest in a new pitch doesn't come back to haunt us.

I agree Den that JRC has been so influential and it speaks volumes for his character that he has grabbed his chance after being written off by many (me included) and I suspect some of the staff too. Hayden Carter hasn't been too far behind in terms of performance.