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.

The first thing I noticed when I got on the ground was how lush the pitch looked. When players made sliding tackles there were no divots and the rain made it really slick. I actually think we were better suited to the pitch and conditions than Leicester. My fear from that is that Ewood might impede us from playing the way we did given the soft and sandy surface and the more obvious consequence of soft tissue injuries.

I really began to sense something different at the Watford and West Brom games, a different mentality perhaps. We weren't good against Swansea in the first half but we went in at half time without having conceded. In most of the bad performances we have been behind and didn't look like getting anything. It's only guesswork from me but the evidence points to something radical changing.

We were saying at the game that Morton should have been changed ten minutes before it happened as he looked tired and errors were creeping in. But in truth last night wasn't a game for not picking looking at the game as a whole. The challenge now is maintaining that level of commitment and performance.

My view is that since Rotherham there has been a realisation that the way we were playing didn't really suit the players or the Championship. The slow tempo isn't as apparent now and the intensity appears to have increased. I have to be honest though as I doubted that some of our players weren't capable of playing any quicker but so far I'm delighted to be wrong.