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Tavares had a little spell in the first half when he got sloppy in possession but overall he did a good job. It was difficult to make a judgement on Gardner-Hickman given the amount of time he played but having seen him play against us several times I think he will be an asset to us with his Championship experience.

Slightly contradictory there. Enjoying a win but then it's a bit pointless? Almost everyone knows the issues at the club but days like yesterday are a release from the off the field issues. I think it's fair to say some supporters get far more pleasure from winning than others.

No it's not all rosy again but surely we are allowed to enjoy a win and very good performance. If you can't enjoy Rovers winning it says more about you than the ones who do enjoy it.

In all honesty I would have taken a draw before the match as I was worried about our centre back pairing and their lack of game. Well I got it completely wrong and the cornerstone to the win was Wharton and Carter who were both excellent. I call it proper defending, head it, kick it and physically dominate your opponent. They did that in spades and I was particularly pleased for Scott who has had a torrid time with injuries. His post match body language in front of the fans looked quite emotional. Yesterday we were pretty much everything I want us to be. Full of energy, aggressive and playing quickly. Aside from a short spell in the first half when Watford had a good in midfield we were dominant. Ismael was smart with his substitutions I thought and although we went to a back five (I actually predicted he would just after we scored) but we still looked dangerous on the counter. There were lots to admire about yesterday and collectively we looked good but aside from our centre halves I thought Hedges and Cantwell were really good. Hedges in particular gets some unfair criticism but hopefully his start to the season will change some minds. Cantwell is thriving with the responsibility of the captain's armband which looks like a masterstroke from Ismael. What struck me yesterday was that there seemed to be a togetherness about the squad despite losing some strong characters recently. Certainly Ismael was as buoyant as I have seen him at the end of the match as he came over to the fans. We have only concerned one goal away from home so far which is a real feather in Ismael's cap as he seems to know how to set us up to play on the counter. Perhaps that tactic might suit us at home.

It was all compounded by the lateness of the decision which left us with no chance of bringing in a replacement. Craziness and completely unjustifiable.

Chelsea have been charged by the FA for 74 offences of alleged breaches of FA agent regulations and third party investment in players. From the article the paragraph below caught my eye. My initial reaction is to draw comparisons with what we know about our owners dealings. Purely hypothetical on my part but it could explain why they don't want any potential buyer poring over their own dealings. Sky Sports News' chief correspondent, Kaveh Solhekol, said due diligence carried out by Chelsea's owners, BlueCo, during the takeover process "is believed to have uncovered payments connected to transfers to offshore companies and players' families and representatives.

These are £76 for adults and £60 for kids. Pasha will be salivating already.

I don't disagree but it's the other end of the pitch that really worries me. We are missing McLoughlin and with Carter and Wharton not having played a full game for ages I really think we are up against it. Miller could play at centre half but after a punishing week he could be jaded. Pickering has also played there but similar to Carter and Wharton he has hardly played in a long time. Selling Hyam so late in the window will come back to bite us immediately.

Just to add my thanks to wilsdenrover for his diligence in keeping us up to date with the happenings in India. And also to add you must have the patience of a saint. 😇

It was rumoured to be Dakota Biotech who were the shirt sponsor last season. From the stills I have seen it doesn't appear that they have a shirt sponsor this season. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/july/05/rovers-women-confirm-new-front-of-shirt-sponsor--/

I think it's a good move for him. I regularly watch NLN football and it's a good standard. In fact I saw Macclesfield at Southport a few weeks ago in a really good, competitive game played at a good tempo. Oh and also watching the game was one James Edmondson. Macclesfield are still part time so I guess Edmondson will still be training at Brockhall.

They will have a few professionals who are 21 or under so I guess it's a mix of both. It was pretty telling that they had a few six feet plus players in their side.

Personally I think some of the more regular under 21's will be loaned to but it has to be for regular playing time and the right standard.

He was watching the under 21 team at Preston yesterday. I forgot to add that Stuart Jones was also watching.

Only good news mind. Something like life imprisonment for them. 😂

No pressure mate but thousands are waiting for your updates. 😂

Arguably the best performance of the season so far albeit against a young Preston team who for some reason don't have an under 21 team. Surprisingly no Matty Litherland for Rovers again and given the fact he hasn't gone out on loan I'm assuming he is injured. We were always in control thought and at 2-0 missed a host of chances and Preston scoring with a few minutes to go set up a nervous finish until Joseph gave us back the two goal cushion. It's been said before about Joseph but he really is a beast. He has a boxer's physique and seems to enjoy the physical side of the game. James Edmondson had a really good game alongside Dunn who, after a couple of indifferent games looked like he was coming back to form. Decandia also played well at centre half. To be truthful it looked too easy for Jake Batty as he didn't need to get out of third gear. I'm really surprised that he didn't get a move yesterday either on loan or permanent. He could well stagnate when he simply has to be challenged more. Overall an enjoyable watch and hopefully this improvement will be carried into league performances.

Not at all. If it is true then for me it is a case of Gestede imposing something on people and not giving them a choice.

It will be just another vetted farce with any difficult questions simply ignored. It should be an open forum done face to face and live streamed.

If it's true how would the owners even know or care about it? I was told it was wholly down to Gestede who controls the STC and Academy. I don't know about the catering at Ewood (I'm thinking hot-dogs) but Gestede has no influence over that.

This is not as enlightening as Glen's post but I was told last week that all the meat bought in for the STC and Academy is now Halal at the insistence of Gestede.

I heard last week that O'Grady-Macken was told to find himself a new club. It looks like the loan is a compromise.

Another completely unjustified contract extension. He was never, ever going to be anywhere near good enough and a 23 far too old to be considered a prospect. Incredibly in June he got a two year deal with a year option.

I desperately want Gestede to explain the rationale behind this transfer window. It's tantamount to footballing suicide what has happened in this transfer window. You simply cannot let so much experience walk out of the door without there being a price to pay. No disrespect to the players coming in and I think some of them will do well for us but anyone who knows the Championship will understand that squad experience is vital. Irrespective of what Gestede says the summer dealings will restrict the amount of money the owners have to send over. As ever they are and always will be the problem at our club.

This should be an interesting watch tonight on BBC2 at 9 pm. Several high profile footballers lost millions in a scam. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cg7jn722rkeo