I do remember him. Sometimes you see young players and almost know they are set for bigger things. Barker was very driven and ambitious. Hopefully Adam will be the same and the sky is limit for him.

Hopefully that puts the Birmingham myth to bed.

Ayala was having a scan on a calf injury on Wednesday but there has been nothing reported about the result of this. If I remember correctly it was a similar injury that kept him out for some time in the second half of last season.

He does things there that are uncoachable. Two examples are now he beats a man on the half-turn.

I have stolen this from the LT. On Rovers' projected 25-man squad that will need to be submitted to the EFL, they are up to 21. Players on loan, irrespective of their age, must be registered, but those 21 or under by the end of 2022 don't have to be. Those who would need to be registered: Thomas Kaminski, Aynsley Pears, Joe Hilton, Callum Brittain, Joe Rankin-Costello, Daniel Ayala, Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter, Dominic Hyam, Clinton Bola, Harry Pickering, Tayo Edun, John Buckley, Lewis Travis, Tyler Morton, Sam Szmodics, Bradley Dack, Ryan Hedges, Sam Gallagher, Ben Brereton, George Hirst Those not needing to be registered: Ash Phillips, Adam Wharton, Jake Garrett, Jack Vale, Tyrhys Dolan and Dilan Markanday

Fully agree on the veils of secrecy around our business which is how it should be. I have been critical of Broughton but this area is a huge improvement for me. And the knock-on effect is that the two bit hacks who actually earn a living guessing are effectively redundant as far as Rovers are concerned.

We would have to pay Butterworth up to terminate his contract. The folly of activating the extra year on his deal could bite us.

I agree about just getting them off the wage bill by any means but loaning Rankin-Costello is a big no from me. If he is loaned out for a season he will be 24 when he comes back and he will still have another year on his deal.

He was with West Brom and turned up at QPR's training ground, Did the usual interview outside the gate and then nothing. His name escapes me but I remember him going to Stoke then he nosedived.

Personally I would be looking to sell Rankin-Costello and Butterworth who I can't see contributing anything in the future as I don't believe either are good enough for Championship football. Both would benefit from a change of club. I got suckered into the Deadline Day hype on Sky earlier and lasted ten minutes. Such was the dearth of news about transfers the 'experts' in the studio were picking their best team of players who moved on deadline days in recent times. Right now hoovering, polishing and then Lidl seems more appealing. 😁😁

I thought that too. I think his lack of real work ethic wouldn't be acceptable for what Tomasson demands from his players.

Absolutely delighted with the result first and foremost but the team performance also delighted me. That is the best we have played this season with a great tempo, intensity and one/two touch play. Quite simply when we were at it they couldn't live with us. Although the start seemed a little slow I think it was part of the plan. Blackpool pressed to such a degree for twenty minutes it was almost as if they had run out of energy and they stood off us a lot more. That is when Wharton and Morton took control of the game and pretty much dictated everything. In such a great team performance it's almost unfair to pick one player out but Adam Wharton was terrific. His ball retention was sublime and a friend texted me after the game to say Don Goodman (who I think is the best pundit) said it was the best debut he has ever seen. High praise indeed. And the fans were really good which to be fair was acknowledged in the post match interviews with Tomasson, Wharton and Brereton. A good night to be a Rovers fan. Edit: I don't know how clear the chant for Adam was but it goes: Oh, oh, oh he's magic, You know, Wharton the Wilpshire Pirlo. Brilliant.

It makes sense to me to start Carter rather than Phillips. Madine and Yates are two bullying brutes and Carter will cope better with them.

I suspect so although I didn't hear who the substitutes were.

That is true. He was due to have a scan today on a calf injury.

There was a cryptic comment from Tomasson after last Saturday's match which gave me an indication that something was amiss. He said something like 'I'm not the medical team' rather than go into detail. It looks like our skipper will play right back then.

I see he has already started with his 'working class' patronising nonsense. One of my biggest irritations with him was how he over complicated and over thought things. Lots of his decisions weren't what the majority of us expected and quite often one substitution would end up with several on field positional changes. His interviews invariably grated as he often talked up opponents pre and post match and his talk of a journey. And if he brings Venus then check the training ground deeds 😂. Despite all the criticism of him he has somehow got a two year deal.

Around 3000.

There were around 400 tickets left as of this morning following a raft of online sales over the weekend. It looks like we are likely to sell out. Good effort.

With no 'proper' football today I decided to get the train to Moston to watch FC United against Radcliffe. The ground is tidy with various food outlets dotted around and quite a few bars too. Playing for FC was ex Rover Chris Taylor whilst Jem Karacan played for Radcliffe. He played for Reading and Galatasary and represented Turkey at various levels. I mention this because he is actually a Rovers fan. The play was really good particularly from Radcliffe who won 2-1 with a really late goal. The 'entertainment' also included a scrap between some FC fans and stewards. I have to say though FC supporters had the best array of songs I have heard in years. All that for £7 admission and £8 train fare.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/picturesque-jekyll-hyde-village-plagued-27855474 Not Blackburn but close enough.

In fairness I complimented Rovers on the veil of secrecy on this deal, as it should be on all deals. I misinterpreted Broughtons comments that we bid for him in June.

When I got my Wigan tickets on Friday there were around 1000 Blackpool tickets unsold although I don't know what our allocation is.

Who knows Andy. I read what Broughton said about enquiring about him in June and made the link.

It was just my thought given how slow they have been in reacting in the past and what Broughton said about going after him in the summer.