Exactly. He isn't so we aren't.

Yeah. We surely have to be targeting a win here.

Why wouldn't he be worth that in years to come? All these top Premier League Clubs aren't sniffing round him for no reason.

With the greatest of respect it is true - what was going on in Mowbray's head was anyone's guess . However he freely admitted it was his own decision not to bring another striker in as "we don't play that way".

Best in the Country at his age though possibly? How much would he be worth in future if under contract? It would be a ludicrous false economy to miss out on a potential fee of £40m or £50m two or three years down the line because we weren't prepared to invest a couple of million now in giving him a decent contract.

Think that's rubbish personally. None of the rest of the squad (with the possible exception of BBD if he signs a new deal) have a potential future resale value of £40 - £50m. When they have, well then, then they might have a right to complain Do you think the rest of the squad were unhappy about Shearer earning more than everyone else 92 - 96? Or do you think they'd just be happy to have him in their side rather than someone else's?

What's the point in selling if no-one is offering a realistic amount? In any event, given the start we've made, are we not better hanging on and seeing how the season unfolds?

On the flip side though, if the owners decided they wanted to sell Players A, B, C and D to either secure the Club's financial future or even simply because they wished to trouser the cash then the manager would have no say in that whatsoever, he'd have to grin and bear it. So why should it be solely Mowbray or JDT's decision whether or not a key asset is sold? If Venky's decide they particularly want to keep a key player then they should be entitled to make that choice or at least have a say in the matter. The manager works for them not the other way round.

Absolutely bizarre, wasn't it. Most managers would be doing cartwheels their owners were refusing to cash in on your best players, not publicly breaking ranks and having a massive strop about it.

Good for us if they aren't.

Obviously unbelievable to start off with nine points out of nine (for the first time since 1988 apparently) but don't know if I'm going against the grain by opining we didn't play very well. For me too many players well off the pace and we were really slow and laborious in possession of the ball in the first half. A lot of that can probably be put down to the freak conditions, I'm not all that sure if it's worth playing in such extreme temperatures if both teams are going to take impromptu drinks breaks every seven or eight minutes, the game just can't get going or have any flow to it and no wonder there were three minutes extra at half time and eleven minutes at the end. It seems totally counterproductive to me to have the teams out there for an extra 15 minutes in those temperatures. Anyhow as everyone has pointed out Ayala and BBD were excellent and we simply can't afford to lose the latter imo. Buckley, Szmodics and Hedges weren't at it today imo and even Kaminsky looked hesitant and nervous but the will to win we showed when under the cosh was tremendous. There's a sense I think that something really good might be happening and each win almost feels like celebrating winning a Cup Final at the moment. The downside of course is that it's only taken us 3 games to run into a mini injury crisis. Time for Messrs Waggott and Broughton to do their jobs, and get some players in to what was already an extremely thin squad to start with. The new manager has vastly exceeded expectations so far. Give him the support and the tools he needs to do the job!

Yep, pretty much my view on it. I'd amend it slightly to keep Brereton, bring in another striker and a CB, back JDT and we're in with a shot of promotion.

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Scott Wharton is very under-rated imo, so calm and steady he makes it easy for the people playing alongside him. Maybe Lenihan is realising that at the moment

Agreed, he hasn't had much chance to show what he can do here but hasn't done a lot wrong when called upon so far for me.

Me too. Edit: It's not my money so the nightmare situation for me is not losing out on £15m but a promising looking season being derailed by him being sold too late to get a decent replacement in or said replacement coming in and being a complete flop.

On the other hand, if the owners are of the view that BBD stays barring an offer that meets their valuation, JDT and GB might be confident enough in their own ability to go along with this and not publicly break ranks and sulk for the remainder of the season like Mowbray.

This has surpassed last weekend's theorising about BBD leaving as the worst series of posts in some time.

Not been confirmed yet has it? I'd prefer a permanent acquisition at CB unless Phillips is prepared to commit to a substantial contract.

If that's correct, going out against lower League oppsosition three times in five seasons is hardly a badge of honour is it? I actually looked this up last season after we were knocked out of the League Cup at the first time of asking (against Morecambe was it?) Wins in either Cup (especially the FA Cup I think) were as rare as rocking horse **** under Mowbray so last night was a pleasant change. My main hope arising out of it (apart from progressing in the Cup for once) was that those who played would perform well enough to genuinely keep the first X1 on their toes and spur them on to even better performances and I'd say they managed that and then some. As another poster mentioned before (and got the most likes I've ever seen for one post) I don't know what JDT thinks he is playing at. He should know Blackburn Rovers don't do Cup competitions and that the demeanour required generally from our manager is to mope around the place like a wet weekend moaning about missing your family, reminding everyone it isn't 1995, bigging up our opposition and talking us down at every opportunity. Someone needs to have a word with him sharpish before all this positivity and common sense gets completely out of hand! (Long may it continue)

Shame I can't make it tonight. Lovely evening and Pears and JRC apart I REALLY like the look of that team! Hope they tear Hartlepool a new one.

We have no evidence whatsoever there is an issue with Dack either. One poster claims a coach told him that Dack and Ayala were struggling under the new regime, although if it were true, why the Club would let that be known to anyone I've no idea. He then doesn't play in the first game, someone else on Twitter claims they've seen him sulking and all of a sudden there's a full blown "Dack situation" despite the fact he's been injured for most of the pre season and presumably isn't quite as up to speed as the rest of the squad. He may or may not get back to his best in due course following his two serious injuries but I'm really not sure where this idea he's a bad apple or will be a problem in the dressing room has come from.

I'd have thought £2m - £3m might be more feasible towards the end of the January window. If he was available for that now he'd be here already imo.

Just out of interest, what sort of figure would people pay to secure JPVH's signature on a permanent basis now? If for example you offered £7m or £8m then I believe that's not as much as Brighton want but arguably more than he's worth given he has a year left on his contract. On the other hand even at that price he's a sure fire investment isn't he? You're only going to make money on him in the long run. Or do you risk leaving it to January in the hope of getting him substantially cheaper?