Sorry just seen he's said "Wait until.it's almost official". I.e. He hasn't a scooby.

So according to Nixon (I know) any credit (or blame) for the appointment lies solely with Waggott? Who does he think is in the frame? Not clear from the above snippet?

Because?

Sounds unlikely but that could possibly tie in with what unleaded said about the DOF having already been lined up but not announced for some reason and said DOF having no actual authority.

Well, (clutching at straws) if Sharpe is to be believed we're down to a shortlist of 3 and if Sky Bet are to be believed there are currently only 3 serious contenders: Ferguson, Ainsworth and Farke. (Tin hat on) IF that were true, (which I don't really believe it is) that wouldn't be a bad final shortlist imo.

That's a new one. Most previous claims have placed him being involved in their core business back in India. So are you able to tell us exactly what he does here on a day to day basis? Because no-one else seems able to.

Ainsworth would actually be a bloody good option imo. Behind only Dyche and Farke in the pecking order for me. Critchley would also be good I would have been OK (ish) with Carvahal, no-one else mentioned so far really floats my boat, their only asset being they're not Mowbray. (Pardew apart who would be Mowbray Mark 2)

Not convinced he's an actual option but hypothetically if it happened, completely agree.

I'm not convinced that he's any more than a conduit tbh. Eyes and ears on the ground, former driver apparently. If I'm wrong on that, I apologise.

Blimey, Mike really? I'd see him as being as close to a clone of Mowbray as you could get tbh. Arrogant and obnoxious, thick skinned, history of good runs followed by worse death spirals and no particular success to speak for 7 years. I'm not going to refer to him as a "candidate" as I'm hoping him leaving his last job and our managerial vacancy are two mutually exclusive events which have just coincided at the same time. Worst name mentioned bar none so far for me though.

It might turn out that way, but if it does, it's Waggott doing the conning!

In answer to both you and Miller no mental gymnastics at all. If we end up with a dire appointment then ultimately blame lies at the owners feet as it's their name over the door. Not having it that it's nothing to do with Waggott however. He's the one who selects candidates for interview, narrows it down to shortlists (or extends it to long lists) and makes recommendations to the owners. Would the owners actually veto a really strong recommendation from him of someone he assured them was the outstanding candidate? I've absolutely no idea but it seems a fairly popular view on here that the owners are so disinterested that they have no idea at all what's happening down at Ewood. If that were the case, would they be invested enough to veto said strong recommendation? Not saying you're guilty of this personally but people can't have the argument both ways, you can't say 99 9% of the time that they're not even aware we've played on any given day etc, then when something really bad happens pin the blame 100% on them and absolve those on the ground at Ewood of any responsibility.

From what I've heard from a couple of different sources, Lowe's status at the Club is a very peculiar one and he has previously been "sacked" only to be re- I stated after complaining to either Balaji or Suhail or both. If we could get to the bottom of his background, where he came from, who he's represented by, and the exact nature of his relationship with the owners it might shed a bit of light on things.

Not having that at all. Sounds like blame deflection from Waggott in case a lousy appointment is made. Why would owners who we are told allegedly "never refuse to sign a cheque" and who even if that is not quite right definitely pump £20m p.a. into the Club anyway, pass up on the best candidate for the sake of sacking a couple of coaching staff who may not have that long left to go on their contracts? Imo it'd be far more likely the penny pinching barrow boy who unilaterally decided the extra staff wasn't an option and never even put it to the owners. Otherwise it might impact on the perception of his performance in reducing costs and losses. I really wouldn't put it past him to fuck us over with one final dismal appointment and have another crack at selling Brockhall on the vague promise of a shiny new facility sometime never before disappearing off into the sunset to count his money. Whist I don't believe it for a second, if Pardew is appointed I'm out. There would still be a silver lining though if JB's mate is correct. Waggott apparently faithfully assured Duncan (Miller) that if an appointment was foisted upon him he didn't like, his position would be untenable and he'd walk away from his £300 k p.a. job. Right?

I'm as nervous as the next person but I think some of the pessimism is going into overdrive today. There's nothing whatsoever to suggest we've any interest in either Adkins or Pardew or vice versa and just because Pardew has apparently left his Club doesn't automatically mean he's coming here just as it doesn't mean Stuart Pearce was when he left West Ham. FWIW Imo it seems to be amusing to some to sporadically link the Club with the worst possible name that could possibly spring to mind without any foundation whatsoever and Pardew falls into that category for me, the worst name mentioned yet.

People aren't getting upset about the length of time it's taking per se, more that the tortuous process employed seems bound to put off any worthwhile candidates.

Absolutely not. IF...........

Think his record since leaving here confirms my view at the time I.e. "just full of shit".

I get annoyed when Mowbray constantly gets directly compared to the lowest common denominator in Coyle as if that's the only alternative and whilst the latter undoubtedly did poorly he had the rug pulled from under his feet before he got here with Hanley, Duffy and Rhodes sold and no worthwhile funds to play with whereas Mowbray has been lavishly backed over his tenure in comparison to the point where he could simply waste £2m by sending Mulgrew to Coventry (or rather Wigan and Fleetwood) for a couple of seasons.

Let's see who we get indeed. When's Mowbray starting at West Brom?

Couldn't agree more. If you're a genuinely top candidate and likely to be in demand the first interview screams "We've called you in because we can't decide if you're any better than (say) Duncan Ferguson or Michael Carrick." The second interview screams "You didn't impress us enough first time round for us to offer you the job" and like you say you'd be forgiven for wondering why anything that needed to be asked couldn't have been asked first time round.

Beale to be confirmed as QPR manager on Wednesday apparently. I'd have to say I wouldn't be happy with that before a ball is kicked but at least they've come to a decision and landed their preferred choice (unlike us). Risky appointment imo, could be a stroke of absolute genius or a near disaster. I'd rather we didn't go down a similar route with someone like Carrick.

Oh dear. The fishing rod has well and truly snapped. The longer this goes on I fear it won't be a Dyche or Farke like appointment and you will have something else genuine to complain about though unfortunately.

Not sure if I agree on the Sporting Director bit but if Bayes is right we just seem to be conducting innumerable rounds of interviews and getting nowhere. Hindsight will probably tell us after the event if it was the case but I wonder if it is a requirement of the role that the new man has to take on the existing coaching staff and this has caused the better candidates to drop like flies? Guess we'll know soon if the new man comes in and Pongo Lowe somehow survives the cull (yet again).

In chronological order: Significant improvement Massive improvement Massive improvement Massive improvement Significant improvement Marginal improvement Marginal improvement