There was one when Butterworth ran down the right and he had a pass on to Davenport, that closed off so he went himself with a weak shot at the keeper then lost it. The ball to Rothwell was excellent as was when he received the ball from Pickering heading a cross away, touched it drove forward and got a Swansea player booked. Makes sense to start him on Tuesday with a thin squad, I would also start Chapman and Carter and wrap the impressive Ayala in cotton wool. It does, but I think with how Swansea played, Armstrong would have had 2 or 3 goals today, so depends what is meant by a better team. Although we do need it wrapping up as it doesnt benefit anyone for it to linger, we need to bring in some players ourselves.

Really enjoyable to be back at Ewood today, it felt like we had never been away, there was a buzz and a good atmosphere and we witnessed a good match and most importantly a win. I will say that Swansea at home is as easy a game as we are likely to face all season. Not only are they massively depleted without Woodman, Guehi, Hourihane, Ayew etc, but they seem to have downgraded in the dug out, Martin seems desperate to play what is nowadays deemed "the right way" to play football, and it played into our hands with their players especially their keepr unable to play from the back, a hungry and vibrant Rovers team had too much. I know it won't be popular but Mowbray deserves credit for his game management today, his choice of midfield wont suit all games but it showed so much energy and he also got his subs right from as weak a bench as I can ever remember, including bringing on Carter, Swansea barely threatened. The one major question is the Dolan central and Gallagher wide right experiment, I still dont agree with it personally but Dolan does press better than anyone else and with him winning the penalty and Gallagher scoring, I suppose you cant argue with it today. My main worry is that the team we put out does not have many goals in it, if we had Armstrong today I think that we could have chalked up a 4 or 5 goal tally as we did last year. Dolan's energy is infectious but he is still so raw and his shooting is particularly weak, he wont score many goals and simply cant be our striker going forward. Brereton and Gallagher both had limited involvements really and Butterworth was bright with a couple of excellent contributions although should have done better on the counter attack. The midfield was very good in the main, Travis was very good, Buckley was superb in the first half (what a ball for the first goal) especially with his pressing yet horrendous in the second, a few "I told you so" type posts on here but simply he has never put in performance levels like that before across a whole game really, lets hope this is his season. Rothwell summed himself up with that miss at the end when a simple square ball seals the win, decision making is often poor, although his ability to drive forward with the ball is really important, overall the three did really well, Davenport was fine when he came on too. Ayala was very good and a contender for man of the match, if only he wasnt injured so often as him and Lenihan are proper defenders, both full backs were fine too, Kaminski made a horrendous error for the goal but made 3 decent saves aside from that.

He repeatedly kept saying about having assets and about the club knowing the ramifications of not extended so why on earth would he not choose to. He shouldnt be here but he is not to blame for the fact that he wont get a penny to replace Armstrong and that the club wont extend contracts that protect themselves in the long run. Hes to blame for a lot of things but not that, Venkys seem to have totally turned off the taps to the point that they will lose assets for free.

I do find it absolutely staggering how little of the blame Venkys are getting for choosing not to fund the extension of a few contracts which in the long run will be massively financially beneficial, as well as not giving the manager even a million or two of any Armstrong proceeds. Warped logic.

I have seen this line a few times today but lets be honest, a lack of communication is hardly the principle criticism that Venkys get. When people do mention the lack of communication, 9 times out of 10 it relates to a lack of apology which still wasn't forthcoming today.

He is answering questions specifically about this transfer window in which he is selling his best player, has released a number of players and is only allowed to bring in kids on loan. He is doing a bit of arse kissing which would be common for someone not wanting to be sacked even if it is a little sick inducing. He is not even moaning about it reallly. Previous windows, he was given a budget by people who deal with the numbers above his head. Did he use that money as effectively and efficiently as he could or should have? No, definitely not. But that bares no relevance to questions specific to a lack of finance at his disposal in this window. He became particularly crabby in interviews with constant excuses which all managers do. Maybe he genuinely doesnt think that hes being a burden or that he can turn it around? I dont think he can or will but he might. Even if he knows that he is a burden, its easy to say it when things are going well, but its hard to just give up a well paid job, I still think "snide, arrogant prick" is a little over the top personally.

Kipre starting tonight for West Brom. Maybe his move will turn out well.

I am excited because I obviously miss going to games, and even 6 months ago this seemed a long, long way away. That being said, the club couldnt have done more to try and dampen my enthusiasm, which it obviously still has to a certain degree.

I'm not sure that rings true once you take Armstrong out of the equation, his goals were what pushed us ahead of the relegation scrap. Elliott is a huge loss too, Harwood Bellis is a big loss, and Holtby/Evans would also play tomorrow, the impact of 4 losses headed by Armstrong and our first 11 is significantly weaker than last years.

https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-manchester-city-midfielder-smith-agrees-to-join-hull-city/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1628258933 Unsure if this is one of the kids that we were likely to loan but hes gone to Hull. Seems to have some senior experience and I have seen him play for Wales before.

I found both Ince and Coyle to be more dislikeable based on their personality than Mowbray I would say, not that all 3 combined came close to Kean who was something else. And even then, I have always hated Venkys more than even Kean. I don't "hate" Mowbray on a personal level, although like any one who I feel is hindering our club in whatever capacity, I feel a level of resentment towards him simply because him being in his position is not favourable for a club that means so much to me. If Mowbray had gone a year ago, he would have been deemed to have done a fairly good job, the key is as touched on that he has lingered for far too long. It is getting to the point now where he is being blamed for things out of his control, simply because he is a natural target and often the messenger for information via his press conferences, and I totally get the build up of frustration. All managers not doing very well have their reasons and excuses, especially in a time where they are interviewed a million times a season, so I don't really hold his excuses against him, even if I disagree with many of them. Mowbray is a rather dour individual and I remember a few years ago when we had people eulogising over his tales about football in years gone by and even then I thought he was dour and boring to an extent but obviously didn't resent him. I do think that he genuinely is trying his best and he may well think that he can turn it around, and to be honest, would I walk away in his shoes?

@LScotty2706 I think the logic dictates that whilst the trivial issues of occasional communication/attendance may be bickered over, whilst there is an underpinning of negligence and contempt shown towards the club, people may indeed moan.

Mowbray deserves criticism for not spending the budget that he was given anywhere near as efficiently or effectively as he ought to. Those above him, so Waggott, Cheston and mainly the owners deserve the blame for the accounting side of it and any FFP ramifications that may arise.

Do you think that he will be in for surprise? Fans sung his name against Leeds and I could hear them on the stream v Bolton. And them articles (all of which stem from further ownership negligence) have made him more dislikeable than Coyle and Ince?

Season ticket sales yet to hit 6k according to the club.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19496806.blackburn-rovers-putting-brakes-on-boss-sympathises-venkys/ You would almost think that the (presumably written by someone else) statement today was released tactically.

Armstrong is on the training pictures on the website, maybe he genuinely is going to be our considered. If he is in the right frame of mind, he is so much better than all of our remaining attacking options, but then again, you are putting a 20m fee on the line.

Not worth the time it took to read it and almost certainly not written by that cretin. Actions speak louder than words, if you really cared, youd have changed manager, youd have changed the CEO, you would have a strategy and not just suddenly turn the taps off regarding funding, I could go on. I would like to think that if they sadly decide to turn up, they would receive a hostile reception, they dont deserve anything other than our hostility. Venkys out. Stay away.

I am full aware of profit and losses, in your desperation to patronise, you dont seem to realise that what I am suggesting is not something that massively threatens our ability to hit sustainability, indeed it could aid it. Please tell me which of the below you specifically take issue with: I suggested us signing a cheap replacement for Armstrong on a permanent contract, of course not only to keep us competitive but with the potential of being able to sell that player on at a profit in the future, continuing the process. You have suggested a part exchange which seems unlikely but could also work, in fact the value that would be given to someone like Idah is in fact more than the amount that I expect on a replacement! I also suggested putting a focus on retaining players whose contracts are about to expire. Whilst slightly increasing the wages of Nyambe, Brereton, Lenihan, Rothwell etc may seem to go against us immediately, in the long term, any transfer fee in the future would more than offset that, It would be such a short sighted move to let them run their contracts down to "save money." If need be, even sell one of them if they wont renew and again replace. I also suggested putting priority on ensuring that you always have at least a few experienced players amidst it all, not necessarily with a fee attached, of course within certain wage limits, simply to keep us competitive. Our team full of kids this season I worry for when the going gets tough. Those losses are self inflicted, they dont need to be so high and it is the owners fault that they are. Signing players and selling them on at a profit is a very obvious way of reducing those losses to a level well below the FFP regulations.

Mowbray repeatedly has mentioned Premier League giants keeping their kids around to cover international players before being loaned out. I am well aware of FFP hence why my desire is not for a mass spending spree, just a permanent replacement for Armstrong at minimal cost (after receiving a significant fee on the back of a considerable wage reduction) and the protection of key assets who can be sold down the line to further improve our ability to meet FFP regulations. Allowing sellable assets to leave for free makes no sense in any way. By the way, hasnt FFP become more flexible post covid? Mowbray has poorly used his budget which is a different argument all together but it is not the managers responsibility to give himself a budget fitting in with FFP. His budget over the last 3 years has been competitive but the Armstrong fee will cover most of the outgoings during that period. Lets hope it is done ASAP because I think we are all bored of it now.

I bet many would still defend it! Also, you mention throwing money in to offset the debt. Essentially that is just them not putting in the correct care and effort into one of their businesses to make it as efficient as possible, hence the avoidably large losses they make.

I may be wrong but I think Pike had the number 40 last season, and was in a matchday squad against Birmingham. Vale has also had a squad number before.

You removed any direct blame based on the random assumption that anything that has gone to ruin, they have merely not been asked, otherwise they would pay. Baseless. In which case, why spend a significant fee on Pickering, and why can Mowbray not be guaranteed even a cheap permanent replacement for Armstrong when he is sold?

I noticed that McBride, Pike, Vale, Garrett and Cirino all didnt get squad numbers. Seemingly not considered as first teamers at the moment.

Surely the fact that they dont care or take the time to stay informed, leaving a trail of incompetence beneath them is more than enough to warrant anger. They dont give a shit and it certainly has a direct effect on all of us. You imply that they never say no, we couldnt possibly know that, numerous funding requests may have been rejected, its impossible to know either way. That being said, this isnt the first sudden turning off of the taps so surely they have cut funding in an aim to get money back.