Its easy to pin it especially on Mowbray but if we are working with peanuts im not sure what else he could do personally. He didnt even deal with contract negotiations.

Its a myth thats developed that hasnt even come from those in the club really, it wasnt mentioned by Waggott nor Mowbray when we didnt spend last summer, they mentioned being preoccupied in India. The lack of willingness to spend on things that arent FFP eligible prove it to be nonsense.

Out of interest, do you think that Venkys would invest more was it not for FFP?

Surely its's not about positivity/negativity, glasses being half full or half empty, enjoying the ride and mindsets. You compare to Brentford, they have a totally different structure with no academy but a B team. They also have the knowledge that any time an asset is sold, a chunk is reinvested and the process is continued. With our owners, they are inconsistent with funding as proven last season, so a similar method can't work. Also, more fool any prospective new employee if they believe what Venkys tell them, regarding resources or indeed plans. After 12 years, surely everyone would agree that we have been burnt by them more than enough to be wary, whether it is what they say directly or indeed indirectly? When they came, it was all Champions League and 5 year budgets. The sort of objectives that have fed through since have become less laughable but equally as fanciful based on their corresponding actions. Even last season, they (apparently themselves) stated on the official site that they were fully behind the club and endeavoured to come to Ewood at least once last season. What happened? They reinvested no money and never showed up!

What sort of jump are we supposedly talking then? We can't be expecting him to step up, if he does at such an age then its a bonus. Ayala is a worthless comparison as he will spend most of the season on the treatment table.

Its not about glasses being half full or half empty and yet to see much to br hopeful about personally. The Lenihan news is a hammer blow and I would be amazed if we get a replacement of a similar quality. As touched on the transfer thread, its a blow for various reasons. Boro for one are massively strengthened and us weakened in one move that raises zero pounds for a budget.

Nobody on here can possibly say how much he will be on or indeed how much of the move is financially motivated. That being said, it seems likely that he will get a rise and it says a lot about Rovers under Venkys if we cant come close to competing with a team like Boro.

Monumental blow to lose Lenihan for a number of reasons: 1. Hes a huge player for us who we do far better with when he plays. 2. Hes our captain and we lack experience and leadership in general. Its ok saying "Travis can be captain" but he seems much more rash and lacking in that same level of composure. 3. He has gone for free. Having to scrape the barrel for a replacement. @chaddyrovers mentioned Mawson and Goode, so a freebie (who will likely go elsewhere by the time a manager is appointed) and someone who has struggled since leaving Northampton. That may be the market we are indeed looking in financially but will we find an equal replacement? No. 4. He has gone to Boro, a real shot in the arm for a rival if we supposedly genuinely want to push again. Lots of revionism about him too. The phrase "woeful concentration" for a CB is well over the top, hes not perfect but hes shown himself to be a very good CB at this level and we struggle without him. Without him and Van Hecke leaves a gigantic hole and our defence was what we built our success on. Also talk about a sideways step or indeed a step down, behave! Boro have shown ambition getting in Wilder and this transfer says a lot. People have batted it off on social media by mentioning Carter and Phillips. The former has had 2 good half season loan spells so hopefully will look massively different from the nervous kid that has featured previously but still he wont be on par with our outgoing captain. And Phillips is 16/17, nothing like unsubstantiated pressure by expecting him to help fill the void of such an important player.

You have to think about the players and injury prevention etc after and indeed before full seasons. If teams played fringe players they still likely would be perhaps equally as fatigued plus it would devalue it to the point of further questioning why the games exist. The Nations League was a nice idea as a friendly alternative but no one seems to care about it and 4 fixtures post season seems highly unnecessary. Its not about how much they earn, it is physically proven that these athletes are being tested beyond their limits and become much more succeptible to injury.

Do England (and indeed other teams) have 2 more games left? Absolutely crazy and unnecessary influx of internationals. I saw Van Gaal having a pop on Sky Sports earlier.

You keep mentioning targets. I agree that we should aim high but im not asking that. Its about what you think will happen that I am asking, not what you want or indeed what you think the aims should be. I dont have any faith in a sensible appointment because mainly of the terrible track record over 12 years coupled with how slow the process is going and having seen good potential managers go elsewhere. Thats not unreasonable negativity. Of course I hope to be proven wrong. "Why fear the worst?" Last summer, none of our big sale was reinvested. Im saying that if the same thing happens, which is not an unreasonable assumption, then we will be in a pickle. I would not expect those kids to come through and play KEY roles in a promotion push, its a hell of a leap from kids football, they have 3 league cameos between them aside from an unsuccessful loan spell in League 1. If any do, bonus and great, and im not saying never give them a chance before its twisted to that. The aforementioned deperatures. Rothwell, Van Hecke, Khadra, Lenihan, Brereton, Nyambe. 6 big (potential but range from likely to certain) holes.

The fundamental flaw is the inconsistency. The only summer of backing really was upon promotion on 2 players that have already paid for themselves and will generate a huge profit once Brereton goes. The other summers (in the context of a Championship, the League 1 budget was big for that level but not really for Championship) have seen 3 of minor trading and loans and one of total cutbacks. I would like to think on the back of last summers cutbacks that we could really spend at least the full Brereton proceeds and show some ambition, not even expecting a budget on top lf that. Even a decent chunk of it would be a start but I can see a repeat of last summers frugality.

I was just highlighting that both our local paper (via Warne) and also a reporter over in Yorkshire have rubbished the rumour. I did acknowledge that he would probably say that anyway but indeed we are currently seeing one or two new names a day and most seem to be bollocks. My point was about things like introductory videos and pre/post match interviews whereby its all soundbites.

Of course, this thread is very early I would say. We definitely could do better without Mowbray but 8th is not the embarassingly low bar that some people make out.

Very true on managers not telling the whole truth but a journalist has got a "no contact reply" from Rotherham. Regarding any poster on here, I don't think there are any ITK posters personally any more. Advice ranges from me to take with a shaker full of salt to some who you can just laugh off. Not that a forum is or should be defined on ITK info.

Who do you think is better than us? Do you have faith in the club getting a suitable manager to improve us immediately and also to get recruitment right?

Warne yet another example of paper talk, Knutsen a lazy link too. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/20196427.rotherham-united-boss-paul-warne-addresses-blackburn-rovers-speculation/ Warne isnt on the table, cant be sure that Ainsworth is aside from idle gossip. Still unsure on the Deila and Broughton link either?

Why would he leave play off finalists Huddersfield to come here? Hardly as if left back is the biggest concern anyway.

No point getting too fixated on interviews. What people say seems to really matter to most people now but weve heard numerous people talk about plans etc and have seen people get excited over the last 12 years, and even some people are getting frustrated at calls for patience. Its a gathering of generic soundbites, nothing too much to be concluded either way from what he says.

My issue/questions werent in relation to his opinion. I feel like (as he often does) he was not directly addressing either the points I queried nor the general topic. Predictions surely implies that it is what we think will happen. I dont doubt nor disagree with the idea that we shouldnt be happy to tread water, nor that we shouldnt have ambitions. Same question to you. Why do you think we will finish in the play offs?

You arent really reading my post. I am not talking about what the aims and aspirations should be, obviously we shouldnt hope to tread water. The thread relates to this one upcoming season. Do you have faith that we will appoint a good manager factoring in Venkys history, Waggott leading the search and key targets going elsewhere? Does keeping the coaching staff not hint at doing things on the cheap? Do you think its fair to fear the worst regarding investment after what happened to the Armstrong money? Do you see those kids all making a major impact in a top 6 Championship side within 12 months? Seems unfounded to me. Do you not see the departees as major blows?

It has nothing to do with what I am aiming for or indeed what I am settling for. Obviously we should be aiming high but this is a (very premature) prediction thread, what we THINK will happen and what to EXPECT, not what we WANT or indeed what we should STRIVE for. As it stands, I am weighing up what I see before me, using assumptions and historical evidence. We still don't have a manager, optimal candidates have gone elsewhere, and I have no faith in us appointing a really good one under Venkys. Our main goalscorer who scored such a large proportion of our goals and without whom we looked impotent is set to go, based on last summer, its hard to reasonably expect a decent chunk of that to be reinvested. We have also lost the likes of Van Hecke, Rothwell and to a lesser extent Khadra. I would suggest it is unlikely that either Lenihan and Nyambe will stay, certainly not both, hence why they are still to sign a new deal. If they do, great, but I personally don't expect it. So to replace so many key players on a budget will be so, so difficult. I am not seeing a lot of constructive reasons for optimism. I do think that the general standard of league is really poor so I expect us to keep our heads above water regardless though, but reasons to expect an IMPROVEMENT on last season? Not seeing many.

The thread would be totally silent if the rules had to be stuck to so rigidly.

Based on what? Especially considering that we were unable to get either of the 2 managers you wanted.