Like I said, I share some elements of your current attitude towards covid and a potential lockdown. But attending Rovers puts you at high risk, not staying long on the concourses and wearing a mask may slightly reduce that risk but only slightly. Going to an event with thousands of people will put you at risk no matter what else you do. You will still need to pass through people in the concourses and then in the stands to get to your seat, you may need to use the toilet, and you will be surrounded by people in your seat. Yes being outside may be slightly less risky than if it was indoors, but loads of people around you, maybe even singing and shouting as the game unfolds, increases the risk. A shopping trip would also be risky, any social event will put you at big risk of catching covid considering how rife it is at the moment. The question is whether you consider the reward of attending these things to be worth the high risk of contracting covid, which would mean you had it at Christmas. I also think the crowd will be massively down. Many people will have either tested positive or go with people who have tested positive. Some wont bother with the certification requests, and many wont want to take the risk. I also think a lockdown is inevitable. Wouldnt agree with it but its coming sadly.

What a bizarre mindset. Does earning a high wage render spending time with your family to be less important? Its hardly as if players are using it as an excuse, they will be forced to test regularly and with the virus so rife and the rules stating that you need to isolate for 10 days if you catch it, the probablility is that as we are seeing, a number of players will have it just as im sure a number of posters on here will have it.

Why is it harsh? He wasn't very good last time, why would we sign him again? He doesn't score many goals really.

It isn't my opinion that it is high risk to attend on Saturday, it is a fact that Covid at the moment is as infectious as it has ever been, the numbers of infections prove that, and going somewhere with thousands of other people (even if you do wear a snood!) is putting yourself at large risk of catching it. I will be attending on Saturday which will be the first day out of my current isolation having recently had Covid. Although I would have attended even if I had not recently had Covid, as I somewhat agree with your stance seeing as covid will be around indefinitely so I don't think it is possible to spend our lives hiding behind the settee. That being said, I have not got my head in the sand like you thinking that attending a football match doesn't carry a very high risk of infection, and I also fear an inevitable lockdown imminently as much as I wouldn't agree with it.

Because he was so great last time!

The virus is so rife at the moment that it is particularly difficult to avoid it even with following various precautions. When you go on Saturday you are at high risk but of course you appreciate that there is a big chance of contracting it and go knowing that and willing to take the risk. There is no way to reduce the risk to zero so to suggest that it is purely down to "not being sensible" is very naive.

There are so many genuine, tangible ways in which the game has evolved. Information and knowledge on nutrition, recovery, injury, hydration etc have helped footballers to become proper athletes. There are also a number of other improvements but is adding buzzwords and phrases like a low block, transition, pivot etc making any genuine improvement on words that mean the same thing that already existed?

I think Rankin Costello is not destined to ever be a regular football player, every time he gets close to first team football he breaks down and his original injury wasnt even muscular.

It is just my opinion, many of these words and phrases are in my opinion meaningless, conjured up by people often to try and appear to know more than others, when current terminology would suffice. You said "They're not needless terms, and the whole of the professional football club community feels that way" which you cannot possibly claim.

We are both presenting opinion, albeit I am not doing so whilst claiming to represent "the whole of the professional football club community."

If you are willing to go to a big event at the moment with cases so high, you have to accept that there is a large chance of catching Covid prior to Christmas. Washing hands, masks etc will perhaps fractionally reduce the risk, but the risk will still be high. I could understand it specifically as a tactical choice to skip a game knowing that it falls a week before Christmas if you are desperate to ensure specifically that you avoid it at Christmas, and suspect that In general, of course I think that avoiding events out of fear of Covid is counterproductive because and I know its becoming a well worn out cliche, but we do have to live with it, and hopefully variants will continue to become milder.

I am sure that they are aware of them, my point being that these needless terms are not what makes them more intelligent. Knowing what to do when the other team loses the ball in your half to set up a counter attack is the intelligent bit, not using the word "transition" for example. I think it is condescending to imply that not everyone understands these terms either, its just that people dont see the need for it, and I would agree that it can at times seem like people trying to portray intelligence by creating and using new terms for things that there are already words and phrases to describe.

But an intelligent footballer is not necessarily one who is up to date with all of the aforementioned jargon, which is unnecessary.

You are so transfixed in your idea of being a positive person that you have not addressed my points. Having been so low in terms of economic status, I am guessing that you have the empathy more than most to appreciate and indeed am guessing you are frustrated by the pricing strategies and the lack of proactivity in getting attendances up from Waggott and co to control one of if not the primary sensitivity, cost? Also, what you said isn't true, you couldn't find enough of a positive to enjoy supporting your team when Coyle was manager. I carried on attending during that period and I suspect that I am very much someone who doesn't fall into your positive category, maybe I'm wrong, and I certainly wouldn't look down upon anyone who chooses not to attend at any point for whatever reason, attending football matches regularly is a costly and time sapping hobby therefore it cannot be seen as a mere duty, but it then makes your point somewhat hypocritical. It isn't about positive or negative mindsets, and internally there should be the question as to how to attract as many of the floating, perhaps less well off, perhaps busier in the rest of their lives, perhaps less interested/passionate, perhaps even protesting supporters back. Yet this culture of assuming all those who consider themselves to be Rovers fans to be exactly the same and merely to pass the buck to them expecting them to just flock back out of duty, a totally unconstructive mindset seems to reign supreme.

What has been improved by changing counter attack to transition? What has been improved by changing holding midfielder to pivot? What has been improved by changing sitting deep to a low block? Which phrases are you referring to as "proper technical ones?"

How are words and phrases like "pivot" and "low block" more detailed and how do they contain more tactical nuance?! 😂

Why does that make it progress? Terms/phrases such as low block and pivot or indeed the meaning existed prior to someone feeling the need to come up with an alternative way of putting it. Why does it make it smarter to for example say low block rather than sit deep?

It isn't anything to do with glass half full v glass half. You clearly based on your second quoted statement (and coupled with recent boasts about your own business) are financially in a good place, have some empathy for those who can't (or indeed won't because they can't or won't justify a lack of value compared to other priorities) justify the cost or for those to whom cost IS sensitive. You and the many others regularly pleading with people to come to Ewood, not taking into account the various factors are also wasting your time. The people you are targeting whilst sat on your ivory tower will in the main not be reading as floating fans who don't have the same level of interest, not all fans have the same sense of duty yet some cannot see that.

We will struggle to adequately replace our best players on a pittance. It seems that none are close to new deals with the owners unwilling to get close to their demands. So be it is a flippant take on it.

You are echoing and falling for the unconstructive spiel that has regularly seaped out of the club in the last few years as an attempt to fend off any internal blame as to why attendances are so low. The majority of the core support are still attending games now. You seem to not be able to understand that at no club is every supporter someone with not only an equal passion in the club but similar circumstances to be able to attend games. It is not a duty to attend games, thinking that it is will not increase gates. As an aside, you seem to assume/imply that any lapsed supporters are no longer attending purely out of protest against the owners which is totally untrue. You also seldom if ever consider price as a reason why people either cant and/or wont go.

I am unsure if Waggott is really lucky to have you in his ear, or if it is not very productive to have someone who thinks so much like him. Solely blame the fans, lets not bother with constructive ways to get those floating fans back, and lets really absorb ourselves in a culture of how limited we should be. It is down to the CLUB to get attendances up. I think these 3 scenarios are a little too simplistic. A key factor is pricing which Rovers can also fix to be fair, and unlike attaining PL status (although selling our best player would very much be the opposite of trying to do that) it is much easier to achieve. If as explained by 1864roverite a series of additional incomes are potentially limited by a 2/3's empty stadium, then surely the club would put even more emphasis on getting attendances up. Waggott's simplistic examples given in the last fans forum only included extreme examples to "prove" that he is justified in putting up prices so much, ie really high v one off deals. It doesn't factor in a reasonably priced middle ground, and it doesn't consider the long term or any other ramifications.

If Brereton is sold in January, baring in mind that Mowbray has said that its not his decision. Would you blame him anyway or Venkys, and if the latter, would that renege upon your "2 more years to prove they are fit owners" pledge?

Again, if your attitude is what if they get injured, lets sell our players as soon as they have value, whats the point in any of it?

You can tell that you have been spending too much time with Waggott. 4th in the league, closer to 2nd than 7th, 4 wins on the bounce and not even the level of ambition to at least keep our squad together until the end of the season, putting our "town" club down, lets be happy where we are. There is never a guarantee of anything but we are as in a good a place as weve been for a while and youd be content to just give up half way through. Its not even as if its now or never to sell him, by all means if we dont go up and he wont sign, then sell him in the off season when we have the time to rebuild, thats if our owners give us any of that money although the usual "its all FFP's fault" cheerleaders will be out in force regardless. Publically waving him off? He basically said that its not his decision but that he would like to think that he can at least stay the season.

I cannot at all fathom supporters being anything other than furious at the prospect (not confirmed) of us selling our best player/main goalscorer mid way through a season in which we are 4th! He will maintain value at the end of the season when we can sell him should we not go up when its a different story.