This summer was one whereby due to circumstances including expiry of contracts, a good manager, proactive CEO and perhaps most importantly an interested set of owners could have streamlined and improved the squad even without needing to spend on fees, reducing the wage bill in the process. You look at the players who we have lost and we are undoubtedly so much weaker without them as things stand. At centre back, Harwood Bellis and Branthwaite have gone back and Williams and Mulgrew have left. We could probably get away with signing only 1 centre back, making a saving. Yet to happen. At left back, we have lost Bell and Douglas. Pickering has now joined up with the squad so we need one more in, but with scope to again make a wage saving in this position. No left back as of yet. In midfield, we have seen Trybull, Bennett, Downing, Holtby and Evans all depart. We should have released Johnson too. We are undoubtedly far weaker without them but none individually are huge losses. I would say we could even get away with signing 2 midfielders, making a considerable saving on wages. Nothing yet. Elliott is a huge loss and he needs significantly replacing, as would Armstrong of course, probably with 2 attacking players. Its just piss poor all round.

The wage bill for the 20/21 season wont be out until the 2021 accounts are published. I suspect that the wage bill will have slightly increased when we brought in Ayala, Kaminski and Douglas in particular (Trybull was a heavily sponsored loan according to the LT, the other loanees are kids but unsure on finances and I doubt that Pears, Dolan and Stergiakis will be on much) but looking at wages to revenue in 2021, it will be the revenue massively decreasing due to Covid that causes a huge increase in that particular ratio.

Very good question. Whilst attendances are uncapped, surely it is not in the clubs best interest to in anyway discourage getting people into stadiums?

Many transfers at this level are frees and loans so it doesn't have to become a critical blow to rely on those markets, but we dont have the proactivity from the owners down to be efficient and get the best. The season is 2 weeks away, beyond pathetic.

As expected, Johansen is going to QPR.

I understand the financial side but I don't see how the next 18 months becomes an irrelevance as to whether Mowbray is here or not, it is as crucial as ever to replace him ASAP either way.

Is that figure not from the season before, ie the accounts up until 2020? And it will be mainly caused by a decrease in revenue rather than a sharp increase surely? But either way, I dont at all understand the lack of importance placed on 2 of every 3 years within the FFP cycle.

Even if we assume that there is truth in the theories that the plan was to sell Dack and reinvest, and also that the strategy is for 2 years of spending low and one of spending more, which I am unsure of as our net spend last summer was the lowest of all 3 years wasnt it? I do not get that statement in bold at all. It implies that the other 2 years within these 3 year cycles are an irrelevance. Firstly, with poor management and no money, a new manger may be needed simply to keep us in the division. A lower spend doesn't remove any prospect of promotion within those other 2 years either, and even if it did, the point of those 2 years would surely be to build towards year 3 with player development, recruitment etc, in which case surely a new manager would be just as important in the first 2 years as in year 3?

I do think that sacking him 3 years ago following promotion was unthinkable and even 2 years ago would have been incredibly harsh.

I do wonder if a lot of this is data driven. Shots ranked via probability, and wingers discouraged from dribbling in order to fit into shape. (Keith Treacy mentioned the robotic nature of football and I think David Bentley said similar when he retired early) I suppose that statistically, it helps, but in regards to entertainment, at what cost?

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19462969.ex-loanee-key-blackburn-rovers-pursuit-fulham-man/ Apparently Fulham want Tom Trybull, presumably they are not serious about promotion because he is rubbish. Speculation that Stefan Johansen could then be free to move, I would be amazed if he chose us over QPR, who seem not only to be giving it a go this season, but he has been there last season on loan. He is a good, experienced midfielder at this level so he would be a good addition though.

I must say that the idea that it will be a different ball game for Mowbray next season with dissenting fans making his life untenable are very naive in my opinion. Things like this tend to happen organically and besides, it will be a very small crowd and many seem to be of the opinion that either you can't criticise anything whilst supporting the club, or that we should draw a line and start afresh this season.

Presumably the older generation is above 18.

Absolutely. I actually, and it might surprise some, am really looking forward to going again. But constructively, I cannot see much to be optimistic about.

Yeah, I renewed mine yesterday and it offered 2 options online, direct debit and card payment.

This modern day phenomenon of people replying to criticisms online by suggesting that they aren't behind the team or implying that they are any less of a fan, deary me.

Tell what exactly? Did Bury go out of business because they didnt sell enough season tickets? And who exactly are you spiteful towards? People who don't follow the club with as much interest as you or I, as if every supporter should have to follow the club to the same degree?

This thread sadly wont be active for along time yet. I find Swansea's fans reactions to Cooper interesting, especially compared to Graham Potter. Potter has a wonderful reputation yet his league finishes both at Brighton and Swansea were underwhelming, but hes the stat nerds dream, high expected goals etc, whereas Swansea fans do not like Cooper and his "boring" football despite getting them into the play offs in both seasons.

This premise that people need to buy season tickets otherwise the club will vanish and they will miss it is a nice one but a totally illogical one. Of those that care the most, most will be regulars who are already going, therefore it doesnt apply to them. Plus there will be a further proportion that do genuinely and deeply care but cant go, whether it be financial, family, work, location, whatever. So again, it doesn't apply to them. So you are then aiming that sentence at people who obviously don't care as much as you do, they can take it or leave it. So ultimately, if Rovers ceased to exist, it wouldn't devastate them like you or I. The problem is that the club seemingly views those people with similar disdain as some of the other fans do themselves, so instead of the club proactively trying to entice people in, they are just looked down upon. Back to the messageboard, this is just a place for the obsessed to further debate, suggest and indeed at times have a good old moan at tactics, management, pricing and indeed in this case, transfers. When things are not looking good, for example 200 pages into a transfer thread whereby nothing has happened and our squad is thin with the season around the corner, it will naturally become a vortex of moaning and frustration until something happens.

I am all ears for constructive reasons to be optimistic about the current summer transfer window thus far.

Sadly there isnt too much on that bright side at the moment! Lets hope we pull our finger out soon and get some quality and quantity through the door!

I was just saying that I don't see the need personally for the constant mentions of how you support the team. It is irrelevant, we all support the team. For example, you mention the academy which is obviously a positive. I am not sure that anyone would say otherwise. Our first team already has a healthy number of academy graduates in it and obviously it is very much positive going back to before Venkys saddled our football club. Nyambe, Lenihan, Travis and Rankin Costello are all key members of our squad. For me, Buckley has yet to establish himself as a Championship calibre player or warrant an extended run, and the likes of Butterworth, Pike, McBride and Vale all seem very highly rated but have yet to start a game for us between them so I am wary of us becoming too reliant on them at this stage, and at least some if not all of them could benefit from loans elsewhere. Carter is an interesting one, looked nowhere near ready for our first team when he has played, but seemingly has done really well at League 1, but I personally think that with Wharton (a graduate who does now look ready off the back of loan deals) not set to make the start of the season and Ayala made of glass, I feel we need to make a senior signing to replace Harwood Bellis. We need some real experience to help our currently extremely young squad. What makes you so confident that we will make some astute signings? Mowbray's record is at best, hit and miss. And would you not agree that in an ideal world, they would have been signed earlier to do pre-season with us and gain an understanding of their team mates, and that the owners negligence to meet the sustainability requirements through the accounts has hindered this?

Based on historical references you are clearly a fan who has been around for a lot longer but I have had a season ticket for 20 years consecutively and have renewed again this year, including under Kean, under Coyle and in League 1. So I have supported through thick and thin, as I would presume that you would agree. The stuff about different types of supporters is obviously for another debate but briefly, it is the case at every club. I am like you someone who renews regardless, but I don't look down upon those who do not share that mentality. It may be financial restrictions, families and personal circumstances, or indeed a link to how well we are doing on the pitch, the thing that Waggott and co do not do is appreciate that people are different, embrace that and try and get as many in as possible from whatever category that may be, fair weather or hardcore. I certainly don't have the right to look down upon people who don't share my attitude towards my attendance not depending on what is happening on the field. My point is that you aren't offering constructive reasons to be optimistic at this moment in time, you are just counteracting constructive points by saying how you support through thick and thin, which whilst noble is totally irrelevant. To bring it back to this thread, we have been under a totally unnecessary embargo, have no new signings, a very thin squad and our best player and many other key assets are going into their final years, these are all constructive, valid issues that people have flagged up. If you can't cope with such "depressing" posts then maybe a message board whereby people talk about what is happening is not the ideal place for you. If it is shocking to complain about the repeated negligence regarding the running of our football club rather than staunchly defend such incompetence, then yes I am shocking. To be fair, there is zero to talk about. Even rumour wise, the only thing of note is Nixon's weekly fabricated swap deal that exists only in his own head!

Dont work yourself up, there is no chance of him coming here. Stuck with Mowbray.