roversfan99

Just watching QPR who have been very proactive in the transfer market and seem to be tipped as a dark horse this season, they are absolutely battering an under strength United side.

Stefan Johansen currently being unveiled to the QPR fans.

The subs bench named for a game 2 weeks before the start of the season is frightening. The starting 11 contains 3 or 4 who are yet to establish themselves also. Mowbray needing to isolate will presumably ensure that it is difficult to get anyone in before Swansea, with a nice excuse to go with it.

It is always a sign of an absence of a constructive response when a poster implies that someone is merely being negative, even if the point put before them is something that has happened time and time again in the last 10 years. Why would anyones default response still be to give the owners or even Waggott or Mowbray the benefit of the doubt?!

As you say, not many cash transfers anymore, teams seem to be more aggressive in letting players go on frees and ultimately the free agent market is possibly the most important of all at the moment. It requires proactivity to master.

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.