Miller11

At the moment we are completely reliant on them. I know that. They have put themselves in a position through their own mismanagement where they have to keep ploughing in good money after bad to ensure we remain a going concern. Failure to do so would wipe £200 million off their company value overnight, so it’s not benevolence, it’s sound business strategy for them. Like I stated earlier, these meetings don’t really serve the purpose they were introduced for while they are in the current format. The big question I wanted answering last night was this: Tony Mowbray, Owen Coyle and Paul Lambert are all represented by HSH. All of their appointments were a little strange. HSH has three directors listed with companies house, namely, Stephen Horner, Dave Sheron, and Craig Honeyman. Honeyman is a former director of SEM. Horner and Sheron are both former SEM employees and were named alongside Myles’s Daddy in a lawsuit brought about by Gavin McCann, which suggests they work together closely. Why are these people still having significant influence in what happens at the club, if Venkys have indeed learnt from their mistakes?

I don’t think they deserve credit for continuing to fund their own mess. It would certainly be easier to, and in all honesty with Waggott and Mowbray, two people who I like and feel are positive and decent, it’s getting closer. Unfortunately the issues with Venkys I believe remain. I do t think they have learnt a thing.

I answered a question honestly. Like I said, other people in the room were in the same boat but didn’t fancy the hassle. Again, I’ve been consistent and open about it publicly for a long time. Did I stand up, or was that an exaggeration for effect? Yes, I’m sure Jonty or someone else would shower you with tickets. But your 0.005% of Brereton’s fee a year is a small price for the particular piece of moral high ground you like to stand on.

Massive lie. I never stood up. I’ve told him that at previous meetings and he knows full well my thoughts and reasons. I didn’t proudly do anything... if you remember, Waggott mentioned he spoke to people regularly who went away and never went to Ewood. Bayes then asked if a person who previously mentioned they wouldn’t set foot in Ewood at a previous meeting was in the room. They were, but took a load of abuse last time, so they didn’t say anything. I’ve been pretty public in my stance for a good few years. I want to go to games, I don’t feel comfortable financially supporting a regime I despise. If not stumping up £300 a year makes me not a fan in your eyes, I won’t lose any sleep.

I’ll give a more in depth post tomorrow, but my opinions after tonight: My issues are with Venky’s. In its current format there is no opportunity to glean any insight into what their plans or motivations are. Many of the questions posed were directed at them and couldn’t be answered by the spokespeople, and they seemed to annoy them. “I can only speak for what’s happened in the last two years” was a common answer. Much of this was an extension of what the fans forum raise. Waggott and Mowbray both come across as decent and honest. They are clearly trying their best under some difficult circumstances. Some unpopular choices have been made, but they genuinely believe they are for the best. We as fans won’t know we are in a mess with FFP until it happens. So while I’m not sure these meetings are fit for purpose, Mowbray and Waggott were both reassuring.

Don’t entirely agree or disagree with this. I think there is definitely a certain amount of self preservation. Anyone who has spoken out even in the most minor way against Venkys has been quickly relieved of their duties. Towing the line is far more important to them than competency. I don’t think your assessment of Mowbrays character is fair. I’m sure he thinks he is helping us progress as best he can. That said I’m very dubious about the circumstances in which he arrived at the club.

I cannot believe for a minute that he changed his mind about wanting to bring in defenders. It’s not just Mowbray either... there is a pattern. I can’t believe he had 7 million burning a hole in his pocket but decided after the window had closed he wanted to spend it all on Brereton to then hardly ever play him.

It’s a big ask, but it’s not impossible. The problem with gradual improvement and small steps is it can’t carry on for more than a couple of seasons. If we are feeling the pinch due to FFP this window, as appears to be the case, it’s likely the squad will be broken up sooner rather than later. For that reason I’d like to see a bit more urgency. It looks as though we may well fall into a cycle where every three years the squad is decimated as part of a cost cutting exercise, and a slow rebuild begins. It gives us a very narrow window at trying to get promoted, and means another relegation could be on the cards in the not too distant future. I may be miles off, and there is an assumption that Venky’s have anything more than sporadic knee jerk interest in our fortunes. We can’t afford any more bad luck on the injury front. Nyambe, Travis, Armstrong, Downing, Lenihan and Adarabioyo are key players for us now. It’s took longer than some of us wanted to phase out some of the older heads for these lads, but we are now seeing the benefit. We need all of them firing, as well as one or two of the fringe players to step up and make an impact. With a little bit of luck, it’s possible. I should add as well, if Mowbray was to get us in the top 6 it would be a remarkable achievement given the constraints he has to work under. I know I’m in the minority but I think he takes far too much blame for failings in our transfer policy.

There will be plenty. The club make sure of it. These meetings are a requirement set out by the EFL, who as you’d expect are vague enough to allow clubs to do as they wish in regards to how these meetings are structured. Rovers push the boundaries each and every time. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss “significant issues relating to the club”. The representatives they send aren’t wholly appropriate either.

Couldn’t agree more. These meetings are usually attended by the same old faces, and it’s invariably the same old voices asking questions. Be good to see some people from this board there this time round.

No, I mean Venky’s who continue to run is into the ground. If they weren’t here we’d be solvent and likely in the Premier League.

Twitter and BRFCS in absolute meltdown, along with every other social media platform I presume. Mowbray getting absolute pelters, yet hardly a single mention of the word VENKYS. It’s about time people concentrated on the cause, not the symptoms.

I don’t know a great deal about him. Geordie’s aren’t exactly gushing with praise though... https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/transfer-news/forest-transfer-news-atsu-newcastle-3796922

That doesn’t necessarily mean it couldn’t go on transfers. Any fee we paid out would go out in instalments too. Cash flow isn’t the issue. Apparently Venkys are desperate to spend, so £5 million unexpected income should move us £5 million further away from the FFP threshold. Ultimately its three months losses covered, or it could easily earmarked for a signing, it’d just effectively leave us exactly where we are now financially. Depends what way the wind is blowing 7,000 miles away.

That’s a couple of new ones! I just need Efe Ambrose and Pavel Pogrebnyak for a full house at transfer window bingo!

I heard they did from what I would consider a very reliable source. Well placed and without any motive to make mischief. I did some digging and couldn’t find any link. Double checked with said source who confirmed he was just going of what he had been told and didn’t know for sure. I concluded there was nothing in that, but a little bit of digging threw up far bigger concerns.

I don’t think he’s worth £3 million at this point in time. But in a market where Gallagher is being heralded as good value, he is worth 3 times that. If Brereton is any indication of the market I would be wanting about a billion for Rothwell.

Can we stop pretending that we have benevolent and competent owners, and that if it wasn’t for Tony Mowbray we’d be signing a whole host of brilliant footballers. Problems in transfer activity go well beyond the manager. If that wasn’t the case he’d be out of a job.

There are so many factors as to why a young kid will or won’t ‘make it’, and the margins are so fine. It’s a long time since I watched a lot of games below first team level, but in the late 90’s I did. We had an exciting crop then with Duff, Dunn, Taylor, Johnson all coming through in the space of a few years. At that time we were also buying young lads to go in at that level. Two names that really spring to mind for me are David Worrell and Anthony Williams. Both looked the real deal, Williams in particular. I saw him play for Wales U21s and I’d honestly say it was the best goalkeeping performance I’ve ever witnessed. Both went on to have careers in football, but at nowhere near the level I thought they were destined for. Maybe things could have been different, but there isn’t a magic formula.

I believe I have the answer to this, and it’s not a pleasant one.

You say Venky’s were badly advised. How would you feel if it turned out they were still making key decisions based on the recommendations of those responsible for said bad advice? And what if those people who did the bad advising were still profiting from their involvement? Be really interested to hear yours and others thoughts on this.

Venky’s own 99.9% of Blackburn Rovers. Those shares equate to a value of £180 million on their books. £20 million a year is chicken feed, pun intended, to them. Putting in this money presents no problem whatsoever. Their core business interests are doing very nicely, their wealth is growing. If they throw another 20 million a year at it for the next ten years, all that means is their club is now valued at £280 million. It’s not like they need the cash for anything else. Balaji will still be able to buy loads of flash motors, and Madame can have all her taps done out in solid gold. Liquidating the club and writing off the “investment” can’t be a viable option at the moment. They’d wipe the best part of £200 million off their net worth overnight. They don’t need to worry about money, they are concerned with their massive wealth. Obviously it’s not sustainable indefinitely. But I don’t think we are anywhere near that point. Promotion would give them one exit strategy. The other option I suppose is the very very long game, which they seem totally ill equipped for, and would be miserable for us. Cutting their losses would be a very drastic last resort. I don’t think even they have the slightest inkling into what their long term plan for the club is.

Really good result that. QPR are a very decent side, but by and large we handled them really well. Poor goal to give away from our point of view, but I expect they will be equally if not more annoyed with themselves for leaving Lenihan free for his goal. Nyambe v their number 20 was a proper battle. And whoever gave Travis the best of Robbie Savage DVD for Christmas, well done! I’ve slated Armstrong in the past, but I’m really liking the look of him centrally rather than wide. He seems to work hard instead of appearing lazy, and he’s reaping the rewards. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and find some consistency. The playoffs isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. The big worry would be another injury to a key player. We can’t take another, so hopefully we’ve had more than our fair share of bad luck on that front.

Royal Rumble was fantastic. Best PPV in years. Don't understand the complaints about Charlotte winning. She is head and shoulders above any other female wrestler on the planet, not showcasing her at Wrestlemania would be ridiculous. The men’s Rumble was perfect. I’d go as far as to say it’s the second best ever, after 92.

Add to the minutes? Don’t be silly Chaddy! “Who controls the minutes controls the future. Who controls the present controls the pies.” S. Waggott, January 2020