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It was definitely had a big occasion feel to it. I’d always said I wasn’t going to the new Wembley til Rovers got there, but my brother evidently got sick of waiting and really wanted to go to AEW. My immediate realisation was it’s not that new any more, and unsurprisingly, being up in the nosebleed seats isn’t great for actually watching wrestling (or football I imagine). It was busy but not anywhere near full, strangely there was barely anyone under 18 in the entire stadium. Crowd had its moments but wasn’t nearly as lively as I expected. Perhaps this was due to the length of the show. The set and production values were fantastic. The music rights and pyro costs will have been into the millions. I’ve been to WWE, TNA and WCW events before, obviously not on this scale, but this was on recent WWE level. I was reliant on the big screens to see what was going on and the camera work was largely ok, missed a few bits but not bad. The in ring highlight was the CM Punk v Samoa Joe match. The Stadium Stampede was dreadful and the crowd were bored throughout it. Saraya winning and celebrating with the family was cool. There were way too many false finishes in every match for my liking with everyone kicking out of everything over and over again which makes it all seem a bit formulaic. I also wish they’d enforce rules. This really hurt the FTR v Bucks match. I’m glad they kept the daftness to a level lower than I expected (Jack Perry and Moxley aside) and I’m glad they resisted the temptation to do anything too ludicrous. However, far too many hardcore matches/spots. Jericho wasn’t as insufferable as I was expecting, Sting was a great bit of nostalgia (especially with the entrance), I don’t get the hype with Ospreay and found Omega’s match boring. The acclaimed were great fun. MJF loses so much of what makes him great as a baby face, but he’s come a long way since I last saw him on these shores and bought him a pint of dark fruits in the Stanley Arms in Preston! Overall it was a great occasion and the in ring action was a mixed bag but leaning towards decent overall. This was special due to a 30 year hiatus, doing another in 12 months is not a smart move.

Around 1,030 I think

Just been to my first Rovers Women’s game and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Definitely be going again.

We need to be a lot better defensively here and the enforced change to the back 4 is not ideal. Gallagher has to start and Ennis must be getting close to one. I’d go… Pears Brittain Carter Hyam JRC Travis Wharton Hedges Szmodics Gallagher Ennis Travis just gets the nod as Tronstad is still getting up to speed, but based on pre-season and Walsall I’d like to see Garrett get a few more chances too. Defensive options on the bench look very limited. I’d have Gilsenan among the subs before Markanday.

Anybody else going to All In?

I genuinely feel like we can feel hard done by coming away with nothing from that game. A day to forget for all the defenders. Pickering losing his head was costly. JRC with his worst performance in a long time, although he was massively hamstrung with us being a man down and not able to do what he is best at. Hyam was very poor, I’m still to be convinced by Brittain, Carter did pretty well until he switched off for a moment. We could’ve done with a Danny Batth type today. Pears nailed on MOTM at 0-0 (haven’t seen a replay yet). Travis showed his strengths and weaknesses in equal measure. Some great moments (usually when facing their goal) and some absolute shockers (usually when facing our goal). Gallagher was excellent today, playing from a wide position, which is where I think we’ll see him going forward. Ennis impressed too. Hopefully they are both fit enough to start next week. Looks like the massive amounts of injury time was a one off gimmick for the first round of matches only. Few refereeing decisions I want to see back that looked badly wrong. No complaints on the big one though, Pickering had to go. A centre back and a full back are an absolute must asap. Maybe even more so than a centre forward.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Gallagher in one of the wide forward roles tomorrow. I’d love to see a JRC and Wharton midfield partnership. Big test with Hull quietly doing good business and off the back of a good win last week, but I think our home advantage makes us favourites. I’m going 2-1

I’d be reluctant to push JRC out wide. For the 75 or so minutes he’s played central midfield he’s been massively influential there. A lot of his best work from fullback comes from when he drifts into a central midfield area and I wouldn’t sacrifice the massive impact he has for the sake of Brittain. Also, Brittain stays a lot wider than JRC when he plays and they’d probably get in each others way if they were occupying the same wing.

I think Dolan comes in for a lot of harsh criticism on here, but he’s pissed me off the last couple of weeks. That stupid attempt at the open goal with the outside of his boot was ridiculous… just needed a simple finish. When he keeps it simple he’s good. The attempts at the outrageous that never come off are getting really tiresome now. I think it needs to be an either/or with him and Markanday, and to me Dolan is still a fair way ahead. Hedges needs a start next week for sure though. JRC attracted quite a bit of Premier League interest with his performances last season, but the general consensus is he isn’t fast enough to play full back in the Premier League. He’s very keen to show what he can do further forward. Again yesterday he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and completely dictated things. I know they were a man down, but JRC and Wharton could very quickly become the best midfield in the league. It’s interesting that the first option was to move him forward despite Buckley, Tronstad and Garrett all being on the bench. I’m not fully convinced by Brittain, but he is definitely a brilliant attacking outlet when we are dominating possession. Hopefully a decent run in the side will just sharpen him up a bit and help him retain the ball a bit better.

All that shows is that relying completely on stats leads to delusion. They deservedly hammered us that day. We were shite.

That’s completely daft Philip. Our display against them at their place last season was disgraceful and embarrassing. I’m guessing the stats show we had lots of possession, which was 90% centre backs playing one-two’s. We didn’t put a tackle in all afternoon and were completely hopeless in the final third. I’ll be furious if we ever turn in a performance reasonably similar to that one ever again.

Enjoyable evening out that. Some food for thought for the rest of the transfer window too. I’m now firmly of the opinion that a centre back is our number one priority. I’d also like to see a left back come in. Batty struggled, and while I maintain high hopes for him in the future I think it’s a season too early, probably needs keeping round rather than loaning out as the way the first team play seemed difficult for him. Don’t think we need another winger, Gilsenan looks ready to contribute. Very good performance from him. Ennis looks a proper centre forward, good movement, worked hard, got into some good positions, a promising debut and a centre forwards goal. I’m going to rave about Jake Garrett a bit, thought he was excellent and the change from 12 months ago is immense. He was very neat and tidy, very controlled, worked hard, broke forward and got a nice goal. My MOTM. Buckley was largely poor but showed a couple of bits of real quality. Adam Wharton looked well off the pace, showed a few bits of real quality, but some real sloppiness and resorting to diving in. Brittain very hit and miss too. If Hedges had a bit more quality and composure in and around the box he’d be playing for a top half premier league team.

1-0 JRC

1. Who will win this year’s Championship ? Leicester 2. Who will claim runners-up spot ? Southampton 3. Who will finish rock bottom in the Championship ? Plymouth Argyle 4. Where will Rovers finish this season in the league ? 5th* 5. How many league goals will Rovers score this season ? 57 6. Who will win the BRFCS POTY ? A.Wharton *based on hope more than expectation

I’m not a fan of right footers at left back and think Wallace would run rings round Brittain. Pickering’s lack of pace has been very telling during pre-season though, and I think Batty could make the position his own by the end of the season.

As things currently stand I’d expect us to line up: Kaminski JRC Carter Hyam Pickering Tronstad Travis Hedges Szmodics Dolan Leonard I’d obviously prefer Wharton in for Travis. I’d also prefer Markanday in as he’s earnt a start this pre-season. I’d also be tempted to move JRC onto the other wing and play Brittain. Hoping Gilsenan and Batty make the bench.

That’s literally the answer Waggott gave when I asked him the question. I don’t think it’s anything to do with tax changes, when you look at what he says in the fans forum minutes it’s pressure/sanctions from the Indian Government that has come as a surprise and led to a change in the budget. We might have a whole new problem to deal with when the tax rules change.

Well seeing as they completely ballsed up today I’m going to push for it to be done properly next week. I was murderous when I walked into the ground to the sound of the Killers.

JDT hadn’t dropped last nights bombshell when that interview was recorded. I spoke to Steve Waggott briefly before the game and highlighted the concerns that everyone had after last night as discussed on the other thread with @Mattybluelast night. He reiterated what he said in the fans forum the other week - our budget has been cut due to government pressures on Venky’s, they need to cut costs and will need to sell players to fund signings. He knows we need players, so we need to trade but we will also be reliant on the academy players coming through. He’s hopeful Venky’s can “sort it out” but until they do that’s the reality. JDT is no different from any other manager in that he wants players and money for them, he’s had the situation explained to him. That’s where we are at.

The music went disastrously despite our (my) best efforts. They didn’t bother playing anything til way too late. This is what it was supposed to look like… The playlist and instructions weren’t followed.

Starting place up front tomorrow as one of the raffle prizes 🤔

Share far and wide… https://twitter.com/roverstrust/status/1684933758338605057?s=46&t=WI0SqBaDalGKV9qv2YLVIw

I think 5,000 is something of a “blue sky” target. Quite literally. If the weather was like it was a month ago I think it would definitely happen. A lot of the walk ons will be weather dependent though. Both the club and the Trust would love to see the gate hit 5k, but that can’t be our only success measure.

Fanzone will be open along with the Footy Curry stall, beer sheds, and possibly Finch Bakery

Yep. They were tagged in the almost identical Tweet I put out last week, and all the responses. A retweet would’ve been helpful.