I put a pound on this every game for over 2 years. Got a feeling today is the day!

There’s enough for volume 2 now.

Couldn’t be more right. I expected a defeat, but I also expected a performance befitting the occasion. Our performance was embarrassing and shameful, and those feelings stem from a lack of effort and fight.

Agree with that, but I’d switch the wingers round. Get them on their good feet and get some balls into the box.

Presumably you think we shouldn’t have sent him back and he should still be playing games for us then? If you haven’t changed your opinion?

Some fair points here, particularly the question about what Vale is being asked/instructed to do. If he’s been asked to play as a traditional centre forward he’s failing, but I doubt he is somehow. I personally can’t see him ever being close to prolific, he doesn’t seem to take up good goal scoring positions instinctively. I’ll have to take your word on his finishing ability, because as you rightly point out he doesn’t seem to get many clear cut chances in a game. I’d actually put that down to our style of play - which I absolutely hate. I think most strikers would struggle. I’m hoping Sorba Thomas is pretty much the second coming and he can transform us into a team that actually puts the ball in the opposition box occasionally.

On the surface another wide forward looks more Mowbrayesque than Cloughesque.

Here’s an honest answer, which I must stress is my personal opinion. So far, perhaps not. If discussions had been taken on board we wouldn’t have as expensive season tickets as we are currently seeing. Some suggestions have been taken on board, but nowhere near as often as we’d like. I’m hopeful that there will be a positive change of the back of the fan led review. The upcoming government white paper is a big deal for us. Hopefully it will result in clubs having to commit to meaningful engagement with a broad range of fans. Hopefully it’s a start in breaking down the siege mentality that exists at Ewood.

I’d be very surprised in JDT and Broughton were delivering joint messages. Judging by their recent interviews they are working in silos, and I’m not sure how well they are getting on currently. I reckon it’s Broughton who JDT is furious with.

I couldn’t care less about hard luck stories and excuses, they don’t get you goals. We failed to bring one in. If it was a priority and a striker has failed to materialise the Broughton is as useless as all the other wasters Venky’s have employed.

Agree. It’s a disgrace we didn’t prioritise one this window.

Because we didn’t get one.

This suggests that “the project” is a cost cutting one. He’s again played a blinder here to control the narrative - a couple of million more would risk the future of the club, when in reality it’s just another month or two’s standard losses. The “if it wasn’t for Venky’s we’d do a Bury” lot will love this. Obviously our finances have spiralled out of control since the minute Venky’s came along, and attempts to rectify this are long overdue. But it seems that there will be no gambles or calculated risks, this reads like promotion isn’t wanted until the finances are dealt with, and it could be a long time before we get a glimmer like this again. Of course the irony there is a promotion would solve all the money issues and then some.

I thought most of what you posted was recounting what he had said. You again stated your opinion that he wasn’t to blame for the errors, but were happy he’d taken responsibility. I agree to a point and believe he is pissed off and will tighten things up so it doesn’t happen again. I think you’ve been pretty realistic on your assessment on the window. It’s been poor but could easily have been good if we’d not sabotaged ourselves. Lack of a centre forward is a big error though, and I’m probably less happy that you that it wasn’t a huge priority.

Yep. I was and was interested to see your take after Broughton’s interview. Not for a long time, but I’ve worked nights in the past. I’d always struggle with my sleep patterns so you have my sympathy.

If Venky’s pull the plug they kiss it goodbye. The only chance they have of recouping their money is to either turn is into a massively profitable club - that involves promotion and a whole host of other miracles. Or they could find someone daft enough to pay them back what they have put in to buy us. Presently they have a football club worth on paper £200 million, in reality they have a black hole that needs money throwing in it every so often. At some point they will have to write off their “investment”. If the subsidies are stopping, the sooner they go the better.

You’ve got to expect a bit of pedantry on official paperwork though. Thats a very odd question if it’s for identification purposes. I don’t know why nationality would be in there. I think Glen nails it above. We can’t presume Nixon’s supplied reasons are the complete story.

They are playing a propaganda masterclass today in fairness.

I don’t see any chance with the O’Brien. We made errors. Where do you draw the line with leniency? Brierley should be a very different matter though. That looks like an equality monitoring question and there’d be an easily winnable argument and an infinite amount of precedent to suggest that ticking that box cannot be mandatory.

This must be the longest Chaddy has gone without posting (apart from when he’s been on a ban).

Makes no difference. Would you have felt for Tayo Edun if we’d loaned him out in the January after we signed him?

I’m sorry, but the “we’d do a Bury” argument really pisses me off. It’s so lazy, in no way are Blackburn Rovers and Bury, or their situations in any way comparable. Why couldn’t we be the next Leicester, Leeds, Crystal Palace or Southampton? They make for far better comparisons.

Come off it. There’s some serious deflection going on here. It’s not Forest’s fault the lad is in limbo. If we got promoted and cleared the decks, replaced the lads who got us there with better, and splashed the cash it’d be all “no room for sentiment”. Can anyone honestly say they gave Duncan Shearer a second thought when Alan was banging them in?

Stick round for a bit mate! Good to see you back.

I rolled my eyes when the first thing he said when talking about blame was “don’t blame the owners”. That’s a well rehearsed line at Ewood. You can see what he’s been tasked with here: - Placate the fans - Cover our arses - Make sure the owners don’t get any on them