6 weeks else we get stung with a £30 penalty. So out of touch.

90% of our bookings come from stupid fouls and pullbacks in the middle third. We aren’t a dirty side, it’s just sloppy, unnecessary and undisciplined nothing fouls often caused by people being out of position and the shape being a mess.

I don’t know why anyone would think any of what you said isn’t more than plausible. - Bournemouth had bid £3.5m rising to £6m if they were promoted for JR at Christmas. - Mowbray wanted the cash at Christmas to strengthen and Venkys refused it. Pretty much confirmed. The promotion add on would be fairly standard, if a little generous. - JR has a x4 wage increase offer on the table with Bournemouth vs Rovers offer. Entirely feasible. In fact, almost certain. - The general training / coaching at Rovers is average If anything this seems a generous assessment based on the last few months. - Venus deals with the contracts but is a troublemaker Mowbray has stated the first part to be true. the second part I have no difficulty believing, considering his attendance at village council meeting trying to push through training ground sales. He seems a dick. - Venus on behalf of Mowbray is advising the out of contract players not to sign deals with any other clubs because they’re going to WBA in the summer and could offer them a better one. West Brom links/rumours are there, of course WBA would offer significantly better deals (we would if we had any sense). Obviously Venus hasn’t discussed specifics, nothing is concrete and there may be exaggeration from Venus or Rothwell Senior, but if Mowbray has a new job lined up, or even the chance of one, of course conversations like this will happen.

Sticking with the parent analogy… Venky’s have had their “baby” for nearly 12 years now. They send it off to a really shit boarding school with incompetent and negligent teachers. They don’t even see it in the holidays. The are widely praised by outsiders for paying the school fees, but the kids shoes are full of holes and it’s not properly fed or looked after.

The more I think about this the more annoyed I get. Two full internationals who have come through our academy, with 450 appearances between them, who have been here a combined 21 years, are about to walk away for nothing. It makes me almost as angry as our pathetic collapse this season. It was even more avoidable. It’s a fucking disgrace and I’m sick of people shrugging their shoulders at our mismanagement.

Me too. I can’t imagine the existence of a promotional video is going to sway anybody to buy a season ticket.

Absolutely. They sanction the occasional big money signing that fits a specific criteria, but there is no way Mowbray has ever been given a decent budget, let alone war chest to spend as he sees fit.

The wage bill this season will be about half of what it was last year having got rid of all those high earning senior players contracts last summer. We have been fortunate that we’ve had a good crop of first team standard youngsters to call upon, but our mismanagement of contracts means we are failing to implement a sound long term strategy. Its either feast or famine with wages, depending how far along we are on the old FFP cycle at any given time. The likes of Nyambe and Rothwell have suffered while Mulgrew and Smallwood benefitted.

The proposed season ticket prices were sent to India for approval and sign off ages ago. Waggott was hoping to have them on sale “before Easter”. Last week they were filming adverts for season tickets in Ewood with some hand picked fans. Wouldn't be at all surprised if they released the details this week, right at the point the fanbase is at its most disgruntled.

Cairney, Raya, Hanley, Duffy, King, Hoilett, O’Connell, Bell… Just a few of the more recent leavers where it definitely worked out well for them. At this level the finances are always going to be a big factor… the jump from 4k to 15k a week is a lot more significant than the jump from 30k - 45k.

Fair enough, we can agree to disagree on the individual players. It’s all about opinions. You have seemed to put a lot of faith in what you’ve heard coming out of the club, I really hope you are right and I am wrong, but I can’t share your enthusiasm for the near future. I know I’m cynical, but I’m absolutely dreading the prospect of this summers rebuild. I’d be dreading it even more under MowbrayX The point above which I’ve quoted used to be true, under Venky’s it’s a different matter and we can’t make that claim any more. Nowadays players who leave at or around their peak tend to go on to better things. I don’t think Nyambe, Lenihan or Rothwell will be any different.

I caught up on the game last night for some reason. All looks about right from what I saw, although I did expect Travis would score lower. Our midfield was pretty hopeless.

We might be far enough removed from the playoffs for Mowbray to actually change it up for this one. He’ll also be looking for a scapegoat or two, so I wouldn’t be too surprised to see some changes. I think there’s a chance he moves to a back 4, and a slimmer one the forwards come back inside.

Do you really think it’s uncommon for players or managers to have moves lined up when they are still under contract? Read a couple of player biographies or listen to a few podcasts, it happens all the time. It would not be in the least bit newsworthy. Despite the best efforts of some of our fans the only time Myles Anderson got a mention in the national media was when his Daddy did it, and I challenge you to find a more rotten or corrupt move than that, and we were newsworthy in those days. But the crux of your argument is based around the fact you don’t rate Nyambe, or now Rothwell. For months you have gone to great lengths to tell us all that everyone except you and Steve Waggott overrates them and there is no possibility of them getting a better contract elsewhere. Only you know the value of the deals they have been offered, and they are stupid not to sign them. Despite this I’m pretty sure on another thread you reckoned Nyambe had a move to Watford lined up. If you think they are as bad as you say, why are you so bothered about them not signing? You’ve recognised Mowbray’s failings now, but to die on this hill for Waggott is really odd.

Should be required reading for all supporters.

Depending on how quickly we resolve our manager situation they might find themselves in the first team squad at the start of the season.

On the subject of agents and agencies, Honeyman also operates through a second company - CH soccer services Ltd. The whole industry is a very tangled web. One agent that seems to be very involved with a lot of our recent deals and current players is a certain Simon Conning. The name may be vaguely familiar to some, I think @glen9mullanmight be able to shed a bit more light on him and his background.

I’ve heard the same, but haven’t been able to find any evidence either. I did however find that Mike was with SEM in his playing days.

I was told this was the case by a former Rovers director. I did some digging but it appeared not to be the case. That said, I’m no expert, and multiple agents seem to manage to muscle in on deals.

He is Mowbray’s agent. He is also Coyle, Lambert and Bowyers agent. He is a director of the agency HSH with Dave Sheron and Stephen Horner. He is a former director of SEM. All three have big links with Jerome.

Just focusing on this bit, because herein lies the problem. I can see why Venky’s would believe everything is rosey, they are supremely arrogant and have proven to be completely delusional. They will absolutely want to believe this and for all his faults, Waggott is crafty enough to recognise this and play it up. As someone who generally does find the negative in everything they do, I’ve probably made it easy for Waggott and Suhail to push that narrative to them, but not as much as those who have deluded themselves into believing that they are wonderful, caring owners. Then there are those that for whatever reason, have started to publicly provide the sycophantic, slavish gratitude and praise the Venky’s crave and will obviously lap up. The supporter base has been eroded so much over the last decade that a lot of those left are desperate to believe in Venky’s, or at the very least they can’t be arsed with the shenanigans anymore so ignore it. A lot of the agitators are gone, many to probably never return. The disenfranchised don’t really have a voice at the moment, and even when we do it’s met with fingers in the ears from those within the club, and abuse from other more content supporters. I wonder what it will take for the tide to turn against Venky’s again. I think they will no doubt push their luck this summer, so maybe we will see.

If Waggott took it upon himself to sack Mowbray this morning, what do you think would happen if he rung Venky’s to tell them? Firstly, he’d get bollocked for speaking to them directly and not going through Suhail. Secondly, he’d get sacked for working outside of his remit. He isn’t even allowed to set season ticket prices without their sign off. Thirdly, Venky’s would have Pasha reinstate Mowbray and offer him a new deal out of sheer pigheadedness. They’d have to show everyone that they run the club and make the decisions. Of course ownership is the major issue.

I wish people wouldn’t defend Venky’s in all of this. They won’t give a shit that we have undergone a collapse beyond anyones wildest nightmares and blown their chance to start turning round their hellish decade of ownership. If they cared a jot they’d have sacked him long before now.

If anyone was in any doubt we are entering into another Venky driven crisis period, Judan Ali is chirping up on Twitter celebrating our misfortune.

When the local media turn, you know it’s bad.