There’s loads of screen grabs of the penalty doing the rounds, but I think this one is far more relevant…

Point by point… 1. I take it you are referring to the desperate substitution that totally unbalanced us? We all know Gallagher will be a wider than ever forward again on Tuesday. 2. I could certainly do with a lift after that debacle, and the shit show we’ve experienced this calendar year, and I expect I’m not alone. If the players aren’t gutted and really disappointed in themselves this evening they aren’t worth their salt… so yeah, they might need a lift too. Maybe they wouldn’t look like rabbits in headlights whenever they got near the opposition box either. 3. He’s going because he has been summoned by the stupid, arrogant twats. They expect slavish obedience, and if they demand it before the 30th of June, of course he will go. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they will offer him another deal, but if we fail to make the playoffs it’s yet another unforgivably bad decision by them. I reckon he’s got retirement plans anyway. 4. Well according to you, they won’t get a better offer from another club anyway. Perhaps Waggott should get you to have a word with the players and tell them how lucky they are, maybe give their agents a dose of Chaddyreality too. 5. Of course it’s not guaranteed, particularly with who our moronic owners will turn to for a replacement, but I think it’s more likely than Mowbray arresting this slide in time to salvage a playoff spot. 6. I’m not going to bring anyone in. HSH are. If it had been down to me none of the managers Venky’s have appointed would get near the door. Obviously Mowbray has been their best appointment, but that’s like being the nicest guy in prison. He’s bang average. You don’t think that any of our players can do better than our club, but you don’t think our club can do better than Mowbray?

Not that I think there is any chance of it happening, but there are several arguments you could make as to why it could be positive. - We’d likely see a change in style/shape, and by do we need it! Mr Stubborn will just keep doing the same thing and expecting different results - It might give the fans a lift and the players a kick up the arse - He’s likely off at the end of the season anyway, so why not get a new man in now to assess what he might be working with? Might even be able to persuade some of the lads with contracts expiring that their future lies at Rovers. - New manager bounce would be lovely right now.

“I’m going to play Gallagher in certain games because he’s got the physicality, the speed, the power, and I’m trying to give him the game-time because you can’t score a goal if you’re sitting on the bench. I think he has to try and get into the areas between the sticks to score goals.” Well today both him and Khadra were as wide as ever. Gallagher spent most of our attacks deeper than Pickering and JRC. I don’t know who is to blame, but it doesn’t work. He HAS to change things on Tuesday, but the stubbornness will win out.

Pathetic. If we concentrated half as much on trying to put the ball in the bloody net as we did on diving and trying to con the (dreadful) ref we may have got somewhere. Gutless and clueless performance. The lack of accountability Mowbray has is a big problem. He can be as stubborn as he likes, go on shit runs, set embarrassing records. Nobody but the fans cares. To be fair to Mowbray though, he was right in wanting to offload Rothwell, but the dickheads despised to step. Nothing good will happen while they remain.

I think it’s an unimaginative pick, but much better than I Got A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas

That looked horrific! Glad he’s seemingly okish, I think he’s great. This overhead belly to belly seems to be really in vogue at the moment, but obviously it’s risky. Saw a clip where Bron Steiner hit a beauty. Not sure it should be used on someone as large as Big E though, and I’m convinced it shouldn’t be used outside the ring.

I thought the last guy’s music choices were bad with his copy of Indie Hits 2004 being his go to CD, but it’s a lot better than the new fella with his Movie Anthems triple pack.

You can’t see anything from anyone else’s point of view. To you there is no better club than Blackburn Rovers. Fine. But these players aren’t fans. The agents will be advising them to do the best thing for their finances in the short, medium and long term. To suggest anything else is very silly.

Last summer was far too late. We’ve allowed the whole thing to drag on for far too long and not negotiated properly/at all. We’ve used Covid as an excuse and instead of engaging early and keeping our assets under contract we’ve tried to do things on the cheap. Triggering those extra years is proof of that - quite why we had that clause instead of offering a proper, secure contact in the first place, I don’t know. As usual you are repeating a little line you like… that they have been offered improved contracts that they won’t sign. Improved could mean many things. The only thing we do know with any certainty is that the improvements haven’t been enough to tempt them to sign. Bearing in mind Rothwell came from Oxford and Nyambe through the academy, they will currently be on very low wages, at best a third of what we pay Sam Gallagher. Doubling their current offers would not be an increase commensurate with their talents or status in the squad. Our offers may be competitive, but they are far more likely to be insulting. If the players were completely averse to signing new terms, we would have been aware of this for a long time, and we should’ve sold them - “the model” supposedly relies on this. However, Waggott and co clearly believe that the players are open to staying, but they seem unwilling to budge on their offers and are now stuck in a dangerous and frankly stupid bluff calling attempt. It’s now becoming pretty evident that we should’ve sold Rothwell in January. Mowbray clearly thought so. Maybe he’d even have bought a striker that everyone except him and you can see we could really do with. You also seem pretty certain that none of these players could possibly be offered a better deal than the one Rovers currently have on the table for them. Despite having no clue what those offers look like, you seem to think you know better than them and their agents what they might command.

Didn’t know about the health issues, though I’ve heard him comment several times how he considers himself very fortunate to still be alive. My first exposure to him was slightly after the Blue Bloods run (I was on a wrestling hiatus at that time), but quickly came to love Lord Steven! Seeing him and Bobby Eaton work with and against each other later was great, but I do wish I’d seen it at the time. He could be so valuable to AEW. I hope he’s put in a position where he can help some of the wrestlers work on their basics and psychology. I don’t think there is anyone on the roster who couldn’t learn a thing or two. I’m reminded of that video clip where he sits in on one of Matt Bloom’s classes at the PC and goes absolutely ballistic at the trainees for their sloppy footwork. He might clash with a certain EVP!! Perhaps the greatest all rounder of all time? He will certainly make anything he is given the highest quality. I think a commissioner run would be perfect for him here. Working closely with Tony Khan would benefit the product and give TK an invaluable learning experience. He could reign in some of his worse ideas and likely make everything make a bit more sense. Can’t ask for a more credible authority figure either.

See @JHRover’s post above. The other day you told me that not agreeing deals and losing Lenihan, Rothwell and Nyambe would not be a failing on the clubs part, but when they do sign someone up to an extension they have performed excellent work. Keeping your players tied down, and/or selling them at the opportune time is absolutely key to our reported operating model. Getting it right is bread and butter, getting it wrong is a disaster. You’d shrug it off as “just nature” if we let the grass on Ewood grow to a foot high, but praise the groundsman for painting the lines on the pitch.

It’s very good news that Travis has signed a new deal. I’m both delighted and surprised. Its not “excellent work by Rovers” though, it’s doing the fundamentals. How come you are being so effusive with your praise for this particular negotiation while absolving the club of any blame for the situation we are in with other players?

I’d start Dack tomorrow. Sub him off at half time if needs be, but if we don’t score first we won’t win. And if we don’t score relatively early we won’t score at all.

Kaminski, so long as his distribution wasn’t relied upon. Nyambe, in a team that plays with a back 4. Lenihan in a team that plays 3 centre backs. Brereton has the physicality and eye for a goal (I would never have believed I’d say that 18 months ago). Buckley and Wharton possibly with another year under their belts. I think Rothwell will end up in the Prem next year, so we may see how he gets on.

Don’t disagree with any of this, but it just goes to show how far our expectations have been dumbed down under these dreadful owners. Seeing being the 26th best team in the country as a major achievement for Blackburn Rovers is pathetic really. So much for respecting Jack’s legacy.

Then less than 24 hours later…

Wasn’t given long enough. By the time he came on Millwall had a back 7. Very uneventful cameo, but not the lads fault.

Ostentatious enough to gold plate the taps in a multi million pound house they never use, but can’t be arsed with the most basic of upkeep for the ground. Venky’s all over. And Waggott and co are desperate for the Riverside to be condemned.

Some predictions… Mowbray will go. He looked like he’d had enough 18 months ago. We will be linked with loads of managers but will take ages before inevitably raiding the HSH scrapheap. My money is on Pulis. We will lose Nyambe, Rothwell and Lenihan. All will get far better deals than we offered, and at least one will be a premier league squad player. People will deludedly start saying “I bet he regrets leaving, he hardly plays for them”, completely ignoring the fact they are now firmly in millionaire territory. We will sell Ash Phillips for a couple or three million plus add ons to a big club, which will be enough for some people to excuse losing the three mentioned above for nothing. We will sign Harry Chapman up for another year and play him in the first couple of games next season before loaning him out to Doncaster. Bradley Johnson will sign a new deal in November. Talks with Travis over a new deal will stall, and our entire transfer budget will go on Zeefuik. There will be a Brereton Saga. He will be linked with half a dozen clubs throughout the summer before joining one of them on deadline day for half the initial fee that was rumoured. Season tickets will go up in price and go on sale 48 hours before the opening game. There will be no kits in the club shop until the end of September. We really do need to get promoted.

We’ve played over 12 hours of football without scoring a goal from open play. The one set piece goal we managed during that time owed a great deal to some dodgy goalkeeping. There’s no dressing it up, it’s disgraceful. There are no attempts to address it, we just keep hearing “I’m not worried, goals will come, we are creating chances”. That’s the kind of clichéd tripe normally reserved for managers whose teams are hurtling towards relegation and they don’t have a clue how to stop it. We probably blew our chance to do anything about it with our nonsensical January business. We have about 10 “wide forwards” on our books, none of which (except Diaz recently) look capable of any more than the very occasional goal. The situation is now desperate. We need to rush Dack back. We should also be scouting the free agent market for someone who actually knows where the goal is. I’d take Joe Nuttall or Dominic Samuel back at this point.

Absolutely fuming with that. Supposedly doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Well, it’s also the sign of a stubborn old man. Unbalanced, toothless and predictable. Felt for the subs tonight. Far too late and only made once Millwall had shut up shop. Gallagher cannot play in this system. At all. I don’t know if it’s through instruction or instinct, but he seems totally reluctant to get in scoring positions. Seems to hate playing facing their goal and looks scared to enter the penalty area. Giles played so wide it neutralised Rankin-Costello and his one footedness was evident. Might have had some more joy on the other side. Buckley started well, but another dreadful miss. Travis played well and Van Hecke was immense. Our lack of goals is now absolutely fucking ridiculous.

We are really going to have to buck some trends tonight. Millwall are looking good at the moment, just quietly going about their business, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them make the playoffs. They aren’t a side who like to have loads of possession, so our counterattacking game isn’t necessarily going to work… not that it has done lately anyway. We have yet to keep a clean sheet in any game where Nyambe hasn’t started this season. We need to break that record pretty sharpish, because if they score one I can’t see us getting 2 on recent form.

He’s terribly inconsistent with who needs to learn the way we play too. Didn’t matter with Zeefuik, didn’t matter with Elliott for the entirety of last season.

I’d change the system slightly. Gallagher as a centre forward, reluctant as he seems to be to play there, no false anything’s. . Kaminski Lenihan Van Hecke Wharton Buckley Giles Travis Johnson Dolan Gallagher Hedges Pears, Brown, Pickering, Rothwell, Vale, JRC, Dack