Miller11

The 9 minutes injury time is less of an issue than the 45 minute head start we gave them with that stupid lineup. Also, it’s handy being able to make a couple of subs when your players are knackered with 5 minutes to go. Unfortunately we can’t cos we have to use them to completely reshape the team at half time. I fucking despise Venky’s with every fibre of my being, but this one is completely on Mowbray - much like the rest of our complete capitulation this calendar year. Season over, might as well fuck off on his holidays now seeing as that’s all he’s bothered about.

Just to confirm I’m not advocating bringing him on up front. There’s only one person on the entire planet stupid enough to think of that!

Johnson for JRC Dack for Pickering Brereton for Buckley or Rothwell

Let Dack, Johnson and Travis do the team talk and make the half time subs. Maybe we can salvage something. The actual manager has been a hinderance for too long.

I got as far as the bit where he went on about us being “a young team punching above their weight” Disgusting.

He’s actually said this?!?!? That’s an absolute disgrace if so.

He’s just being stubborn now. Not surprised. Under what circumstances does Hedges get on the pitch today? He’s never getting on before Dack, Dolan or Brereton… and that’s without Khadra, Poveda or Markanday available. Ludicrous signing that seems to be in preparation for the big summer dumb down.

It sounds like this season is just winding down and petering out in his mind. Obviously nobody is really that bothered about promotion. “There’s no offer, there’s no discussions, no conversations, I’m anticipating trying to see this season through and then it’s the summer and I’ll be going away with my kids and my wife and see what life brings next for me.” He ought to be talking about how all his focus is on getting the club promoted back to where it belongs. He should be firing up his players, the fans, and everyone around the club. Instead he’s conceding our season is over and we are losing a load of players. A thoroughly depressing read. His indifference to it all has no doubt contributed to our collapse.

It’s probably a lot to do with youthful optimism, but there was never a point I didn’t believe we wouldn’t be promoted back in 1992. Older, wiser, and a decade of disillusionment later, I can’t see us having enough about us to scrape a playoff place, let alone get promoted.

And this is where we fall at the first hurdle. Incompetent owners employing incompetent people. You can’t just shrug your shoulders and blame everything on rules that everyone has to abide by. Parachute payments weren’t whinged about when we were receiving them, and I wonder if fans of Luton, Peterborough, Millwall and others whose losses aren’t subsidised by billionaire owners complain as much as we do? There’s plenty the billionaire owners can spend on without FFP rules being a factor. Simple things like stadium and pitch maintenance are two of them. There’s no hiding behind the FFP excuse for the neglect in these areas. Keeping the ground neat and tidy would be a start, and doing basic repairs. Maybe if we bothered to do this we might be able to sell some advertising and actually bring some money in to contribute to the playing budget. Instead we have pretty much nothing but Venky’s logos plastered all over the place, because the people those idiots have charged with running the club are out of their depth and under no pressure. They let players contracts run down and sell players on the cheap. Easier to blame it on the fans for not spending, and the nasty rules than acknowledging we are badly run from top to bottom though.

God knows how we will line up. This is in no way a prediction, but I’d go with this: Kaminski Nyambe Van Hecke Wharton Buckley Giles Travis Rothwell Dack Brereton Dolan A couple of square pegs in round holes, though not as many as Mowbray usually likes, but I think we need to get our best available players on the pitch. I can see a draw. We will pick up enough points over the next few weeks so it’s technically mathematically possible for us to make the top 6 on the last day - with a ridiculous goal difference swing, which will be enough to keep a lot of people happy.

If we had adequate attacking options you’d be right, but considering we don’t, plus what’s at stake and how few games are remaining, we’d be mad not to start him.

The mounting injuries are helping to line up the perfect excuse. In 18 months time this season will become “the time we were dead certs for automatic promotion until the unfortunate injury crisis” The toothless performances, stupid tactics and managers stubbornness that have led to complete capitulation will all be forgotten in favour of the Mowbray/Venky friendly narrative.

I hope so.

Ordinarily I’d have to agree with you on this, but there was something very much out of the ordinary that happened in that game. This was 12 months ago: I can’t think of another manager that would get such a free pass for such a disrespectful comment. The sulking we saw against Cardiff, when the team were playing well for the first time in months, is nothing new. It’s also why I think he will be off of his own accord at the end of his contract, and a contributing factor in why I think it’s a good thing.

Don’t forget Waggott has stated several times that he “went to bat” for the supporters when discussing ticket prices with the owners. It’s them who have the final say. As out of touch as Waggott may be with the fanbase, he’s got a lot more idea than billionaires from India.

I’ve just been sorting some boxes of stuff out and found these… I also came across this which I thought was completely lost…

With the opponents in the full red kit I’m guessing it could be Swindon in the league cup 95-96?

I know a few questions got sent in specifically about his involvement at Rovers. Be interesting to see if they are asked!

Waggott thought that by bringing the Riverside prices in line with other areas he could get all the long standing season ticket holders in there to move. He is surprised they haven’t… because he doesn’t get it. He has a dream to replace the stand with a hotel and conference centre. Other members of the Ewood brain trust have their own ideas. They want a council partnership to build a community hub, and another campus for the UCFB - basically overspill for the one at Turf Moor. Again, plenty of grants available. They think the best way to achieve this is to let the Riverside fall into disrepair to the extent it gets condemned, believing the council might then become more receptive.

Some surprising figures there. I suppose that teams in the championship are often in periods of transition, and it looks like there are other “journeys” going on… plenty of toing and froing between (relative) feast and famine. The clear out last summer has evidently trimmed a huge chunk off our wage bill. It looks as though we are benefiting from our heavy use of academy products, and it’s certainly a cost effective way of fielding a competitive team in this division. Makes it all the more frustrating that we don’t seem to have an effective strategy in place to keep them long term or realise a transfer fee close to their value.

I’m going to wait until the end of the season before I decide. Could be anywhere between a 3 and a 9. As a slight aside though, I’m really sick of seeing people justifying our current collapse by saying “we are overachieving”. Bollocks. Just because people thought we might struggle this season doesn’t mean it would have been remotely acceptable to be in a relegation battle. Our aim should always be to get back into the top flight, and as supporters we shouldn’t accept that being one of the 26 best teams in the country is completely beyond us. It just goes to show how badly run we are that so many people are now really happy to accept mediocrity. Some even embrace it. Waggott, Mowbray and everyone else make enough excuses of their own without us doing it for them. Injuries, FFP, parachute payments, referees or anything else aren’t the issue - being badly run from the top down is. We could have had the one single acceptable season since Venky’s came along, but it seems like we are going to throw the opportunity away.

I don’t think we have much choice but to go to a back 4 now. Ayala hasn’t trained since the West Brom game, looks like he’s decided he’s not playing for us again this season. Nyambe is more than capable of playing right sided centre back but unfortunately we don’t have another competent right wing back. Having said that I fully expect James Brown and JRC to both start against Coventry with Nyambe on the bench though. It would be typical of Mowbray.

I’m amazed any of them still are. Their website currently looks like this… Not what I’d expect from a company entrusted to broker deals worth millions.

Here is the HSH list… Steve Cooper Mark Robins Craig Bellamy Gary Holt Sami Hyypia Gregory Vignal Tony Pulis Graham Westley Micky Mellon Dave Challinor Dean Keats Fabrizio Ravanelli Paul Jewell Tony Philiskirk Rob Edwards And our previous three managers too, obviously.