Miller11

The main reason I’d be more than happy with Ainsworth isn’t simply that he’s from Blackburn, it’s that he actually gives a shit about the club. It wouldn’t just be a job to him. He wouldn’t need to make stupid and untrue claims about walking away if he became a burden, he’d actually just do it. He’s one person who would attempt to tell Venky’s a few home truth instead of being all servile and subservient. It’s been us v them since day one. It’d be nice to have one of us in a position of influence. However, our overlords would not like this and would probably bin him within a fortnight.

With the squad as it stands, I think we stay up fairly comfortably. An injury to Ayala, and/or losing one or more of Brereton, Lenihan or Nyambe in the window and we would be bang in trouble.

If ever we needed any more proof xG is a right load of old bollocks

Kaminski - gets too much appreciation for not being Christian Walton. Overrated. Nyambe - would be mad to sign a new deal with us I’m afraid. Go on and fulfil your potential. Good performance. Lenihan - Bang average. Van Hecke - Donkey. Ayala - Good. Pickering - out of his depth Edun - Tidy player. Few iffy moments but was massively isolated for large spells. Will be a good signing. Travis - regressing. Clarkson - Totally unsuited to playing in this division. Brereton - tried hard but service was non-existent Butterworth - failed to take his chance Johnson - off the pace Rothwell - we expect miracles. Didn’t get the opportunity to do what he does best Gallagher - nothing of note barring a stupid tackle Mowbray - out

You’ve been staring at that bright new scoreboard too long. It’s fried your brains

Another very fortunate decision not to award a penalty against us

Pickering will have his work cut out with Adomah. And with Chair in midfield I’d be a lot happier with Johnson in there than Clarkson… although I noticed after Cov, Mowbray was on about taking Buckley off and he said he had a choice of bringing on either Davenport to sure things up, or Clarkson who is a passer. No mention of Johnson - he has clearly decided that he is now a centre back in his twilight years after an average 45 mins there in an emergency! I hope to god Van Hecke isn’t left to look after Dykes. It’ll be interesting to see how Dozzell does, as he was rubbished by a lot of our fans when we were briefly linked with him. Glad to see Butterworth get a start!

“Contract rebels”. Jesus Christ. Hardly surprising there have been no bids for players who are free to sign pre-contract agreements in 74 days. I notice in your earlier post you inserted a little caveat to remove two thirds of the division from the equation when you state we are one of the leagues best payers. Its still not true though. The only table we are close to the top of is wages as a percentage of turnover. We are obviously way too high here, but instead of increasing turnover we are slashing the wage bill. A lazy, shortsighted tactic from incompetent people. You state that nobody has a clue what players earn, or have been offered - but it’s possible to make an educated guess. Our total wage bill is public record. it’s also not too difficult to get a fair idea of what individual players earn, especially if you like investigating. Nyambe is on about 4.5 grand per week, and his initial new deal was described as “a joke” by a prominent local reporter. Neglecting to enter into discussions earlier, despite him becoming a vital part of the team has probably annoyed him. Halting all discussions for a year, blaming it on COVID, and automatically activating the year option when he likely feels severely undervalued won’t help either. Besides, even if everything you say is true, surely it’s rank incompetence by those at the club to not have sold them by now. 10 million + worth of players have no sell on value in 10 weeks.

For Gods sake Chaddy. Has this only just dawned on you? Because it’s been apparent to anyone with half a brain for a decade. Why are you making out this is an emerging problem that only you are smart enough to identify? Almost as soon as Venky’s took over we began paying more in wages than we brought in. It’s never stopped and has got progressively worse. Our finances as horrendous, it’s not news to anybody. The club are being completely disingenuous blaming it on the pandemic, and anyone falling for it needs to have a long hard think. We are now told that the COVID situation has created “unprecedented circumstances” for the club. Aside from the fact that EVERY CLUB IN THE WORLD has been hit to almost the same extent, having low revenues and high costs is hardly anything unprecedented for Rovers is it? In fact we are far better placed to deal with it than most clubs, being that we are “fortunate” enough to have owners who are wealthy, stubborn, and quite frankly daft enough to pour money into the bottomless pit they have created to the tune of £15-20 million a year. And for all the whingeing that people now like to do about parachute payments, what about the financial doping that Venky’s have to do? Besides, it’s nobody else’s fault we pissed ours up the wall after relegation. While I’m at it, where on earth has this new notion that the only thing standing in the way of BRFC and promotion is those pesky FFP rules? What precedent have Venky’s set? What ambition have they ever shown to return Rovers to anywhere near the state we were in before they took over? And there’s loads of ways they could do this. Appointing decent managers and sacking underperforming ones would be a start. @JHRoverhas nailed the current contract situation in the above post. If we paid Nyambe, Rothwell and Lenihan an extra 7k per week each it might mean we lose £18 million a year instead of £17 million, so what?? We’ve shed Evans, Holtby and Armstrong from last years wage bill that you seem so keen on talking about. All three of them would’ve been on more that those three out of contract players. Bennett and Downing will also have been on a significantly more than Nyambe and Rothwell currently earn or are being offered. Then there’s the money from Armstrong’s sale - which will put us clear of FFP sanctions, with change. Stop trying to dress up what is going on as financial prudence, it’s nothing of the sort. It’s cost cutting, and it’s so unbelievably short-sighted and damaging in the long term.

Stupid interview. I’ll summarise to save you reading… States Nyambe played well but goes on to moan about his crossing rather than praise his near perfect defensive display. Witters on a bit. Asks whether new contracts will be agreed rather than answering the exact question that was posed to him, before blaming the pandemic. Continues speaking his rambling thoughts by Asking a few more questions before referencing Brentford. However, he neglected to mention the goalkeeper he flogged them on the cheap who is currently topping plenty of the stat tables in the Premier League. Says he hears supporters singing “sign him up” but he’s not sure who we are on about and besides, we aren’t privy to things that he is, and it’s difficult for the club at the moment. Him, Waggott, Venus and Suhail discuss this on a weekly basis. He finishes with an absolute gem! ”The most important thing is the club doesn’t get put in financial danger!”

Do you often forget what the score is? Several speakers in the Riverside have been “fixed” by being switched off. On the way out yesterday the ones one the outside of the Blackburn End didn’t sound healthy. I don’t know about anywhere else as I don’t sit anywhere else. Anyway, if your that excited about a new scoreboard, then crack on. It’s a completely unnecessary expense from a club pleading poverty and cutting back to the bone, but it’s barely worthy of discussion in the scheme of things.

We have a dirty ground in an ever worsening state of disrepair. Instead of fixing broken speakers all around the ground we turn them off. We have scrapped the programme due to the cost of it. Staffing costs are being cut left and right in all areas on and off the pitch. That’s just to name a few things, and let’s not forget fans are still refused refunds they are entitled to. However, we can buy a new scoreboard despite the old one appearing to function perfectly adequately and having a fucking massive screen in one corner of the ground.

Van Hecke started poorly but grew into the game by half time, however he was dreadful in the second half. Looked knackered and slow, poor on the ball, positionally naive, and it’s a miracle he wasn’t sent off. Edun looks an upgrade on Pickering. Gallagher can’t do some of the very basics that you’d expect of a player at this level, he’d be better suited to a team like Millwall. Rothwell is hugely talented at picking the ball up deep and getting us up the pitch. It’s an invaluable skill that we seem to be utilising better, but other areas of his game really frustrate. Nyambe’s battle with Dabo in the second half was brilliant. Poveda is a waste of a squad place. Taking Buckley off was sensible, but why on earth did Johnson not come on? Mowbray is to blame for us not winning today. In all honesty we were fairly fortunate to go in 2 up at half time, but coming out in the second and sitting back was stupid. Why try and hold a 2-0 lead for 45 minutes, it was almost inevitable what would happen. Seeing Speedie back on the Ewood pitch was the highlight.

I’d normally be a big advocate of playing a 442 with proper wingers, but without Brereton and Gallagher there’s nobody so cross to. Butterworth should start, but I doubt he will. McBride and or Burns should also be in the squad. I might even try Magloire up front for a bit of pace and physicality (only half joking!). I am expecting a “false 9” of some description, and a lack of shape in the final third. Not arsed about Khadra and I hope Poveda isn’t picked. Glad Nyambe is back. Its a big HSH derby game, and unfortunately I think Robins is their best man. Plus we seem to have a bad record against Coventry over the years. I’m not overly confident.

Remember when Balaji Rao got arrested for beating one of his middle managers with a metal bar and electrocuting him? Wonder which scoundrel badly advised the honourable man to do that. And there was the time Mrs Desai was reportedly facing prison time for something to do with building regs. Who was to blame there? How about the threats that long term members of this board and their families received a decade or so ago? Venky’s STILL take advice from, make payments to, and employ clients of the same people that supposedly “badly advised” them during the early days. If anyone really believes that Waggott (who by his own admission can’t even set season ticket prices without approval from India) and Mark Venus were on the verge of selling off our training ground behind Venky’s backs and without their knowledge/permission, you really need to stop deluding yourself. Besides, if they had tried this and failed, how is not sacking them and allowing them to carry on as normal anything other than complete lunacy? We are reliant on their subsidies because of their actions. We have no reason to be grateful for this, yet some people still want to absolve them of blame, rewrite history, and delude themselves. Even if you are desperate to believe all the daft narratives out there, they have surely long since passed the point where their naivety has become dangerously negligent. Oh, and if you think that staff who are being brought in reporting to Lyndsey Talbot on 30 grand a year are about to stage a coup to overthrow Steve Waggott, you’re going to be disappointed.

I’ve only seen the highlights from yesterday, and as bad as Magloire was on them, he’s not solely to blame. A midfielder should’ve been there to challenge for their first. Pickering, who was garbage on Tuesday and saw three goals against us come from his side, completely lost his man for the second - he’s not being held to the same standards as Magloire, because if he was he’d be getting battered. Pay Nyambe and Lenihan what they want. We can’t hope to replace them with anyone near their standards I’m afraid.

The change of formation when Nyambe went off killed us. Why not just put Magloire at full back, at least he has pace. Presumably we had prepared for this game, and every game this season, with a back 4… so why change it so soon?! And why oh why play a 5-2-3 and completely concede midfield? It ballsed everything up. Magloire was very poor, but he wasn’t the only one. Ayala really seemed to struggle in the rejigged formation, and Pickering was beaten too many times to count. Buckley is not just nullified but crap in wide areas, Travis is left to cover an unmanageably large area, Rothwell goes missing for large spells. Few circa 2018 Brereton moments, but Diaz is a different beast. I am delighted to hold my hands up and admit I was wrong, and today his attitude pleased me as much as anything. If one change killing us wasn’t enough, we then see those daft late subs. Clarkson might be a blue and white, but he’s no Harvey Elliott and is miles off. I’d send Poveda back now. It was just a mess towards the end. Gutting to come back twice and then still come away with nothing. Particularly with the injuries on top too.

Hadn’t even bothered reading the extreme rules results until your post @DE., let alone watching it. On the flip side, AEW have just done their best show yet by some margin. Just about all the nonsense was gone and the additions of Bryan and Punk have levelled things up massively. The best match I’ve seen in ages was still the recent Dragunov V Walter match from the last takeover, but NXT is now just rubbish. Lesnar, Heyman and Reigns can shoulder a lot of the burden, but not as much as they will need to at the moment. They have some huge potential, not least Rick Steiner’s son… who for Vince McMahon reasons they have repackaged and called Bron Breakker. It’s just idiotic. WWE’s constant self sabotage at all levels coupled with AEW’s rapid improvements and dropping of nonsense will lead to a change at the top quicker than I thought.

That was brilliant. Every credit to Mowbray… have to say it was a masterclass from him today. The front three were all fantastic and deserved their goals. Special mention to Brereton, I never thought he had a hat trick in him, but I’m now starting to get a bit giddy about the bet. Buckley also making his doubters look a bit daft. while the scorers get the plaudits, he was probably MOTM. Back 4 rock solid again. Special mention to Nyambe - looks unbeatable and that header off the line was as important as a goal. Anyone who claims he looks disinterested is talking utter bollocks. Ayala makes such a difference. Liked the look of Edun in his brief cameo. If your being really picky you can moan a bit about Kaminski’s kicking at times, and Rothwell was probably only a 6/10 amongst a lot of 8 plus performances… but what a day!! Hope Venky’s watch and sanction the improved offers for those out of contract players.

Nice to see a back 4 made up exclusively of our own players after relying on loans for ages. Some consistency in that area will help us. Hope to see Butterworth get some minutes again.

Not only is Waggott completely incompetent, he can’t even be arsed any more. He’s not the only one either. Those are some of the laziest responses I could ever have imagined. The one about re-engagement shows a complete and utter lack of understanding of the current reality. I despair. Nope. You have rectified the problem of broken speakers by turning them off and turning up the volume of the other speakers around it. Lazy, quick fix.

Barnsley away is a fixture that holds a special place in my heart. 30 years ago a visit to Oakwell marked my first proper away fixture, my only previous experience of away games being Lancashire cup ties at Blackpool and Preston. There was a big game feel that day and Rovers turned out in numbers with the season reaching the business end, as well as offering us a chance to get a first glimpse of what seemed like our 25th new signing of an extraordinary season. The more cynical onlookers suggested that Duncan Shearer had only been bought to neutralise the threat of Swindon Town in the promotion race, but we didn’t care. Since Newell has been carried off as we battered Newcastle at Ewood, things hadn’t been clicking, and it only took 25 minutes for the signing to look inspired. A long diagonal ball from Alan Wright was flicked almost perfectly into Shearer’s path by Barnsley defender under pressure from Speedie, and he steered it in on the turn. A chant that would become commonplace in about 6 months time rang out, but that was this particular Shearer’s only real contribution in Rovers colours as he joined the failed attempts to replace the injured Mike Newell Club with Roy Wegerle over his 6 appearances. Some pretty crap defending later and we’d conspired to lose the game 2-1, this fixture being the second of 6 defeats on the bounce and part of a longer wretched run of form the modern day Tony Mowbray might even struggle to survive. It all worked out ok in the end though. Shameless plug - re-live this game and this season, as well as many others, set to a soundtrack of the day withSound of the Season at Rovers Radio - select PODCAST from menu Barnsley’s own moment in the sun came 5 years later as a second place finish took them to the top flight of English football for the first, and to date only time in their 134 year history. Under Danny Wilson, Barnsley developed a much admired and very successful passing style, and Neil Redfern proved a much more effective spearhead of their attack than the fat Dingle they binned off - I can’t see the Padiham Predator playing for anyone where it’s just like watching Brazil! Our next trip to Oakwell came in November 1997, for what was a real game of two halves. After ourstrong start to the season, a Sherwood goal in the opening period we completely dominated led me to believe a win would be routine. However, Barnsley’s second half display was at times sublime… all one and two touch stuff, little flicks, brilliant movement, spectacular efforts, and we came away grateful for the point knowing there was more than a little truth to the chants. Fast forward. Last year represented Barnsley’s best ever finishing position since that solitary Premier League season. A fifth place finish and a narrow defeat over two legs in the playoff semis making a mockery of the narrative that you can only reach the top 6 by being a “big club” or spending big money. Their owner, Chien Lee also has stakes in 5 other clubs scattered throughout Europe and iscredited, if that’s the right word, with bringing a “Moneyball” approach to his clubs. Andy Holt was battering him and this approach on Twitter this morning. The multi ownership is worrying, but football has to be unique in its constant search for and celebration of “investors”, but then complain when they look for a return… but I digress. At ground level, it’s a bit more nuanced. While their style may have suggested an analytical andstatistical approach, playing the percentages is nothing new. The signing of Daryl Dike, a catalyst of their good form in the second half of the season,also flew in the face of their supposedly rigid model. Yes, he’s young, but his loan was never going to become permanent after a $20 million buy out clause. For the past couple of years though their recruitment has been far reaching, picking up young players cheaply from all over the place. Valerien Ismael was an inspired appointment, andreplacing him was always going to be a tough task. Markus Schopp hasn’t had the easiest time of it so far with injuries (and Visas!) and results have been, at best, mixed. Expect them to play a 3-4-3 formation with Cauley Woodrow at the top, but the team and tactics have not been settled thus far, so the rest is anyone’s guess. They play Stoke tonight which might give some inkling. Mowbray must have been given some food for thought after the Hull game. The Armstrong shaped hole hasn’t been addressed, and I expect we will see various different solutions throughout the season. I’d like to see this line up against Barnsley: Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Pickering Travis Rothwell Dolan Butterworth Brereton McBride I know there is no chance, but we obviously lack a centre forward, apart from Gallagher who is injured and of questionable quality particularly for our style of play. Elsewhere on the pitch we seem to haveenough options, or at least we will when some of the injuries return, but Armstrong going has left a void. Hal Robson-Kanu anyone? The back 4 and midfield picks itself, though I have been impressed with Buckley so far, but not as a wide forward. Prediction: Score draw. Our last two performances haven’t been without their issues, but a 4 point return added to our early season haul has given us a points tally far greater than I’d have expected at this stage. With the transfer window now out of the way, and a manager who is going nowhere for the moment, we arewhere we are. It’s great to see we actually have some really talented players and a team who are easy to get behind for 90 minutes - I plan to switch off from all the other shite and do that on aSaturday. That’s not to say that everything at the club is wonderful, far from it. Our pathetic CEO ought to have a look at how Barnsley, a minuscule club in comparison to Rovers, are now averaging higher attendances than us. A fantastic early bird season ticket offer (that had run its course way before Waggott thought about putting ours on sale), providing real value will have helped.

I was giving my ratings some serious thought on the drive home. Big fan of this feature!

Bad first half. Confused formation and lacked any real shape in midfield and up front. Thank god Brereton gave us a single Diaz moment, because that fantastic strike aside he was dreadful tonight. He can’t play centrallly, particularly on his own. Always happier moving away from goal without the ball, too much dropping to look to get it into feet then turn and run. He’s a wide forward. The changes were spot on tonight - credit where it’s due, mirror opposite from Saturday, Mowbray got it right this time. We immediately looked better organised and players seemed more comfortable in their roles. Without a focal point up top we should never have started with the 4-3-3. Back 4 we’re very solid. Special praise for Lenihan who I thought was exceptional in his defensive work tonight. Butterworth was superb. Looks like he just needs minutes and a goal, we’ll have a very tidy player on our hands then. Could fill the hole left by Dack very nicely for now.

Any chance we see JRC tonight? I haven’t seen much of Mowbray’s ramblings over the last couple of days. I’d bring him in for Gallagher and try Brereton central.