16 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Iv'e been biting my lip on this for a while but HYam has been absolute gash this season he is way overrated here on the back of a handful of good performances over a season and a half.

The thing you need from a centre half is consistency and organisation and he's never delivered either.

Agreed. He showed at the business end of last season that he hasn't got what it takes. Crumbled when the pressure was on. Trying to calm the Blackburn End down as he couldn't handle a bit of stick.

Captain material? Not a chance. We've looked even worse at the back since his return to the side.

14 hours ago, JHRover said:

SEG group by the looks of things.

Travis seems to have joined them very recently and thanked them for their help in getting the Ipswich deal done. 

JDT joined them last year. Also on the 'roster' are Kaminski and Tyler Morton.

Think they are quite a big outfit and seem to have Pep Guardiola and numerous United/City/Liverpool people.

Certainly an interesting one though......

Their roster also includes Wahlstedt, Telalovic and former Rovers players in Zeefuik, Trybull, Harlock, plus Morton and Kaminski, as previously mentioned. JDT and Remy too.

Not related to Rovers, but still an interesting read:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25228207/erik-ten-hag-agent-man-utd-academy-transfer/

16 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Local journalists are the only ones who might be asking questions. No one else is interested though the MSM might take notice if we get relegated

Tomasson is a favourite on here because of his plain speaking Nordic ways and “attractive” playing style but he’s much less popular at Ewood and will be largely responsible as all managers are if we go down

 

It might take us falling into the bottom three before the MSM pay attention, I feel. Relegation almost certainly would.

The more JDT highlights what he is having to deal with, the better, in my view. As the belief on the outside appears to be that "Venky's are doing ok now" and that they "pump money into the club" therefore they aren't that bad. It's still an absolute shit show as most of us know, it's just that there isn't visible discontent in the stands or issues highlighted by the press for outsiders to pick up on. JDT is, hopefully, painting a picture with these honest interviews.

Of the local journos, I think Andy Bayes is our best hope of putting some pressure on. He has started to be more direct with his questions to JDT and Swag. He is a Rovers fan at the end of the day and I'm guessing there's only so much he can put up with too, even as a professional.

There's another interviewer that I've been impressed with lately. I think he's called Adam Cottier. Direct and not afraid to ask questions. We need him and Bayes to stick it on Waggott and Broughton, in a journalistic sense, of course. There are many questions for that pair, in my view.

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

We’d just been to Arsenal in the cup quarter final, pretty much filled the Clock End, then took a load to this game midweek. A real buzz around the club.

Superb performance and we were on the charge by then. Great side. Like the ‘92 team. Compare and contrast to this ragtag bunch.

Real excitement in the air back then. I can remember feeling that buzz ahead of most games. Some special away performances/results that season. Dingles, Watford, Bolton, Birmingham, Grimsby, Nobbers.

A particular favourite of mine was at Pride Park in the FA Cup. Drawn to face Premier League Derby and we go and smash 5 past them! What a squad and time that was.

A lot of it comes down to intent. Back then, there was a clear intent from the top. We want promotion. Everybody was on board with it and the manager was backed to that end. The players wanted to do it for Uncle Jack too.

Today? Only one man in the building has shown the right intent and he won't be hanging around for long.

13 hours ago, tomphil said:

He was a Burnley lover as well all those 70's throwbacks seemed to be but yes the ex City fella was ?  He was the only one on there who had a decent word to say about Rovers.

Fat Sharpe was another twohat.

Gary Owen was the former City player on there. I enjoyed listening to his views and he came across as a nice guy. Would often give Rovers a bit of airtime.

I thought Alan Kennedy was ok too. Sharpey was just bothered about Everton. It was great to see us frustrate each of them in turn during those years.

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

He's also one who really had it in for Rovers when he was on that Century FM or whatever it was every evening, a complete twohat and a piss pot to boot.

I hope we stuff them for that reason alone.

Yeah, I remember that. On the 'Legends Football Phone in'. There was one particular Rovers visit to Old Trafford, where Thomas and a few of their fans were getting giddy beforehand on the Friday. Acting like it was a foregone conclusion for United.

It took one of their wiser fans (Webby) to tell Thomas "don't take these (Rovers) lightly tomorrow, Sparky's got them playing, they are coming to attack and we have to be on it, otherwise we will get beat".

Morten scored twice...

Not a peep from Thomas on the Monday.

Another Duff clip.

Gary Neville up against a young Duffer. Neville has no chance:

1 hour ago, NeilInBristol said:

"It is a position we are extremely stretched in now," he said. "This window is extremely important for the club to get it right.

"I think we should have signed two (defenders) in the summer. Before these things happened, I think the club should have brought players in. 

"Now with James and Travis going away, then there is space to use, money to use."

Tomasson is particularly disappointed to be losing Hill, who had become a regular in the side after breaking into the team in October.

Whether that full-back or in the middle, Hill was an important contributor to the squad. It leaves a big hole for the club to fill.

"We are losing James Hill, we lost Daniel Ayala and we lost Ashley Phillips," Tomasson said.

"Two went out of the building, one came in. Now he is also gone."

 

Wow. Gotta say he is the most honest coach 

Keep on shining a light on the shit show, Jon. We're right behind you.

Any neutrals reading that will be wondering what the heck is going on. Good! We need people to start asking questions.

Andy Moran, eh? @gazza1981

No thank you, there are levels to this.

This is what a real Blackburn Rovers player looks like:

2 hours ago, tomphil said:

I think it was Lambert who brought Graham here with a view to a perm signing and Senior brought in Joao who was his agent wifes client.

Gally on loan and Emnes were good punts though at the time and the owners had sold the defence anyway and left us with the likes of Greer and Brown.

Riddiculous when you think back.

Yeah, he also said that even though Hanley and Duffy were sold for good fees, he was told he would only have one of their wages available to replace the pair of them with.

Ridiculous. We had addressed the frontline, but managed to decimate the defence in the same breath. That's the Venky way.

It looks like no lessons have been learnt either as a similar thing seems to be happening again now. I.e use one of the departing wages to cover three signings. It's a recipe for relegation, when those players are lower league standard and not of the calibre for this club. As is the case with Ennis and Telalovic.

9 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Coyle was lining a pile of shite up though starting with that lad he had at Houston he was trying to get him here from the get go.

Had they allowed him to spend we'd have been stuck with more crap and probably stuck with him into league 1.

Oh, I don't disagree. He would have most likely lumbered us with shite. It's more the idea that he didn't get the money, but the spin being put out was that he chose not to spend. Spin via itk's etc, which takes the blame away from Venky's. Something which appears to have repeated itself with Mowbray.

One thing about Coyle, despite being a crap manager, he didn't have trouble finding us a striker with little money to play with. We needed strikers and he goes and gets Gallagher, Graham, Emnes and Joao. Just on that aspect alone, he puts Broughton to shame.

I don't think the Hollywood boys will have encountered a circus quite like ours before. The thought of Waggott rolling out the red carpet for them and their entourage. Yuck. 

Good draw on paper, there will be plenty of interest/intrigue, but I feel this has got upset all over it.

22. Steven Reid

22 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Wrangle yourself  a job at BRFC and you’ve a job for life - be it DoF, CEO or coach, and that is very unhealthy for a football club.

Relegation, doesn't get you the sack here.

Costing the owners £2m by acting without their authority, doesn't get you the sack here.

Cocking up transfers, doesn't get you the sack here.

Spiralling down the table, doesn't get you the sack here.

Poor results and performances, doesn't get you the sack here.

Speaking the truth though...

That's a problem.

21 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

 

The boat probably sailed with Mowbray and his weird reluctance to make a real push for the Premier League whist it was still a genuine possibility. I know a lot of posters won't have it but I'm still firmly of the view based on what I've been told that Mowbray and Waggott had a substantial watchest made available to them Jan 22 but declined to use it.

We'll probably never know the truth, Rev, but what I think is clear is that there are two narratives that have been put out regarding previous budgets. One of those narratives is a lie. Why? Well...

1) Coyle (yeah, I know) has openly said on 'Under The Cosh' that he had signings lined up in January 2017, but that the owners wouldn't give him the funds to complete the deals. At the same time, it was being said that Coyle had money to spend but that he was choosing not to spend it (sounds familiar).

According to Coyle, the owners were happy for him to take the flak for a lack of signings. When he tried to correct the (in his view) false narrative about him choosing not to spend, he got the sack.

2) We have heard similar in relation to Mowbray. Two or three posters with contacts saying he had Dembele, Wallace and a couple of others lined up, but no funds were given for him to sign them. One poster even alleging that this came from the horse's mouth.

Notice how, at the same time as these targets supposedly being lined up, the whispers and narrative started going around that Mowbray had money to spend but that he was choosing not to spend it? Same as the Coyle situation.

Not helped by Mowbray admitting he chose not to loan a Premier League striker, of course. However, there's a difference between making that type of signing and receiving funds for four signings who could significantly strengthen the squad in January.

The way I see it, we have, on one side, two managers saying they didn't receive funds for signings in those particular windows. (This shifts the blame on to the owners, making the owners look bad)

Then, on the other side, we have itk's/contacts saying the managers chose not to spend (This shifts the blame on to the managers, making the managers look bad and the owners look good)

One of those sides is lying.

There are signs of this still happening today. JDT openly questioned the ambition of the club, the words of Swag, he was batting for the fans saying we shouldn't be kept in the dark. He shone a light on the shit ownership. What did we then start to see? So called itk's and people with contacts trying to pin everything on JDT instead. It's clear to me how this might be unfolding.

These itk's are getting this info from somewhere. I am of the view that duff info is given to some at times, and for a particular reason. I don't mean that you or your contact are lying, nor anybody else on here. I'm talking about where the leak originally comes from, much further up the chain.

I personally believe there is an agenda to protect the owners, to deflect blame away from them, and to make out as though these oh so generous folk are being held back by x, y and z. If only it wasn't for FFP, Parachute Payments and now the Indian Government. I have never bought it and never will.

49 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

You must have missed Leonard's incredibly good chance. Just like Leonard.

Ah, yes. The open goal, an incredible miss. I had forgot about that. Could have been 8.

Much better second half. Could have scored 7 with one hitting the post and Arnor missing a good chance.

The cups bring something different, even though the overall situation doesn't look good at the minute.

United away in the next round, hopefully. That's the game for me.

I would say unbelievable. But it's not.

15 minutes ago, andyh said:

I will be watching the game on ESPN+ in the US, but also want to listen to the Rovers commentary via the usual Match Centre link....only it isn't there on my computer..the only links are for buy tickets and hospitality. Does anyone else have the same problem? I am guessing this is another problem caused by Digital Day.

 

Cup games haven't been available on Rovers Player/iFollow for as long as I can remember. I think this extends to audio commentary too. There's nothing on the website to watch/listen to when it involves the cups.

On 03/01/2024 at 20:40, harryhealless1928 said:

Agree with last 2 posters. Very disappointing Travis is heading for the exit door(if so). If hes being replaced with Isaac Hayden(injury-prone)on loan Ill do my nut! 

Why cant we get rid of Brittain and/or Markanday who havent an ounce of fight between them.  I dont even think the ultra-low fee is a problem - we have let bucket loads of better players leave for free!!

It seems as though anybody who is able to deliver a few home truths is moved on.

Salgado, Roberts, Emerton, Nelsen, Samba, Dack and now Travis. A common theme, whereby players who ask questions make some uncomfortable and need to be moved out.

Of course, moving these players on helps make a saving too, but I think there's more to it than that. Wasn't the Derby halftime 'takeover' under Mowbray led by Travis?

Might be a cynical view, but I think the lack of fight among the two you mention isn't seen as a bad thing by this setup. It's about complying, not asking questions.

Szmodics has looked peed off with teammates on the pitch recently, throwing his arms up at poor passes etc. He'll be next to go. That seems obvious based on the fee he could bring in, but also because he doesn't look like somebody who is happy to just hang around in a development team.

36 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

The same Ben Benson that was highly praise by Kaminski when he left. So maybe we know very little about the coaching he does on a daily coach. 

Chaddy, that praise might be genuine but there could also be an alternative explanation. Think about how that Kaminski interview might have come about for a moment.

Is it not possible that after viewing this forum and seeing Benson getting panned, somebody has thought we need to get some good PR out about our goalkeeper coach? After all, Benson is obviously a key member having survived allsorts of upheaval at the club.

What a stunning way it would be to silence the critics than with praise from a professional. That'll show 'em. The pro's know best, apparently. Isn't that the exact angle that the itk's and plants like to use against us 'no nowts' on here and elsewhere? 'The pro's know better than you'.

'Kaminski has made you no nowts look stupid. Ha'. This is what was being said by some fans online, here and elsewhere after the interview. I would say that was 'job done' in terms of PR. 

I really want to add how I think this could have happened, as this is where it is likely to click with some, but it's better I don't. The clues are out there though.

I wouldn't believe everything I hear from players, Chaddy. There's a lot of PR bullshit that goes on in football.

If Benson was such a fantastic goalkeeping coach, why is nobody trying to take him off us?

4 hours ago, tomphil said:

 

What i have noticed on the sewer aka twitter and faceache is one or two who often claim to be itk on transfers and stuff sticking the boot into JDT, not for the first time either. Wonder where that is being pushed from as you'd think the pro clubbers and plants would be pro the Head Coach !

 

I have noticed this in a few places too. So called itk posters trying to go after JDT and deflecting criticism away from Swag and Co.

There were a couple on here doing that only recently. One was blaming JDT for wasting his funds on a midfielder and saying he shouldn't complain because it's his own fault. Another wasn't happy with JDT "speaking like that" when he openly called Swag out and said that the fans shouldn't be kept in the dark about the project changing.

I personally feel somebody, somewhere, is trying to engineer JDT's exit. Remember how the stories started being planted about "financial meltdown at Rovers, JDT about to quit" in the summer, at a time when optimism was in the air? That felt off to me.

The way the budgets have been cut, the nature of the squad, plus his own ambitious nature. It all feels like a piss take of a situation, where any ambitious manager would genuinely think about walking.

Why would somebody want him to walk? It could be because he is too ambitious for them, exposing the mess for what it is and making one or two uncomfortable in the process. Then you have the plants laying it all at JDT's door.

I think @wilsdenrover is on the money with his theory.

I think there has been an agenda for a while to keep the heat off certain people at the club. Which is where the plants and ultra pro club types come in trying to blame our fans, JDT, 1995, Shearer, Sutton and Football Manager for attendances, fan discontent and so on.

Nothing to do with the bastards who have ruined the club though and who remain in situ taking the piss. Oh no.

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

Not that long ago we were winning the League at Anfield, we were a better side than them, and even in the early years of this rotten regime we were playing them with regularity and beating them at Ewood. 

Fast forward a decade and I'm trying to imagine just how little pride or care there is rattling around down there to accept, support, welcome, even just tolerate hosting an event celebrating the 'legends' of what was until recently a rival. 

Even if we were a perennial League Two club it is simply something you 'don't do' in the world of English football and such a historic footballing region as this. 

It really is sickening. 

Exactly. Remember Benjani running riot against them, with the odious one sat in our dugout. Amongst other moments where we not only competed with them, but hurt them too. Who can forget Tugay making Gerrard look silly before cutting them open for Benni's goal?

This is shameless, absolutely shameless. That word sums up the whole operation though. Anything for a quick buck. Doesn't matter how it looks or sounds to our fan base, or the football world, let's keep Liverpool sweet so we can keep on loaning a kid or two off them.

I don't think ANY other club in all four Divisions would stoop this low. There's something called self respect, which prevents them from doing so. No such thing here though.

1 hour ago, Rogerb said:

Staff and players 1 July 21 to 30 June 22 senior team

Suhail Waggott Mowbray Venus Johnson Benson Sheron lowe

Kaminski Pears Stergiakis Eastham Hilton Dowling

Nyambe Pickering Johnson Ayala Davenport Armstrong Rothwell Gallagher Dolan JRC

Butterworth Wharton S Chapman Buckley BBD Dack Carter Lenihan Travis Magliore

Brennan Pike Garrett Vale McBride Sam Barnes Annesley saadi Pleavin Durrant Clarkson Poveda Van Heckle Khadra Edun Sam Burns Harry Leonard James Brown Zeefuick Hedges Markandy Giles Wharton A.

extended scholar contracts Cirino Harlock Gilsenan Baker Ferguson Lonsdale

That's 62 including the scholars nowhere near 75 as shown in accounts 

 

Cheston and Silvester would also go onto that list to make it 64.

There are a couple of Directors of Indian background who might also be added, I think. One is called Gandhi Babu, not sure of the other.

Would Lynsey Talbot, Yasir Sufi and the women's team staff probably take it up to 75 from there? I assume that's what it is.