As soon as West Brom entered the running for Reach it was over really. Playing under a better manager, presumably on a better wage and for a club who should be challenging at the top end. He was always choosing them. How many targets have we got left now, if any? It all feels rudderless with the only idea now being to wait and see which kids the Premier League clubs will allow out on loan. This is after Mowbray only recently saying how we need men in the team. He said the same at Coventry too. He's had three years to get 'men' in our side. Oh and what a nice man Balaji Rao is by the way. Bringing John Park into the club, allowing him to chill out in the offices at Ewood and paying him for it too. A top man is Balaji.

The state of that lineup. The so called 'journey' has led us to this. Absolutely abysmal.

Yes. Nearer to kick off time.

Heavy downpours in Blackburn this afternoon along with thunder. Let's see what condition the pitch is in tonight.

Good stuff. That saves me having to mess about with LUTV or whatever it's called.

£3m might be a bit optimistic. I think £1m max, may be the best we can get for him. Not that I would be happy with that. Selling him would cause another problem, when we already have enough as it is in terms of replacing outgoings. Rothwell is one of the few 'exciting' players that we have left. That trait of his, the driving runs past defenders, not many players in the country have that, imo. He hasn't done it consistently for us, but there is a player in there. I'd like to see how he would do at Rovers with better coaching and under a different manager.

I'll take a guess at it being Rothwell. There was talk recently about us possibly selling him in order to offer Armstrong a big pay rise to stay. Armstrong is probably going anyway, but would they take the money if there was a bid on the table for Rothwell? I wouldn't put it past them.

That's the best away shirt we have had for quite some time. Can I have 9 Santa Cruz on the back of mine? 😁.

I'm in no doubt we'd be a much more solid outfit under him and closer to those play off places. Neil has something about him. Can you imagine him coming out with half of the crap that Mowbray has, or trying to gloss over a run of 2 wins in 17? He would be kicking backsides in the dressing room to snap us out of it. His work at Norwich shows him to be a winner and I thought he did a decent job at Preston with limited resources. He realised that they needed a centre back and got Bauer in. No messing about, he went out and addressed what their squad needed. I'd like to think he would have made better use of the £12m that Mowbray blew and our higher wage budget. We don't even need a brilliant manager to get us up the table or even out of this division. We just need a half decent one possessing the right mentality and attitude. Mr nice guy rotating everybody just to keep them happy, whilst waving the white flag is the last kind of manager you would want at your club. Yet we're stuck with him!

If true, that's another one we can cross off the list (Not that we have a list).

Famara Diedhiou has signed for a club in Turkey. I'm not sure if we were linked with him, but a few on here were touting him as a good signing on a free. The wait goes on.

It's a big concern. I would have expected a couple of incomings by now given how many we have let go. There isn't the usual talk from Mowbray either, which is telling. In the past he tried to suggest that we were on the lookout for, or were waiting for a 'better' calibre of player. To be fair, Elliott and THB were good additions, but I worry that isn't the case this time round.

I'm left wondering who exactly are we looking at in terms of potential signings? We used to hear how Mowbray has an A list and B list of targets, but there is nothing this time round. Barely any names or rumours doing the rounds and the new season is 2 weeks away. Yates and Johansen are no goers now, so what's the plan? It surely can't be to wait for Armstrong to be sold and see which youngsters the Premier League clubs will loan out.

The Watford owner has more ambition than the lot of the no-hopers that we have, put together. He might be trigger happy when it comes to managers, but that's because he wants the club to succeed. Following relegation he came out and admitted that the team hadn't been good enough, but that he would do everything he could to get Watford back in the Premier League. His words were followed by action and now they are back there. If that's dysfunctional, I want that type of dysfunctional at Rovers.

Personally, I don't want Gray anywhere near Rovers. Nothing to do with his dingle connection. We could do without another Leon Best type signing.

Sam McQueen's contract expired at Southampton on July 1st, but they are allowing him to continue using their training facilities. It sounds like a Gladwin situation at their end. Hasenhuttl has come out and said it would be a miracle if he made it back on the pitch due to issues around his injury.

No names have been mentioned yet. At a guess, I think it's more likely to be Tchaptchet and Will Smallbone. Two youngsters. I would prefer Valery and Obafemi but I'm not sure how realistic that is right now.

It's looking all set for Mowbray's contract extension, isn't it? All his mates in place, the cushiest job in football, I doubt he is walking away next summer. That lot gave our worst ever and most hated manager a new contract in the face of severe opposition. Giving Mowbray a new deal is small fry in comparison. I can only hope that this new guy has a better eye for a player.

This is why I want us to sign two midfielders this summer. Johnson can't be relied upon to stay fit and the jury is still out on Davenport and Buckley.

It's hard to be optimistic when the manager doesn't view the club in the same way that we do, nor when he doesn't have the same ambition for the club that many of us have. I am hoping that next season is his last one at the club. The owners, for whatever reason, can't sack a manager without needing somebody else to do it for them, so he's probably here till next year. I'm intrigued by the summer transfer window, though. Despite everything, I'm looking forward to seeing who we bring in. We need fresh faces and that is what is keeping me interested. I think it's more in hope that we may land a good 'un or two somewhere along the way.

It was in an interview with Andy Bayes. He said something along the lines of "we weren't getting results, but he (Mowbray) thought the performances were good".

I imagine it will be disheartening for those players who have a bit about them and who want to achieve things. Downing was left bemused by the 'performances have been good' nonsense during that awful run. He can't have been alone in thinking that. Having said that, there will also be a few taking advantage of the holiday camp setup, happy to just collect their wages with no pressure to succeed. If there's one club that badly needs a shift in mentality and culture...

I'm not comfortable at the thought of throwing the kids in and just hoping for the best. It's a massive step up from U23's to Championship football. It's easy to say we've got Pike, Carter etc so we don't need to sign a, b, c. Yet the reality is football doesn't always work like that. If it did, why has Klopp signed Konate when he already has Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams at the club? Or why should Pep be looking for a striker when he's got Delap he can bring into the squad? That's what some of our fans are doing when it comes to Carter, McBride, Vale etc. Relying on these kids isn't going to take us where we want to go. They might have potential, but right now, are they good enough to get us towards the top 6? Mowbray messed up by not giving minutes to Pike, McBride etc in the dead rubbers towards the end of last season. They would have got a feel for senior football and we would have had some idea of how they might cope with it. In our situation, we desperately need experienced players to come in, particularly in defence and the centre of midfield. Our defence right now is a massive concern. Ayala unable to stay fit, Wharton out injured (though he looked good before his injury) and Carter. It might sound harsh, but my personal view is that Carter isn't good enough for Rovers. He is levels below Harwood-Bellis and not the answer to our defensive issues. Yes, he had a decent loan spell at Burton, but to now count him as one of four centre backs we can rely upon next season? Not for me. The way Mowbray has already come out and said "young team, needs time to develop" suggests we are going to be relying more on the youngsters next season and it doesn't fill me with much confidence, to be honest.

Remember Danny Graham saying how Mowbray and Venus have opposite views on how the game should be played. One prefers tippy tappy, the other prefers a more direct game. Wouldn't surprise me if, under this shambles of a setup, it's now time to go back to Venus' preferred method.

Obafemi coming to Rovers, even on loan, would be an exciting signing. He is rapid. I was impressed with him in the few appearances he made last season. I can't see the club selling Armstrong for £10m though.