The hero who landed Dennis. Go on, Steve! (Some will seriously be expressing such) I don't agree with some of the wording, he's laying it on a bit, but he's not wrong with the general point, IMO. We have managed to bring in players with some pedigree and experience at this level with little funds to play with. On that basis alone it looks like a 'victory' which is why Nixon is writing as he is. Of course, it's not a 'victory' in the sense of the amount of money recouped from player sales and then reinvested, but it's decent for a low budget. The players have to do the business on the grass obviously, but I have more faith in this set of signings than some in recent years like Ennis or Telalovic where you could sense the desperation.

The signings are about as good as we could have made (on paper for now) based on what little we had to spend. I expected a lot worse to come in based on the Forshaw signing. However, we have added pace and options upfront using relative buttons. Fair play to Rudy on that front. It has been a very low bar throughout this ownership, I know, but not long ago the buttons were wasted on the likes of Ennis, Telalovic, Mola, Riordan and Co. The guys that have come in this month are of another level compared to them.

Emmanuel Dennis is a cracking signing. He is a real threat once he gets going. Woodrow is better than Leonard, so that's an upgrade for me. It's short term and they've done it on the cheap. Only one set of people to blame for that. We are going to have the same issues again in the summer in needing multiple new incomings as the loanees go back. However here and now, considering the small budget and these being loans, they look like shrewd picks on paper. It doesn't matter that West Brom have got Armstrong and Boro have got Iheanacho etc for me. We're fighting them all the way regardless. Eustace has got us organised and staying in games. Now we've added pace in Kargbo and extra goal threat in Dennis and Woodrow. It's on. Let's get after these teams and keep the pressure on. Boro are no Real Madrid no matter who and how many they sign, and West Brom have Mowbray as manager. Our biggest problem is our own hierarchy.

We're entering that worrying stage of the window. There better not be a panic about who to unregister or a last minute wobble over Dennis' wages. Just get it done.

He has looked ok whenever I have seen him. Not brilliant, but not crap either, IMO. I think he's better than Leonard as it stands and he would offer us more than he does. If it was just Woodrow coming in that would be quite underwhelming. In addition to Dennis though? I'll take that as we have options then.

Dennis would be a proper signing and one I'd be happy with, even if on loan. I wanted us to sign him before he went to Watford. Of course, we weren't going to get a European goal scorer at that time, it was more a wishful thought. He reminded me of Benni in some ways. The guy can finish and is a threat. Him and Gueye with Kargbo buzzing around too could be something special. I'm not a fan of Woodrow as the sole striker signing, but if it's as a pair with Dennis coming in too, I'm fine with that.

They'll probably take one look at the League table, after being prompted by the money saving duo to do so, and agree with them that things are going well. No need to spend much, we're 5th and in with a chance. Never mind context and what other clubs are doing, we're 5th. That's as far as their 'knowledge' will go, in my view. They won't have a clue regarding points 2 and 3. The whole family, plus Pasha, couldn't pick out quality players if their lives depended on it, IMO. This is the family that had Vineeth Rao (a cousin of theirs) asking a couple of Rovers fans on FB for their views on particular transfer targets about 10/11 years ago. Now they have Pasha, who probably knows less than Vineeth about football. If they are now being advised along the lines of "it's all good, no need, we're 5th, keep your hands in your pockets", then that would explain the bullshit we are seeing and have seen over the past few January's. Over the years, I have seen certain agents try to champion stability in the Championship over ambition, winning things and 'risking it'. The same agents are friendly with and have dealt with, the shadow man over the last 10 years, that's for sure. The favoured line from the lapdogs, whenever there is any criticism of these owners and their lack of ambition is "we can't risk the future of the club", with FFP quickly thrown in as an additional convenient excuse. None of this is a coincidence in my view, but many (outside of here) swallow it. Pasha is the first one that needs to leave. A message for any of the Rao family. Balaji, Jagdesh, whoever. If you have a sliver of desire for Rovers to win but don't know who to listen to, get in touch with this forum and meet up with a group of us from this forum. It's never going to happen, I know. But you need to cut Pasha out, cut Waggott out and come and speak with us. The real Rovers people that want the club to win. We, as a collective, want Rovers to win more than anybody and would tell you in clear terms what needs to be done.

Your opening sentence there takes me back to the Steve K*an days. That's what this is beginning to feel like again. The difference being, Eustace is a decent guy that wants to win and the squad is on board with him. He's nothing like that prick. What has changed at the club upstairs since those days, though? I'd argue nothing has. They might bring out a few new public facing suits now and then, but the same old problems remain. Unbelievable that almost 15 years on, the same old shit is still repeating itself. Fans of other clubs often have complaints about their clubs, some of them may be frustrated by a lack of trophies, or a lack of ambition, or in PNE's case, not playing in the top flight for 60 odd years. None of them have experienced this though. This crap has to be felt to be believed. This is an unprecedented shit show, the like of which English football hasn't seen before.

There's that Boro link again. Makes sense in this case with him being a former player of theirs. If this move happens, I'm going to compile a list of players that have played for both clubs over the past decade plus. It's quite incredible.

Yeah, you're most probably right on that. Just trying to make sense of why things have become so desperate. The situation looks worse than when they have 'turned the taps off' in the past to me.

I'm half wondering whether there might be more to the Court situation in India than meets the eye. Something that we possibly don't know or aren't being told about. It's clear that this is the worst it has been for us in a transfer window, where we can barely scrape frees and loans together and we seem to be desperately shifting a few out. Our windows have generally been disappointing under them, but this is really desperate stuff. 'Desperate' is the word that best describes this window. Question is, why? These are supposed billionaires that are apparently free to send funds across 'without impediment'. Didn't the car salesman recently have to provide a full breakdown of where the funds were going to be used for the Indian Court, before permission was given for that money to be sent here? Is it possible the Court in India has discovered something else during its investigation and has now decided they can't send anything here at all? Hence the desperate actions on the ground here as they try to make room for one or two cheap incomings, using club raised funds? Not for one second am I giving them the Court matter as an excuse. Just a theory as to why this window could be looking at being the worst ever under this lot.

You seem a bit rattled, Mashed. Is everything ok? Yesterday you told us that the owners have "run the club very poorly". That's about as far as your 'criticism' of the owners goes. Today "we are better at decision making" than Hull. Make your mind up.

Yes, all true. The racism angle started and was spread from one camp. I have seen it implied once more not long ago, indirectly, by a person on twitter who is connected to said camp. It was a year or two ago when anger was building towards Venky's on here and there were protest ideas being discussed. It might have been when this thread started. Anyway, the twitter coward put out something like "unconscious racism, that's what it is". No context, no explanation given. Random tweet. I believe it was a response to the discussion on here at the time, as he has been known to read this forum. The carbed one suddenly hinting at racist chants being a concern for him is certainly odd and raises eyebrows. There are Rovers fans out there that are against protests and want to try other routes. I have never seen/heard them mention that as being a reason though. Also, this "wait until the Regulator is in place" advice, feels very much like the "jam tomorrow" scenario that we have seen under this hierarchy time and again. A scenario which never arrives, but keeps the fans waiting.

Are you expecting or fearing racist chants? Is that what you are getting at? Because that's the only conclusion that can be drawn from you randomly mentioning Laurie Cunningham. If that is your concern, you're probably the only one thinking that might happen. To my knowledge, in all the years of anti Venky chants (not that they have happened often) there has never been racism involved. Their race has never been the issue. You don't need any of us to tell you that. Just remember who planted that particular seed before the media...about Rovers fans having a 'dark agenda' or whatever term that scumbag used.

In addition to that and even worse. There are some fans out there genuinely saying the following and using these points to protect said hierarchy: 1) The period 1990-2010 was a fantasy time for the fans, brought about by Uncle Jack's money. It wasn't real. 2) We didn't deserve the success we experienced during that time. We didn't deserve to be the most successful town Football Club. We got lucky because of money. 3) This now, under Venky's is actually normal and our real level, because it was like this in the 80's. I.e mid table, second tier, little money to spend. Venky's are actually doing a brilliant job propping us up by putting in £20m a year. 4) Nobody else will ever put in what Venky's put in. Nobody out there wants to buy the club. Without Venky's, the club is finished. 5) Rovers are like a charity case receiving charity from Venky's. I am grateful for everything Venky's put in. They don't have to give us a penny but they do and I'm glad they have kept us competitive in the Championship for all these years. 6) Ah, I know. I hate what happened in the early days. I really do. The blame and anger should go towards that agent and that manager at the time. Venky's were badly advised. 7) Our relegation from the Premier League was inevitable. We would have gone down anyway at some stage. None of the above are my thoughts and we've all probably seen/heard all of the above nonsense online or when out and about. Those points are from actual older Rovers fans that attend games, not plants, not Dingles. Actual fans that have seen it all. Unbelievable. Number 5 takes some beating, it really does. That is the definition of "head's gone" and you wonder what such people think football is about.

Not sure he'd want to work for these idiots. He has stated a couple of times, about how sad he is to see where Rovers are now. He'll know what the score is here. It's quite something that a few of our former players, including Nelsen, Bentley, Shearer, Sutton etc have all expressed similar sadness, yet absolute lemmings in our fanbase make excuses for Venky's because "it was like this in the 80s". IMO, a pathetic, seriously pathetic, mindset and approach to following a football club. Their mindset aligns with that of Venky's, Pasha, Waggott and the rest, which is why they defend them. Back to Duffer...I've always been of the view that we need to keep all of our former favourites from before 2010 far away from this shower. Nobody is ever likely to succeed under this disgraceful setup. Anybody that turns up here with any ambition is soon left to fend for themselves and it always ends the same way. It's why I never agree with the suggestions to bring Tugay in as DOF or as an ambassador. No, no, no. We have fantastic memories of most of our former players, back when the air was clean and the club was alive. Let's not ruin any of that by giving this lot a chance to mess them about. I still hate that Henning had to experience what he did here as manager. He'll always be remembered as a winner in a Rovers shirt, but I hate that these clowns had the opportunity to mess him about. If we were a normal club with normal owners, trying to go up, and Duff was a possibility, I would be buzzing about the idea. Imagine Tugay returning here under decent, new owners to work upstairs. That would be a massive move and feels like a dream right now. Under these shameless morons though? No. Never. Don't want that at all, personally.

Elliott Jackson gets a bit of stick, fairly at times, but credit has to go to him for managing to bring Chaddy back into the real world. One podcast is all it takes. Who knew? 'Leave it to the experts' @roversfan99

This Kimpioka link...sounds like an exotic sounding signing where some out of the box thinking may have happened...but look at his playing history and you see he is former Sunderland. There might be something in it, let's see. Remember a post I made the other day about possible targets being ex Boro, Sunderland, Birmingham, Coventry or Hibs? If true, this is unlikely to be a gem find by our recruitment team. It would signal the same old, same old, to me.

He's layering in the excuses ahead of the disappointment that is to come. At best, expect a couple of squad fillers to come in to add the "strength and depth" he mentions in the last paragraph. The sad thing is, many in the wider fanbase and across social media are going to fall for it and parrott the very words that he has put out in that statement, when we don't get the players we need. I can just see it now. Window goes as we expect it to and the reaction from some of the fans, based on that statement, will be along the lines of: Paragraph 1 - "They have to be the right fit ffs. We can't just buy anybody, they have to be the right character. Do you want bad apples spoiling the dressing room? I don't (moral high ground) and Eustace doesn't either. I trust Eustace (even though it wasn't his call). Player x is a t&£! anyway, I'm glad we didn't get him. Happy to wait until the summer where better deals will turn up. Be patient ffs". Paragraph 2 - "Injuries ruined all our plans. What don't you understand, ffs! How is Waggott/Gestede at fault? We were trying to sign attackers, but nobody could have foreseen the injury situation. Eustace told us we were looking at improving the attack, Waggott told us too, but a freak run of injuries stopped us from being able to make those signings. We had to address other areas. It's purely bad luck. Nobody is to blame". "Our budget couldn't stretch to all areas, you know? We aren't Man City. Do you want a centre mid or a striker? I'd rather see Leonard get a run of games and I'm pleased we have signed Robbie Mustoe as cover for Adam Forshaw". "On a positive note, Travis and Tronstad coming back soon along with Brittain and Batth will be like new signings. We will actually be finishing the season with a stronger squad. This squad won six in a row earlier this season, they could do that again. Why can't you be positive? We're only 6 points off the top 6. We'll bring in the quality we need in the summer window, just get behind the team". Paragraph 3 - "FFS, we weren't the only club looking for new signings you know. January is always a limited window. Other clubs with more money were competing with us for player x, y and z. What do you expect? We can't compete with them". "It's not the club's fault, it's FFP and parachute payments that have done us over again. We tried, but I'm happy with the honest bunch of players we already have. I don't want bad eggs to ruin the togetherness, tbh. Anyway, Gestede and the recruitment team will have more time to prepare for the summer window and I'm fine with that". Some have already started placing the whole blame and their focus towards our injury situation, forgetting what the real problem is here. Venky's out. Pasha out. Waggott out.

He offered his resignation last summer, before they pacified him with a few incomings. If they make a mess of this window and that is looking more and more likely, he's almost certainly gone in the summer. This is looking like the JDT scenario all over again. Only, Eustace is managing to keep his cool before the press and isn't calling anybody out. His words though, are saying what JDT was saying. He's telling us repeatedly that he, his staff and the players want quality additions to come in. If they don't, it's not down to him or his staff. Just like under JDT, it's another case of us vs them. 'Us' consisting of Eustace, his staff, the players and the fans. 'Them' being the shameless hierarchy. Only one party in this equation is interested in the club truly succeeding and kicking on. The reason for the division is ALL down to the hierarchy. A hierarchy that is never on the same page with their managers or the fans of the club. I think Eustace will now be starting to understand why many of us can't stand these owners and their lapdogs. Anybody out there that is still defending 'them' or sympathising with 'them' is truly lost. I've seen some even go as far as trying to blame Uncle Jack for Rovers fans being unhappy and for calling this crap out. I find that truly disgusting. Such people cannot call themselves Rovers fans, IMO. One of the worst examples, IMO, of lost fans was last season when sporadic "Venky's out" chants broke out and some in the Riverside turned in bafflement towards others and said "eh, what's that all about?" and "eh, where's that come from?". WTF do you think it's about? What have you been watching for the last 15 years? Anybody still asking those questions deserves everything they are seeing right now.

Suhail Pasha, former Kentaro, an associate of Anderson's, appears to have been a prominent figure here behind the scenes from day one of the takeover. His own words on his Linkedin were that he helped Venky's to purchase the club in 2010. It is known that Kentaro had a contract in place in the early days basically running the club on behalf of the owners and providing them with 'expertise and advice'. Why is a former Kentaro man sat in such an important role at Rovers 15 years on in 2025? A former biscuit man, who knows eff all about football. Why is he in this role? What advice can he offer to anybody on footballing matters? This is where the questions need to be directed, IMO. I will always respect JDT for saying it as it is. He said the following for a reason: 'Ask Suhail'.

Keep an eye out for the pattern over the next few days. Some of the rumoured targets are likely to be ex Boro, Sunderland, Birmingham, Coventry or Hibs. This pattern has been there for a while. It doesn't apply to every rumoured link, but it does show itself at least once every season. Those targets also tend to be linked with a couple of those clubs in the same piece of hack gossip/transfer 'news' as us. If anybody wants to check this out, go back over some of the players we have been linked with over the last 10 or so years and you'll likely notice it.

It's becoming clearer by the game to me as to why Todd Cantwell ended up signing for Venky's poisoned Rovers, with nobody else vying for his signature. Forget the ridiculous price tag back at that time for a minute, the Norwich version of Cantwell wouldn't have even glanced in this direction. Venky's and quality don't go hand in hand. An absolute embarrassment to football in this country and an embarrassment to football fans in India and to those of Indian descent around the world. F#ck off Balaji, same for you Jagdesh and you Pasha.

This shit is all too predictable. Asante was always scoring tonight. The injuries are piling up too. What a surprise. Another season is about to fall away. No blame on the manager or the players. Said it many times before, the club is cursed under these bastards and has been since November 2010. Somewhere along the line, there is going to be justice for all Rovers fans who have had to endure this charade.

An Italian striker from Juventus. Hahaha. Somebody tell Balaji that Ravanelli left Juventus in 1996, please. A lazy link to O'Brien and now a mention of Juventus in the wake of increasing fan unrest at the lack of transfer activity. They must think we were born yesterday.