His latest trial was with Sligo Rovers - mix up with the Rovers' maybe? Way below our first team squad anyway.

These things are very rarely officially released but I remember seeing a few comments about it at the end of the season. He was on £15k at Argyl, so wouldn’t be too surprising given he only signed for 6 months with us - he wouldn’t take too much of a pay cut

Does this feel like good use of £10k a week for a team that hasn’t got a pot to piss in / hasn’t got owners who want to piss in the pot???

I think it was also widely reported Foreshaw was on £10k a week last season!!! Theres an extra £5k per week that could have given to 2 of Brittain / Travis / Tronstad. Baffling logic going on at this club

You’re about as pathetic as the lads running our club. Give your head a shake

This is the crux of it. If someone offered us £10m for Pickering I’d almost wonder what’s the point as we would only replace with £500k if we were lucky

He doesn’t have the physical attributes for the prem, nor the defensive abilities (in my opinion). Some of those wingers would eat him alive. The gulf is huge these days. He is a solid Championship full back who is good overlapping and getting forward, a player I’d love us to keep. I’d imagine Boro would offer him at least double what we would, and they’re not a basket case club. He’d be mad not to be interested

Speaking of PNE - christ I hadn't realised just how grim they've had it for so long... They've been to just 1 cup (FA or League) QF since England won the World Cup, and that was last season! Under Venkys alone we've been to 4 QFs Hadn't averaged 15k+ attendance since 1972 until they reduced ticket prices (cough wake up Rovers cough) Haven't played in the top tier since 1961. They're on a 60+ year decline, it's only the grandparents who go who have seen any sort of good football. https://european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/league/pne.htm

I can somewhat accept having a 'prem team' if you support / season ticket at Chorley or Darwen, but PNE, they've spent the majority of their history a league or two behind the likes of Liverpool / United, so bizarre. I remember when Swansea got promoted to the big leagues and 90% of their fans supported Liverpool / United as their 'prem team'

Clearly not even close to anybody new, otherwise we’d have lined it up to the kit announcement.

The relation is “it’s green”. Had the opportunity to do so much more. It’s a smart shirt but absolutely nothing unique to our 150th anniversary. It’s just a green away kit - oh with a white badge too. - unique badge, unique sponsor, gold trim, something unique to the Blackburn area in the background, legend player names in the background, trophy cabinet / success years in the background All simple things that would elevate a 150th kit to be different to the usual 2nd/3rd strip and it looks like none were done

I should kept my mouth shut, absolutely nothing unique about that shirt at all - it’s just another usual away/3rd kit. Do we have anybody in a position who actually knows what they’re doing at this club?

I actually think this could be a beauty - I hope they don’t mess it up. The bee crest with gold trim on the kit. I still would have preferred our season home kit to be the anniversary kit - but I guess it’s all about making money now and selling multiple kits

Brentford and Matthew Benham don’t often get things wrong but this certainly feels like a strange one. I’d be surprised if they don’t regress now.

It's a fair argument....February is short, seems to go quickly (albeit depressing as it's when we usually have a death spiral), January perhaps, but there's all that 'new year new me' optimism, everyone's in the same boat. November is just crap though, clocks have changed, it's starting to get dark, it rains every day, the dread of months of cold, wet, dark days ahead. It has a rubbish International break in the middle of it too.

It all feels a bit 'meh' with no Dingles, Bolton, even Wigan and Blackpool. PNE away in the middle of the most depressing month of the year. Two midlands clubs at Easter, Yorkshire and Humber over Christmas. They could be worse trips, but it's still just a bit shit.

I've found the bit where we're on the edge of the playoffs and then implode in February / March across a load of winnable fixtures after not spending anything in January.

Ah that was in the back of my mind but 1) forgot it was 4 years back then and 2) it’s such a small difference in the grand scheme of parachute payments now. These muppets really did relegate us at the worst possible time

Found this one baffling….how are we bringing in less broadcasting revenue now compared to 2015 and 2016? There is a ridiculous amount of matches televised these days and we appear to be none the better for it.

Port Vale releasing a 150th anniversary kit. Looks a beauty.

Absolute madness, have they even watched him play? Probably goes for more than Wharton with the ability of his little toe. Fair play to him though, he should ride that high while he can and get to Dortmund.

If you say so, but to me Davies, Cannon, Moore, Diaz, Campbell etc are nothing but mid-table championship standard but probably all picking up £50k+ Hamer the standout man for them, but he’s surrounded by overpaid shite - their wage bill will be ridiculous

They had a deduction this season, and I don’t think they’ve sorted their finances since - gambled on another promotion so expect a big regression there, especially given next season is their final parachute payment year as they only get 2. Sunderland would have spend more, given their likely sale of Bellingham.

I’d love to see their wage bill - so much highly paid dross there. A few troublesome years coming there way now

Surely we all want Sunderland to win this - Sheffield United have cheated their way through their finances for a few years now - resulting in them signing Anel A ahead of us despite the fact they couldn’t actually pay for him. About time that all caught up with them