Eddie

I've always been fairly positive about midtable finishes in the past, but it is hard to see how this season is heading towards anything other than relegation.

The worst part? I'm not sure that I even care anymore. 

I've tried. I tried to get in to all of the signings in the summer. I saw it as exciting, I hoped things would improve. 

But they're mostly crap. The side is awful. The manager is useless. 

All this talk about 'defending together, attacking together'. We lose together. That's all they do.

I feel sorry for some of the players. It isn't their fault that they are here and a few of them are better than this, but these owners have sucked the soul out of the club.

For those wishing for relegation, I think that's a mistake. It won't force the owners out. It won't force change. It will just make us that bit less relevant. 

We're heading towards League One football with crowds of sub-5000. It won't be pretty.

3 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

Hmmm... Think thats a stretch. But Italy won euro 2020 without  standout attacking players, though they did have a brilliant keeper and defence. And obviously Greece in 2004.

Chiesa was pretty special throughout that tournament. Injuries have set him back a lot, but in 2020/21 he was one of the best attacking midfield options in Europe. 

12 hours ago, Gav said:

Best fans in the World Tuchel. It will do you good to remember that.

 

 

Not sure on the best fans in the world stuff, but his criticism isn't of England fans in general or how well they travel. It's specific to the atmosphere at England's home stadium. It isn't great there; there are lots of reasons for that, but I understand his observations. 

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

I'm getting fed up with this now. 

The EFL have made the correct decision. You and others at Rovers might not like it given the circumstances, but that's how it is. It would be utterly ridiculous for them to let the result stand with probably 15 minutes+ left to play and even more ridiculous for them to have just played the last 10 minutes or so starting with Rovers being 1-0 up against 10 men. 

There is no precedent for it in English football history and for good reason - it wouldn't work and would open the floodgates to all sorts of shenanigans in future when there are issues with the weather, floodlights etc.

If you are angry about it I suggest you spend less time worrying about the EFLs difficult but ultimately correct decision and more of your time working out whether Rovers have invested sufficiently in their facilities to ensure the pitch is in the best possible condition to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen. 

I can safely say that Rovers could have done more, it isn't just the weather or the River Darwen, just as we had no issues with drainage getting games abandoned from 1992 - 2012.

Cool it. 

You can disagree and have an opinion one way or the other, but you can't be so confident in your own position.

They do it in other leagues, and it's a rare enough occurrence that relying on 'precedent' is really solid ground. 

Just let other people be frustrated by what was an undeniably frustrating sequence of events. Not only that, but regardless of how confident you are in the EFL's correct decision, there's also no denying the fact that Rovers got the short end of the stick in every aspect. 

6 hours ago, Tomphil2 said:

They will at the very least be ordered to cover costs and try and make a few extra pennies so there'll be some sort of charge.

Meanwhile Ipswich will probably subsidise those who want to travel again.

Ordered? By our owners? 

Now, if the club had any sense, this is a chance to turn a potential replay into a positive. 

Just have it be free tickets for everyone. Try to get as many in as possible. See it as a bonus fixture that can create new supporters and generate revenue from concessions. 

They won't do this, but it would be a silver lining if the full replay is required. 

I think the only realistic and 'fair' outcome is a full replay, but that Ipswich allow us to score immediately. If we can't win from 1-0 up with 90 minutes to go, then it's at least a somewhat balanced outcome.

That would also allow Cantwell (assuming that he is available) to get a goal that may be significant for him in terms of bonuses and incentives. 

7 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

 

Ah the BBC, someone should ask them why Final Score didn't have a reporter at the Rovers game for

the 2nd week running, they are supposed to cover every match in the Championship.

Scrap the licence fee I say.

They are totally useless organisation these days.

Save that for a different forum. 

8 hours ago, Hasta said:

You missed the bit about him wanting a new contract in December / January under Eustace but the club refusing to discuss one.

Kind of unrelated to that actual story, though. 

On 18/09/2025 at 18:27, aletheia said:

Well in terms of Rovers yes -ie standard MO of messing a player about and being economical with the truth. 

The story is basically:

I wanted to leave. I thought I could leave earlier in the window when the first club came in. Turns out the club wanted more money. I thought they'd accept less. They didn't. They indicated that they would sell me, but they didn't make it as easy as I wanted it to be. 

It's totally nothing.

I'm a huge critic of the club, but pretty much any transfer could have this same story. It's also a slightly misleading headline that makes it sound like it might be referring to contract negotiations. 

On 15/09/2025 at 23:22, Ghost7 said:

The penalty give away is Sunday league stuff. He wasn't even on the ball.... I had no idea La Liga was this poor. 9 mins in for those that want to see.

 

To be honest, the cross isn't much better. Awful keeping, and he completely flaps at something that should be pretty straightforward. 

15 minutes ago, Madon said:

Slim chance of a WC place too potentially? 

Couple of injuries to England's wingers and Dolan flying in La Liga you just never know! (I know, only 4 games in!) 

It's such a strong position. He'd need about 20 players to get injured to even make the conversation. 

(he's also not good enough)

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Glad you enjoyed the day out.

1n he wider scheme of things if you "enjoy" bobbing along between 15th and 21st - that's your (and Parson's) prerogative.

As such knowledgeable and seasoned observers I can't understand why you both seem to be so content for us to be poor.

We played really well yesterday and, on the face of it, we deserve to be on more than 6 points so far. 

This is the Championship, there are plenty of sides around us at the moment who will finish in the top half. There's no reason that we can't go from our slow(ish) start to once again challenging for the playoffs. 

It's possible to dislike the regime, acknowledge that there is plenty wrong with the club, but still enjoy a performance like yesterday's and be excited about a couple of the new signings. 

Really solid performance. 

Encouraging early signs for both Morishita and Gudjohnsen, who, aside from one lazy pass to Kargbo, looked fairly classy when he came on. 

I think Alebiosu might be an upgrade on Britain. 

14 minutes ago, NeilInBristol said:

Did any one listen / watch the no tippy tappy podcast episode with Rudy? Just got round to it by seriously why bother- can see through the BS all this stuff about JE leaving for “personal reasons” bs and we signed 5 players in January (all on short term deals) bs 

 
 

 

The message, as when we spoke with him, is a bit confused. 

19 minutes ago, BRFC4EVA said:

I know I shouldn't be supprised, but this is what we have been reduced to. Picking up the scraps from league 1 promoted clubs, 3 hours after the deadline. 

Beyond pathetic. I hate this club

I'm not sure that is always sound logic.

I'm not particularly hopeful about this one, but most of our best signings were cast-offs or, in the very least, not star players at clubs at our level or below. 

Just now, G Somerset Rover said:

Not from within the current playing staff, or from foreign rubbish overseas, he isn't.

I don't know why foreign has to be rubbish, but we wouldn't have to go far to get a defender of Hyam's quality and we'd be furious if we were signing him for 2.7m with 12 months left on his deal.

The timing is the bad part. 

Hyam was definitely leaving, so I get the idea of selling him...I just don't get why they've waited until the window is virtually closed. 

Maybe they'll pull something off? But I doubt it. 

Hyam is a good, but unspectacular CB at this level. His best ability is the fact that he's never injured or suspended, but he's easily replaceable from a quality perspective. 

27 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Looking at wharton's injury record maybe 18 million wasn't that bad. He's done the same injury he did last season apparently 

Hopefully, these are just muscle injuries coming from a combination of workload and the fact that he's had a reasonably big growth spurt over the last couple of years. 

But it is definitely concerning. Picking up non-contact injuries every 3/4 months is not a great sign. 

41 minutes ago, superniko said:

Have I just seen Finn Azaz has been signed by Southampton for £15m, yes 15 million great british pounds, whilst Ipswich have signed a lad for £17.5m who has only played in the Danish league (worst record than Gudjohnsons lad there too).

How much did we sell Adam Wharton for again?

Can we honestly move on with this? 

We don't know the full terms of those deals and that transfer was also 18 months ago. Inflation alone makes 15m now 16m, never mind the exponential inflation in football transfers and wages.

Will this club be forever defined by the decision to sell a player? 

Should Everton fans still be going on about how they only got 27m for Rooney. Southampton only got 10m for Bale. Celtic only 13m for van Dijk. 

Honestly, the list of players who should have gone for more is so incredibly long, is this club really going to be defined by ONE PLAYER that we sold. 

We've also fleeced some clubs in the past when both buying and selling. Why don't we speak about that more? 

5 minutes ago, Tomphil2 said:

I might be in a minority but i don't want to see another Siggy here for the money and to manage his International career.

Scandi players are very hit and miss.

Not sure he's going to love being called Scandinavian. 

We've had a hit or miss experience with Nordic players, although there have been some great ones at the club (MGP, Berg) and some very serviceable ones (Tronstad, Nils-Eric Johansson). Overall, Nordic players do seem to settle well in England, so it's a good place to be sourcing players from.

Siggurdson signed here under unusual circumstances, was barely used in the right way, and was consistently injured. There was a good player there, and I don't think he was just here for the money. 

8 minutes ago, J*B said:

I’m not sure. I’d much rather he was thinking “I’ll move to crazy Rovers, score 20 in a season and move somewhere else”. I’m being deadly serious when I say I’d be asking him if he was seriously considering Azerbaijan and if he answered yes, I’d move on. Not the right character. 

I don't know.

He might make more money, and he's now guaranteed 8 Champions League matches, including 4 matches against really top clubs and a couple of matches against the kind of teams he may see as his next move (Benfica, Ajax). 

I agree in principle, but I can also understand a player choosing Champions League exposure over playing in the Championship. Especially if a move to Qarabag could include a relatively friendly release clause that could be activated in January or next summer. 

Decent fee for a player who's nowhere near good enough or consistently fit enough to be a significant part of our squad. 

Always a shame when a young player is held back by injuries, but League One is probably his level.