4 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

It’s a rolling 3 year accounting period …

Not going to argue over it, but that's not the PL Handbook. 

20 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

Surely they need to put it into a different accounting period.

Their year end is 31st May so it would be odd if they make the signing permanent this month.

No, it's a rolling three-year limit. So moving it from one window to another would take one window off from 3 years before or, if they're thinking of the future, mean that they have better balance for two windows three years down the line. 

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

It was definitely reported as for Arsenal's benefit. Although I imagine it benefits Brentford the same way. Just little old Rovers it shafts.

It doesn't really benefit Brentford unless they made more out of it as a result of a loan fee. I don't mean in terms of how that impacts the sell-on clause, simply if Arsenal were willing to pay a little bit more to avoid FFP implications.

It helps Arsenal as it puts another relatively large fee into a different window. 

But if any of the stuff does interest anyone, we will probably keep it in the store until the end of the week unless we hit our minimum order requirement:

https://the-big-chill-podcast-shop.fourthwall.com/en-eur/?source=dashboard

A few similar items will be added by Wednesday.

Still very much open to charity suggestions. 

22 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

What situation do you think would achieve that without it involving administration?

I think there is a possibility that Venkys are either forced to sell (by government order or by circumstance) or simply decide that their involvement in football is now causing far more trouble than it is worth. 

7 hours ago, Roverall said:

Superb shirts. I will be proud to own and wear one.

Well done Eddie for your initiative. It feels like something is growing within the supporter base again after a long time.

Hopefully we'll see the back of these b**tards before too long, whatever the cost.

Thanks. If you do order one make sure to add a comment if you have a charity suggestion. 

8 hours ago, Upside Down said:

How much?

You can order them directly through that site. We don't have much control over the cost as they handle all of the manufacturing and shipping. Each shirt is also being made to order. 

1 hour ago, Nipper1875 said:

Thats the problem these supporters think cause they pay the bills everything is ok - id personally rather go to administration them be made to put club up for sale and forced out of football, if the venkys had any so called dignity they would do so out of respect for them selfs!!

I think those hoping, wishing, or even happy with the thought of administration are delusional.

There's every chance that could be the end of this club.

In my mind, you're all at the other extreme to those who think everything is going smoothly. You're just as wrong.

The hope here has to be that Venkys are put in a position where they either have to sell or decide this is all more trouble than it is worth.

15 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Doesn't look rushed and looks classy.

Well, let's see if we get any orders.

3 hours ago, Upside Down said:

That logo is absolutely brilliant.

First rate job there. 👍

 

Thanks, we're pretty happy with it and have a few cool other things planned.

It should look pretty great on the embroidered t-shirt. My order should be arriving in the next couple of days, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Hey all, there's been a lot of talk on the website about getting shirts to show our frustrations with the ownership. The podcast that I'm a part of is about to launch some new swag and we've quickly thrown in some 'save our club' related shirts and sweatshirts.

At the moment there is only one shirt up, but the final designs are being added for alternatives. If anyone has any suggestions for designs just make a comment and we can look at having them added in.

All profits will go to a charity - please feel free to suggest a local charity in the Blackburn area and we will forward all of our proceeds (the hosting site takes out the cost of materials, shipping, and their fee) to a suitable charity(ies).

Our future guests do include some representatives from the Football League and Premier League (as well as footballers and coaches), so it is a topic that we will be discussing with some fairly relevant figures.

You can check out the podcast here: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/3lcE9bcFERR1kFlujkaBW9?si=bca4afcdd4494851

The gear itself will be of decent quality with nice material and embroidered logos, so this is to avoid just shipping out low-quality stuff that people will wear once or possibly even never wear. They ship globally and shipping times are pretty quick (Fourth Wall handles all of that directly).

Here's a link to the store and I will let you know when more products are up:

https://the-big-chill-podcast-shop.fourthwall.com/en-eur/?source=dashboard

This really isn't meant for self-promotion, just because I'd like some gear that I can wear that is actually of a quality and design that I'll enjoy and be proud of wearing. I think it adds to the movement to not be throwing on cheap crap that makes it look like we thought the idea up 5 minutes before kick-off.

Please feel free to make suggestions as to types of products that you'd like to see added (hoodies, stickers, mugs, etc.) and any help would be much appreciated. 

21 hours ago, Gav said:

How long has he been here Eddie? I believe he's played over 200 games for us? But you're right of course, he's struggled with injury over the past 2 seasons.

Most fans, if the money was reinvested, would take the deal, but we all know that money probably wouldn't see the light of day, even if someone was willing to pay a decent fee. 

It might not be a question of whether or not the money is reinvested.

We may find ourselves in a situation where we have to cut costs. If we do, then Gallagher would be the most sensible place to do so.

14 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Not if he makes a few more appearances and maybe triggers his 12 months.

Still a potential fee there in summer if he can stay fit and get a few goals, can we really risk letting him go to be replaced by nobody ?

What's the optimistic prediction on how many more appearances he makes this season? 5?

And then what are the chances that a club is then interested next summer?

And then if we don't sell him, how many appearances might he make next season? 15?

So there's a very good chance we turn down a bit for a player who is a high earner and will make 20ish appearances over the next 18 months. Again, that's being optimistic.

Knowing our luck, he will stick around, barely play this season, play a few games next season, and then we will offer him a new contract because we're fresh out of ideas. 

I'd sell Gallagher in a heartbeat.

He's rarely fit. He's one of our highest earners. He'll be leaving on a free this summer.

5 hours ago, Polky said:

 

They've done very well to pick an image that makes it look like he's scored a goal. 

Great bit of business. I'm sure much of this had been worked out when he originally joined, but we couldn't afford to lose him at the end of this season and I'm sure there's a good chance that he will extend his deal at some point in the next 12 months.

He's a valuable asset and we really can't put ourselves in a position of having more squad spots to fill. 

I probably should have done a better job on selling people on the idea that you might grow our fanbase (slightly).

Hey all, I know that it is an expensive time of year, but I'm involved in a charity drive as part of my work and, as it has a bit of a Blackburn Rovers theme, I thought that this would be a good place to share it. 

As part of my work with UNESCO we are having a little bit of an internal fundraising challenge to get money for sports equipment and kits for a network of schools that we work with in developing countries. As part of that challenge, each of us has taken on the goal of getting as much kit and equipment relating to the club that we support as possible.

As the only Rovers supporter, I am at a serious disadvantage, but it would be great to be able to send some Rovers kit and merchandise off as part of the project.

Most of the donations have been in cash so far, but here's a link to the PayPal fundraising drive. Donations of any amount are always appreciated and I'll keep everyone updated once the project really gets going.

https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/90prfl7oVk

20 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

The helplessness of Sheff Utd, Burnley and Luton Town in the Prem makes me think that the English Closed Shop League is almost here. Newly promoted clubs seem to barely able to compete - even when an established club is docked points for rules violation. If at least two of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton go back up, which looks a real possibility, the Closed Shop will be basically intact again. 

You say that, but recent seasons have seen plenty of promoted sides do well and even go on to establish themselves as midtable/top-half sides.

Luton aren't a great example as they weren't even great by Championship standards and basically needed 20+ players to be a Premier League side. Burnley have spent poorly and refuse to play sensible football. Sheffield United are just your standard promoted side. 

3 hours ago, philipl said:

Answering the last question, Teams are not shooting from distance like they used to..

It's also the impact of statistics, xG, and the sabermetrics of football. A speculative attempt from 30 yards is frowned upon. You're basically just giving the ball away.

It's a shame as it does deny us great goals and, as you point out, also denies goalkeepers the chance to make more visually impressive saves. 

I think this is just a massive case of recency bias. 

I can't remember a season without a considerable number of howlers and I can think of plenty of goalkeepers at big clubs that were nothing special.

If anything, as with most things in the world of sport, the overall quality and technical ability only improve over time. 

2 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

Since we've got relegated I think the only player who has played at Rovers and gone on to play CL football is I think Raya, and then just since he joined Arsenal this season.

Elliott if we count loans. 

It's impossible to imagine triggering the clause. 

He's a squad player being paid like a star player. Regardless of whether or not we have to continue making cuts, we, at the very least, have to continue making sensible financial decisions. Getting Gallagher off of the books would make more sense than losing virtually any other player that we have.

It's a sad situation all round. We've wasted money that could have been better used and his career has failed to develop. He shows glimpses of the potential that he might have, but he's not impactful enough to justify anything above an average Championship salary (and even that might be generous). 

20 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Watching the England U21s play NI, I do wonder if a trough might be coming in terms of England talent in some areas. Tyler Morton and Hayden Hackney are in midfield, with Harvey Elliott, and the former two are tidy players (Morton's got a decent goal) and dominating this game but, I'm not sure if they're exceptional standard. Could go some way to explaining why Phillips and Henderson are England regulars.

England's upcoming striker options don't seem too impressive at the moment, either, though, as with all these players, the likes ofJay Stansfield, who is playing today, have time on their side.

Harvey Elliott looks the pick and will surely be an England player, albeit, in this game, he seems to be searching for the ball a lot, rather than space. Noni Madueke, the Chelsea winger, is also looking impressive.

 

Leave it out. 

A trough of England talent?

This England team is packed full of incredibly talented players under the age of 25 and you're already thinking about their replacements? 

The Kane replacement is the only serious area of concern. We're unlikely to find another player of Kane's quality for some time (then again, he's probably the best in the world in his position), but I'm sure a decent candidate will emerge. 

The goal is coming.