They pay the bills. Isn't that the basic level of competence? I'm not defending them, they've made a huge mess of owning us and continue to make the simple things hard, but they also haven't been quite as disastrous as some would like to make out.

We've never had money to recirculate. On what planet do you live? Even in the Walker Trust era when we managed to sell players for high fees we were still operating at a loss. Think about how much money we are losing enough and then try to put together a slate of transactions that balances the books.

Yet they are paying some pretty big bills. How entitled is that?

I'll take your points one at a time. 1 - Ultimately, if they're paying the bills, then I think it's hard to say that they owe more than that. 2 - I think a lot of fans say this, but when the reality of administration or multiple relegations hit they would change their tune. Yes, some will point to clubs that have managed to handle the situation relatively well (Bolton), but they are the exception. 3 - It is entitled because it assumes that every owner not only has to run a sensible business, but also operate at a huge personal loss. 4 - That is an issue that can't really be dressed at the individual club level. The business model for football is broken. Instead of supporters protesting that, we pick on individual owners who decide that they don't want to lose tens of millions (or more) owning a club. Every supporter on here is calling for more summer signings and asking why we aren't spending more money. We also operate at a huge loss in a way that virtually no other business would. It seems odd to me that supporters would be 'so happy' to go through the relegation route through some sort of nuclear implosion, yet are incredibly upset when the same results occur as a result of financial limitations when it comes to signings and wages. There's a degree of inconsistency and hypocrisy there. I don't really want to get into a debate where we single out individual clubs or examples, because there will always be bad owners. But many clubs complain about owners who do nothing worse than keep a business running.

Disagree. There's an entitled mentality creeping (or even sprinting) into football fan mentality when it comes to what they can demand from owners. At the absolute worst end of the scale you see things like Ajax last weekend and just the general behaviour of Manchester United fans over the last decade - but it is permeating most clubs. Many of our complaints about Venkys are fully justified, but even here we see fans expressing some expectation that an owner should be writing blank cheques to fund their own footballing wet dream.

I think the combination of a relatively successful season and developing an identity of playing a good brand of football will likely increase his reputation regardless of the results (assuming that they aren't absolutely catastrophic). We're only a few weeks into the season, but I've already had more non-Rovers supporting contacts mention our good style of football than I had comments last season about us being in the playoff places. People will see encouraging highlights and see the stats breakdown about our attacking style and they'll think that this is translatable to a higher level and that he would deliver better results with a better squad. The managers that get the most attention now are those that have a clearly recognisable style and system. JDT is establishing that here and it will garner attention even if we are midtable.

You can disagree with it, but not sure exactly how it can 'sound like nonsense'. Recent history would show that managers that play with a certain style tend to get more media attention.

Whilst I mostly agree, do we really want Wahlstedt to make his league debut against a team that we will ship a bare minimum of 2 goals against? JDT seems reluctant to drop keepers, but a 5-0 drubbing might make him rethink his choice. Then again, if Pears somehow pulled off a clean sheet he would be undroppable.

Couldn't agree more, to the point that I can barely believe that it is real.

I didn't say it was about making him look good, just that this style might make him look good.

I love this idea. It's the flaw in most conspiracy theories. It relies on perfect incompetence paired with incredible foresight.

I don't buy all of the conspiracy theories about JDT being on the verge of leaving. That being said, I can slightly believe that he may see this season as a bit of a lost cause and may have identified some value in being a manager who gets a side to play a certain 'brand' of football. He will get more attention out of us playing good football and finishing 12th than he will out of us playing Allardyce-esque football and finishing 5th and going out in the playoff semis. I still enjoy it. I want to be entertained by the club that I support and I know that I am guaranteed value for my time when a match rolls around...although I would like Pears dropped.

No more Pears, please. Please.

🙄

We are often overly harsh when assessing our performances. Thought we were excellent for large parts of the game. Created more than enough chances and we were entirely comfortable until a shocking officiating decision changed the game. Still could have put the game to bed and did ride our luck a bit late on, but overall a well-deserved 3 points. As for judging new signings based on 30 minutes when we were on the backfoot? Give players time and a proper opportunity.

That wasn't a dig at all. He spoke highly of Wharton, but was making it clear that he felt that he'd benefit from guaranteed playing time and development by staying here. It's exactly the kind of message that we should have for young players. I would have preferred if he had mentioned the possibility of Wharton getting Premier League football with us at some point in the next couple of years, but other than that the message was pretty spot on. We have to make it clear to young players that it's important that they get first team football, that we're a club that can develop their talent, and that they can either reach a higher level of football through our success or that we won't stand in their way and that regular playing time in your early years is a springboard to greater things. Not a dig at all.

I think you're unnecessarily harsh to him on this point. It was of course going to be mentioned, either by him directly or through a question - so it makes sense to address it. As for the 3 year comment, most transfer fees are paid in installments, but he's more likely referring to the fact that the Championship's FFP rules are over a rolling 3 year period. So an injection of an 'unexpected' 5 million puts us in good standing regarding our FFP status for the subsequent 3 years.

Broughton certainly has his critics and takes a lot of flack on here, but I thought it was a superb interview. Spoken openly and honestly about the full range of topics that supporters would want to be addressed. From the budget, to Phillips, to Wharton, it is exactly what we've been calling for in terms of clarity and reassurance. If another DoF came out and spoke like that we'd have dozens on here asking why our own staff couldn't do the same. Assuming that there is nothing misleading in what he said - which I would be surprised if there were - then it gives me a much stronger sense that we have some safe hands in key positions at the club (even if they might not have as much power or independence as we might want).

Of course it does. Ultimately I watch these matches to enjoy myself. This is a pleasure to watch - even when we're losing.

Yes, this has been far from perfect. Yes, we've missed a ton of chances. But it's impossible to not enjoy the way we play.

Might be a slight overreaction...

He wasn't at all at fault for the goal, but can this be the last time that we see Pears start, please? Incredible the number of times he has to push things away or tip things around the post when he could either catch them or not go for them.

He's young, far from the finished product. But performances like this are what people need to remember when they talk about him being unsellable or worth tens of millions.

Wharton looks like he's worth about 2 pounds today.

We also have to accept that we've been out of the Premier League for over a decade now. 15-22-year-olds will barely remember us as a Premier League side. A bit of a tough pill to swallow, but I can understand why they reference the two 'biggest' clubs on his resume. They want him to come across as instantly credible to those unfamiliar with who he is, not illicit the response of 'why is a former Blackburn goalkeeper telling me who can break through at Chelsea'.