Delap will have a field day.

wrong post

Nice aspiration! With Alex Neill likely to be sat in the stand think Stoke will be a tough nut to crack and I think they will edge it by the odd goal. Wasn't going to bet on this but Stoke at 2/1 proved too attractive.

It wasn't a random ramble - I got asked the question on this thread so I gave an answer!

Try a Portuguese Vinho Verde known for being a tad 'zingy' / 'spritzy' / 'fizzy' (but not as Prosecco).

Cave de Lugny Chardonnay (available at Waitrose) to go with the swordfish - a pairing that brings out the flavours in each. Followed by a nice red If Rovers win to round off the night - was given a bottle of Patina Syrah 2019 today which I've never had so itching to try.

That's about £3million net of VAT and relative chicken shit when you have owners like V's and Gibson. @Gavis right, think respective owners light years apart in terms of ambition.

Difficult one to call (and therefore no bets on this game) but fancy Stoke to edge it. Almost inevitable, a club sacks their manager and caretaker roars in with a win. Think we'll know more about Brereton's future from team selection (that's if he's not gone by tomorrow). Dack HAS to start tomorrow - it really is time to either sh1t or get off the pot with him - what is left in his locker? Goals against Lincoln, Hartlepool and Bradford prove little. Has he got the fitness, mobility, intensity, physicality to still cut it in the Championship from the start of a game - the club and Dack himself need to know.

Would be a good move for Brereton. A mid table La Liga team and pressure would be 'manageable'. If he's got what it takes to play in La Liga, and shows it, the bigger teams would soon come calling.

Maybe domestic reasons. Neil lived in Longridge for a few years and if he's still there (or his family are) then it's a 3 hour journey to Sunderland whilst Stoke is about an hour and a quarter.

Given your seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of football, surprised you hadn't suggested him @chaddyrovers?

Broad brush stuff and assuming quoted numbers are correct: Lenihan cost over 4 years: 4*52*(24k*1.14<NI>) = £5.7m Hyam cost over 4 years: transfer fee £2.5m, wages 4*52*(15k*1.14<NI>) = £6.0m in total Nowt in it and Hyam likely to have higher sale value v Lenihan in 4 years time given age differential.

Unless Brerton goes, I doubt we will get beyond 3. QUALITY is the key word and I think we have yet to make 1 QUALITY signing.

You've terrific culinary tastes Gav - John Bulls are one of my favourites and it's a pity there are many chippies who don't do them! So true about fools and their money - gladly, I ain't one of them! Like I said to Chaddy, we'll in the black on Rovers' betting this season - you don't win them all!

Delighted with Rovers' win which was badly needed by club and fans. Another betting loss? Clearly you've chosen to ignore my betting wins this season - rest assured, I'm well in pocket!

Each to their own. Quite simply whether I bet on or against Rovers has no bearing on the result. The result is entirely down to the manager and those playing. I do not bet on the opposition hoping Rovers lose - I simply expect them to lose. There is a difference between the two emotions. I dread to think how much money I've spent on Rovers following them home, away and into Europe often with the family therefore if I can win a few quid from betting on Rovers' matches I don't see what the issue is.

Yep

Knighton was a midfield dynamo - terrific tackler with one hell of a shot. A steal from PNE at circa £50,000. Quig had an eye for a player and one wonders what would have happened had Jimmy Kerr not done his knee which finished him shortly after we signed him from Bury for circa £60,000. That lad was a diamond and potentially better than Colin Bell who Bury sold to City 2 or 3 years before we got Kerr.

Billy was a terrific popular servant for both Rovers and Pompey. Finished up having a pub down there. Sadly, I think he passed away about 4 or 5 years ago in his early 70's.

Wasn't Bell part of the deal which took Allan Hunter to Ipswich - Hunter was superb and one of Quig's best ever signings (think we got him from Oldham for a song). You are right, we did sell him to Crystal Palace after he'd played just either 1 or 2 games - incredible!

We need to bring in at least 4 next week - the window closes the week after! Someone has to be held to account for this shambles and Waggott would be a very short priced favourite. Ideally, you sign players from a position of strength - you are flying and players want to join. You are struggling and it's desperado time and other clubs and players know it.

This is a home win banker. A physical Bradford and Hughes will be up for it like a house on fire. We haven't a prayer. JDT will take no risks with any key player. Earn yourself some early Christmas spending money. I put a bundle on Bradford last night at 3/1. This really is an opportunity to fill yer boots.

Some thoughts having trawled through today's postings. We lost 10 players and so far have brought in just 3 and I think it's fair to say the jury is out on Brittain and Morton whilst it looks like Posh have pulled our pants down with Szmodics . I read a suggestion we need 4 players - I think that's nonsense and we need a minimum of six across the back, midfield and up front. Vale has been mentioned in context of the jump from Academy to 1st team. Vale is not a 'kid' but a 21 year old who, IMO, is way out of his depth. He hardly set the world alight in some dozen or so appearances on loan for National League Halifax netting just once. Like Butterworth, he aint got it - simple as that. The bottom line is if you are good enough you are old enough and you also make the transition from Academy to 1st team. As regards Travis being a warrior - he isn't. He likes to win which is good but in the main, I think he is a petulant wind-up merchant who should channel his thoughts to being the best player he can. With the right management, there is a very good Championship player there but my goodness, he needs some real help in there and powder-puff Buckley isn't the answer. Midfield warriors - I think of Souness, Keane and Batty etc - any of those three would have eaten Travis alive. Make no mistake, I think we are tottering on the brink of the precipice and cool and intelligent heads are needed and we do not want a string of panic buys who are no better than what we already have. The next few days will tell us what Broughton and JDT are made of.

Interesting but a sad read since the match ended. Some asking why VH would go to Sunderland - one reason is they have a very good manager in Alex Neil. IMO, some 18 months ago he came close to becoming Rovers' manager until I think someone at Ewood threw a wobbler when Mowbray was already half way through the exit door - I think echoes of the Warnock retraction! Maybe, he's also read the script, 10 players out whilst the 'charge in' of 3 led by Brittain and Szmodics! Is JDT going to do the 'Lambert' walk - well, if Waggott, GB and the V's feck this up then I think we are finished as a club. I wish the signs looked more promising.

I took no pleasure in drawing my winnings today but after Reading it was so predictable what would happen today. The alarm bells aren't ringing they are feckin screaming. If anything happens to Kaminski or Ayala then we wont have a hope in hell. I feel sorry for Phillips - a great prospect but not ready for a team that is in real, real trouble. He needs taking out before his confidence is permanently shot to pieces. Not convinced by Brittain whilst Fred Pickering at 60 would have been more use than Harry Pickering. Travis desperately needs help in midfield and his flashes of petulance are down to pure frustration. Buckley and Edun are not, IMO, footballers - certainly not good enough for Rovers. Why the feck sign Morton, with 10 first team games for Liverpool under his belt, and not play him. If he's no more effective than Buckley and Edun then we do have a problem. Szmodics looks out of his depth and has shown very, very little whilst Gallagher has to play at centre forward or not at all. Brereton is going to be p1ssed-off with all this sh1te and I think it will only hasten his exit. Time to put Dack in from the start to see what he has left in his locker - it has to be make or break. Unless Broughton gets his act together within the next few days, I would take a 21st finish in the league now. I am already on my second bottle of red tonight but sadly it is for all the wrong reasons where Rovers are concerned.