I often wondered if there was a bit of 'lets do them a favour' to the second game. Bury needed to win to stand a chance of staying up and I would imagine more of the players would have known each other back then. Although knowing the way of things back then, along with Kendall's attitude, I suspect your reasoning is not too far off Tyrone!!

That would be classed as an offensive weapon nowadays due to it's razor-sharp edges

In the Jota situation I wouldn't have expected Liverpool or Portugal to play the next day. But, other than that, marks of respect expressed and then carry on.

My dad died the night before our first match of the season. I agreed with my family to go as we all knew that is what he would have wanted. I couldn't face sitting in my usual seat that day as too raw but at half time I went to see the regulars to let them know. Maybe I should have asked the club to postpone the match instead?

Agree with your first point. There is too much performative 'grief' over deaths such as these. Seemed to all start with Princess Diana. People die all the time and life goes on. However, to then launch an offensive take on the individual's death is out of order - and undermines the totally reasonable point of view you started with. FFS the car had a tyre blow out. From what I've read that's all we know for certain. Having experienced one of those myself at 70mph I was bloody lucky that nothing hit me as I span across two lanes and into the central barrier. Do I think players today are overpaid and not sensible with that money? In many cases yes...but someone's death is possibly not the best time to make that point?

Doesn't that depend on how big the hole is? 😉

Just shows the lack of local connection in the club nowadays I suppose? You couldn't imagine us having a white rose anywhere near our kit under the likes of Bill Fox, etc. Reminds of when my wife-to-be (now ex) wanted all the blokes at our wedding to wear white roses. When I refused and said I would only wear a red one she thought I was being daft - until she spoke to her dad, my dad and her brother-in-law. They all backed me 100% and she had to give in!

The peasants have always been revolting 😉

BIg Club's first away game - will have large following. Wait for club announcement we're giving them the Riverside as well 😉

Though I hate to say it the two most-disliked teams in the Div were largely responsible for that reduction in the league as a whole. They conceded a total of 46 goals between them!

I don't think it's the number of gaols in absolute terms that mattered. Eustace had the team playing in a way that would have inevitably (in my view) meant fewer goals but was ultimately getting better results (on the whole) What I think we missed though was Szmodics's ability to nick a goal out of nothing - and then we quite probably would have got something in those failures against the bottom teams.

Maybe clubs looking from the outside in over last 12 months don't like what they see with the two players in question - injuries in JRC's case (and his whole career history of these) and attitude in Buckley's. If I was a club looking to take a chance on either player I'd probably want a loan with option to buy - but guess that doesn't fit with our need for immediate cash as seems to be the club's operating principle at the moment.

I've been in a position where to get my 'fix' I decided to watch the local team. This was mostly non-league and I wanted them to do well, enjoyed their successes, etc. Only once did I regularly go to watch another League team - Newcastle Utd - as was there at uni. I never for one minute 'supported' them and enjoyed the games as games regardless of who won. I think it's ok to support a League team and your local non-League team. My family did with Rovers and Rossendale United. Was very glad they never met in a competitive game! One half of me would have wanted Rossy to win as would have been amazing for the club and the other half of me would have wanted Rovers to win to avoid the humiliation!!

I guess it depends on your definition of bigger. If it is in terms of historic crowds then we are no bigger than the likes of Leicester and Southampton. I've made the point before that those clubs are lucky in the sense that we are surrounded by other clubs whereas they have big areas to draw support from. If it is terms of historic achievement then we are undoubtedly bigger than many of those clubs. But even then if you look at the last 100 years then we are no bigger than Leicester. They have won the League, FA Cup and League cup, and have several FA cup finals - all since 1960. And I object very much to your suggestion that for making these points I'm not a real Rovers fan. I was in our lowest ever league crowd and was at Millwall away in 1979 when there were so few of us it felt like we were outnumbered by the police and stewards! When you compare us to our direct historic competitors - Dingles, Nobbers and Horwich - then we have achieved more than any of them. I'm not arguing that what Rovers have achieved isn't remarkable - in fact I'm arguing that it is more remarkable because of our relative resources compared to some other clubs. I'm not accepting it is as good as it can be. It's merely stating this is where we are at the moment. We all agree that the only way this changes is either a complete change of direction by the Venky's - bloody unlikely going off the last 15 years - or new owners. I remember the gut punch feeling of Palace in 1990 followed by the ecstasy of Wembley in 1992 (possibly the greatest day of my life) and knowing I'd finally see Rovers play top flight football for the first time in my lifetime. I want that feeling back FFS. The point I was trying to make is that people who think we should accept where we are is ok are wrong. We are 'bigger' than many of those clubs historically and would be again with the right owners. But to the outside world, at the moment, the sad fact is we aren't. Palace have finished half way up the top flight and just won the FA Cup. The fact they've historically done fuck all when compared to us probably isn't relevant to prospective new owners unfortunately. You mentioned Bournemouth - it pisses me off to see them where they are - but that is purely down to their owner. We all want the club to move back to where it belongs but for that to happen we have to understand the current perception of us from outside. If we don't then we won't do the right things to change that. What does just saying we are bigger than Brentford do to change that?

Since the abolition of the maximum wage isn't some of that at least partially true? But the really fucking annoying thing is that after Jack 'pump-primed' the club to get us in the Premier League, the new owners only had to continue the good work of John Williams for a little longer and then the much increased TV money would have more than offset our relatively lower crowds. We're no different from, in fact still a bigger (at least as big as) club than, Brentford, Palace, Dingles, Southampton, etc. who have managed to become either established in the top flight or at least yo-yo'ing. Instead we got the Venky's clusterfuck who, ironically, managed to destroy any chance of establishing the model they now want to run, by their actions in the first few seasons. Any fan who thinks we should be grateful to the Venky's needs their bloody head examining!