What disappointed me was the apparent lack of confidence. We were unbeten in 10 matches playing a team struggling near the bottom of the league but we looked sheepish and vulnerable from the kick off. No leadership either. Ref was bad but Rovers were awful. Eaves showed what you can you can do with determination and effort. We showed very little unfortunately.

I'd like to see us sign an experienced midfield bruiser for the run in. David Batty / Vinnie Jones type with presence, leadership and a lot of bite. I admire Travis for is endeavour but he's not great defensively and adds nothing going forward. I think a bit of experience in midfield will be a big help in games like yesterday when we were under the cosh a little. Not sure who is available who could fill that role.

@RoverCanada Thanks for your very interesting input as always. Couple of questions: You say we have £6m free spend over the next 3 seasons but, presumably we could spend that right now and still be within FFP at the end of 21/22 season ( and obviously, think about the consequences later ). The table shows an allowed FFP loss of £51.4M over the last 4 years and you have estimated we are at £37.1M - even with a relatively conservative estimate of £8m profit on the training ground sale - I would think it could be higher. So from those figures don't we have quite a buffer just at the moment - enough to take a gamble on promotion by spending now ?

Teams that go up automatically often strengthen during January to consolidate their position. Given the sale of Armstrong and the training ground we must have some leeway with FFP. Given our reliance on some key players and the inexperience of some of the squad, I think we are bound to have a difficult patch due to injuries/Covid. It is also unfair to expect Brereton to keep up his amazing scoring rate for the rest of the the season. We need goals from elsewhere. The opportunity is there but we need to strengthen now otherwise I think it it will be playoffs at best (which is still a very good achievement with this squad). Selling anyone at this point will certainly derail the current momentum. I think 4th.

I thought it was common knowledge - he signed a pact with the devil, Robert Johnson style, in a diabolical ceremony on his first visit to Chile - hence the name change. Folklore tells us that he will remain Diaz until he suddenly disappears at the age of 27.

This is the key factor for me. This opportunity has fallen into Venky's laps and it has given them the chance to show some ambition and prove that they have the club's bets interests at heart. It's not only a footballing opportunity but a financial one for them. It's a 'free hit' for them to try and regain some respect. I hope they realise how exciting this is for the fans, start taking a real interest and make the right decisions over the next few weeks.

Well, that was fun - Just arrived back from Hull. Game was called off just after the cancellation deadline for our hotel. We had just checked in when we found out. Decided we might as well stay but others went straight home despite having paid for the room. We were absolutely gutted. A 10 am announcement would have saved me a fortune in fuel/hotel rooms/meals and, just as importantly, time and effort rather than battling across the snow covered Pennines. Pockets of Rovers fans all around Hull last night and everyone seemed to be on best behaviour despite the deep frustration and a whole day on the beer - well done everyone on that score.

The choice as it is - Rovers or England - is easy. Rovers every time even with Venky's in charge. If the the choice was: 1) Rovers promotion and Venky's remain or 2) Rovers miss out on promotion but get new, engaged, fan-friendly, owners ( probably with less money ) and a new board. What would people go for?

Doesn't matter how rich they are. I won't come because of our owners not despite them. They can chuck as much money at the club as they like, they need to show more respect to the community and the fans. I don't attend matches at Ewood out of principle. Why don't the owners attend matches ? - They can't be arsed. I do go to away games which is more than Venky's do.

Is there anything stopping another attempt at nominating Brockhall as an ACV? Venky's now own the STC and may take so little interest that they won't object

I think everyone has to admit that whoever made the initial decision to pay £7m for Brereton has been proved right. Very few people expected that and we now need to acknowledge it. However, to make the deal a real success, we need his good form to benefit Rovers on the pitch, not on the balance sheet. Given the sale of Armstrong and the training ground, we surely have enough FFP buffer for his sale not to be a necessity. If we cashed in just to pay off some of the overdraft or to pay for some upcoming bills, I would see that as a backward step. We have a player who is getting results for the club, raising the profile of the club and seems to be enjoying being at Rovers. I would hold on to him at all costs. It's a chance for the owners to show some ambition and interest - they could put the club's footballing interests before financial gain - they can afford it. I hope they make that choice.

I think that is a very positive spin on the training ground sale. The £16m will only cover losses incurred over the last 10 months or so. This time next year, the money will be spent but the value of the land will no longer be listed as an asset on the club's balance sheets - the asset has gone. An alternative would have been to pay the bills as they normally do ( VLL share issues or whatever method ) and take a 6 point penalty while keeping the training ground as a club asset. To me it looks like a short term fix. If any of the board members were actually committed to the future of the club the sale may have been voted down - who knows? We could make up the 6 points in a couple of matches ( with luck ) but we're not getting the training ground back ever.

I haven't checked the accounts but maybe the wages have been reduced but the turnover has slumped ? Hence the increased % figures. That's why we are in trouble with FFP too. Maybe if the owners started paying attention ?

Thanks for the reply. I understand that and fully agree with your approach to confidentiality and friendship. I was really getting at is why the club never announced the sale of the training ground. Surely it would be only polite to let the fans know of such an important event rather than it be uncovered as it was. As you mention, you found out from a friend but did the club officials freely offer you this information in your meetings I wonder? Why would they not be open about such things ?

I have been thinking along these lines too but where would this information come from ? Surely Waggott will not be informing supporters of his own demise unless he is retiring by choice. If that is the case, who is to say Venky's will replace him with someone more suitable ? I don't think Lynsey Talbot would pass on this type of information even if she was aware of it. If the assumptions are correct then has the info come from Suhail ? ( and as you say - very unprofessional ) If the assumptions are not correct then it is likely that the alleged changes will be minor or maybe just a change of manager. I do believe that Rev and Roverite have had some information that they trust but it's very frustrating when tidbits are dangled with no supporting evidence while the really important happenings - like developing or selling the training ground - remain under wraps. Is it possibly a case of people being fed the 'Don't worry, we are looking into it and things will improve' type line often seen in the fans forum minutes ?

You're probably right - she has previous! Have we actually heard from her since she made these comments ? November 26 2010 Venky's chairwoman Anuradha Desai: 'We want results and Sam has taken up the challenge. He deserves a chance. To this end, the group have promised manager Allardyce funds to spend in the January transfer window.' December 13 2010 Sam Allardyce sacked. Desai told the Lancashire Telegraph: 'The fans should trust us because this is in the best interests of the club.'

Any comment from the owners yet? If they are told that last night's result made Rovers history they will probably be expecting accolades.

Mission accomplished

I really think the tide will turn now. Why we have put up with the situation for so long is beyond me. Rovers Trust, Ewood Blues, BRAG, all Rovers fans, need to re-energise. Our club is in peril and has been for years,

The idea is that nobody is in the ground - that should send a message all the way to Pune.

The biggest home defeat in 146 years - WOW. To be honest, that result, the body langauge of most of the players and the manager's post match interview are a perfect reflection of the club at this point in time. This has been coming. The club is like someone with massive personal problems who manages to hold down a steady job and kid the world that everything is OK but their family know the real situation. We are mid table but that is just papering over the cracks. We all know how bad it is. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Are any of the out of contract players going to want to stay? Even if we ditch Mowbray, we still have Venky's at the helm. Does the CEO have the best interests of the club at heart? It's like the band playing while the Titanic sank, Nero fiddling while Rome burned, Rovers supporters watching on while the club dies. It's time for fan action. Join the boycott - let the owners know that enough is enough. 11 years of neglect have culminated in the worst result EVER at Ewood. It's time for action. Venky's out. Let them know what we think. RECLAIM THE ROVERS.

You would need to be on Waggott's salary to get that on the back of your Rovers shirt

Buying the land does help with FFP so that is the benefit to the club in the short term. The benefit to Venky's is that any future sale of the club would not necessarily include the STC land - if it looks like a development project is still a possibility. If that is the case, the land is worth much more than they paid for it and they may decide to sell to a developer later ( or sooner given the opportunity). Benefit for Waggott and Co is that if the development project resurfaces then it's out of their hands - he is CEO of Blackburn Rovers and has no say in the land sale as it is owned by a totally separate company. Residents and supporters will have to complain to faceless people in India. All this could be years in the future but I think Venky's are just covering all possibilities in their own favour and also getting some brownie points for avoiding FFP sanctions.

I'm not sure there is a covenant on the STC but there may be on the lower / academy area. Remember there are already detailed plans for 170 houses and an application for planning permission on the STC land. When the original plans were halted Waggott said they would not be following up on the plans 'in their current form'. I doubt they would have done all that prep work if building on the land was not a real possibility. And they also fought the ACV proposal. I'm still worried.

Do we even know where the £16 million has gone? It may not even be recorded as income for the club - it may go to VLL who can actually do what they want with it. Assuming it is income for the club, I don't think there will be any extra cash because this £16 million will be offset against the annual losses and VLL will put in £16 million less than usual. It may help to keep the figures within FFP rules but I doubt it will make a difference to the club budget.