Feels to me like they are unsure whether to appoint a manager or appoint Lowe and DJ and are playing for time to see how Swansea goes. For what it's worth I think we will beat Swansea and appoint Lowe and DJ. - Cheap - Know the club, the players, the system, the tactics - Know the clown show behind the scenes and can ignore it The situation is a bit like the transfer market. Obviously the fans want big names to come in... but often big names end up being big disappointments. Danny Murphy as a player, or Paul Lambert as a manager etc. I think it's really not obvious at all that a relatively big name like Karanka, O'Neil, Gerrard would definitely make us better. Often it blows up in your face... look at the recent records of those guys, or indeed someone like Amorim at Man Utd. So... if there was someone we are looking at and all the stars align and it's clear they will make a big positive impact over the next 13 games I am all for it. But if there are reservations about the candidates - do they really want it, will they work with the tactics and system already in place, can they handle the general nonsense about the club - I would just stick with what we have tbh. We could really shoot ourselves in the foot if we appoint someone and they are just not the right fit.

Honestly Id give it to Lowe and DJ as they know the environment and players. New manager who comes in could easily get confused and frustrated with the clown show and kick off and be a distraction.

Its a bit if a red flag that he hasnt even made a year at each of his last four clubs. More like an average of 8 months each which is mad.

O'Neil makes sense, but hes got pedigree and cut from similar cloth to Eustace. I reckon he will probably give Eustace a call to understand why he walked away and get the full inside view. Wouldnt be surprised if he just signed to the end of the season. Or given the weird situation he might decline it after talks. O'Neil will know he will get a decent Championship job eventually, he doesn't need to jump in now.

I usually would feel a lot of trepidation about a team who have just lost their manager... But Rovers have a lot of options now. If we play on the break we have the pace to hurt teams, if we have the ball we have the players to find the right pass, if we are chucking in crosses we can get on the end of them, even our set pieces are better. And on top of that we look very defensively solid. Pride before the fall etc, but feeling pretty confident.

Much as I like Buckley I can't see Forshaw being dropped after playing a good game and scoring

Full weeks rest after a solid 2-0 victory suggests probably same team.... But ACD was mediocre again and Kargbo electric - so has Kargbo played himself in? I reckon so. Maybe they can work on in training Cantwell drifting out left and Kargbo coming inside. Id much rather have Kargbo staying up for the counter than Cantwell. And on the left Cantwell will have Riberio making the overlap all day long letting him get in pockets edge of the box. Pears Brittain. Sanderson. Hyam. Riberio Travis. Forshaw Dolan. Kargbo. Cantwell Gueye

For the first time in ages he managed to hold onto it pretty well yesterday and pulled off some great passes... But i do think he needs to get forward more and be a threat. Really whoever is in the number 10 role needs a bit of pace and desire to get beyond Gueye and into the box... Looking at Kargbo against Plymouth I am wondering if thats the role for him. Him and Gueye could work really well together I think, total nightmare for defenders. Would free up Kargbo to focus on playing on the last man and combing with Gueye rather than dropping off to defend down on the left. Dennis also in the frame to play with Gueye too. And Ohashi, as well as Wieman. Where that leaves Cantwell I am not sure. But he played pretty well and we won so I imagine he keeps the shirt next week.

Hes had a few poor games but generally I think Forshaw has been decent. I was a bit surprised he came in for Buckley though who also has been playing well. Was bucko injured or something (know he came on for 10 at the end). I wonder who'll get the nod next week?

Think Id give it to Lowe and DJ now. We have looked really good, if we bring someone in they might have an adverse effect as they try and change things or impact the team spirit. Edit - I would say manager decision announced after Swansea gane just to give a bit more time to check the wheels dont come off.

To be honest for me I think we play pretty much identically as under Eustace. Whats is impressive is the focus and discipline has been maintained with no drop off.

Looking at how we are playing, the players coming back, the fixtures and frequency of games reducing significantly we really should be feeling pretty confident about playoffs. Hard to as a Rover though!!

Recruitment this year has generally been very good (Gueye, Ohashi, Wieman, Baath all performed well). Im curious given the chaos behind the scenes how thats happened. Even Forshaw who seemed a real desperate signing has worked out very well for minimal money.

Gerrard to end of the season sort of makes sense... Depends how trashed his reputation is. If he genuinely cant get a prem job then he might see it as a way to reestablish his name. Kind of risky for him if he fucks it up, but if he looks at the squad, where we are, I could see him backing himself to make a splash. From our perspective if he just came in focusing on motivating the players and not messing around with the tactics I could see it working. But all only possible if Gerrard wanted a 3.5 month deal, as if he talks about any long term plans we have nothing, and probably hes the wrong guy anyway.

Agreed - I think the Fans Forum etc should share and cite it at any meetings with the club.

Thought this article from the Guardian is about as good a dispassionate summary as you can get... anyone who asks what is going on at Rovers get them to have a look at this. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/13/blackburn-rovers-venkys-blunder-goodbye-john-eustace-championship#:~:text=Questions remain over the Rovers,India with ongoing court battles. For those we know who are inclined to be sympathetic to the owners it should hopefully inject some realism and context on where we are relative to other Championship clubs.

Hey we all get it wrong. I never thought Brereton-Diaz would make an impact let alone score 22 goals in a season and thought Pears was finished after Wigan... Travis as well has gone from a modest player to a top one. I am just surprised so many wrote Gueye off as he has such obvious (to me anyway) qualities to consistently beat defenders.

I might be wrong but over the last few years we have tended to be quite good against mid table teams but usually lose against teams in the top six and bottom three. I think our record against bottom three sides is really really poor in recent years. This year a bit better - against Plymouth, Luton and Hull we are P4 W2 L2 so far.

Well I guess Dennis and Kargbo have been brought in to get beyond Gueye. I would see one of them coming in for Wieman. Gueye to be fair to him (as evidence by his extraordinary heatmap against WBA) is actually very good at dropping in and playing in midfield too, and helping out the defenders when we are in a low block... He is a forward who prefers to play in the number 10 areas more than on the shoulder like a proper number 9. Maybe the way we will setup would be better described as Pears Brittain Sanderson Hyam Riberio Travis Buckley Dolan Gueye Kargbo Dennis Quite like that.

Buckley isnt going to get beyond Gueye though... In 4231 we need someone to run in behind Gueyes flick ons and hold up. Id be quite interested in changing to a 433, playing all of Tronstad, Buckley and Travis in the middle, and ask the wide players to play higher and closer to Gueye. But thats a big change which I don't think we will do as the 4231 is working well.

Number 10 is our major question at the moment... Wieman lacks pace and presence to impact the defenders on the break but he is very good at making the right decisions off and on the ball which he showed again with his lay off to Gueye. Id be inclined to see what Dennis can do in that role. But we will need him to drop into midfield if we are struggling to compete there. Not sure if that's in his game.

I doubt it was meant in any racial context. Its a big thing to call someone out that way. That said not sure parasite is the right word as they aren't getting anything out of the club. Its hard to find the right term for the relationship as its so bizarre. Absentee land lord not right - theyd still make some rent? Malevolent overlords would require some engagement.

I'd say BBD transformation was way more surprising. Never looked like he could make an impact at all for a whole season but then started scoring for fun. Then went back to having minimal influence on games again. A real conundrum. Gueye has always looked like he could cause issues for any defence imo, even when he was off the boil from September to November.

Seems like a very nice bloke but my guess is he needs a more of a leader to work off. Doesn't seem like he would be the type to be able to dig out the team if performances drop. Is a bit of a tricky call as with 14 games to go in a good position we don't really want someone to come in and radically change things. But we do need someone I think who can command authority, keep the team motivated, and figure out how to use the new players.

Yeah I think in our team night we had Pears, Hyam, Travis, Brittain, Buckley, Hedges, Dolan, Gueye who have all had phases of "not fit to wear the shirt" abuse. Football is not a linear thing where players are always good players or always bad players (well at the extremes it is, but not for most). A player can look awful in one formation, tactical setup, team selection, but then very good in another set of variables. Hedges is the one really singled out at the moment, and there is no escaping his play in the final third is very poor... But take him out and lose that robustness off the ball and carrying the ball down our left can have a lot of unanticipated consequences.