Groundhog

Todd confirming what everyone thinks about Big Mak there. Awkward.

Interesting interview with Lyle Taylor on Under the Cosh, skip forward to 50mins. Talking about their Belgian owner, to paraphrase: "It was easier to sell a League One club than it was to sell a Championship club, because he didn't to want to blow the wages up. He didn't want to pay big money. I'm (the owner) going to keep this on a League One budget." We can all but dream...

Will a Wharton sell-on fee buy us a new pitch? Adam bails the club out twice.

Occam's Razor looms large - Weeds growing out of the crumbling steps on the Riverside, mould and moss on the gantries above the Darwen and Blackburn End, no Sky Sports in the blues bar, the botched Anniversary Kit, no hot food for press, doesn't take a genius to work out there's an issue. Regarding the pitch, it almost doesn't matter, the latest chapter in the Venky's book of bullshit - just add it to the long list. This is why fans are at their wit's end, it's the wafer-thin mint that tips us over the edge. Rovers are a cost-cutting exercise, not a football club. Like Ismael said today, there's lots of "heads of" at the club, it points to no accountability and no solid structure emanating from the top down. I go to games with my 76 year old father, we both live over an hour away, it's been our tradition ever since I moved back up north in 2007, we have a pub lunch and a pint or two, and enjoy getting away for the afternoon. We dissect the game long into the week, and repeat come the next fixture. For the first time this Saturday, since I started supporting Rovers in '92, we actually came to blows leaving the ground and had an unsavoury argument regarding the running of the club. Tensions were a little high due to a wasted afternoon - we've since made up and laughed it off - but it highlighted for me the sheer frustration and desolate feeling this latest drama has created. It's almost poetic in a way that the pitch has failed like this, the very thing needed to actually play the game. It's a perfect, visible representation of the owner's neglect.

And there we have it - the minute Ismael endears himself to the fans and openly (perhaps bravely) expresses his frustration and confusion, almost on behalf of the fanbase, he thus signs his own death warrant. 1 step forward, 2 back. The Venky's Way.

Someone posted a link to a stat on X that read: "Make that 17 result-changing goals conceded after the 90th minute since the start of 2021/22 season to 4 scored."

I'm sorry Val, tell us why you can't bring Ribeiro on to see a game out, instead of De Neve? What is going on?

I thought the 2nd half against Sheff Utd at home recently was our line in the sand, hitting rock bottom. I thought that we as club, and Ismael, wouldn't recover from it - for me it was one of the worst performances in recent years. Seemingly the players have also alluded to having similar feelings (Wharton's interview in particular), maybe they've collectively decided it just wasn't good enough and it's been a wake up call for them too. Last night they reminded me of a Hughes team, they were getting properly stuck in and putting bodies on the line. Fair play to them, I really doubted their resolve but they've proved me wrong.

Well played lads. We look a pain in the arse to play against, snapping into tackles, getting a foot in and hounding them in possession. Seem to be happy to clear our lines and keep it simple too which is great to see.

In this Leicester fan video you can clearly see the full run to the near post from Gudjohnsen, anticipating the cut back for our second goal, he's at least 5 yards faster than anyone else. From 11:25 onward:

He sets us up to compete for 50-60mins, but his inability to react to anything tactically is becoming more apparent. He his often out thought in every game by often proper old-school managers. We don't do "normal" footballing things, don't seem to get the basics right. We're a poor side full of inexperience, but he's not helping by making some mystifying decisions. How many positions has Hedges played this season? He came on as a 10 with Kargbo up front, against Cov he was left back? It felt like last night we also played without strikers for a short whilst it was 1-1.

It'll never happen, just pure apathy. Also, it really is at this point entirely the fact that Ismael and the players are a symptom not a disease. The transfer policy is literally decided by making sure a balance sheet appeases an owner a thousand miles away. The manager was signed as he was the cheapest option and a yes man. That's it in a nutshell. Changing Ismael won't do a thing - we might get someone tactically more astute but we've got 2 CBs and a player signed as a right back suddenly needing to play every game in a back 3. I can't blame a hastily assembled squad of players who don't have any quality or experience, it's a League One side with 1 or 2 bright sparks. The slow decline means we deserve League 1, even 2 - it's the level they've created.

Even though SU's form was awful leading up the game, they still have a squad full of players that eclipse our lads, and Wilder love him or hate him, is a better tactician in his sleep than Ismael. He had us sussed second half, an easy team talk: "let them come onto you and do the work, let them look to make it 2-0, they can only attack with their fullbacks down the wings, any crosses and infield passes will come to nothing, so be patient and let them make an error, and we'll be on the half-way line 3 v 3." Easy. Do we look capable of shutting up shop ever? If we go 1-0 down its game over, and now if we go 1-0 up I feel it's game over too. I'm starting to think the Ipswich game being called off has saved us from a 1-2 loss in the vein of the Brum game. There was one moment last night that summed it up for me, we had a spell of 10 or so passes at around 50mins that actually made us look like we were controlling the game, biding our time and making Sheff Utd work at 1-0 up, we then got too tight to the touchline and De Neve (who I thought was one of our better players) got pressurised and misplaced a pass inside, they then broke forward at speed and created a chance - our heads just dropped after that. The confidence is paper thin, but it stems from the ridiculous situation they've been put in. There was an odious teenager and his equally odious mates behind me mouthing off and swearing at every other bad touch any of our lads had (so it was a lot) - he didn't give anyone ever credit, didn't even applaud them off at half time. I get it - but if that's the future of the fanbase then we're knackered - they're never going to direct their ire at the owners and management, too easy to slag off what they see on the pitch and leave.

Yeah there was a few going on about it last night around me, to think at the time he wasn't the best we could have had, what I'd give for him now. He seems like prime Big Al compared to this lot. Just imagine having someone to hold the f***** ball up, trap it and lay it off, imagine that! Edit: If I had a time machine, I'd go back to myself in the stands moaning about players like Derek Williams etc: you think this is bad, wait until 2025...

Rudy was doing work experience two years ago, Ismael has barely completed a full season as a manager, Suhail is just a middle management bean counter from a faceless overseas company, most of the players are having their first time in English football - just a club full of amateurs from top to bottom. Was there ever any other outcome? We don't have a talisman on or off the pitch. Bit of a cliche but the apathy is the most alarming I've felt at the club, especially 10 minutes both before and after kick off, nothing, just a sad, sad feeling of resignation. I think last night was truly one of the worst nights at Ewood in the last two decades - it didn't even have a cartoon pantomime villain of a Kean or Coyle, or a 7-0 thrashing by Fulham, it was just an inevitable, powder puff and bland capitulation into nothingness. When we were asking Harford to be sacked after losing 0-1 at home to Stockport in the 90s you knew the board had both the club and fans best interests at heart, so there was at least some hope that things would be done.