I think we've managed to make them look comfortable - we're totally toothless up front, there's no support whenever we break as we're so deep, there's always a huge gap in the middle of the park, it's too easy. Every attempt at an incisive pass has gone astray too.

We're not good enough 1 v 1 right across the park - I despise conspiracy and speculation but I'm starting to believe the rumour that players who are out of contract in the summer aren't risking their bodies.

Over the last 4 games we have been fantastic at making other average teams look brilliant and well organised. We have nothing about us at all.

Whatever the many, many reasons for last night, the body language was horrible - from the players on the pitch, to the subs, to the manager. A hard watch.

Lots of cuddles, hugs and smiles between Eustace and the Rovers players Fuck off all of you Eustace patting the badge on his chest to the Derby fans Pathetic, all of it

I'd be well impressed with Ismael if we got more than 9 points from our next 3 games...😉

I don't know what to make of TC at the minute. Seems distant during the post-match celebrations, always seems to cut a lonely figure. I badly want it it work for him but he's really struggling in the final third, against Norwich that moment where he intercepted the ball and closed down on goal, spoilt for options but chose neither, summed his game up. I think at first when he joined he was playing a lot of first time flicks and one touch passes to no one, almost as if he wasn't used to how little space and time you have in the modern Championship, and more likely how much slower his team mates are in comparison to his previous experiences. Recently he seems to be over compensating and going the other way, taking too many touches and losing it. As soon as you're not making impulsive, natural decisions your game has gone, Dolan similar. I still think he's got a telling contribution or two to come, fingers crossed, needs a few assists and a goal from open play to get going.

It looked very messy and indecisive at times - but to give them the benefit of the doubt, I don't think we wanted to engage with them at all and play into their hands and commit ourselves and leave gaps - when we did we got picked off. They were technically superior on the ball and a better passing team, and were also capable of doing the JDT ball thing of going from box to box in 3 touches. Luckily for us they were also like JDT's Rovers in that they had little end product, they couldn't really shoot or were shot shy. My main worries from the game were Kargbo leaving Ribeiro isolated and Dennis's body language, as a number have already pointed out. Players like him and Cantwell are going to have to realise that if they are coming down to our level from a "higher standard" that they can't expect players like Hyam to ping a 70 yard diagonal onto a plate for them, talking mainly about Dennis here. Demand the ball and point all you want, but don't remonstrate every time.

I remember leaving the Watford game at home in 2023 saying that I wish we had a positive manager like Ismael who could rile his team up in the second half to come from behind. Yes, he had help from a two absolute gifts from Wahlstedt, but his subs were bold and Watford looked like a team that had been rattled and wanted to prove something. "At half-time, I was loud with the players. If we think that 80% will be enough to win a game in the Championship, then we make a big mistake and we will have a lot of regrets."

Isn't that what JDT tried to implement, or was that get rid of it within 3 seconds or something? When it worked great, when it didn't it was a shit show.

This argument always puzzles me - but it gets posted a lot, and seems to be the statement that most pleases the new generation of ultra-smug Claret. Burnley fans make the argument that Rovers are in a false or artificial position as in their words, a "sugar daddy" elevated us above "our station". As much as you can say we were elevated artificially, you could also say we were taken apart artificially. Ideally, we should have consolidated our position and remained in the top division, with Burnley coming up to meet us through all their hard toil and superb management, and both clubs having a right old tussle in the Prem. Instead, you played an absolutely rudderless and decimated side devoid of any quality and rightly got the upper hand - we've hardly been a worthy opponent until this season, barely. The response that more or less always follows from Burnley fans to that is "you reap what you sow" when it comes to the Walker > Venky transition. But should a business that's been invested in by a local, self-made man who loved the town and it's football club deserve to be punished? Everyone says Walker ushered in the era of the billionaire owners, that's total rubbish, it would have happened anyway in the major cities. Kieran McGuire often says on his Football Finance podcast that he dislikes certain aspects of FFP and it's goal of trying to level the playing field, in his words "what is wrong with a local businessman wanting to spend money on his football club?" Worth a listen. Most Rovers fans would accept kicking around the Champ / League One if under sensible ownership with the ability to dream, we don't demand billions being spent, we have no right to be in the Premier League, we just want to see an honest, transparent hierarchy at the club. We do get rightly upset at players like Diaz, Rothwell and Lenihan being allowed to leave for frees, with no attempt at making any profit to spend on the squad. We do accept we are a selling club, and always have been, John Williams made that point already. I see a lot of posts saying that Rovers fans expect rich owners to keep bankrolling the club and elevate us back into an "artificial" position and that we are "deluded". We just expect a standard that's been set for a whole generation of supporters, as will most Burnley fans in 5-10 years if the club were to drop into the doldrums. When we were relegated in '99, we accepted our fate as we had made a series of poor decisions, but the fanbase trusted the board to do things right, and there was a feeling that the club was a coherent whole, I remember an attitude of realism and acceptance. There's also this assumption that we just bought the league and walked it, just like yourselves we still had to work hard - see players like Atkins, who personified the work ethic of that side. We nearly didn't do it, we fell apart after '95, went down, got back up and won the League Cup and played in Europe under sensible stewardship. It might be hard to believe but for some Rovers fans, it wasn't all about the 90s, we've had times under Souness and Hughes etc that for a certain generation are up there with some of the best of times - we managed to compete with the big 6, with a much lower budget in comparison. The Walker years have obviously cut a deep wound that I'm only beginning to appreciate now we are very much second best. I often have a good natured chat with a Claret friend of mine during the school run, a sensible one at that too, he has a position behind the scenes apparently. After the last game at Ewood I made the point that I didn't think the teams looked that far apart, considering ours is/was valued at circa £40m and the Burnley team around £150m. He immediately spat out the words "but but jackckkwalker" and start foaming at the mouth with no prompting. Football does go in cycles, you're correct, and I know a few Burnley fans who find the antics of the players and certain sections of the fanbase a bit hard to watch, as they know it can equally come back to haunt them, pride always comes before a fall etc. Just as the mockery from our fans towards Clarets in the 90s has probably helped in creating a certain attitude amongst supporters, there'll be a whole generation of very angry Rovers fans out for revenge. Football has a habit of levelling things up and creating stories...

Let's just see how many games he plays for his new club.

Thought he looked lethal coming on against Plymouth. Tired defences won't want to face this guy. Looks a natural too, that dummy to shoot and pass into Dolan was pure class. Seems to be able to run with the ball a la Rothwell but twice as quick, also like Rothwell he may give it away, or run it out of play more often than not, but really excited to see what he can bring.

Yeah it is weird, and pretty sloppy if you ask me. I'm not a Venky sympathiser at all, but certain things don't wash right. You could spin certain points he makes in a different way: Selling Sam Gallagher was good business, inconsistent and injury prone (how many games has he played for Stoke this season), and on a high wage for us. Smodzics left as his stock was high and he wanted to fulfill his ambition of playing in the Prem and to be nearer to his family in East Anglia (you’d think ex-players can understand that, if they can understand JE's family angle too). Deeney’s put spin on it for his mate - you can also hear commentators stating how Rovers’ training facilities are good and the Academy is outstanding still. It's upsetting hearing about Brockhall, we're all really proud of the Academy, it's the last aspect of Walker's legacy we've got to cling on too. What's the truth?

Troy Deeney talking about how Brockhall is falling apart on national radio is just depressing 🥲 Seems a bit odd to casually mention a private chat between him and JE. Rovers can't name the club in the statement yet Troy can reveal intimate details of why he left in a private chat and also criticise the setup? Can imagine it's one of Eustace's agents slipping Troy a bung to put out the other side of the coin - why can't JE just say how it is - he'd garner a lot more favour from our fanbase.