Well this is window number 3 since promotion and number 5 since Mowbray took over. Mowbray spent last summer telling everyone that it was a long term build and would take a number of windows and that the owners had bought into his vision. I'd like to know how many more windows are required as part of that project and whether the plan has changed.

So far lost Reed, Conway, Downing and likely Rodwell. Work to do just to fill that gap and replace those lot. That's just to stand still assuming nobody else goes. That doesn't cover progression and replacement of people like Smallwood, Nuttall, Evan's etc. If we want to improve. Won't be long before the club and Telegraph are painting Chapman, Davenport and Samuel as new signings.

Not just Rovers or Rovers location. Applies to all outside the parachute payment teams.

Byram and Hugill will go to the Championship this summer. Neither are in contention for West Ham. Hugill isn't good enough for the Premier League and Byram has had a bad time with injuries and needs games. Not sure how he did at Forest last season. Both will cost so I imagine there might well be interest if West Ham are paying the lions share of their wages but if not they won't be happening.

Suspect WBA will 'go for it' this season to get up before the parachute cash runs out. Got to say I'm impressed with the Bilic appointment. Let's see what he has to work with there but he won't be cheap.

Mowbray made references to defenders coming in this summer during his speech to the fan groups a few weeks ago. He didn't mix his words. Not possibly coming in or maybe coming in but definitely coming and not one defender but defenders plural because those here last season allowed too many goals to go in. It wouldn't be the first time he's made bold claims to fans which then don't come to fruition but he will be left looking silly if it's the same team as last season with Rodwell and a cheap back up to replace Downing making up the numbers. Then again he'll arguably look even worse if he gets his new defenders, spends money doing so and then they turn out to be crap or we continue to leak goals for fun. Then the spotlight turns away from Mulgrews legs and towards the training ground and coaching.

Wouldn't rule it out with the old North East/Middlesbrough connection there but he'll have been on fortunes at West Ham and hasn't really done the business for a while now.

There it is from the horses mouth my suspicions confirmed that it was a panic move late on as money was on the table and Mowbray felt compelled to spend it through fear it wouldn't materialise down the line. The big question for me is whether that cash was there all summer and we failed to invest it until the 11th hour due to pursuing unrealistic targets for weeks and weeks or it wasn't and someone at Venky Hq suddenly decided to throw a lump sum into the mix to sign a 'star' player hence the last minute nature of it and throwing it all into one player rather than spreading it around the team. Incomprehensible that Mowbray would opt to spend such an amount on a 19 year old project whilst doing next to nothing with the defence and midfield and ending up with no fit centre halves in January.

Rumours Garry Monk set to leave Birmingham. Better job lined up elsewhere or strange owners getting carried away like when they binned Rowett off? Their fans are fuming.

Bilic is strong favourite to get the West Brom job. I think that would be a very strong appointment by them and with some backing would have them right up there this season. They will surely lose a few players from last season including the senior players like Morrison, Brunt and Barry but I can't see Bilic turning up without funds behind him. In fact I'm surprised he's prepared to manage in the Championship at all. The others - Swansea, Boro and Hull - all seem to be going down the inexperienced route which is a gamble that could go either way.

Steven Hendrie, Jack Byrne, Martin Samuelson, Modou Barrow, Doniel Henry, Matt Grimes, Kasey Palmer, Todd Kane, Kerim Rekik, Cameron Stewart. Seen it all before. Only ones that worked out ok for us were Tom Lawrence and Sam Gallagher though both had played regularly elsewhere before coming here.

Ah yes the kid on loan from a Premier League club with only a handful of career appearances everyone gets excited about when he joins, conveniently for next to nothing, before disappointing. Seen that one before here. Next please.

Back in 2013 or 2014 going into a Championship season we'd have had a good following at places like Rochdale and Bury for pre-season friendlies. Maybe 2014 when we had Bury and filled most of the stand behind the goal. Given we've been to these grounds half a dozen times now over the last 5-6 years the novelty will have worn off and i can't see there being more than a few hundred. When you play the same old sides every summer people will get bored with it. Playing them both in the league season before last will probably diminish it too. Only ones i can see being well attended are Rangers and Blackpool, for obvious reasons. The others will be poorly attended.

Possibly if the club treated sales with more urgency and got them on sale at the same time as most other clubs more people would have bought by now? e.g. whilst people are going to Ewood during the season rather than saving up for their summer holidays with other things to think about than Rovers. I'll buy when I'm ready to. No question I'll renew and I'll need to do it at some point this month to secure my seats. Not the same for other people though.

If we've the same budget as last year we should easily be able to improve both positions rather than one or the other. When we start bringing people in for lots of money as projects which eat up most of the budget we will struggle to address the issues.

Interesting that he speaks of a healthy budget for the summer but also talks about moving towards self sufficiency. The two are incompatible. If we want to compete and invest at this level we need external investment and through that won't be self sufficient. It's one or the other and that's nothing to do with our crowds compared to other clubs. You want to invest and compete then you won't break even. If Venkys don't like the idea of losing more money then they either need to get us up quickly or pack their bags.

I'm afraid a line is crossed when the manager and spokesman of the club is going out and making these sort of comments. I know it suits Mowbray and the regime we have to keep expectations down and remind people that we've no divine right to expect success and this is a very competitive league but there comes a stage where it is too much and we've reached that. I don't demand much of the club. I don't demand success or millions spent on top quality players but I do demand pride in what we are. I don't accept these comments as either accurate or appropriate. As I say Mowbray should perhaps say less at times, whether that be our huge rivals who actually aren't or the inflated crowds of rivals he comes out with.

Mowbray now claiming on the official website that Stoke and Middlesbrough are huge clubs with huge fanbase and we have to look forward to competing with them. Very disappointing and insulting comments in my opinion and I don't appreciate them being published on our official website. Even if Mowbray believes that I don't want him or anyone else at Rovers saying it. I believe he is incorrect in any event but then again Mowbray has form for saying things that are simply wrong or gross exaggerations to suit himself.

I don't understand why they can't even have a release date, let alone any proper marketing material. Is it really just a case of waiting for the van to turn up outside the shop and unload the boxes? Seems poor to me. We keep hearing about needing more income yet replica kit and gear is approached so poorly.

He'll be top earner or close to it and on far more than he would ever have hoped for at Gillingham. Probably explains the lifestyle. He was going nowhere fast until we went in and gave him a platform in a good side and all parties have reaped the rewards. Biggest problem isn't his bird it's the media and agent chums down in London who will be bending his ear every other week after landing him a big move and a mega contract. He strikes me as being happy here and grateful to the club and manager but it doesn't take long with some of the low life that operate in football these days to engineer what they want. Alarm bells going for me when he was invited onto Soccer AM. Sort of thing not every Championship player gets to do and probably had countless agent connected Sky lackeys in his ear ever since. Could nip everything in the bud early doors by getting him tied to a new deal, which was rumoured back in January whilst that rumour mill was in overdrive but never came to anything.

I'm sure had Fergie packed in earlier or Hughes hadn't gone to City then he'd have been next to or ahead of Moyes for that job. But he burnt his bridges by joining City and ensured he wouldn't get the United job. He always had a high opinion of himself justifiably so given his record at Rovers but perhaps not on his record at Fulham, QPR, Stoke and Southampton. Not particularly well thought of at any of those clubs and each one ended in a shambles. Fell out with Al Fayed then left the others in dire straits. Decent job at Stoke with 3 top 10 finishes in a row but nothing spectacular really. If he wants to manage again it will be either Championship or abroad. Doubt his ego could handle dropping down a division so I expect it will be early retirement unless a good offer from overseas comes along. You'd think someone in Spain or Germany would be interested given his playing background. Quite clear with hindsight that the Trust were taking us one way only with their refusal to invest in the club and lack of interest. As with Venkys theres no room in this game for reluctant or couldn't care less owners. Don't need to be hands on but need to take an interest and want the club to improve. It was only the good work of Williams, Finn, Hughes and Allardyce etc. that kept the ship afloat. The Trust deserve no credit for that.

A few problems with that plan though. First off Mowbray might not be manager next summer if performance isn't acceptable this season. If he is here then he'll be preparing for his 4th full season which is above the usual lifespan of a Championship manager yet his scouting network will only just be delivering results. What if his successor wants to do it differently? Then it hinges on Venkys reinvesting all the proceeds of a hypothetical Dack sale which I think is unlikely given past behaviour. Then it comes down to our scouting doing what the other 23 Championship clubs aren't already doing. To do that we would either need to be going beyond what others are already doing or be extremely good at what we do. Mowbray sold us a 3 or 4 transfer window strategy to build a good side capable of challenging. We're now in window 3 since promotion and are being linked with Stuart Downing and keeping Ben Gladwin. Not exactly impressive. Hopefully there's better to come. But I do find it funny that there's now talk of European signings next season when that will be window 5. Always tomorrow, never today with this lot.

More massaging of the figures to suit the agenda. Last season it suited him to claim the higher figure whereas now with a pitiful 2500 sold it suits to set the bar lower and achieve higher.

Standard stuff from Mowbray really. As ever the proof will be in the pudding and I'll try to reserve judgement and not pay too much attention to the publicity. I do get sick and fed up of Sky, Radio Lancashire and Telegraph scuttling along to the Eid in the park event and trying to get a story out of him regarding Dack. Maybe to be expected from Sky in their Premier League obsessed world but it is disappointing to see from the local media. Gives them something to do I suppose but I don't think it is being done in Rovers interests and appears to be completely baseless at this point.

Hughes' right hand man Mark Bowen is rumoured to be becoming Reading's director of football. Unless I'm mistaken that will be the first time he's not worked with Hughes since Hughes entered management. That tells me that perhaps Hughes isn't planning on managing again for a while.