Some murmurings of discontent towards Pulis to be found on their forums. We could do with taking something away from this to take into a tough few games and continue the positivity after last weekend rather than it becoming 3 defeats in 4 games. Genuinely have no idea how we'll perform. One end of the scale it could be another West Brom, Derby or Stoke where we go to a tough ground and come away with a good result or it could be a heavy defeat along the lines of Preston, Wigan or Bristol City. The hope is that we thrive in the underdog role and playing away and not being expected to get much works in our favour. Line up wise don't envisage much change from last week except perhaps Lenihan if he's fit enough but expect him to be left out to give him more recovery time before the busy Christmas period. Been to Middlesbrough I think 4 times, we've lost 1 and drawn 3. Be nice to get a win. That defeat was during the infamous Shebby period when we lost on Boxing Day and upon returning to Ossy we discovered that Henning Berg had been sacked. Mowbray was Middlesbrough manager at the time. They've been low scoring affairs in general and I expect that to continue tomorrow. I usually enjoy my trips up to the North East, A nice drive over Blubberhouses, not a bad journey and plenty of good pubs along the way.

There was a falling out at Derby. Think it was around the time that their chairman came out with that nonsense about the 'Derby way' as though Clement's style wasn't acceptable, though there were rumours of funny business behind the scenes. Can't have been down to results as they were sat in the top 6 at the time. He also did a very good job at keeping Swansea up against all odds when he went in and they seemed doomed but then couldn't build on it the following season.

The peculiar thing for me is their stubborn refusal to entertain any sort of publicity. Back at the start they couldn't help themselves with their motorcades, Madame's interview on the big screen, her visit to the training ground, the trip out to India with the team and fans, countless humiliating interviews with Balaji and Venkatesh. I believe all or most of that was orchestrated by Jerome. It suited him and his agenda for these fools to occupy the glare of the media and for the impression to be spread that they were idiots making all the decisions. I've no doubt it was him and his SEM-Arsenal contacts at Sky Sports (Jim White, Paul Merson, Charlie Nicholas and co.) which enabled the succession of Sky exclusive interviews with them. It may be the case that they are so scarred by what happened in those days that they refuse to communicate or appear, it may be that they genuinely believe they are helping things by keeping away, or it may just be that they have no interest in coming and never really did. I think that I'd trust them a bit more if I could see and hear them from time to time, particularly in relation to their plans and financial dealings at the club. I'm not for one minute suggesting that they turn up with their entourage or go back on Sky Sports but perhaps a few photos of when they meet with Mowbray and Waggott or a genuine end of year statement from them via video or audio rather than the stuff that appears on the website which I doubt has come from the owners.

Sheffield United have put our game down as Category A. I assume purely on the time of the year and they reckon they can get more home fans on than usual. I suspect we'll do well to shift many for that. £29 is steep especially for the time of year. There might be a few who go there rather than pay £39 to go to Leeds and a few like me who haven't been on Bramall Lane before, but can't see us shifting 2,000.

https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2018/december/club-statement--royals-part-company-with-paul-clement Wonder who they will go for now. Obvious two are Bruce and Jokanovic but expect both would be expensive.

Sounds like Reading are close to sacking Paul Clement. Changes afoot there as they sacked off their Chief Executive a couple of weeks ago and have appointed Nigel Howe who was Madejski's right hand man.

Shame Fulham couldn't hold on for the win and Huddersfield couldn't get anything. 2 wins in 27 for our Claret friends.

Difference between welcoming them back and accepting them back. I don't think I'd ever applaud their arrival or cheer them on the pitch, not unless something very drastic happened, but at the same time I don't take umbrage at them turning up from time to time to watch a game and I don't think I would ever hurl abuse or throw things at them as I think it could do more harm.

I see Birmingham have been given an extra 600 tickets taking their allocation from 2000 to 2600. Presume that now means they will be moved downstairs in the Darwen End.

I don't think so. Yes they could bankrupt us on a whim, unlikely to happen. Ideal scenario is they clear off and pass the club on to a rich and better owner, again unlikely to happen as they show no inclination of going anywhere. In the meantime we're stuck with them until they decide otherwise so the next best thing is we somehow manage to come up with an arrangement where they bankroll the club whilst making progress on and off the pitch, which is what appears to have happened since Mowbray came in. I think they are more likely to make positive progress at the club if there isn't abuse directed at them. I'm not expecting people to welcome them with open arms, roll out the red carpet for them or praise them, but I certainly don't think it will help if one of the inner circle turns up at Ewood and is immediately targeted for abuse. I'm not talking about message board stuff, I'm talking about people booing, hissing, throwing stuff as soon as he appears at Ewood. Baby steps. I don't know much about this lad or how much power he wields but he's a new face, according to some he's interested in football, the son of one of the owners. If he goes back to India and reports positive things it can only help the club in the short term. If he goes back and reports negative things then it - could - set us back or damage things. I've already made my position clear on them. I can accept their presence if there is a benefit to Blackburn Rovers of them being here. If their ownership has no benefits to Rovers, or they are actively causing harm, then there's absolutely no point to us of them owning us. As it stands I believe we are at least getting some benefit from their ownership as they are allowing Mowbray to do a good job and seem to be backing his decisions whilst supporting him financially. If the circus returns, they start meddling or turn off the financial support then we go from progression to regression and they will be lambasted. I don't think it is hypocritical - if there is some sort of advantage or positive signs of Venkys being here then I can put them to the back of my mind and carry on. If they're actively causing damage, stopping investing or allowing the club to regress then I will be vocal in my criticism. As it is I am waiting to see how things unfold, I don't really trust them but I think there is a fragile balance in place at the moment and directing abuse to one of their children the moment they appear at Ewood could shatter that fragile balance. Don't think it is 'pandering to ego' to accept that he came to visit, see what it was like and had his photo taken with the manager. It could be interpreted as taking more of an interest and making small steps at their end to repair the mistrust with fans. For all we know this could be down to Mowbray who has spoken to them about returning - perhaps they have listened and sent their son over first to see how things are like and what reception they get.

Venkys haven't been absent. They've been silent and have stayed away from Ewood but they are ultimately still calling the shots. They were also silent from 2013-15 whilst Bowyer was here but things then broke down again which is why I'm not jumping to any conclusions. To me it seems their henchman Pasha has been de facto running the club since 2015, or at least was doing until Waggott/Mowbray got their feet under the table. It seems to me that his presence has enabled progress of a limited kind.

Whether you like or loathe Venkys or whether you think we should be grateful for their continued (mainly self-inflicted) financial support is irrelevant for me. I've no time for Venkys at all and as I've explained many a time on here I'm reluctant to believe that a corner has truly been turned off the back of 12 months of positive progress. Having said that I think we can all agree that the last 12-18 months have been better than what came before that, and most people feel better about things than they have in a while. With that in mind I don't think it is wise to start hurling abuse and insults the moment one of the Venky group turn up at Ewood. Whilst they are owners of the club it is likely to be better that they have some sort of involvement or interest rather than absolutely none and the more personal relationships and interest in the club at their end the better our prospects. I certainly think it would be counter-productive to start hurling insults at this bloke as soon as he appears at Ewood. Rather than achieve anything positive it could well cause more damage as these are the sort who will pull the shutters down and the drawbridge up if they feel like it. I can learn to tolerate them as long as the club seems to be run in a professional manner and they are clearly providing financial support to enable us to compete beyond what other clubs are able to do. This is by no means a Venky supporting post, I still don't really trust them after what went on with Bowyer, Lambert and Coyle, but I fail to see what possible good it will do to start being aggressive towards a bloke who could well be owner in years to come, especially when Mowbray has spoken of the need to try and build bridges and get the owners engaged.

They'll probably break the rules, get found guilty and then sit around for 9 months waiting for something to happen like Birmingham City have done. Lots of talk about points deductions and making an example of them, nothing has happened and meanwhile they're surging up the table towards the play-offs. Who says it doesn't pay to break the rules? Just imagine if Birmingham were on course for the play-offs and the League tried to dock them points. Imagine the legal ramifications if Birmingham fought it. Maybe the League will get their dream scenario and Birmingham get promoted so they can forget about that little problem or alternatively try and do a deal with a multi-million pound fine.

Do we not have to agree to ticket prices for FA Cup fixtures? If so we can sleep safe in the knowledge that Waggott or someone will have given the thumbs up to the ticket prices....

Just had a look and it is £34 for Leeds fans behind the goal and £29 in the lower tier opposite the away end. Seats in both of those areas are superior to those in the away end which are mainly restricted view. This is why we should be charging them more than home fans when they come to Ewood but apparently we can't do that.

Leeds don't want large away followings. Numerous reasons why but fundamentally it is because they know they can and will get 20,000+ home fans on whatever the weather. Now they're doing alright and it being on Boxing Day they'll have 30,000+ on so they won't be bothered if there are 500 or 1500 Rovers fans there. The more that turn up the more aggravation there is in terms of segregation and policing outside the ground. They won't be charging their own fans £39 a piece I'm sure, the stands behind the goals are usually cheaper than the main stand where away fans are housed. What a terrible shame that we've reached a stage in this country where clubs actively want to dissuade people from attending. The worst part for me is that the people who decide on ticket prices are in the main the sort who aren't football supporters, will have never travelled anywhere supporting a club, and certainly won't have had to balance the books at the end of a month and find that there isn't enough money left in the kitty at this time of year for such an expensive hobby. All these high paid executives see are numbers on a balance sheet and don't understand the mindset of football supporters. As others have said, if the Football League or Football Association were governing bodies to be taken seriously then they would have rules and regulations in place to prevent supporters being ripped off but all they do is shrug their shoulders and blame others.

Yeah provided the prices are reasonable, and I think Newcastle are usually sensible, then I'd fancy a couple of thousand will go. Last time we had Kean in the dugout and we were struggling in the Prem. Would expect away fans to be upstairs as usual. I don't think they put them downstairs like we were very often at all.

And even more unlikely that anywhere near £12 million would find its way into Mowbray's transfer fund.

Last time we played at Newcastle in the Cup we were down by the corner flag, the ground was less than half full and the entire upper tier was shut. I've saved my photos from that afternoon to produce every time someone comes out with the brilliant support/always fill their ground stuff about Newcastle.

All the 'stories' seem to emerge from one or two newspapers in tandem with the boys at Sky Sports. Notice how we've now another pin the tail on the donkey effort this time with West Ham and Palace the supposed destinations. They've gone up a notch from Championship with WBA to Premier League presumably because the language coming from Mowbray makes it clear he won't be sold in January to a Championship rival so they've upped the stakes by bringing in mediocre Premier League clubs into the equation. Notice also how it emerges the day after Dack becomes newsworthy again with his goal and assists on Saturday, whilst there were no rumours at all doing the rounds after very poor performances against Preston and Wigan. It's usually the same old culprits behind it and it's boring.

Enjoyable afternoon, important win and fully deserved. I congratulate Mowbray and the players for delivering a good response and getting back to winning ways. My eyebrows were raised upon learning the starting line up but very pleased to see Conway contribute as he did and Downing didn't disappoint. Like Leeds we were quick out of the blocks and got the goal, but after that I felt the first half was pretty poor from both sides. Second half much more like it. We upped the tempo, looked dangerous, Dack came into the game more and he and Graham resumed their double act. Disappointing to see them score 2 which their efforts didn't deserve. We could have suffered but went on to restore our cushion.

Good news and given our start to the season probably deserved. In practice it doesn't mean very much other than it symbolises that the decision makers have faith in him and want him to continue. In practice it may make him happy but the reality is if he does really well and wants to move on he will and if results nosedive he will be under intense pressure regardless. Don't think it is too long. 2022 is 3 seasons after this and only another couple on top of his original deal. Hardly Moyes 6 years at United or Pardews 8 at Newcastle. Suspect that this has been teed up for some time and the announcement saved for the best moment e.g. off the back of two horrific defeats to calm everyone down and show some faith in the manager.

I don't want to criticise the club for putting reductions on and coming up with something to try and boost the gate but yeah, £20 as the special price for a standard adult isn't really anything to get excited about.

Trouble with starting Graham AND Conway is that there is a strong likelihood both will have to be substituted due to fatigue, thereby using up 2 substitutions before we've even started. Be surprised if Downing is starting.