The bottom tier was still (partially) open to accommodate disabled QPR fans. There were maybe a dozen people down on the front row. Presumably that meant they had to open food kiosks, turnstiles and have stewards down there for that small number of people.

2 wins in 20 games for the Clarets

Read somewhere that there is a deal in place to appoint Joe Royle and his son to senior positions at Wigan once the takeover is done. Presumably some sort of Director of Football. Bit weird with his son being involved with him. Cook is a slippery character and has always put himself first in his decision making. Quite quick to dump Stanley, Chesterfield and Pompey as soon as better offers came along and he'll know things won't be the same once the new owners are in place.

https://www.wiganathletic.com/news/2018/november/a-letter-to-the-wigan-athletic-supporters-from-chairman-david-sharpe/ David Sharpe and the Whelan family won't be involved at Wigan post-takeover. Let's see how that one pans out but I'd be slightly apprehensive as to why a Hong Kong based hotel company are interested in 2nd tier Wigan.

Interesting figures on Bristol City on twitter. Losses this year up from £3.5 million to £23.5 million. Losses over the last 6 years - £94 million Wage bill up by £5 million. £65 million in debt to their owner Steve Lansdown. Not too dissimilar to what we've had really.

I suspect Moore is on thin ice and these appointments won't help. Clearly bolstering the operation above him with people who will have their own ideas and views. Won't be too difficult or disruptive to axe the head coach if they don't pick up.

I'm guessing they only did it with us because it was the Cup and at the time they were a 3rd tier side/poor 2nd tier side whilst we were in the Prem. Doubt they'd get away with it in the League. Don't recall them having done it on any other occasion, certainly not since they got to the Prem. Their 'ultras' now occupy that stand....

There was another occasion at Wigan in the League Cup a few years earlier when we had the side stand opposite the dugout so must have had way over 5000 there. I didn't realise that the away end at Wigan held 5000+ but according to the website it is 5500 but is usually capped at less than 5000 to prevent overcrowding on the concourses. Wigan's ground has serious problems with crowding on the concourses and in the toilets and I'm amazed they built the ground like that when it would have been so easy to make it larger and safer. Preston I think ticks a lot more boxes than the other derby games. Obviously it's closer than Wigan and much easier to do by train/taxi, also more of a historical rivalry/connection between the clubs and probably impacts more directly on a lot of Rovers fans who live in the Preston area. On top of that it is a day out with some decent pubs which you don't really get at Bolton. And they've succeeded in ruining the Burnley fixture with their OTT measures that a lot wouldn't go to that if tickets were free these days. Wigan and Bolton have had decent followings there this season albeit not sell-outs and we should be getting more than them on there.

I'd have expected Lenihan to be more likely to play than Mulgrew to be honest. Tony was saying last week before West Brom there was a chance Lenihan was going to be fit so I'd hope with a weekend off and a rest this week he'll be ready to go.

Are we not thinking of The Sumners which was on the left on the way down the ground? Quite a big pub that was popular as an away pub for a while, not sure if it is still open?

Where's that from? Need to save it for my dossier of evidence.

The Premier League and Championship are polar opposites. In the Premier League it is all about the money and those with it usually end up at the top end. The 'big 6' are miles ahead on revenues, crowds and expenditure and they're pulling away more and more from the rest. The result is a boring league where the other 14 are making up the numbers knowing they won't go any higher than 7th and desperate to avoid relegation. We've only to look at results and points returns this season to see how wide the gulf is. Not only that but the Premier League has been filled up with generally smaller, less well supported and less fashionable clubs. The reason being that historically the city clubs with bigger gates would rise to the top whereas now numbers through the turnstiles is almost an irrelevance compared to owner investment and financing. Meanwhile in the Championship the opposite. Excitement and unpredictability, where often the richest clubs don't get anywhere. The league is full of big name clubs that Sky would love to be in the Premier League but the penny hasn't dropped with most that historical successes and crowds are increasingly irrelevant in this day and age and being big and successful in the 70s or 80s whilst good to remember means nothing compared to Bournemouth or Watford who have their houses in order.

That win against Bournemouth sticks out like a sore thumb. Other than that results and performances going back to last season have been abysmal, and that includes the win over Cardiff. Typical of Bournemouth though who are putting better sides than Burnley to the sword but had a rare off day when they came up here. Other problem is that Huddersfield, Cardiff, Newcastle and Fulham have something like 2 wins in 40 games between them this season which is so bad it's almost funny, yet the beneficiaries of their woeful results are Burnley sat in 15th with only 8 points. I hope at the very least Newcastle and Fulham change managers shortly and get a shot in the arm and start to climb. Benitez gives me the impression he's going through the motions ahead of departure next summer.

Just refreshed my memory and it is now 2 wins in 19 games for this lot. You won't read that in the Telegraph.

Could do with a win here to continue the positive momentum. Whilst we've had a decent week in terms of performances and even results from 3 tough fixtures we need to follow that up by doing the business at home against the less fancied teams, QPR and Rotherham provide that opportunity although of course both have shown recently they are tough nuts to crack. Following up 4 points from 9 against Leeds, Swansea and WBA with disappointing results at home against these and we won't get very far. It will be the polar opposite of what we've had at Swansea and West Brom. We've seen it many times with Rovers where we perform admirably in tough away fixtures then when the 'easier' ones come round fail to deliver so if we have upward looking aspirations could do with getting a couple of home wins on the board. McClaren has turned QPR around and after the criticism he was getting after 3-4 games of the season has already proven a few people wrong. Defensively especially they seem to be a well organised unit.

Should really be a sell out for this. Tickets are reasonable enough, no tv to spoil it and for many Rovers fans it will be as easy or easier to get to Deepdale than it is to Ewood. Also need to put those northenders back in their place after a couple of bad experiences.

I've heard that starting Saturday v QPR that they will be allocating the upper tier first.

The simple answer is that they want to force people into buying tickets in advance. It suits them that way as they get all your details on the database and know exactly how many are coming and where they are sitting. They don't want large numbers turning up on the day because it introduces an element of uncertainty or unpredictability. From a business point of view it probably makes sense the way they are doing it as they can more accurately predict how many staff and supplies are needed the week beforehand. Unfortunately it hinges on the premise that all those who are interested in going are prepared to ring up or go online or go down to Ewood during the week before the game, commit to a ticket and stick to it. We all know that some people can't or won't make that sort of commitment, not at £25+ a head, and so will probably not bother with it. Some people decide depending on the weather, or if they get permission from their partner, or if their kid fancies going. The club need to realise that rather than forcibly changing people's buying habits they are actually making some people's minds up not to attend for them.

Watching them on MOTD last night as I do after a defeat and I don't recall a single occasion on the highlights when they had the ball in Chelsea's half of the pitch.

On sale from today, 5500 allocation, £24 a head adults. Hopefully we'll fill it and after banishing the Bolton demons move on to stage 2 of 3 by beating this lot then Wigan a few days later for 3 of 3. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2018/october/ticket-news-preston-north-end-a/

Encouraging people to turn up en masse for a derby game v Preston or Bolton would likely send the coppers and staff at Rovers into panic mode and meltdown. I bet if they did something like make these games the local promotions and offer tickets at £10 or £15 a person the immediate response would be to move kick off forward. For some reason the prospect of an above average crowd sends the club, council, police etc. into meltdown with warnings issued via the Telegraph etc. I'm afraid it is the priority of most people involved in the process not to get as many people as possible into the ground but to ensure the game passes without any issues or difficulties. Throwing the doors open to potentially thousands of walk on fans many of whom would be considered 'unsavoury' types out for a day on the beer or to hurl abuse at the away team isn't what the powers-that-be want. They want everything to be predictable and run smoothly.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/17104589.lifelong-blackburn-rovers-fan-67-slapped-with-two-bus-lane-fines-in-five-minutes/?ref=mr&lp=1 The Bolton Road bus lane saga strikes again. Between them Rovers and their mates at the council seem to enjoy making it as difficult as possible to get to Ewood Park and away again afterwards. A completely ludicrous traffic system in place, insufficient parking for the big games, opening a campsite in the middle of a car park, allowing the occupants of that site to let the place go to ruin at significant cost to the taxpayer. On matchdays there are loads of council employed parking inspectors on patrol trying to make a few bob out of people attending Rovers games. Try to make money out of those who put something into the area by coming down and supporting their club rather than going after the deadweights dragging the area down.

Oh well at least with this 'warchest' Nixon can spend the next 3 months entertaining Ipswich supporters with stories of who they're going to be splashing the cash on. He'll probably link a few of ours with moves there as that's his favourite game. Then if the money doesn't materialize Lambert will have his excuses in place and the blame will be directed at their owner for not investing enough.

One or two rumours that Ian Culverhouse might be going into Ipswich with Lambert. Culverhouse was his assistant at Norwich and early on at Villa before there was some sort of falling out and they haven't worked together since. A few say that Culverhouse was the one who did a lot of the training ground work and credit him with the best days of Lambert's career and argue that since they went their separate ways Lambert hasn't been the same. The reason he's being linked is because he suddenly resigned as Grantham Town manager last week. He's also a bit of a Norwich legend so would be a surprise if he turned up at Ipswich with Lambert.

No, finished there at the end of last year. No doubt he'll still have a few bank accounts out there to take advantage of their tax laws.....convenient He's just waiting for Brendan Rodgers or David Moyes to offer him a job after they were so vocal in their praise of him when he was at Rovers.