Absolutely unforgivable that Mowbray went to Reading and left Dack, Graham and Reed on the bench whilst starting Conway, Smallwood and Brereton. If there were 2 games to go all out to win it was Reading and Rotherham - two weak sides shot at on confidence, two glorious chances to get wins on the board rather than tough fixtures v Middlesbrough and Bristol City. If we'd have won those two but lost all the rest heavily we'd at least be on 50 points and would have kept them at arms length. Our appalling defeats to those sides - let us not forget the embarrassment of those - 1 win since November Reading and no wins in 2019 Rotherham - has meant that not only have we missed good chances to win games - but we've also allowed those clubs to put points on the board and get within a surmountable distance of us with 11 games to go. To turn up at one with that team and to rest Graham/Dack - that is the sort of thing that is leading me to have serious doubts about this manager. Allardyce always knew which games you had to win when struggling. You beat the teams below you and if you are going to prioritize fixtures you prioritize those against weaker sides ahead of those against top 6 sides. We arguably lost the Reading game through arrogantly resting key players.

We said last night that was an excellent example of good game management by Rotherham. They'd been on the rails up to that point, used the 'injury' to stop the game for 4 minutes, took our momentum away and they recovered from that point on to win the game. We don't seem to have that nous of how to cope with pressure and play dirty on occasions to get where we need to be.

There was talk when Coyle got the job that Irvine and Kelly had been consulted on the appointment and the club announced that they would be staying on afterwards. They then conveniently got jobs elsewhere to create vacancies for Coyles pals to fill.

If there's any substance to the multi year build claim that Mowbray keeps pushing then you don't do it by offloading your only decent player. Its one step forward two steps back. We are of course too reliant on Dack to create which causes problems when he's out of form or a marked man. None of our other midfielders have contributed anywhere near a sufficient amount of goals or opportunities.

Yep. Phase one of preparing fans for the departure of the star man is to suggest it may be a sacrifice worth making to generate substantial funds to reinvest (Rhodes and Lambert episode). Phase two is for the 'contract talks' to stall. This will then enable the club to portray Dack as a villain for not signing up to a longer term deal (see the Marshall and Duffy episodes) and to convince fans the problem is the player and he has to go for the good of the club. Phase three is for the player's performances to deteriorate and so convince people that he's no loss if he does go. Phase four is for him to be sold to a Championship rival and for 90% of the cash to disappear into the black hole whilst we moan about a lack of affordable replacements. Seen it all before.

The way it should work is the manager/head coach comes in and appoints his own coaching team. Mowbray didn't do that when he first arrived, and in the 2 years since has only appointed his trusted sidekick Venus to the coaching staff. I have my suspicions that Mowbray was instructed from above to appoint his staff from within the club, which is a recipe for disaster.

Unacceptable. IF the manager told them and they didn't listen then that suggests he has lost the dressing room. The manager is responsible for the team and the results. If the players aren't good enough it is a failure of recruitment, for which the manager is responsible.

I too am getting tired of this 'chance to prove themselves' concept - that we have basically awarded an entire Championship season to a group of players who might not be good enough just to give them a chance to see if they can do it. The club is more important than any player and the manager should be recruiting to put the club in the best position possible, not to allow certain players a chance to prove themselves. Who are these people who Mowbray wanted to give a season to see if they could do it? Mulgrew, Lenihan, Evans, Conway, Graham, Bennett, Williams - all very experienced Championship players who were regulars in our relegation season including under this manager. The only players who are playing regularly for us who haven't done at this level before are Dack and Armstrong and I'd say they are of the least concern at this moment in time as they have shown they are able to do it at this level. Who else? Smallwood had has opportunity in the Championship at yesterdays opposition - Rotherham - who got rid of him despite being one of the worst sides in Championship history. Harrison Reed - clearly good enough for this league in a multitude of positions but it now seems is being ostracized - I suspect because either he's not happy with being shunted out wide every week or because Mowbray knows he won't be here next season. I can't see who else is new to this league who is being afforded time to prove themselves. It's a nonsense. Even if it was true - the manager has blown the 'opportunity' concept out of the water by awarding all the players multi-year contracts BEFORE the season began - which suggests he believed they were good enough before the season began. I'm afraid I don't accept that our defensive woes are simply a result of not having enough players and it will all be solved as soon as we sign a few replacements. I think it is a result of poor coaching and I think whoever we have in the team we will leak goals because of the way we play and the way we set up. We're a confused mess and it certainly doesn't help matters when we're chopping and changing formations, positions and systems 2-3 times a game every game. It confuses me at times what we are doing and playing so i expect the players are probably in a similar position. Awful game management, but this has been the problem now for well over a year and nothing has really changed except it seems confidence has now been shot to pieces. I've no faith whatsoever that the owners will make enough money available to overhaul the squad and bring in the 7+ decent players needed. They'll talk the talk about making money available but it rarely materialises except for vanity projects like a 'star' striker. This run of results is dreadful. Even on the rare occasions we've got into a good position like yesterday at 1-1 or last week at 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to go we've immediately collapsed upon the opposition applying minimal pressure. I don't accept we are safe yet, and I don't accept the next 11 games are irrelevant dead rubbers for the manager to experiment and go through the motions. THESE ARE REAL COMPETITIVE CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES THAT THOUSANDS WILL BE PAYING MONEY TO WATCH AND EVERYONE - INCLUDING THE MANAGER - IS UNDER REVIEW - WE'VE 3 DERBY GAMES AT HOME AND IF WE APPROACH THOSE AS WE HAVE PERFORMED RECENTLY AND THE KNIVES WILL BE OUT. NO MANAGER SHOULD BE IMMUNE FROM THE SACK AND IF THIS RUN CONTINUES THROUGH MARCH AND APRIL THEN THERE SHOULD BE SERIOUS ALARM BELLS RINGING SOMEWHERE. Unfortunately thanks to our mental owners and the structure they have put in place I don't think the manager is really judged on results and so expecting a conventional chain of events to unfold here is unlikely.

Smart recruitment at Leeds over a few seasons. Not a mega budget just sensible investment and exploitation of the European market. Some baffling managerial decisions and instability but get the right one and the results come immediately. Shows 'stability' isn't necessarily all it is cracked up to be.

Big family day out. Will be almost as many as they get at home.

If Stanley are dishing out free tickets to kids in Langho then it makes it even more unacceptable that Rovers aren't tapping into Hyndburn. I could - almost - forgive the neglect of Hyndburn if it was some sort of gentlemanly agreement to avoid other clubs areas (even though its ridiculous) but not if Stanley are doing stuff in Langho. Keep the Bbe upper open permanently and give the tickets away in Hyndburn and South Ribble too!

I heard that they were - from the Stoke game onwards - opening the Bbe Upper for free tickets for schools and clubs. Don't know if its permanent or just for the last few games of the season. I think it's a good idea, fill it up, make the Bbe fill up a bit.

Think a few will have decided to go to Birmingham instead looking at those who were there last week and the slow take-up for this one. Every time I've been to Rotherham in the last few years we've been at 1,500-2000 so surprisingly slow sales.

We can't afford to lose this one having lost to Reading the other week. That was an atrocious result and a defeat here will be even worse. People may think that it is hysterical but lose here and the gap is 'only' 11 points which will put pressure on us to grab a couple of wins from somewhere quickly. It won't be easy, they are tough to beat at their place but are draw specialists. Nobody surely expects us to keep a clean sheet so once again we'll be looking like needing 3 goals or more to have any chance of winning.

I suspect the question will get asked at the next meeting as to when we can expect them to be announced and then we'll get a vague 'some point soon' comment Again it might not make any difference to 99% of regular season ticket buyers whether they are on sale now or in May but these aren't the people we should be worried about - it is the extra ones who will decide off the back of whether there's enough cash left over, or how long they have to save up etc. Leave it to May and people will have one eye on the summer holidays. Maybe spend an extra £300 on their trip to Spain. Do it now whilst people are in football mode.

West Brom yesterday. Frozen at £329 for adults. Interesting as they 'don't know what league they are going to be in'. Presumably they subscribe to the bonkers theory that putting them on sale earlier might see more sold, whilst Rovers reckon it makes absolutely no difference.

They've only released that bizarre statement after facing a landslide of questions and emails demanding an explanation from supporters after the official police twitter account confirmed to everyone what I had long suspected to be the case. I know a few people who have sent in letters and emails requesting an explanation. I sincerely hope that those who meet with Waggott face to face will be asking why the club lied/misled supporters previously when they claimed that they had no say in the matter and they were acting entirely on police instruction in moving kick off to noon. That was minuted in more than one fans forum meeting. Now they've backtracked slightly and are admitting they do have some say in it as the decision is supposedly 'mutual' between Rovers and the police, whilst the police say they are only doing as requested by Rovers. As you correctly point out - NO other club voluntarily moves kick off times to 12 noon. There are odd fixtures that are forced by the police or by Sky tv to early times but I'm not aware of any other 12 noon kick offs this season in the Championship, certainly not ones that the club offered to move there. The next question is why no other clubs ask for it - and the answer is clearly because they don't want to annoy their home fans and want as many to attend as possible. This issue really grates on me. Not even because it causes me any particular inconvenience. I don't work on Saturdays, I live 20 minutes away, I can and will still attend. But I don't think it is acceptable for this to happen, I don't see any acceptable explanation and the club's attempt to explain it only raises more questions, like why they are moving kick off times to satisfy local residents and the Blackburn public who presumably contribute nothing to Blackburn Rovers whilst inconveniencing those who spend their money on the club. We have a modern and safe stadium, set up well for segregation purposes with separate stands, buffer zones and a compound for the Darwen End. Most other clubs have no such luxuries - old grounds, lack of space, home and away fans mixing - yet no issues. Forest can host Derby on a Monday night, Sheff Wed v Sheff Utd too. Interesting.

Don't set me off! I live in Ossy and sometimes work in Accy and I see absolutely nothing from Rovers. No school visits, no posters, no advertisements. Zilch. Surely there's some data somewhere about where Rovers ticket buyers live and I'd expect a large percentage of season ticket holders and those on the database to live in Hyndburn. As you point out, the lengths that Stanley are going to in an attempt to build a fanbase and get youngsters hooked is impressive, but also a source of embarrassment that such a small operation with very little going for it can do such things whilst we rest on our laurels. I've already pointed out that in my experience Stanley is an easier day out than Rovers in terms of getting into the ground, parking, getting away after, better food and drink etc. Rovers' efforts in terms of school visits is positive but it is a tired routine and they only seem to have any interest in Primary schools within BwD boundaries and do nothing beyond that. When I was a child I know I would have responded more to a free shirt or ticket from a football club than I would a player coming into school one afternoon. It's something I never thought I'd see but it is worrying. Stanley pro-actively working on a generation of fans and Rovers idly ignoring a hotbed of traditional support, either through laziness or some bizarre belief that it isn't our patch.

Yet the attitude at Rovers seems to be that we can rely on the same 10,000 to buy regardless so why make the effort to get them on sale now?

It wouldn't happen. Sky wouldn't allow it as a number of those would be selected for broadcast at other times. Life on easy street at Ewood. Unfortunately that is incompatible with wanting to increase attendances. They thought the issue was put to bed by hiding behind the police but now we all know that isn't the case, the club ludicrously has backtracked and is now claiming it is a mutual decision. Still at least the neighbours who contribute nothing to the club will be happy the game is kicking off earlier....

It would be helpful if the club could explain how 18000 football fans descending on Ewood for a 12 noon game and leaving all at once at about 2pm is in any way better for local people than it would be arriving at 2pm and leaving at 5pm. The club seem to be expecting a sell out away end regardless here so the only way to interpret this is that they prefer the lower number of home fans this will likely result in. If there's some unknown factor that results in local people suffering more at 3pm than at 12noon I'd genuinely love to hear it. Unless of course this is all cock and bull nonsense aimed to try and pacify fans now the cat is out of the bag and they can no longer point the finger at the police. They're just digging a deeper hole for themselves.

The pricing of hospitality at Ewood has been prohibitively high for some time now. In my view Northcote attempt to create an 'exclusive' image of their brand and don't really want average football fans involved. They'd rather have empty tables and boxes than reduce pricing or open it up for the general public. I'd be looking to utilise empty boxes by offering them round local pubs and clubs - 30 a head for 10 blokes for unattractive Championship games to include a bit of grub?

Ipswich charging adults 12 quid for their game v Reading this weekend. Reading charging adults 15 quid anywhere in the ground for their upcoming game v Preston. Meanwhile at Ewood.....

At least we can draw a straight line between this and the nonsense they come out with when an above average crowd results in newspaper stories about 'chaotic' parking in the area. A 31,000 capacity stadium but get 20,000 on and the club and locals cant handle it. Perhaps if they didn't charge 10 quid a car or shut down all the car parks people wouldn't park on residential streets?

So now they're factoring in local residents as a consideration in kick off times. It just gets better and better. Not bothered about annoying home fans or reducing ticket sales but at least the locals with no interest in football wont be inconvenienced too much.