JHRover

The 4th Champions League slot should be awarded to the FA Cup winners. Simple. 4th place in the league doesn't deserve to participate in the Champions League, the winner of the prestigious domestic cup does. I suspect the likes of Newcastle, Leicester and co. would start taking it a bit more seriously if there was the prospect of a trophy win, mega money windfall and the possibility of playing Barcelona next season. Won't happen because the big boys wouldn't like it and the Premier League call the shots rather than the FA. Nobody really wants the Europa League. For the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea at least they have a chance of winning it and getting back into the Champions League through that route if they don't make the top 4, but for others like Everton, Leicester etc. it is just an inconvenient distraction with minimal benefit other than the supporters get a few nice trips.

Think that's being optimistic. I'd be surprised if there were as many home fans on as we get for league games. In theory there should be - cheap tickets and a decent chance to knock out a Premier League side - but sadly for whatever reason the people in this area don't turn up for cup fixtures. Yes it is odd that more Rovers fans turn up for a league game v Rotherham than they would for a Cup game v Premier League opposition but it has been that way for years - see Stoke/Swansea when Bowyer was here or West Ham under Lambert which was a poor attendance boosted by a sell out away end. The only exceptions have been Liverpool, City and United at home in the Cup and we all know why that is. I'd also expect Newcastle to be less than usual, probably 4-5000. So perhaps 13000 in total.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2019/january/ticket-news-newcastle-united-h/ Tickets now on sale but no date confirmed yet. £10 adults when bought in advance and £20 on the night.

Which if true is absolutely ridiculous. How on earth can anyone plan ahead if the budget hinges upon us being above an invisible line at the mid-way stage of a season. We could be 11th and only 2 points off the play offs and not be eligible for this funding or we could be 8th and 10 points off the play offs and get the money, which one is worthy of more investment? I've still got deep reservations about how we approach transfer windows under these owners. I've no doubt Mowbray has a medium term plan in terms of how he wants to play, the sort of players he wants to bring in and that he feels it is better building over a few years than it is going silly like Wednesday and Forest have recently. I'm afraid I draw the line at that point and stop short of believing that the owners have bought into some 3-4 window plan and have set budgets so far in advance. They've always done things on a whim and a year-by-year basis, the manager and board have to go off to India in May or June to receive their budget and instructions, expecting them to commit to a strategy for 18 months from now is pushing it. As you say, the 3-4 window thing is nice in theory but then what happens when/if Dack departs? A gaping hole will be opened in the squad and it will require a lottery win or huge investment to replace him. If we start the 3-4 window clock at last summer this is number 2. The summer is number 3 and next January is number 4. So by this time next year at the latest this theoretical completion date for Mowbray's grand plan arrives. What happens after that, assuming we aren't on our way to promotion by that point?

Unless the rules have changed recently then Waggott has no choice in the pricing for the replay. The same prices have to be followed as agreed between the clubs for the original tie. £10 adults and £5 concessions. I suspect they could get round it if Newcastle agreed to put them up but don't see why Newcastle would agree to such a thing. The only way a discount scheme could work for the next round is if Rovers subsidise it. It would never happen. If we were to get through we would need to enter into discussions with the other club to agree on pricing. Season tickets can include cup fixtures but I think that has to be declared at the start of the season. If, for example, we go through and reach the 4th round and decided we wanted to make it free for season ticket holders we might be able to do it but the club would have to put cash into the pot to offset the loss of income - if 10,000 took up the option of a free ticket the club would have to chuck the right amount into the pot for the away club to have and for the FA to get their slice. Isn't going to happen. Tickets for the replay should have been with Newcastle before the 1st game finished so they are ready to go on sale immediately. They should be on sale now but it seems we have to wait until tonight is out of the way and the TV companies decide what they are doing, thereby costing us 2-3 days of potential sales.

Maybe, though Forest Green were expecting it to become permanent in January, so Bolton must have told them at the start the money was there when knowing it might not have been. Forest Green are a small fish who will have needed to budget on that expected windfall coming in. If they'd have had Doidge since August they could well be higher in the league and in with an improved chance of promotion. Scandalous that a bigger club can go in and take a player on loan, promise to make it permanent and then pull the plug on it, whilst also leaving FGR to pick up the tab for the last 4 months.

Bolton have got away with it for too long. They got out of jail last season by surviving in the final few minutes of the season and have avoided administration by the skin of their teeth on numerous occasions. People might have some sympathy for their predicament if they conducted themselves properly but dodgy business like not paying staff wages and signing players on loan with a view to permanent and not then following through with it and not even paying their monthly wage is a disgrace.

Gallagher I think only has 12 months left on his deal at the end of this season. He'll be 24 later this year and has only made 18 appearances for Southampton. He needs to move on and establish himself in a Championship team, and if that means taking a wage cut that might be something he has to take. Sitting on his backside for another 18 months shouldn't be an option. With him having been here before and knowing most of the players here we should be near the front of the queue. I'd be pleased if we could get him and Reed on permanent, expect Reed would be tougher to do and would cost a fair bit.

I'm not a subscriber to the Times but I'm tempted to do so just to read that article, especially as it is by Henry Winter. I heard the thing about Venus over Christmas. Him and Mowbray have had rotten luck in losing their wives at relatively young ages. I suppose working in football and being involved every day might be the best thing for him to try and help him through it.

Where does Chapman fit into this team? He struggled for game time the last time he was here in a poorer division before his serious injuries. Mowbray said on record that he didn't think Chapman was ready for anything but a late cameo when he could run at teams.

To be honest Forest's announcement was even more bizarre. Two lines on their website confirming that Brereton had joined 'Championship side' Blackburn on a permanent deal. Anyone would think they weren't in the Championship referring to us like that, a very short statement to say they have sold an academy product and you'd think if they were getting big money for him they'd be keen to tell their fans what a good deal they've got.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2019/january/ticket-news-newcastle-united-a/ Back to what I read yesterday - no tickets available on the day. Increased allocation of 3300 with 450 remaining. Seems odd if Level 7 is closed to home fans as they could easily accommodate any travelling on the day.

More likely is he'll find somewhere else in the team for Travis, especially if he goes on to become a fans favourite. RB or RM are potential destinations for him. He won't want to drop Evans or Smallwood, especially after handing new contracts out to them both since the summer.

Another few knocked off the away numbers. Unlikely to be a 6000+ following as in previous seasons. I'd expect 3000-4000. Bad news for Waggott and his bumper away followings.

Yeah, I didn't think Newcastle would be selling out, just a lazy comment from Rovers website to try and big up the occasion. A bit like when Bristol City had a 'full house' even though there were about 7000 empty seats.

This is the problem. For me our budget and plans shouldn't really hinge on how far off the play-offs we are in early January. The club and owners should have a plan over the medium to long term and a list of players they want to bring in to work towards that, be it this season or next. Whether we are 7th or 17th. They should have faith in the medium to long term job. By all means if we're on course for promotion chuck some more in to try and get us over the line but business needs to be done either way and we'll never get anywhere if they base their budget on what position we're in. E.g. if our last 4 games had been Rotherham, Ipswich, Brentford and Reading and we'd picked up 10 points we'd be on the cusp of the play-offs but might have Leeds, Sheff Utd, WBA and Middlesbrough to come in January. Would they seriously increase the transfer pot after a good Xmas because we had a kind fixture list rather than the tough one we actually had which only saw 3 points from 12 collected? There's too much ifs, buts and maybes. If we're in contention they'll think about making more cash available. Anyone can see we lack depth and quality in numerous areas so the club should be looking to plug those gaps with the right players. What's the alternative? Don't make money available because we're not in promotion contention? Its a vicious cycle. If the plan is to focus on loans we aren't going to get anywhere. It's just a patch up job until it has to be revisited in July. Need permanent quality players who are going to improve the team not for 6 months before trotting back to their parent clubs but for 2-3 years as we build upwards.

I was sure that there was a tweet this afternoon saying there were no sales on the day, but it seems to have been deleted now.

He's joining Charlton. Don't think he's good enough for what we need.

To be honest we have form for those sort of issues here - letting contracts of better players run down, large scale changes every summer, constantly building team after team, keep getting loans rather than permanents. Lambert is spot on - you can't build a successful side on those foundations. Hopefully with Mowbray we've seen the end of those days but the period of 2014-17 was full of it.

They've announced this afternoon that tickets will not be available on the day. Seems strange when they had previously said they would be. Presume they're getting close to their 3,000 allocation and Rovers aren't going to request more so they're keen to avoid people turning up and not getting in.

Don't think there's much, If any, prospect of us getting Reed on a permanent in January. I fail to see what incentive Southampton would have to agree to that at this stage with their Premier League status in doubt. Surely at best they will be happy to leave Reed here until the summer and then consider the position then when everyone knows where they are going to be. IF Southampton survive and we stay in the Championship then I think a permanent deal would be possible but would cost money, like any decent player will do these days. If, however, Southampton get relegated I'm sure Reed would feature in their plans as a ready made quality Championship player. The only way this is likely to change is if Southampton want him back in January to have a look at him with a view to him playing for them in their relegation run-in. My focus would be ensuring he stays here until the end of the season and spend the next few months saving up and whispering in his ear about a permanent deal in the summer.

Only one way we'll ultimately keep our better players and that is by convincing them this is a club going places and is determined to try and get promoted to the Premier League. I'm confident that if Dack can see that we are determined to progress and continue upwards then he will be happy to go on the journey. Thankfully Mowbray SAYS all the right things on that front - acceptance that we need to progress and build and get into the promotion picture - but the problem is in actually doing it. Recruitment will either have to be extremely savvy (far more so than it has been so far) or a major outlay (far more than it has been so far). The basics are there - a decent starting XI, great team spirit - but the depth, resilience is falling short. I can't help but feel at times that some of Mowbray's comments are aimed as much at the owners and their advisors as they are at the fans and players. Talk about needing to get into the promotion picture to keep Dack is the sort of language I would expect him to use when trying to convince the owners to bankroll more signings and keep the club progressing. Budgets are seemingly decided on an annual basis and I expect Mowbray is facing an annual battle to convince them to spend rather than sit back and think it is job done because we're back in mid-table Championship.

People will be able to find ways to watch it via foreign tv and save themselves some cash in the process. Despite good pricing on tickets it is a tough time of the year for a lot of people and if they can watch the game online or at the pub rather than spend £50 going up there then many will do. I still think 2,500 is a reasonable effort given the time of year, though I had hoped we would reach our initial allocation of 3000. Odd though because Rovers reported 2100+ sold last Friday before the Sheffield United game and only 2,200 sold as of this morning, so very slow sales over the last 5 days considering we've had a home game in there where people would often get a ticket. Someone said tonight that it is now 8 defeats in 11 home games for Newcastle this season.

If we really want him prising him away from Charlton shouldn't be an issue. Like us with Premier League clubs if a player attracts attention from a richer club in a higher division he will be interested. Charlton are still in takeover limbo so imagine their board will cash in on a player out of contract if an offer comes along.