Exactly. Wigan winning is annoying but doesn't really change things for us. We're well behind the pack of Forest, Bristol and Burton and unless we win games ourselves and catch them 3 then we'll go down. Wigan have shown fighting spirit that we haven't in the last couple of games. A last minute win against Rotherham followed by turning around a 2-0 down at half time to win 3-2.

And that only covers since 1992. If applied to the non-Sky Sports created window of the entire history of English football we're inside the top 10 and likely will be for a long time.

Ultimately my belief is that as long as Venkys remain in control money is irrelevant. It doesn't matter whether we have the same income as Accy Stanley or the same income as Newcastle. Whatever money is made available will be squandered, and regardless of how big the wage bill is or whether they allow cash for players, the structure is so flawed that we will fail. This will remain the case in the Premier League or League Two. I'm trying to look at things from the hypothetical angle of 'IF' Venkys left or 'IF' they suddenly decided to act differently, neither appear to be likely any time soon. But 'IF' they did, then this club ought to naturally be a big club in League One. 5,000 a week or 15,000 a week I don't think success will ever come under these people and so discussion about club size or income is best applied to what happens if/when they leave.

Yes, but how much of that is due to the 'size' of the club and how much is to do with the last 7 years? Whilst it might not provide an income what it should do is make it easier to attract players who want to represent such a famous club and managers who want to resurrect it. Of course its hypothetical at this point because the people running Rovers will waste whatever advantage it brings and continue to recruit poorly, but in the event we have a future after Venkys are gone the name Blackburn Rovers and Ewood Park should set us apart from most clubs down there and put us in a decent position to rebuild. I notice that Bolton's crowds actually increased this season despite a lower level of football. Likewise Preston's gates around the 10,000 mark in the 3rd tier and Wigan almost 10,000. All clubs that would these days be considered 'big' for that League on the basis of standing in the game, stadium and achievements.

We'll mess it up. Again. My prediction is that they will stick with Mowbray. I'm not opposed to that providing they do it properly. That starts with allowing him to assemble his own backroom staff rather than have to work with existing staff. If they aren't going to allow him to change his coaches then it won't end well. Then they need to allow him to overhaul the squad in the summer. That means being able to sign players from the word go, being able to spend some money, and being given a fair crack of the whip. I don't expect any of those things will happen either, and that's before we get on to the Paul Senior issue and what role he will play in transfer policy. In the event Mowbray walks, which wouldn't surprise me if he's messed around like his predecessors, then of course the people we should look at are the likes of Rosler from Fleetwood or Darrell Clarke from Bristol Rovers. Young, hungry, proven in Lge 1. Having a past association with the club ought to be last on the list of criteria. Unfortunately I expect either a promotion for Dunn or someone like Neil Redfearn to pitch up.

Despite what these muppets are doing to us we will be a big fish. The fact we've spent all but a few years of our 130 year presence in the League above it sees to that. Who will be a bigger club than us? Arguably Bradford/Portsmouth on the basis of larger fanbases but they don't have anywhere near our pedigree, trophies or facilities. Bolton have been a 'big club' this season down there and we will be the same. The question is can we use that to our advantage or will we waste it? Coventry have wasted it and are suffering because of it, and I'd bet everything I own that if these people stay here long enough we'll follow them into the 4th tier eventually. Whatever gates we end up getting will be more to do with their 7 years+ of horrific mismanagement than a reflection of club size.

In League One, as in virtually every professional football league, you need a core of tried, tested quality players to rely on through the season. Even in recent times, under Gary Bowyer, a man who knew the youth scene better than anyone and who had spent years working with the kids at Rovers, we saw this to be the case. Bowyer understood that attempting to throw youngsters into the squad en masse would end in disaster both for the club and the players and we therefore saw a 'safety first' approach with him relying predominantly on experienced players throughout his time here. I've no doubt that the fantasy world that Venkys live in they foresee a squad assembled directly from the Under 23s. Not because they have any idea about the abilities of the players, but because it is a cheap alternative to recruiting experienced players. Once relegation is confirmed in the coming weeks the first thing those in power at the club ought to do is attempt to copy the recently successful League One clubs. Look at what Bolton, Wolves and Wigan all did when they dropped out of this league and then bounced back immediately. I'm almost certain, unless someone can show me otherwise, that none of those clubs cleared the decks and turned to their under 21 squad for promotion. We probably will because the people running this club have no intention or ambition to get promoted next season and are prioritising cost cutting and individual player values over on the pitch success and results on the pitch. Just to confirm, I have absolutely no problem with a club keen to develop youngsters and see them make the step up to the first team as and when the coaches deem them ready. I have seen the Under 21s/23s numerous times this season and I very much enjoy watching them and hope to see as many as possible feature for the first team in the future. But this process has to be gradually managed with a solid experienced squad of 20+ pros in place under contract and 3-4 youngsters adding to that, not the other way around.

Regardless of opinions on Keith Hill's managerial abilities or whether he should have had the Rovers job or whether he's good enough for Rovers, using his achievements at Rochdale as a foundation for why he should get the Rovers job isn't the best idea. There's next to no chance that he would have ever been able to do at Rovers what he has done at Rochdale. He fits in well at Rochdale like John Coleman does at Accy. There's an environment there that he can work well in and do the job to the best of his abilities. At Rovers no manager will be given the best possible chance of success. They could appoint Conte at the end of the season and they'd find a way to make his position untenable. The club is set up to fail and until that changes via ownership changes or brain transplants in India then whoever is sat in the dugout will find it virtually impossible to do anything. Besides, these lot clearly aren't interested in making healthy profits on player trading. If they were then they would have realised what a good job Bowyer had done in that department and would have backed him with a view to another crop of Cairneys and Gestedes emerging about now. Instead they preferred to rip it all up, spend millions in pay-offs and contracts for Anthony Stokes and Wes Brown and deliver another painful relegation.

Coming to something when the former Premier League Champions are likely to be getting much lower gates next season than a fake club (MK Dons). If there was a semblance of a plan or ambition I'm sure that our gates next season could be similar to Bolton's this season - 14,000ish. If the people expect a promotion push and victories every week they will buy tickets even to watch a lower level of football. In our case there's only so long before people don't fall for the lies and deceit any more and we passed that point with Lambert's departure. We'll be scraping around on 7,000 crowds with them announced as 9,000.

Any competent owners would have had a plan in place for relegation to League One. It nearly happened in 2013 and 2016 and has been likely since the day this season began. Their decision to cease investment and sell everyone has ensured that. Yet we all know that once relegation is confirmed that a period of 'confusion' will set in. If we are lucky we'll be given another 'statement' confirming their commitment to the club. We will have to wait until their summit meeting in late May before the subject is even discussed and budgets are even looked at for next season. Then a few more weeks will pass before Mowbray or whoever is manager finds out what is happening. The priority will be shifting people like Graham and Evans out the door and using the cash raised to pay off Stokes, any incomings will have to wait until that business is done and enough is saved in wages to authorise some incomings. We'll be messing about in late August throwing a squad together from what loans and frees are still available meanwhile the likes of Fleetwood (providing they don't pass us this summer) will go into next season with a quality manager and coaching staff and a settled tried and tested squad in place ready for next season. Its all so predictable. Senior will talk about having to wait to get the right value for money and the right characters into the club.

Senior could be the best Director of Football in the industry. He could have a raft of quality players lined up ready and willing to join Rovers. Unfortunately unless Venkys are prepared to change the habit of a lifetime and give him a proper budget and let him get on with it then we'll fail.

I expect we'll get a surge in public support over the coming weeks as our plight becomes clear to the world and there's a story to be had about the former Premier League Champions dropping into the 3rd tier. Most will be sympathetic to our fall from grace and understand where the blame lies. Unfortunately it won't be sustained. Once we're entrenched in the 3rd division or even worse we'll become yesterday's news. Just like Coventry and Portsmouth became after a few seasons down there. As much as I dearly hope that our imminent relegation will be the beginning of the end for Venkys I just can't see it. Magic Mike will be tasked with reducing expenditure in line with the further fall in revenues and as long as their input doesn't exceed a certain level I think they'll be content to cart on as usual.

Indeed. Lambert was a bolt out of the blue and they surprised us all with the appointment and opinion at the time was he was the best appointment this lot had ever made and would ever make. Surprise surprise all wasn't what it first appeared and he was off and we were brought back down to earth with an almighty bump with the disgraceful appointment of Coyle. Its a possibility Mowbray is on a 6 months suck it and see arrangement. Mowbray has nothing to lose and a reputation to rebuild. Keep us up with a squad that is performing below its abilities and then step aside in the summer and he's back on the managerial bandwagon when most Championship clubs wouldn't have given him a job after Coventry. Really hope I'm wrong and Mowbray is here for a 2-3 year rebuild job whatever happens between now and May but I've not got much confidence.

I'm of the same view. I worry that despite Mowbray's good work so far that it will be too late. I think most people can see now that this squad is good enough and has been good enough all season to be better than bottom 3 Championship. Coyle actually deserves some credit for that as several of our better performers were recruited by him or given more opportunities under him (Guthrie) than previously. The worst part of the whole thing if we go down will be knowing that we were good enough to survive, and have even ended up with a manager good enough to keep us up, but it came too late because of the terrible appointment of Coyle and sticking with him for far too long. I can handle relegation if we're one of the worst sides in the league and the club has done everything to try and avoid it. But we haven't got one of the worst sides in the league, and the club certainly hasn't done everything it could to avoid this predicament.

At best the 'gentleman' Mowbray spoke to was Balaji, which I suppose is a start, but we all know that the only way to get business done with this freak show is to get answers from Mrs Desai, and it appears the only way she does her business is if people fly across the world to visit her and kneel at her feet. Balaji doesn't have the cash to fund this club, hence the drastic cutbacks we've witnessed in the last 2 years after Mrs Desai realised promotion isn't quite as easy as signing cheques and adding to the debt every year. Mowbray is in a no lose situation here though. He's already proving to be very popular with the supporters, firstly for being 100% better and more likeable than Coyle, and secondly for delivering an immediate improvement on the pitch. Everyone knows what the problem is here. If Mowbray keeps us up this season his managerial career will be revived even if he walks out in the summer. If he gives them a chance to do things properly, which Lambert wasn't prepared to do, then he might be able to cobble together a squad next season that can do better than this year, but if not and he leaves nobody will hold him responsible for the situation.

After the Coyle sacking he was rubbishing claims that Rovers already had a replacement lined up. Clearly the quick appointment of Mowbray was already arranged yet Nixon was saying people were being stupid thinking Rovers already had someone ready to come in. Showed himself up there big style.

The 'worst' part of the Mowbray appointment for me is the hope it gives. That will make the next few months more nerve racking and relegation, if it happens, even tougher to take. I won't hold Mowbray culpable in any way for relegation if it happens but it is just another case of 'what if'. What if they had acted sooner, what if they had never appointed Coyle in the first place. Under Coyle I was bereft of all hope. I never believed from the minute he arrived until the minute he left that he was going to keep us up. I was resigned to relegation, and had even come to terms with it. Now, with the change, it injects that hope that will make it tougher to take. I think Mowbray is a good fit for the club. He has certainly said all the right things and he deserves all our support. If nothing else just because he isn't Coyle. Refreshing to see a manager in a suit stood on the touchline barking instructions to the players from start to finish and being complementary about the club and fans. If the worst does happen and we go down I hope he is trusted to try and bring us back up, and I hope he has the option to add to his coaching staff over time once he has settled in and decided what he needs.

If finances were the only factor then Bournemouth and Swansea would be considered bigger clubs than Newcastle, Villa and Leeds, which nobody does. There's more to it than that. Fanbase is important, but I'd say top of the pile comes achievements, honors, success and standing in the game. I think if you asked fans of other clubs across the world the vast majority would consider Blackburn Rovers to be a bigger club than Burnley. Healthier finances and a couple of years of them scrapping in the bottom half of the Premier League won't change decades of history.

Got to say I enjoyed this comment on the Middlesbrough Gazette website after Mowbray was appointed: Tony Mowbray will find it difficult to rebuild Blackburns fortunes in the 18 months he has been given by the Venky's. Blackburn are still a relatively big club, certainly bigger than Burnley, and should not have been in this position, unbelievable that only 12 months ago they had Rhodes and Gestede. They might have to bite the bullet this season, go down and rebuild. Certainties for Division One champions next season though for me. Good to see fans of other clubs know their stuff.

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is another short term appointment with a view to a longer term arrangement depending on how things go from now until May. When Lambert got the job we were led to believe he had signed up for the long term for 2.5 years, only it then turned out he had sensibly inserted a break clause in enabling him to walk out if he wasn't happy with things. I bet Mowbray is on a similar arrangement. It will be 18 months but a clause that either party can end it in the summer if they aren't happy. Mowbray has nothing to lose, he was unemployed, desperate for another crack at the Championship and Rovers is the biggest club he would get in his position. If he keeps us up in the next 15 games, which he is capable of doing with a squad I believe is underperforming in 23rd place, then he will instantly be rehabilitated and well liked by the fans. The way they've done it with the head coach structure with Senior sorting transfers from now on and Lowe/Dunn as the coaching staff in place before the new manager they will be able to chop and change managers relatively cheaply without needing to fire off several people every few months. Merely ring around the out of work managers desperate for a crack back in the Championship and offer it to one willing to work with the existing staff. I really hope it works out, for all of our sakes. I think Mowbray is a top bloke and his interviews are refreshing and good to listen to. I'd hate it if he was the one with a relegation on his CV after Coyle has presided over such catastrophic results all season.

We needed to keep Cairney, Gestede, Rhodes, Hanley and Duffy yet they were quite happy to see the lot of them off despite the massive impact it was always likely to have on the squad. The outcome is likely to be relegation this season. In particular selling both Hanley and Duffy last summer. Absolute madness to follow a policy of selling both your regular centre halves who had done a good job for the club with no back up around. If they were prepared to do something so dangerous to the squad, they'll have no qualms letting a youngster with half a dozen first team games go if the money is there. So whilst I understand that keeping Mahoney is a good idea for most of us, for these people it will come down to cash and whether they can be bothered to offer him a new deal. They've shown that things like the players preference and impact upon the squad and fanbase is irrelevant.

I imagine the issue with Mahoney won't be who the manager is. It will be the nature of the contract offered to him and how much the club really wants to keep him. If recent departures such as Duffy and Marshall are anything to go by, with players being messed about, painted as the problem, not offered new deals, or offered new deals on poor terms, then he'll be going. If they get a sniff that they might get a few bob in compensation at the end of this season if someone else signs him then it will be game over.

So has he signed an 18 month deal or a deal until the end of next season?

After the initial bolt out of the blue shock this morning I am coming round to the idea of Mowbray. He seems a decent bloke who has been well liked almost everywhere he has been and has a decent record in this division. Things unravelled at Coventry though which is perhaps the most similar structure to what he'll be getting here with disinterested dodgy owners only interested in cutting costs and a joke setup with muppets running the operation. I actually sympathise with him because it wasn't long since he was regarded as a top manager at this level after WBA and Middlesbrough, two locally owned professionally run clubs, fast forward a few years and he's having to work for SISU and Venkys to get jobs on what I expect will be low wages. Do I blame him for coming here? Certainly not. Out of work for 6 months after leaving Coventry bottom of League One - he needs to get back to work and repair his reputation and the chance of getting back in to the Championship might not come back up again any time soon. If he keeps us up his reputation will be enhanced again. I am a little concerned about the staffing appointments, but I suppose only time will tell. If it is the case that Mowbray has set out to appoint from within so that he can tap in to their existing knowledge of the club and squad and hit the ground running then that's fine, makes some sense. If however, and I'm suspicious that this is the case, that Lowe and Dunn were always going to be promoted, and have been waiting in the wings for some time for this, and managerial candidates were told that they would have to work with them before getting the job, and Mowbray was willing to do this despite preferring to have his own men in place, then this could be another disaster. No manager or head coach will last successfully at a club where he can't even be trusted or backed to recruit his own coaching staff. The 'Head Coach' title is unsurprising. This is what Senior has been angling for since he arrived. Again only time will tell but given no money is going to be spent either way we can probably forget squad strengthening any time soon. Despite being 'manager' Kean was a head coach as he took instructions from above as to who he was selling and signing. I wish him the best of luck, hope it works out, but expect either way it won't last.

Definitely. Anything over 45 would probably do it.