One of the reasons it could work to our advantage with the likes of Villa and Newcastle coming down - they will have to adjust massively. They aren't prepared for the Championship, whilst Norwich/Watford etc. are.

The reason that would never be introduced is because it would eliminate the loopholes and prevent the likes of Middlesbrough and Derby from cheating. The current system is far more preferable, as it provides the League with the opportunity to sanction clubs at their discretion using some bizarre and convoluted process that 99% of people in football still don't understand. Confusion, speculation and questions rule the day, which is just how the people running it want it to be. They can pick and chose which clubs to punish as they want, with no strict policing or rule book to adhere to. Many supporters won't question it as they don't fully understand how it works so they keep quiet and assume it is all above board. I myself have read over the rules numerous times and still don't understand them myself. This way the most guilty parties in recent years, such as Middlesbrough and QPR, have been able to spend obscene amounts of money, handed down from their owners, and to date have faced no sanction other than a mysterious fine for QPR which is very suspect and for which there is extremely limited information in the public domain. Its now almost 2 years since Leicester were promoted and yet the investigation continues into their dealings with a suspect marketing company from Sheffield. How can it take so long to investigate? Anyone would think they are just ignoring it and hoping it goes away. In the end even if they find Leicester guilty the worst punishment they will get is a nominal fine, which their billionaire owner will be able to pay with the proceeds of their Champions League windfall. What does that achieve and where does the money go? The League would no doubt use the excuse that a wage cap would be either illegal or would cause massive damage to the quality of players on offer in the Championship. The whole thing is a complete sham. Take Cardiff City as an example. On 15th January 2016 the League suddenly announced that they had decided to put Cardiff under a transfer embargo for breaking the rules. Why this wasn't done in December ahead of the window opening nobody knows. I thought the whole point was that accounts were submitted in November for analysis so that a decision could be made in advance of the window. Cardiff then signed Kenneth Zohore from some Belgian club that coincidentally is owned by the same man who owns Cardiff. Yes presumably the League is satisfied that is all above board.

That's a very good article that you've found. It goes to show that the issues facing Rovers are similar to those facing most other clubs in this league which don't get parachute money. We are not unique or alone. Ever increasing debts, multi-million pound annual losses. Most people would have Ipswich down as a well run club compared to Rovers, yet they are heavily in debt and lose millions a year, often relying on the sale of better players to plug the gap. Both clubs reliant on hand outs or continued support of wealthy owners who don't communicate with supporters.

It's just a little bit galling for me when I see a smaller club than ourselves looking forward to a second Premier League season with untold riches that could change their club beyond recognition having been found guilty of breaking the rules in order to achieve it. We broke the rules and were punished, a punishment that directly caused the sales of top players and led to others (Rhodes) questioning the direction the club was taking, a punishment that directly impacted upon our season ticket and commercial income as sponsors and supporters knew last summer that decline was inevitable whilst under the embargo as we were unable to improve the squad in any meaningful form. I don't like the rules and don't think they should ever have been allowed to be brought in, I would like to see every club stick two fingers up at the thing and for it to collapse, but it upsets me quite a lot that some clubs have broken the rules yet get away scot free, whilst others, primarily ourselves and Nottingham Forest, have broken them and suffered massively on and off the pitch as a result. It annoys me that the likes of Newcastle and Villa will not only get huge parachute payments next season, enabling them to operate on a different financial level, but also get a window of adjustment to adapt to the Championship meaning they can basically have 2 seasons to try and get up with no regard for financial issues, whilst we made mistakes in our first season down and had no period after that to get our house in order. We were treated the same as Huddersfield Town despite coming down from the Premier League just 18 months earlier.

Interesting that twice in that statement there is reference to 'all' clubs agreeing to the implementation of the rules. I presume that's reference to a majority of Football League clubs agreeing to the proposals at the AGM. However it is misleading as I'm sure Rovers have never given any form of agreement to the rules, infact the rules were thought up whilst we were in the Premier League and we have had to conform without having any say or vote in the process. I'm sure we aren't alone either. So 'all clubs' haven't agreed. A majority of clubs 4/5 years ago agreed to it, several of whom, like Leicester and Bournemouth, have subsequently won promotion having spent fortunes thanks to the input of wealthy owners rather than their own generated funds.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/11/leicester-city-finances-football-league-financial-fair-play-investigation?CMP=share_btn_tw Interesting read. Them and Bournemouth are two modern day 'fairytales' yet it seems both could have cheated to get there.

Forest owner is clueless at running at football club but at least he goes to games, communicates with supporters and now appears to have realised the need for a CEO to 'drive the club forward'.

The number of teams between us and the zone is also significant. There are currently 7 teams from MK Dons to Forest below us competing for 1 relegation place (assuming Charlton don't come with a miraculous late run) that have to better our points return over the remaining 7 games to overhaul us. We've also got games at home against Bristol City and Huddersfield which we should be taking at the very least 4 points from to get us to the magical 50 mark. MK Dons have 7 games left and will need to win 4 to overtake us, even if we lose all 7. I can't see them winning 4 full stop, never mind us lose all 7. They have a huge game next week at home to Rotherham which they will have to win to have a chance of staying up.

Think Bolton have about 10 days to enter administration to get the points deduction this season. Enter after that or still in admin at the start of next season and the deduction will be applied then.

I think back to some of those 1-0 defeats we've suffered recently - Brighton at home, Burnley away, Derby away, Reading away, Cardiff away, Bolton away. I don't think we deserved to lose any of them. Even though we were terrible at Cardiff, Reading and Bolton, we still probably deserved a point from them, and against Burnley and Derby we were by far the best team yet got nothing. If only we'd collected 6 points from those 6 games which we should have done from our performances, we'd be looking at the play-offs as a realistic target. That's how narrow the margins are in this league. Cardiff, Ipswich and Birmingham are just outside the play offs and nobody is telling me that they are a level above us. One word applies in this league - consistency. Burnley and Brighton are average sides yet have managers who have the knack of achieving consistent results even when not playing well.

If we win on Saturday then that should just about do it, two wins would certainly do it. If we won 1 and lost 10 of our remaining 11 games then third bottom would need to finish on 47 points or more to get above us owing to our goal difference. In Rotherham's case they would need 12 points from their remaining 30 available, MK would need 10 from 30, as would Bristol City and Fulham. Leeds at home and Brentford away are the ideal games against two sides near us in the table to get 4-6 points and secure safety. Interesting to see Fulham struggling so badly, they could be dark horses for relegation. On paper they should be nowhere near the drop with the most productive strike force in the league, but goes to show there is more to this division than spending money and having a squad of talented players. We should be looking to build up some real momentum over the remainder of the season. Only Sheffield Wednesday away of the top 6 remaining so the fixture list is decent.

That is why it was so important to pick up the win over Middlesbrough. Teams down at the bottom will pick up surprise victories like Rotherham and Charlton did yesterday and we need to keep picking up the odd win to keep clear. Another two wins and we will be fine 46 points or more with our strong goal difference will be enough.

I can't see Bolton beating Burnley. A draw will be the best they can get. But Charlton and Rotherham are both more than capable of springing wins from their games. Reading and Brentford have nothing to play for (other than the cup) and those are the sort of games where sides fighting relegation need to put 3 points on the board. Whatever they do, a win for us is essential when you consider our upcoming fixtures after that. Middlesbrough at home, Burnley away, Birmingham at home and Ipswich away are all tricky fixtures, and whilst we are capable of picking up wins from some of them wouldn't want to be in a position where we have to.

Any news on QPR yet or are the Football League boys going to make sure it drags on through this summer to allow JFH a big spend?

Just looking at the Championship league table throws up some very interesting statistics. Rovers have conceded just 27 goals in the league this season. Only 3 teams in the whole division have conceded less goals than Rovers, those being automatic promotion chasers Burnley (26), Middlesbrough (16) and Hull (19). Derby County and Forest have conceded 27 also. Even the teams chasing the play-offs known for their defensive resilience have conceded significantly more than we have, Ipswich on 39 for example. Beyond this we have 'only' lost 10 games this season, which is a low figure for a side in our position. Birmingham and Ipswich, just outside the play-offs, have lost 9, whilst Rotherham, third bottom, have lost 9 more games than we have. In comparison to the sides down at the wrong end of the table with us, the bottom 3 sides have all conceded basically double the amount of goals we have this season, Bolton (52), Charlton (56) and Rotherham (55). Its quite clear that at the back we are a very strong side and there is little/no work that needs to be done on that front to very quickly climb the league. At the other end of the pitch the story is very different. Rovers have scored just 28 goals all season, with only Charlton (26), Bristol City (27) and MK Dons (25) scoring less goals than us. Alarmingly Fulham have scored 47 yet sit below us, whilst all the top 6 sides have scored 20+ more goals than us over the 30 games this season. I would like to think moving forward, as long as we survive this season, that the major surgery will be concentrated on our attacking abilities and not on our defence, which has been consistent all season.

Adding to that point, we've only lost 9 league games this season yet sit among teams who have lost double that or more. Those games were at home against Wolves (2-1), Burnley (1-0) and Brighton (1-0), and away at Brighton (1-0), Reading (1-0), Cardiff (1-0), Bolton (1-0), Fulham (2-1) and MK Dons (3-0). The only game we have been comprehensively beaten has been MK Dons when we played for 80 odd minutes with 10 men and gave them a penalty. There have been some poor performances in there, namely the three away games at Bolton, Reading and Cardiff where we were very disappointing, yet I wouldn't say we were outclassed or particularly outplayed. The opposition didn't have many chances that they missed, they each had one good chance they took and we couldn't recover from that. There have also been good performances in there. I maintain to this day that we shouldn't have lost to Wolves, Burnley, Brighton away or Fulham as we were decent on those occasions for large spells and worthy of at least a point from them all. I know it's irrelevant but I think it goes to show that whilst we are short on attacking ability, scoring goals and putting teams to the sword, the flip side is that Lambert has inherited and continued with a fairly resolute side that with some good attacking additions could very quickly be turned around into a very good side in this league, where defensive consistency and keeping it tight at the back is the first priority.

6 wins from 28 is simply unacceptable whatever the circumstances. Looking at our stats there are reasons to be positive going forward. Particularly from a defensive point of view we've been fairly resolute all season long. The games we have lost have been by narrow margins and usually 1-0s. We've not been hammered all season. The other point is that whilst we've only won 6 we've also only lost 9. 9 defeats by February usually should point towards a top half position. We've lost 10 games less than Rotherham who occupy 3rd bottom. Its very clear where our problem lies and this has been the problem now for 3 years. We draw too many and don't turn draws into wins often enough and that is harming our progression. Generally speaking we're continuing to perform in terms of limiting defeats and not giving much away defensively.

Regardless of our own problems at present, there are 5 clubs at the bottom of this league that are really poor. Bolton, Charlton, Rotherham, MK Dons and Bristol City. If any of those finish above us this season then heads need to roll. I've got to agree that our trajectory under Lambert so far appears very similar to that which this group of players frequently demonstrated under Gary Bowyer. Go on a decent unbeaten run, get within 5 points of the top six, get everyone excited and optimistic that a push for the play-offs is possible, then undo all that good work by surrendering to 3 consecutive abject defeats to mediocre opposition. In 3 games running we've barely threatened the oppositions goal. Defeat at Bolton in particular bore many similarities to capitulations against the likes of Rotherham and Doncaster in previous seasons. Bolton were back to business as usual on Saturday when they were well beaten at home by mediocre Huddersfield. A group of players that are either unwilling or unable of taking the game to the opposition and handling the pressure of expectation. They seem to prefer to turn up for games for a kick about with a view to taking home a point rather than ruthlessly taking the 3 points. We need either an attitude change or personnel change to move away from this familiar attitude and inject a nasty winning streak.

O'Sullivan earned very good reviews whilst at Barnsley last season and at Stanley before that, so much so that Barnsley came in with a cash bid for him last January. It's early days for him at Rochdale, I didn't watch the game yesterday but to say he can't do it at that level might not be fair when you read Barnsley supporters' views on him.

Burnley playing recognised first teamers in Marney and Long. Only Mahoney and Forrester have made very brief appearances for our first team (not including keepers).

I think it is down to sheer incompetence from Lancashire Constabulary. The moment they see Blackburn v Burnley they start to panic and try to change things to make life easier for themselves. The same Constabulary that were happy for 4,500 Bolton fans to travel to Preston on Saturday and spend the afternoon drinking ahead of a 6pm kick off. They seem to want it both ways. On the one hand they think they can do as they please to suit themselves, even if this means closing stadiums and denying supporters the chance to support their teams, basically branding everyone as a hooligan in the making when 99% of people have no history of football related trouble, yet on the other hand expect thousands of paying customers to turn up when the police want them to and keep them in jobs. It must have escaped their attention that without football matches and other events to police that there would be a lot of police officers with less work and lower incomes. This appears to be in breach of the rules of the Under 21 competition. If a game is played at a clubs home venue i.e. Turf Moor then it should be played outside of working hours so as to be accessible to supporters. I myself go to a lot of the Under 21 games, and I think it is a disgrace that I am being prevented from supporting Rovers on the basis of some 'recent troubles at similar youth fixtures' nonsense that clearly hasn't occurred in Rovers v Burnley games. Dreamt up by somebody in an office at police HQ who probably has no interest or understanding of football, yet have the power to prevent me from enjoying supporting my club.

http://www.rovers.co.uk/news/article/blackburn-rovers-burnley-under-21-premier-league-cup-2778536.aspx As suspected the police have intervened and ensured that this game will now take place behind closed doors at Turf Moor next Monday with no supporters allowed in. Absolutely disgraceful decision. About time the clubs stand up to the constabulary rather than meekly do as they are told. I note there is reference to 'recent troubles at similar youth fixtures'. Can anyone shed any light on these troubles? There have only been 3 or 4 meetings between the clubs at this level in recent years and I can't recall any trouble taking place. For the Youth Cup game I parked up in Burnley and walked to Turf Moor in my Rovers top and witnessed absolutely no trouble. No doubt the week after the club will be trying to encourage more people to go and watch the Under 21s at Leigh, when it suits them, but for the big games like this one when it doesn't suit the powers that be the supporters can f*** off.

It seems to have been missed on this thread that Rovers have been drawn against Burnley in the U21 Premier League Cup. As yet there has been no information from either club about when or where this game is to take place, but the Premier League have said that it needs to be between 9th November and 24th November. No doubt there will be quite a few from Rovers and Burnley wanting to attend this fixture. Has anyone heard anything about it?

Well I imagine the one that signed last week he is referring to Scott Wharton who has just signed his first pro-contract with the club. He has been playing regularly at CB for the Under 21s this season and has impressed. No idea on the other two Shaw referred to.

There are a lot of poorer sides than us in this division 'on paper'. Infact, we have players in our squad that the majority of teams in this division would be envious of. The likes of Rhodes, Marshall, Conway, Hanley. But for some reason we don't have the 'nack' of winning games. The problem is that the teams we should be comfortably above have the ability to go and grind out wins out of nothing. We don't have that nous or streak in the team. For example, Bristol City have been poor most of the season, yet they went away and won 1-0 at Middlesbrough a few weeks ago. Rotherham are a poor side, yet beat Cardiff in the last minute and followed that up with a 2-0 away win at high flying Birmingham. MK Dons went away to Rotherham and hammered them 4-1. Bolton simply don't lose at home, and that form alone will keep them above the dotted line. These are the sort of things we don't do. We very rarely go away from home against a 'better' side and grind out a win. We very rarely go away to a 'poorer' side and hammer them. We very rarely put 2 or 3 wins together on the trot. I've been to every game this season and on the basis of our performances we could easily have had another 5-6 points. We shouldn't have lost at Brighton, shouldn't have lost at Fulham, should have beat QPR, should have had a point against Wolves, and if we'd have taken our chances at the death could have beaten Hull and Cardiff. But we didn't. The fact that we were value for more points in those games than we ultimately got is partly a positive, because we haven't been well beaten or comprehensively outplayed this season, and we are talking about very fine margins in those games, yet at the same time the negative is that we have been playing reasonably well and yet have nowhere near a good enough return from those games. In this league teams have to 'cash in' when the team is performing well and get the wins on the board, because a spell of injuries or poor performances is usually waiting round the corner. So it is very concerning, because even now we need 2-3 consecutive wins to propel ourselves towards the top 6 zone, and whilst pleased with recent performances and results at QPR, Hull and Charlton it is still only 1 win in 9 league games and I have little or no faith in this team going on a winning run or going away and grinding out hard fought, sometimes undeserved, victories that nearly every other team is seemingly able to do.