Steve Cooper would be the ugliest, but one of the best, managers in the league... Rob Edwards would be the most handsome, but one of the worst, managers in the league... Hmmm decisions decisions! On a serious note, we'll probably end up with Rooney or Lowe if we're to be realistic.

I'm just trying to switch off from it all now. Every time I think of Rovers I genuinely feel sad... it's groundhog day, the same old shambles, rinse/repeat, death by a thousand cuts - but the worst part, is the reality that we're powerless and can't actually do much about it. The owners don't care in the slightest and likely have no idea what's going on at the Club, Suhail will be telling them all is great regarding finances, and how great of a job he and Waggott are doing etc... Waggott will be retiring soon and couldn't give a toss, he'll stick it out another year before his minion Rudy takes over. Who will they appoint when Eustace goes? I genuinely don't care anymore. Whoever it is won't stand a chance with this lot at the helm. Nothing will improve unless the new gaffer can somehow get playoffs in 15 games... and then go and win them! Just not happening is it. In the summer it'll be the same old shady, disgraceful, penny-pinching behaviour by the board, despite the amount of money earned from player sales, and the large amount of players we'll require. Eustace will likely raid whoever he can from us for Derby, probably one (or both) of Travis and Tronstad... new manager will grow frustrated, possibly leave etc. We know how it goes! I absolutely love this Club, but i'm just fed up with it all now.

Just as concerned with how many of our players Eustace will try to snipe should he keep Derby up... Imagine Weimann, Batth and Dolan will be on his list once their contracts expire. Then wouldn't be at all surprised to see him move in for Travis, Tronstad, Brittain or Hyam... fortunately Derby aren't absolutely loaded, so he can't take them all.

The title of this thread keeps throwing me, can we change it to Eustace Wants Out (Deffo) ?

Blackburn Rovers have shot themselves in the foot for a second time in 12 months, with another successful head coach on the brink of departure. Rovers fans will soon be campaigning for February 9 to be abolished. Not even the best script writer would plot an official approach for John Eustace on the day of his one-year anniversary as head coach. It was 12 months exactly since the previous incumbent officially parted ways that Eustace was fielding questions on his future. There were 15 minutes between Rovers' announcements marking the end of Jon Dahl Tomasson's tenure and appointing Eustace. That won't be the same this time around. Whilst Eustace diplomatically stated he would hold talks with the board, everyone expects this to go one way. It would be naïve to think otherwise, considering Derby's confidence to make a firm play for a head coach positioned 16 places above them in the Championship table. You don't do that unless there's been a nod and a wink that you've got a mighty good chance of landing your target. Whilst Eustace will not go out in the same blaze of glory as Tomasson, the underlying reasons are the same. Quite simply, he hasn't felt supported and views the Derby project as a better one than Blackburn Rovers'. That is a damning indictment on a board that has failed to back their last three managers at crucial moments. Tony Mowbray had Rovers in second this time three years ago and they did not finish in the top-six after a dry January. Tomasson didn't get the striker he wanted in year one and they missed out by goal difference. In year two, he'd had enough and the failure to register Duncan McGuire was the final straw. For Eustace, his cries for 'two or three quality players' went unanswered. Sure, Rovers signed six players but four of them didn't come until the final week of the window despite a mass injury crisis. There may well be some good additions over time but none of them ticked the boxes of top Championship pedigree and ready to go straight away. Blackburn Rovers do not have the biggest budget and that is fine. The Championship has a food chain and an eco-system which Rovers simply don't sit at the top of. Ewood Park attendances are bottom half and the squad value sits similarly. To be sat sixth after 31 games, having lost Sam Szmodics, is a remarkable effort from staff and players. But nobody can escape that Rovers have sold £30million of assets in the last 12 months. By my rough calculations, they have spent circa £2.5m in permanent transfers since then. That is simply inexcusable and is a huge driving factor in Eustace's decision to jump ship. January's recruitment was short-term and Eustace, like the fans, can see the problems coming down the road. Rovers have 13 players who might not be part of their group come pre-season. That is poor planning and execution from the decision-makers. When asked by The Lancashire Telegraph if he felt supported, his words backed the board. His facial expression and the smirk that followed painted the true picture. Derby sold centre-back Erin Cashin for £9million to Brighton & Hove Albion in January. They too are a selling club, for the right price. But they instantly reinvested a reported £4m on defender Sondre Langas, as well as a further £1m on a centre-forward before that sale. If Blackburn Rovers won't reinvest in their squad when they sell the likes of Adam Wharton and Szmodics, when will they? How does this club grow and create assets to plug the financial gap? They simply can't. Since Gregg Broughton's departure, Rovers have neglected contract renewals. They're running out of players who would fetch good value and those that would are diminishing because of their dwindling expiry dates. Rovers' board are fortunate that their last three appointment have been on the money. Tony Mowbray rebuilt the club, Tomasson took them to the brink before the ship started to sink. Eustace provided the life jacket and lifted them to dry land. But none of them are the root cause. I sincerely hope there is not the same revisionism on Eustace's tenure as there was on Tomasson's. They did things in different ways but, when given the right tools, had Blackburn Rovers punching at the right end of the table. Both were failed by the board. Family does play into this too. Eustace has been living in a Blackburn hotel since he took the job. His family remain at home in Birmingham, with two kids, 7 and 14, still in school. If he can keep Derby County in the Championship this season, I'm sure he will get more assurances of investment and progress than at Ewood Park. It's a risk given they're 22nd but, let's face it, why would you back against him? If he achieves that feat, I don't think anyone would be shocked if the Rams are about Rovers in 12 month's time. That is a negative view but a reflection of the trust in the Blackburn board after 18 months of short-term planning, poor decision making and lack of clear communication. They have once again played a deciding factor in driving away Blackburn Rovers' best hope of escaping this division. The book stops with them and that is where fans should vent their anger, not at Eustace.

What time does training start at Brockhall these days? Doubt JE will be taking today's session, to say the least... this can't be good for the lads, especially with a 6-pointer coming up against WBA. Big loss on the cards on Wednesday.

Possibly, but we're currently getting ripped apart every week anyway, with 2 in midfield... i'm confident that the team from last night, without Tronstad, loses this game by 2 goals. Maybe time to try something new?

Would like to see us mix it up a little for this one, we're missing Tronstad massively in the middle and don't have anyone of a good enough quality to partner with Travis - we really did needed to bring in a decent CM in the January window. Wouldn't mind seeing us go for the 4-4-2 'diamond' formation as per below; Kargbo in his short cameo looked exciting, was refreshing to see a player bomb it down the wing and beat 2 men - let's hope he has the end product to go with it! Dennis - will have to see how he gets on, would hope he'd be ready for this one. A partnership of Dennis and Gueye could be the stuff of nightmares for a pair of centre-halves. There is an argument of playing Ribeiro in place of Beck, considering the amount of matches the latter has played. Would play Dolan on the right, as he's slightly better than the other options at dropping back to defend where required. It's a gung-ho approach, don't get me wrong - well aware that it leaves us lighter in the middle and could go tits up... but consider the exciting additions of Dennis and Kargbo with their pace, Cantwell spreading balls for them to get on the end of, crosses into the box for Dennis and Gueye - could get you goals galore if done right. Maybe WBA is a risky game to do it on reflection, especially with playoffs practically off the cards now... but with 1 win in 5 and Tronstad still 3/4 weeks away, it might be time to shuffle the deck.

Homepage looks nice! Could do with losing the scrollbars on the hero container though... 👀 .w-homepage-hero .w-homepage-hero__main { overflow: hidden; }

Ben Doak is gonna be out for a short while too, picked up an injury in training - a key player for Boro. Wish him well and would never celebrate the lad being injured by any means - but if their squad is weaker, it's positive news for our playoff hopes.

Now that the January window is closed, the focus of the board at Rovers should be straight on to sorting player contracts. Below are some of those expiring in the near future; 2025 Weimann Batth Dolan Ribeiro Forshaw 2026 Travis Brittain Tronstad Hedges (after year option is triggered) Hyam (after year option is triggered) We need to get the majority of these players signed up on new terms... and at the earliest convenience. Anyone have much faith in Waggott or Rudy in this department? Can't say I do...

Twas me - here you go;

Not gonna go into it to much, but as a whole... what a fucking shit window. Dennis might become a good signing, mind. Think he was getting paid north of £70k a week at Forest despite not playing any football, on a wage like that though you'd hope he'd keep himself fit and ready at the very least. Fingers crossed he can come in for the WBA game, at the latest. I also maintain that we needed appropriate cover at CM, pissed that they just seemingly forgot about it after failing to land O'Brien... instead we've signed an additional striker, in Cauley Woodrow. If we don't go up, there's gonna be a major rebuilding job required for next season... and this lot don't know their ass from their elbow.

Wouldn’t have minded a surprise unknown signing, still think we’re light in CM and Forshaw has shown he’s just not the guy… Would happily not get Woodrow in place of a decent CM.

Denwas quick, hard to say now he hasn’t played in a while…