Buckley was a bit unlucky playing in CM when we only had 2 in there and were often getting overrun. That being said, he didn't do enough (QPR aside). I'm confident he will get his chance again and hope he takes it, but at the moment he can't grumble as we're winning games. He just needs to knuckle down.

Based on what? One thing about Venky's is they don't seem to put any pressure on the sale of assets. Phil Jones is one I can think of, but pretty sure they activated his release clause. They're often ridiculously stubborn - see Rhodes, Brereton, Rothwell etc.

Think this one will be a tough game. No reason we can't go there and win, but Coventry have always seemed a pretty well organised side. They aren't looking too good league table wise, but they have games in hand and have had to deal with some tough extenuating circumstances - games in hand, lobsided split in home/away games and even a sickness bug on the weekend. If we play our game as we can, we'll win. But it's a funny old league!

Yep, people making out they're a poor side etc are totally ignorant of their league position and all available stats. Can we win? Yes. But anyone pretending it will be anything other than a very tough game (and that's ignoring the derby element) are in for a shock. We have the playing style to potentially hurt them, if we get the press right and stay organised defensively. Cliche I know, but 1st goal is massive. Can we finally come back from a losing position? Will they go for the jugular or sit back? Either way it would be tough - we seem disorientated whenever we concede, but then when a team sits back it's the type of style we seem to struggle against.

They've had some poor games, but their 'floor' is higher than ours - they've not really thrown in any stinkers, their sole defeat being a 1-0 defeat at Watford. Guessing you don't mean they've generally been poor, but of course they've been poor on occasion. On the flipside, our ceiling is very high and if we're on it then we have a very good chance of winning. I wasn't forgetting they've been poor at all, but if we play like we did at some of those grounds we'll get thumped. Thankfully those performances seem to be few and far between now we've settled into a better system. I don't think we'll return to those no-show days as we appear to have turned a corner, but we have to be at our best to get anything from Turf Moor - they're unbeaten in 15 and we can't pretend they're anything other than a very good side at this level. I think this will be one of our sternest tests so far this season, perhaps behind Sheffield United given their form at the time. I am confident we can get something but we'll need to be at our best.

They did in 2010 but was bottlenecked and a nightmare to get a beer - led to fans bringing them to their seats (caused a storm at the time). In 2016 they had a lovely (ish!) outdoor gazebo area with plenty of beer easily purchased. Obviously wasn't anything to write home about from a choice perspective but had no issue having a beer that time.

Cheers! Might just head inside the ground. Being able to have a quick pint before the game gives a small sense of 'normality' to proceedings, as well as a focal point to be dropped off at. I won't chance my arm at The Turf or Royal Dyche 😁 I am bricking it for the game. If we show up, it will be a good game between good sides. If the Rovers who went to Wigan/Luton/Reading/Sheff Utd show up (or don't show up), we could get whacked. Any score is possible in this one and just hope it favours us. Funnily enough, since we dropped the long unbeaten record (albeit with few games) the derby games have been less stressful for me. Maybe it's me moving to Cardiff - I am absolutely desperate to beat them and hope they lose every week but I don't get the same 'all to lose' attitude I used to have. Just hope we give a good account of ourselves.

Guessing you mean 'it hasn't stopped' us? He isn't saying that they shouldn't play and I'm sure he knows that experience is gained by playing games, but he's just worried that in a one-off derby game that their experience in midfield may benefit them. On the flipside, our youthful midfield may help us - less shackled down by past disappointments etc.

Fair enough, didn't realise Wharton had played so many games. Szmodics I did know but generally at a lower level. Perhaps I've been too quick to swallow some of the talk about how inexperienced we are - easy mistake to make when our team is so young. Hopefully our mix of appearances and youthful enthusiasm stands us in good stead.

Would you really count Scott Wharton and Szmodics as 'experienced'? Not sure on the age/experience of their team, but Rovers are a very young and inexperienced team.

Probably a daft question, but what are people's plans for the day? I'm guessing nowhere in Burnley would welcome Rovers fans @longsiders1882? Was hoping maybe the Cricket Club would to avoid fans arriving en-masse with nowhere to go (bar the ground but depends on timing). I'll probably have a drink or 2 more locally to Blackburn and get a taxi to the ground (hopefully they have the gazebo area they had back in 2016) but dreading a scenario where I'm talking aimlessly around - particularly post-game. With a lack of trains there isn't really a centralised place for Rovers fans to arrive where the police can 'contain' them, so quite interested how it will all be organised. Just fancy a normal day with a few beers, cracking atmosphere and no scrotes trying to kick off or attack people for the crime of attending a football match.

I think there are flaws, particularly where you score first and 'sit in'. Although clubs utilising it would take this into account and wouldn't just lazily parrot the 'expected score' without any context like you see some pundits do. I don't think anyone should rely on it fully, it's just another bit of context to add to all the other analysis that every top team uses nowadays. I don't see our over-performance as luck, I see it in the same way you do - we have a great striker and a great keeper. The best teams overperform their xG because they have players who will do better than expected.

It's a simple business decision. If you lower the price, you do so in the hope you sell enough extra tickets to 'make it up'. I don't understand how people are struggling with this and are talking about transfer budgets? By that logic we might as well charge £1,000 a season ticket - there's a clear link between uptake and price! Obviously, some will renew anyway, and there needs to be a business decision over the correct price to charge that will maximise revenue. My argument is our current pricing does not maximise revenue. If we discounted season tickets by £100, we'd need to make up £870,000 elsewhere (based on 8,700 season ticket holders). So it would need us to sell 2,500-3,000 more season tickets. If it's £50, that number decreases - so on and so forth. That's a simplification as I know we charged different amounts for renewers vs newbies, so that number may well be lower as it was the non-renewers that were shafted last year. As for the problem PNE have with under 18s buying season tickets, that isn't unique to them. People do it at Rovers too. I take the point on us having cheaper matchday pricing, but we don't seem to get too many walk ons. Ignoring prices, could we do more? We used to scream and shout about our offers, now you see the odd Twitter post. Can we encourage a better atmosphere by directing 'singers' to a certain part of the BBE? Lots of creative thinking needed imo. This could generate revenue whilst also creating a better matchday atmosphere - this in turn can impact performances on the pitch whilst still encouraging sales (I've seen certain sections at grounds grow and grow and increase overall attendances. Even Reading have a singing section that gets bigger by the week.). We are doing a lot right as a club, including securing our long-term assets, but we can certainly do more.

A big issue is the lack of fans after COVID. Other clubs saw a spike in attendance - finally back after empty stadiums etc. We never had that bounce at all. And it was compounded by price rises and being uncompetitive price wise with local rivals who have very similar demographics. Unsurprisingly, they are selling much more than us, despite us actually enjoying more on pitch success than them both (PNE, Bolton). 800 new season ticket holders is nothing to write home about; was a great opportunity to really hammer home the 'fresh start', with a new manager and young prospects to be proud of. Just felt like an opportunity missed.

Saw an interesting Scholes interview recently where he (perhaps modestly) said the left-wing element wasn't an excuse for him as he played there frequently with United. He said he struggled being away from home for long periods etc. You're still right though, Scholes would have improved that centre midfield. Could even have considered a change in formation to encompass all 3. No doubt that Lampard and Gerrard underperformed together for England.

xG is so misunderstood - I don't swear by it, but to suggest it's nonsense is just daft. How many times have we said 'we had 20 shots today and didn't score' or 'their keeper made 10 saves'. This is just an extension of that. It's obviously flawed but so are any other statistics in football. I appreciate it doesn't factor in the 'well if we didn't score then we would have been attacking more and creating more chances' but you can apply that to corners, shots, possession too. One thing that rang true last year is xG was highly predictive of performance and a lot of teams who were performing well/creating chances earlier in the season but perhaps underperforming on points often ended up doing alright. Celtic were 5 or 6 behind but my xG loving (too much in his case) mate swore they'd end up as champions because their performances were statistically much better than Rangers. Obviously it doesn't factor in individual players. Neither does shots, or shots on target. Clearly Diaz is more likely to score a similar chance than Chris Brown. But better players tend to outperform their xG. We saw Kaminski make saves that Walton wouldn't have made - otherwise we'd have lost or drawn on the weekend. If anything, how much a player outperforms their xG is a great sign of how talented they are or how clinical they are. I'm by no means an xG fanboy, and choose instead to see it as a small bit of context alongside all the other statistics and events that occur in a game. But I must disagree that it's pointless - it's usually pretty accurate (if you have a big enough sample size of data, game by game it will fluctuate). Seen a lot of posts decrying statistics recently as pointless - 'only one thing matters' - clearly the score is the most important, but I really really hope and expect JDT and our staff are much more receptive to statistics than some supporters. And I agree there's no substitute for watching the game with your own eyes and drawing conclusions, but anyone watching on the weekend would have said Birmingham were unlucky - a conclusion supported by statistics. Back on point, we are good. We have a great keeper, solid defence, a midfield who are developing and the best striker in the league. Are we top 2 worthy? Who knows, but I'm going to really enjoy finding out.

Don't really know any Leeds fans, but I think a lot mourn the sacking of Bielsa. It was done for the typical 'stay in the Prem at all costs' reasons, but remember a lot saying that his style of football and demeanour (as well as his success) should have afforded him more time. It's a results-based business, but the lack of sentimentality and ruthless way they potted Bielsa really hammered that message home. I even saw some on Twitter say they'd rather have risked going down.

Mowbray barely averaged a point a game at Sunderland. Can't see him lasting long there at all, and seems like he's dishing out the patronising interviews already. They've been unlucky with injuries to strikers I believe but throwing a 2-0 lead had all the hallmarks of TM.

Agreed. Until last week we were constantly overrun in midfield, and every pass into our 2 centre mids was easily telegraphed. An extra body in there really helps us in being less predictable, more compact and prevents the two in there being hung out to dry. And then one of them (Szmodics midweek) has a bit more license to support the strikers. Also, previously when it got into the final third we had no real focal point - we do now.

Football Insider isn't the most reputable source, and imagine this story has been concocted using Twitter comments. Largely seems to be driven by his partner's Tweets. I don't doubt things are tense and Dack isn't happy though, but don't think this is a 'new' development. I personally would love to see him back to his best here, but if that isn't possible then I hope he goes somewhere else and enjoys his football. He gave us some great times here and deserves to finish his career doing what he does best. Will always get a cheer from me. I think he can offer something, but probably more often than not off the bench. And we can't really knock JDT not playing him when we win - his justification over the last week can simply be 6 points out of 6.

Can't argue with how it's gone. Was really concerned post-Wigan but we bounced back superbly. I'd have snatched your hands off for our league position currently. We seem to be playing well whilst rotating the squad, which bodes well.

I hope not - need a vocal away end behind the players for this one. I must admit at away games I can't remember the last time I sat in my seat, although usually there's ample room and never been asked to leave. Seems to be an almost unspoken truth that those who wish to sit occupy the lower part of the stand, whereas the standers gravitate more towards the back. I'd always move if someone asked, but usually take my seat at 2:55 and find a free one somewhere that me standing won't inconvenience anyone. Feels like the countdown is on for this one now. Hard to know how both teams will be shaping up given the amount of games between now and then, but it is bubbling nicely.

Usually the same - I might just try and squeeze in with my brother - will only be me so not too many in the 'wrong' seat. Not too fussed as long as I'm there!

That 2015/2016 season was a weird one - we actually played well in both derby games, despite the season itself being largely miserable. Tom Lawrence hasn't yet been forgiven for nearly clearing the Darwen End with that sitter.

Dingledome tickets secured! Hope people aren't too precious about sitting in the allocated seat, as will be meeting mates buying in phase 2/3.