Understandable. Unfortunately I'm an eternal optimist which often leads to my own suffering when things don't pan out. The come down is the hard part.

If Hughes came in as manager I would absolutely be backing him 100% and judge him purely based on what he was doing in the present. I just think that his record for a long time has been very questionable and there are better options out there. I firmly believe the only reason is mentioned is because he did such a good job here 13 or 14 years ago.

I mean in terms of those being his only failures I've put them in bold and his win %'s show just how poor. Those are pretty horrific. Rovers: 43.6% Man City: 46.8% Fulham: 32.6% QPR: 23.5 win% Stoke: 35.5% Southampton: 18.5 win% His years at Stoke were fairly stable if unspectacular given the money spent. People leaving comments about him bringing in a couple of battlers are just so out of sync with what he has done at every club since Rovers and Man City. Stoke brought in the likes of Imbula £21m, Berahino £13m, Joselu £8m, Kevin Wimmer £18m, Badou Ndiaye?? £14m. Even thinking of Jese Rodriguez brought in for a significant loan fee. The reason I mention him is Jese and the likes of Imbula and Berahino are typical of players who have managed to gain reputations for being bad apples over the years, all whilst at the same time as selling genuine hardened players such as N'zonzi, Robert Huth off the top of my head for peanuts in comparison to their replacements. I've not gone into his extremely dodgy and morally suspect dealings at QPR (I do not have evidence of this so it is only on say so from a friend very clued up on QPR and isn't an accusation of legal wrongdoing) who again are players who have carved a reputation for being mercenaries or out for one last payday. I know you can pick the bad parts of any situation. But the above are some of the reasons in my opinion why he is out of work. I think people look at him with Rose tinted glasses on. Easy to do. We were phenomenal under him and one of my favourite times supporting Rovers. We'd give a bloody nose to anyone. Unfortunately that is in isolation looking at his whole career. If we did bring him in I'd get right behind him. I'm also not comparing him to Mowbray. My initial comment was replying to someone saying "Would you take Hughes over Mowbray, that's as simple as it gets". When in my opinion. Due to all the above, it's not. Mowbrays time is up. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking to bring in the best replacement possible within our means as a club.

This part is so, so, spot on. And something portions of our fanbase are absorbing. Unfortunately the longer the 3 remain. The more our infrastructure and support base dwindles. Our natural level reduces. We are desperate for change. Now!

It's not really though is it. In what world is it ever a straight choice between the two. Also I'm not sure people are quite aware of just how poor Hughes record now looks.

Personally don't think Hughes would be a good appointment. He's been crap at a fair few clubs since us. Helped rob QPR blind as well. Similar owners had a lot of money but not a clue what they were doing. Hughes came in and preceded to sign only players from his agent Kia Joorabchian (sp). Remember him. Of Tevez, Mascherano to West Ham fame. How involved Hughes was I don't know. But he was very much part of that big motley crew who came in at that time. Big no thanks from me. And to top it off. His teams have been crap and soft for a long time. Yesterdays man.

In terms of Barnsley. Depressingly as it stands I think he is out of range for us. But if there is one player we should be sniffing at, its Alex Mowatt. He is the one driving that team from midfield. He drives the press, scores goals, assists, can tackle. And his contract is up this summer. He would be perfect. Stefan Johansen at 30 and going into the last year of his deal at Fulham would be an excellent signing too. One or both of those, sort out centre back issue. And at least there is a spine to the team. Sadly I think given our current state, they are out of reach. And solid aggressive leaders also don't seem to be Mowbrays thing.

Thought I'd pop this in here. The ref we has obviously has previous with Mowbray. There will be plenty of people with history in the game but for me Eltringhams performance was so inept the other night there must have been at least some level of unconscious bias.

Long post below. In short: Out all the older deadwood, keep Nyambe, JRC, Rothwell and Bell. In: THB plus one more CB. In: Stefan Johansen. Sell: Arma and Gally. Buy: central striker and genuine winger. Loans to then add depth. We do need a major rebuild in the summer. That's clear to see. I think most importantly we need fresh ideas. A trait of Mowbray is being stubborn. He's stuck to his guns with 433. At times it can be a commendable quality. But then it becomes the definition of insanity. A new manager with fresh ideas and more flexibility is the first change. Secondly JRC, Nyambe and Rothwell all have to stay. The older players with contacts up are going to result in a high turnover anyway. Those 3 are assets but we also need some level of continuity. In terms of specifics. Gk: fine Defense: 1. Keep our right backs 2. Bring THB back in. He's not prem quality yet and is a lot better than Branthwaite. One more perm addition then needed. That gives us three and 1 crock in Ayala. Giving time for Wharton to come back. 3. Tin hat but I'd offer Bell a new deal. Its him or Douglas. They are both crap. But Bell is cheaper and a lot younger. Douglas is a 32yr old with the legs of a 38yr old Midfield: 1. Let all the aging bunch go. It leaves us with Trav, Davenport, Buckley. I'd like to see JRC given a role here too and Rothwell in the 10. 2. We need one more though. I like Trybull. But only if the price is right. The player I'd be going for is Stephan Johansson. 30 and one year left on his deal. Experienced head and has turned QPR's form around since going on loan there. If Fulham stay up he should be available. 3. Rothwell further forwards, being yelled at that even though he loves a run from deep. That's not where he is going to damage teams from. It's no wonder we say he blows hot and cold when that's where he often drifts too. Competition is scarce though. Dolan? Another body may be needed. Attack: 1. Major, major changes needed. We are going to have to cash in on Arma. But without him we are screwed. A few names have been floating around and you'd hope the club has a plan as they've had enough time to prep for this eventuality and not go with what the next option is. 2. One of two things has to happen. Gally and Breo need to share the central striker role or at least one of them be sold. If one goes. For me its Gallagher every time. We'll take a big hit. Could we get 1.5 million. I'm not sure. Its not worked out. His touch isn't good enough and the ball doesn't stick to him. Mowbray playing him as a winger has destroyed him though. 3. We need genuine width. I don't think Dolan is the answer there. I actually think he's poor out wide. JRC could again do a role wide right. But we are desperate for some speed and flair out there. Finally. Contacts expiring in the next 2 years need to be sorted. Its criminal what has been allowed to happen with some of our assets. There is no journey with that kind of negligence and it needs to now be a priority.

I think it's the nail in the coffin for a group of players that even though things have gone sour lately, gave us some really good times. In our league 1 season, Graham, Mulgrew, Dack and yes Mowbray actually allowed me to love Blackburn Rovers again. And Rovers are part of who I am. Since a kid. The Venkys coming in and taking that away felt like a slow death of part of me. I've grouped those 4 together. But in reality, Dacky was well above the other 3. Yes his talent but he also played with a smile and his charisma was infectious. You could see spread throughout the club and into the fanbase. Reigniting a passion for something which is a defining part of who I am is why this latest injury hits hard. The first one did. This one is just gutting. Hopefully he will come back the player he is. It's a long road. Heroes often take on unfortunate paths. Thinking back to Matty Jansen. It's never an easy road and that's why we all follow this club. Fingers crossed he can come back and enjoy his football again as he was starting to and totally deserves.

I think most of it is sitting in the match thread. I, and am sure plenty of others feel gutted about his injury

Pretty sure I saw something the other day about Butterworth being back in training again. Can anyone confirm or did I imagine this? U23's are one of the few things to be excited about with Rovers at the moment. Feel like a few of them will be needed next season.

Ruined by officials rewarding playacting. It's not just simply the refs being conned. The definition of what is foul play has become softer and softer over the years to the point whereby we are in the realms of non contact.

Exactly. It's just really bad luck. And really sad for him

I don't care massively any more. You are right though. It makes zero sense that the ref gave their pen and not this one. Or the one on Nyambe. Each one had an element of softness too them. But its pure double standards in the same 90 minutes. We were poor. But the referee essentially decided the outcome to the game.

Just shit isn't it. I actually fell asleep with about 15 minutes to go last night so didn't even know about Dacky until this morning. Just think what's the point sometimes. We flatter to deceive and go nowhere as a club. Bradley Dack for me really lifted this club out the gloom. A club it was hard to love. Painful seeing this happen. Again. It's just shit.

U23's with another very good win

The pen was a joke. However the bigger joke was our first half performance. We've been pressed out the game with no way to pass through. And obviously the long balls aren't going to stick to Dolan unless you somehow get it into his feet. Mowbray needed to at least experiment with the positioning of our front three in that first half. But no. We change nothing. He just stands there watching it not work.

The bloke literally ran into Lenihan. The officiating is a joke. I genuinely don't know what Lenihan could have done if we are judging that to be a penalty, however soft. His only other option would have been to run away.

Are you even watching. Lenihan literally stood there and did nothing. I thought the ref was giving a yellow for diving at first

How is it fair this game is on a Friday? We only played Tuesday. Surely it should be a normal Saturday kick off with that considered. To make matters worse Brentford have had 10 days off.

Funny game this one. Barca absolutely hammered PSG first half yet the majority of the chances fell to Dembele who squandered the lot. Had Suarez still been there I imagine it would have been a different story. They could have easily been right back in the tie and looked a little like Barca of old. 2 absolutely ridiculous penalties awarded by the English ref. It really is ruining the game. And an absolute thunderbolt from Messi which was worth tuning in alone just to see. Second half Pochettino switched things up and nullified Barca more and they ran out of steam. Great game to watch though.

I couldn't find an existing thread for JRC. Since returning from injury I've been very impressed with how he has slotted back into the first team. He just looks like a very good football player. Positionally, technically, can pick a pass. I don't know whether he is to be a right back long term. But you can definitely tell there is a genuine real player there. Another that it is imperative we tie down to a long deal. He's also got about the coolest name in world football.

His game on Saturday I thought was his best game in a Rovers shirt. Definitely not to the standard some on here bigged it up too. But it was a huge improvement. Tonight though he stepped it up again. The biggest difference for me is that he is snapping into tackles and looks to have a little more stamina about him. One of his 70 yard passes to Brereton tonight was genuinely world class. I thought he had a really, really good game. The only criticism I'd have is he was at times a little slow to pick a pass on one or two occasions. But that is being hyper critical. He deserves his place in the side right now. It's not a case of giving him game time. The shirt should be his to lose for the next few games.

He's a twat