Is it that for the first 15mins of the Stanley game, before Ayala inevitably signals to the bench?

I cannot comprehend why seemingly beneficial (non-routine) maintenance/improvement of the much maligned playing surface would not be communicated to the fan base. Surely it would be seen as more positive news and a sign of progression in this new era for the club. Or perhaps it's just the fact that it may be viewed as a big step-down from the level of investment promised some 20 or so months ago....

I'm guessing no news?

I really don't believe either of them. Mowbray waxed lyrical about the owners and their extraordinary support before they completely disrespected him over the contract palaver - then he came out and gave us a bit more an insight in to the chaos behind the scenes. It's all nonsense, it's all covering arses, it's all self-preservation.

Do you mean several different journos/papers/sites/twitter accounts quoting Waggott and Mowbray's comments? Because that would be the same source, via different channels.

CEO being Waggott? Manager being.... Mowbray or JDT?

1. Based on what evidence? The only facts I see to date are that they have both turned it down. 2. This sounds like pure conjecture. Has Nyambe come out and said that? Has his agent?

Unless I've missed something, no-one on this messageboard knows that for a fact. The only facts we do know are the following; Rothwell has signed for a PL club Lenihan has signed for a Championship rival who finished 1 place and 1 point above us last season. Nyambe has decided to walk away with no immediate destination decided. We also know as you rightly point out that Brereton has also refused a contract offered by Rovers. That's not a good strike rate. Factor in Gally, Travis and Kaminski and there has seemingly been an improvement, hopefully enabling us to avoid this absurd situation in the future. Lessons learnt perhaps... try to avoid the players (and their agents) holding all the aces.

With respect, you aren't a credible source - this isn't the lots in black and white is it? You're an alias on a fans message board, people would be crackers if they just believed what they read on here. I'm surprised the club haven't communicated the works done, particularly given the criticism levelled at them in recent years for the poor playing surface and the absolute state of Ewood generally. Would be good to have Waggot or the club communicate the works carried out,

Can you point us to it? With a quick google search all I can find is Sharpe saying pitch maintenance started earlier due to the cancellation of that festival (https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/20222407.blackburn-rovers-set-portugal-trip-part-pre-season-plans/) Then a load of info from September 2021, about them stitching bits of the pitch.... "Although I couldn't get the full refurbishment with the £2m funding that we needed, I will be looking at that over the coming months because I would like to get a Desso pitch in there. We've stitched a couple bits of it, the goalkeeping areas and some other areas with Desso but we still need a full refurbishment so we're looking for funding on that." ...Waggott, September 2021 - https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackburn-ewood-park-waggott-pitch-21650777 I can't see anything on the Rovers website, despite looking back to the end of this season.... have I missed something? Based on the above, there would be zero reason for Waggott to keep such an investment to himself. So, do we have a full Desso pitch now? Seeing as he admitted to seeing the fans thoughts about the season ticket prices, perhaps this topic may reach his eyes and ears too..... STEVE.... please, please provide an update on the standard/level of maintenance that has taken place this season? Is the pitch now fully woven, or is it still 'a couple of bits of it' that are stitched?

You've an impressive memory. To be honest, I thought Sheff United was our first foray into a back-5,...seemingly not. Anyway, you think he's decent based on two games, I think he looks ropey based on two games. Perhaps we'll find out more in the coming months.

The best possible deal or the best possible outcome for their football career? They're not always the same thing.

Sorry, Edun. I have reservations about Pickering too, mind you. He's horrendously slow and allows too many crosses in to the box.

Can you recall a game where he played well at left back? In fact... how many times has he played in a back four? He looked like he wanted to cry when we got murdered by Fulham - I don't remember him playing in a back 4 otherwise.... Vs Boro when we won 1-0 he was our weak link and was targeted over and over again. That was as wing back, where arguably I would expect him to be more comfortable, perhaps that isn't the case. Point still stands... how many times did he play left back adequately/well for you to be telling us he's decent? I look at Edun and actually wonder where he's supposed to play.... does he actually have a position or is he a pro based on the fact he's a bit of a jack of all trades? Maybe this season will reveal all.

I was absolutely gutted when Bellamy left. I was desperate for him to stay. There's a really interesting quote in his book where he says he went to meet Rafa and nearly called quits on the move because of the meeting they had. I bloody wish he had done! Having said that, any club in their right mind would have paid £6m for him - he was an absolute bargain for that price, so he'd likely have gone anyway.

I'll be one of those late renewers that you're talking about. Sad fact is if sales match or are even slightly higher than the numbers last season, those upstairs will view it as a success. Doubt there'll be any comparison of similar sized, local clubs or retrospective assessment of whether the process was in any way the best approach or whether it could be improved in the future. We're more or less only seeing uptake from the die hards or the apathetic, habitual, begrudging renewers now. I don't know a single person that is purchasing a ticket this season that didn't have one last - maybe I'm not speaking to enough people, but there's nothing enticing about the frankly insipid price framework and general marketing campaign around the new season. Spoke to a Preston fan last weekend who'd renewed for 300-odd quid for his usual seats, taking advantage of the brilliant earlybird offer. Sad to see they'd sold £11,500 by the time that offer ended on June 4th. Granted they're a league below, but Bolton's early bird offer saw over 12,000 fans purchase with the highest season ticket costing £289. In my opinion our 'loyalty' offer was simply a begrudging acknowledgement of the fact that it's customary to 'show willing'. A cursory, uninspiring, deflating, frankly insulting scheme that even if unsuccessful, would result in the loyal mob of 6,000 - 8,000 renewing regardless. I mean, £30 - what the fuck is that for an earlybird offer really? It's nothing... in my opinion a complete unwillingness to show any creativity or desire to grow the fanbase whatsoever. It's a nonsense. The only thing to perk the fanbase (and therefore sales) up is the appointment of JDT and Broughton. I dread to think what sales would be like had we not been embarking on a supposed exciting new era for the club, and were simply continuing with an existing management team/structure.

😂😂 This is great. Have you been speaking to Mercer?

No-one. We'll have had/will have the best out of Dack - he's at his highest level now. He won't make a Prem move, so unless we go down, or for some reason he's unhappy, I can see him staying for his best years.

Like 99% of all footballers, the ones we have at the moment will be committed to BRFC until someone offers to pay them more money. No point kidding ourselves, the word 'loyalty' should be reserved for the fanbase. I don't blame the players, most of them are mercenaries - we pay them for their ability as a footballer, they respond in kind by playing for us to the best of their ability - I would never accuse Lenihan of not doing that.... Once they get a better offer, more often that not they take it. Don't forget the players we let go this summer because we didn't want them anymore - it works both ways. People seem to have this detachment from football, forgetting it's a job for these people. If I left my job tomorrow for a better paid one, I wouldn't expect my boss, colleagues and 'stakeholders' to say good riddance to bad rubbish... it's the way of the world. Lenihan owes us nothing, we owe him nothing - done.

Broughton when asked has he had chance to speak with Ryan, or his representatives? “Not yet, but that’s on the agenda, and will happen very soon. “Hopefully we’ll have an answer on that shortly. “Ryan is a top player, he can be a top, top Championship player, I think he really suits the football that Jon wants to play. “We’ll sit down with him, but it’s wrong of me to put words in someone’s mouth and I haven’t had chance to speak to either Ryan or his representative. “When I’ve done that, I’ll be able to give you more information.” I'm a bit disappointed with that. 9 days(?) since he was appointed. That is one of the most pressing matters this summer. If Nyambe stays we PROBABLY have enough cover not to worry about right back. If he goes it's yet another position to fill in our threadbare squad. I understand Nyambe left the Namibia squad for personal reasons last week so maybe he hasn't been available to speak with,

Allardyce's first game, as in the 3-0 home win against Stoke? Our first league win since September? When we were 3 up within half an hour? I have to admit, I personally found that game far less depressing than the 3-0 hammering we received at Wigan the week before, which thankfully bought an end to the Ince debacle.

It's an interesting one. There's a temptation to throw him in because of the plaudits he's getting, but I think we need to be so careful with him. Ridiculous comparison I know, but look how Pep handled Foden. He didn't loan him, but he took huge care in ensuring they didn't overload him. Even when pundits and fans alike were going mad for hin to start, he stuck to his guns and protected him until he was ready. Its even more difficult with a defender because they're unlikely to get many minutes off the bench. It's a tough call and a situation that will need to be managed really carefully, but expecting him to come in as a first team regular is a very risky approach.

Brown - no, didn't know you were classing him. Surprised you define him as an U23 tbh, I have him as a first team player now, such is the lack of depth in our squad. Philips. I repeat, he's 16. Wayne Rooney was once in a generation playing at that age, perhaps Bellingham as well. You risk destroying him by asking him to play against full.professionals so soon. To my knowledge, he's never played a senior game for Rovers or any other team? Vale - 1 goal in 10 at Halifax last season. 5th tier I believe. What qualifies him to be a regular first team player? Who was your 4th? Apologies, may have missed it.

The idea of blooding youngsters is great, and a model all clubs would love to use. But an over reliance will lead to massive struggles. The majority of these kids won't make an impact in professional football, never mind in the Championship. We've had loads of hopefuls that have ended up dropping down the leagues - Willem Tomlinson springs to mind, playing at Chorley now. Adam Henley made quite a few starts for us, now at Chorley as well. Jason Lowe made 11 starts for England U21s and was captain of our U23s. He's 30 and has played at Salford in League 2 for 3 seasons. Last year everyone was desperate for Butterworth to get a go. He was hopeless 99% of the time. I'm not saying immediately give up on him, but bringing through 4 youngsters on top of our current squad isn't the answer. We've lost 3 senior players, at least 2 or 3 regular loan starters, Brereton will likely go as will Ayala by the sounds of it - so that's 8 lost. Considering we were light on players at the end of last season, in my opinion we are on an absolute knife edge at the moment, and fast running out of time.

Very insightful, Miller! I look forward to @1864roverite riposte. A perfect opportunity to educate us dullards as to the grand plans at BRFC.