No, you were talking about natural level, not trophies. We are still some way ahead of you.

So you are going to wipe out half of a club’s history to decide on their overall record? No wonder your conclusion is half-arsed. I think your name should be changed to jealousclaret because sympathetic you ain’t, nor would I expect, let alone want your sympathy. Enjoy your time in the sun. Wonder if it will be as successful our most recent spell...

He does look a little like a young Scholes.

Is that you, “Madame”?

Nyambe has been a regular for Mowbray until recently, and you’ve missed out a very talented youngster from your list in Dan Butterworth.

IMHO Joe Hart > David Raya, at least for now. Can we rehabilitate him and get him back to his best? Probably not with our novices coaching him. In any case, it’s a moot point as Mowbray has already pooh-pooh’d Hart moving here. It’s a key area though and if we do have a budget then the whole set up needs sorting properly. Coaches, first choice and reserve, with a progression plan to bring through young lads. Fisher and Albinson have done well at their level but it doesn’t feel like either is going to threaten the first team any time soon. Raya looks like being a Championship number 2 - even if he left Rovers. Could he cope mentally with going back to that here? Not sure but what we miss is a commanding keeper who dominates his area, physically and mentally. Since his injury Raya has lost a bit of that bravery and is not the most imposing of characters physically. If he is going to continue then it will ultimately be Lenihan’s job to command the box - which isn’t really where any goalkeeper should want to be.

I wonder how many bottles of champagne they got through at the EFL last night? A league programme now completed. I expect they now just wait to see if Bolton can muster a team to be able to enter into L1 next season. Right now it seems they have a squad of nine and aren’t paying players. Something has to give.

It’s not personal, we just need a keeper who is gooder.

It definitely took Trav moving back into midfield to get the best out of him though.

I think this is a fair observation - although it could be argued we are worse off having blown £6m-£7m on a player who can’t get into the team. We have learned that this league is about fine margins: 10 points between 8th and 15th. The only glimmer of hope is that Mowbray seems to set targets to achieve and he has come out and said that next season’s target is promotion. Very much easier said than done. I agree with you that football is volatile and injuries can devastate a season. We could easily be in a relegation battle next season, which is why I felt that when we were with 3 points of the play-offs in January we should have strengthened the First XI and tried to kick on. Now we are starting again on zero points and have it all to do once more.

A self-imposed and arbitrary target. I did wonder during the game today if he would go for the point to be able to say he succeeded or if he would aim for the win and risk defeat. First half he played very conservative football indeed but to be fair he did go for it in the second half. It was a little sentimental to bring on Conway for (I think) his 200th Rovers appearance and likely his last. Although he might have been better to have started him instead of an out of form Armstrong and then brought on Chapman, if he was aiming for sentiment. If (1) Preston had won today it would have been moot but - symbolic of our last two seasons under Mowbray - an unplanned opportunity arose and we didn’t take advantage, instead preferring to stick. If (2) Mowbray had started some youngsters he could have been more than forgiven but it seems he really wanted to get that point. Psychologically it probable feels good to set targets and steadfastly aim to hit them rather than raise the bar and “fail”. Much like last season where promotion was the target and a league title was deemed unnecessary 60 points were the target and finishing above Preston unnecessary. Unless you are a Rovers fan...

Good point. Although Travis did play right back at development level, he looked extremely unhappy to be back there but more importantly we lost our drive in midfield. It was no surprise that we looked a lot better when he was moved back to the centre towards the end of the second half. Davenport was much better paired with Travis than Evans.

If ever a rule needed changing it’s what happens when a player goes off after being fouled. Swansea scored as a direct result of Bennett being off the pitch.

So what are his reasons for losing games? Playing inferior players out of misguided loyalty and sentiment, presumably. Thank goodness those days are behind us...

Talk of Hart coming in; Raya out of favour; Leutweiler starting again despite not being a Rover next season. Just watching them warm up on the pitch and the body language is shocking. The coach looks like he can’t be bothered and is going through the motions. May as well pay Conway to warm up the keepers next season! Big changes expected in the position next season.

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The way I look at Hart is credibility. Right now there is no credible alternative to Raya and he knows it. No matter how professional he is or how hard he works, he knows that he is (or was) first choice. That means that his motivation is only ever 99%. I’m glad that Mowbray has finally lost patience with the goalkeeping situation and admitted that it isn’t good enough. Having Hart here means genuine competition as Raya would no longer be the default choice. Raya needs to be hurting after having Leutweiler picked ahead of him and get into Summer training burning to win back his number one jersey. He is still very young for a goalkeeper, and still has his best years ahead of him - if he wants it enough. Hart needs a fresh start, out of the limelight and a chance to get back to playing football and feeling valued. All goalkeepers make mistakes but when you play for City, United, Liverpool or other those mistakes will be made into a huge deal by the press - mainly because at that level the margins between success and failure are so fine. De Gea is one of the best keepers in the world, certainly Europe, but is out of form and seems to be humiliated on a weekly basis. Goalkeepers cannot have a poor run of form like other positions because you are immediately exposed with nobody to tidy up for you or cover. Is he really any worse or less error-prone than Paul Robinson was? All that said, I don’t think he will be at Ewood next season.

Call me cynical (ha!) but this could be the flagship event for Waggott to flog 1875 club membership. If matchday surcharges are a tax on walk-ons, the 1875 is a tax on season ticket holders. Being a ST holder should automatically gain you the necessary privilege to purchase future add-ons first without having to ‘upgrade’ to 1875. Being in the 1875 should be a way for walk-ons to be able to access those privileges but I’d increase the price of it. Having a ST needs to be the best deal in town.

Every now and again Rovers get a player of quality who actually cares about the club. Invariably we have to give these players longer contracts than would be ideal but I wouldn’t begrudge Conway anything. Great player for us, just 12 months or so past his best before date at this level. Always given his all and has had some great moments.

This debate could get very silly if we carry on. Ultimately you do not have grounds to claim discrimination under the Equalities Act Unless it is for certain characteristics. Hair colour or no hair (sadly) are not protected unless it can be proven that it is linked to race or age or one of the other 7 factors.

This. 100% this. Breaks my heart to think back to how protesters were viewed, nay, blamed, by the majority of fans. I’d temper your ire at BRFCS members though, they were privy to a lot more sharing of detail than those who just weren’t interested in knowing about it, lest they might have felt morally compelled to get involved - when in reality they just cba’d. So I can see why someone on here might say fans were ignored. A lot of the members on here from the time have left though, and many now here were children or young teens at the time. But still... On a side note, I can’t believe we are closing in on a decade of Venkys malfeasance. That’s nearly as long as the Walker Trust post-Jack. ?

It’s a good point. I don’t quite understand why the football league aren’t enforcing their own rules. A precedent appears to have been set for the sake of convenience for themselves - and it’s not even a WC or Euro year either. The bit missing at this stage though is how Bolton are going to be dealt with. A fine they can’t pay? An additional point deduction next season? An embargo that will prevent them being able to replace striking players*? They still have potential administration to deal with, which is probably what the EFL are waiting for. Although I can’t decide if I’d be more upset if they went into admin (and likely then League Two) due to rank bad management, or if they didn’t and got away with it, again. The EFL would probably be most satisfied if they managed to get to the end of the season and then folded. *I think the players are justified in going on strike, mind.

As long as we have dealings with that agency there will continue to be a smell that just won’t go away. Trouble is, as Phil’s post illustrates, agents in general are a stench all of their own.