Note to JDT: Less Arte more Labore next time out.

There's so much wrong with our passing out from the back tactics but number one for me is our inability to complete a pass. Giving the ball away is endemic this season, I've never seen it as bad in 60 years of supporting the Rovers. You can't play and show your qualities if you don't have the ball. What's the point of a superstar striker with no service other than the occasional long diagonal ball. Bad bad bad day.

Hope you got up first.

Coventry run in straight lines forward, every player. Zero sideways movement. Makes it easy to slip to attackers in the channels. Out of possession they sit off but between our midfield players, wait for the pass and then step forward to intercept. They've analysed us and it shows, they know what we're going to do before we do. Good side. We should be 3 down as already been said. We're not going to get anything from this game, we just need to protect our goal difference column.

We're making them look like Man City. So far behind them in quality it's embarrassing. Could be in for a right thumping.

I think JDTs thinking is that you change the player to fit the team, not the other way round. Dacky is and always will be a brilliant talent but does he fit the team as currently set up? Having chosen the strategy you have to get the supporting tactics aligned "get all the wood behind the arrow head". Team selection will be with the intention of giving the strategy the best possible chance of succeeding. As good as Dacky is I'm not sure how he fits this new way of playing. With TM it didn't matter, play was always a purposeless free for all so flair stood out and was valuable. JDT is a different beast. HE has a plan. Everything is aligned to achieve that plan, transfers, academy, team selection, the lot. There'd be nothing better than to see Dacky tearing up the pitch in our colours and scoring for fun but it ain't going to happen with our current strategy and that's not going to change. I think his time here is over. Hail fellow, well met, thanks for the memories but I think his time here is over.

The mantra of "team comes first" is code for Dack doesn't fit and isn't going to play. My money says he's off in January. Sunderland an obvious candidate. That's life. Love the guy but team does come first. We need to be serious about promotion and that means round pegs in round holes. Hell of a player and a loveable cheeky chappy but the team doesn't need those characteristics right now. We need action men full of running and aggressive pressing from front to back. Putting Dacky in the team is effectively reducing team effectiveness by 10% (1 outfield player from 10) and 10% will make the difference between promotion and also ran. That's the sporting life, thanks for the good times Dacky but times they are a changing for us all.

So this is my understanding, JDT has the mandate to create a 'sustainable' premiership side. He's interpreted 'sustainable' as being able to keep possession and not launch long balls up field otherwise we get relegated. This season has been written off as a play and learn season ready for the promotion assault next year, presumably with a few new key signings to help out (Broughton's part). Survive this year somewhere in the top half, engrain the approach into the kids, have a go next season. I see the point but not sure I like it. Getting ready is one thing but asking the fans to endure that dross every week is not on. Re the match ... why did Dack walk away from the penalty? Why were two other pens nor given? Why do we keep giving the ball away. Are we not concerned that teams see us fannying about with the ball in our box and play the intense high press. Who wants to watch that every week. Strike a balance somewhere please JDT, building for the future is fine but in the intetim we need to be entertained and excited about what's to come. Right now I dread the next match.

Bit underwhelmed by the 3 years. Not exactly gagging at the bit to be part of the long term setup is he. 5 years would have been more like it for a 17 year old. Smacks of reluctantly doing us a favour.

Also NASA did their deep space training there due to the lack of atmosphere 😳 bum bum. To he fair though they do have a great playing surface, beautiful lush green grass, but when you see what they put on it every other week I guess that's not surprising 😉 bum, bum, bum. Any more?

Fair comment, I get that. I guess it comes down to whether we think they are incompetent or malicious. Agree that after so many years the second option has a lot going for it. Still though we really don't know them and there's a possibility that they're decent people who just mess up by trusting others - they clearly don't have a clue about running a football club themselves. To make progress I'd vote to welcome them to Ewood and see where we get to, you never know, they might become fans. I respect other views, this is just my two pennies worth.

Well the title is "Venkys - Welcome or Unwelcome" and so naturally I assumed it was inviting a variety of commentary, obviously though I missed the fact that you hold the "utter bollocks" veto. I'd better run away with my tail between my legs now that you've spoken. Your opinion though is not my opinion so bollocks or not I'm going to state it. If you don't want the relationship to work then fair enough, I suggest you start a thread titled something along the lines of "Should we declare bankruptcy/liquidation", I'd be interested in the yes/no response. If we start from the premise that Venkys won't sell and are here to stay then my question to you is how do you make the best of that situation. Not making the best of a bad job hurts the club and personally I don't see that as being sensible. If you favour the nuclear option then fair enough I respect your opinion - though I think it's totally wrong headed. It helps us both that we don't know each other as I find your tone overly aggressive and I don't think we'd get along.

If Venkys won't sell then at some point we have to draw them into our passion for the club. Constantly saying "you're not welcome", "you're not in our gang", "you're corrupt", "come to Ewood and I'll give you a piece of my mind", etc., etc., isn't going to make them get what it is to be a real Rovers supporter. They need to turn up and experience reality rather than understand us only as a line item on their P&L. Nobody has enjoyed the last decade, I guess they haven't enjoyed pissing 200M up the wall but at some point I think all parties should draw a line under the nightmare and invite them to start with us again. Hopefully they'll be chasened by their experiences, dislike and avoid SEM and their like as much as we do and try to be become real fans like the rest of us. They'll learn nowt staying in Pune, get them over here, by em a few pints, watch a few matches, post a few comments on here, show them what it means to be real Rovers fans.

Really disgruntled by yesterday's performance so have waited 24 hours to be a little cooler and more reflective. As we knew way back our squad is too thin, not necessarily numbers wise, though I guess it is, but more experience wise and physical stature wise. A couple of injuries to key players and we're done. Great for the future these 'prospects' but in the here and now not so much. We need other attacking ideas than long diagonal balls from right back to BBD on the left wing. Travis I like but as evidenced yesterday he's not a right back, didn't play well there. We need to start completing some passes, right now we defend, play out, lose the ball defend again. We're earmarked to face the high press every week, its obviously the way to beat us. Sure it leaves space in behind but if you can't pass into that space (see above point) then you're going to have a bad time. I saw Hedges do his ankle in the warm up so personally I'd have played Vale. Hedges struggled which is a shame as I think he's becoming a real asset. Agree with comments about Wharton going into his shell after the booking (it was a soft one ref) but at that age you worry about letting the team down by being sent off I guess. Bristol play exactly like JDT says he wants us to play. In that case from what I saw we're miles off, yet we managed to squeeze 2 goals out the game, so go figure, some glimmer of hope I suppose. That game told me there's tons of growing and work to be done but I don't think we're relegation fodder but then again we don't have a snowballs of being in the top six. It will be fun watching the team develop but probably best to park any aspirations of great things this year.

Love this messageboard. Some really good well balanced commentary. Not much for me to add really, it's all been said but in summary: I think we are stronger now than at any point in recent times. Happy with the transfers/retentions, happy with the acquisition of JDT and team, happy with Broughton, happy with the new style of play. We're going to have fun this season, which I haven't been able to say that for a long long time. Even better I believe with each transfer window we will get stronger and stronger especially as we now have professionals in charge of recruitment and sports medicine. No promotion this year but it will be close. Buckle up for a fun ride.

But I've just heard a fat lady singing, oh wait a mo that was the missus. No, it's really done tho.

All done. No more ins, no more outs.

I share all your frustration, it should have turned out better than this. However if you think about it being in business is about making money not losing it. If they had a billion (1,000M) to start with they've already pissed 200M of that up the wall for no benefit. Looks like a pretty poor business decision so not too surprising they're pulling back a bit. Of course Venky's are culpable but for me the real villians in all this are still Anderson and SEM. Venky's punishment is that they've lost a fortune, our punishment is Venkys! Oh for a billionaire with sense.

Venky's are doing exactly what they said at the beginning when they bought us - loan players and an academy pipeline. This crap advice came from the same nefarious advisors who forgot to tell them that relegation was a real thing before sacking Big Sam. They're crazy buggers who know nowt about football, the club or the passion of it's supporters. They keep twyning the handle every year, money in and expecting success to drop out the back of the machine. For as long as they are in charge, as well intentioned or as decent human beings they may be, we will remain in this perpetual groundhog day. I believe in the current management team and DoF but with Crazy Horse Bala in charge nothing will ever change they just don't have it in them to learn. What this means for us is perpetual stasis. This message board will contain the same discussions every window, we will end up with new loanees and kids just as declared at the beginning as being the recipe for success. Dear Bala, IT ISN'T!!!! Bloody depressing.

Agree but it's not going to happen (unfortunately)

100%. I fear a bashing today, teams have worked out that our kryptonite is physicality.

I find this comment from JDT on the BBD saga most illuminating, not because it concerns BBD but because it highlights a necessity in the life of a football club. It is precisely what we didn't do last season. “We should always have done our homework for if something happens, we should be prepared,” he said. “I think we should expect that from the club that if it happens we need to have something prepared.” Amen. Precisely what we were screaming about last season. TM was known to be leaving. His backroom staff also. Three players believed to be key to our success leaving this year. I remember getting agitated that there were zero plans in place and we were all fuming that no succession had been planned for management or players. Yes we got lucky in a DoF and manager turning up out of nowhere. Yes we got lucky that JDT and team are brilliant and whipped the remaining squad into shape. We are currently lucking out results wise (long may it continue) but this whole episode could have been a well deserved disaster. We should have had plans in place, we should have had managers identified and we certainly should have had players lined up to come in. We still haven't got players (CBs) in with days to go before the window closes. Are we surprised? SW and board have got away with murder on this one. Poor performance and one set of lucky, lucky barstewards. Hopefully DoF and new chief scout/recruiter will consign these ridiculous things to the history books. We have to get more professional. The acid test is now how they handle the BBD situation. Hope they're up to it!

Don't Stop Believing' Journey.

West Brom were a good side, one touch give and goes, power, hard running, lots to admire. To beat them today, wow just WOW.

Scrape me off the ceiling!!!!@@