When there is such a sort term appointment of a director, it is usually because there is a need to get a particular board resolution forced through by the majority shareholder. Or perhaps there was a misunderstanding/ mess up and the wrong company secretarial paperwork was filed- it does happen you know.

This time last year we weren't looking at Luton and Coventry home and going. "Oh two promotion 6 pointers to round off the season." West Brom will bring a good crowd so a great game to kick off with. From one read through of the list there are no particular "hard" or "easy" runs.

Agreed but they are getting the chance when most clubs would have ejected them by now. Add Barnes to the list of contract extensions when injured. Sends messages to the players themselves but also for Academy recruitment. Rovers are a club that sticks by you in rough times and takes a longer view. Hopefully helps the case for the Rovers Academy when talking to top developing talent and who knows, might even help with retaining players we want to keep.

Two things encourage me greatly. 1) players like Gilsenan and Cirino who have had serious injury issues are being given more chances through extended contracts. Yes it is a roll of the dice for the club but it shows how we stick with players as individuals. 2) There are signs that the production line is continuing. Perhaps the stunning talents like Adam Wharton and Ash Phillips are one offs (two offs?) but great that there are talents coming through who excite.

Really good news Hyam is not in the squad. That Hampden pitch will be treacherous if it is played either tonight or tomorrow.

No way in my books is Porteous ahead of Hyam.

Not that small- North Macedonia knocked Italy out of World Cup Qualification in 2022 and won in Germany two years ago. Makes Malta losing 4-0 look very respectable.

Those poor defenceless sharks.

Darren Moore and entire backroom.team out at Sheffield Wednesday

The ESL will need pockets four times deeper than they have now plus brilliant lawyers and huge patience and determination to even make it a 50/50 possibility sometime this decade. Outside the PL, Real Barca and Juve (except for points deductions for corruption) plus other wannabe ESL clubs are permanently camped in the Champions league so the need for an ESL is pretty academic in football if not $ terms. And would Newcastle Saudi have accepted exclusion to the benefit of 43 points Chelsea this season?

Neves at 26 retiring from Wolves for a £47m snooze in Saudi is the first PL player in their prime to take the lucre.

Dykes is still a donkey and unless he got lucky early on would become an Ewood fans hate figure.

Have you seen them?

The Porteous foul on Haaland was a total bonkers moment. Couldn't have been more obvious if he'd hit Haaland on the head with a hammer. No way is Porteous better than Dom even if Dom's one meaningful contribution was to wrestle a free kick concession within Odergaard shooting range. Fortunately for Dom and the Scots, Odergaard opted to pass it into touch! Overall, for most of the game, the Scots were the antithesis of JDTball- no receiving the ball on the turn and Angus Gunn reviving the lost art of keeper goal kicks. Fair play to Dykes for his goal and assist but had spent the previous 86 minutes looking like a poor man's Gally.

Yes that was brilliant at Derby. The goal at home to Luton had far fewer passes but was stunning for the speed the ball traveled forward with one time passes from down in the corner with a brilliant right back tackle, along the right flank to the first touch strike by Beamish. Beamo was on his own with nobody else advanced because the move was so quick so the final pass had to be perfect in weight and direction. Possibly just six or seven touches after the initial tackle. Metcalfe was involved twice with two give and goes.

The best team goal I have seen Rovers score was at Ewood against Luton in the League in a 2-1 win sometime in the mid-70s. We won the ball down in the corner at the Darwen End (I think it was off John Aston who was playing out his declining years for the Hatters) and then embarked in a stunning first time passing movement the length of the pitch including one of those Metcalfe special feints and outrageous pinpoint passes back out to the wing. Finally it was firmly played along the ground from inside right to just inside the box and the on running Ken Beamish. Everyone expected it to be skied over the Blackburn End in true Beamo fashion. Instead he met it perfectly hammering it into the far bottom corner. I swear Ewood went silent for a second or two as everyone tried to calibrate what we had just witnessed.

Two Simon Garner memories. Scoring all 5 against Derby (I sponsored the match ball that day and didn't get it afterwards- no idea why!) And the hattrick against City in the 4-0 win which took him to all time record scorer. The front of the Darwen End was a mass of discarded inflatable bananas. Sadly that was the day of the Hillsborough Disaster which completely over shadowed a sensational Rovers performance and historic achievement.

He has scored all 4 first half goals against the Dominican Republic. He is still a Rovers player until 30 June isn't he?

That was a bit boring..

Going back a few years Sweden beat Malta 12-0 in that stadium. Ibrahimovich only got 8 of them- 4 in the first 12 minutes...

Some gems in that list

A better team than Malta would seriously embarrass this Southgate selection.

Mighty Malta take on the minnows from England tonight at Ta'Qali. Apart from Teddy Theuma captain of USG in Belgium who got to the quarters in the Europa League, it is a Malta side full of household names in their own households... My two neighbours who own restaurants and bars are delighted by the 4,000+ England fans here. All have been well behaved and the Police have literally had zero incidents to attend to. That said, at least half the English fans make me look and feel young slender and fit in comparison... Thought it might get tasty with England fans mixing with Spanish and Italians watching the European Nations but all stayed very good natured. Club flags spotted so far- Newcastle, Barrow, Leeds, PNE, Tranmere, Stoke, Derby, Villa, Kettering, Brentford, Aldershot, Southend, Charlton. Leeds by far the most numerous. I was too slow to get a ticket despite having a buying history. Dramatically more interest than there was for the Italy game. So the Sun in Splendour Pub will be seeing me again. Accurate shot placement is going to be key for how many England score. The Malta keeper Henry Bonello isn't the biggest.

Would far rather see Parker at Leeds than Farke.

About to turn 28? Rovers fitting him out for a zimmer frame in this squad? Nice posting by GB on LinkedIn! Sets up intense competition in midfield which is great. As a regular in a top end Eredivisie side including European experience, he has got to be better than average at Championship level. Looking forward to seeing him playing at Rovers and winning regular starts for Norway.