Three pieces of evidence 1) LT report that he was offered a significantly lower contract 2) It was so low Downing was so confident he could beat it elsewhere that he was out of the game earning zero for four months. That only makes sense from Downing's viewpoint when the gap between offer and player's expectation is an annualised £250k at least because of what he wasn't being paid during that period. Did he expect another £750k year at his age? - probably not. Did he (or his agent) think he could command £500k?- probably. 3) The offer to renew at the end of last season was made when Rovers were at their ceiling for FFP so it would have been low enough to keep within the limit. That low offer inevitably would be Rovers' anchoring starting point for when they started talking again and clinched the deal to secure Downing.

Great goals. If allowed 12, Shearer's swivel and strike at Liverpool which Jan Molby described on 5Live as "fuck me" and Le Saux's screamer for the 7th against Forest but there were so many fantastic goals. No place in there for strikes by Sutton, Santa Cruz, Cole or Macarthy either...

That Anderson had a contract to run Blackburn Rovers and Kean was Anderson's client most people would accept as a matter of record. That and the consequential dismantling of Rovers in a few horrendous months puts Kean beyond any forgiveness or rehabilitation. There are quite a few of us aware of allegations, some with documentary evidence, beginning a year before Kean was appointed Manager continuing to when he went which cannot be written on here. Mentally totting up, I can think of six separate alleged facts people much closer to the club than me have privately discussed. All except perhaps one (which would have endangered the source had it been disclosed) have been presented to powers that be and not met with the sort of outrage and doubts about the speaker's sanity type of reactions I fully expected. And I will suggest one additional pointer which has appeared on this message board many times. Kean's weird relegation clauses in his obscenely lucrative Managerial contract which most people could easily read as rewarding him for taking us down.

Two big issues with Gallagher. - first touch not good enough - instinctive positioning/anticipation not there. Seems to me he has to make slow conscious decisions by which time opportunities are gone Both faults militate against him using his obvious physical advantages to lead the line and I think Mowbray compensates for them by sending Gallagher wide where he gets a fraction more time to get in control of the ball and has less options to weigh up. The problem is the nearer the touchline he is, the worse he plays. The best of Gallagher is when he runs the inside right channel. As has been pointed out, with a fully fit squad, it is debatable if he is in the 20 on merit and is some way of being an automatic starter. Armstrong, Dack, Brereton, Elliott cannot all start together and I challenge anyone to make a case for Gallagher starting ahead of anyone of those 4. Then I'd bring Dolan on as an impact sub before Sam. And we have Butterworth, Vale and Chapman to develop.

I had a horrible premonition Dack had been injured again. Thank goodness I read this thread and all is well. Of course he is ring rusty but there are 6 days before hopefully he is among the subs on Boxing Day and gets a few minutes at the end.

Tier 4 introduced in London and the South East bans all inessential travel. No mention whether football teams can move about.

Need to make the most of this- could be the last game for sometime if Johnson stops all sport with Tier 4. Having 4 games off because of Covid is not good in that respect.

Gallagher carrying on his poor form. Rothwell too deep Holtby not sparkling Douglas and Trybull playing much better than previously and Johnson OK in his new role. Where was Lenihan when they scored? I thought Kaminsky could have come for the cross. Too much being asked of Elliott. Game is there for the winning if Mowbray gets it right at half time. I would bring on Dolan for Gallagher.

Don't know what to make of this line-up. Not confident.

In Stoke? Even though it is close they are probably over-nighting there.

That is why we have the biggest squad of players with first team experience and quality in the league. Problem as you rightly highlight, we are stripped bare at the back. Will young Pike get a chance or is it all going Captain Mainwaring?

Sorry I laughed when I saw this. The number of times I am asked for evidence then it upsets people because I have had to paste and copy the relevant bit from behind a paywall so it doesn't look good on a mobile. Yes of course, read things with a pinch of salt but I am glad that positive message is the most recent official word on Nyambe (at a time he was being dropped) so it is the fans worrying negative thoughts and not the other way round. Ryan has just had his 23rd birthday and has made 130 league and 17 Cup appearances for Rovers first team. He has never scored yet has doubled his career assists already this season.

How many of Lenihan's 7 missed games were due to suspension?

Agree with this and I would go JRC at left back. Dolan and Gallagher on the bench as well.

This is great news. Harvey is on a season loan with no break clause. https://readliverpoolfc.com/2020/12/18/mowbray-harvey-elliott-blackburn-loan-liverpool/?utm_medium=onesignal&utm_source=push_notifications&utm_campaign=web_push

Lenihan formed a decent partnership with Williams. Ayala is a better defender than Del so hopefully his experience will calm Darragh down a bit and they become a rock. The problem they have is that disasters keep happening around them so they are getting a lot more exposure than a promotion-winning Championship pairing should be doing. The positive which should help them is Kaminsky almost creating a back 3 with the central defenders at times plus being a very good keeper.

It is January so not many players move but central defender and left back are critical requirements- very happy to take loans. A huge amount hangs on the next four games. In my opinion: Be in the mix and let's see the level of ambition if any in Pune. Be where we are and forget it.

I saw him on the score sheet so assumed he was doing ok.

So you make up a big number then moan about it.

Arma showed his class against Rotherham. A real team performance at a time everyone else was falling apart. He had three on target powerful shots blocked or saved across the 90 minutes, dropped deep to help out then laid on Elliott's goal before right place right time at the death. Worth noting with the winner he had to react instantly and get it between two blocking Rotherham defenders- it wasn't the automatic gimme he made it look. Toney is good but not that good. Could easily be a one season wonder.

If we are still in contact with the top teams as January 1 comes round, we have to be bold and recruit cover at left back and central defence. At the very least Magliore has to come back from Hartlepool. Carter has zero pace. Hopefully Luke Brennan gets moved to a more serious level of football than Fylde.

Apparently Williams has a long term injury. Months out.

Late 34 and out of contract at Boro who weren't renewing. Many players in that position go from £33k per week to nothing. If he is on about £5k a week now which I believe was the offer he rejected in the summer, it is a nice end of career bonus. Putting things in context of how very few outfield players are still going at Downing's age- https://sportmob.com/en/article/872969-oldest-premier-league-players-in-2020

I am not wasting my time. But it was reported several times that Downing was offered much reduced terms for this season which was the reason why he walked away from us. Of course he'd want another £750k a year but given he loves the game and is keeping himself fit, the difference between £250k and nothing when all he has is 30 years of nothing to look forward to (relatively speaking) meant the lower sum won out.