Short of LT saying it directly, it sounds like Williams- they expect him to miss both the Forest and Watford games. He tested on Friday apparently which means he could have just been infected at or around the Cardiff game but very unlikely to have been infectious- the other four Irish lads are the unfortunate ones rather than four Rovers being ruled out. LT are saying unless JRC and Lenihan have had any set backs, they are expected to be available v Forest. So two right footers- Ayala and Lenihan at the centre of defence with probably Leniham playing the Williams role of being the more venturesome. Another yellow for Darragh then!

And what is FFP? And what are Rovers rubbing up against other than sustainability supported by the owners, not profitability?

Honouring contracts and commitments do add up.

It is actually a silver tea spoon. And there are no burgers.

I am not arguing the merits. I am telling you how it is.

Yes, the numbers are being extremely carefully monitored. And it is as knife edge as you suggest. £100k saved here allows £100k spending there.

As I have written, deluded. Sorry, but FFP is the biggest risk/threat Rovers currently face.

And Birmingham two seasons ago and Derby came within a whisker this season.

I agree that is the sensible way forward. I would also look at 19/20 from March onwards for exclusion as well if possible. BUT FFP as currently drafted are still the official rules Breaking the rules and offering "but we thought the rules were going to be changed" is a sure way of getting a transfer and a points deduction.

A lot of muddled thinking going on here. 1) obviously covid makes money tight but not getting a points deduction from FFP is the absolute constraint. Totally deluded thinking if you ignore that. 2) career development of quite a few Rovers youngsters is going to be stymied by Leagues 1 and 2 salary caps unless Rovers turn into Father Christmas but see point 1 above 3) this is the who blinks first week. Covid FFP, there are some very desperate clubs and players out there. Anything or nothing could happen but Rovers people are working their proverbials off to make things happen. 4) October 16 goes by with nothing. Well there are still free agents out there. The issue with Bell is other than JRC at a push or Del totally out of position, Amari'i has no competition or back up. Downing or Aleesami might not be the solution for a complete season at LB but give competition/ back up. 5) Charlie Mulgrew still needs sorting. There is probably a very expensive (for Rovers) deal to be done there. Quite how he fits into Fleetwood is Joey Barton's problem. 6) Fingers crossed a King deal eases FFP pressure otherwise we really will be in sell to buy territory in January BECAUSE OF FFP

I am a simple soul. In a squad of 25, you carry 5 capable central defenders. For me that is 1) Ayala, 2) Lenihan, 3) Williams, 4) Wharton, 5) Magliore (ahead of Carter because Carter sadly is beaten in a foot race by 99% of Championship players). If 2 and 3 on your list are out, you play 1 and 4 and put 5 on the bench. I am still asking two questions, has Lenihan not recovered because I understood he was expected to be fit for Forest? Is Williams covid positive? If he is, where did he get it,?

Not entirely. Both clubs take as much matchday income from a single Premier League home game as Rovers do in an entire season.

Rule of negotiations If somebody gives you something good you weren't expecting. You react by saying not enough

This echoes my point, there are many aspects of this which would solve a huge number of problems. Is anybody saying it is an all or nothing deal? In which case thank you for 1 to 6. Twist my arm over 10 and 11. And stonewall opposition to the rest. Any proposals about implementation? Presumably 4 down 2 up in 21/22 New financial arrangements in place in 22/23 except End of parachute payments in 23/24 to enable PL clubs to start new player contracts and allow existing contracts to expire But the EFL and its clubs are bust now... How does that work? Rick Perry's involvement means this has a high percentage chance of happening.

Is there any indication Lenihan won't have recovered?

Chris Hughton's first game as PL Brighton manager was a 2-0 FA Cup win at League 1 Brentford Hughton's first league game in charge of the Canaries was against Fulham in the Championship, where Norwich lost 5–0 First game for Brum was a Championship 2-1 defeat at Derby First game for Newcastle was a Championship 1-1 draw at WBA His record of getting good results in his second game in charge is ominously good - we will give him that!

This is bonkers. The biggest change in football in a generation and we are debating Chaddy's TV reception.

OK don't watch it chaddy. Doesn't affect me either way. You are missing the big picture in every conceivable sense. Project Big Picture proposals are not directly linked to PL PPV. As it is, Rovers fans are paying more for iFollow live streaming as a portion of cost to go to Ewood than fans of PL teams will be paying on average for their live streams. The key here is division of revenue with iFollow having a much more equitable approach as I understand it.

I would take that deal. Remember Rick Parry of the EFL was tasked by EFL members to get a rescue package from the PL so he has already been involved in negotiations. A huge question is when is this going to be implemented if at all. Remember also even if Covid is sorted by then, 22/23 is a total mess because of the Qatar World Cup.

In the FT this morning:

If Arma does get snapped up, not the end of the world because it dramatically eases the FFP noose we are operating with. Having said that, I'd far prefer having Arma and the FFP headache. Will be interesting to see if any players can go out on loan given the wages caps in Leagues 1 and 2.

Didn't see the second half. Was amazed when I saw the score based on the first half so all credit for the HT talk from Southgate.

If Williams is Covid positive. Did he get it at Rovers??? Will be very nervous about Rovers (and Cardiff and officials) players and staff testing positive before the Forest game. Fortunately, he has been with the RoI squad just long enough to have caught it on the journey to Ireland.

This is the David Conn article which has made me look at the proposal with fresh eyes: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/oct/11/plan-to-mend-the-great-crack-in-football-pyramid-should-not-be-swept-off-the-table?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other The good- reunification of PL and EFL financial support for the lower levels The bad- voting powers proposal scrapping the League Cup with nothing to replace it. Neutral- Reducing the top level to 18 clubs In short I think there is a basis here to work from. if the bad is addressed. How about a League Cup without clubs which are Europe qualified? One way they are proposing to get the other PL clubs on board is by extending enhanced votes to the longest serving PL members so including Everton, West Ham and Southampton. How would we feel if they extended that further to include all Premier League winners in the merged PL/EFL set-up?

Ready to go