He will need a reasonable budget to get 3 signings to "blow our socks off." Lets see how much we spend. Definitely miles off it. Him and Edun were so far off the standard set by every single other player who contributed, Butterworth was so slow and lethargic. Problem is his contract ends at the end of the season. I do wonder if we should sell him for a small fee (with a big sell on) and let him have a career in the lower leagues. Obviously we need a couple of players in but he isnt the answer. I would say going for it would be a big signing, a 4 or 5 million one. An Adebayo or similar. A reasonable window would be perhaps 2 or 3 million, a combination of maybe 3 players, including a loan. Maybe even 2-3m on a single player and a couple of loans. Less would be a very poor window and a lack of ambition.

Why is this sort of post expected from you after a great win? You dont seem to realise that those not attending in the main are floating fans. They dont have as much interest as the core that go every week, they arent missing out as much as you think you would be or any on here (avid fans who regularly post on a messageboard such is the passion) if you wasnt going. Its all down to the club to entice more people in. Attendances have gone up recently and the atmosphere has been superb. The players do deserve support and they are 100% getting lots of it.

What an excellent win, as enjoyable as any all season. Ground out with many key players out. The 3 centre backs were all equally outstanding, yet again. Kaminski relatively untested. Nyambe a really big addition on the right, Zeefuik showed lots of promise and energy but Nyambe deserves the shirt. Travis and Johnson really battled and were key, and Buckley was excellent. Khadra had a mixed night but I like him (bar one poor one) on corners, some really good deliveries, and Gallagher earnt his excellent goal for a battling display. Clumsy, cumbersome and poor at various things but he grafted and led by example and he does chip in with goals. Delighted for him. Would be surprised to see anyone disagree that Edun had a shocker and all of their threat came down his side, he is so rash constantly pressing out of position and was lucky that on the numerous times that Jones ran past him, as has been the case when I have seen Boro before his final ball is lacking. Edun was also lucky not to concede a penalty, the question is do we prioritise a left wing back over a central midfielder and have Edun as back up there where he would be less of a liability? Butterworth is also nowhere near good enough, really lethargic cameo from him. Well played Tony Mowbray, doing us proud.

Signing Hedges on a pre-contractual agreement makes no sense. Binding ourselves into a deal 6 months in advance seems foolish when we are unsure what decision we will be in, and I am not convinced how he fits in. That being said, if a deal is to be done, it should be done now and surely the owners can scramble together a couple of hundred grand to add another attacking option, perhaps alongside a striker on loan. The Dack thing is irrelevant as we don't know the bid, it could have been a really low one. I judge on what actually happens, as you say, we did indeed spend 14m. Obviously not all they have done is service debt but as has been the case throughout Venkys tenure, it is windows with reasonable spend followed by a series of windows with the taps totally off. Its inconsistent and subsequently hinders rather than helps.

I an guessing this is purely a guess/gut feeling but I can't see it. The Healey rumour seems to have basically eminated from nothing like the Maddison one from a few years ago. Mowbray said today that we are in the untested kid on loan market due to lack of finance, Healey is a key player for a side 2nd in the French second division, how can we afford him even if we do want him? Totally agree. It is made out as if they pump money in with ambition and desire to push us forward, they merely raise share capital to cover costs as a matter of necessity. It is also made out as if FFP is the main dampner on their ambition, a totally baseless theory.

You could say that about everything, team selections, transfers, tactics, it makes no difference what we think so why do we bother with this forum? Even if we presume that we are right on the FFP boundary, which I dont believe, I dont get why it is assumed that Venkys would spend more anyway. Out of interest, have your expectations of this window changed from the start when you felt like a couple of million was a reasonable expectation if I recall correctly? I dont think we need to "throw loads of money" at it.

I think in the main, Mowbrays record in the loan market has been good and I am not saying that he wont find another gem. But in the market mentioned ie kids with minimal first team experience, im not sure its the market we want to boost genuine promotion chances.

What does it achieve to repeatedly demand more bums on seats? Ultimately the responsibility to maximise ticket sales falls internally, to entice floating and lapsed fans, not on those people themselves who can clearly give or take attending. And ultimately, what does it do to have any opinions on anything at all? It wont change anything so should we cease any further discussion? If we loaned a short term Markanday replacement AND signed another attacker and a central midfielder then I would be incredibly pleasantly surprised. But not the impression given.

Not really sure who we could get that fits the "cheap kid on loan" who would likely be available and have any impact. Cameron Archer has been strongly linked with Preston, saw him v Barrow when he got a hat trick earlier in the season and also a few other cameos, quick and seemingly knows where the goal is. Ellis Simms at Everton, impressed me from what I saw at Blackpool last year albeit in League 1. Kaide Gordon played in the cup for Liverpool last week and from a slightly wider role cutting in, missed a sitter though, would Liverpool be more reluctant anyway after Clarkson? Liam Delap is often mentioned, is he fit again yet? Dane Scarlett at Spurs, ahead of Markanday? None of the choices are exciting, all big gambles. All in all, its very underwhelming and would show how little Venkys care.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19868960.blackburn-rovers-drawing-loan-targets-dilan-markanday-injury/ Any attacking signing will be a kid on loan for financial reasons. Venkys as expected showing zero ambition.

I dont really agree with this regularly repeated implication that Brereton stands out with the work rate he puts in compared to anyone else. Im not saying that he doesnt work hard enough by the way but he isnt a pressing machine in my opinion. Joao is probably getting to the stage whereby you do at times question his application and he is quite streaky although I think if you put him in our team that he would give us a new dimension and another goal threat beside Brereton. As you say, all hypothetical though as he would cost well in excess of what Venkys would pay out.

Do we press that much from the front?

I think merely being "better than Bell" is a bit insulting to Pickering to be honest!

We need a striker, we dont play wingers really and we need another goal source that can fit within the framework of our formation and counter attacking style. Dack is the attacking midfielder to come in and we have Buckley too.

The main thing it needs is a club run strongly from the top with a clear vision and consistency throughout. Thats what is lacking at Ewood. Mowbray does his best and has found gems but its not a consistent process. See this summer when he was bemoaning an inability to replace Armstrong with the next "diamond to polish."

Its equally foolish to think that its really easy to do, hence why Armstrong is the only current big sale. As @Mattyblue mentioned it tends to be the attacking players that go for big money, we have 3 defenders/midfielders currently out performing each of those names that have 6 months left yet still dont seem to be getting bid upon. Its also not as easy as you make out otherwise Brereton wouldnt currently be worth so much, and his situation is somewhat unique, Gallagher is much older for a start but expecting de ja vu would be very naive. At least half of those names you mention wont go for big money, thats not a slight on the individuals or the club either. Of course Brereton wont be the last ever sale, but because the process isnt continious with us, we didnt replace Armstrong therefore there isnt really a next in line for imminent major sales in my opinion. With Brentford for example, as soon as one was sold, a replacement was instant.

Of course not. Maybe in my opinion they should be slight favourites based on what I expect.

Our unbeaten run wasn't solely down to our defensive record either, as much as that was obviously critical. Brereton scored the goal to put us in front v Sheff Utd, he got us an equaliser at Bristol City, the only goal in an otherwise drab game v Preston to win that and the winner v Barnsley too. He also got 2 in both of the thrashings during that run and forced the opener away at Bournemouth. Our attack is massively depleted without him and merely having a solid defence isn't enough to win games. A solid defence is key to any successful team but there will also be games in which you are struggling to break down an opponent, and a clean sheet is impossible every single time. Without Brereton, it is hard to see many goals in our main 11, and then if we need an impact from the bench, there won't be much to go off. I don't think you have to watch Boro every time they play to appreciate the objective fact that they are in the best form in the whole league over the last 6 games, including 4 wins on the bounce. We know that our form has shown symptoms of slowing in the last 3 games, we have looked toothless aside from a moment of magic from Rothwell at Cardiff.

I don't think that Carroll would be a good addition, we often play on the counter attack therefore it would be difficult/impossible to ever start him. I doubt he would come to sit on our bench just on the off chance that we want a battering ram on for the last 15 minutes. We should get a striker that could slip into the starting 11 just as easily.

Lenihan AND Van Hecke (mainly the former though) have BOTH been key players though, without Lenihan, we would need someone else external, can you get someone as good as the captain to come in immediately? Nyambe and Rothwell have also been key, both (especially the latter in a new deeper position, you could also add Lenihan to this) have been far better this season than ever before and it seems a culmination of the progression over a number of years, so they simply wouldn't have been viewed externally as well in the summer as they will be now, having all played key roles in a side fighting for promotion displaying form never seen before.

All hypothetical, but had all of those players been sold, then we almost certainly wouldn't have been anything close to where we are in the table at the moment, with a genuine chance of a promotion.

Why is the only alternative to frugality a reckless spending spree?! It is a commonly repeated, strawman argument. No one has asked for wild, multi million pound spending! Why has there been no interest in him, according to the manager? He will surely be available right now at a cheaper value.

I know that it is cyclical, I mentioned as such. But with the current situation, I would be amazed if the addition of the 2022 year wouldn't IMPROVE the current cycle compared to the year that it knocks off, what with the factors that I mentioned, notably the considerable Armstrong sale. That is without considering the notable wage decrease expected. Therefore, that improvement gives a bit of flexibility for a bit of reinvestment. Out of interest, do you think that what you have perceived to be the current plan of actions shows genuine signs of bearing fruit? I personally think that the inflexibility to get key assets signed and the lack of consistency regarding its application means that it is not going to be successful any time soon.

Thats a totally hypothetical scenario. I don't think for one moment that a Premier League team would have Rothwell for 10m, I mean they could probably get him for much less right now yet no one seems keen to. But ultimately, being perhaps over stringent and not allowing the flexibility to tie him down ultimately throws to one side any potential income from a sale which is obviously the natural end to the "polishing" of an asset. So it becomes a case of if my aunty had bollocks she would be my aunty. I don't think that Kaminski and Wharton are at this moment in this market multi million pound players, especially the former due to his contract.

It's not about "ignoring the rules," and that is the part that those so keen to defend the owners don't seem to understand, the 2 choices are not stringent spending v wild, unplanned spending. I don't think that anyone has suggested wreckless spending that would see us go miles over FFP regulations, why would they. The thing is, the June 2021 year seemingly was particularly problematic, hence the training ground sale to get around the FFP rules. Even if it is cyclical, the June 2022 accounting year will surely be considerably healthier compared to the last few years. The wage bill will be much lower, the Armstrong sale will be in this year too, and we will have a full year of ticket sales for the first time in 3 years.