Supporters, salary caps and substitutes, just three things the football world is waiting on decisions about.

Rovers last week outlined their season ticket stance and will wait to learn when, and how many, fans will be allowed inside Ewood Park before releasing prices. At the very least, the early weeks of next season will continue behind closed doors, and the possible return date of early October is drawing closer without any possible resolution. 

Then there is the much mooted salary caps. A cap on wages of £18m and a squad of no more than 25, similar to that of the Premier League, was spoken about just after the 2019/20 season re-started, a vote date had been earmarked for July 29, but that has since been and gone.

That would replace the current profit and sustainability rules, which was a replacement for Financial Fair Play, which Sheffield Wednesday were found in breach of by the EFL and handed a 12-point sanction that will be introduced for next season.

Rovers chief executive Steve Waggott was first to call for a ‘cooling off’ period in terms of profit and sustainability rules in a bid for clubs to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, but despite the EFL revealing discussions would take place over that, nothing has materialised.

And still we wait on a decision over the five substitute rule, and whether that will be maintained for 2020/21 season. Despite given the green light by the International Football Association Board, each individual league can make their own call, and after the Premier League agreed to move back to three substitutes, the EFL will likely follow suit.

The new season begins five weeks on Friday, and while we have had decisions over Wigan’s appeal against their 12-point deduction, and Sheffield Wednesday found guilty of financial breaches, Derby County are still waiting to learn their fate, with Charlton Athletic also lining up an appeal against the Owls’ deduction not being implemented for next season.

For Tony Mowbray he believes football is at something of a crossroads, with more questions than answers.

“What’s it going to look like in a year’s time?,” he said.

“They’re looking at salary caps in different leagues, whether they can work I don’t know. There’s a lot of talk about financial fair play, is it redundant, are we still pushing on with that, what are the rules?

“When are fans coming back?”

Supporters weren’t permitted inside grounds for the final nine games, a policy which is set to continue for at least the early weeks of next season.

Rovers piped in recorded crowd noise for their home matches, in a bid to replicate something like an atmosphere, but Mowbray admits fans have been missed.

“As I said the other week football is about the people and it’s been hard, I would have to say, as a professional sitting in that dugout trying to drive your team on, without the added help of how ever many Rovers fans, driving the team on with a natural passion for the game, positively or negatively.

“That’s what football is, and for a football coach it’s been a more difficult job not to have the natural internal instinct of a footballer to react to a crowds’ disappointment or excitement to drive these young men and try and get them to the levels required hasn’t always been easy.

“It doesn’t feel like football, it doesn’t feel real, but we all get judged on the results, let’s hope fans are back as soon as possible.

“Hopefully that will be at the start of the season, but if the season is going to start in September then that doesn’t look like the case, it’s been mooted to be October, but even then is it so many fans per capita of the size of the ground?

“Let’s wait and see, but the sooner we get back to the excitement and the roar and the passion of the crowd celebrating a goal. That can’t come quick enough for us in the game.”