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That doesn’t take account of the injuries we’ve suffered. Given a bit of luck we’d have had Toth, Carter, Wharton and Cantwell playing. They’d all be playing if they were fit. Instead we’ve had to use bench players and kids as starters. In spite of that we’ve always competed and never once given the impression that we’re feeling sorry for ourselves like I’ve seen other Rovers teams under other managers do.

Great view of Gudjohnsen’s goal. That wasn’t an easy chance by any means. It would have been easy to hit the keeper with that. A good view of the Gueye header as well. How did he get that so wrong ? Alebiosu hung that ball up a treat, right where he wanted it.

I think in the modern system, I would argue Scholes gets in alongside Carrick in midfield, with Gerrard roaming behind the lone striker. That is despite my own belief that Lampard is better than all three 🙃🤯

Do we look far more solid away from home specifically without him? He played in 3 away games and we kept clean sheets in 2 of those.

Same thing will happen in a few months time when they start getting in a lather about coming here. They'll be delighted at having to pay £33 in the lower and £38 in the middle of the upper tier i'm sure.

Pratt did very well but it is premature to just consider him a first teamer going forward as a result. One new centre back and O'Riordan would be the minimum we need. We are so short there especially playing a 3.

I once went watching the Rugby League at York. It’d snowed in the morning but then had stopped so the game was “ On “ . About 2-15 it started snowing heavily again. If it hadn’t have been a Challenge Cup game with a big gate it would have been called off. Me and my mate were stranded on an open end behind the sticks and we were like snowmen by kick off time. I’ve never been as cold ever, what saved our lives was my mates half bottle of rum he’d brought along ! Then we lost a very close game we should have won and then the coach broke down coming back over the tops ! What a great day !

Great post.

And the sideways header at Bramall Lane.

Im not Cantwell's biggest fan but I do think if fit he should be in the line up. Extrapolating a fairly limited snapshot of results and claiming results are better without him in the side is imo a bit like blaming Jordan Rhodes for the fact we didnt go up when you've got players like Jason Lowe playing behind him.

I once went in every pub between where I was living in Blackburn and Ewood. I remember Le Tissier’s wonder goal but that’s about it. To this day I’m not sure how I got home afterwards 😁

I think so, playing just behind the front two is made for him.

We’ve had some bad loans recently but given the wages we were supposed to be paying Dennis he must have been the worst loan ever. All I can remember about him is him getting sent off.

Cantwell is something of an enigma. Away from home, we look far more solid without him. It's the home games where he really out to shine and have an influence on results. Yet home results are poor, whilst the last three away games have seen good performances and good results without him. Cantwell is a mercurial talent but fitting him into a system that works for the rest of the team is not always easy. Kendall managed to do it with McKenzie, so hopefully Ismael will be able to find a solution. I must admit, that I'm not really bothered one way or the other regarding his future in the January window.

That's not the whole story is it? If I was being interviewed for a job and I was told that the strategy was to let all the most experience staff leave and replace them with much less experienced staff on lower wages, where we have no idea how long it will take them to become competent, or whether they would ever become competent at all, that would be a massive red flag. Ismael presumably knew this would be the case when he took over, they must have discussed long term strategy with regards to current playing staff and future recruitment. So he doesn't get to use it as an excuse, he doesn't get a pass as he took the job on those terms. If he had no idea any of that would happen, then you would expect him to be extremely disgruntled about it, in the same way that Eustace and JDT evidently were. Instead he has indicated that everything is fine, fans and journalists are wrong and he, Rudy and whoever else are correct. He slapped down the suggestion that the squad is weaker than last season's when we can all see that it is. Not 'tosh' is it?

Any Beanie Hats in the pipeline?...

Yea that's a good one saw that one. Bless them with their little flags that they were asked to return after the game hahaha

Lol. So to clarify your original response to RF 99 then you think Cantwell SHOULD be let go?

As usual we probably wont get anything we REALLY need in January but I hope we don't go too overboard at CB. Pratt showed he was a viable option the other night and is there any other reason why one of the other young CB's couldnt come in and do similar? At the very most Id bring in one CB and recall O Riordan. Midfield is going to need major surgery sooner rather than later. Tronstad and Cantwell look as though they'll be heading for the exit door, we don't know yet if Baradji will be a viable option, Henriksson's poor and Tavares looks a complete dud. I think we also need major strengthening up front. I've never rated Kargbo and in an ideal world he'd be replaced. Im also probably one of the few left who thinks Gueye would be a useful asset under a different Head Coach,but, if VI isnt going to use him we might as well sell him and either way we need an additional striker as well. There's a LOT to do this January, not just at CB. I ain't holding my breath.

recommend this. See it through the lens of nob end fans and 5000 of us celebrating

But would Cantwell work in the new system?

Kindly do not invent posts made by myself or anybody else for that matter

Yet in your contrarian mode you were probably lobbying on behalf of VI and claiming that "results didn't match performances" earlier in the season.

They are, but thats causation rather than correlation. We changed system at that time.

Yes I think we are at the start of building the team that Ismael wants us to be. strange comment from Gestede that one. Would like to know what he meant by that one not really. League is very close and no stand out team apart from Coventry.