Don’t get me wrong here, as the asset sales of our core squad highlights the dysfunctional status of our club. But we’ve been poor in the attack for a while and I think part of that is down to the fact that Trav and Trondstad are both deep lying defensive minded players. Neither one provide much going forward and replacing one with a more box to box player that can help in the attack. Should they be sold, of course not the should be in competition with one another.

Who was the genius who first looked at their squad and said, “we should play our attack through you.” And pointed at his fucking keeper?

For all we know he may have tried resigning already and been told that his release clause is x Wouldn’t be the first one If not: he needs to either step up and work with what he has or quit (or at least make it known that he wants to quit) as he clearly isn’t happy and the team look lost

On Buckley, no one will take him.... and we see time and time again why. Can't give him away.

Ive been told many times that everything is aligned and all of the signings are exactly tailored to what he wants. He seemed seriously pissed off post match, again. He also cant be happy with the business we are doing.

Everything about him is lazy and half arsed. Doesnt put any thought into anything he does, and he isnt very good to begin with.

I don’t understand why we’re so intent on getting rid of Pears & Buckley in favour of Michalski and Montgomery, when the latter are so far off the quality required. As others have already said Montgomery was far and away the worst player out there tonight and how he stayed on for the whole 90 baffles me. Personally I’d have replaced him before half time. And Michalski is no where near ready to play senior football. Aside from the blunder for the second goal, his all round game was poor. He didn’t claim any high balls into the box, preferring to stay rooted to his line, the saves he made he generally pushed back into dangerous areas, and he looks an absolute bomb scare with the ball at his feet. (Incidentally, whilst there wasn’t much he could do about the shot for the first goal, he could have prevented it before that by coming and catching the ball that was put into the area with no one around him. Instead he stood and watched it go right through the box and eventually Pickering was forced to put it out for a throw in, from which the goal came) And it all has a knock on in terms of confidence for those ahead of him - I’ve played in teams where the keeper just isn’t up to it and it just causes panic in the rest of the team, especially the defence. The rest of the team - Tavares looks decent, Miller looks a better cb than rb to me, De Neve works hard and might pop up with the odd goal, but generally not good enough - looks like we’ve replaced Dolan at least - and Hennrickson will probably be a really good player this time next season when he’s adapted to the English game, but at the moment he looks some way off. And finally, a new striker is an absolute must - neither Gueye nor Ohashi will score enough goals to keep us out of trouble. If it means we have to lose Travis so that we can afford to bring one in then, it’s not ideal, but so be it - we just cannot afford not bring someone in up there

Injured.

I thought Cantwell was excellent, when he came on, pity there were no strikers to finish his moves off, by sticking the ball in the net.

after watching that tonight i came to one conclusion ITS GOING TO BE A LONG SEASON.

They did it deliberately as well.

Both? That's usually how everything has gone over the last 15 years. It doesn't have to be either or. Both things are true at the same time.

And they got smashed. I also felt like my pumpkins had been smashed in the first 5 minutes.

Make no mistake we too were watching a bunch of pumpkins

I suspect that's not what that's a picture of. Why would he be going down there by train, it's not that far. Why would he be wearing his Rovers training kit, from last season if I'm not mistaken? The latest is that we rejected a fairly derisory bid. And yes that he wants out, but unless a much bigger bid has been made I can't imagine he's on his way down there just yet. They played these games with Brittain too and somebody came in with a better bid and they lost out. Hope it happens again, it would really rankle to see him go there right now.

Add Scott Wharton and Darragh Lenihan as two players for whom loans worked well. Duru did well at Barrow until his injury. It will be interesting to see what the club do. At the end of last season Montgomery looked good in the first team, but he was surrounded by senior players. Tonight I felt we threw too many youngsters in and it didn't work.

Whatever, I think he will be gone by February 2026...

He won't be here for long. I think most of us can see where this is heading. He looked aghast on the touchline towards the end tonight. I think he has been sold an illusion just like Lambert, JDT and Eustace were. In terms of actual management, he showed promise at the back end of last season, but he has just seen his squad dismantled by a numbers man with something else in mind. It must be deflating seeing a squad you were happy with, seeing players who you wanted to stay on and who weren't difficult to keep hold of, let go and be replaced by random shite. I think Ismael realises he's on to a loser. In my opinion, he will be gone before the Jan window when he hears there will be little activity. I'm fully expecting it. Like I said earlier, IMO, all of these managers are part of a 'normal' camp that wants to win, but there appears to be an opposing camp that doesn't seem arsed about that, and at times looks like it doesn't want to. That camp is the root of all our problems, IMO.

Fortunately I was watching smashing pumpkins while the match was on, glad i didn't waste my time watching the match

The pressure on keepers these days to play like sure footed centre halves out and inside their own box is both ridiculous and needless. No wonder the kid ballsed up he should be under instruction on his debut, keep it simple and clear your lines at all times. However as much as i said on Sat and stand by it that WBA would have been out of sight first half if Pears played the opposite is true tonight. If he'd been in goal as he should have been he probably doesn't concede that and it's a different game. Again though don't blame the players it's just piss poor management at team and director level.

Problem with this idea is where is the moment coming from to sing about our club?

Wow, that's a hell of a win for their reserve side. I assume it was against Boro's fringe and youth players too though, but still impressive.

Always great to read your reviews as you always provide a balanced view. In terms of throwing the kids in thats obviously a strategy agreed to in the boardroom in Pune in the hope that another Adam Wharton emerges as that is the only way the club can be financially viable under Venkys. TBH I am kind of the view we may as well chuck them in as Tyjon will certainly be off if he doesn't get first team football immediately, and for the others (Montgomery, Molichalski etc) experience shows that while loaning out maybe sympathetic to their development in the last ten years probably only Raya and Carter have really benefitted from loans. A lot of players we have loaned out and they come back as little use to the first team squad as when they left (Vale, Butterworth, Garrett, Batty, Markandy, etc etc) The players who have actually forged a career as Rovers first team players great or modest have done so without any significant loans (Adam Wharton, Travis, Nyambe, JRC)...

I literally don't even know who Brackley Town are, and I've heard of tons of non-league shite, so that's a bit embarrassing.

Part of the beauty of football that we can all watch the same game and take different things away from it. I thought Buckley was useless at worst, wasteful at best this evening and I've wanted us to ship him out for at least 3 seasons. He's always had a petulant streak in him and he hasn't developed as a footballer since he was about 21, he's now 26 I think. For me he hasn't made it to the level of the Championship and he would do well to try again in League One.