People talk about us being "a newly promoted side" and "overachieving" like we've spent the last 10 years in League 1 and are just finding our feet in the Championship. Most of this side were in the squad that narrowly slipped into League 1, briefly, on goal difference. Mostly because of Coyle's ineptness. We have loads of players with decent Championship experience and, apparently, the finances to compete in this League. So why shouldn't we be aiming for more than just bobbing around mid-table?

Ten of the starting team were the nucleus of last season's promotion winning side and eight were here when Mowbray arrived. Six of the seven substitutes were Mowbray signings. If we are going to kick on the new signings have to genuinely make us stronger.

An Assessment of Player Performance v Middlesborough Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ****** Nyambe *********** Mulgrew *************** Downing ********************* Williams *************** Evans **************** Reed(84) *********** Smallwood(74) ******* Conway(69) ********** Dack ************ Graham ********** Armstrong(69) ********* Rothwell(74) ****** Brereton(84) Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 3. Boro corner. Mulgrew loses his man and is beaten to the header and Evans is there to hack clear, 2 yards out. 8. Reed, Evans, Smallwood passing it around in midfield but making no progress. Boro’s giants are just tempting them to hit it long. Yep, there it goes and Graham is offside anyway. 9. The ball is poked through to Hugill unmarked, with his back to goal, on the edge of the 6 yard box but Williams gets a meaty challenge in before he is able to turn and shoot. From the corner Graham flicks it away but Mulgrew had lost the dangerous Flint again! 13. Nyambe moves towards the box and squares to Dack who turns and shoots but it’s deflected wide for a corner. 16. Nice lay off by Dack to Evans on the edge of the D but Evans, in a great position, dithers and is dispossessed. Disappointing ending! 18. Evans looks off the pace as he is left trailing. Fortunately Conway gets back and blocks for a corner. 19. Besic lets Dack dispossess him and there is a clear run on goal. Besic pulls Dack’s shirt and he’s off! Red card. Good grief! Mulgrew curls the free kick into the net from 25 yards…….bottom corner, bent round the wall from a central position. 33. Nice corner from Reed and Downing rises well but under pressure from Flint he heads over. 36. Good crossfield ball from Williams finds Nyambe who feeds Reed Just inside the box. He squares to Graham right in front of goal but the defender blocks his shot well. Close but good defending. 40. That’s the third interesting long ball into space down the right wing from Downing. This time it’s a bit too far for Reed but he wins a throw for his persistence. (Nyambe collected the other 2). 41. Evans wins the ball nicely in midfield and Dack sends Graham away into the edge of the box. His firm shot is parried by the keeper straight to the on-rushing Evans in the 6 yard box but he puts it wide!!! It came to him fast but he sliced it. 49. A Boro long throw causes a bit of panic ping-pong. Evans is too timid with his attempted clearance (not the only one). But there’s a foul and we survive. 50. Good clearing header by Downing takes care of a dangerous cross into the box. 51. Dack sprays a lovely crossfield ball to Conway’s feet. He waits for the on-running Williams who sidesteps his man on the edge of the D and squares the ball beautifully to Dack who’s shot hits the post. It’s cleared. 57. Nice interplay by Conway and Reed in the box and Conway cuts it back for the on-rushing Dack but the defender is strong enough to hold him off. The ball is launched far downfield over the top of the entire defence and Hugill is clear on goal. Mulgrew does brilliantly to get back and get in the critical, perfectly timed challenge; Downing clears. 60. Nice through ball from Smallwood to Graham in the D. He turns and feeds Reed. Reed squares back to Graham but his shot is deflected for a corner. Too many Boro players for a clear shot. 61. Assombalonga scores a great goal from outside the box. 68. The lethargic Evans sucking the momentum out of our play yet again with another backpass. 75. The third foul by Armstrong in the 6 minutes he’s been on the field! 77. Out of the blue……Reed is ambling along centrally about 25 yards out and he decides to have a shot. The goalie parries the firm shot away. Downing loses out on a 50-50 in midfield and Boro are away. Nyambe blocks the shot. 83. Evans wins a header in midfield and Dack picks up and holds off 2 men before threading a sublime ball into the box for a fast arriving Armstrong. Instead of burying the ball in the net, he takes a touch and loses control. The defender gets a foot in and it’s a corner. 84. A howler by Downing. He airkicks a simple lobbed ball and the Boro man is free and clear! He lobs it over the outrushing Raya but it’s weak and Downing is back to hack clear. Lucky! 87. Another long throw by Boro causes panic in the box; Raya collects eventually.

For Rovers, £7m is a very large sum to pay for someone who is clearly not good enough at present to play in the first team. We're not Man City or Liverpool who collect young players in the hope that one of them might turn into a good player, we need players now who can make a difference. The Brereton signing as many fans see it makes no sense at all

The bit about Graham is correct, I think we all accept that he is our number 1 and will be when he is fit. That doesn't explain why Brereton doesn't even get a look in when Graham is injured and we're playing all sorts of daft systems to avoid starting Brereton, nor why Brereton doesn't play in his favoured position when he does get his 15-20 minutes. I have considered the fee Southampton might want for Reed. I've said I believe £7 million would be enough to get him. He isn't getting a look in there and has been loaned out to the Championship for the last 2 years. Wages *could* be an issue as I've also said but again I wouldn't expect him to be on mega bucks given his background. The key is to get in there before the summer when others might be interested. Norwich had him last season and didn't take him back this so would they really spend a lot to sign him if promoted? You mention 'sadly' we couldn't match the fees Norwich/Sheffield United could offer. I'll come back to the Brereton deal. If we believe the £7 million figure to be accurate then by my reckoning that is more money spent by us on one player than anyone in the Championship last summer, with the exceptions of Stoke with Afobe and Ince, Middlesbrough with Aden Flint and George Saville, Leeds with Bamford and Forest with Carvalho. So only 4 clubs paid more out on a single player than we did last summer (if £7 million is accurate which it seems Mowbray has confirmed). 2 of those are receiving parachute cash. So if the figure is correct we are now among the big spenders for this league and certainly cannot bemoan a lack of cash or being unable to match fees paid by others. At net £10 million for the summer we blew the likes of Sheffield United and Norwich out of the water, along with many others.

Unfortunately they can't use it for snow shifting yet as it needs to bulk up its upper plough strength

Hate that sort of arrogant attitude that implies that everything a football professional says or does is correct whereas the opinion of someone who isn't a football professional is worthless.

Venky's could probably find the transfer money and wages for Reed down the back of the sofa if they really wanted. The problem though is that if we continue to push the boat out then at the end of 3 years when we have lost more than 39 m over that period, the day of reckoning will come and we'll fall foul of FFP once again. This is why if we spend big money on Brereton or anyone else they need to be capable of going straight into the first team and making an immediate impact despite all the nonsense being spoken about him being "one for the future" etc. That applies equally whether the primary motive is to try and achieve promotion asap or to bring in a succession of young players we can flog for a profit to boost revenue and avoid falling foul of FFP.

For £7m fans were entitled to expect more than a bench warmer.

The Brereton situation reminds me a bit of when we signed Jimmy Quinn. Quinn was an experienced and well-established first team player and we spent what was, by our standards at the time, a sizeable amount of money to sign him - indeed all our transfer money went on him if I remember correctly. He then sat on the bench until mid-December unable to force his way past Chris Thompson. Ultimately, the manager knows how he wants to set up in games and watches players in training everyday. Those that he believes can do the job he wants will get selected above those he feels still have short-comings. The fact that after twenty-one games we are in a more than comfortable position, particularly as a newly promoted club, probably justifies Mowbray's decision to keep faith with the old guard for the moment. If we have a run of poor results over the next half dozen games then I would expect changes to be made but if we continue as we have been doing then I would expect him to stick with what's working. Personally, I wanted us to build a solid foundation this season and re-establish ourselves as a Championship club. To have something solid as a club on which to build. For me that is exactly we are doing so, whilst I might be in a minority, I have no complaints about the season as a whole or Mowbray's management.

When you overachieve for as long as us it's not overachieving, it's just achieving. Our achievements have gone on for 3 centuries.

Poor comparison. I bet nobody has ever paid £7m for a player in the Championship who they had no intention of going straight in the 1st team, let alone a club that has just come up from League 1 and is £140m in debt.

I think you are being a bit over the top here too soon. Mowbray's got a funny charisma about him, very honest, and Christ we've had some bullshitters, scoundrels and tosspots at our club recently. We are in touching distance of the play-offs without really playing that well, we definitely won't get relegated. Is that not enough progress for you mate? What's your beef with him? Or are you just arguing for sake of it.? I think he can take us higher and I certainly dont want a change

I find it very odd that any Rovers fan would consider mid-table in the 2nd division as overachieving when history suggests that simply isn't the case. In isolation most people would be quite happy with a mid-table finish this season given the events of the last 2 or 3 years and of course we shouldn't feel 'entitled' to any better but as above, it isn't reason to have a party and it doesn't mean we're overachieving or punching above our weight. Since Year Zero barring a few brief aberrations we've existed at this level or above.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/transfer-news/signing-ben-brereton-opportunity-good-1946842 Mowbray on Brereton: "He's six foot three, he can travel with the ball, he can dribble, he can power past people, he can run without it, he can create, he can cross, he can shoot, he can affect football matches.” When, in training? Give the lad a chance, Tony. Especially when Graham is out. Why change formation and tactics to avoid playing him?

Only plausible explanations? I accept you may see with only two options, so black and white but I do not. There is plenty of things I’d suggest impact his usage on the field that don’t include his price or a pay by you play loan deal.... Just a selection since I’m waiting for a lift and the bar stool is late; 1. The manager himself just after signing said “Let's forget about the price now and concentrate on the player. He's a 19-year-old boy.” 2. We play one centreforward 3. We have Armstrong who is arguably deserved of a priority due to last season (like a few others, another comment from manager about giving them a chance is available) 4. Brererton has spent 99% of his entire career at one club, certain style, people, training, team mates, etc - not all players acclimatise instantly. 5. We attempted to sign other forwards prior to B.B. and thus one would predict wasn’t first choice or expected to be as good instantly. Plenty of others related to style of play, attitude, fitness, Danny Graham’s impact, Kasey Palmer being used as a number 10 - arguably his best position but can you drop Dack? Etc etc The price may be seen as more as a long term investment, and like AA, never played premier league football = softer wages = more to pay on transfer cost. Whilst this is a financial aspect - I believe it might be worth considering that 7m (even if it does get to that) in 2018, regardless of past records - is paltry to adding the monthly cost that teams such as Forest, added to their bills this previous summer, through wages. 7m upfront from us (unlikely) would only pay for 5 new players on 30k a week in wages for one season! Arrogance to suggest no plausible reason in your own mind means = it must be implausible. As I said earlier - the Brererton deal offers a potential “axe to grind” and there is absolutely no coincidence those most willing to wield it have been 5/10 on Mowbray for some time.

I would have said it's far from laughable. What is laughable is that we've agreed to pay £7m for a player who although fit has yet to start a League game. The only 2 plausible explanations are 1) We have to pay a hefty premium every time he starts a game prior to the move being made permanent. or 2) He wasn't TM's choice and TM either doesn't fancy him or is deliberately omitting him to make a point that he's the boss.

You dont know Gallagher is on 24k. You take Mowbrays word as gospel even if your opinion is the total opposite. You then shoot those down who share your initial view and defend Mowbray. Yes, he sees him more on the training ground and yes he has more football management credentials than you or I. But if thats your attitude then an internet messageboard is not the place for you. You dont acknowledge that many are of the view that we are not in a position to be signing players SOLELY for the future. That does not come down to anything on the training ground. Even though you yourself want Brereton to be starting games as a striker. My plan for Brereton would be as a striker, initially second choice behind Graham, playing whenever Graham is unfit or lacking in form, or as a strong alternative. May I ask, if your main defence of the Brereton situation is that we cant fit him Graham and Dack in together. Which has a degree of logic to it. Why are we so desperate for us to sign another striker? That problem will double. Here are a few articles of Coyle being open with fans. Took 1 minute to find a few random articles. Mowbrays openness is not a unique trait, its a byproduct of an era in which interviews are done numerous times a week. Didnt make a difference. He was still useless. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/14804095.Owen_Coyle_believes_Ryan_Nyambe_is_one_of_a_number_of_young_players_who_have_a_chance_at_Blackburn_Rovers/ Coyle on our academy players. https://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/sport/14624311.Owen_Coyle__Newcastle_United_not_the_only_club_interested_in_signing_Blackburn_Rovers_captain_Grant_Hanley/ Coyle on bids for our best player. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/14626876.hes-blackburn-rovers-through-and-through-jason-lowe-can-be-our-leader-if-grant-hanley-leaves-insists-I have been stopped from posting this by moderators.-coyle/ Coyle on his debatable choice of captain! Did you empathise with Coyle solely because he explained himself?

This season aside his wiki stats don't make great reading for a striker. 4 goals in 40 apps for Yeovil... That said we'll probably play him on the wing. If Eaves is the calibre of signing we're looking at (26 year old lower league journeyman) then I think we can forget pushing for promotion.

Only a really dreadful manager could play 2 games and still lose 10 of them.

I actually think some of the players he recruited in the summer look decent Palmer, Rothwell Brereton etc but he wont play them so if that remains the case you'd have to say it was a very poor window. Prior to that, Dack apart, his recruitment record has been very patchy. We're still lining up in most games with the majority of the side consisting of players he inherited.

if we can afford to 'spend' £7 million on a project like Brereton and have the luxury of him sitting around 'developing' more than 3 months after his arrival then I'm sure Venkys can come along with £7 million to offer Southampton for Harrison Reed on a permanent deal, and I'm confident Southampton would be persuaded to sell him for that. That piece of business would be a 'no brainer' in terms of his ability, age, contribution so far and I could see him being worth an 8 figure sum in the not too distant future. I know it isn't quite as simple as that as we've to factor in wages and the rest but I very much doubt that sort of deal will be on the table. This is why I'm so perplexed by the Brereton deal. The money appears for someone who the manager doesn't deem to be anywhere near ready to start games for us and yet I doubt it will become available to buy someone who over the last few months has become a very important and versatile player and regular starter.

He didn't look at it differently though. He was as cautious and petrified of the opposition last season - whether we were against Wigan or Bury - as he is this season. We were promoted because our team was far too good for that division and Mowbray, for all his tactical faults, is able to command the respect of his players. I think we'll finish mid table this season, and I think that's where we'll finish pretty much every season as long as Mowbray is here. The only way we'll go up or down is if our team either significantly improves (I'm talking becoming the best in the division) or declines (similarly becomes one of the worst). Mowbray is a good bloke and a safe pair of hands with a decent squad, but he doesn't have the courage to propel an average team into promotion contention imo. I'd love to be proven wrong but I believe we would need massive investment from Venky's to get promoted with Mowbray at the helm.

I could, Gwoin Edwards...thats about it though and only because I wanted us to sign him in the summer.

Whilst I think Mercer is going well overboard with his statements. Not being a bullshitter or a tosspot is no benchmark or barometer to judge our manager against. He certainly has done a good job and I am happy to see him continue and have no doubts at all about his immediate future. It doesnt sit right with me however that he deserves or gains credit for not being Coyle, not being Kean, essentially not being a useless prick. Not many are that bad! I also think Mercer made a very fair comment amidst his posts, that Mowbrays recritment is very hit and miss. The key is to appreciate our season this far without going overboard. We seem to be consistently inconsistent, only winning back to back games once, and only losing back to back games once. Therefore, theres not much evidence to be able to confidently predict a sustained push at the top 6, nor is there much evidence to be overly fearful of a slide down into trouble. The football has been pretty uninspiring at times, direct, pragmatic and full of long balls. The signings with healthy backing have IMO raised more questions than answers and failed to develop the team much if at all from last seasons convincing promotion winners. There are questions about ruthlessness and game management. The most pleasing thing to see is the spirit that has undoubtedly continued to drive the team and has seen us get results against teams such as Leeds, Villa, Derby, Forest and WBA. I certainly think we are going pretty well, Mowbray is a popular manager who is deserving of an almost unanimous backing with credit in the bank from last season.

Would not be excited by the prospect of either Gallagher or Chapman returning. Gallagher seems to be standing still in his development whilst I think Chapman could be one of those injury prone players who spends more time in the treatment room - each time his 'hammy' goes, so will some of his pace.

See, you say this but it’s not really a fair position. Every manager needs time, and everyone coming into a declining club will struggle at first. Mowbray got us promoted at the first attempt and brought a bit of pride back but... - His stock was low when he arrived - He had a lot to undo from the previous regime - He persisted with existing players trying to get a tune out of them (he had to), including keeping Jason Lowe as captain (he chose to) - He ultimately FAILED in that he couldn’t prevent us being relegated (which was the reason for potting Coyle) Lambert is widely disliked on here but he brought in a good backroom team and players like Bennett and Graham - his reputation alone enabling that - and he managed to sell Jordan Rhodes without too much unrest, and ultimately stood up to Venkys. He has gone to some basket case clubs in recent times and probably needs a season in League One to reignite his own career - and Ipswich.

I've been trying to get that point over on a different forum for a while. We have absolutely no creativity from that pair so there is no flow going forward. Both can tackle but have no ideas or passing ability when they get the ball. I have been shouted down every time though. Midfielders should get you the odd goal too but how many have come from that pair for Rovers. One I think from Smallwood in two seasons and none from Evans in Christ knows how long.

One thing it does show - is that MM was working wonders at Ipswich.

I don't actually agree at all with any of your points there. 1) He's not concentrating on the player by not giving him a chance is he? It seems to me that paying a huge fee for the lad then refusing to hand him a start or play him in his natural position is the best way to destroy his confidence. 2) If he wanted to carry on playing that system, all the more reason why the main summer signing needed to be someone capable of coming in and replacing Graham. 3) Armstrong isn't being given a chance in his preferred position either and is suffering accordingly 4) Good players can adapt instantly 5) Don't understand this point. We chose to pay £7m for him, whether he was first choice or 5th choice is completely irrelevant. For that price he has to be ready. My main gripe with your argument though is this assumption that BB will be on low wages. Do we KNOW for a fact that this is the case or is it simply something you've invented to suit your argument? If I was BB's agent I'd want him to be on top whack if I was negotiating a deal of that magnitude.

Deep Purple - My Woman From Tokyo

It's George Saville who came on for Boro at halftime.

I agree, I'd play him up front from the start against Newcastle.

Argue for the sake of it.

I thought Evans was very pedestrian in midfield. He needs to be quicker and snappier when we have an extra man Armstrong was shocking

Over his last two jobs at Stoke and Ipswich its P2 D9 L10.

Did we sign that from Forest as part of the deal? Would have been useful against that Boro defense last weekend

We are talking January window which is exceptionally difficult to pick up good players in, can be used to prevent relegation but other than a "last piece in the jigsaw" signing, never clinches promotion. And Rovers are several pieces short of a Premier League jigsaw. Recall of Reed (probable) and sale of Dack (possible) will leave us hugely relieved we have a 12 point buffer over 22nd place going into the second half of the season. If I were Venky's, I'd be saying: "you have got a strategy for signings so stick to it, you have our number if something exceptional is possible."

Agree . I often think that when I hear him speak.

In the Championship, positivity, confidence and momentum will take you a long way. I think most fans want the club to go as far as it can as fast as it can. At times, Mowbray's tactics, team selections and substitutions baffle me. I also think his game management is poor - @JHRover made this point today on the Middlesbrough thread 'Bristol, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Ipswich - away games we've been in glorious positions and then let valuable points slip'. I also think Mowbray's transfer dealings are mixed. Dack has been an excellent signing and I think Mowbray has to take a lot of credit for his development. However, I think there are very poor signings like Hart and Gladwin, too many Joe Averages (Armstrong for one) and IMV, the biggest mystery and possible clanger of all (Brereton). I think we will know a lot more about our manager and players after December's fixtures. I hope you are right and Mowbray is the man to take us higher but, IMV, based on what I have seen so far, I don't think he will.

I don't agree with a lot of what Darren Lewis says on Talk Sport, he always seems to be banging the race drum and trying to create problems where they don't necessarily exist. Prior to the World Cup he was trying to make a big thing out of the possibility of there being some racist chanting and saying that if there was any the black players should walk off the pitch (regardless of how the referee dealt with it or what the team had decided to do as a whole should it occur) and in general he appeared to be trying to differentiate between the black players and the rest whereas to me they're all "our lads" regardless of skin colour.

As long as the team scores goals our strikers don't have to be scoring every week. Trouble is not enough players are chipping in with goals apart from Mulgrew.

Well, Kenny was saving Sherwood for the Premiership so let's hope you're being prescient here!

I’m not disagreeing that Mowbray is a cautious manager but putting the blame of relegation at his feet is ludicrous. Coyle had double the amount of games that Mowbray had. The blame for relegation is firmly at his door.

Dreadful manager. Good mates with Pep though. He once went to watch his Bayern team train. Not sure if he mentioned it??

In isolation a decent point but i suspect if the next 4 games pan out without a win we'll end up looking at this one as a big two points missed. We won't get a better chance to win at one of the top 6, and regardless of the perceived standard of the opposition when you've a man advantage for 70 minutes and take the lead it is always points dropped if you don't end up winning. Really in the last 20 minutes or so you wouldn't have known which side had 10 and which had 11. I knew at half time that the only chance we had of winning was if we got a 2nd. There was no way we were going to see the game out and get a clean sheet. Similarities for me to the Ipswich game in August. Did the hard part in getting our noses in front and got ourselves into a position where we appeared quite comfortable, restricting the opposition to very little by way of chances, then bang, the goal inevitably comes, we can feel sorry for ourselves about it being a 'fluke' 'luck' or 'wonder strike' but anyone who has watched Rovers regularly this season or indeed last would have expected it to come sooner or later. It usually does away from home, particularly late on as we tire and teams apply more pressure. We've got away with it a few times this season - at Stoke because we uncharacteristically had a cushion to fall back on and nearly threw that away, at Bolton because they're an appalling side yet we nearly managed to let that slip and at Hull who are also very poor albeit improving. Bristol, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Ipswich - away games we've been in glorious positions and then let valuable points slip. Alarming how many times Middlesbrough sent long balls down the middle from their keeper and ended up breaking through on goal, and really should have taken one of those chances. We never get in behind like that. We are very frustrating and at times difficult to watch. Particularly away from home. I'm not really bothered about which position we currently occupy, I want to get to 50 points asap. Those clubs just behind us could very quickly overtake us over the next few weeks if our points return continues in 4 tough games, 3 of which are against the current top 3.

That's it though these days it isn't the engine room and hasn't been for years it's just a buffer zone where when they get the ball they don't quite know what to do with it and their appearances over the half way line happen about twice a season !

It’s this inside forward thing that puzzles me too. Brereton, Armstrong & co aren’t Robben or Sane. I know Arma had a stinker today but we’re not using any of these lads to their full effect.