This approach whereby we offer less than other Clubs' valuations of their players at the start of a window then sit back desperately hoping no -one else will come in for them and that the selling Club might then take pity on us at the end and sell us said players on the cheap is a recipe for disaster. So far it's resulted in either missing out on all our main targets and then having to throw last minute telephone numbers about at players we didn't really want for the sake of getting some sort of deal over the line (Brereton Summer 2018) or waiting all window and then having to pay the original asking price anyway (Gallagher 2019). It also sounds from the interview that the opportunity is there this window to do a bit of wheeler dealing and get a few off the wage bill but we're going to miss out because we're waiting to hear first if Clubs will take pity on us regarding their players. I've no idea why we can't just select players we fancy on ability within our approximate price range and then just get the deal done which removes the risk of missing out on a player you want and frees us up to offload a few. To listen to the hand wringing from TM every window about how difficult the market is, you wonder how any Club ever manages to buy or sell a player. He makes it sound like it's on a par with curing cancer or something in terms of difficulty.

I think you must have become de-sensitised K-Hod. This board has become a very negative and depressing place to get Rovers news or keep up with matches. Every comment from Mowbray is pounced on and analysed for ways to discredit him and make it look like he is lying, cowardly or foolish. Personal and offensive insults are now common words in use to describe him and false narratives are pushed at every opportunity. I accept that a majority of fans on this site are not happy with how things are going but there's an over-reaction on here every single day! Tbh it's very difficult to listen to all the time and I am surprised that you haven't noticed it.

Think that is a bit harsh @arbitro. Gladwin was our player when he got injured (badly) and I agree with TM that it would have been unfair to just leave him without a club or training facilities to help him back on his way, I'm sure we would have been paying him very little after his initial contract expired. Cunningham isn't our player, but still had a club to go back to in Cardiff. Makes a lot of sense to me.

If we move Evans and Smallwood then who the hell is the new midfielder going to learn from?

'Their' Defo Preston fan

He calls it a business decision which is fair enough and yet Gladwin got six months rehabilitation contract. Double standards once again.

Not so much of the "possibly" where Bennett is concerned please. I can see it, you can, Mowbray can't. And as has been pointed out, that's not even the priority position any more now we don't even have a decent keeper or striker. So to summarise, no keeper, no LB, one centre half of our own, a RB who is more often than not overlooked to shoehorn Bennett in, eleven midfielders of which arguably only Travis you would have complete confidence in, and no decent strikers. What a mess we're in after 3 years of Mowbray in charge. This is why he needs to go imo, never mind any guff about being "only four points outside the play offs" it might as well be fourteen.

Rothwell's first instinct is always to run with the ball and try to beat players - that's why a lot of people have got excited about him. But there is just not enough end product. At Huddersfield he was out of the game until about 5 minutes from half time when he twice picked the ball up and beat a player or two before giving the ball away. He might as well be more like Smallwood and give it away quicker to speed the game up. He doesn't yet seem to have the nous to pick and choose when to run, when to pick out a killer pass and when to just move the ball. Sat in the middle of the park he just gives the ball away too much.

Yep. With only Travis, Johnson, Evan's, Smallwood, Davenport, Holtby, Rothwell, Downing, Chapman, Bennett and Buckley to choose from I think it's pretty obvious we need a 12th choice midfielder.

TM has been winning a fair amount of games imo. We’re mid table in the championship and within touching distance of the playoffs in our second season after promotion from league one. That’s why I think the criticism is OTT. Regardless of performances, the atmosphere in this board has really soured and it’s become a bit of an effort to trawl through all the relentless, depressing criticism to get to any real news. Can you honestly not remember any offensive or personal language being used about Mowbray? I could quickly find examples of him being called a miserable sod, a fucking idiot, a dinosaur, a clueless twat, if you like. But I don’t think there would be much point as I’m sure you’re aware of all that really. There’s nothing wrong with fans venting and I’m sure we’ve all lost the plot with different managers over the years, good and bad. However there is a bit of a echo chamber in here at times and I think it creates a bad atmosphere and encourages some posters to outdo each other in OTT criticism and relentless negativity about every aspect of the club. That’s why I think Chaddy was right to make reference to OTT negativity and why I agreed with your suggestion that you must have become desensitised to the atmosphere here.

Except that's not what happened. Gladwin was contracted for two years. He got injured and was paid right up until his contact expired in summer 2019. There was nothing to stop him training at the club after that, but on what grounds did we owe him another six months wages? I could understand rewarding a player who was loyal and a solid performer but he was shite for us (as you even concede).

He was, but he has done absolutely nothing for the club and was (justifiably) paid for 18 months. (well 24 if you take into account the 6 months when he was fit but rarely played as he wasnt up to it) Unles there is a legal obligaton, as a club quite clearly with no money to play around with, it is very difficult to justify giving a pity 6 month contract to a player full stop, never mind one that has never done anything to warrant such a gesture when we are skint.

Not sure he’d make much of a poker player. He’s the kind of bloke you wish was your next door neighbour rather than the manager of your football team. A nice chap.

Whilst evading the fact that he broke the pot.

YUP, He's really caused him to go backwards hasn't he, no pun intended. Really enjoyed Travis's bursts forwards when he first broke through. Seemed like he would get the ball turn and surge forwards...Then he got dropped, did a bit less, dropped again, now rarely does it and plays all the time. Shame damn shame. Don't think we will see much of Holtby either till he confirms as well. Those beautiful angled forward passes he is capable of just have.no place in this team. DAMN, get.rid if this Mobary already. Give it Johnno till end of season. Tired if being bored to death. Tired of feeling like we will still lose even if we get in front, tired of schoolboy defending in a man's league. Tired if players playing out of position, little men in the middle big men on the wing, tired of Bennett always playing. Tired of ToMo. He gotta go.

In any case the air of disenchantment on here reflects the state of the Club. After 3 years of TM, what is there to get excited about? The quality of the squad? The playing style? Seemingly doomed to be anchored forever in the mid to lower reaches of this league? This is a discussion site and if people are depressed about where we are they are entitled to say so. Or should we tolerate all views on here but this one?

Agreed. Would love him to start in the 10 position and get a run there.

Do you want setting up?

No, Evans reads the game well, can tackle and has a wonderful first touch. He has has played fantastically well against Holland and Germany, where he did not look out of place; hence the reason O'Neil is after him.

The bigger question is why did we sign Gladwin in the first place if he’s not good enough? He’s been injured pretty much the whole time he was here, yet when he’s fit again he’s deemed not good enough. I was expecting him to be given a chance to show if he could play, especially with Dack injured and no one else really stepped up in the #10 role.

A plank? I’m literally shaking right now.

This is a problem in football. The fans see the players detached from themselves. I’ve no doubt if roversfan99 brother injured his back severely at work and his employers just cut his contract down and released him he’d be citing unfair dismissal. Gladwin was allowed to be rehabilitated and then he got shipped off. Quite what was wrong with that is beyond me, we did what we could by the man and I’m glad we aren’t a club to throw him aside and leave him to his own devices. I don’t want us to be a club associated with that type of ethic. Talk of not paying him is ridiculous. This is the mans employment at the end of the day and he injured himself whilst working for us. Just to point out too that I consider Gladwin the worst footballer to have played for us. That doesn’t detract from the clubs duty of care to him. I’ll never forgive him for not winning a single header against Beardsley vs Burnley. He had about 6 inches on him ffs

I agree to an extent but Mowbray doesn't make things easy for himself with some of the comments he comes out with to the media. What purpose does it serve repeatedly telling the media that any prospective new signing will have to spend time learning the way we play?Its not as if we play a complicated brand of football. Harrison Reed being told he has to learn how to play like Smallwood and Evans?6 months later Reed gets a 5 million move to one of the promotion favourites whilst Smallwood hasn't kicked a ball in the league this season. Why would any premier League team be interested in loaning us any of their younger or decent fringe players when they are being told they won't play but will have to first learn how to play the game like Bennett, Bell, Evans, Smallwood etc??

What? You would if you lived where I live. They are THE rivals here. I’m making another appearance tomorrow so our lads better be up for this one. Question is, do Mowbray and the players realise how important these games are to the fans? I doubt it very much. It’s the most important game of any season for us Leylanders and a lot rests on this result. BTW, why are North Enders the only fans who only want to talk about attendances? Something wrong deep down with those guys. It’s an inferiority complex coupled with raging jealousy of how we’ve been better than them for something like 56 years out of the last 60. plonkers.

We scout and target players we can’t afford, waste time putting lowball offers in for them. Then panic and blow money on crap that doesn’t fit the brief eg ‘experienced centre half’ see Brereton, Walton, Tosin. Mowbray moans about clubs wanting overinflated prices, yet when we sold Raya we capitulated early rather than holding out to the last minute to get the best deal. Incompetence all round.

on what basis? 3 points separate us in the league, they have only scored 2 more and conceded two less? There really is nothing between the two sides.

Sorry Chaddy but you're one of the last people who can lecture others on needing a balanced approach. Your stance is almost always in favour of whatever the club or manager are doing. I'm not saying you don't sometimes criticise them, but it's very rare except in periods where you're on the verge of wanting them out. There absolutely are people who are unbalanced in terms of criticising everything the club or manager do. But there are also people unbalanced in terms of desperately defending everything the club or manager do. I'm sorry to inform you, and don't mean any offence by this (sometimes your blind optimism is a little lifting amidst the gloom), but you're not sat neatly in the balanced middle of those two sides.

In his years at Blackburn Rovers, you can count the good halves of games for Evans on one hand. Ben Brereton has not been ripped to pieces by fans which is remarkable as he hasn't yet demonstrated he can either trap a bag of cement or walk with a ball at his feet. I'm not a knocker of players at all but merely stating an opinion based on what I have seen.

mowbray has regressed him,2 seasons of being told you`re not big enough,you ar`nt old enough,you need to learn more,you don`t do this that or the other,all in the gaze of the local press as well,it`s going to knock anyones confidence

Full time, 1-0 win.

The damage caused to the club during that period is unquantifiable

With Buckley being involved tonight hopefully that points to Holtby being fit for tomorrow

Rankin Costello isn't fully fit yet..only trained 3 days.

Did we pay his bus fare?

Evans is a good as anyone we have in midfield.

I was gonna ask what are they on? The answer: everything.

So in 1 season we've gone from having arguably the most talented young keeper outside the top flight to a 32 year old on loan from Ipswich to Millwall. Fuck my life. I wonder what Brentfords asking price is for Raya now? I guarantee it would be significantly more than we sold him for... I want an upgrade on Raya in this window. Not happening though is it

All ready for your big day out Nobber at the most successful Town club in England? Rest assured, there'll be some knicker wetting by the PNE massive as they make the short journey from the big city.

Spot the Nobber...

Hope that twat never makes the grade and disappears down the leagues. These kids think they are all bling and have made it in their careers already.

I’ve been posting on here for the best part of 10 years now, so I don’t think I’ve noticed any change really. This is where I just don’t agree. You know how it is with managers, they talk all the time and comments will be analysed, it is what it is. Some of the comments he’s made like re Harrison Reed needing to learn from Evans and Smallwood or even defenders are coming, when they simply didn’t. How is anyone supposed to react to those comments? Personal and offensive insults? You’ll have to give me an example, as I don’t honestly think that’s the case. I must admit, I think it’s reaching a point where any criticism of Mowbray from some is viewed as being harsh. If you’re big enough to put yourself in the hot seat, you’ve got to be big enough to handle what comes with it. Either that, or just win more games. That’s the only way to shut the fans up.

I actually intimated that I agree with Cunningham going back but fundamentally disagree with giving Gladwin a new deal primarily to rehabilitate. Gladwin was out of contract so Mowbray was under no obligation to keep him apart from his 'I'm a good guy' stuff. They should both have been business decisions.

Ok so you are basing this of 45 minutes of football? I'm sure there might be a 30 minute period of a game where we look like we should be top of the table. Again, that is not the case, what are we unbeaten in 8 at home? In fact I think Preston should be nervous coming here, terrible away record this season. We should be positive and with a mentality that we can win this game.

Its obvious that there's no money in the kitty for players. That's been the case virtually every January since Venkys turned up. Has to wait until the May annual review unless funds can be generated internally. So what we will have is some shuffling around to try and move a few out to raise a few quid off the wage bill in the hope we do enough to bring in a couple of loans the other way until the summer. Make do and mend. Doesn't take much to set rumours in motion about big names like Assombalonga and Darlow even though its obvious they weren't coming here unless their clubs agreed to an insane loan deal. We tried it on with Harrison Reed and Southampton again last summer only came up short because Fulham entered the race. Good policy if your concern is keeping the owners happy and saving them a few quid along the way but it won't work as far as promotion is concerned. This summer again will require a substantial turnover in personnel.

Reckon he’d trim your hedges as he was doing his anyway and not grumble about taking parcels in

irrelevant point of view really because we blew 9 points over christmas on teams you need to beat to get there,this side is going nowhere but the bottom half

"They have to get used to the way we play" Yes I quite agree Tony, you can't expect someone to come and immediately be a spineless shitmuncher who can't pass forwards. It also takes time to learn to play in a completely different position than you have played for your whole career. Just shut up Tony you dinosaur you're embarrassing yourself.

“Nyambe coming back could give us the option of moving Bennett further forward and moving the midfield around a bit." Or just dont play him at all because he isnt good enough!

Wow - harsh question 2. Can you blame any player for their performances under Kean? Any player who left was a mercenary, and any player who stayed was... an unwanted mercenary. Was he ever really a “superstar”? He was great for us for a while but we he have been great elsewhere once he broke the Ewood spell. In any case, he was a top flight player for 9 years at Rovers, who contributed fantastically including some of our most memorable goals/moments, so deserves a bit more respect. Such a shame he will be most remembered for ‘that header’.