A very enjoyable game to watch and a superb second half performance. I thought Johnson and Travis were outstanding in the centre. Johnson got stronger and better as the game went on. Samuel and Graham looked some much better than Gallagher and Brereton. Samuel actually gets into goalscoring positions despite fluffing opportunities in previous games, tonight's goal was a classic poacher's goal as was Graham's. Armstrong's was a brilliant piece of quick thinking and he executed it perfectly. I thought we defended well in the second half and looked well in control. Sadly, Walton still looks like an accident waiting to happen - goodness knows what he was doing for their first goal. However, tonight was a thoroughly enjoyable win after the gloom and doom of last week.

I was delighted with the result and most of the performances last night, but that quickly gave way to anger. Graham as an out and out centre forward, with Samuel grafting hard on one side and the pure quality of Armstrong on the other worked. We looked dangerous throughout and gave their defence a really tough time, and lo and behold, each of our front three scored a goal in keeping with their performance. Graham showed natural instinct, Samuel persevered and Armstrong’s was class. As soon as we abandon the ludicrous false 9 nonsense and the hopeless Gallagher and Brereton are out of the front three, look what happens. The stubborn insistence from Mowbray to persevere with that crap for our previous three games has effectively sabotaged our chances of the playoffs. I voted “Don’t care” in this poll. Normally my ire is focused towards Venky’s, but this is squarely on Mowbray. I’d fancy us to be 6 points better off were it not for his mind boggling selections and formations. I’m as pissed off with him as I’ve ever been.

Completely off topic but I thought it might amuse some of you . When commentary was poetry

League one fodder? I’ve also seen the job Mowbray has done described as “stabilising us when we were in a tailspin on our way to league 2” This revisionist history is appalling. And the ever more popular notion that we have “found our level” and are “about where we should be” is a disgrace to the legacy and memory of Jack Walker.

Can’t get relegated now at least

Change his name by deed poll to Elliott Bennett.

Im keen to dispel this myth that we are fighting against the odds in terms of resources available to us, or even that we have a preset place in the football hierarchy that we should be content with. Here are a few reasons: - League 1 fodder? Dont talk daft. We spent one solitary season there after going down with I think a record high points tally even at the point when we had spent more than half of a season with Owen Coyle in charge. We were never League 1 fodder and dont need to be dismissed as this little promoted team as if we spent years down there. - Last season we finished roughly where we were in this now lauded wage league table. This season (accounts of course not published) our wage expenditure I suspect will have gone up a few places with last summers transfer business, as will our league positions. - What the wage table doesnt factor in is that some of the teams above us (Stoke, Swansea etc) are still carrying unwanted and unshiftable baggage on Premier League wages. This isnt an advantage to the current managers, its covered by parachute money but is not a budget available to the manager. - Crucially, Mowbray has been able to spend close to 20 million and has had more time available than any other manager in the division. Even his net spend will be around 15m because unlike most managers he has never been forced to sell key assets, the only asset he sold he chose to do so in Raya. - A team that has 12m worth of awful and non contributing strikers cannot fail to bring up questions in terms of whether that club is indeed working as efficiently as it can do in terms of targets. Lets cut out the self depreciating and David fighting against Goliaths mindset. The likelihood is that we will just beat last seasons points total and finish the season having never been in the play offs. All things considered, its progress but unremarkable progress. We are possibly on track which can be spun as either stagnation or progression and ultimately is most likely somewhere in the middle. There are things to be optimistic about and thinks to be concerned about. We will need something beyond being around expectations to go up.

Good!

Youth are characterized by extremes, both good & bad. I take Rankin-Costello, I think he will be a solid player for us. I asked the same thing about Wharton, he’s helped 3 teams to promotion. Hard worker, & surely, a winning attitude.

Most folk are seemingly expecting a close season like every other in this league. Surely it won’t be? For a start it will presumably be shorter and who will be forking out big fees and offering multi year contracts for Championship players?

Last night I gave MOM to Travis but I think we need to forge a duplicate and give it to Graham. First game I could actually see a formation and style in our play. This was largely down to Graham playing the central role as a false 9 (as opposed to someone else). He wasn't playing as the usual (thankless) hold it up or knock it on man. i.e we played with 11 men instead of 10 (or 9). Very intelligent with his movement last night. Top class pro complete with strikers instinct and a football brain. Also thought that we set the tempo and took the game to them throughout.

I feel more frustrated than celebratory tonight. Same old story of pressure off and we perform. Then a combination of disinterested/disengaged owners and the ability to appoint your own chairman means have another Teflon manager. Haven’t addressed the defence in years, prone to 2-3 prolonged meltdowns per season (Last season was it clubs longest winless run since the war or something), wasted serious money on donkeys and unable to make signings. Hard to see any sunny uplands from this. Best case: another season bumbling around mid table. Worst case: Bury.

So after 3 seasons of team building we're only 7 players short of having a decent side ? Only in pro football. If you'd have given me £ 12 million and paid my expenses to have a look around I'd guarantee you a player with more goals in them than our two.

I have voted stay. There have been a couple of times this season where I have called for him to go, but once you strip back the emotion and look at it objectively we have had a decent season. We are where we should be imo with the squad we have; we’re not quite good enough for top 6. Plus, we have improved on last season, and that’s despite being without our best player for a large chunk of the season. There’s no doubt he’s made mistakes throughout the season. He also made two big mistakes in the summer transfer window last summer - using most of our transfer budget on Gallagher and getting rid of David Raya. Next season is a biggie. I expect us to make a firm push for the top 6, rather than just flirting with it.

No false nine, no wide strikers, no square pegs in round holes and no baffling tactics. The players seemed to know their roles and positions. The result is a solid performance and win. Hopefully Mowbray will at last realise that football really is a simple game. But I sincerely doubt it.

The Cardiff result re enforces that he should go . No consistency in any way in any area

TM is the king of surprising but utterly pointless and too late upsets. It shows why we need to get rid of him as soon as possible - we have talent in the squad that can win games, but only when they feel free and under no pressure. TM is utterly incapable of harvesting that into consistant performances and results, and that 100% falls on him.

Ffp won't exist this summer. How on earth is it going to be enforced with no crowds and incomes dropping through the floor. The only reason we have to sell players is to raise cash. Nowt to do with Ffp

It is like the Mowbray benevolent fund for stray footballers at times. They've nursed Gladwin through 2 years of wages then an extra 6 months whilst he got himself ready to walk into MK Dons first team. We've nursed Samuel who's goal return is that of a full back virtually into a new contract so he can pick up where he left off as one of Tonys hopeless projects. We've let Mulgrew and Wigan have a look at each other then come back here to sit on the nice comfy bench resting his old legs until something lucrative and appealing comes along. Then there's Smallwood who's had footballers wages for 12 months whilst probably learning to be a bibs and cones man in the back ground, Then unbelievably he gets a little extension to do naff all for an extra month except keep his name in the frame for a new deal. Then there's Chapman who nobody else would have given a proper contract to given his injury issues. A player who he won't touch with a barge pole now. God knows what else is going on but all this is money down the toilet then when it comes to stretching the wages for a fresh keeper there'll be nothing. The piss is being taken again would he get away with this type of stuff at his beloved Boro with Gibsons hard earned ?

League one fodder?? This re writing of history has really plumbed new depths!

What? When were we ever League 1 fodder?

I was just going to say similar. Our best XI is decent but it is ageing. What I don’t understand is we play a certain way when Graham is on the pitch and it’s usually more successful. So why on earth hasn’t he been laying down the gauntlet to Gallagher or Brereton to be his long term replacement and get them doing in training what Graham does (or did over his time here) on the pitch? Mowbray seems to have the idea that you have to chop and change the system depending on who you play instead of having a style of play and getting the players to be brilliant at it - and we are regularly found out. Case in point: Bennett should be understudy to Johnson in the middle and a utility player to cover injuries. He should not be starting at left back. Under any circumstances. A development player should be called up - it’s not like they are completely useless. The folly of Bennett as captain must be lost on him. The personification of “Jack of all trades; Master of none” - that could be the title of Mowbray’s tactical handbook.

How can it be a three up front when you say Graham was deeper. I just can't get my head around how you fit a false nine into a system. If it's as you say and Graham was a false nine (I disagree) then it should have been 4-3-1-2 to accommodate Graham being deeper. That's the nonsense of over complicating things for me.

Looking at the league table only five clubs have scored more goals than Rovers and that is with Dack missing for some time and lack of contribution from SG and BB.

At risk of getting pilloried and having to take a significant Amount of flak, I think that there is a footballer in Brereton. Sure he has been disappointing in his earlier games, but he was being played out of position and in the main in very short cameos. Not a situation a young lad trying to justify a hefty price tag (nothing to do with him) should have been put in that position. He was badly managed. Since the lockdown, I think he has played much better but in a better position, his petulance withstanding, but I think that was his age and frustration took hold. Samuel played well last evening and a quick look at Cardiff comments confirms that but that may have been down to Grahams influence therefore the jury is still out. I thought Graham’s positioning and anticipation was superb but considering Samuel is coming back from a recent bad injury, there is hope. Never understood why we re-signed Gallagher as he just doesn’t fit. With a couple of wingers giving him reasonable service then maybe but we/Mowbray just don’t play that way.

By introducing more rigorous rules on Take-overs and Club Sales, including a Business Plan and a one year review. Clubs should have a minimum standard of governance, including Board Meetings and appointment of a Non-Exec Director from Fan Base. Agents fees; Spending in line with Income; Salary Cap proposals;rules on Key Assets. Our Football is just as important as Tate Modern,the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera House etc etc

All I hope is that the European Scouts aren't the same, or of the same ilk as the English scouring ones. After all these scouts have told us Bereton and Gally were worth buying and Walton is a keeper. If we're using the same quality of scouts the only difference will be that we will be disappointed by a variety of nationalities...

Yep I appreciate that offloading those two will be hard. I said that's what I would do and it's the best of a bad situation - appreciate there may be difficulties in this. In fact I suspect what you say will happen, but that is far from the best solution. I don't know how big the contracts are on the other two, although I have heard Gally's is quite high so getting rid is a problem. Perhaps if we offered them on frees or loans out that would recoup some of the wages if nothing else?Going on frees I expect is unlikely to happen as it makes TM look more of a clown but loans out are certainly a possibility. Think a number of clubs would perhaps gamble with them on loans. At the moment they are complete deadwood, in wages and ability. Getting them off the books somewhat, even if partial wages, would be more of a contribution from them than anything they have done this season. Also it's a fresh start and for Ben regular games can only help him. It may, if it goes well, put them in the shop window and make them vaguely attractive. My point is they are doing nothing for us now and we need getting shut of them. Yes it will be hard and, yes it will be at a loss but something is better than nothing. And nothing is what we are getting from them at present.

Every season is always a worry on the goals front, but we always manage. Personally I think, to have more success, we need to improve the defence first.

We can only be thankful that Dack left his ripped jeans down south when he came for talks...

I don’t think it’s as much pressure on the team but caution from the manager. When we really need a win we play a defensive approach, odd personnel, and never get going in games. Being kind, I think he overthinks his tactics to try to counter the opposition strengths. When there is no need to any caution (in the manager’s eyes) we play with much more freedoms. Rovers always look good when we play to our own strengths and look to hurt teams. Yes, we may win 3-2 but it’s better than losing but conceding less. What I don’t understand is when we are safe from relegation - the first priority - why we don’t go for it. This is something Hughes made a point of (and I think Souness too). Get to the magic number and then go and play football like you want to win. It all starts with a balanced team though. I use hope Mowbray has learned his lesson and we’ve seen the last time that Bennett starts. But I feel like I’ve said this before and he goes right back to his preferred list and we perform poorly again.

Can anybody think of ANYONE that plays like a younger Danny Graham? Do they still exist?

It’s very simple really, we are a better shaped team when Graham plays. You don’t have to be a supreme athlete to play football, vision and being able to play others in are far more important.

In case of crowd trouble.

Someone needs to boot Bennett in training this week to make sure he's not fit to start against West Brom

Well. Well. Danny Graham and Adam Armstrong > Brereton and Gallagher. Who'd have thought it? Graham has been criminally written off and underused this season.

I too would like to see them both under a different manager. Preferably at a different club.

If we look at the pattern of the Bowyer era and compare to Mowbray it is almost identical. The only difference really is that Mowbray had to bring us up from League One whereas Bowyer rebuilt from the Championship. Either way both got on swimmingly well with the owners, including regular India trips, reasonable financial backing and saw positive progress for a couple of years. Then at the end of Bowyer's 2nd full season the phone went dead, the money stopped and his demeanour changed, and he was gone before the end of the year. It all sounds eerily familiar to me especially when I listen and observe Mowbray. Patterns emerge. I've no doubt Mowbray told them last summer that he was confident in reaching the playoffs after their significant outlay and to fall short may not go down well with them Of course in a normal world the solution is to replace the manager and back the new one but here it is to just refuse to pick up the phone and leave everyone in limbo. They clearly think a lot of themselves so telling Mowbray that there isn't any money or that we have to sell an asset to cover it whilst reality probably hurts the ego of the billionaires to whom no cheque is too much. This latest one may be Covid 19 provoked but the end result is.harm to the club at a time when in theory we should be perfectly poised to kick on next season with astute additions. Let's see what Bristol City do but I bet they won't cut corners. They are mental, but I do worry about what comes next. All self inflicted.

It’s such a shame butterworth got injured I thought it would be a breakthrough season as he’s by far a better prospect than brereton. I tend to be more forgiving than most but I’ve given up on Ben doing anything here, I really thought there was something there (or maybe it was just in dumb hope). There was a complete lack of trust from the manager from the start (why spend that money if no trust) and through his own stupidity v Barnsley he’s never had a run of games here. It’s so bizarre. From the signing to the actual management of the lad himself it’s been a complete shitshow and the worst handling of a player since Mowbray arrived by far and considering the money that was spent just makes the mis-management even more sickening.

Took him a couple of games to settle in but now Warnock is starting to work his magic again in the championship

I was fairly unhappy with his overall transfer policy before the BB/SG purchases and my post history will back that up (although I'm sure you have much better things to do than trawl through that). For me personally those purchases make a bad situation much worse, but I can't speak for how others would view it. Just my personal thoughts on our transfer business since TM arrived, it may be a little on the harsh side. As a reminder of our permanent signings since returning to the Championship... Summer 2018: Joe Rothwell Jacob Davenport Adam Armstrong Jack Rodwell Winter 2019: Ben Brereton Harry Chapman Summer 2019: Stewart Downing Bradley Johnson Sam Galagher Lewis Holtby Winter 2020: [no transfers in] So, based on that am I confident of a long-term restructuring? Unfortunately no - and that is what we bought with a reasonable budget in place. This summer could potentially be a lot more difficult - or it could be the same as usual, I don't know. Either way at best I see us bringing in a couple of older heads on free transfers and a decent loan or two to just about keep the defence ticking along without actually improving it. I think expectations of genuine playoff contention with the current owners and management (at both board and playing level) is extremely optimistic at best.

Problem is even if there are reasonable deals out there and we do have some kind of budget I'm not convinced Mowbray is the man to bring in the players we need. Not a single good permanent defender in the entire time he's been here, £12m flushed down the toilet on BB and SG, made a total mess of the goalkeeper position last summer, has made a habit of giving contract extensions to players who are at their limit in terms of usefulness... the only decent signings he's made recently are loans or players at the tail end of their careers. Decent fella and so on, but I won't be surprised if we are struggling in six months time. I just hope by then it isn't already too late.

The 'must win' attitude deserts them all too often in favour of you win some you lose some shoulder shrugging. Every game since lockdown should have had the 'must win' mentality that's how you get to were you want to be or at least have a good go and leave everything out there. I'm sure that that kind of approach and effort in the previous 3 would have yielded another few points, we know we can't win them all but there's no reason at all why they couldn't just go for it. Setting up to accommodate players, to rotate and keep everybody involved and keep the experiment of so called transition to possession based game at that stage of the season - NO In your face front foot fight tooth and nail football - yes, as last night showed.

Quick look at some Cardiff forums - some realistic and balanced views in general. None of this we should be beating teams like Blackburn malarky. Most admit that we out thought and outfought them - doing to them what they usually do to others. Let the CBs have it before pressing them into mistakes when playing it out. They complained that Harris did not change things to cope with our tactical changes after the break which swung the game into our favour. Also complained that Harris should have made his subs much earlier than the last 15 minutes. They were not happy with their CB Curtis Nelson - saying the young lad Samuel ran him ragged all night. As an aside, Mendez-Laing was out for them due to his wife going into labour. This surely shows that players are instructed to plan babies for the off season. He was not held responsible for the defeat in the same way that some felt Lenihan was.

I think it is in part the opposition. Leeds played to win like you would expect. On another day if we scored our early chances we could have won. I commented after about 15 minutes that it could easily be 3-2. Last night both sides wanted to win so it was open and barring a fantastic goal from Arma could have gone either way. Against the bottom sides they tend to put 10 men behind the ball and play on the break. We don't have the intelligence or movement to draw them out and get around them. Again, taking the few chances you do get becomes critical. City couldn't break down Southampton (who defended brilliantly btw) the other night in much the same way. Mowbray tries to overthink a way around this and either can't or doesn't have the players capable. This is maybe the missing link. Having a reliable plan B for the bottom sides. No coincidence these sides are consistently our achilles heal.

Jordan Hugill. I'd make him a priority to replace him. Really like the lad

People said that last season. People will say it next season. You can't choose when is the ideal time to get promoted. This season is an opportunity wasted. Look at Cardiff tonight. Just moved into 6th spot on a good run and they were dross.

Trav or Lenihan but either way, not Bennett. What did tonight's front 3 cost? Graham - Free? Arma - £1.5m? Samuel - £500k?

£12m spent on striking "talent" and Golden Graham is still the only capable forward at the club. Shocking.