The one thing we desperately need more than anything else - wingers with pace x2.

Apparently Hart won't make the plane to Russia. Quite right if you ask me. He has been a horror show for England since before Euro 2016 - and he was shocking there. Since then he's been dropped by City, played iffy in Italy, and spent 2018 keeping the kit man company at West Ham. Hardly international form.

I will be interested to see what formation we play next season as I think that Mowbray favour a 5-3-2 and on paper that should suit the players we have however whenever we played it last season (with the exception of Portsmouth away in the second half) we were poor and looked much better playing 4-2-3-1. For the coming season I think we need 7-8 new players, as we have lost 4 loanees from last season and we need to strengthen other areas where some current players aren't up to Championship standard. In defence we need cover/a challenger for Nyambe at right back as Caddis is clearly not up to scratch and I prefer Bennett further up the pitch. At left back we are fine although i hope to see more from Bell this season as he is clearly a decent player for his peers to vote him in team of the season. At centre back I would like an extra body brought in as I am not convinced by Williams as a centre half & am a bit worried if Downing will make the step up. I'd like to see us bring in a good old fashioned big lump of a centre half because if Lenihan doesn't play I think we are a bit soft in defence. Centre of midfield is one of the key areas for us to strengthen in my opinion. I would play one of Smallwood and Evans but not both together as they a to similar & I'd like someone a bit more dynamic alongside them Camps from Rochdale would be my choice or Nolan at Shrewsbury if they don't go up. Also I'd like to see Travis given more game time this year as when I have seen him play he looks a very good footballer. As for Gladwin & Whittingham not sure that either would make the step up but I may keep one of them as 5/6th choice in midfield and let the other go. In attack I agreed with Mowbray about Payne that he is not a starter but is very effective as a sub when teams are tiring but if Payne was not keen on that role then I would try to get Oztumer from Walsall not only would he be cover for Dack but you could also play him wide on the right coming inside on his tremendous left foot or you could even play him up front as Walsall did at their place against us. The wide areas are another key area that we need to strengthen at the moment we only have Bennett & Samuel, who is think we some hard work and determination could be a decent winger but he is defiantly not a striker. Say Conway signs I still think we need one more winger and that for me would be Gwion Edwards who was one the best players I saw against us this season. I would not bring Chapman back as I would be very worried Signing a young lads who has just had 2 long term hamstring injuries who's main asset was pace. Up front I'd like to see Armstrong back as he brings pace something which we severely lack. I hope Graham as i think he can have a role of the bench and away from roughing defences up and holding the ball up. I think that we would still need one more striker with Graham as Graham struggles to do the full 90. That would leave us with a squad of. Raya, Leutwiler Nyambe, New RB, Downing, Mulgrew, Lenihan, New CB, Williams, Bell Smallwood, Evans, Travis, Camps/Nolan, Whittingham/Gladwin Dack, Oztumer, Bennett, Conway, Samuel, Edwards Armstrong, Graham, New Striker

Didn't like Duffy, his attitude was poor. It will raise its ugly head at Brighton if a bigger pay day elsewhere becomes an option.

Livermore? Incredible. I'd rather pick a wild card.

20 players there. IMV: Should be okay - 5 players Might have something to offer but jury very much out - 10 players Bin - spent forces / liabilities with nothing to offer - 5 players To the 'might have something to offer but jury very much out' I would add Tomlinson and Wharton, however, they are both 20 and approaching 21 and they need to be given a chance in our first team to show if they have it or not (not 15 minutes here or there or in some Mickey Mouse competition). What I've seen of them, they have a chance but they need opportunity - this is one of the things that does my head in with Mowbray. So there we have it. A minimum of six quality additions or we are in trouble.

So he'd from day 1 to New Years Eve to take the shirt of the likes of Evans and he couldn't. The bottom line is we dropped a bollock signing him. It was a season too far for his body. It comes to all players and it can come really suddenly.

Livermore!! Jesus wept hope that’s wrong. How deep is this barrel we’re scraping. He could be a sizeable nail in the coffin of my interest in this World Cup.

I think we need some bigger players. One thing that always strikes me is that other teams have guys who look scary. We dont

I'm still not entirely comfortable with it being the manager of the team who has to fly around the world to 'humbly' request funding from the owners to improve the squad following promotion. It goes without saying that investment of some sort is required if we are to survive, even if that is just additional wages to bring in loans and free agents along Championship lines rather than League One. Things are done in reverse at this club. It isn't really the manager's place in a club these days to go cap in hand to try to persuade the owners to invest money. The owners and their advisors should already have a budget and plan moving forward, this plan should remain regardless of who the manager is or how 'humble' he is in his meetings with them. I do worry that perhaps our entire short to medium term future hinges on how Mowbray comes across in his meetings with them. If he impresses them and they like what he says then some money should be made available but if they aren't convinced then we're knackered. Venkys should have a plan and a target and they should work to that with the manager, an employee, tasked with delivering targets from that. Nothing wrong with face to face meetings with the manager but it seems each year he doesn't have the foggiest idea until he gets to sit down and talk to them.

Am I the only one that did the predictor league before season's start? How did I do? ?

When does fit lady season start? Might do a Dacky and lurk in the corner.

Took you long enough to get back to me on that one. Were you waiting for your turn on the Bumley municipal interweb computer down at the town hall?

I'd rather Southgate take a game changer and hope he gambles on Sancho, Lookman and Sessegnon. Got to be better than Livermore, Welbeck and Delph???

God I hope not. Dull team, dull manager and the press/Sky need no more encouragement to fawn all over the overhyped Terry. Other than Grealish, Fulham are streets ahead of this Villa team. And as a neutral the last thing the Prem needs is another negative, 10-men-behind-the-ball, defend-at-all-costs team

Boos, ‘off, off, off!’ ‘where were you when we were shit?!’ Villa Park sounds familiar! At least we’d actually achieved something though!

Infuriating decision there is literally no other option than to give the red card, joke.

The point was more in regards to what I thought was dismissive of Hanley and Duffy as individual players, didnt realise there was a typo! I dont really get the clamour for an ugly centre back, I think Mulgrew and Lenihan make a very good partnership.

That Sacko boy from Leeds any good? Heard he is on his way out at Elland Rd, big pacy right winger.

I don't think mowbray utilises wingers greatly, certainly not two at the same time. He may have one as an option off the bench, like he did with the boro kid.

Funnily enough your ad hominem came up in a general knowledge crossword I was doing the other day. Impressed my husband with the speed with which I got it.

For the record, Whittingham missed 13 games out of 46 through injury, the rest he either started, came off the bench or stayed on the bench.

He only got five games because he was pants. He wasn't injured all season. I saw him at Oldham for the first time and he could have worn that kit all season and it would have never needed washing. He's another one like Conway, playing from memory.

Not that I would normally praise a Dingle, but Nick Pope has had a superb season having been thrust in due to Heaton's injury.

Evans has enough to be a top half of the table Championship player. The problem is he suffers from losing concentration and niggling injuries(perceived or otherwise). If he got focused and injury free he is a would be a solid Championship midfielder, here or elsewhere. The thing is that he only plays around 25 games a season on average.

Caddis looks like someone who plays Sunday league football Chaddy.Not good enough for league 1 certainly not good enough for championship. Released by Birmingham and failed to win a contract at Bury.Not good enough. Yeah you did explain about Gladwin , that he had a good season at Swindon.Sorry didn't realise you used to watch Swindon on a regular basis.

It sounds like Wharton's been impressing with Lincoln City. He apparently went down with an injury at the end of the first leg of Lincoln's playoff, so hope he's okay. I'm struggling to find the link now, but I saw in an aggregation of ratings submitted by fans each game, Wharton was in their top 3 for the games he's played and it seems they're well aware he's a step above League 2. I suppose the question is do we keep him around as a backup CB or perhaps loan him to a League 1 club next year. The latter may make sense, particularly if we do sign another CB. Otherwise, he'll still likely be behind Mulgrew, Lenihan, and Downing, and Williams can serve as cover after that. edit: Found the player ratings link: https://lincoln.vitalfootball.co.uk/april-player-ratings-momentum-mid-rhondda-and-a-moment-in-time/ 3rd highest rating for April and 2nd highest for March.

I hope Akinfenwa didn't have to pay for them tattoos by the square inch.

@#/? off ???

..except.....

We definitely could lose to them! Both have got a sprinkling of star quality and any team that loses to Iceland can easily lose to a team with Lewandowski or James Rodriguez in them. I know we can't have delusions about this being a particularly good England squad or amongst the world's best either. Even so, I'm not having for a second that getting eliminated by sides like those mentioned can be considered a par result, even for this England squad. We've still have enough quality, experience and depth to expect to beat them imo, even if we have earned the right to be pessimistic over the last few decades!

Question marks over both but it would help if they were played in their best positions. Armstrong is best down the middle and Payne is best with a free role in midfield. Payne gave us all sorts of problems in the match at Oxford and although I haven't seen him hit that form for us yet the potential is there.

The problem is Caddis wasn't good enough this season and playing Bennett or Travis there means we are playing them out of position.

I think he’ll play 352 next season... imo we need a quality CB, CM and CF and to re-sign (permenant or loan) Armstrong, Chapman and Payne. I’d be happy with that.

I thought Fulham were excellent last night and their pace made Derby look sedate at times. I don't think they have spent massive amounts but they have a manager who seems to get the best out of them.

You really are overly sensitive at times. You jumped down my throat about the window not being open this minute when the point was that we are entering the recruitment period. I.e. you missed the point. That isn’t talking down to you. Your statement that “we need 6 or 7 players nothing more” is preposterous. That’s one-third of the squad that needs replacing. Pretty significant. “In the positions I’ve listed below” You don’t seem to notice your own arrogance at times. But you don’t seem to notice issues like our right back problem. And when specific players are mentioned you start pontificating. Put it this way, you say we need 6 or 7 players. Which current players (not just positions) do you therefor feel aren’t good enough for the Championship?

Yes indeed, taking an individual word from a sentence to construe your own meaning is a well accepted rhetorical practice. One wonders why Cicero bothered with all those extra words when one would do. I get a sense of a feeling of superiority that your expectations have not been dumbed down, unlike us sheep. Enjoy the view from up there.

I would say rashford is definately more arte than labour

Didn't think he was that good tonight

It's going to be daunting. Having said that, promoted teams usually have momentum. Good managers maintain that and bring in quality additions to help. Mowbray worries me. Tactically, I think he's all over the place at times, trying to be too clever by half. We talk about young players of 22, 23 and 24 years of age. Fulham's Sessegnon is still 17, Liverpool's Arnold is just 19 and playing in the white hot atmosphere of the Champions League whilst Mowbray is seemingly 'nursing' 24 year old Bell and as one poster on here put it, 'doesn't want to throw him into the pressure of a League 1 promotion battle'. Baffling!

Having watched Fulham and Derby, we are light years away from competing at the top end of the Championship. Said for some time, we need some quality additions - a minimum of 6 to make us competitive. Conway needs shipping out - we can't afford to be topping up players' pensions. We face a huge challenge just to stay up. Is Mogga the man? Likes of Jokanovic and Rowett are different class.

Yes, I am more hopeful about Waggott than any of their previous appointees to the equivalent role. Not just a back handed compliment either, although they were all hopeless or something more sinister. Like others, following our promotion I observed a few articles/phone- ins, wondering whether fans could now forgive Venky's etc. As a fan, of course I loved last season...but if it merely relieves the pressure on Venky's et al, as they revert to keeping the club, merely ticking over in the lower reaches of the 2nd tier..what then for our club? It all comes down to the concern that Rovers is not in safe hands.... and I would not want anything to distract us from that realisation.. As for redemption...not in this world anyway!

In my opinion we should be looking to bring in young talent from the league we have just left. I agree with suggestions like Adekulan. Charlton have some good youngsters like Konsa (unlikely as Everton are interested) but this is way we should try to go. Signings like Dack are the way to go, players with talent that need to take the leap from a smaller club.

I agree on that but I’d like to see 4 natural centrebacks at the club. I know Williams is a good cover, but I think we’d be screwed with Downing as our only option elsewhere. Not a single one is a “route one” defender. Maybe Wharton is the answer?

I think I missed all the posters who said they love us being a lower-mid Championship club and have no desire to be anything else. I must’ve been too busy reading the ones who think that, as the next step in our recovery process, lower-mid Championship would be acceptable.

Any wage is too much for a player who isnt good enough for the division. Wingers need to offer at least some modicum of an attacking threat, and Conway doesnt do that any more. If we had released him you would have said that it was the correct decision anyway.

I've been watching Rovers 47 years, I Don't get a free season ticket. We're a football Club not a charity!

First mistake of the new season, offering Conway a new deal, not for me

Ainsworth is someone I’ve mentioned a few times for the rovers job, think he’s earned a chance at a higher level, and he has lovely hair

Try supporting Rovers for the last 7 seasons(before this one) along with watching the Ireland national team managed 1st by Trapatonni and then O'Neill. As I am still here now, I can definitely say football is for life.