Really happy with the result yesterday (obviously). When I got the notification on LiveScore that Reading had bagged, I got the usual anxiety, but it turns out it was unnecessary. Something feels different about us this season, we certainly seem more steely and able to see games out, whereas last season we would have crumbled and drawn 2-2. Early days yet, but I’m excited to see what this team can do!

Maybe spending a week with the players, observing them at training and monitoring their mental state qualifies Tony to pick his own squad? Sounds like Evans was great today, fair play to him and fair play to TM for picking him. Armstrong scored despite expert consensus on here being against his selection and it’s not long since people wanted Dack dropped for losing form. TM knows what he’s doing, some folk on here need to give him a bit more respect.

Just back from Reading, in their bar after the match, all the Reading fans I spoke to, were very impressed with Sam Gallagher, as was I.

Most of the fans on here who expressed concerns about Mowbray will be happy to be proved wrong because, surprise surprise they are desperate to see Rovers doing well. And I am one of those who had doubts but there is going to be some taking of moral high ground by some posters which I find sad. I don't get carried away though and I know that our bi polar form of last season can be around the corner.

Exactly would have Gallagher or Bereton everyday of the week. Joao was a lazy arse when here. It appears Reading fans think the same. Attitude before apptitude at this level every time. The option with players like joao is one good game in ten or a player like Gallagher who works his socks off every game. Apparently when Mowbray took over him and Emenes turned up late for the game and where sent out of the team talk. Did they care no laughing in the corridor. He reminds me of the bad days when you looked at our players and it made you embarrassed. Waste of time and space and in reality not that good. I’m at a loss how anyone could find anything positive to say without a short memory.

I don’t think this place is particularly ‘balanced’, as in a wide cross section of views. Opinion on here more often than not matches mine, certainly more than the Uber positive Facebook groups and LT comments. But I would say this place is more ‘negative’ than the usual consensus at the ground. So take it all with a pinch of salt.

The teams you refer to Paul may rotate personnel, mainly because of the sheer volumes of games that being involved in four major competitions means. However they very rarely change the way the play. Players come in and out but the shape stays the same.The have a system and they stick to it. When we won the Prem we had a very basic pattern of play that never varied and worked very well for us.

Rovers u18 beat the mahooosive Man Citey today 2-1, great result.

I only care about the team winning. Wouldn't care less if Gallagher didn't score all season if we made the playoffs. Gallagher plays an important part in the team and our success. ?

Sorry but can I just unequivocally state that I believe this to be complete horse manure? In my opinion, he’s come on leaps and bounds because of the management team, not despite it.

Cred to Dack for battling and scoring rather than falling over and screaming for a penalty. Wish all players would do that!

A Hotel,the much mooted Rovers Museum,gym facilities,a day to day community centre,restaurant with a fast food takeaway coupled with outside financial investment in the new Stand with naming rights...the possibilities are endless. A new 5,000 single tier stand like the Tom Finney at Deepdale to raise it to the height of the BBE and Darwen End...you could even fill in the corners like they have at Turf Moor with dedicated disabled facilities. Needs some drive and forward thinking..not holding my breath!!

As has been touched on this is where the new strength in depth should come in handy this season. Gallagher going off Graham coming on, Evans going off Johnson coming on, Holtby coming on, that kind of stuff can only help. The defence still needs strengthening imo but the squad as a whole is stronger now and we've got to give the gaffer credit for that he's moving it in the right direction again now.

For me - a very good all round performance and a great result showing some real character and resilience towards the end. A few observations... Downing is a player of real ability - shame he isn't a few years younger, but still seems to have the legs to keep going. Excellent. Holtby looked a bit rough, but showed enough in a couple of touches and passes to see he is a very talented player. How he can be fitted in to the team will be the issue to solve for the next few weeks. Gallagher played like a proper centre forward, real energy and strength and won great headers - but someone needs to be much closer to him to make his hard work pay. At the moment, Armstrong has obviously been told to stay out wide, and Dack is usually too far away to take advantage. That distance works with Graham, because he tends to chest down the long ball, control it and play it back/or lay it off, but Gallagher plays differently and flicks the ball on forwards or sideways with his head and too often no-one is there for him. Evans worked hard, but tailed off and needed to be subbed. When Johnson came on, it was noticeable how much he was pointing, shouting and directing those around him which was really needed as Reading were coming back at us quite strongly then.. Should really be captain, if he had the legs to play in every game. Travis didn't have a great game - worked hard, but seemed a bit reluctant to really drive forward for some reason, and played too many sideways/backwards passes, some of which went astray. He can be much better than yesterday. Probably tempting fate, but for the first time in a very long time (years) I think we have the makings of a very promising & exciting team being put together.

I think you've made your point. Repeating it over and over is just going to irritate people. Besides that, it happened 7 weeks ago so you're kind of going over old ground here.

Great result yesterday, this ability to see games out is a thing of beauty. Ok they hit the post and had us under the cosh for a bit, but you expect the home team to fight, yet we were able to call on some guile & experience to counter that and bag the win. This is what we were crying out for last season. All those point-scoring positions squandered in the last 10 mins. If (early days yet I know) we can keep that side of our game up & maintain what we did last year, that gap between 17th & top 6 becomes much narrower and we should be in the mix. We'll need a bit of luck with injuries & suspensions (esp Tosin, I'm beginning to wonder if he's made of glass) but most teams do across a season. If we can pull results & performances like that out with Evans in the team, Travis below par, & the likes of Rothwell, Graham, Holtby, Johnson & others waiting in the wings, there's real promise there. Far from perfect, but I'm definitely in the camp that TM knows where he wants us to be & how to get there, and I can see the pieces of his jigsaw gradually coming together. We have options in the squad in term of systems & styles that can be employed as the situation desires, be if from kick off or mid game. That's a great position to be in imo. We've 2 very important fixtures coming up now, which can really put a marker down for us. But we mustn't take Luton lightly, arguably that cost us against Charlton. Approach that game right, and there's no reason we can't build on this.

Be interesting to see how the next couple of games pan out now. TM like GB before him usually sees his arse when the top 6 is looming, let's hope he takes the handbrake off and goes for it this time.

Really enjoyable game and easily our best away performance for some time. I thought Downing was outstanding and seems to have boundless energy for getting up and down the pitch. Evans, who usually comes in for criticism was excellent in midfield - he does the things that don't catch the eye but which are vital for a properly functioning team. Travis wasn't at his best and seems to be playing in his shell at times - too many easy backward passes rather than looking for forward runs. Dack was back to his best, particularly in the second half and it was great to see Holtby, Johnson, Graham and Downing kill the game in the closing stages with some excellent passing and keep ball. It's still a work in progress but Mowbray is certainly moving us in the right direction in terms of how we are trying to play.

The telltale first symptoms of Merceritis

You’re missing the point and putting words in my mouth... I’m not saying that Evans is a good player or should be in the squad every week, and I don’t think that Armstrong’s goal ratio is acceptable. I just think it’s a bit rich that people refer to “tombola” (becoming the new BRFCS buzz word) and picking a winning team through luck, rather than giving the coach the credit he deserves. Maybe Tony saw that Evans was raring to go, he certainly played very well for NI recently. Obviously he had a lot of faith in Armstrong and Dack so it’s great that’s starting to pay off. How about respecting the fact that TM has been a coach for a long time and actually knows what he’s doing?

I’d be absolutely against a three side ground model. Tin pot!

I see your point but within a stones throw of Ewood we now have: Premier Inn Blackburn Town Centre Fernhurst Hotel Premier In Blackburn South Willows Blackburn Travel Lodge Blackburn / Darwen (M65) Wetherspoons Postal Order (Creating a hotel) Doubletree by Hilton Whitebirk with wedding and conference centre This shows that hotel chains see sustainability in and around Blackburn. The Hilton one is of particular interest, with the already existing facilities at Ewood and car parking close proximity to motorway network, with a little imagination and creativity Ewood could be an excellent wedding, conference and accommodation venue. This could see a significant return on the costs incurred in redeveloping the Riverside. Maybe a smaller capacity stand which incorporated good disabled seating, Hotel facilities, that complement the conference and event facilities in the Jack Walker Stand and Blackburn End, maybe a state of the art gym within the Darwen End. Making Ewood a 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year money maker.

Well if I had a £10 note for every time I've seen Rovers teams over the years struggle against " very poor " visiting teams I'd be reasonably wealthy. Let's hope we can put them to the sword. My mind goes back to the that game were we were playing West Ham at home two days after beating them 8-2 away at Upton Park. I had a paper round then and I distinctly remember " The Daily Mail " having a cartoon on the back page showing us selling cricket style scorecards instead of programmes outside of Ewood Park on the morning of the game. We played like drains and lost badly 3-1 !

Though a bit like Dyche, Preston have stumbled upon a good manager, let’s hope he fecks off quickly and they go back to appointing the Darren Fergusons and Graham Westleys of the world.

The team is picked to win games and we won both matches ffs!! ? Preston play the the same team every week because they have nothing behind the first XI. They couldn’t dream of having the quality of Nyambe, Johnson, Buckley, Holtby and Graham sat waiting to come on with Tosin and Rothwell sat out of the 18. Not to mention Chapman, BB, JRC etc to be integrated. This notion of playing the same team every week is completely outdated. You only have to look at every successful team in the last two years to see that other than a core of 6/7, rotation is pretty normal now. It’s based on the idea that you increase the overall squad quality, then there isn’t a dip in performance regardless of who plays. It also prevents injury and keeps people fresh.

Its amazing what a couple of wins and a new signing does for morale of fans isn't it? Lets not forget, people were saying similar things at the end of Janurary last season when we were on the edge of play offs. Then the bottom fell out of the season and looked what happened. Potentially this season feels different and I personally feel more positive but there still is potential of a West brom defensive performance and a lack of goals from his big money forwards that needs addresssing before I change my mind about big Tone.

I’ve listened to every interview that our manager has given over the last season and a bit on ifollow and he clearly states that he will change the formation and line up depending on the opposition. I think as manager of the club he is perfectly entitled to do that as long as he accepts the flak that comes his way with a defeat. He also quite clearly rates Joe Rothwell calling him an amazing talent at the club. He doesn’t want to lose him. He says his priority to improve his work on the offensive side.

You keep missing the point I was making. I was responding to a post which referred to tombola tony doing it again, and pointing out that our qualified and experienced manager may actually have a grasp of how to select a winning football team. Not arguing with anyone’s criticism of the starting lineup. This is 100% wrong. I wouldn’t have picked Evans but I’m able to trust Tony Mowbray when he picks him, and give credit to him for making an unpopular choice and winning another match for us. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion and I’d have agreed before the match that Evans wouldn’t be in my first eleven. I’m not attacking anyone for that. I’m having a go at those who suggest that Tony doesn’t know what he’s doing, and suggest that he picks favourites or stumbles across a winning side when certain players are out injured. Some cannot give TM any credit whatsoever and take great delight in magnifying every mistake and downplaying every success he has. No, he’s not Guardiola, Ferguson or Mourinho but he’s an honest, hardworking and knowledgable man who happens to be our coach so I think I am within my rights to disagree with those who denigrate him at every turn.

You could say the same about Guardiola

I think it's fair to give Mowbray significant credit for recent results. It's not how a lot of us would go about it but if we're winning then you can only hold your hands up and say fair enough.

That could be more down to Gallagher than anything else. Graham is definitely better than him at being in the right place to pick up anything loose in the box

Why are we comparing to top level teams and tactics ? Some might say that is the problem in itself at times, applying champions league style philosophy to bread and butter championship needs. Keep it simple, get the basics right first. Square pegs in square holes, i think yesterday showed get the starting balance right and you'll get a much more solid fluent performance.

I would in a handshake - Funnily enough many of their fans would’ve said bye to Dyche last year too. I do think that we should be impressed that our current squad can react to an illness outbreak the day of the game, play a system they haven’t practiced all week with a few changes in personnel - and then control a game.

The Tony Mowbray debate started originally at the start of the season were in League one when we had lost to Doncaster and Southend NOT had the start of this season. Tone has done good and bad things every season he has been here. Its a question of has he has done more good or bad that is the debate. Personally feel that on the whole the equibrilium is finely balanced and as such this season is a really key one. Previously Ive always been on the side which felt it has been more bad than good but as I said earlier this season feels different. Asking people to stop bickering in a debate topic seems strange if things don't get personal like it has in the past.

Didn’t see any bickering personally, but you did cut out a key point. Just to re-iterate, I am of the opinion that it’s extremely unwise to be reactive towards big decisions (in anything) hence why I still can’t get my head round the way that discourse started in this thread. 90 minutes into a new season. If it had been continued from other manager threads, or discussed from a “writings been on the wall, thus time is running out” - maybe I wouldn’t have cringed my head off? I wanted the title changed over a month ago and as I said then, I felt it made the first page of the football forum “super-over-reactive and unpalatable”. I also think it’s disrespectful, makes us sound straight out of Gateshead or even Arsenal fan TV..

100% agree. That steeliness is a combination of the additions of Johnson, Downing, Cunningham and Walton. The form of Williams alongside Lenihan and another years experience for the likes of Travis etc. I make that three games now where we’ve won by a goal and managed the game out. Boro, Hull and Reading. That’s progression in anyone’s eyes.

Cut out the bickering please guys. We're on a good run of form with some excellent recent results so let's focus on that rather than sniping at each other.

There is no justification in calling for any managers head after one game. People will try, tag on last season say things like“I’ve always felt like this”, which is exactly the point about being close minded. The reality though - whether you see little or lots of value in a manager, there are appropriate windows to sensibly move one on, with certain owners this can be borderline impossible. Its not about some “I told you so” nonsense, it’s about the opinion that the reaction was embarrassing. Still is. Thankfully those with the ability to change the thread titles are in agreement.

This run of fixtures between international breaks were pivotal. Flunk them and it would be another season of mediocrity, get a few wins and we will be well set. Two wins so far with back to back home games to come (struggling Luton, a decent Forest side) and a trip to QPR which is certainly winnable. We’ve seen so many false dawns since the Bowyer era with regards to even getting in the top 6 for a week I’m not getting giddy, but at least we’ve a bit of that hope thing for once...

End of the day all you ever hope to see from a team is improvement year on year. I think we are now starting to see it. Players that are not of the required standard or over the hill are being phased out (would’ve been easier without that round of fat contract renewals last season, but hey ho), and players with experience and improved quality are being brought in. He (or club policy?) has made some almighty ricketts, BB being the prime example, but can I ‘see what he’s trying to do’ with the other ins and outs and systems? I can. Are they a together and committed unit playing for their manager? They are, and with no other managers on the horizon and no confidence in these owners appointing someone suitable either, that will do for me.

2 goals in 25 games would certainly warrant some kind of criticism of Arma though wouldn't you agree? Scored a great goal today but you cannot come on here shoving peoples noses in it when in general, he has been pretty poor in the Championship. I hope he continues but the number of chances he has missed, the amount of times he has mistimed his runs (must be the most offside player in the league) - what we should all just say its ok? As for Evans, only seems to play when he really has to. Hence end of contract coming soon or being put down the pecking order. Put in a great display just like he did before the end of his last contract when in Div 3, now he is rarely getting a game and his next payday is on his mind. Further, if Evans would consistently play like he did today, he wouldnt find himself down the pecking order that TM now has in mind. Just further clarifies what i am saying. Plays when he wants/needs to.

Mowbray has it right, each and every game plan is set up about the opposition and how to win the game. Whilst I sometimes wonder at the team selection I can understand the approach he makes. Last weeks home win was backed up by an away win today. Today has to be backed up by a win next weekend v Luton. So looking ahead :- Luton (h) - has to be a win and I would expect a 3-5-1-1 approach. Forest (h) - has to be the same approach although I would expect Rovers will be concerned about the cheat that is Lolley ! Qpr (a) - really tough game this one - I would expect a 4-4-2 approach like today. Huddersfield (h) - as tough a game as we can expect, new manager will be looking to make a good impression. Rovers to stick 3-5-1-1. Birmingham (a) - 4-4-2 approach, if the nobbers can win there so can we. PNE (a) - 3-5-1-1 for me, we owe them big time and I am sure Mowbray will have the same thought process. So looking at the above games, every team has a different set up, different dangermen and different managerial styles from the players available to them. What can we expect ? I don't think its unreasonable to see a 12 point or more return for Rovers. We are slowly building more momentum each game by taking it just 1 game at a time which for me is the right approach. Come on you blues, have a great Saturday night !

Liked what I saw today. Simple passing, respect for possession, read play well...should have scored though ?

This is the division where everyone can beat everyone else. I will take a 1-0 win courtesy of a last minute deflected shot

I think it prob needs re-naming mate. “Mowbray out” cannot be on the mind of any Rovers fan.

Can’t think of a better time for the younger lads to learn from some very good pros. Downing, Holtby, Johnson and Graham.