Very true Rev. I was thinking the other day when we had slipped into the old Division Three for the first ever time. Money was tighter then than at any time in our long history. In came Ken Furphy on a mission, wholesale changes and a plan. The club started to gain momentum, unfortunately Sheffield United then nicked KF but he was replaced by Gordon Lee and the plan continued with the club making its way back to the Second Division. Not long after that, we almost made it back to the top flight. The Chairman and Board of Directors were local men in those days. Their stake wasn’t particularly high but they had a pride in the place. Both Ken Furphy and Gordon Lee had a presence and wouldn’t it be nice (understatement) to have someone of their calibrate at the helm now.

I dont know whether to laugh or cry with Mowbray's comments. Our route to promotion is unlikely to succeed if we are trying to copy the top 4 for style. Leeds and West Brom have appointed world class managers and have spent millions on players to go with it. Fulham have a ridiculous squad and have spent fortunes on the best players around. We can't copy Brentford because their operation is on another level to the rest of the Championship. We are incapable of replicating that, but if Mowbray wants to try then the first job is for him and Venus to resign so the club can appoint a head coach and director of football. We need to be trying to copy Burnley, Cardiff, Brighton and Hull. Limited sides that got promoted through organisational ability, good management, a set way of playing and minimal disruption to it. Mowbray thinks he is better than he is. I'd just like him to put a side out that can defend and is hard to beat.

"Im not stupid." Elliott, you are at left back today, Sam, right wing!

They had a plan and they brought in players to suit that plan. They weren't necessarily top players but they fitted into the plan. Plus, I include Howard Kendall here, they all brought a winning mentality.

Come on JH, we don’t even know what league we are going to be in! I know Forest, Fulham, Brentford, Leeds, Derby, Bristol City, Swansea and Millwall top end. Barnsley, Charlton, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Hull and Luton bottom end all have them on sale and our club is very worried about lack of cash flow currently, but it would be a daft idea to follow the lead of these clubs, wouldn’t it Chaddy?

From that article- ‘I shouldn’t be throwing JRC in at left back, that’s not where he plays’. If only he would apply the same logic to Elliott Bennett...

They clearly don't see Thompson as anywhere good enough as is evident by the fact that he cannot make then bench even when Williams, Bell and JRC are all injured. Have you not seen enough of Bennett at full back yet to realise that he is not good enough? Buckley needs to go out on loan he is a million miles away from being ready for the Championship. As for Chapman I think it must be quite clear to everyone that the manager does not see him as an option. If he can't make the squad when we have 9 subs and a fair few injuries then when is he going to? If you want to move up the League then you are going to need to improve that midfield. Evans cannot be relied upon, Downing is will be 36, Johnson has ability but is has not looked in shape all season. And Davenport needs to play between now and the end of the season to see if he is capable. I like Graham but come on the bloke is clearly past it, you can almost here him creaking every time he moves. He's only managed 3 goals this season and will be 35 soon, time to move on from him if we want to progress. That leaves us with only Armstrong who can score with any regularity, Brereton has one goal in nearly 2 years and Gallagher isn't much better and also is Gallagher a Striker? The manager does not appear to think so.

Dear Tony, Please can we have round pegs in round holes and also no Elliott Bennett, no matter how many of your secrets he has? The truth will come out eventually anyway. Yours sincerely, A frustrated fan.

Dont know if this is the best place to put it. But I really think at the moment we are at a crossroads in terms of naming our best side. I sort of understand the thinking behind this new elaborate formation to an extent but it needs to be binned, Holtby like Dacks influence is massively compromised when you ask him to essentially lead the line. Of course we have to try and get that unlikely 6th spot as long as we mathematically can but perhaps we also need to be trying to finally come up with a successful way long term to bring together an imbalanced squad. What formation do we play? We HAVE to play a number 10 because our best player is a 10 so theres little point planning a formation without him, plus Holtby is best as a 10, and even Buckley has had his only good game at Charlton as a 10. That sends you towards 4231 again but the problem is we have absolutely no competent players to play wide roles, and that leads to this wide strikers bollocks. This is where our previously imbalanced recruitment hits us hard. We already need a GK, CB and LB minimum defensively. We also need a real revamp in wide areas. Sadly with the current situation any hope of adequately fixing all of this is unrealistic. We need to come up with a way whereby we can use our technical players to dominate games, but still have that attacking threat. Looking ahead to Tuesday night, I think the most obvious change to make first is Downing to left back. Not ideal but in the absence of our 2 LBs hes the only option and a competent option at that. Id pick Davenport over Johnson (who again looks a busted flush) in CM, and Armstrong up top is an obvious one. Always reluctant to move Holtby but again when Dack is back he may need to go somewhere else anyway, maybe have Rothwell (so lucky to have another chance) coming in from the left, Holtby from the right giving us technical players at LB, Adarabioyo at CB, then the 2 CMs and ahead Rothwell and Holtby cutting inside to hopefully get us plenty of possession. Nyambe and Downing overlapping, and Brereton as a 10 off Armstrong? Walton Nyambe Lenihan Adarabioyo Downing Travis Davenport Holtby Brereton Rothwell Armstrong

Sheff Utd was the other one but we've in no way ever resembled what they'd been building for years apart from flirting with a back 3 maybe. Preston as well although i think that was more comparing improving finishing position year on year. There's probably another in there as well but can quite recall who. Now he's bemoaning the constant not converting chances whilst highlighting Armstrong as our most potent weapon but totally absolving himself of the signings of Gallagher, Brereton and Samuel. The one's most guilty of missing chances but also the one's nobody else is surprised they do given their lack of goals before HE paid money for them. I'm done listening to him now he's a total waffle merchant and to be honest some of it is insulting now really. However we have a director who'll always have his back because he basically works for him and owners who swallow any old guff by the bucket load if they like you. We are still on course for our best ever Championship finish under this lot even if we miss the play offs so for that he deserves credit if we manage it. However it's always tinged with a large dose of a feeling we are blowing a good opportunity that might very soon evaporate and some of that is down to him as well.

Just proves what we've been saying all along this guy has no real core style. That's why his signings are scattergun and he's constantly swapping around. He's trying to copy other teams but he keeps changing his mind which one. How many has he held up now as the benchmark in the last few years ? Problem is he's trys to mould players he already has and the square pegs for round holes he's signed into something resembling what other clubs are doing. How about sign some bloody players to fit a style instead of the opposite way around.

Call me cynical but the reason Gally and Ben play wide forward is because it lessens the focus on their lack of goals and it keeps them in the team when they aren't good enough to lead the line.

Spot on. Mowbray doesn't know he's born when you consider the sort of wheeling and dealing Ken Furphy had to do to turn us round. The difference between the likes of Lee and Furphy and Mowbray though is that they recognised what needed to be done in terms of changing personnel to try and make us successful. There'd be no standing on ceremony being loyal to players who might have been good servants in the past or dishing out new contracts like sweeties to players who'd not really done anything to warrant it in the first place. Said players were packed off and replaced by someone Furphy or Lee thought could do a better job.

Also a problem that Downing is 36 and Tosin is a loan! Holtby is ours but can't play much more than 60 mins when he is fit...

I was just thinking the same thing after reading Mellor Rover's summary. To sum up, after X amount transfer windows building the squad, we need a new player in every position (in some cases, x2 players)

Beat me to it. Sounds like he's peeved off with a few of them from Saturday. But what's the betting these two escaped any rollockings and keep their places for tomorrow?

Bennett isn't much of a footballer..............full stop!! ?

Let’s hope Bennett and Gallagher are amongst them.

Or Brentford ? Always a lower league team in my lifetime.

Walton Nyambe Lenihan Tosin Downing Travis Davenport Holtby Brereton Graham Armstrong

I'd be extremely wary of selling any defenders as we are yet to buy any decent permanent defenders. Tosin & Cunningham both loans and the latter got injured almost immediately. Mowbray has had a fair few transfer misfires up top as well but at least we seem to be willing to invest in the attacking side of the team... not so much the defensive side,

Because playing a tall striker on the wing instead, with barely any of the attributes to play there obviously makes more sense.....

Even the idea that our best players would make a ‘big move’ to the mighty Crystal Palace, what a depressing decade we’ve had...

Yeah I am good with this team, Armstrong and Brereton could switch periodically.

There's 20 players on the books I'd sell before Nyambe to get us back onside with FFP. For the sake of his own career he'll probably leave - but he's one of our few standout players so it'd be a shame to see him go.

Is anyone else watching this set from Bowie at Glastonbury recorded in 2000? Legendary stuff and sadly missed.

As another poster said if we got a £5 million offer we'd probably snatch their hands off but whoever buys him could have a bargain on their hands with the right development. If we're ever going to do anything other than tread water we need to hold on to our best players.

Yes it was a dire decision, and I'm not saying it just with hindsight. I made posts on here to that effect at the time.

Tony will talk like we are playing Brazil, baffle us all with his team selection. Then set us up so we dont look like scoring...Best players and leading goalscorers on the bench. Then finally after thirty passes round our own 18 yard box we give the ball away and it's in our net...How many times have we seen that this season...

Why would 200k have been refunded? Only a small proportion of the ST base would have requested a partial refund, so it wouldn’t have been close to that figure. I certainly wouldn’t have asked for £40 back, neither would most fans I know. But it was still a pisstake laying the sob story on thick that it would be loyal fans on the bones of their arse risking the ‘survival of the club’, whilst we have and continue to piss money up the wall...

Massive fan of Davenport thought he looked tidy and should be starting in a midfield 3. Shocked we signed Chapman and never play him. We CANNOT play wide Strikers and we also CANNOT play Bennett LB.

Win or bust this one,win and we go back to thinking we have a chance to get into the top 6 and lose and the seasons over and we're back to looking at another mid table season in the Championship with an uninspiring manager and no money to spend on improvements.

If we lost over two legs how the hell could we BE at Wembley to lose again??

Why are you worried at all? We're not going to be in the playoffs, it just won't happen

Any club serious about challenging for the playoffs would have strengthened in January, having lost their best player.

He still needs to be getting in the box if he's going to be scoring goals. That's what MGP did when he was scoring goals. As time went by he stopped getting in there and the goals dried up. You don't get many 25 yard shots into the top corner in a season. If you're on the left wing and the ball is out on the right hand side - get in the bloody box !

I think this is an interesting point. He clearly highlighted a move towards a passing style but then he signed Bradley Johnson for example who had struggled adapting to that style at Derby. Hes much more suited to the old 4-4-1-1. When he speaks about players he tends over state their flexibility. That's why you end up with a situation where we have played for most of the season with wingers yet have no single natural winger (although downing used to be in his younger days). That's why I'm slightly enthusiastic about the 3 uptop we are trying because it actually suits Armstrong who is our main threat atm post dacks injury. The main teams I can recall him wanting to emulate are Brentford and Norwich. Now they had a different recruitment approach. Norwich pick up players from abroad on the cheap eg Bundesliga 2 but a lot of Brentford players were picked up as cast offs from the big prem clubs like dasilva and canos. They spread their money around too. Maybe he thought the likes of brereton and Gallagher could be moulded into the style he ends up on or that having versatile players gives him options if it doesn't work. But you look at those teams have they have an identity and a fixed idea so if they sign a player it's with a fixed idea of where they fit in. And we haven't been doing that.

Not particularly. One good game in 5 or 6 is about his limit.

But wait, there's more.

Well I think if you asked Mowbray he would tell you Gallagher and Brereton on the wing does work. He's absolutely convinced about it. The formation is custom made, in Tony's mind, to get the best out of his players. I mean what is clear is Tony spent £10M on those two to play this wide striker role which seems to me and many as utterly mental, but that is his judgement. As for whether we should persevere with it I'm in two minds. Did look very effective against Bristol City who just couldn't cope at all, and while we lost against Wigan we totally bossed it until Travis went off and should have won the game. The freedom it gives Downing is excellent. But equally Gallagher and Brereton on the wings an absolute joke from a footballing perspective. Brereton has started to look better but all he can do is dribble a bit and then lose the ball. Gallgher can be effective defensively but offensively is totally abject. Have either of them had a decent shot in the last two games? I guess it's one of those formations which people will tolerate as long as we win, but if we aren't getting the results it's a focal point for criticism. But Tony's set his stall out, can't see him changing it unless we get hammered.

Two full years back in the Championship got me thinking about our squad and the realistic shape it is it. Hypothetical - we sold every player at the end of this season, which league should they be playing in next season (including Walton and Adarabioyo) - based solely on next years ability (not potential). Is our squad mainly Championship, Premier League or League 1 quality? Here is my take... 27 in the squad - outlook for 2020/21 Premier League = 3 Lenihan, Travis, Adarabioyo* Top Championship = 4 Dack, Armstrong, Nyambe, Holtby Mid Championship = 2 Downing, Evans Low Championship = 3 Gallagher, Rothwell, Walton* Low Championship / League 1 = 6 Brereton, Rankin-Costello, Graham, Johnson, Bell, Williams League 1 = 9 Leutwiler, Samuel, Smallwood, Davenport, Bennett, Butterworth, Buckley, Chapman, Mulgrew Results: I would say that 2/3 (18 of 27) of our current squad is low Championship (at best), but mainly bang average L1 players. Of the other 9, one is a loan who will be gone, one is 36 years old, and one is injured - plus who is to say if Mowbs will resist selling off star academy products like a Nyambe or Travis (like he did Raya). Lots of our poor standard players are out of contract - which is a bonus... but do we trust the manager to replace with better? Now not every player in your squad will be high quality, I get that. But we really are lacking in depth of top Championship quality. I fear for our recruitment in such a quick/unique "summer" window will lead to a nose dive down the table next year. Do I give Mowbray praise for getting the most out of such a bang average squad this season? Or criticise him for it for it being so poor in depth. Thoughts?

Under Mowbray we've always been far more effective when being direct and using Graham/Dack as a focal point, so I can't say that article fills me with optimism. Not much good having 70% possession if you never score. I don't fundamentally disagree with what Mowbray is saying, I just don't believe he's the man to implement such a sweeping change in style.

The Stranglers - Golden Brown

Nobody in the first team best 11 should be benched for Elliot Bennett it's as simple as that but it doesn't work like that and nor does the manager. You need cogs in the wheel so it wouldn't be so bad if he was one of those in a consistent well moulded first 11 but he isn't that either he's every bit the utility man. They though are supposed to fill the holes when required not have different berths in the team created for them weak on weak. There are 3 tombolas at Ewood at present in TMs office, one for selection, one for tactics and Benno has one all of his own. Just has number 1 and number 10 removed but every other number is up for grabs ! Keeps it interesting i suppose.

Dack would be the one, not Nyambe. I really don't want to lose Dack but we don't know how well he will recover, can get the most for him (though possibly not until he has shown he still has it) and have shown we can cope without him. He's also a fair bit older. We will get our trousers pulled down for Nyambe just like we did for Raya, O'Connell and Cairney. What I see as his real value is a lot less than the deal we will get, unless we are lucky enough for Prem sides to bid, and maybe even then. What we need to do is get him on a proper deal, like we were too stupid to do last time. His current deal may have a 1 year extension in our favour though, we are big on those these days.

You only know when you get out there in a real competitive game. After my injury I was fine in the gym playing five a side games and practice matches etc. When it was for real and blokes were sliding in on me it was another story all together. Prior to breaking my leg the rougher it got the more I liked it. After the leg break the realisation that it can happen so easily and you can be in a lot of pain and discomfort for months afterwards took the edge off my game. I'd had a few games for the reserves and done ok so I was promoted to sub for the first team. Just one sub in those days. I remember standing on the sidelines watching a game that turned out to be a bit of a ding dong battle. I still don't like admitting it but I was hoping nobody had to come off because I didn't fancy going on . Prior to the injury I would have been chomping at the bit to get on. That was when I thought " Time to call it a day ". What Dack needs is really good kick on the knee early on. And to come through that kick of course.

Not enough poeple in this country know other languages, i think schools should make it mandatory to learn at least one other language.German was the only language i did at school for 2 years,the teacher was a very good looking young woman that was a bit distracting for us young teenage boys but i have managed to retain a tiny bit of German over the years since.I now wish i'd have carried on with it instead of dropping it,it would be nice to actually be able to speak and understand another language other than English.I should go back to it and see if i can pick it up again,theres plenty of language courses out there.

Did make me laugh when Walton cheerleaders were trying to make out that he was going to be first choice in the Premier League at Brighton next season, spouting ‘the data’ from some teenage statto’s Twitter account, and we were honoured to even have him.

Need 6 points from it, with 3 of them at Cardiff. We’ll still have a sniff if we get that. Not holding my breath though.

TMs fault we lost. For all his good work, his stubbornness continues to cost us. Rovers had periods where we dominated, and almost scored, and I can't help wondering that had we not carried two outfield players (Gally and Bennett) whether it would have been enough to get us over the line. Bennett is ridiculously weak at left back. With someone a bit better there, would they have been on top at times as much? I don't think so. Likewise, someone with a bit more predatory instinct then Gally, with a marginal amount of talent, and we probably would have converted at least one of our chances/made something of our possession. If this was a one off that would be fair enough but everyone on this board knew they would be the weak links, and they have repeatedly shown that that's the case. In light of this there is no reason or excuse for TM to be starting them. It's his stubborn nature and favouritism that is costing us. As for Walton, two weeks, and at fault for two goals. He simply isn't good enough. We've had a crap sandwich from him: terrible till December, good till the break, and then appalling since we have come back. Overall that suggests a poor keeper. Also the frequency of individual errors seems to be much more regular than Raya. Don't get me wrong, Raya had them in him, but Walton seems to produce them more regularly than Raya did with us. Another downgrade. Him not being on a permanent contract, may be a blessing after all. No team can carry 3 substandard players. Johnson always blows hot and cold. He's either very good or very poor. In some respects what should we expect for an aging journeyman defensive mid, but I suspect he was brought with a more central role in mind, and that his wages don't match the reality of what he actually is. Controversial after another solid showing from Bereton, who isn't the liability he has been previously, but even with his improved performances I'm not sure he is at the appropriate level required, or perhaps I should say needed, for Rovers. Ditto Samuel since his return from injury. Better, but not good enough. Overall, it's no overreaction or doom mongering to say the season is probably over. Yes, we should keep going in case the unlikely happens, but the reality is now we need a number of teams to slip up for us to get back into serious contention for the playoffs. It also requires us to do the business as well, which on this showing isn't that likely.