Nice gesture from Alan Shearer. 30 goals in a season is some achievement for super Sammy particularly after Adam Wharton was sold to Palace for £18 million. And this in a team fighting against relegation NOT for promotion!!

All credit to JE & the lads for a great win at Leeds. I reckon thats our best performance this season(along with the cup-tie against Newcastle),eclipsing the 1-5 win at Sunderland given the opposition and hostile crowd. It will live long in the memory. A big shout out for all the supporters who made the effort so the players had a decent crowd to celebrate with. Super Sammy Szmodics has scored 30 goals and almost single-handedly kept us up(I hope). And unlike Alan Shearer hasnt got great players to play with. Easily in the greatest 50 Rovers players of all time going back to the Victorian era. Remember he has also scored against the two Premier League clubs he has faced,and hes not even a striker. Frank Lampard eat your heart out.

Yes Herbie boy,as a metalhead myself,a really good day! The Nobbers & Ipswich doing us proud. No I agree we shouldnt be relying on the charity of others still you take what you can get. A decent amount of effort all round,but Brittain & Siggy not enough lead in their pencils for me( In spite of their hairstyles). No Northern soul for me but Nottingham is rock city. At least we dont have them to play. Big shout out to the ref .who didnt add on ten minutes of Alex Ferguson time at the end. Better than the ref. against Newcastle however you slice and dice it.

Yes its hard for Broughton when hes only buttons to spend. But...Gary Bowyerdid as good a job(perhaps better) with buttons as well as being first team manager; even though hardly using the Academy lads. Cairney, Duffy & Gestede come to mind immediately for some sort of fee generated before the wages sent Venkys into cost-cutting mode.

By the "Cov lad" Im supposing Abbey means ORiordan from Crewe. It worked with Sutton agreed. ORiordan has scored a pretty respectable 6 goals in 50+ appearances for Crewe. After all he is a central defender(knows Gilsenan from the Republic of Ireland set-up). It might be worth a punt-some defenders can score and I just dont see Tel getting anywhere near 6 goals. George Hirst & Jack Vale are the worst two Ive seen in the JDT/JE eras. At the very least,he would be another big lad to help the defending from set-pieces.

.How can we possibly play so well against Newcastle and turn in that performance today?? Super Sammy Szmodics & Ayari aside, I thought Leo was the only other Rovers player to emerge with any credit making a few very good saves. It was his best performance in a Rovers shirt to date(Harrogate 0-8 away excepting). We were so,so lucky not to lose 1-4 agree with Simon........ But...what on earth is JE talking about? The post match interview was total delusion. As Merc says, he probably doesnt want to upset the dressing-room. Guess he also doesnt want to admit he got the tactics all wrong and that performance is on him fair and square for NO half-time changes......

With Leo in goal,I really think Eustace has No CHOICE but to play 3 at the back. Its not his fault that a few of our more injury-prone players aka JRC & Carter are the better ones. Think the criticism of the (uninspiring)new manager is a bit overdone. At least not playing the JDT "2 at the back suicidal football" gives us a chance of dredging something from the match. Dredge it will be. Remember we are not a very good team.

Only thing JE has done is get us conceding fewer goals. With Leo in goal, honestly Im grateful for a point. Of course he needs 3 at the back with that goalie! I could even understand a Pulis"4 central defenders" in front of Leo. Oh and that so-called supporter who said super Sammie Szmodics isnt amongst the 100 greatest Rovers players of all time needs to be ex-communicated. Stop being such a snob about "great technique"in players. When is Broughton going to give us his explanation of the McGuire/Fleck/Leo fiasco he created???

Moran isnt up for it game after game so for me is a 95th minute substitute(if he has tp play). Lots of Championship teams have no proper strikers and it really didnt do us any good when we had easily the best strike force in the Championship with Rudi Gestede & Jordan Rhodes. We need case-hardened battlers in our position so with all his faults Gally starts every game for me as a top dollar defender (from set pieces). Leave the pretty football and "playing the right way" JDT -style to teams with a budget for that like Tottenham who never win anything!

In the Telegraph today JDT said he had to leave as"the project had changed"or words to that effect. Same story as under Lambert. Think JDT really wanted to keep Gally as he dreaded the "no options"alternatives. Getting promotion to the Premiership would involve larger capital outlays than Venkys want-higher player expenditure plus higher wages all round. Maybe even more pitch and infrastructure expenses. Not to mention FFP,contracts length,and the Indian courts. Nonetheless the problems are very real in League I.......the Premiership clubs with the dough wont bother offering large amounts for Academy saleables/players at League I level knowing clubs here are in a weak negotiating position. Coupled with seriously lower gate receipts/attendances. Even harder to get to Round 5 of the F.A.Cup!! Its kind of a mess.

Shocking first-half again. Feel sorry for Szmodics. Most of the team just cant cope with any pressure to win matches. Too many mentally-weak players but Moran needs to go into the under-23s or under-18s. If we have to play him every game then sub him on in the 95th minute,or preferably later.

Very hard to disagree with any of this. The best three players this season on performance definitely Szmodics, Tronstad & McFadzean. McFadz has been just sensational, ; honourable mention for Aynsley Pears perhaps? Just as well we dont vote on the three worst performers perhaps!!

The players were absolutely up for it in the F.A.Cup where they could showcase their talents(or lack of them)on the world stage against Newcastle. Different situation against Swansea away. Rather agree with Joeys comments here. Resting players and using the squad intelligently key. Perhaps another 2 x 2 in midfield(Buckley & Moran ;then at least Ayari coming on, with Markanday getting another cameo in the Szmodics/Gallagher(??) position. . Dont want too little size/weight and bite but these lads have earned the game-time for me. Koumetio one to bring on when we have at least a 3(yes three)goal cushion.

Completely agree with most supporters on here that was a Rovers performance to be proud of. Anyone being critical cos of lack of technique should study Ethiopian pondweed or the history of wallpaper design instead! Exciting edge of your seat stuff and probably the best game Ive seen at Ewood since we thrashed Manure 4-3(David Bentley hat-trick)..a team that included Ronaldo & Van Nistelrooy. Extra shout out to Pears & McFadz who both showed how exciting and pumped up footie can be! Think it filtered through to the rest of the players.

Jack Vale done rather well in his very short loan spell at Motherwell. No idea what standard he was usually up against. However I did watch him in a Scottish Cup tie where Motherwell got beat 2-1 by Greenock Morton on BBC Scotland. He scored for Motherwell after coming on as a substitute and looked the stand-out player in their team. JE is correct in wanting to assess all possible options in a threadbare squad.

Think the bench needs shaking up more than the first XI tbh. Whats happened with Harry Leonard? Gilsenan cant be any worse than Markanday(who should be released imo). Highlights a bunch of not fit for purpose loans (expense? cheap?).Or just incompetent recruitment? Lets really hope the injuries dont start piling up.

Cannot understand the negativity over what was our first clean sheet of the year. Once upon a time both Big Sam & Lambert would go beserk repeating the mantra about clean sheets and how absolutely wonderful they were. As lambert correctly pointed out what was the point of having 2(yes two) top goalscorers in the Championship in Jordan Rhodes AND Rudi Gestede(as well as Josh King)and not even being remotely near the play-off spots. JDTs brand of football was great to watch(when it worked)but VERY high risk and the goals conceded really were something else. Two at the back?? Come on now!!

Yes,I wondered that too. Poor Harry Leonard.! At least Telalovic probably is cheap and helps with FFP(Im guessing)?

Brittain "the kitten" should be nowhere near this team,even at Championship relegation level. However from what a couple of scousers have told me they think its absolutely hysterical that any club would loan in Koumetio. That said,you play with what youve got. Not the softest Rovers team of the season.

Whatever tactical formations or squad tactics Eustace puts out its all fairly irrelevant if Pears gets injured again. The lad might not be great(Im seething at how we virtually gave away two,yes two,world-class goalies in Raya & Kaminski)but make no mistake IF Pears cant play relegation is pretty much nailed on.

Agree with the general blasting of Brittain who is never,ever up for a fight and cannot defend. O.K.going forward and puts in a decent cross sometimes,I give you that. Unfortunately,this is a game crying out for Lewis Travis in midfield. Perpetually cutting the funding(thanks Venkys) means the new manager really has his work cut out.

Amazing the optimism a change of manager can bring. If tippy-tappy has been banished for eternity(cos our players cant play it very well) at least we have the chance to compete. Pep has big hard lads to enforce tippy-tappy (read Haaland, Rodri ,Diaz etc).Plus the huge,"non-Venky budget." Itll be a novelty to see our lads not being bullied. 1-1 wouldnt be terrible. Watch out for the red cards though.

If tis so,then move Samir & Leo on (if possible). Dolan is an exciting player to watch,high energy levels and even if playing badly doesnt seem to "disappear" in games,(just misses chances instead). Excites the younger fans,as well. All of them Ive spoken to said Dolan has replaced Diaz as their favourite player!! Get the lad signed up pronto.

Steady on,sympathetic clar ! Whilst the Dingles outclassed us last season with more money spent and a better squad Vincent looks this season to have the motivational skills of a sleepy sloth! No passion and not too much interest. Like a latter day JDT.

Smashing start to Johns tenure,which I think Damian Johnson & David Lowe deserve some credit for. The direct style is so refreshing but once other teams have worked this out we will need a plan B. Early days but hoofball rather than playing out from the back should decrease the number of goals conceded(in the very best Sean Dyche traditions). Sometimes simple things work!!