booth

When we destroyed Burnley at Ewood with 5-0 (which for our young readers was a far bigger mauling than our own 3-0 debacle on Sunday btw), their fans felt exactly the same way. No passion, no fight, just another game mentality. They didn't just go oh well, that's that then. It hurts and I'm sure it's the same for every other fan going away disappointed from a big derby game. Same with when we beat them 3-2, they were back in the top flight but I imagine there weren't many Burnley fans consoling themselves with that fact for quite some time. We've always had a section of the support that sticks their heads in the sand. I'll never forget the vocal minority of Kean supporters. If you can support Steve Kean as he helps to dismantle everything Jack Walker, Kenny Dalglish, John Williams, Graham Souness and Mark Hughes built, you've got a very very low bar.

The midfield is poor but it doesn't help that Hedges is being used as he is. He seems to be a decent midfielder, but as an "inverted wingback", whatever that's meant to be, his best qualities are wasted. Also we have one good forward that plays mainly wide, and a mediocre forward that would be better off coming off the bench for a good centre forward that can hold the ball up and score regular goals.

Kaminski pulled off two excellent saves and we rarely got out of hour own half. Some of us could see that we were heading for a hiding (not you) at half time. Burnley committed more players when Gallagher went off because we had absolutely no one else to play that role so we had to change what we were doing. Because the club thought it better to sign a lad on loan who is useless in the Championship, and took his while to get going in League 1. The only team that tried to be more attacking was Burnley because they knew there was no risk. "Rewarding Mola for a fine performance" One fine performance usurps pretty much 18 months of fine performances now does it? Scott Wharton off the boil is still better than a lad who has been trusted to play one game, and will have been leggy from travelling and playing in London. And what defines "off the boil?" His passing may have been off but his defending has still been very very good. You don't drop a local lad who is one of our best defenders in one of the biggest local derbies in world football - and lest we forget, the chance to top the table. The entire teams passing is off pretty much every match for at least one half, and has been for years. Do we drop all of them and replace them with the nearest 21 year old who hasn't yet played a Championship game? We got mullered due to lack of foresight in pre-season by the likes of Broughton, massive naivety from Tomasson, mistakes made throughout the season, a team selection that came straight out of Tony Mowbray's playbook, and speaking of which an unbalanced, thin squad, relying on youth players, due to five years of moronic ideas.

He won’t play that way against most teams. He massively overthought it, hence the inclusions of Garrett and Mola and exclusion of Scott Wharton.

When I said shitshow I obviously wasn't referring to just the league position.

Never forget that Burnley history teachers are the most bitter history teachers 😉

We've signed a handful of players and had a new manager since mid June. The players still only perform for one half, as they did under Mowbray. They are still as gutless as we were under Mowbray. But in third place. Tomasson has his issues which I've pointed out plenty, but don't tell me he's not wrangling with the shitshow he was left with.

Alan Pace spent any of his own money yet?

“I wasn’t at the club, but I think there was the option to bring in players last January and for whatever reason, the team in place at the time didn’t think that was the right thing to do for the squad. To give them credit, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the injuries that happened post-January as well." Plenty of fans did.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23023541.gregg-broughton-outlines-blackburn-rovers-january-transfer-plans/ According to Gregg, no grand plans in January. Saving it for Summer. He lost me at George Hirst.

Indefinitely or months? It can't be both. He can't take flak indefinitely I agree but it's going to take some time to get the ghost of Tony Mowbray out of the club.

There's no way Tomasson will want Brereton getting injured in a friendly. He's the only player at the club capable of hitting 20+ goals this season, and Gregg tells us we aren't doing anything in January so without BBD we won't be scoring many.

I can answer that, five years of Tony Mowbray.

The rumour was that Tomasson wanted a more experienced forward as well as Hirst. And also that Szmodics was something like third choice. Anel Ahmedhodzic was his first choice defender. If true he can't be happy with what Broughton delivered, Hyam aside. Tomasson seems to have an eye for a player so I can't see Hirst being his first choice striker.

No. The striker we should have signed last Summer, last January, this Summer but Mowbray then Broughton thought we'd be fine. Tomasson isn't the only villain.

He also said he and the players understood the importance of the Derby, and I saw no signs of that.

Happy about the league position, I get that, but it's weird if you genuinely woke up happy this morning.

Despite the league position he blotted his copybook with some massive blunders yesterday. Difficult to ignore such dumb errors.

Also not a coincidence that we win more when Scott Wharton starts.

Why Hirst when we’ve needed a centre forward since Armstrong left?

Scott Wharton wouldn't.

Very naive.

Which one?

Gallagher was the turning point. As I just said to J*B privately, it was like a lightbulb went off within every Burnley player, everyone over the top lads, just keep Brereton quiet and they won't score. And we do need some experience in midfield. Just someone to put their foot on the ball, dictate the pace of the game and pick a pass. The only one of them that can do it is 18. I think tippy tappy is here to stay sadly, this is JDT's "project" come what may.

It's all their fault, every single bit of it. We wouldn't be scrabbling around in the Championship season after season if it weren't for them. The problems that Mowbray left us with, the current issues with the squad, the buck ends with them for allowing it.