It'll be interesting to see what a more defensive minded manager would do with the players on offer. There's no way some of them will get anywhere near the first team.

But aren't you basing your opinion partly on Eustace getting a Summer backed Brum 6th place, two months earlier? I think it's very difficult to judge whether Eustace would be a decent appointment personally. And if he did keep us up he'll have the same trials to go through that JDT has. And that's not knocking Eustace, they all will.

The conversation wasn't about whether Tomasson should stay or go (he's already gone), it was about Eustace replacing him and being an upgrade, then a big upgrade. And that was based on him keeping Brum up ending in 17th place, then his 6th place October sacking after he was backed in the Summer.

If that's the case we need to stop judging Eustace on being 6th place when sacked. 9th October 2023, Birmingham were 6th and "backed" Eustace was sacked. Can anyone remember where "unbacked" and Brereton-less Rovers were at that point?

Be a nice holiday for Gregg and co in Orlando, but I can't see the lad signing a pre-contract.

If he keeps us up he won't get any money to spend in the Summer. We'll likely sell Szmodics and expect whichever bottom of the barrel signing to replace him. Then a large amount of fans will say he should be doing better and to get rid. They'll appoint another big upgrade and the process repeats.

You're not wrong, he'd only managed them for two months then we wanted him for some reason.

I think it's both, and having to use Wahlstedt. That fella alone lost us plenty of points and wrecked the confidence of an already patched up defence.

More about the soap opera than the football.

Cringe.

Any reason why? I'm not digging you out but in his first season for Brum he finished 17th. Then second season he was only there till October. I know he may have had a difficult job in his first season there, but it won't be any different here.

Many Rovers fans won't accept just keeping them in the league. This season perhaps, but next season when he has a full season, they'll expect him to make a silk purse out of a sows ear whilst Suhail keeps pulling out the stitches.

What an absolute set of hypocritical bastards. They shouldn't be allowed to have any voice in the matter, seeing as they created it. 13 awful years of failure.

When he was backed (and not even that well, January was a shit-show) we finished just outside of the play offs. When he hasn't been, we're heading towards L1. A garbage record will happen under most managers in that situation. I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen under Eustace. Too much has been taken out of the club and not put back.

I thought he started off shakily, then he had a good spell where he was unlocking defences and looked very good. He can't pass to a bloke right next to him these days.

Yes!

I wouldn’t say picking the whole team but I reckon he interferes to try and increase the value of players. I reckon he does with recruitment too. For a man with no football knowledge or background he certainly has too much to say.

This is the interesting part. Can he do good football and developing players? And dealing with charlatans and crackpots?

And the meeting.

Eustace - did well with Birmingham but being brutally honest has done nothing of note in this league. As we are a team with the aim of doing nothing in the league it seems a likely appointment. We’ll just have to set our expectations to low and hope he eventually exceeds them. And if it all goes wrong boo the right people, not the manager.

Well I didn't do that, and I'm not sure which part was "absolute bollocks" so I'll keep it simple. It actually went from you saying Mowbray was a decent appointment for us, then slating Tomasson (who objectively, did one better in far less time with far less money). That's how I read it. You will mess up with that lot at the top throwing down banana skins. Some of your responses didn't reflect that, and in my earlier response I was succinct but instead of addressing that you chose to say I was undermining Mowbray's appointment, which I didn't and was besides the point. You also said that I was making 7th out as an achievement, when I was stating it as a fact. I ask a question and you say I'm constructing an argument for you. I get associated with posters saying JDT is a god/martyr, and all sorts of filibustering shite I didn't say. Anyway, night shift over.

I think we're splitting hairs as the current squad is shocking. We'll look back on it and cringe. Wahlstedt, Pears, Markanday, Telelovic. Then you've got our so-called better players... Dolan, Hedges, Brittain, Gallagher, Pickering, Sigurdsson - the mediocre and the inconsistent. Then the kids, and other people's kids like Moran who just aren't ready yet. And two old lads, the crocked one and the ancient one.

He's our second top goalscorer on 7. I'd give him a go upfront as we haven't many options and he can strike a ball. I'd certainly prefer him to Telalovic. Can't drop Gallagher after scoring though.

I don't think he did. It's comparable but I think this is the weakest squad I've ever seen. Sammie gives the impression it's better but he's one man. Our next best player, JRC is unfit. Who else would you want with you in the trenches? Hyam is decent but seems to have lost the plot. Tronstad is hit and miss but that's probably because he's on his own. Beyond that no names stand out for a scrap. What we'd give for Danny Graham right now. Or Charlie Mulgrew. Or Craig Conway. Or even a lesser David Raya. Or even a younger Sam Gallagher who knocked in 12 that season.