Uddersfelt Blue

Douglas is currently the weak link in the defence. He may want to go forward but his primary role is defending. He isn’t a Nyambe who can get up and down the wing nor does he have the same physical strength. Bell did OK at Brentford when replacing Douglas but yet again left out. A return for Bell? Midfield could do with a shake up but without Trybull our options are limited. Against Bristol, Johnson got caught on the ball too often and it wasn’t one of his better games. Davenport certainly deserves an opportunity. What’s the situation with Brereton? Do we know how long he will be out for? Without him we are a bit lightweight up front.

Maybe it’s “no news is good news” as far as Lenihan is concerned or maybe Mowbray is just keeping his cards close to his chest. If it has to be Williams even though he’s not fully fit then so be it.

If Williams is fit, which is unlikely given that he hasn’t featured for some time, he should play so Nyambe can stay at right back, a position we are fast running out of options. I can’t see Mowbray bringing in an U23’s player but you never know.

Clearly some fans have had issues with iFollow but I’ve watched most games on iFollow since Lockdown 1 and barring a few hiccups such as lack of commentary, poor camera control the experience has been as expected of streaming technology. I don’t think it can be compared to Sky or BT coverage. Obviously not a substitute for actually being at the ground but a good second and it has allowed us to watch away games that we wouldn’t normally be able to do.

Can he play right back?

Now where is Bennet when you need him?

It seems to work for other teams recently. It could give us a bit more resilience in defence.

Why don’t we play 3 at the back ie. Lenihan Ayala Wharton Nyambe Douglas/Bell Johnson. Holtby Rothwell Elliott. Armstrong

Really?

Can’t see a match thread for tomorrow’s game at Brentford. Still recall the delight and disappointment at Griffin Park 3 years ago where despite winning 3-1 we were relegated to League 1. Well tomorrow we won’t be playing at Griffin Park but some shiny brand spanking new stadium in West London (what is it called?) and we will potentially be playing for a top 2 spot? Brentford have had a change of personnel since we last played them in London, losing Watkins and Benhrama to the Premier League but still seem to be able to consistently produce the goods and with Ivan Toney signed from Peterborough in the summer, they have one of the better strikers in this League. He will be a danger. David Raya likely to be in goal for the Bees and we need to put him under pressure as we all know he’s likely to oblige with a clanger of some sort. Maybe not but worth a try. Rovers haven’t played their best football in the last few games but if we can recreate some of our earlier form we can come away from ??????? with a result. Hopefully we will have Wharton and Douglas available for selection Brereton will be a miss after picking up what looks like a serious injury on Wednesday but it gives others an opportunity to stake a claim for his spot up front. Most likely Gallagher, Elliott and Armstrong to start. COYB

Rovers u23’s are at Brighton today 2pm kick off it’s live on Brighton’s TV channel for those of us with time on our hands or (not) working from home?

It’s unlucky but maybe Ayala wasn’t up to full fitness when he was rushed in to replace Lenihan and Williams. It certainly seems that things are going against us this season.

I am awake Barry but seem to have lost some (more) brain cells since my op! Lets hope we do have a defence in place and no own goals

Much depends on player availability (again). Defensively we could be struggling. Kaminski? Doubt it if he’s in Belgium isolating until Friday. Nyambe? injured? Play JRC there if Douglas and/or Bell available for left back. Williams/Ayala? if neither fit then Wharton again (hope he doesn’t score for them again)

This the Luton who are 10th in the table and 3 points ahead of us?

Remember making the trip down to Luton in the 70’s. A frozen pitch and with Rovers losing 2-0 the Rovers players started skating and dropping like flies with the referee abandoning the game in the second half. We lost the replayed game 4-0

It’s possible that a safe return will have a positive affect on attendances across the board. Hell, I think we’ve all seen too much of our own four walls and football on TV. That’s not what watching football is about. It’s about being part of an overall match day experience. Unfortunately it’s going to be a while before large numbers of fans are allowed back

Not sure that Johnson is available according to the LT. if not then Evans will probably replace him. Can’t see Armstrong being risked until after the international break

I hope you're not being serious Gregg? We may be struggling but we're not even a quarter way through the season. Predicting a Rovers win I see. Now I know you're not serious?

Lots of reasons why we're not winning games but maybe the biggest one is that we just aren’t physically strong enough to compete with other teams. OK we play some neat passing football and create chances but when it comes to the crunch we are too easily outmuscled by stronger players. Players who aren’t afraid to take a booking either when it matters. I’ve watched the first Swansea goal and Lenihan just wasn’t strong enough to hold off Cabango. Disregarding Nyambe who is a bit of a beast, how many players can we put in the same category? Not Evans, Holtby, Trybull, Elliott, Dolan or Armstrong. Gallagher who is probably the biggest player in the squad is a pussy cat and too easily knocked off the ball. We’ve lost Graham who could mix it up a bit and even Smallwood who could get stuck in. I’m not even sure that Barry Douglas adds that physical strength to the back line. Rankin Costello is a decent footballer but not what I would call a beast. We have missed Johnson who does give us a bit more physical presence. If we have a one slot left in the squad and there are any big players available Who are out of contract then maybe we need to fit one in.

So which of the 15 goalkeepers we seem to have on the books WAS ready to play for the first team?

It seems that this season the Red Button is no longer available for Sky subscribers on the Virgin TV platform.

I understand that and you must somehow feel shortchanged but that was a club policy decision taking into account the unprecedented circumstances it found itself in. All season ticket holders found themselves in the same boat and maybe felt somewhat aggrieved that they had paid for something they didn’t get. Personally I was happy with the iFollow option as an alternative and know others who felt the same. Sometimes you just can’t look at the financial angle but I understand that some may choose to do so. This season I’ve taken the decision to again buy a season ticket but certainly don’t advocate that everyone should do the same. Personally it suits me to have games on iFollow as I won’t be attending Ewood for some time. I’ve also bought Match passes for several away games.

Waggot stole your season ticket money? What, because we weren’t allowed to watch games in stadiums due to a world wide pandemic?

We need to be patient as I recall from our previous game in July they are a different team in the second half. I’m sure they will be happy to soak up any early pressure and then come at us. I don’t want another game where we have 65% possession and 17 shots but no points. A hard fought 1-0 win will do me and failing that a 0-0 draw will be OK