Interesting debate. Clearly drinks and food in or around the ground are going to be more expensive. They always have been and not much different to most football grounds. What I object to is the club increasing prices under the guise of improvements to service, digitalisation or whatever. Changing suppliers also doesn’t always mean better, probably just lower costs and more profit. My son and I occasionally buy a pie but have stopped doing so after an increase of almost 20% in price. I’m pretty sure they were £3 last season and £3-60 this. Still overpriced when you can get the same in Leavers for under £2. Whether £4+ is good value for a pint of Fosters is a matter of opinion!!! If fans want to overpay as part of their match experience then that’s fine and the club benefits, but it’s still individual choice.

Mulgrew may not have been our best defender but I don’t believe any fan should question his commitment to the Club. if he has gone then it’s clear that it is on the basis that he doesn’t want to be just a squad player. Nothing wrong with that. If Wigan are paying a chunk of his wage then it frees up money for his replacement. Only time will tell if we are better without Mulgrew or not but I for one will miss his superb free kicks.

Agree. Let’s wait and see what the starting line-up is come August. It would be great to sign a Premiership quality defender and a striker but we probably all know that’s pretty unlikely.

Really? We’ve lost a few matches so the witch-hunt starts. Unbelievable!

Of course Mowbray’s under pressure, he has been all season. Doesn’t that come with the job? Whatever we, as fans, feel about Mowbray it shouldn’t detract from the fact that he is solely responsible for the players he selects, the tactics, formations and ultimately results. Up to the end of January most of us were reasonably happy with the way things were going (barring the Preston, Wigan and Leeds away fiascos). However our position then was just masking some of the issues that we knew needed to be addressed in the summer and winter transfer windows. This has now comeback to severely bite us in the bum and whatever Mowbray tries, to sort this out, is not working. We don’t know what constraints Mowbray is working under but if he chose not to strengthen the defence then he must accept responsibility. Same for strikers, if we buy someone who is not up to the task yet then it’s the managers fault. Lets hope we can get back to winning ways or his popularity will quickly dwindle amongst those who are still supportive.

I’ll be there. Fairly short trip for me so no problem. As for the game, we need to make sure we don’t get dragged into a relegation scrap so no relaxing or experimenting with young players at this stage. Rotherham always tough to beat at home but if we are up for it then we should get at least a draw. If not then I can only see a home win.

No one can take away our memories of winning the Premier League, League Cup, UEFA Cup participation etc. Regardless of how, why, where and when it was achieved. But you’re right, we cant dwell too long on the past and we must look forward to future seasons which hopefully will see us competing for promotion from the Championship and potentially in the the Premier League. Not got a problem with PNE doing well, very pleased for you, but a few games in one season does not make you the best team in the League regardless of how you extrapolate the points.

Interesting piece on Rakeem Harper who is apparently doing great at West Brom

Season seems to be going unexpectedly pear shaped but careful what you wish for. Before Mowbray joined I asked a colleague who is a fan of West Brom what he thought of him. His answer was he was popular with West Brom fans but some of his decisions were “interesting”. I now know what that means.

Spot on. At 2-1 up we could have sacrificed a striker and strengthened the midfield. I believe bringing on Conway was to help Bennett on the right but we could have just put Reed there.

Well we had Smallwood on the bench who would have added some aggression into midfield. Instead we brought on Conway!

Everyone gutted, particularly after being 2-0 up and lots of reasons why we lost but let’s not be too despondent. OK after beating Hull last week we all got a bit carried away but this result just shows that we aren’t quite ready for the top 6. Brentford are a decent team and quite capable of giving the the best in the league a tough match as they showed at Elland Rd earlier in the season. Hopefully the injuries aren’t too bad and we can regroup before next week’s match.

Today’s performance from Travis was no surprise to many of the fans who know a good player when they see one, particularly one who has come through the ranks. I suspect Mowbray is now in a bit of a pickle as far as his loyalty to Smallwood is concerned but he will be making a big mistake if he disregards Travis in favour of sticking with Smallwood after his suspension. IMO Mowbray is in a fantastic position, he has, in Travis, someone who is in effect a new signing.

There is absolutely no way should Travis be sent out on loan. He’s a decent player and as good, if not better, than what we have. I too would be very disappointed if he left. It would be interesting to know if there other issues here that are preventing him from playing regularly.

Judging by how Leeds played at Villa I think parking the bus would be very risky. They will pile on the pressure but we have to give them something to worry about too. All will depend on the players available but let’s go for it.

Why no Rothwell? Why no Travis? Why Palmer so ineffective when he clearly has talent? Why play strikers on the wing? Why no wingers? Why can’t we see out a game that we deserve to get something from? I could go on

If Sky Leeds have agreed to TV broadcast that is their prerogative regardless of how many tickets they have sold as it is their income that would be affected. Probably a few more Rovers fans going than in previous years albeit that the full allocation will not be sold out. At least some Rovers fans will be able to watch the game on TV so all well and good. Happy Xmas

I’m not concerned about the “where we are” comment from TM as he at least is being honest and probably reflecting what most Rovers fans are thinking anyway, What I am concerned about is that we threw away a game that we deserved to win against another “where we are” team, through failure to defend a 2-0 lead. If Graham needed to be substituted then why go for a replacement striker. We could have packed the midfield or even put in another defender. Armstrong up on his own would have been sufficient. Instead we carried on pushing forward and got caught out through errors from Raya, Nyambe and Bell. The Brereton argument is just a red herring. There is no way should he be expected to replace Graham, he’s not as experienced nor strong enough to mix it with good defenders.

Great goal from Armstrong but he is bobbins playing out wide. Chapman would have been a far better option had he been available and hopefully he will be in January. We desperately need a wide player who can take his man on and get a decent cross in. Thought we were good today and but for some idiotic goalkeeping from Raya and a fantastic save from the Brum keeper we would have won that match comfortably. Trying not to be too negative as this is basically the same team that came up from League 1 and if Mowbray strengthens in key positions then our season could still turn out OK

Travis is worthy of a start based on recent performances. Did great when he came on at West Brom. Now seems to have dropped out of the squad for some unknown reason

Where is Travis?

Lots of doom and gloom around which given the performance last night is understandable. However, rather than criticise individual players I think TM must take a lot of the blame for not picking his best team. I believe he thought we would lose that game so chucked a couple in to give them a run out. Conway and Palmer should have been on the bench with Rothwell and Reed starting. The formula up front doesn’t seem to work without Graham so we need to be looking at someone else to play that role. Unsure if Brereton is that player but give him a chance rather than sticking him out wide. Still work in progress but TM needs to avoid tinkering too much with his selections just to give players game time.

It is without doubt a game changer but there have been televised games in the past where Ewood has been full. Personally I would never contemplate missing a home game even if it was on TV. There will still be away games when you want to be there rather than watching at home. The Wigan away game will probably be one of those. Tomorrow is a bonus for those of us who would have been scouring the Internet for an illegal stream.

The televising of midweek games makes sense for those living far away as travel can be a nightmare in the UK. It will mean lower attendances but probably little difference to the clubs in terms of revenue with most regular fans having bought season tickets. I agree with philipl that nothing beats being at the game but QPR away on a Wednesday night means a full day off work and most likely an expensive nightmare journey.

Great stuff again Stuart. having spent a few years managing a local junior football team I can sympathise with you. but guess what? The satisfaction you get from developing young players into footballers and young men takes some beating. of course it helps when you have quality players but it’s not just about winning trophies even though we all think it is. keep up the good work