The youth of today Back in my day.......

I agree. Wigan loaned Max Power back to Sunderland. After all the midfielders we signed, we probably could have done the same with Smallwood. He is great for a scrap,but you need more in your locker for the Championship than getting around and nicking it off the oppositions toes. In fairness to Evans, he does contribute more when on song. He is better with the ball and reads the game better than Smallwood. Positive news that Devenport is fit. Although I don't see why Rothwell can't play there

He cost £300,000. He is 24, so not a very young guy. I just expected more from him to be honest. Still time I suppose

He is 21 with a lot of first team games and 4 Europa league games. Be interesting to see where he ends up. Centre midfielder too. Can't wait til next season where we play the 1-9-1 formation

In a similar vein, why didn't Tomlinson go on loan I wonder? No one interested? Whatever about Travis needing to go...

I'm not sure how true this is though. Mowbray said that the loan deal broke down? I read it was to Oldham too, not Port vale. If the deal was almost agreed, Mowbray clearly didn't have an issue with it. So not sure.

Old papa Stuart will need to have a word with him. He would have a legitimate reason to here

And which one of the 2 would you drop? Established pecking order, not sure. He is loyal to the players who did it last year, but I don't see that as a bad thing. I would imagine he will eventually have to move Smallwood from the starting 11. I can't see him having blind loyalty. He is practical. Our lack of competition at centre half is a big concern As for wanting to grow a team of young players, that's an awful negative slant you have put on it

Williams passing can be poor, but defensively he is more solid I feel. Has a decent cross too. For some reason its the 5 yard passes that are a problem

I have concerns about the physicality of our centre halves. I raised it on another thread. The amount of times, going off this report, that Lenihan was out muscled or tackled poorly is a bit of an eye opener. The forwards he will be marking will generally be bigger than him. @Roverfan99 said he wouldn't be concerned about Mulgrew physically, but i would have concerns. He is a great player to have in defence, so good on the ball, but the 2 lads will have serious physical battles this season. I am worried how this is going to work out for us. Oh ya, you can add Raya to the list too. Very small for a keeper. I put this on another thread, but this is Boros defence. You could say their size may be a problem against small ,nippy players, but by and large(pun not intended) over the course of a season, that defence will win them points where we will lose them. Mäenpää (6ft 3in) Shotton (6ft 3in) Flint (6ft 6in) Fry (6ft 4in) Friend (6ft 2 in)

I did. You describe the events perfectly. I actually think Raya could have done better, but if it wasn't for him overall they could have scored 6

Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores. Christ on a bike....

It seems Bell did a lot of decent/good play ,but also was one of our highest in terrible play. I suppose with Williams you get more decent/good play, but less on the extremes of either terrible or excellent.

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net

Speaking of our centre halves, I am a bit worried. They are 2 converted midfielders playing in a rough, physical position. Mulgrew isn't a hard ass, he is a classy footballer. Lenihan is tough, but looking at him at times I wonder how he got away with playing midfield, he looks uncomfortable on the ball, maybe nerves. Neither are the biggest either. Now, Boro went to Bristol city and won 0-2. This was their backline Shotton (6ft 3in) Flint (6ft 6in) Fry (6ft 4in) Friend (6ft 2 in) That right there is why they will be in the mix for automatic promotion. Imagine that backline with our forward players? We would be looking at top 2 as a reality.

He may as well been on the bench instead of Williams or Nuttall

I would say Chapman is seething at Pulis.

Evans has probably been our best player this season though

Bennett?

Well he started games at the end of last season while injured, so.... Indeed it was

Would we not be bigger than them in this regard, having won the thing

Totally. I cycle past a big billboard every day on my way to work which has a big advert for this seasons football on Sky. The 3 teams you mention are prominent on the advert. No sign of Rovers. The ad is of fans in their jerseys watching a TV. There is no doubt that Sky are biased towards those clubs. Is it simply down to them having more fans?

He should have had Dack on the bench Saturday instead of Nutall. Even his presence there would give us a boost and give Bristol something to think about. It would have kept him off the boldy Saturday night too

Well you are my unofficial spokesperson

Go away lady boy will you? I wasn't arguing anything. I was commending Mowbray for getting rid of players who won't feature. Quite simple really. You are looking for something that isn't there. Everything OK hun?