RoverKyle

Lenihan was much better today, but he's been poor for a fair part of the season. I think Lucimo's point was that you can't know enough about a Crewe player - when you claim to only watch tv games and listen to games on the radio - to fully endorse a move for him as much as you have.

I think I largely agree with this. I don't mind Bell being kept as a back up as long as we go out and sign a genuine starting LB. I wouldn't be bothered about Douglas; probably on a decent wage, hasn't shown anything & he's getting on a bit for that position. I'd keep Williams as he's looked good at CB when he's been fit and I doubt he's on a lot. The others can go.

I think most on here are resigned to the fact we need to move on from Mowbray to progress. Looking at our next 5 games, a team with aspirations would be looking to maximise points. It's a completely unrealistic target but if we don't take maximum points (or near enough) from those games, I'd have him out of the door. Teams that do well in the Championship go on a serious run at some point and these games give us the chance to do that. Not saying that we've ever shown the ability to take maximum points from these games, but a middling to poor return from these games will all but end our shot at the playoffs. Boro (A), Luton (H), QPR (A), Preston (H), Barnsley (A) Over to you Tony. I've got no time for the excuses anymore. For reference, my major red flags (or Mowbray out moments) were the conceding of the title in the L1 season (Charlton away) and the pre game interview & result against Preston last season (when we lost 3-2 after being 2 up).

Worryingly for Wharton, injuries around the ankle tend to lead to niggling injuries further down the line I.e. hamstrings, calves.

I suppose its hard to tell given how often our CBs are out injured. Williams has looked good at CB but gets injured as soon as he starts to look undroppable. Ayala is often out. Lenihan struggles without a consistent partner. Wharton was starting to look comfortable before his injury. In the summer Sarr wasn't the obvious upgrade he appears to be at the moment. Yeah credit to him for having the career he's had. He's certainly made the most of what he has to offer.

I can't get on board with Keogh as I've followed him for a long time and really don't rate the guy. His age now makes it a complete no go for me. I don't think my views on him are snobbish at all. I don't disagree with your other points though. Schindler & Sarr would walk into our side given our current injuries, so it will be interesting to see if he gets game time there. Keogh is well established in that Irish set up, so you could see that happening. Lenihan & Williams are hardly pulling up any trees. Who starts for them at the moment; Duffy & Egan? He'd probably play more games than Ayala granted, but I'd say Ayala is the better defender though. We've seen what Ayala can do, albeit across a handful of games. It's a shame he's so prone to injury.

Been following this conversation from afar and waiting for his time at Carlisle to be brought up. He basically won the POTY award there for entertainment value alone; he wasn't particularly good. He played primarily as full back there and would go on a crazy run down the wing once every four games and look like a world beater. He'd beat 3 or 4 men with no end product but the Carlisle fans loved him because he was one of a small minority of players who seemed to give a crap at the time. Me and my mates from home always laugh at how he went from that to being a well established CB at a top Championship club. He's made a brilliant career for himself but I wouldn't touch him with a barge pole, especially at his age now. I've always felt his relative success has come from leadership/organisational qualities as opposed to any real footballing skill. Maybe that's what we need but he's not the player for us IMO.

Would love to see Hughes come back. He had a point to prove the first time he managed us and he would again this time. Worked well on a budget. Organised the team well. It's fantasy stuff really.

Definitely take it with a pinch of salt, but we've been linked with Conor Hourihane on Twitter after Villa said they'd be open to loaning him out. Probably one from the Championship transfer gossip generator but he's a good player, albeit in a position we're quite well stocked in.

Not in the same way Brereton has, no.

True. You'd hope with time and a bit of effort, Buckley will bulk up a bit.

Interesting comments from Buckley. I don't doubt that we could do better if we dipped into the market, but I think he's shown enough to be a regular member of the squad. I know a lot on here don't rate him but I actually think he's done a decent job when he's filled in due to injuries. I certainly see no reason why he should be spoken about negatively compared to someone like JRC who gets rave reviews whilst doing nothing of note.

Some of my family have came down with covid quite bad recently, so this is the most real the pandemic has felt since March. With the number of players coming down with covid and game cancellations, it feels like we're a long way off being able to go back to Ewood freely. Happy that we're able to at least watch Rovers via streams, but what we're having to watch at the moment is so poor and frustrating, it barely feels worth it. Quite disillusioned with everything Rovers at the moment but am holding out a bit of hope that our fortunes turn once Travis & Dack improve their fitness with game time.

I swear Ben Whiteman is the new Marcus Maddison on here. Can we just move on from him. Blatantly obvious he isn't going to sign for us if we couldn't afford the deal in the summer and we're not even being linked with him now.

He was signed from Carlisle and I think he came through their youth set up, so I assume so. Most likely Cumbrian at least.

Really enjoyed the game tonight. Derby had a strong looking side out and we stood up to the challenge well. Davenport & Chapman grew into the game. Dolan a threat throughout. I was really impressed by Whitehall at RB before he went off with a knock. Dack got 45 minutes into his legs. Nothing of note from him; couple of nice passes and he was dropping deep a lot to get more of the ball.

I'm more angry than elated after that. We were appalling and didn't deserve anything from the game. Fair play to the lads for getting the result though. Priority position to sort out in Summer (if not January) is left back. Douglas looks awful, with Bell not much better.

Can't add much to what has already been said on here. So proud of the team today. Kept their heads after the sending off and took their chance when it came. I'm absolutely knackered after watching that. I was kicking every ball with them and probably haven't celebrated two goals sat at home more. Important that we back this up with 3 points against Bristol midweek.

He's still effective in the wide role. I get he's banging them in at the moment but even during some of our recent games he has shifted out wide to mix things up.

It's just for the balance of the side. Could switch Elliott over to the left and keep Gallagher wide.

If he ends up being out for a prolonged period if time, he will be a big miss. He's been great for us this season. If he is out for a while I'd be tempted to play with the following trio in attack now that Gallagher seems to have found his feet a bit. Armstrong - Gallagher - Elliott

I was really impressed with him last night and this piece of play in particular was brilliant. He looks like he's got a point to prove and he's starting to show a bit of what he can do. Thought he was unlucky to have his goal ruled out. He did everything you want from a central striker; being in the right position, getting across his man and applying the finishing touch. Just a shame that Douglas was offside.

I can't believe we haven't had at least one free kick for the Armstrong & Brereton attacks. The standard of officiating in this league is an utter disgrace.

Wharton is absolutely dire with the ball at his feet but he's looked really good at defending his man.

Looks like Rankin-Costello has pulled his hamstring. Feels harsh saying it as he's going off but I don't rate him at all.