joey_big_nose

From a statto perspective I guess the way to manage appearance length is to multiply the score by % where 100% is 93 mins to allow for extra time?

I think what you're doing is great! So much more objective than all the opinions that get thrown around. Do you have average scores so far for the season? Would be interesting to see how Rothwell compares to Travis or Edun compares to Pickering, or Gallagher compares to Dolan.

Watched the game back. We were excellent going forward, really incisive and clever with the ball. Devastating on the counter attack. But also we gave away a lot of simple opportunities to the blades. We could have scored six or seven but they could have scored three or four..... If they'd put one of the many opps they had away it would have been a different picture. So a fun game, but need to sort the defence out. Formation wise it was interesting. We actually played more of a 442 which I've not really seen since we had Rhodes and Gestede. Buckley was pushed right up alongside Brereton. Think the Blades back three really struggled with it. I would like us to persist with it as it worked so well. Buckleys slight frame makes people thinks he's a push over but he competes physically very well. He must have won the ball back half a dozen times. Anyway not sure we can read much into the result, but good to see both Khadra and Poveda perform. Travis looks back to his best which is huge for us. Wharton was great in the air, but struggled when balls were played in behind on the channel. To me the new crown jewels are Buckley, Dolan and Travis who are all top players at this level. I like Edun also who looks to me like a top young player in the making. Next game we should play exactly the same XI and see if it was just Sheff Utd being poor.

I get that. But equally he has supported the likes of Travis, Rothwell, Buckley, Brereton, Dolan into quality players. You can't beat him with Davenport on one hand and not recognise who he has done a good job with on the others. When it comes down to it he's a decent Championship manager, but not a brilliant one. There's a mentality on here that whoever we get will be better and that's just not true in my view. The Championship is a hard league where the vast majority of managers fail, and that's before our know nothing owners get involved We could do a lot worse, and I am sure will in time.

His transformation is unbelievable. Never seen a player who seemed so irredeemably poor become so good. Similarly (albeit only a game) Poveda sounds like he hugely improved today after being epically rubbish which is great.

You tell yourself that, but you wait to see who Waggott and Venkys wheel out when the time comes.

Don't get that - Lenihan is our best defender. Ayala has more quality but no pace and horrendous injury record. Everyone else miles off Lenihan. Our win % without him is really poor. On the game, just listening but shows just how unpredictable Mowbrays teams are. He's got his faults but honestly think there's only a 10% chance we'll get someone better when he leaves.

Could be : Kaminski Nyambe. Lenihan. Wharton. Edun Travis. Davenport Khadra Buckley. Poveda Brereton Or : Kaminski Nyambe. Lenihan. Wharton. Edun Travis. Buckley Davenport Khadra Poveda Brereton My gut feel the 4231. If Wharton is fit defence is okay. Up front time for Khadra and Poveda to show something.

I think that's harsh - between them Pickering and Edun have made the left back position quite solid after being an huge Achilles heel for years. If everyone's fit the side has got to the point where the first XI is actually genuinely good enough for playoffs I think. Thought after Armstrong left we would really struggle up front but Gallagher, Diaz, and Dolan are all doing amazingly well. Buckley, Travis, Rothwell is a very decent midfield three, Ayala and Lenihan an excellent cb partnership, Nyambe a strong right back. Kaminski a solid keeper. All those players play and we're very competitive. Once you get out of that first XI things go downhill quickly though. Van Hecke looks good, Edun seems solid. After that is either unproven loan or youth players (Khadra, Poveda, Butterworth) or senior ones coming back from big injuries (Johnson, JRC, Dack, Wharton). It's hard not to look at the rush of games over Christmas with foreboding. There's no way we will keep everyone fit enough.

Good post but I can't see Johnson getting dropped. If Gallagher's carrying a knock can see Khadra coming in, but could be any of him, Poveda or Butterworth. Or even McBride. Don't think Tony (or the supporters) are that convinced by any of them.

From what I've seen JRC is good enough. Not brilliant but decent. Rarely has a poor game. Has a good delivery and a good engine. I'd definitely persevere with him. Butterworth hasn't really shown anything except a good 30 mins at Hull. But I have the feeling that with more games he could make quite an impact for us, but that's just a hunch. He's got a good change of pace, a good strike. He absolutely rinsed the Hull defence. Again would like to see more of him. Problem for him in Dolan, Khadra and Poveda we have three players who are quite similar. I'd pack Poveda off and give Butterworth more game time.

Jozwiak is obviously a good player. Watched him for Poland and he looked excellent Derby are a club all over the place. I'm sure in a new environment he would improve.

To be honest has there ever been a manager at Rovers (or any club, or international football) that doesn't get the "why do you sit back on a lead" criticism. I'd wager when Mowbray gets eventually potted we'll all be on here saying the same about the next guy. Id bet my house on it. I think to be honest it's the nature of football. One team gets a lead the other side starts taking risks and either they get battered or they manage to turn the game. It's just the way it is to a certain extent. I'm not really sure Mowbray is much worse than any other manager on that front.

Yes, two of the worst loans I've seen us make. We should demand our money back! Van Hecke looks quality through. Khadra is talented but we haven't really figured out what to do with him yet.

Only saw the second half - sounds like I missed the good bit of the game..! Most encouraging thing was Van Hecke and Edun both look defensively solid. Poveda is absolutely atrocious. Surely Butterworth would be a better bet? Or give McBride a whirl?

Defence looking very very makeshift. Derby will fancy us on out wide and at set pieces. Would have thought Van Hecke RB and Carter central would be more solid?

Yeah, but I worry that our counter attacking game which is pretty decent won't really work, we'll be looking for him to feed off Brereton and Gallagher much further up which doesn't fill me with confidence.

Really surprised you say that about Dack. Swap Rothwell out for Dack and my guess is we will really struggle to get forward. Rothwell does so much in carrying the ball and covering ground which Dack just won't do after 2 ACLs.

After 2 ACLs Dack is not going to be mobile. Only place he will playing for us I think is false 9 or number 10.

Wouldn't fancy Nyambe to play on the left. He's so one footed, and much of his game is about going round players on the outside right. I don't think he could do that on the left. Edun already looks a handy player to me. Nothing spectacular but seems to do everything pretty well. Interested to see how he develops.

Some fan favourites he does share the love for - eg. Dack, Lenihan. Also he stuck with Brereton when many wrote him off (me included) and was proven right.. Maybe his assessment is Rothwell and Nyambe need a "treat em mean keep em keen" type of man management. But seeing as they haven't signed if this is the philosophy it hasn't really worked.

Wow! Brutal. Bizarre as well as while Rothwell is maybe learning CM he has been way better than many we've had in there under Mowbray (Smallwood, Bennett etc). He's had games in centre mid over the last two seasons where he has been brilliant. Seems a bit of a cheap dig by Mowbray as he feels Rothwell not signing is embarrassing him. That said obviously Mowbray doesn't rate Rothwell as highly as he should be, and that is weird. Same with Nyambe. But the ultimate root is Venkys have just decided to minimise budgets which is very short sighted considering they are going to lose a lot of assets for cheap prices.

Some sort of plan to get the clubs back under fan ownership needs to be worked out. I can see a political party putting it in their platform in a few years.

Bet Danny Drinkwater wishes now he'd stuck with Leicester.

Eduns actually right footed I think so seems an obvious choice.