I think the idea is if you have Armstrong or Chapman out there you need to hit them accurately which in turns means waiting for the right moment and right position. With Gallagher you can play that ball into him any time from any position. It's always on. Hence causes major headache for opposition defence.

Thought I'd bump this as it has proved almost 100% accurate.

I think after watching the last few games I really get the Gallagher on the wing thing. It's not an offensive move, it's actually a very smart defensive move. It almost entirely negates the opposition's ability to play a high line and get on top during a match. Essentially we are saying to the opponent - "if you push up as soon as we turnover possession we will ping a long ball out right to our 6ft2 forward who will win it 80/90% of the time in the air, oh and also he is likely to actually be quicker than your full back. So if you want to push up, go on, make my day". Net result is opposition play 20m deeper and their left back and left centre back are taken almost entirely out of the game. It totally disrupted Boro and Hull. Also while the actual effective knockdowns to one of our players are few, it creates a lot of chaos and second balls we can profit from. Not pretty but I think it will work consistently as Gallagher has all the attributes. Think the likes of Rothwell, Buckley and Chapman will be restricted to subs appearances.

I don't think anyone has said he is bad (apart from Reveridge...) but he does have a tendency to lose the ball in very dangerous places. I can see him developing into a problem for us if he can't cut it out.

If we go three at the back and wing backs Gallagher can't play where he has been. We would probably go two up top in that scenario.

Huge upgrade over those two. But the bigger impact in my opinion is dropping Mulgrew, Bell and Raya. Means that we are not vulnerable to simple balls down the channel which is where we conceded so many late goals last year.

First half around 30 mins I think.

Travis, Williams and Bennett all made exceptional tackles from behind in the game. It's interesting that Bennett does not get credit for his. I am a fully paid up member of the "we need a better right back than Bennett" club but I do think he gets maligned beyond reason. People are looking for his faults and skimming over the bits he does well.

Still need another six or so games to judge but the transfer window is beginning to look quite like a success.

Watched the whole game on Sky. Really pleased with the win, which I thought we deserved even if our goal really should have been disallowedd. For me.... The Good - thought Walton, Williams, Lenihan, Travis, Downing, Dack were all excellent. Travis in particular is not the most technically gifted player but didn't lose the ball once and made some crucial tackles. Williams and Lenihan look a top six standard centre back pair. Downing was very cultured. Walton very assured. Dack had a great game showing skill and composure on the ball. The okay - Bennett has received a bit of a pasting on here but I thought he did okay wiih a few great blocks and tackles. I'm not really sure if he deserves dropping. He actually had about as good a game as Cunningham who got caught out down his flank a few times. Also Johnson to me has some real quality, a superb strike and some good passing, but I am already forming the opinion he may be a bit of a liability. He got caught in possession around half a dozen times - several really dangerous positions. Armstrong never stopped running, improved as the game wore on. Gallagher provides a good out ball where you will consistentky win the headers and this really disrupts the opponent's play. But equally you don't really get much from it. So I'm really on the fence with him. The bad - no one.

I think most people recognise Bowyer did a good job compared to what came before and after, but like virtually all managers he reached the point where he was not producing results and we needed a change. The lack of any decent job opportunities for Bowyer post rovers does tell a story though. I wouldn't take him back over Mowbray.

Id say we have a decent chance of mixing it up a bit. We look undoubtedly better at the back, and with Johnson and Downing in midfield we've definitely upped the technical quality. Got to get the quick short passing moving in the team though. It's laboured at the moment. Working all of Downing, Rothwell and Dack into the team will help. But I think Mowbray wants Gallagher at right wing, as an out ball. And to be fair it worked on Saturday. It's a bit odd for him to say on one hand he wants a more technical style, but on the other play a 6ft 2 striker on the wing and ping long balls into him..?

I can't really see how Brereton is going to get sufficient minutes for the jury to assess him. He'll get games in the League Cup but apart from that he needs multiple injuries to get in the side. Up front for one spot he's behind Graham, Gallagher and Armstrong. Out wide for two spots he's behind Downing, Gallagher, Downing, Rothwell, Armstrong and maybe even Chapman and Buckley. I can see him getting loaned out in Jan. What an absolutely terrible signing. Potentially one of the all time worst when you consider how much he cost compared to our budget. If hes going to stand a chance of impressing we need to go two up front or drop Dack as Ben is a second striker. Not a wide player or a target man. But why would you drop players who are clearly miles better than him to accommodate him?

Hmm. I am beginning to see some sense in the summer transfer policy. CB pecking order is now Lenihan, Williams, Tosin, Nyambe, Cunningham. Depends if Nyambe and Cunningham can play centreback, which is a huge if, but if they can what we've done makes sense. Still one more good centreback would make everyone feel a lot better.

I also think it will be same team unless there are injuries. Some or all of Rothwell, Buckley and Armstrong will get a shot from the bench. Really think Brereton could be finished at Rovers.

Most people are on the fence with Mowbray. Want to support him, but need wins and performances. Key Mowbray supporters on this board were very negative when the team sheet came out on Saturday, but they've got behind him since the win on Saturday. He's got to get at least 8-9 points in the next 5 games (2 wins and three draws, or 3 wins and 2 losses etc) and he will be back in a solid position again. Loses 3 the pressure increases. Loses 4 or 5 he will get sacked. Critical time for him.

We did go through a period of sacking managers frequently (Berg, Appleton etc.) but that did not improve performances. It's only worth sacking a manager if you are sure you can get better. I'm on the fence on that score atm.

I do think with Mulgrew out, Cunningham at left back, and a solid midfield of Johnson and Travis we will see an absolutely huge improvement in the defence. Williams to me looks a very good centre half (which begs the question of why we haven't used him in the past more there, prior to coming to Rovers he was virtually entirely used as a CB), and I am a big fan of Lenihan. Though I am beginning to wonder if Williams is actually better than Lenihan. My expectation from what I have seen is that we will be top half defensive record this season unless injuries derail us (which given that we have a paper thin defensive squad is highly likely).

Central midfield been such a problem for us. Evans and Smallwood have their limitations, but remember when we had Akpan in there, or Danny Murphy. Bloody hell. Main thing for me is if Johnson can keep sharp given his age. I was at the Fulham game and he looked well off the pace, but pleased he recovered and played well yesterday. We do need to have a plan of who will succeed Johnson as he's only got a season or so in him in my estimation.

He won virtually everything in the middle at Fulham when he played as the sole striker.

I would say it is only fair that those who gave TM a bollocking at the start of this thread for playing Gallagher right also admit he got it correct in this instance at least. Me included.

Could be I think. Dropping Armstrong opens this up : -------------------------Walton Bennett-----Lenihan----Wiilliams----Cunninghan -------------------------Johnson --------------Travis---------------Downing ---------------------------Dack --------------Gallagher-------Graham or actually we could line up 3412 : --------------------------Walton ------Lenihan-----Williams----Cunninghan Bennett----Travis------Johnson----Downing ----------------------------Dack --------------Gallagher-------Graham. I think given the players we have we will be shifting to two up top at some point.

He's not as big a problem as Mulgrew was, but he's still a big problem imo. Can't head the ball, gets caught out of position frequently. He's played a big part in our leaky defence.

Nyambe had a shocker on Tuesday so Bennett will understandably defo start. Both poor options though. I guess the question is when will JRC get a run out? Surely only a matter of time. I haven't really seen him play but it is worrying that he is also another converted midfielder. We really need solid defenders at full back. We have zero actual right backs which is a really bad situation to be in. Come to think of it when was the last time we actually had a decent right back?

It's likely we needed his wages off the books to bring in Cunningham.