Agree with the formation but would play Bennett and Bell instead of Downing and Armstrong.

On Boxing day I think we would have dropped Dack and turned the whole side over like at Bristol City any way, so we won't really see if we miss Dack till the game after that. Question is do we go 442 or stick with 4231. I personally would go 4231. Despite the team performing brilliantly Brereton was still a passenger last game. I just can't see the point. Also I do agree we need a bit of width on the bench. Crying out for it last night. Why not give Chapman or JRC a go? I think we can keep the run going as long as Tosin comes back.

I really hope he's not out for long. He's our best creator and goal scorer. That said with Holtby and Rothwell we have 2 ready made replacements, plus we can switch to 442. So we should be okay, providing someone picks up some scoring form.

Loss of Tosin is huge... With Tosin everyone can stepup and he'll find them with an incisive pass. Without him were just hoofing it or losing it.

I'd put Holtby on for Armstrong at half time. He's not going to get any space in behind.

We're really missing Tosin. Can't hold onto the ball.

You got me!

The way I see it either Tosin or Williams can play with Lenihan, but if Lenihan gets injured we're buggered. Why? Because Lenihan is committed and gets his head on the ball no matter what, whereas the other two want to play more of a luxury role. We need a second CB s solid as Lenihan, because if Darragh gets injured there is no chance of playoffs.

I don't really buy this. We play Armstrong on the wing virtually every game and he is abysmal defensively.

He was busting out a few step overs and all sorts. Looked a totally different player.

This has to be one of the most unbelievably stupid things I have ever seen. Is the Italian FA trolling everyone? If they are or they are not they should all be sacked.

I would say with the team fully rested, and playing a poor Wigan side at home, Tony will pick : Graham over Gally Downing over Bell Holtby over Rothwell Armstrong over Bennett All the above are fair enough. Only thing that concerns me is he may decide to drop Travis and play Johnson and Evans together as they both recently had great games. That would be a big mistake as Travis is crucial for his energy. -------------------------Walton Nyambe----Lenihan---Tosin---Downing -----------------Travis-------Evans ------Armstrong-----Dack-----Holtby ------------------------Graham

Dack for me. Hard to argue with Jordans stats but I just never really enjoyed watching him. Reckon if the club officially did it it would hands down be Elliot Bennett!

I would sign a really top notch Centre Back, GK, Left Back. And if there was money left over Id get another striker. Most important though is CB. An injury to Lenihan could totally derail us. That's where we are most fragile.

Watched the whole game back on iPlayer. Great performance. Made all the better by many of the key players who have contributed to our recent wins either not playing (Dack, Evans, Downing), coming on as sub (Armstrong and Rothwell) or actually playing poorly (Tosin). Only Nyambe, Travis, Gallagher, Lenihan, Walton were continuing their good form. The system was was different, the personnel different, yet we gave a really really strong performance. I find it hard to explain, but very pleased about it. Picking the team for Wigan is going to be exceptionally hard. Id say only Walton, Tosin, Lenihan, Nyambe and Dack will definitely start. The other six places are too hard to call. Sign of a good squad. Ps. Sadly Brereton was still terrible. One black cloud..

Brereton has been absolutely horrendous. He's not been playing because every time he does he looks shocking. I haven't watched the Bristol game yet, some seem to think he's done okay, so look forward to hopefully some improvement. Anyhoo - Mowbray signings. Id say he's done okay, on a par roughly with Bowyer and significantly better than anyone else weve had since prem relegation. But still not great. Fantastic - Dack (best signing in 10 years probably) Good - Armstrong, Rothwell, Tosin, Gallagher (probably being a bit generous here), Smallwood, Downing, Antonsson, Jack Payne, Reed Meh - Johnson, Nuttall, Rodwell, Palmer, Davenport Poor - Bell, Samuel, Chapman Shocking - Gladwin, Brereton, Caddis, Whittingham, not signing another centreback last summer.

That didn't last long...

When Paul Gallagher left I had the idea he was playing for Norwich. Turns out they had a keeper called Paul Gallagher playing for them which I must have subconsciously absorbed. But I full on was convinced he was there. Obviously the mind playing tricks because they shared a name.

Can't watch this one tonight. Pretty gutted about it Same team should be nailed on. Win would be sensational, draw okay. Hopefully Rothwell will get a bit more space and can have more of an impact. If not bring Holtby on early-ish. Also drop in Sam Gallagher if Graham struggles to hold up. It's nice knowing we have two options off the bench who give impetus without weakening the starting side.

I dont think that's true. He's a great player, but he's here because prem and CL teams wouldn't take him. Think a mid/lower table prem club might take a punt on him next year. But walk into a CL club XI I don't think so. When has a previous season Champ loane walked into a CL XI? Mason Mounts played a few games but outside of him I'm struggling.

If he was prem league quality already, let alone CL quality, he wouldn't be here.

I can't see Tosin making City but a mid table prem team will take him I'm sure. We should make a cheeky 3m bid in Jan but don't think it will happen unfortunately.

I agree that the oppo will figure us out to an extent. I would say the two most likely things they'll do is put a big man on Downing and a high press. On Downing we need to see how it goes as there's not much we can do about it, but I don't think a high press will work as Lenihan, Tosin, Downing and Evans will be able to pass around the press. I also can't really see how they cut out the pass through to the forwards from Tosin. Basically Tosin is a huge asset as he opens up the whole team and as he's a CB you can't really mark him out. That said probably the main problem is if the other side is a good attacking threat who play their own game and control the ball and put us consistently on the back foot. Thinking Leeds, WBA, Fulham. That's a different sort of game where it's about defending well in numbers with the attacking mids covering in which I don't think we can do well to be honest.

Watching the Derby game back we did look very very good. Got me thinking why that is exactly. In priority order I would say 1) Tosin - decent defender, but absolutely exceptional with the ball. Looks the best player (let alone defender) we've had in terms of picking a pass since Cairney. Probably better than him. I don't think I've ever seen a defender play like that for Rovers. Best comparison I can think of is John Stones. What it means is quite profound because the whole midfield can push up knowing he will find them. Also formed a good axis with Evans dropping off. Lenihan can pass pretty well too so it gives a really fluid feel to us playing out from the back. 2) Downing at LB - Again it's the ability to not lose the ball. Always picks the right pass. Can beat a player in a tight spot. We gave a way a lot of goals through weak left back play and he cuts out the mistakes and drives us forward True test will come when the oppo stick a big striker on him and start pumping the balls in. But to be honest Bell is terrible in the air so no loss compared to him. Arguably Williams is more solid in the air but then you lose the retention of the ball and attacking threat, plus add in a few unforced errors. =3) Travis and Evans partnership - No one really was calling for it but you can see why it works - it allows Travis to push forward. Although characterised as a defensive mid he's actually a lot better playing box to box. Very similar to Savage, all about energy. That said why Evans range of passing has improved 400% I am not sure. Maybe the security of always having Tosin on for a pass taking the pressure off? If Evans was unavailable I think Johnson could come in with only a moderate impact. =3) Nyambe at right back - Offers more physicality than Bennett but I would not personally say has been a huge difference as he still can get caught out of position quite easily. Harsh maybea he has played well. I would not avocate Bennett coming back in, but that would be less of an issue than losing Downing, Lenihan or Tosin imo. =3) Graham as the focal point - has no legs but brings the attacking mid into play and can win aerial duals consistently. I do think Gallagher could do about 70% of what Graham does, and offer a lot more movement. If we lost Graham we could handle it. But you don't change a winning team. In summary - weve got a good pattern of play, but I still think on this run we've yet to find a team who will really put us under pressure with direct football like Preston and WBA did earlier in the season. Once that happens we will get a better measure of where we are. Absolutely crucial is Downing, Tosin and Lenihan stay fit and available. Lose any of those and the way we play becomes hard to maintain. Elsewhere in the squad is more flexible.

I don't buy this at all. No one wanted Evans back in the side, no one was saying Downing at left back. Yes some people wanted Rothwell, Nyambe and Graham to play. But it's hardly the XI that "the fans wanted". For another thing a lot of people have been wanting Arma dropped. He scored again today.