joey_big_nose

If Lenihans out I'm hoping he starts tomorrow.

Without Lenihan we will get murdered I think. We're so poor at the back without him. If he doesn't make it I honestly would put Magloire in. It's a big call for Mowbray though to tell Mulgrew - the club captain - he isn't playing due to a kid with 2 games under his belt.

To be fair he does have 3 attacking midfielders behind him, two of them excellent for this level - Dack and Rothwell. The issue is in 4231 the key role for the CF is to get in the box, win the ball in the air, hold the ball up, bring the AMs into the game and finish. Maybe we'll have to adjust the formation to accommodate his desire to mostly play outside the box dribbling with his face to goal. But the price of that is potentially diminishing Dack and Rothwells attacking role if we go to a 442 or another system and put Graham up top alongside him. Anyway looking forward to seeing what he can do tomorrow against a very decent outfit in Norwich. I guess we may play the same team. I suspect Norwich will play a high line and get tight in midfield knowing that Brereton will drop deep. It will be interesting to see how Rovers and Brereton cope with that.

I'd agree Nuttall has more about him. Physical, lots of pace, very direct. There's more raw material to him. Still not great but gives defences more to think about than Brereton.

I know where you're coming from, but it's very rare that a player who looked so off what is required became top player. I suppose two who could be cited are strikers - Kalinic and King. Totally written off by most fans but went on to have superb seasons for other clubs. We have to hope Brereton is similar. It's just when you look at a player like Rothwell or Travis for example you can see immediately they have the required quality. And when you compare Brereton to that it seems a very big gap he has to grow through.

That's what I am alluding to really, he seems much closer to a Rothwell, Dack or Armstrong style of player than a Graham. But that doesn't really help as he is manifestly much poorer than any of those three in an attacking midfield role. Indeed Butterworth and Chapman are better bets. He's a striker whose actually not a striker but a poor attacking midfielder. Mentle. I just don't get it. Only way I can see him having a career with us is if he raidically changes his style and unearths a whole new dimension to his game. Doesn't happen often, but there you go. Sincerely looking forward to being proved wrong and will eat humble pie with glee.

The only result of expressing opinions so obviously contradicted by data is the undermining of credibility.

Simply not true - Travis is our first choice midfielder as demonstrated by playing every game except 3 since January, and even in those games he came on as sub. He also almost invariably plays the full ninety while Evans or whoever comes off. Mowbray has made mistakes but let's not bend the plain facts. Similarly Rothwell has now played 5 in a row. More than the likes of Conway have done. So while maybe not as quick to play them as desired he does stick with them

Really pleased he scored but I'm still very confused about him as a striker. Hates heading the ball, and prefers to hang around outside the box than get in it. He needs to put on some muscle and put serious training time with his back to goal and in the air. His current style isn't going to be effective for this team. He looks like he really needs to play alongside a target man in a 442 or if in 4231 then on the right. Looking forward to see how he develops.

Way it's listed on the official lineup suggests BB is playing number nine. Hope BB actually gets in the box. Whenever he plays he seems to think he Thierry Henry or something and hang about on the wing or in midfield. If he does play his normal way we'll have no one up too and it'll only be a matter of time till he gets hooked and we see Butterworth.

Well, we have Davenport and Buckley in reserves, plus may sign Rodwell. But I agree if we could sign Reed or someone of similar quality I would not say no.

I would say youre being a bit harsh on Mowbray. Rothwell and Travis are starting every game and look set to until the end of the season, and will surely start next season. He might have come round to it later than we hoped, but he is there now I think.

I'd say Mowbrays started winning again at the right time and the teams started looking quite promising for next year. Think towards the end of March the fans were starting to turn but three wins on the bounce creates a totally different feel. We're pretty well stocked in midfield now so he needs to focus on making us stronger at gk, full back, centre back and centre forward. If we can do that and hold onto the likes of Dack, Lenihan and Rothwell we will have a decent stab at top half / playoffs. Edit - one issue is if we have an absolutely sensational last few games and rack up the wins then we might see more interest in our top players. Kind of want us to have a good end to season but not too good ..

Would love to see Chapman and Buckley today. Even intrigued to see if Brereton has improved.

Think that's a bit harsh. If you go off who makes the team sheet when fit every game his top players are Raya, Lenihan, Bell, Bennett, Travis, Dack, Graham. Based on who've we got in the squad the only one I'd quibble with is Bennett who I'd have Nyambe over. It's taken him a while to see the light but he has now. After his two goals I think Rothwell should have locked down his place also. If Reed is unavailable for whatever reason it will be interesting to see who Mowbray partners Trav with. I'd be tempted to go with a youth player (Davenport?) as Rodwell is unlikely to stay and Evans and Smallwood just aren't good enough. I'd do the same with the centreback partner for Lenihan (Magloire?) if Williams form dips again. I do admit however it's more likely we'll see more of Evans, Mulgrew and Smallwood before the season is out.

What are the thoughts on Davenport? If we don't get Reed (looks certain we won't to me) could be step into his shoes?

After another strong performance from the U23s I'd like to see one of the young centre backs give a whirl alongside Lenihan before the end of the season. Not next game as Williams played well last time out and we should keep the same team. But when we do need a change let's go for a youngster over Mulgrew or Rodwell. Also would love to see Chapman on the bench.

We'll I suppose Evans rather than Smallwood is a better result.

WTF - why drop Reed?

Rhodes finishing is unreal, but every other aspect of his game is weak. Never seen a player for rovers so unbalanced in his talents. I'd rather have Graham who does more to bring others into the game. That said Graham getting on now. We need another younger clever, powerful forward like him who can bring the best out of Dack, Rothwell and Chapman. Not got any suggestions mind... Must be someone out there. Maybe Gestede? He's got one year left on his deal so maybe possible. Though Boro probably paying him a fortune, and he's turned 30.

Im not so sure, Armstrong is weak defensively - I think we need to be a bit more robust. Conway worked well with Dack and Rothwell on Tuesday. I'd stick with the same team except Nyambe for Bennett.

The only thing is that TM genuinely thinks Mulgrew and Williams are good enough. He wouldn't have given Mulgrew a long extension, and he wouldn't have persisted with Williams without that opinion. I think when Mowbray draws up the plan for next season hes likely to work from the basis of Lenihan and Mulgrew as his starting centre backs - with Williams and a new signing or one of our loaned out players on the bench (I think Rodwell is likely to go). If we do that I really fear for us next season as Mulgrew is such a huge liability. One of the core tenants of Mowbrays philosophy is to respect seniority and heirachy. If Mulgrews still at the club (and especially if he's club captain) Mowbray will be loathe to drop him on a permanent basis. Same as Bennett, Williams and Conway he will try to fit him in somehow. Only way out is for us to sell him. But I doubt anyone will want him, as hes on a new contract till 2021. Maybe Celtic could be persuaded to take him back? He'd be great in the Scottish league . I don't think Mowbray will actually want to sell though.

What was exciting about last night was previously I would have said Dack and Rothwell would struggle to play together as they inhabit similar space on the pitch. I was totally wrong. Their linkup was superb. Can't wait to see them on there with Chapman too on the right. Something to look forward to after two months of terrible performances.

I think in terms of attacking midfielders him and Dack are the best we've had since the Premier League days. We've also got Chapman coming through. So we could gravitate to starting all three behind the striker. That is a very potent attacking threat. I keep on banging on about it but what's key is we give them a solid back line and central midfield to provide the security to stream forward. Travis, Lenihan, and Reed are all solid. Get the fullbacks and Lenihans partner sorted and we will be in business. I can see a future for Bell and Nyambe - they've got some good fundamental qualities - and maybe they will be effective with a decent central defence. But I suspect we need some more defensively robust fullbacks while they develop. Rodwell, Williams Mulgrew are all centrebacks who can't head the ball, slow on the turn, and lack a sense of danger. They need to go. Shopping list for summer (or promote from U23s if we have the quality) - Reed, LB, RB, CBx2 (so we have effective cover), ST. Remains to be seen if we have the budget and/or nous to find signings of the quality of Dack, Reed and Rothwell rather than Williams, Brereton, Bell, Rodwell.

Bloody hell that's absolutely damming. With Mulgrew per game - 0.13 cleansheets, 0.9 pts Without Mulgrew per game - 0.58 cleansheets, 2 pts He should stay out of the team.