joey_big_nose

Both Kalinic and Nzonzi left before we played in the Championship I think, so not in scope. Rochina a great shout though.

He came in about two years ago - was okay, then unbelievably bad (wigan away...), back in after Wahlstadt (even worse than Pears) and a bit shaky, then around six months of being actually pretty good, then back to shaky, and here we are. I reckon we are looking at about a 33% chance of him coming back in and being any of good/shaky/diabolical.

Oooh what a great pub quiz question - since 2011 what player has gone on to have the most top flight games across Europes five major leagues. Got to be (if we exclude loanees) 1. Raya 2. Cairney After that a lot more guessing. Hanley, Duffy racked up a few. Hoilett? BBD. Wharton now obviously. Ooh... Josh King must be up there. Armstrong Really highlights how few top level players we have had.

Footballs all about having a good plan to generate chances that is hard to counter, and a good plan to limit the opposition. We seem to have landed on both at once which is rare. Even when we were doing well with JDT it was built on pushing a lot of players forward and leaving ourselves exposed. Its very pleasing to see us able to create without weakening ourselves defensively. Putting myself in Eustaces shoes its hard to figure out what to do to hurt us with the starting XI yesterday. Theres not an obvious way to find opportunities. But with Toth and Wharton out it opens up playing it long down our left and seeing how Pickering or Riberio who dont have the aeriel ability of centre backs cope. Also Tronstad being out could opens up the space in front of our cbs.

Hmmm i don't think we played badly at all second half. Conceded virtually no chances. If we play that badly while protecting a lead I am all for it.

It's very weird the club have not announced it but third parties are selling it? Anyone know what is going on?

McLoughlin got the armband yesterday after Wharton went off so I guess they will stick with that with Tronstad also out.

Looking ahead to Derby I think Id go Pears Miller. McLoughlin. Pickering Alebiouso. TGH. Forshaw. Hedges Morishita Ohashi. Gudjonsen Just look to get forward down the right and defend on the left. Bring Montgomery, De Neve, Henricksson for extra energy around the 60th-70th minute. I have include Forshaw as I think Montgomery and TGH are a bit too similar in how they are most comfortable getting forward, and we will need someone who can drop off and calm things down a bit in the middle. If we had Toth and Wharton id be optimistic, but feels like our defensive confidence could be quite fragile. First goal even more crucial than usual.

Yup works on an immediate sorting of players as good or bad then will stick with it come hell or high water!

Agreed we have to stick with the 3412 - the combination of Miller, Alebiouso, Morishita, Ohashi down the right is absolutely devastating. Sort of setup which is both offensively almost impossible to defend against as they totally overwhelm the oppositions left side while being very robust off the ball. That said I wouldn't go for Riberio at lcb - he is way too small. We were lucky Bristol were poor and down a man so couldnt target him. Pickering seems more suited to me. A bit bigger and more physical, and has more quality on the ball which you need in that role. Feeling a bit concerned about not having Wharton organising things though as he is brilliant at it.

Great performance... Not only winning the game, probably should have scored more, but completely limited Bristol City to virtually no chances. Really first rate. Hope Wharton and Toth are okay. Wanted Ismael out four games ago, but suddenly we look as good as we have done jn recent years, maybe the exception of JDTs first season. Championship football is so bizarre. Anyone who says they know what will happen in advance doesn't have a clue.

Could just be cramp

No way Morishita can do that job, no where near physical enough. De Neve and Hedges both been good enough for me.

Wharton off is bad news, breaks up the back three who have been brilliant. Really surprised we haven't seen Montgomery or De Neve

Surprised we brought Forshaw on instead of Montgomery?

Classic Championship. Such a mess, especially with all the relegated clubs being poor. Should be very entertaining!

I guess we'll bring on De Neve at some point, with Henricksson and Montgomery. Massive energy infusion around 60-70 minutes.

I think they've both done okay in recent games. In combination with Alebiouso Morishita has been brilliant today.

Who is the co commentator? Feels like he is ex Bristol?

Well I take it back, Morishita showed great pace and a bit of strength there. Really great performance this half. This system is brilliant for us.

We really should be at least one up with the opportunities weve had.

We look really well balanced, hard working, defensively sound, creating decent opportunities. Final pass not great though from both teams. Morishita is a good technical player with good movement, but one on one he gets so out matched physically. The man marking him will get a bit of a shock when Henricksson turns up on the hour.

Probably great news for us generating a transfer fee too. But he's our best player, and a really difficult role to replace as it's so demanding physically and technically, so would be a massive miss for us.

Yeah I agree. I guess what we are probably looking at is if Alebiousu is unavailable then Miller will play there. But he's not going to offer the same quality. But I can't see us spending a lot on an attacking wing back who won't be first XI. Definitely can see the situation of us going on a bit of a roll over the next few weeks with the 352, then Aleb gets injured, and the whole system falls apart. Very Rovers!

I quite like McLoughlin. He's done well. No way I would be bringing in Riberio. For me our needs are : - Defence : Extra experienced CB, could be a bit of a veteran, and recall O'Riordan so Miller can cover RWB if needed. - Midfield : Extra experienced Championship CM in his peak years (26-29). Not another inexperienced youth player, or old player who hasn't got the legs. - Striker : At least one CF in their peak years with a championship or equivalent scoring record. I imagine we could find players who fit the bill in defence and midfield. Up front is a real problem as I can't see how we will have the money to sign anyone worthwhile. Lets not do the pointless Dennis / Woodrow thing again.