I agree with what you say, but its rare for an attractive club with a good budget to pick a manager in mid table if they can attract those with a better CV. Thats just the way it is. If we get back in the top six for a period and everyone starts talking him up then the situation could change quickly imo.

Letting go of Ayala was the right choice imo given his injury record, and I dont think we could have done much about Phillips. The issue imo was not signing another CB. We tried with Baath (think the plan was to sign him and Hill) but then when the financial situation changed we gave up. We should have found someone.

It's weird - I think a lot of people think of Szmodics as a midfielder (including Elliott Jackson the LET correspondant). But he really isn't... he's been playing as a number 10 right up alongside whoever (usually as a makeshift like Dolan) is a number 9. If Szmodics is a midfielder then so have been the likes of Bellamy or Teddy Sheringham etc. He's often the most forward of all our players, right on the shoulder of the defender. Both his goals on Sunday were classic striker goals. Szmodics average position from the last 5 league games shown by the circle with the 8 (his squad number) below. That isn't a midifelder.

I think the logic is to buy low sell high and consistently improve the quality of the squad. Brentford, Brighton etc have done it. Its a strategy that can work. And tbh if we ever want to get the club standing on its own feet so we no longer need Venkys cash it's the only strategy I can see. If we can make the club independently financially viable we can push them out with some confidence which we just dont have at the moment. Id rather this than spending money we don't have.

Until we are right up in the top six consistently I dont think we need to be too worried about anyone taking him. Not many clubs who would seem worth moving to are going to want a mid table Championship manager

The other plus along with Hill being generally excellent is Pickering has performed well at centre back. Which is strange given his relatively slight build, lack of height, and lack of cb experience. But every time he has to fill in he's done okay.

Think it ultimately finish him at Rovers. I imagine if we were not already looking to replace him in January it will have moved up the agenda. Its such a shame as he was so good two seasons back, but positionally, decision making, being able to compete one on one and his distribution still all over the show. Im sure the thinking would have been to give him a chance this season, but getting sent off with the squad where it is will change minds.

Midfield and up front picks itself... defence is a real nightmare. Having only four recognised centrebacks has come back to bite us. Across a season you always need five. Main positive is Hill looks absolutely fantastic in the air so if they go direct he will be competitive.

At the moment 3 of our former keepers are playing in the Premier League and are highly rated (Raya, Steel and Kaminski) so we've obviously had talent in the period. Agree though that apart from Kaminski's solid spell it's not been convincing since we were relegated from the Premier League. With the keeper situation - it's pretty obvious that the number 1 attribute we are looking for is a keeper who is very good with his feet and we are willing to put up with a lot to get that. I guess that excludes the vast majority of keepers, so the pool we are fishing in is very small. Indeed I think Kaminski was dropped because he wasn't good enough with his feet. I wonder if big brad would have made the grade? It does seem strange. But JDT seems to know what he's doing, and that's the call. And it doesn't seem to just be us... good keepers all over are being dropped in favour of younger "sweeper keepers". Would love to see some good analysis on why exactly it's so crucial to have a sweeper keeper in today's game? As the trade off of passing a bit better but seeming an absolute bomb scare on crosses does not make sense to me. But presumably it makes sense from an angle that the mere spectator struggles to appreciate?

Whether you get the ball or not is irrelevant if the challenge was reckless. Same as Duffys yellow at half time.

I think most refs give that under current rules.

Fantastic result. Thought on the whole we played brilliantly across the pitch. Hill, Tronstad, Szmodics all outstanding. Thought Pickering, JRC, Britain, Dolan, Moran all had very good games. The two Whartons both really struggled imo. Scott just seems to keep doing daft things, including the madness of the challenge for the red when we were 3-0 up. Adam doesn't do daft things but his passing was really off it today. And thats been a theme for months. I suspect Adam will lose his place again to Travis who was superb when he came on. On Leo... i hate judging early. But some of the basics really seem to be missing in terms of handling crosses, and while obviously decent with his feet he is repeatedly playing short passes into marked players which is suicidal. He needs to start catching crosses with authority and picking better passes out of the back asap.

Travis has been quality.

Doubt there will be many wanting to pay mega money atm for him. So off the boil.

When Carters back think him and Hill will be a really good partnership.

JRC would be an absolutely huge loss. Hope just a minor one.

Not sure the foul was about whether he got the ball or not. It was reckless like Duffys yellow just after the restart. And once it was a foul it was red as denying a clear opportunity.

Think it was dolan to hill. But Wharton should have just let him through.

Have we got to the point now where we are willing to just call Szmodics a striker? Hes a very good championship Craig Bellamy.

Well I think Scott thinks hes a ball playing centre half! Hes always looking for the incisive forward pass. Rarely makes them. And his positioning is worrying. Everyone playing very well except the two Whartons and Leo.

Loving JRC playing on the shoulder as a striker 😄

Dolans first touch has been unreal today

Two great finishes by our non-strikers. As good as any who have played for us since Rhodes left.

Think we beat them at Carrow Road twice last season... Didnt realise Carter definitely and Szmodics probably out. So I guess Hill has to play CB with Wharton and if one of them gets injured we are into the kids.. Szmods probably a straight swap for Dolan or Sigurdsson.

Got a lovely 12pm kick off on Sunday... Norwich are a side that confuses me. Lots of resources, good players, recent prem experience but really struggled to make that much of an impression this season or last. Seems a good time to play them with the fans frustrated and them struggling to find the right setup. In terms of Rovers... classic three game winning run, thinking we have come up with a winning setup. Followed by injury to Hyam and Sigurdsson and Brittain having really bad game so suddenly back to the drawing board... Very frustrating. Players who have to play imo - Carter, Hill, Pickering, Szmodics, JRC, Tronstad, Adam Wharton. So seven out of the XI. Of the remaining four spots Leo gets a crack by default as Pears injured, then think Leonard has shown enough to keep his spot. Does feel when he gets a goal he could start scoring a few. To round it off while Scott Wharton has looked shaky I think we have to give him a go. If we can't trust him now when can we? And it means we can keep Hill at right back which is key for defensive cover. Last spot is what to do right wing... again I think persevering with Brittain there is the best option (others being Markanday or Dolan). While it didn't work against Swansea previous games the combination of Hill, JRC and Brittain down the right worked very well, so want us to try that again. Other options can come off the bench. Leo Hill Carter S Wharton Pickering JRC Tronstad A Wharton Brittain Leonard Szmodics