Based on our qualifiers I think we will play 433 against Czech and Scotland but 343 against Croatia.

Yeah, really really can't fathom the sense in playing someone whose not in the squad when you have 26 who are!!! Madness.

The big issue for the 2004 team (and all our teams 1998-2014) was a lack of width. We just didn't produce any good enough wide players. Had a few around the edge of the team - Kerion Dyer, Sean Wright-Phillips, Aaron Lennon - but they never really established themselves as top players. In Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Joe Cole you had great players but players drawn to the centre of the pitch in the "number 10" space. It just got way too congested. And there was no one really "anchoring" the midfield as they were all forward minded. Even Beckham was quite a narrow right mid who wasn't interested in stretching the play. And further all those top players - none of them were really quick. The squad as a whole was imbalanced. So I'd say while the 2020 squad is really lacking the defensive quality of the 2004 squad, and the top level experience of the midfield, it does have a big benefit in being a lot better balanced. There's a lot of players happy to play wide or narrow, in Declan Rice we seem to have a top defensive midfielder, and we have a lot of pace.

Really surprised Richards had us at 4th too! Good on him.

I have to agree with you I can't see what Armstrong gets out of a new deal? He could get a £5-10k a week bump, but still would likely make hugely more moving in Jan or Summer. I suppose on the other hand a long term deal protects him if he gets a serious injury or something. And he may be thinking "I'm happy enough here, as as well get paid more and someone can pay the big money to get me". I would be very pleasantly surprised if he signs a new deal. Feels very optimistic though.

As in sign a new contract or run down his current one?

Didn't realise Norway hadn't made it. Wow that's bad given they have Haarland and a few other good players and so many teams are at the tournament. Had a look through Turkey's results and it's a mixed bag. Lost a few against teams they should beat like Hungary but some good results against France and Italy. See what you mean.

Don't think Grealish will make it due to injury. Cant see how Sancho will be left out. Surely must be going. Starting team for me. Looking back through our recent games it looks like we will play 433 against most teams but 343 against the top sides. 433 Pickford Walker. Stones. McGuire. Chilwell Mount. Rice. Foden. Stirling. Kane. Rashford Very attacking but thats where our strength lies. In reality Southgate will probably drop one of the attackers and play an extra DM - Henderson or Phillips. 343 Pickford Walker. Stones. McGuire. James. Rice. Mount. Chillwell Stirling. Kane. Foden. Again in reality an attacker will probably be dropped by Southgate and an extra DM will be played alongside Rice.... I personally can't see the point in leaving better players on the bench to play more defenders / defensive midfielders. But Southgate has shown that's where his head is at. Reckon England will do well until we play France or Belgium then we go out. Just about fancy us to shade it against anyone else, but will be tight against Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany. All very similar quality. So worth saying a couple of the smaller sides look really good - Denmark and Norway are stacked with talent. Croatia always very good too.

Why on earth do you believe that? He's defo staying.

Time will tell with Rothwell but in a good footballing side well managed like Brentford he will be a top player imo. He's bound to get a good move. Probably the only player apart from Armstrong, Travis and Kaminski who would get a move to a side above us in the table.

Really disappointed we are letting Rothwell go. He's not been managed well by Mowbray at all imo. Mowbray seemed to take the approach to bully him a bit which seemed unfair. He had his faults but it wasn't his attitude. Needed more if an arm round him. Feels a lot like Cairney. Genuinely talented but strangely not valued. Likely to go on to a higher level like Cairney. Seems totally self inflicted. Other players far less promising treated better.

Would have kept Bell and let Johnson and Bennett go. What on earth is the point of keeping players over 30 who are so injury prone?

To be fair to Mowbray Armstrong and Travis have really improved. Brereton as well but he was appalling so has improved from a pretty low bar! But then again Nyambe, Lenihan, Rothwell, Gallagher haven't improved. So, mixed bag really. Should be doing beter.

That he's missed the playoffs by 20 points, and survived an absolutely horrendous 12 game run through Feb and March, suggests to me he's here for life now. Venkys analysis maybe "we're not going to invest to go up, so may as well stick with Mowbray as it will be cheaper than get someone new". Issue is all the ingredients are there for relegation next year, but I don't think Venkys can or want to see that.

As an aside how much better than Douglas has Bell been? Douglas is absolutely shocking imo. Worst first team signing in a long time. Really hope Pickering is a good un. Left backs been a real problem position for us all the way back to Warnock.... Also I would give Bell a new contract as backup. I think we can get more out of him.

Classic Mowbray. Goes through good run, bad run, good run, death spiral, now back on the up with some really good performances. That's the way it's always been with his managerial tenure at Rovers and his clubs before. We might have a good summer of recruitment, we might start next season really well. But we will all know the spiral is on its way. As an aside I don't really get why people think we play poor football. Id say we play very entertaining football on the whole. It's the glass jaw that is our issue. But what's the point in sticking with a manager who you know is not going to get you up?

Fines for 9 of the ESL teams announced. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/07/nine-of-european-super-league-rebel-clubs-commit-to-uefa-competitions The retrospective fines seem pretty pitiful. £2m roughly per club which is probably around their weekly wage bill. Even the future £100M contract break clause seems hardly much of a barrier. They'll be looking for bigger numbers. I'm interested to see if the PL takes a harder line. Looks doubtful to me.

I wonder if Evans, Holtby, Trybull, Elliott, Downing, Johnson and Bennett will all go? That's 7 midfielders! That will leave us with Rothwell, Travis, Davenport, Buckley so we'll need to sign at least two more.

Bellingham also looks like a player who could burst onto the scene and make a huge difference for England. And Rice has come on hugely in the last year. We're starting to look really strong in every position except centre back and GK. If we can find one top CB and one top GK we will maybe hope to get on France and Belgiums level. (As an aside I don't think we've ever really had a football rivalry with the French? Not sure why? Probs just never really drawn them at tournaments. I can't ever think of us playing them in a knockout round? Scotland, Germany and Argentina are our rivals. France don't come anywhere near those 3).

Totally agree I'm sure Rotherham will play 343, sit deep and let us have the ball, and we won't know what to do, and then they nick something on a set piece. That's basically been the straightforward way to get a result out of us. Huddersfield played right into our hands (4 at the back, very open attacking style) but I can't see Rotherham doing the same.

Harvey will definitely play PL, just not sure at the Champions League level. Could end out carving out a career mid or lower table. 17 though so could rapidly come on. With BB its just about if he learns to get his head up and improves his final ball. If so could be a yo-yo player I think. He's improved so much in 12 months it's not unthinkable he could keep going. I thought he was the worst striker we ever had in his first season... As an aside its been pointed out since we've focussed on being direct and counter attacking him and Gallagher look so much better. Interested to see if we continue in that vein. It's so hard to pick out who will do well. Armstrong statistically has been fabulous at Championship level. Hes quick, scores on his own counter attacking, poaches, gets goals from range, does have a link up side to his game that he showed yesterday. Not one dimensional like Rhodes was/is. Got so many tools. But... I've got a nagging feeling he will bomb at PL level. Lacks physicality, not quite clinical enough, feels like good prem defenders will sideline him easily. But then again people said that about Bamford and he has thrived. I guess you don't really know till it happens.

He's so much better than he was a year ago. It's really light and day. His hold up play and running with the ball are both excellent. He was like Bambi on ice in 19/20, but this season he holds off, turns and runs so well. That said he really really needs to work on his passing, heading and finishing. Hes way too head down, and far too often carries the ball 30 yards and then makes a ridiculous pass to the opposition. Must have done that 3 times today.

I liked Villanueva, in the talented but not very effective bracket we specialised in for a while with him, Formica and Rochina. All of them could have had decent careers for Rovers with better managers I think.

Yes - while good I've not really been blown away by Eliott to be honest. He's got good stats but rarely beats a man, rarely scores. When he doesn't play I don't really think we miss him to be honest. He's incredibly young so sure he will come on. But seems a long way away from the likes of Foden, Sancho, Bellingham, Greenwood etc who are England's future. I'm not that convinced he will be a big player for England. The standout loan for me has been Harwood-Bellis. Cracking player, would love it if we could get him for another year. Would take Elliott too obviously. But if I could only take one it would be H-B.

The midfield should be 3 out of Travis, Rothwell, Buckley and Davenport between now and the end of the season imo. I assume (maybe foolishly) we will pull out the stops to keep Rothwell and let Trybull, Evans, Johnson, Holtby, Downing, Bennett all go. If we offer Evans or Bennett a new contract I'll absolutely lose it.