I thought this is the sort of scrappy physical game that would suit Garrett but hes looked a yard off the tackle let alone passing.

Whats frustrating is the two goals were soft and ones that the back three and McFadz signing were supposed to stop. We looked so comfortable but suddenly on even terms.

Quite smart what we've done... Put Szmodics up top and Dolan and Gallagher in the two number 10 roles. Works much better than Gally up top at Brum.

My birthday too! 2 beers deep, aiming for 8.

3 very slow cbs, we will be playing quite deep I guess. I hope Fleck is very creative player. The burden will be on him to find the right passes for the front three. No buckley on the bench either so if it isnt working not sure what we do....

Well we look much more physically competitive now, and started well against Birmingham. But as time wore on Birmingham should have scored 3 or 4, all coming from poor mistakes from us. Lucky to get out with a 1-0 loss. We're getting caught in age old trap of as we get more defensive how do we create chances? We're not going to to commit players forward in the numbers we did under JDT (and so we shouldn't as we were getting battered). It's really down to the front three to make something happen, with a bit of support from the wing backs and one of the centre mids. Could do with Buckley coming back to help with the forward passing from midfield. If he's available I would start him instead of JRC. Not sure what state Fleck is in or really much about how he plays, but if the manager thinks he should come in will be interested to see how he can help us going forward.

I think personally Eustace has probably had a hand in the signings of Fleck and Fadz and input into how we setup on Saturday. Just a hunch. But JDT was on his way out, Broughton knew that and probably sounded Eustace out about what he wanted. Id be really surprised if we change anything against Brum. Will be exactly the same I think

I imagine they were on board when it was going well, then after sixth/seventh horrendous result in a row started to question how we were playing. Always the way. I guess by the time we went to West Brom away and JDT was still telling them they need to overload the channels, recycle the ball instead of crossing it in etc there would have been some very skeptical and dejected expressions in the dressing room. I hope Eustace has a flexible approach. Certainly seems that way from his writeups.

Crikey... sounds like the rumors of JDT losing the dressing room were right. Brittain's quotes very dismissive of Tomasson's style and approach. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/24112995.blackburns-change-approach-dressing-room-discussions/?fbclid=IwAR1GbSE7IDB1Kou34GQVjeTu0u5Bony-ivCCcdyFcsUUTC71wmWcGtE53do

Yeah they must be the hardest working front three in the division. All of them absolutely ridiculous in how much ground they cover.

Think Dolan and Gallagher in a two with Szmodics in behind will suit both of them very well. Theyre both players who thrive off covering a huge amount of ground, and the 4231, 433, 343 all limited them to playing in more narrow channels as other players in their space. Szmodics goal scoring might suffer a bit conversely as he is pushed back into midfield - though he got one on Saturday.

Yes agreed. We shouldn't put everything that JDT did in the bin... In the right circumstances its effective. Id like us to have a deep 352 counter attack as our default (to minimise our absolute Achilles heel of conceding early) but able to change to a 4231 possession game as an alternative when the original setup isn't working.

Exact same team I am sure. Tactics obviously big difference to the Tomasson era, but also having Dolan, Gallagher, Hedges, JRC, Pears back and Chrisene and McFadz coming in from transfers has completely changed the dynamic of the side. Weve gone from being quite soft and struggling to impose ourselves to becoming a team who will outwork most sides and physically compete. I feel quite positive about our chances.

If we're playing relatively direct that will suit Travis down to the ground. Bet Eustace wishes he had Trav instead of Ayeri. Thats the trade we made at the start of Jan.... Even if Ayeri is decent weve got Szmodics, Moran, Markanday and even Buckley after that number 10 role. In terms of proper grafting centre mids its just Tronstad and JRC can do a job, and Fleck if he is fit.

Yeah, night and day compared to how we played under JDT. We get a bit of a bonus at the moment - new manager bounce and totally new way of playing will bamboozle how other teams setup. Stoke with the high line obviously thought we were going to stay playing the Tomasson way and they could compress us, so were not ready for how direct we were. Need to get the points on the board in the next few games before other teams start to adjust. An interesting thought is I wonder how long Eustace was on the radar with GB and if he had any input direct ot indirect into the McFadz and Fleck signings. Both not very JDT...

Could be 352 with Chrisene playing LCB and Hedges LWB? They tend to order the side correctly on the tweet so Hedges listed before the CMs suggests he is at LWB.

While hes got the work rate - Dolan's too head down for me to play wing back, and hasn't got much of a deep cross on him. Hes much more focussed on beating his man than getting the ball in.

Yeah I know... But dont think we have any other option. We are not going to keep being so offensive.

@J*B was Eustace incoming the thing discussed on Wednesdays panel that no one could talk about?

Seems like Eustace has been in the picture for a couple of weeks, so Id be surprised if he had no input into the setup at all. I imagine he has already met with Lowe and DJ. My expectations is that we bin all the super offensive stuff, sit deeper in numbers and break quickly. I am sure Eustace will have already diagnosed that the first step is stop conceding so many chances and goals.

Link? It's a a total sh!tshow at the club, but getting the new manager sorted in the background has been one positive at least. Knowing how chaotic things have been I was wondering if we would have been drifting along for weeks.

There's no way we could offer Allardyce what he would want in terms of financially, backroom, etc. Total non starter.

Well Eustace has not got much professional league experience, but in his short term managing Birmingham (15 months) he came out on top in a relegation battle and got Birmingham into the playoff spots (albeit with a classic Championship 2 point gap to 11th, which puts it into perspective)... So seems a better fit than JDT is to the current situation we are in. He seems a reasonable choice in the circumstances. I can't see too many others with the right experience of a relegation battle. On his CV Alex Neil would also be a good choice I think, although his time at Stoke recently is a worry...

To be honest the key moment was the Indian courts freezing the assets in the summer. From that moment I think this time would come as the financial stability disappeared. Only thing that would have changed it is if we had managed to get into the Prem last year, and none of those events above would have got us there as I can't see how we would have won the playoffs. It's also equally true that while the new manager appointment is important, the key defining thing for us until Venkys one day (please god) leave is whether we can solve this capital issue. Otherwise fast forward 6 months and the new managers and a lot of the players will be gone too.

I think Nicko is source for the above - so someone, incorrectly or correctly - is saying that has been the blocker. I guess the situation is JDT knows is he sits in role he could force Rovers to eventually have to pay up his contract (maybe a million quid for 18 months? Just a guess). JDT says "I'll be okay to walk if we make it £500k". Then Rovers say - well, that's fine, but Sweden FA need to pay that £500k not Rovers. And that is the negotiation. I could be wrong but that is what it feels like.