Lack of Armstrong is meaning they can push up.

Especially considering elbow in Williams face and two deliberate trips not punished.

TM stretching it a bit

Key player for me is Rothwell. We all know Pears will start - and though I like your forward line it is likely Gallagher will start - if he does I hope for once it is as a centre forward and not out on the wide.

17 appearances in the Championship last season.

I make it 9 or 10 (depending if Rothwell back or not) - but agree appears inflated (unless of course more players out than released.

Nobody knows how fit he will be. By all accounts he is a true professional so will possibly have kept his fitness levels up. Don't know why deal wasn't agreed earlier. Would have been perfect cover for left back or midfield. I wonder if Covid issues have spooked the club, or just difficult to agree a deal.

I'll reserve judgement until we see him playing as a centre forward - but fear you are correct.

I partly agree with this. Yesterday was yet another match where if we had taken our chances the result may have been different - so though the defence is poor at the momennt, we also aren't taking our chances either. Watching the first goal - though Lenihan should have been stronger - if he had held their players shirt in the same way he would have given away a penalty. We have been extremely unlucky with injuries - especially COVID - yesterdays midfield could have included Johnson, Travis and Rothwell - you can't ignore that. BUT - it was extremely worrying how our heads dropped after their second goal. Up to now we have responded extremely well to falling behind in games - but the reaction was almost "here we go again". I can understand the players thinking that - as we have been unlucky at times with injuries, going behind in games we are largely dominating etc - but when they start to feel sorry for themselves we are in trouble

And who would you have played at left back ?

I must admit, never seen the Greek lad play. What are his main attributes that make him a better bet than Pears ?

Formation doesn't matter if our defenders continue to make school boy errors.

I suggest you watch the highlights on sky - it was going nowhere near the corner flag.

For one - he would have been 1 on 1 with their forward - so still likely to concede. Also - how many times have we critised keepers for staying on their line - in this case it would have been a straightforward collection by the keeper if not for Douglas's heel. I am not certain what is going on - but Pears seems to be getting a lot of stick from some on this MB - though we let in 4, not really certain what he could have done (also no one seems to mention his unbelievable reaction save from Williams). Give the lad a chance.

For starters he is going to have to strengthen back muscles for frequent picking ball out of net (based on Tuesday). Possibly adapting to sweeper keeper (which is part of new approach). Understanding how poor our defenders are ie don't assume Douglas will let ball come through to you - need to consider he may back heel and adjust position accordingly ?

Didn't say it wasnt his fault - just that the formation we adopted couldn't be blamed for individual errors. To put some balance - Ayala was unavailable, as was Bell. There was a fair amount of debate on here whether JRC or Nyambe should start - with some say how could you drop JRC (hindsight is a wonderful thing). Everyone has been clamouring for Douglas to start. I also think losing Johnson was a blow - given the addional heading ability he brings in midfield. Also, Lenihan's form is a huge concern - could TM have predicted such a down turn ? Not saying I am happy with TMs approach to the defence - where IMO we needed another decent centre half bringing in - even allowing for keeping Williams.

For those blaming the formation - how many goals were due to individual errors as opposed to the defence being exposed due to the system ?

And yet he gets accused of tinkering too much ?. Get a formation and stick to it, dont worry so much about the opposition has often been leveled at him. I am not saying you are necessarily wrong - but just pointing out how difficult it is to please all the fans all the time.

I just watched the highlight of first goal - I think he had positioned himself for Douglas to let it go through. Then, as per rest of defence, was undone by Douglas heel. I can't believe the stick he is getting - every single one of our defenders had a mare last night - so not certain how Pears can really be blamed.

Could I ask what he did wrong last night. His position for the first goal was a mystery - but so was our whole defence. But I struggle to think in which situations he could have done better. It is a genuine question - I know we let in 4 goals, but not certain what he could have done better (other than 1st goal - but the outcome would have been the same)

What is funny - one game ago some people were saying what a good manager TM was - one game later some people want him sacked. Some poor defensive performances tonight - don't think any of the back 4 came out with any credit. Not certain why Pears seems to be getting some stick - first goal possible could be better positioned - but not certain he could have stopped any of them. Though made little difference - frustrated with referee who did little to stop their time wasting - and frustratingly booked Rovers players, but not Reading players making similar offences.

I am worried - as I feel far too optimistic about this match. Reading sound a little like us when first relegated under Kean - where results were far better than performances. Let's hope we can put an end to their run.

I agree about starting matches- but would imagine we will see him coming off the bench (hopefully) before then. Great player to come on to help us unlock a tiring defence ?

Going to a tough call for TM - a lot of players lose an edge in pace following this type of injury and Dack was never really quick anyway. The one thing Dack will give us is the ability to unlock a defence with a bit of skill and goal scoring threat - how we fit him into the current team is a quandary for TM.

I think (and this isn't BBs fault,) £7m was far too much for a Championship side to pay for potential. Even most Premiership sides would have hesitated at that price. If he continues to improve, and possibly plays a key role in promotion we may look back and congratulate TM for his eye for a player - but will still think it was a huge gamble for a mid table Championship club.