I could see Wharton playing the role Bellingham does for England.

Two of my favourite Rovers sides were based on actual wingers who hugged the touchline - one actually won the Premiership. I struggle to think of a team these days that plays with proper wingers - left footers on the left wing etc. Having said all that - amongst the mindless passing about at the back - Rovers have scored some exceptional team goals under JDT.

Starting to get worried now. Yet another match we played ok - but get 0 points. JDT got a job on his hands to keep confidence up.

Agree about the corner - thought the flight of the ball for the cross they scored from would have been difficult for any keeper

Thought 4-1 flattered them - and overall we played well. Obvious issues in defence for their first goal, second was Premiership class, third - yes a penalty but the guy is over 6ft and dives so easily it is untrue, 4th goal pressing to get back in game though thought keeper could have been quicker to close down shot. For all the stick the defence will get - our decision making in the final third was woefull at times - possibly highlighting the lack of a centre forward. Gallagher will get better and better the longer this goes on.

Never had to deal with addiction ?

TBH he has picked a front 4 who are all in the goals at the moment. I hope Travis plays a little deeper in this match to give the defence a bit more cover. For all the criticism of the defence, it is partly due to the system - which often leaves defenders 1 on 1

Ignored

All depends - what you say to the press and what you do on the training ground don't necessarily match. The players have to believe - and seem to have taken on board his philosophy. Confidence is a big thing - and JDT knows this. Small tweaks - like Travis playing more defensively can easily be made behind the scenes.

Must admit it was a well won penalty - he knew what he was doing. But if it had been the other way around, I would be congratulating the Rovers player that won it.

I don't know why - maybe blind optimism - but I have a feeling we may win this one.

What happened to Garrett last night ? Way below his usual performance levels - also JRC didn't do his chances of a midfield start much good either.

I would consider dropping Wharton - nothing to do with ability - but more to protect him for the season. He looked knackered on Saturday. Let's play Buckley instead - doh...

Not if that manager was Steve Kean 😒

I hope you are right about Telalovic scoring. He came on at a difficult time in the match on Saturday - so will reserve judgement. He didn't look particularly quick - not slow - but no Bellamy. Difficult to assess his hold up play, as service was so poor. His miss when through on goal was interesting (when offside) as he showed vision to try to chip the keeper - poor execution, but right idea against an on rushing keeper. I hope Gallagher is fit, so we can introduce Telalovic in the second half - rather than starting - and gently ease him in.

For me it was a case of missed opportunities - we took 2, missed some very clear chances. But they also had some good chances. We would have been unlucky not to win - but it could have been so different. Boro look a good side - can't see them at the bottom come the end of the season.

There is a 3rd option - to appease the Indian government. Though either of your options could be the eventual outcome even if brought in for the 3rd option.

Totally agree - why not give tickets for a fiver to all season ticket holders, plus anyone buying a ticket for the Sunderland match ? This type of thing just slowly erodes the fan base - and atmosphere. A few grand saved is nothing compared to the long term implications.

My immediate thought was manic street preachers - never seen the Spanish Civil War reference. We learn A little every day 🙂

Fools or not - IMO they didn't honour Jack's final wishes for the club - and that is the worst thing.

I don't know about you - but I would prefer a managed exit, so we can rebuild from a reasonable level, rather than caught in the tail spin of their financial problems. It is amazing to think - if you rewound a few weeks everything was fairly settled. We had brought in three promising players (early), settled management team, and I think most were looking forward to the new season with a degree of optimism (irrespective of our owners). Now looks like chickens are coming home to roost for our owners (and by default us) and that optimism is quickly evaporating.

Reality is we have a wage bill that far out weighs our income. We have a relatively small fan base, in an extremely competitive catchment area. Though we could become yet another rich person's play thing - we struggled to sell the club while in the Premiership with a good balance sheet - far more difficult sell now. Having said that, I pray you are right - and another Jack Walker is waiting in the wings to buy the club.

But what will that mean for Rovers ? The club is split in two with the training ground sale, we totally rely on funds from the owners, unless there is another Jack Walker out there - how do we avoid a Bury or Wigan scenario ? Everyone seems to be celebrating this news - I struggle to see how we can currently survive without the owners cash injections.

Totally agree - we can't complain about players blocking the path way for A Wharton etc - and then watch new players block their progress (obviously not the case in this window) In truth this window could go either way - there are so many players we have brought in with huge question marks against them. But when you look at the players we have lost - most were fringe players either because of injury or in Diaz case, lack of form post Christmas (I think Diaz is our biggest loss, as he was the one player that could do something different, score a goal from nothing). One thing is certain - we will find out how good Greg and our scouting network is - as we need a high % of these new players to be at the very least useful. The one thing I will say, given our financial restrictions, I think the signings show a certain amount of imagination. Based on reputation I think Sigurdsson could be the best of the bunch - but Moran and Ennis have both looked good, As for Buckley - the one positive I can see, is that in theory we now have a space in our wage budget for a unattached player to be brought in. As time passes - those players will become increasingly willing to lower their wage demands - could this be something we are banking on ?

Agree - no glamour, could easily get beaten.