Torgeir

Me too. I think he'd be well up for a battle versus Smallwood.

Nyambe is suspended though. Do we know Travis is out with COVID? Bad news if so.

Going by what someone posted prior, which was £5m.

Can't see Healey joining us for the fee quoted unless there's an offer in for Breo that's too good for us to turn down. If that's the case then signing one established striker in Healey and a prospect in Markanday makes sense. Would prefer a loan deal for Healey though, not much resale value there unless he bags 15 goals for us as we finish behind Fulham again for automatic promotion.

I can see Lenihan, Rothwell and possibly Nyambe waiting out their deals unless a good PL offer (or top foreign league) comes in. If we win promotion we'll be able to offer better terms and they'll be more than happy to stay.

Pitch quality has deteriorated as well, more misplaced passes and difficult to counter as efficiently as we have been doing. We will have bad patches but this crop has a lot of belief and won't stop running, so we can pick up points against most teams even on a bad day.

I don't agree that we're paper thin. When called upon the players coming off the bench have done well and managed to see games out. Gallagher, Dolan, Johnson, Ayala and Davenport have all been bench warmers lately. Not saying I don't want reinforcements, but we already have one RB incoming plus Dack and JRC returning towards the end of the season.

Rovers is an excellent shop window for exciting young players like O'Riley at the moment. Beat us to Obafemi so time to show some intent here, Tony.

Seem to have improved miles since we beat them when they were a really poor outfit. Hopefully they can make a good FA Cup run and start wearing thin.

It's a big ask of Nyambe to have him play all games. Pickering and Edun have shared the left back role although it looks like it's Harry's to lose. Rhino has been a model pro as far as I'm concerned, and he can also slot into central defense when needed instead of Johnson. I'd still like Rovers to improve his terms and sign a cheap backup, but I'll wait and see how Zeefuik looks before passing judgment. With Dack returning we'll have a lot of options in the run-in, just hope we can avoid the usual period with key players injured this season.

You believe it's a good idea to put a left-footed central midfielder at right back? As for Nyambe, I think he's an honest pro and has had issues with tight hamstrings before. He sprints quite often during matches and puts down a lot of effort going both ways. He'll probably still fondly remember how he was displaced by first JRC then Bennett, so I don't think he owes Mowbray anything. What I don't understand is how a loan with a view to a permanent deal (at the figures quoted) for Zeefuik makes better business sense than offering Nyambe better terms. The latter has made 200 apps for us, just turned 24, and will be able to leave on a free come summer. Give him what he wants to try and push for promotion and then let him leave on a cheap if we need to slash the wage bill. Same goes for Lenihan. Rothwell has been some player this season but in the end is not very good defensively and his numbers (goals/assists) are far from where they should be - and that's probably why there aren't more suitors in for him.

Defenders are coming

Doesn't have the work ethic needed. Would have been a good fit last season, but the current squad is different. Just hope they keep the workrate up even if they should hit a slump.

Had an off night, maybe still not fully fit. Dolan was poor too.

Khadra can tear this league apart, a lot of raw potential there.

Gave it a good go. Short cameos but not impressed by Poveda and Clarkson of what I've seen from them so far. Incredible that Butterworth can't get amongst the action tonight instead of Poveda but I guess that's in the loan deal.

He had one very good half, Lenihan had a good game. Would have gone with Pickering or Ayala myself. At least Mowbray doesn't sub Rothwell at the earliest opportunity but it doesn't look likely that he'll sign an extension. Sad if he leaves for peanuts in Jan, or nothing come next summer.

Clarkson doesn't look ready yet. Think he'll switch it up a little come Saturday.

Game of two halves. Backline excellent, especially Pickering impressed me against a very good player in Wilks. Kaminski looked little assured at times. Well taken goals, mammoth Ayala nods home again before BBD scored a beauty. Need to come quicker out of the blocks, but good to see Mowbray reacted and made some adjustments. Butterworth looks a lively one, and will score soon if he keeps getting minutes.

Ash Phillips started for England U17 tonight in their 2-1 win over Portugal. Was on the bench in the 2-0 win vs. Romania. Looking forward to the reviews of him going forward, sounds a very exciting prospect.

Dolan

I don't think Breo suits playing the lone forward role tbh. So far this season the answer is yes, but looking back a couple of seasons we all know the answer. I would love for Sam to go through a purple patch, but I don't think the anticipation and finishing technique is there for him to become a great goalscorer over time.

I don't mind Sam Gallagher leading the line at this point, but I'm unsure whether we have enough good finishers to stay competitive. I think we have a mid-table manager managing a mid-table squad, so that's where my expectations lie. There used to be a video on the Rovers website with finishing challenge. Can't find it now, but it sums up Sams abilities inside the box. Not too fuzzed about Rhys Healey not joining, if that story is correct. Either someone more proven or someone who can develop into the next Arma for me.

10:18pm Had the links to Oli Burke played down by those around the club.

Wasting time and money on signing too many players in the same positions. Khadra and Poveda will probably come with guaranteed playing time as part of their package (to negotiate the price down), agree?