Had it been lashing it down, I suspect he would not have 'fancied going today'.

With no Armstrong, Chapman or Rothwell, that side looks very pedestrian to me.

OK. Ta. You can edit and delete that now ?

And yet you still put him in your starting lineup for Fulham last weekend !! Nyambe was terrible on Tuesday night. However we know from last season that he's not usually that bad, and he was unfortunate to get dropped for the end of last season. Whilst his crossing isn't the best, he's actually better at trying to run past a full back going forward than Bennet. He's also better in the air than Bennett - an attribute we are incredibly short on if Tosin is out tomorrow. With Reed gone, I think there is a place for Bennett, but it's as cover for Travis and Johnson. His energy is his biggest attribute, and his distribution is no worse than Smallwood or Evans. I actually think he's a decent championship midfielder but he's getting panned now from some quarters unfairly as he's being shoved out of position.

I've never wanted to sit by the away fans Paul. However at most away grounds I have been to there have been numerous home fans who obviously regularly sit close to the travelling support exchanging what they probably see as 'banter'. As astonishing as it may seem to you, it's something that a large number of people like to do at most clubs up and down the country. Why are we trying to upset or inconvenience these fans? I posted after the Charlton game that I went with an armchair football fan who doesn't attend many games at all. He was looking forward to coming, and at half time he wanted a pie and a pint. We arrived at the kiosk queue at 3.38 and got served at 4.03pm. We thus missed a chunk of the first half, and because we had to drink the beer a chunk of the second half. He went for a fun day out and found that ridiculous. Now you and me may go to purely watch the game, but the matchday experience is different things to different people. If, as a club, we ignore what people want and expect from a match day experience, we can't be surprised if some people then choose not to attend.

Eh? Did Dack not have any contribution to the goal, both in the way the goal came about and the way he had change the dynamic of the game to allow others more space? I'd say Dack and Rothwell between them changed the game. But if you think Downing single-handedly changed that game fair enough.

Did he really? Did Dack and Rothwell not change the game completely meaning that suddenly Downing started getting big pockets of space in midfield? Had Dack not been fouled right on the edge of the box with numerous defenders around him, Downing wouldn't have had Cairney-like space to shoot. Until we actually had an attacking threat on the pitch, all Downing was doing was picking the ball up and going square or just firing it into the box.

A rather dull and dreary 65 minutes followed by a much more exciting last 25, mainly thanks to our "get everyone on the pitch wherever" approach at the end. Nyambe and Cunningham were both surprisingly pretty bad. We know Nyambe is better than that, but his touch, decision making, and positioning was all wrong. Cunningham got skinned with a stopover early on and looked a bit shaky and frustrated for the rest of the evening. Smallwood was marginally better than Evans, but you know that they are sterile, slow the game down and don't look to go forward. Buckley didn't do much and looked like he was trying too hard. Downing does look a better footballer than Conway, but he has no zip or spark about him and isn't going to change the game single handedly. At least he kept his shot down for the goal at the end, whereas our usual midfielders put 25 yarders into the stand. The build up was so slow and sterile. It's like we thought if we kept hold of the ball and passed it around in the middle of the pitch eventually some gaping hole would open up for us the play the ball into and get a free shot on goal. No-one was trying to make anything happen. no-one was driving the team forward. Once Dack came on, Graham looked twice the player. Suddenly he had a runner in and around him and could lay ball (some high and diagonal into him!!) off into Dacks path. Dack also looked a couple of levels above the opposition. We've not seen him be as influential as that for a while. There's a bit of a worry that he's a flat track bully against poorer opponent in regards to his ability to come deep, turn and link up play. He will always find space and score goals like last season, but where he really stands out seemed to be in the league one campaign and against lower league opposition. Rothwell changed the pace of the game. He picks the ball up just inside the opposition half and his first thought is how far forward can I take this ball to put us on the attack. He may lose it now and again but thats what happens when you try and make something happen. He's almost first name on the team sheet for me the weekend. Chapman only really ran at his full back twice. Having got the left back booked, he was then switched to the right, probably because more of the play was coming down the right. If he meant the low ball into Dark at the near post that was a great ball. Finally, Brereton. I really want the lad to do well, but he doesn't look like its going to happen. When he gets the ball, or is running with the ball, he looks 'awkward'. Therefore he either needs to be a big physical presence or have great awareness in the penalty box and he doesn't. The problem is, he should be behind Graham, Armstrong, Gallagher in the pecking order, and I've still yet to see he is any better than Samual or the departed Nuttall. He may start getting chances purely because TM signed him, rather than on merit, which would just be wrong. He will score goals over a period of time but he doesn't look like he's ever going to constantly scare the opposition during games.

Two defeats on the trot this season for Oldham so not many coming over I believe. I doubt they will be frogmarched down Darwen Street and be singing about "taking over your town again", then blowing a two goal lead and ultimately getting relegated like last time they came.

You should join the Betfair forum Mercer. No-one ever loses on there. You'd fit in well.

We shouldn't really be picking our centre forward, our biggest goal threat position, just to stifle the opposition.

Does anyone think that for the role we play, with Dack dropping off, Gallagher is a better option than Graham? This remind me of league one where Mowbray thought we had better options, but about 10 games in, reverted to Graham.

There's a starman, waiting in the wings. We'd like to come and see him, but we're playing Stuart Downing.

I started watching it after about 35 minutes as I was reading we were doing well. We must have started well as we've had a lot of the ball but carved out very little. Fulham haven't been any better to be fair but have capitalised on someone living the ball away (Bennet maybe?) to score a second. I've seen nothing from Sam Gallagher in 2 games to see why he should have displaced Graham. I worry we've paid a lot of money for an inferior player and we are now going to be weaker for it as he will stubbornly refuse to pick DG.

Agree with that line up except DG in for Gallagher. The problems start if either we get a couple of injuries, or Tosin proves to be toss.

Thats OK if the 21 year old lad from city, who spent most of last season at RB and has a been touted as a defensive midfield player, is commanding at centre half. If he works out then it's a much stronger defence providing they are all fit. However if he's exposed at the centre of defence at Championship level then we are screwed. Massive risk which will define our season and, I now suspect, Mowbray's reign. Williams is certainly not commanding in the air, and his positional sense in the centre of a back four is suspect. He's a bottom half centre back at best.

Read what I said. Which defender didn't get his head on the two high balls that came his way for both goals on Saturday?

First choice yes. Anything else them nope. For the problem we have (aerial presence), Williams, Lenihan and Mulgrew are as bad as each other. The city lad doesnt sound like the centre back we need (although we havent seen him tbf). Therefore we need a first choice centre back who is commanding in the air - just as we have for 24 months.

Defenders are going. Defenders are going.

Thats a blow. I was hoping he would be ours by 5pm.

I can't stop humming "defenders are coming, defenders are coming" to the Coca Cola christimas advert song.

Of course he tracked back. Thats nonsense. Hes just limited as a footballer and is too slow in both pace and decision making at this level. His plus point always was he did what J-Lowe did but better, which in league one was fine. However you need midfielders to do more at this level.

Fairly brief summary of my thoughts there. I thought after last season TM would learn and thought no way would we be playing the same back 4. I was wrong. Tosin will have had over a week with the squad so must surely start at Fulham. I'd then be somewhat happier that, although it has taken too long to get alternatives in, at least he's got someone in to replace either of the centre halves. However if he doesn't start the new lad on Saturday then I'll have completely lost faith in his judgement to correct our glaring problems.

To be fair, he's probably used to his defenders heading high balls away and not jumping under them..

Just watched the highlights. Lenihan should really get his head on the first as well.