Hasta

One way or another that is true. Time will tell which side of this debate those 'idiots' were on. The 12 goal a season bar is set.

You've spent the last 2 years in cloud cuckoo land mate. He has been awful for most of his spell here, and shown little in regards to skill. At the end of last year, in his "improved form" since lockdown, he had one game where I would class him as good. Someone corrected me when I said this last week that in fact he had two good games. Woohoo, Now yesterday he did ok in the second half, helpled by his contribution to both goals. Keep that up for a couple of months and I will revise my opinion on him. However we bought him as a striker and he will never be a 12 goal a season man. He's happiest running with the ball, but almost wants to knock it past the defenders out wide and charge past them. Everybody wants him to do well and score goals. But people are now marking up his performances because they want him to do well, rather than based on what he actually does.

I would rather he had a more attacking threat, but as long as the defender defends well that's the main thing. Henning Berg played right back to win the premier league in 1995 and maybe got one assist all season (?) You wouldn't say that wasn't good enough as he was a key cog in a solid defensive unit. The usual comeback to that is that the game has changed and you need assists from both your full backs nowadays, but Fulham have just proved that you don't. Just as West Brom have just proved you don't need to shoe-horn left footers into your defensive or midfield paternerships for 'balance', another over-complicated myth. Is Nyambe the best denfensive full back we have? Clearly yes in my opinion (although I wouldn't my say he's a great player, more the others are poorer) If we replace him with a better defender then fine. But first and foremost he has to defend. Who is better going forward between Bell and Nyambe? Who is the better full back? It's. It not even close.

So you don't need your right back to be attack minded to be successful. My mind is well and truly blown. You'll be telling me you can get promoted with two right-footed centre halves and two right-footed central midfielders next. ?? What do you mean that's what West Brom did !!! ???

So are you saying they wanted their defence to simply defend well, and didn't worry about their defenders helping out with offensive duties? And this meant they conceded less goals? Wow. Revolutionary.

How did Fulham get promoted if full back Dennis Odoi only got 1 assist? I don't understand it.

What happens if it finishes level?

Amari Bell ?

Rules us out then. ?

1-1 now according to the on screen graphic. Blackpool must have used their cheat code.

Both were excellent finishes, and the second qas a good run and touch. However the marking for the first qas shocking by the centre half. ?

In reply to a post on the blackpool forum that this show that their defence isnt good enough:- "our third choice keeper, trialist left back and trialist centre back and second choice right back. Lot of rubbish on here today." Whats with these replays by the way?

Apparantly their left back and centre half are trialists. Blackpool forum reckon this half is their '2nd string'.

I've given him a good roasting on the summer transfers thread all day but that was a peach of a header!!

The problem being looking at the squad some of us don't feel we have an effective senior backup striker any more. As Roverfan99 eludes to, the days of throwing DG on to try and hold it up / flick it on and make something happen have now gone. At least Graham could change the dynamic of the game. Of the strikers we have, there is only Armstrong who could come off the bench and offer something different and effective, but he is surely the first name on the team sheet. You look at the rest of the players in our squad who can offer something different going forward if required from the bench and you struggle to pick one out. Your eyes are drawn to the name Harry Chapman again, but he has been outcast for all of his second spell.

In that case it looks like we aren't getting the 2 goalkeepers and the rest of the defence that we are linked with then.

If it is £6 on Saturday against Doncaster I'd probably pay it but I'll pass on tonight. Cant complain about the clubs trying to raise a bit of cash though. On a normal year you wouldn't be able to watch it at home at all.

How did we / they get on? I imagine if things are going well they can be quite sprightly like most clubs. I went once, for the game when Souness was their manager and MGP bundled one in with his hand late on. They were very quiet during the game and then very loud and anti-Souness outside the ground.

You would be wrong. It is 45 appearances he has actually made. Only 14 of those appearances have come after the 75th minute. Most of those cameos were in his first season. Last season, he only made 4 cameos of 15 minutes or less out of 17 appearances. He has had ample game time to impress and has failed to do so. People said after his first season that next season would be when he finally gets into his groove. Now people are calling out for more game time again. At what point do we draw a line under it? If he starts the first 3 games, doesn't score and is generally poor, do we still persevere in the hope he comes good? At what point do we accept it hasn't worked out and look at replacing?

Thats a very contradictory statement. He had one decent game at home. I think it was the first one back where he rounded the keeper and fell over. He did play well that day. However the rest of the games he looked out of his depth again.

Thats the strange thing. He's been here two years. His contract ends in summer 2022. His career has time on it's side, but I'm not sure Rovers do ! If he went on loan this season he would be in the last year of his contract when he returned. We will probably end up offering him another 2 or 3 years to try and salvage something from our 'investment' - which would be crazy. Mowbray and the club are going to have to be prepared to "write off' this investment for the good of the club and play him on merit alone. And if that means the wilderness a couple of months into this season then so be it.

Maybe that extra months salary money we paid to Smallwood and co. in July could have been spent on said landscaper instead.

44 appearances across 2 years for BB. He has had an opportunity. How long do we risk playing a weakened XI by including him just to try and hope he can repay that ridiculous transfer fee. When you have Armstrong and Gallagger, then Dack to return and hopefully Chapman geting a chance, its hard to see how Brereton gets game time once the season is in full swing. Getting Graham and Samuel out the door helps mowbray justify finding him a place on the bench. However at some point Mowbray will have to accept what he has done, rather than picking a player who simply isnt.up to it just to try and justify that fee. The problem is the squad has.so many problems that a 3rd choice striker isnt priority, and there appears to be no rumblings.from the academy with regards to strikers.

"It has been a really difficult decision but I'm 85 years of age and a diabetic on insulin. Covid has severely restricted my movements as I am classed as high risk, attending race meetings, even with limited attendance, will not be possible. I have also had tough business decisions to take due to Covid. Having had to furlough staff I could not, in all conscience, continue to race the same number of horses "

Probably "wow, we actually spent some money on buying a defensive player and it made us more solid and pushed us closer to promotion"