Yes, I commented on this in another thread that perhaps Evans and Smallwood are too similar to be playing together. I think the reason we look so good with Bennett in the central 2 is that he offers something different to Evans and Smallwood in that he drives forward a lot more, which makes the midfield a whole lot more balanced. I said in the other thread that whichever of the 2 stayed on in the 2nd half would have looked better and had a better game as they had Bennett in support of them. (That said Evans was excellent second half.) I'd imagine this'd be the same in most teams, even with much higher quality players. I wonder if part of the reason any combination of Tugay/Reid and Savage looked good was because they had very different abilities which complimented each other. How Tugs would have done without Savage getting the ball, or vice versa Savage without Tugay to do something with it - doubt either would have been quite as effective. And yes, I appreciate it's not a total like for likeness - Savage and Tugay were in a different class, but I think the principle is sound: chose a team that compliments each other. I imagine that's what TM was hoping for with Whittingham and Smallwood last year actually, which didn't really work out. At a lower level, the dangers of having 2 similar players in the 2 was probably less apparent in a more forgiving league, too.

Great post. Alternatively if we start taking our chances or getting a final ball in a bit better, that's another way of negating the fact we're a bit soft defensively. However, I imagine tightening things up at the back and getting back to basics would be an easier and more realistic fix.

Not sure too much what's to like about this one. He's injury prone. He's a reputation for being a mercenary/bad influence I can't imagine he's cheap - yes it won't be £70K per week but he won't be on peanuts He's a central midfielder - we don't need them with Evans, Bennett, Smallwood and Rothwell all being able to play there We have huge other needs in other parts of our squad. Seems like a bad move by TM who is a great guy and good manager, but his transfers to date have been very hit and miss. There's been a lot which haven't worked out as well, or been good value for money - Whittingham, Caddis and Samuel all spring to mind - as well as some notable successes in Dack, Smallwood and seemingly Rothwell. Much as I like TM I'm not sure his record alone eases my disquiet at this transfer. Hopefully it'll turn out to be in the success column, but on paper and TM's past record I have my doubts as to whether this will be the case. Really hope I'm wrong though. What we really need are wide players...

So having had 24 hours or so to sleep on the result, a few more thoughts have come to mind. One of the stand out things is that Reading are a poor team and I'm convinced they'll at best end up in the bottom 6. Despite 3 huge slices of luck for them in the game - Rovers not scoring in the first 5 minutes, Rovers gifting them the softest goal I've ever seen, and thirdly Rovers mentally crumbling after the first goal, for the rest of the half they still were hanging on for a draw. They're a very poor team, and will certainly be near the bottom, making a lack of 3 points even more gutting for us. Conversely, it makes me less disappointed against the point vs Millwall, who unlike Reading had a plan, albeit not the most palatable one, and performed it well first half. Compared with Reading they looked a decent side, and on reflection, my disappointment of a draw for that game, was a little harsh. Smallwood, contrary to what others thought, IMV had an ok first half. In a team that had crumbled and lost the plot he was still throwing himself into tackles and disrupting the play. The problem is he has no distribution ability whatsoever, and in this reminds me very much of a weaker version of "The Axe", great at disrupting, and would be amazing in a 5 man midfield with that as his sole role, but when called upon to do more, he struggles. Perhaps given we've got a fair few talented centre mids a 3 man midfield would see Smallwood best utilized where he can concentrate on his undoubted strengths and his weaknesses are covered. The lack of good wide players may make this impossible though, although it may be worth considering as a plan for certain away games. Food for thought. Also on Smallwood, and for that matter Raya, both have looked shaky at times this season. Raya's shot stopping is excellent, but everything else from the command of the area, through to his kicking is appalling. (It was interesting he came for a couple of balls in the second half, and rather than leave it the defenders hooked it away, even though Raya was most likely to get it. A lack of confidence in him, perhaps?) This really reinforced to me firstly the difference between league 1 and championship - there is, Reading excepted, a heck of a gulf in class - and also how it takes time to evolve a team. When TM took over Raya and Smallwood's places were occupied by Steele and Lowe respectively, and in comparison to them, both players are streets ahead, and definite upgrades. Football is a tough game however, and just because they're a good upgrade on some truly awful players, does not mean that Rovers should stand still in terms of recruitment. I think the phrase about if you're not improving you're going backwards, or whatever it is, perhaps can be applied here. Lenihen had an absolute shocker and not just for the first goal. Hopefully it's a one off, but even in the second half he was making some appalling decisions and plays. Bennett much lauded on here also had an appalling first half and offered nothing going forwards. Contrast that to his central midfield all action second half and it was like a different player. At this level Bennett on the wing is an absolute weakness, especially once Armstrong was off and there was no one to run the channels. In the centre of midfield the man is a beast. Stuff bringing centre mids in (although I believe we've brought anohter); get some wide players and move Bennett inside. I'm pretty confident that part of the reason Evans looked good, was because Bennett was driving forward from centre mid, letting him focus on harrying the opposition. On Evans, I'm not convinced by him at all, but have to admit he had an excellent second half and really stood out. Long may it, and his fitness, continue! I do think whoever was with Bennett in the centre in the second half would have looked and performed better simply because Bennett offers more drive and impetus going forwards, whereas Smallwood and Evans are perhaps too similar in wanting to sit back and disrupt. Conway looked finished. Did I mention that we need wingers and wide players? And with the injuries mounting up we're looking very league 1 in terms of quality. Of course once Dack et al are fit, it's a different kettle of fish, but imo last night showed we've a mid table championship team with a league 1 squad. Still a lot of work to be done this transfer window, or we'll be very vulnerable to injuries. Quality additions are needed, especially up front and out wide.

poor result against a weak team. Reading offered little and we gifted them the lead after a bright start. We then proceeded to do nothing for the rest of the first half including giving them another goal. Second half Reading were terrified when we attacked and Rovers duely clawed back a point. With better choices of when to shoot (the players seemed a bit afraid to), a better final ball or more clinical shooting we could and should have won. Negatives - Reading look relegation candidates and so it really is 3 points thrown away. Lenihan had a shocker not just for the goal. Positives - Rothwell looks a real find, and I thought the full backs looked good. Most significantly we at least got something from the game and prevented disaster though many warning signs were on display.

When Hart is on the bench you know your squad is on the thin side! (that is the ex Liverpool lb we brought and loaned out last season right? Otherwise my insightful comment becomes a lot less so...)

personally if the deal - transfer fee and wages took into account Chapman's injury record then I think he'd be a good signing. Obviously a risk but if the finances were adjusted to account for this then I think the potential rewards given his talent, plus us needing a winger type player makes it a very attractive deal.

Agree - if we can't beat the likes of Reading at home we're in for a long hard season. Fortunately there's been lots of positive signs that indicate we have an excellent chance of doing so. I'd agree a lot of teams look weak which I find quite freeing - Ipswich, Rotherham, QPR, Reading and Hull to name a few, with a few more only an injury or two away from struggling. But as we learned the season before last this isn't something that can be relied upon.

Reading were poor last season as well as starting this one badly. It's not just a weak start Imo but a season or so of decline. With this in mind I'm expecting to see a Rovers win in a fairly comfortable manner - although it is Rovers! Love August games as have more flexibility to go see them and looking forward to another positive night at Ewood. The team looks fairly settled and performing well, Reading aren't as in your face as Millwall, so all the signs look good for a Rovers win. Dack being out would make it harder but we have a few other players who can cause teams problems. Even without Dack I'd be expecting a win. 2-0 Rovers

Great result and stunningly important. First league win gets the no league win monkey off our back and puts a bit of breathing space between us and the bottom going into a tougher September (our first priority being to stay up). It won't do any harm to confidence and keeping the unbeaten run going and having a plan B with Armstrong up front is very encouraging too. A little concerning to hear that we're still a bit profligate in front of goal - in this league that could make a huge difference to our end position, positively or negatively. It's far from the worst position to have and something a good key addition up front could go a long way to rectifying.

Whilst I think we've more than enough to be fine too, to say you can't understand why anyone would think that we would be in a scrap is a little naïve or obtuse Imo. Perhaps it's because we've failed to win vs 2 of the weaker teams in the division. Perhaps it's because we've played well for periods of both games, indeed very arguably edged them, yet still haven't got a win. Perhaps it's the paper thin squad where injuries to any of our key players leaves huge holes in the team (as it is we're still missing a left midfielder). Perhaps it's because Millwall should have killed off the game before we even got started and we were lucky that they didn't. There's been plenty of positives but let's not pretend there aren't any negatives or concerns either. And no way was the game 50-50 bar the first 10 minutes - we offered 1 decent attack prior to the 44th minute.

Bit torn as to what I thought of the game. I swing between feeling we've a good team who should be comfortable and that we're really going to struggle. I think we'll do well as even with not turning up for 40+ minutes we really should have comfortably won and dominated the second half. Even in an appalling first half we hit the bar, forced a great save and could have nicked it. I think we'll do badly as there's a few clear holes in the squad, Millwall should have had a few goals in an appalling first half performance and even though we were the better team in a game again we still couldn't convert it into a win. My conclusion is it could totally go either way. TM has a team that could comfortably avoid relegation but if we aren't on top of our game we could have a lot of problems. The quality is there but then so is the very real risk of relegation. A few squad observations. Bennett is wasted on the left as he always has to cut inside and looks very uncomfortable on the left. A left footed proper winger/wide player is needed for balance. Palmer great talent, terrible show boat and decision maker. Oozes talent but isn't quite as good as he thinks he is. If he can keep it more simple and improve his decision making he will have a fantastic season and be a great asset. If he doesn't, despite his ability, he'll be a waste of space. Bell was an improvement on Williams Imo. Rothwell looked lively when he came on. Overall I'm sure I'll continue to flip between this being an ok point and 2 dropped. We have the team to do be confortable but if we don't get more ruthless it will be a long hard season.

Referee appalling and bias. Rovers almost as poor at defending agricultural Millwall football (fouls and hoofs.) Yet somehow still 0-0 and ended half on the sole positive note of the half.

I'm pretty sure they would do more than Evans has been doing! He offers no protection, like Lowe he just runs around a lot ineffectually. He doesn't get into many goal scoring positions, much less gets goals. He isn't creative at all and keep things ticking over in the midfield. I'm not sure what he actually does, whatsoever. Granted he's got decent technique, but League 1 is his level imo. Mind you, compared with Gladwin and Whittingham, at least Evans had some impact last year, and with no proper wingers/wide players, it looks like Bennett won't be moving inside anytime soon. Shame as I think Bennett/Smallwood combination would make us rather resilient at this level. Also aren't Evans's wages huge for us? Am sure he was on £10K+ and one of the top earners in league 1. With our limited resources that could definitely be spent elsewhere more effectively.

Blimey I'd not even thought about the rest of the squad. Mind you I'm not too keen on some of those players - Gladwin, Caddis, Hart and Whittingham playing this seasey'on for us! League 1 seemed a bit of a stretch for them so not sure how they'll fare in the Championship. This highlights how much we needed to strengthen the squad. Thanks, helpful to know. Point still stands that we're recruiting from better teams so hopefully/theoretically they will be of a higher calibre of player.

This in and of itself is quite positive. Antonsson was really poor and just from where we got Palmer and Davenport from - not that that's a great indicator admittedly - they could potentially be better loans. Also we've not lost any good players. Remember losing our 2 key centre backs by September last time in the championship? That made a huge difference to our already weakened team. This perhaps wouldn't be a big deal at many other clubs but at our club it's probably much more of a big deal given our history/owners. The problem for us is 3 fold this window. 1 we've not improved the first 11 at all. That's key, especially in areas that look a bit thin. 2 we've added little championship experience. Again this can be huge in this division. 3 we've not built for the future and have missed a massive opportunity to. What makes the latter so bad in my view is Graham and Mulgrew are getting on and will need replacing sooner rather than later. We'll probably only get another season out of both as top level players. That means the following summer we'd need 2 top signings to stay at the same level before we even start thinking of improving or replacing others who can't quite cut it at this level. A couple of quality improvements elsewhere would ease our summer shopping list next year, protect the strength of the team and of course give us more chance of doing well this season. 4/10 for me.

Got to get a quality wide man imo. (Unless either of the new lads are? Have to admit I know little about Davenport and Rothwell.) Bennett and Smallwood would be a tough 2 in a 4-2-3-1 offering a lot of protection. For that to work though Bennett needs to not be needed at right mid. And whilst I feel Armstrong could do a job out wide, am not too convinced that's a position for Samuel.

Perhaps it's a little premature but as I said hindsight is a wonderful thing, and perhaps you or I will look back on it differently late on in the season. (Let's say we miss out on playoffs or go down by 2 points, this'd definitely be a what if missed chance - or the reverse.) However, whilst these things can't be told with certainty at this stage, that's still the feeling I have about the game based on squad and managerial quality and past performances. The Championship is crazy so it is hard to call, however I suspect Ipswich struggling is one of the more likely outcomes. McCarthy did it year in, year out, Hurst main success came last season - and even then they bottled it twice to win something. Agree about Dack and Graham, as well as having options - both are positives to look forward to.

I think on reflection that a draw vs. Ipswich would have been the lower end of my expectations, as in the least we should have achieved. Imo Ipswich's mid table performances were much to do with McCarthy doing very well with dross rather than any quality there. Perhaps there's a bit more I'll take the draw because t's the first game of the season, and you don't want to start in a bad/disappointing manner, which perhaps makes it a bit of a better result. But yeah, overall I'd say a point would've been the least we were expecting. As you say there were lots of positives, and there are more players and adjustments to be made for these guys which will help so it's far from doom and gloom or a terrible result. That said, with the confidence from promotion last season, and a team that was familiar with each other and the manager's methods - I do feel the win was there for the taking. In fact, I agree, had we got that third goal we'd have come out comfortable winners and deserved winners too, which suggests it wasn't too unrealistic to expect a win. Of course hindsight will be a wonderful thing. If Ipswich go on to be top 6 it looks a very good point, if they totally implode it looks like a good opportunity missed. But yeah, I think I'll stand by my opinion (I'm always happy to review and admit mistakes when I'm often wrong on here!) on this one. Should've been 3 points but by no means a disaster.

Lots of positives on this one, but still a bit of a gamble. He's not cut it at this level, (I believe he struggled for Bolton in the Championship before coming to us on loan.) Looked great in League 1, which indicates he should have the potential to make the step up. He also gives us much needed pace, knows the club, and should hit the ground running. A calculated gamble imo.

Overall am more disappointed than encouraged after Saturday's game. Firstly regardless of whether it's Manure or Macclesfield if you're leading past the 90th minute, it's always going to be disappointing not to hold on. Secondly I'm of the opinion that Ipswich are one of the weaker teams in the division, and McCarthy has been getting the random assortment of players to punch above their weight in mid-table. Without him, I feel they're one of the weaker teams, and it should have been one of the games that we're looking to get 3 points from, regardless of how ambitious we are. I'm also a bit frustrated that Bell hasn't been chosen in front of Williams, who I thought was no great shakes last season, yet retains the roll of first choice lb, even over a guy who got in the team of the season last year in that position. All a bit odd imo. Mind you, there are a number of positives - we didn't look outclassed, a number of players looked like they can make the step up (or back up) to the Championship, and we didn't lose. Think those saying the Millwall game will be a better indicator of how we'll do are correct. But Millwall are also an encouragement of what we could do this season with the right tactics, effort and a couple more shrewd signings. Overall a less than impressive start, but equally not one that gets the alarm bells ringing - which is a first in a few seasons!

From a footballing side of things I was never convinced Dunny had the makings of a coach/manager, and the fact that we're not replacing him is pretty telling. Don't think it'll be a huge loss or have a big impact on the club. From the interview it sounds like Dunny has had enough of coaching too...

Another thing to mention is that Sunderland have spent HUGE amounts under Short. It's not a lack of investment, it's a complete and utter squandering of vast amounts of money from the Di Canio reign onwards which has made the situation a train wreck. Read an article upon it and the sums they gave out to players was staggering - can only remember Rodwell on £70K a week with no relegation clause for starters, although in fairness I hadn't heard of the other players. Coupled with some big contracts for bad characters who enjoy the party and gambling lifestyle (allegedly according to a Sunderland fan I know) it makes for a very toxic mess. As for Wolves, they're already getting some publicity. A couple of international students I know, whop have less interest in football then I have in knitting, both posted Fosun/Wolves celebration posts on Facebook, so it does seem as if an increased awareness is working.

From 5 points in 5 games to 5 wins on the bounce we've seen a heck of a transformation! From playoffs looking a bit shaky automatic places look eminently do-able - long may it continue. We've a few players who're a cut above in this league and it is beginning to show as is our strength in depth - 3 or 4 first teamers out and we still put out a good team. Having said that I am getting a tad worried numbers wise. BBC said both Whittingham & Evans went off injured and with Harper also suspended we're beginning to look a bit thin in the middle. Likewise an injury/suspension to one of our centre backs could also pose a fair few problems. However that's the solitary caution for a team that is in an excellent vein of form and who picked up an excellent 3 points. Winning away vs the strong teams in this division is a sign of - dare I say it - a promotion winning team.

Totally agree about the decision. It was beyond incompetent. Not sure how it could've been a mistake. Totally disagree with Mrs Evans. You can't say that sort of stuff; it's racist, derogatory, and has sod all to do with football and the decision. It's beyond staggering that as well as bringing ethnicity into it, she throws in about refugees which is a pretty sensitive and serious situation. (Again what has that got to do with football???) Like footballers it seems that WAGs should be off social media as they speak/tweet before they think.