When a manager's comments start going off you have to think they're on sticky ground and struggling. Stats never seem to come up when manager is doing well.

My main issue with TM is the horribly unbalanced squad. We seem to have a glut of midfielders yet not one who is naturally a wide left player. Even our wide right players don't really look totally comfortable there (Armstrong and Bennett) although compared to other positions bar centre mid it's not first priority. Lenihen spent a lot of last season injured, Mulgrew seems to be fading but we didn't get in another top class centre back. Even if Mulgrew wasn't fading so fast given his age it would have been wise to plan for this Speaking of no cover and replacing older players whilst Graham hasn't faded there is no other striker at the club who can fulfil that role. Forgetting the price (criminal in itself) Bereton is not championship standard and Armstrong may give a decent plan B but can't do Graham's role. Likewise where is the cover for Dack? Perhaps it was meant to be Palmer who I didn't really rate but regardless again we have no creative back up for the hole position either. So in short we are resting our season on 2 players being fit, as well as ignoring a 3rd key position in our preferred formation (left mid) and having question marks over a 4th (CB). All of which seems madness. Injuries, loss of form or general tiredness all dictate adequate cover is needed. A good formation and plan requires each of the 11 positions are filled well within the first 11. Neither concern seems to be addressed and if that was hard to see over the summer (for which there is kind of a case) for it certainly should have been sorted in January.

Also regardless of the great stuff TM has done last season if we end up losing 5 in a row that puts him in pretty poor company Rovers manager wise, and probably says a fair bit about his ability. Not that he's a terrible manager but it's showing he is far from infallible.

Do we actually have anyone who can play wide left of the 3 behind Graham. I know the squads a bit short in a couple of places but I can't think of anyone whose natural position is wide left. We seem to be very reliant on Dack and Graham so if Brum can keep the quiet - and managing 2 of an 11 is not difficult - then we could well be continuing our losing streak. Brum are a decent team and I think that's what will happen.

That's an easy one. Blame the fans for a player playing badly. Perish the thought the club has brought a dud. Let's not blame the player or the manager. In my experience none of the big money forwards we signed had a lack of patience with them, and it was perhaps only after a prolonged period of games that the fans lost patience. I'm thinking Grabbi (seemingly liked to the end) Ward and Davies (both disliked by the end, but took a half season of messing it up before fans lost patience) and Jansen (who had a slow start then became rather good indeed.)

Goodness me, I can't tell if it's delusion or lack of comprehension. 1) Each time you are on Sky you get more money. Whether you spend that on buying players or wages/running costs is immaterial, it has still given you a huge advantage. Think about it, if a work colleague got an extra say, £5K, than you for the same job and work, you wouldn't say it was fair. Nor would you accept it if their response was we're not going on expensive holidays... 2) Leeds are on more than other clubs even when they are middle of the road also rans. It's been going on for years regardless of how well or badly you are doing. But hey, nothing like being selective with the stats. Again not sure if it's lack of comprehension or delusion. 1) If you have to break into somewhere, somewhere you are not meant to be, that generally tells you that it's wrong. Trespass for starters. If it's all ok, why didn't he go through the main entrance? You honestly think it's not wrong? 2) Your precious club have apologized. They think it's wrong. Square that one away. 3) It's all about results and that makes everything ok? Is that really what you are saying? Injuring other team's players? Offering bungs? Using performance enhancing drugs? Admittedly all a bit more excessive things but would you be happy with this all happening to your team? Of course the FA will do FA about it, maybe a politely worded letter asking Leeds not to bring attention to their lack of authority. Shame really as this sort of things should be punished heavily. As for your final paragraph is that glory hunting? Saying it's stupid to support "tin pot" outfits like I don't know Burton, Accy Stanley etc. smaller clubs. Congratulations on looking down at supporters of smaller clubs - which arguably shows more loyalty then supporting someone who wins all the time - and are part of the very fabric of the game. You're implying only big clubs matter. And you wonder why you are disliked... Oh, and in case you're still struggling. It's not because you are a big club (last trophy? Last in the Premier League? Crowds?) Nor because of your raging success, dominating British football.

I also wonder if a winger would make a huge difference to the team, as an outlet, for widening the pitch, enhanced creativity and enabling other more suitable midfielders to play inside. We're so narrow it's untrue. Another benefit would be it takes pressure off the full backs to attack and defend.

We need a striker who can play the lone striker role when Graham isn't fit/tired. We had success with a 4-4-1-1 so seems bonkers we don't have back up to play that system. Bereton is looking more and more like a bad mistake...

Agree. I don't think we're a bad team or it's a hopeless situation. Factor in that we should have won against a number of weaker teams in the division early on and it's clear we are competitive in this division. The problem is this is the most competitive division and any mistakes are brutally punished and exposed. For me there are two key issues causing this slump - mental and physical softness. So many points have been lost in the latter stages of the game either by collapsing or not turning the screws to our advantage. The positive and problem is that both are sortable from the manager. We have a decent squad - most are of decent championship quality which as Sheff Utd are showing this year and many other teams over the year is what's needed. What needs to happen is the squad needs to toughen up. The bug question is can TM do that?

interesting that we beat a team on a good run at home then can't beat a team with a poor away record. Seems to be the story of our season really. My biggest reflection would be we've a very talented squad but we've not got it quite right in terms of balance and seem to be a piece missing. Bereton is a case in point. Chaddy has said he's not a target man but given how the system is set up that way to play a target man with Dack behind it seems to be an odd purchase. Regardless of fee - that's another discussion - he's clearly a decent player as shown by the assists in the last 2 games. But having to adapt a whole new style when Graham needs a rest, seems a bit counter intuitive to me. Attacking midfielders are another case in point. None of the options look that comfortable in the wide positions of the 3 behind Graham. Dack obviously takes the central but none of the others really look too comfortable there leaving us with a lack of nous and cutting edge. Are they good players - sure, can they do a job there - definitely, but to push on I think we need at least one specialist for these positions. Imo that'd be a left footer as the challenge for our attacking mids of being on their weaker foot in a not so natural position is another barrier to overcome. Don't get me wrong - we're ok as is. We work so hard and have enough quality to make sure we're competitive and get points. And the squad's quality as well as attitude is remarkably better than our last stint here. The thoughts are more given how close we are to playoffs and how competitive the league is, what can we do to get us to the next level (realistically that is!)

perhaps a lower league big lump of a forward would have suited our tactics more with the likes of Dack, Armstrong, Palmer et al behind him? Can't wrote Bereton off yet but you have to think that for such a big investment for us he has to be contributing more.

Makes me think a centre back in the window and a big lump of a striker to hold the ball up (which is a contribution Graham does that is as invaluable as his goals) is needed. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, although the centre back situation wasn't that surprising.

Think this will definitely be a point gained if we hold on, despite dodgy starting line ups. All the cards been stacked against us in this one.

Feel this is a little harsh - not just cause it's Rovers, when the keeper goes off injured after all 3 subs made. If it was a sending off, fair enough that's part of the punishment, but we seem hard done to here. TM has us competing with the best teams in the Championship which is wonderful. He also seems to have handled the whole back up striker to Graham poorly though,

Sums it up well to me. Having Mr Self Interest as your number 2 is asking for trouble. I'm sure we can all write the script now - question is whether it happens in this season, next or the one after that. Talk about turkeys voting for Christmas, Smith agreeing to Terry as assistant is an equally daft idea. And that's before we even consider his competence or lack thereof. His credentials for assistant manager really aren't that great either, excluding his suspect loyalties.

Yes that is the crazy thing, Preston too have only won 1 (I think) yet are not down and out either. People talk about the excitement of the Premiership, but manure and dingle struggles aside it's pretty much as you'd expect and not that entertaining. Contrast it with the closeness of the Championship and the most entertaining league in the world claim rings rather hollow. (Not to be confused with the quality/talent of the individual footballers, just the unexpected nature and intrigue of the championship is far superior.)

It always surprises me (even though I'm aware of it) how competitive the Championship is. We've not had that many wins yet we're equal on points with play offs. I've also been struck by the number of games we should have either won or lost that have ended up draws - it's a very tight league. The fact only 2 teams have won over half their games is further evidence of this. In light of the current conversations re: Villa this means they're really going to have to get it right, there's no margin for error. Forget missing out on going up, a wrong appointment and any team could find itself near the bottom. Even the teams I thought were much weaker than us have been picking up the odd win of late. Any Championship club this season is a bad appointment away from getting relegated imo.

Wasn't aimed specifically at you, although it seems as though we're of similar opinions of Armstrong. Of course if we had more creativity than Dack, or better retention of the ball - leading to more creativity - perhaps Armstrong's limitations would be less evident/problematic. If a couple of players were capable of sliding it through for him, emphasising his strengths, I'd imagine his performances would increase a lot. Similarly for Evans and Smallwood on that point. Had they a different partner capable of driving forward or passing (as many people including me have said), their weaknesses would be a lot less problematic for the team. Perhaps TM should be focussing on this when working out his best 11.

Bit soon to write off Armstrong imo. Perhaps not our best player, or an automatic starter, but to me a very valuable member of the squad. On the wing, against weaker teams in the division I think he could be a real handful. Up top, probably less so due to his lack of physicality. But with clever balls through from Dack and Palmer (if Palmer ever gets smart about what he should do...) and he could be a decent option - especially if we were playing 2 up front, say chasing a game or against a weaker team. Also given our lack of pace, that alone, makes him a very handy option to have. Either way he's a huge step up from Antonsson, is a better option out wide than Conway too, and has time and talent on his side to improve. IF Armstrong does improve, say gets a bit tougher, or improves his technique a bit more, then we could have a very good player on our hands. For the fee given his potential and current ability Armstrong was definitely worth a punt.

An unusual line up. Hopefully TM has a cunning plan although I don't see it myself. Really need to get back into winning ways, especially after a week or so of the weaker teams picking up points.

Quite a lot of surprising results that'd get Rovers looking down rather than up the table. Wins for a lot of the weaker teams or those who've been struggling - Hull, Reading, QPR and Rotherham. Shows it's not an easy league to predict.

Tough one to rate really without the benefit of hindsight. One injury to either of our centre backs, or possibly our right back, or alternatively teams defend very narrowly against us exploiting our lack of width in attack costing us points and we'll be focusing on the areas we didn't strengthen. Having no natural wingers, a suspect second keeper (although he got rave reviews at his last place before us, I recall) and Nuttall and Travis being squad players rather than first team players in league 1, all seem like missed opportunities to me. Likewise, with Samuel's injury, we're still not much further forward in terms of striker numbers and options, and should Graham get injured the pressure on Bereton becomes immense. There's also the first real possibility under TM for a transfer to really go south in the bad apple of Rodwell. The potential to have a better window is clearly there. That said we've undoubtedly a better squad than we had last season. Not just as they've gone, but even had they stayed the likes of Whittingham and Caddis would be a lot further from the first team. Messers Rothwell and Reid, clearly improvements. I'd also like to think Antonsson had he been our player would get nowhere near this first 11, ahead of Rothwell, and even Palmer. We've more creativity in the squad, a variety of tactical options in centre mid, and have signed some young players - Bereton and Rothwell - with a lot of potential. Having Armstrong back offering pace in a number of positions is also a highly valuable asset. In fact other than our big striker signing, all the players (who've played) already look value for money and solid investments. There's also the potential for a masterstroke in Rodwell, although I doubt it, but if he can rediscover some of his early talent and attitude, Rovers will have a heck of a player. It's a gamble, but if it comes off, it comes off big time. So having externally processed to a message board I'd say yes, overall the window was good. We're better than we were, but there is still work to do and gaps. Not just wishful thinking, every little thing covered gaps, but serious gaps in the squad. Apart from those worries, however, the squad does look a lot stronger and better. So overall because there are significant improvements, coupled with not losing anyone key I think it can only be called a good window. Was it good enough, time, and potential injuries, will be the judge of that, but undoubtedly like most of TM's reign it's been positively solid if not spectacular. Against a backdrop of Venkys chaos, could we have realistically asked for more? One last thing of note - last year's transfer deadline day, (the summer one) I was pleased that TM addressed the 3 key weaknesses in the squad - lb, cb and cm. Of those only Downing turned out to be a good piece of business, with Hart and Harper flopping. It's worth noting that covering positions, isn't always the same as getting in good enough quality. Perhaps that has influenced TM this time, where he has gone for the quality/standard he wants, perhaps over covering all bases.

Given some of the guys we've thanked for their "services" to Rovers in the past, I don't particularly begrudge Caddis thanks for his. Not that they amounted to much, other than knocking a month or two off Nayambe's development, but he wasn't a frauster/complete waster we've had like many others. He just wasn't any good...

I'd imagine the 90 minutes was a bit of a sweetener to get Caddis to agree to a termination of contract, by putting him in the shop window. Can't say I'm at all sorry to see him go. Poor player.

Fun topic. My biggest one was why do we need that American keeper when we've got Filan and Kelly... Was disappointed when TM became manager. Also, no matter how for or against or indifferent any Rovers fan was to Kean or Venkys, I'm convinced no one had an idea of how bad for the club they would be. I think their levels of incompetence and underhandedness went beyond what even the gloomiest Rovers fan expected to happen. In a way Kean and Venkys took everyone by surprise.