Blue blood

Well that's the height of tactical naievity. There are times against better opposition (and according to TM that's a lot of teams) that you need to keep it tight and get something on the break. It's stupid to play better teams at their own game. Does he think this makes him sound noble? He just sounds out of his depth.

Quick question, what criteria are you using to define these as great signings? I presume by great, you mean better than good? And that would suggest have made a big positive impact on the club. Would that be a fair assessment? If that's the case I genuinely can't see how Rothwell and Holtby get on that list. Neither has hugely shaped the team, the stats and end product for both are ok at best and they have been in and out of the team. Even with blue and white tinted specs I struggle to see how that is great. Compare them to the impact that Dack has had since joining for example, or Smallwood in his first season, or Elliott this year and you see a heck of a difference. Good signings maybe, but great I think is stretching it. Also if we are going on what they do here rather than raw potential then am not sure that Armstrong in League 1 or Reid count as great either (assuming that we can count Armstrong twice, that seems cheating a bit (how do you spot s player twice?) Armstrong in League 1 was nowhere near as influential as say Dack or Smallwood and Reid spent most of his time shunted out wide. Hard to say either of those players had a great impact. Now Armstrong since signing permanently, my word, would agree has been a cracking buy. So even with a favourable outlook I really can't see how you can justify saying more than 6 top of the range signings. Tbf that's not a poor record for a manager. Problem is there have been some absolute clangers too, often at great expense Gally, Bereton and Whittingham took up significant portions of the budget each year for nothing in return, their cost as well as their inability causing damage to the team. Walton cost us so many goals it was untrue. Ayala has been shocking for fitness reasons hugely contributing to our defensive issues and Harper was an utter waste of a loan. I also think all the full backs he has brought have been substandard but wouldn't quite class them as terrible as apart from Caddis on paper they looked decent moves. In short, I think TM has made some good buys but he is no Mark Hughes in the transfer market for us. Far too many clangers and costly ones at that for him to be classed as having done well (as oppose to decent) on that front.

Where to start?!?! Firstly I'm fairly confident that the 20 different backlines are significantly self inflicted. If you have three crocks at centre back it's only natural you're going to see some changes. Likewise, if you decide the right back is to be the resident scapegoat and dropped every now and then in favour of others, it's also not going to help you get a measure of consistency. Not a burden on the club. Well aside from the stagnation, the 5 losses on the bounce, bringing in Venus and Waggott and hatching a plan to sell off the training facilities, oh and the lies and drivel in interviews and idiotic formations and players our of position, there's scarce been a burdensome moment. Burdensome, he's more like a sodding albatross. The comparisons with Klopp, Liverpool and Brentford don't half get on my wick. Thing is I wouldn't mind a slump like any of those teams if it, y'know came with the success as well. We don't have success. We have slumps and treading water. Had we had half the (relative) success of Liverpool over the past few years I might have a bit more patience for this latest epic slump. As it is we don't get the good, just the bad. best to part company asap and take his mates with him.

Goodness, talk about them being a different animal away from home. Far, far from unbeatable. Terrible excuses which aren't backed up by the stats at all.

Goodness me, I think I must be going senile. Because i am sure I have seen Rovers beat better teams before, both in person and on the screen. Maybe I'm making up those historic wins vs Arsenal, Manure and the like. I think I am also imagining the mighty QPR beating Watford recently as well. And I must have misread the stat about the number of away goals they had scored being pretty low. Aside from the terrible logic of said post implying Watford are unbeatable, and therefore its unreasonable to expect a win, said defence also falls down because people aren't unhappy that we didn't win. It's not a one game unhappiness context. It's a 5 game loss on the bounce. It's the fact that Watford were poor (as you have admitted) and we didn't do anything to take advantage of that, be it for a point or three. It's because we continue to use a tombola for a team selection, because we are reliant on kids at centre back, because Dack is stuck out wide and Rothwell is subbed for playing well. So it's not unreasonable to think we could have got something from the game, and it's a culmination of crapness that is infuriating fans. Your defence of TM is almost as good as our current centre backs. Also if the bar is so low that only 6 losses suggests something is worrying, then my word, standards are even lower than I thought.

Great way of describing him. He does nothing - not a good passer, a strong tackler, doesn't make great runs into the box. But like you say can look busy. Unfortunately in an underperforming team these players get found out.

A miraculous recovery for Nayambe. If only the medical team were as good with the rest of our crocks. That said Evans makes an appearance. Not sure on what planet that is justified. Other than that and the two kids at centre back it's not a bad team.

Another hold my lemon drizzle cake moment for TM as Rovers fans complain the back 4 of Johnson, Bell, Douglas and Lenihen is the worst ever.

Well it is detached enough from reality to be a genuine quote I suppose. It's another falsehood though. Watford have pretty much combined drawn and lost as many games as they have won which suggests from pure stats alone there's a roughly 50% chance of us getting something from the game. Admittedly good form over the last 5 games but then the footballing giants QPR and Coventry also got points off them in that time. So to make out we are at a huge disadvantage coming into this match against an unstoppable juggernaut is another fabrication from TM. Can he actually tell the truth any more?

Think Keane would be a disaster and isn't that good a manager. That said I too would love for him to share a few home truths with our players. Much needed and would be a heck of s shock to them after TMs mollycoddling.

This isn't a real quote surely? It sounds like it could be but if so it's beyond horrific.

Don't worry the goal posts will change to topping the mini league of mid-table. And with the form of Forest, QPR and Derby we could well be dropping further. Thankfully it looks like Preston and Luton are running out of steam too. Mind you the fact we are pretty much on a level with them with vastly superior resources speaks volumes. The downwards journey continues.

I could be reading too much into it but is the performance related coach also a way of him distancing himself from as much responsibility from the current mess? Or am I just getting cynical that we are no further on then the early years? If it is an I just coach the team plea, it's a load of guff as said coaches don't appoint their bosses or set up scouting networks or buy half the Boro team. Also Jim why wait till another loss. Get rid now.

Agree wholeheartedly. Someone should have told the Leicester title winning team it doesn't count because of their possession stats or the Dingles they can't be in the Prem because they don't have enough of the ball. He's a deluded muppet. What makes it even more galling is: 1) We have played badly and performed badly for the whole of 2021. The football had been grim. We aren't even meeting his warped criteria for success. 2) When we win and play badly (which tbf is most of our wins against 11 men) it's all about the results and the performance doesn't matter. The Berk contradicts himself repeatedly and if the team played at the speed at which he shifts the goal posts we would be top 6 by now. Get rid.

Really? It's just a coincidence then that the Coventry 3 happen to be here all together and just happen to be talking of selling a training ground, just like the 3 of them did when at Coventry. And it's pure chance that the other two were recommended for their posts by TM. Absolutely nothing to see here at all. And the fact that TM is sounding more like Kean every day with crackers interviews and yet is still here suggests what? He sounds like he has lost the plot but hasn't resigned, why? Why so many bizarre and utterly flawed excuses if not desperately trying to hold on? No, TM is a dodgy one. Smarter than the last lot as they played the long game but still as dodge and third rate as the rest.

Not only petulant but like most TM comments it's pretty damning of himself unintentionnally. If I hadnt something to be proud of within 4 years in a role I'd be offering my resignation.

“I sit with them sometimes, I know John wants more starts and wants to play, he’s a young lad and my job is to win football matches for the football club and at the same time develop the young talent." From the horses mouth. Winning games is not the sole or main objective. Tail wagging the dog here sadly.

Friedel Vs Spurs in the league cup final? Also randomly (could be memory playing tricks on me) Filan Vs Villa away? Shearer must have a few other 10/10s. Sure Duff also must have had a 10/10 sometime too.

If TM plays Nayabe he will have had the distinction of lying twice over the player. (Well three times if we factor in its the fans fault.) Firstly no reason to drop him, then he needs protecting. He's contradicting himself every week to the point what he says has Trump like credibility.

Has comparisons with the Nelson situation under Kean. Honestly it gets more like that every day.

You are spot on. Not your imagination but an article saying he is a young lad and not ready yet for the Prem. Sounded like a desperate way to try keeping him here. Agree about the likelihood being he won't sign a new contract and hence the change of tack. (And to be fair why on earth would you resign with us right now?) But we won't get £20 mill for us from him. That's the maximum fee I can see him going for with 1 year left on his contract. More likely to be around 15 mill. 40% of profit to the barcodes and it's not a huge return at all. Especially if some is given over to a replacement.

Ok so these tweets are rather puzzling. Most of all is how have we fans like this? So I can't see any fans wanting to support Rovers sine the Loons rocked up. With broad coverage of the big 6 available, the toxic environment at Ewood under Kean, 6-7 years of steadily worse performances and a general circus - why would anyone start supporting Rovers? On the flip side I cannot see how any fan from prior to the takeover could be happy with what had happened over the last 10 years. If you have seen Hughes or Souness's team, let alone the Premiership winning one, and Williams running of the show, why would you be happy with how things have gone? Why would you think these plans are acceptable? We've also lost half our supporter base in that time. So where on earth have these supporters of operation destroy Rovers come from?

It's the season to go up all right as none of the candidates for promotion bar Norwich look particularly impressive. (And I do wonder for Norwich it part of their wobble was a huge injury list catching up with them.) Brentford are looking s bit shaky after a big run, Swansea got hammered recently. Bournemouth seem determined not to get top 6 and Reading have been hit and miss. Equally Stoke and Boro have had some poor results this season and up till recently Cardiff have had some struggles too (funny the difference a manager makes.) I think you are right this is the season to go up and would extend your point to not just the top 6 looking vulnerable but the chasing pack too. Nothing to fear and a clear opportunity. It didn't take Cardiff long to get in the mix after struggling whatsoever. It's so frustrating.

Tell you what without the Cat A academy and the players it produces we would be really stuffed. Smallwood would still be here, Caddis at right back. Steel would have stayed in goal. We'd have have to have loaned another Premier League U18 centre half. TM has been bailed out by the academy lads repeatedly. Without that we would well and truly be stuffed.

Yeah Souness clearly lost the plot but had a promotion a League cup and a top 6 finish to fall back on. That's a hell of a lot of equity. He corrected his Grabbi mistake with Cole and brought in a ton of gems. He was also unlucky with injuries and not because he had assembled a team of crocks. TM in contrast has one easier to achieve promotion and several years of meh yet seemingly has much more equity with some fans then I can recall Souness having. Which is crazy when you think about it.