First of your posts I'm not so sure about Tyrone. I see what you mean post lockdown- clever wins Vs Cardiff and Bristol were in amongst some right dross. t prior to lockdown the problem imo has been runs - we've been on some good ones under TM but some horrific ones too. The latter have been a real problem as it seems oil tankers turn quicker than we do to reverse bad form. Not sure which will win out tbh runs or inconsistency. Mind you I think we're debating what our inconsistency will look like, which highlights the huge issue of our errataic team.

I don't think you guys get the defend the club at all costs and ignore logic and evidence idea. Mind you I wish our defence defended Rovers with the passion and determination of Chaddy. We might conceed a few less goals.

Read ,4-4-2s preview in their magazine. BRFCS got a shout out as the place to get Rovers info from. Had to say I liked what the Rovers fan had to say (anyone on here?) Positive but didn't pull any punches on TMs weaknesses in the striker department (spending or playing them out wide.) As for this season it's very hard to say until the transfer window is done, for us and many clubs as squads can look very different. If there are very few additional upgrades then I will go 18th. Lose a key player and it will be lower, gain a couple and it will be 10th.

Talk about chalk and cheese depending on which half of the team you look at its either pushing for promotion or fighting relegation. Take the defence Lenihen and Nayambe (I am assuming he plays although no doubt TM will drop him at some point for his t shirt and jeans clashing or some other important reason) that's a top 6 defence. Williams and Bell however is a relegation standard defence. Midfield is the same. Travis and Holtby look very promising. Evans I just don't rate. He's the best of a bad bunch to partner Travis but is invisible far too often imo and rarely stamps his authority on games. Up front Armstrong is the kind of guy you want leading the promotion push but the other two? JRC will be class but it's a lot of pressure on him to perform straight away and a sad state of affairs that he walks straight into the team. As for Bereton he's a relegation worthy forward. If he came through the ranks we'd all be calling for him to be sent out on loan this season and a one goal a year return in one of your attacking three is relegation worthy form. So who knows whether our better players will carry the weaker ones to a good performance or whether they will be dragged down. What worries me most is that there's very little redundancy in terms of quality in the team and depth in the squad. If Travis has an off day who will grab the game by the scruff of the neck? If Armstrong is off form who leads the line? And should we get an injury to any one of our better players who steps in for them? I have a bad feeling about this, and this season. We have no margin for error and if not all on top of our game we will have a horrid season. That said Rovers like to prove me wrong and relegated teams take a while to adjust so 1-1.

Disagree with you though well argued. And agree about Kaminski having to be an upgrade. (So would a corpse but still...) I think we have a long way to go to stand still and agree with @roversfan99 that Tosin is an upgrade defensively on Williams and co. Also his improved ball retention for the team also massively helped the team as it also contributed to our improved defensive performance. (The opposition can't score without the ball.) Also 7 games with Cunningham is better than none. Downing I feel is a huge miss. When he played wide left he gave us a width we never had any other time, he still managed to be our second best left back of the season and was good in cm as well. So a big miss from all three positions before we even get to relying on the fitness of Holtby. Graham is a miss as he still was our best target man even with age creeping up on him. And Samuel also added a few goals that may be missed too. Add in we really need a second keeper - we somehow are in a worse position than Leuts as second keeper - and you see we have a long way to go to stand still. And that's for me the frustration, we're not even standing still and treading water, we are getting weaker. In fairness one step forward we have got from last season is JRC who I think will have a breakout season. I think he is a quality player and versatile too which is much needed in our squad. He's definitely a step forward and a positive but it feels like 2 steps forward (him and Kaminski) but 4 steps backwards.

Thing is even in what you have mentioned it doesn't fit together. Where does Dack play in a 4-3-3? He's best in the hole. Likewise of those you mention a lot are young and promising and aren't guarenteed championship quality. In fact only 5 of them have played a decent amount of championship football. 2 have looked good but Gally and Bereton poor and Rothwell very mixed. So in terms of proven championship quality that's 2, charitably 3 of 10. That's a hell of a risk. Don't get me wrong I think there's some promising players in the rest of them but to only have 2 of your offensive players being reliable quality that's a heck of a gamble and poor planning imo. Even if a few of the promising players come good, it's a lot to expect them to come good in one season. Add in that the lack of seasoned pros to protect and assist the youngsters in a measured development and it looks to be a very badly mismanaged lot.

Chaddy you post some really good updates on goings on in the world of football, which I super appreciate. However I do find how uncertainty is used as a positive for TM and Rovers but a negative for other teams. As in uncertainty - we may sign players so we can't be negative about the squad, but Bournemouth might lose players so we can't be worried by them. It seems a little fast and loose to always have uncertainty in the favour of Rovers and an unreasonable bias. It's even more problematic when history has shown it often doesn't work in our favour - eg defenders coming, struggling to get in recruits etc.

Yes. Agree. Of course people will point to injuries and omissions but it's not that unlikely for us to have a couple of players out. The only consolation is there's still time to sort it but talk about giving yourself a mountain to climb - that's us. A week to go and still needing 4-5 key additions...

Kipre - made a terrible move. When a club says we will have you but only if we can't find anyone else, you should probably realise that it's not the best move for you and they don't have much faith in you. Shame.for us too as he would have been a good addition for us. Whilst the situation isn't irredeemable - and it's daft to write off the season at this stage - the fact that we still are two first 11 defenders short - and probably a couple of squad defenders too - is not a good situation to be in. Defences benefit from continuity and working together yet we still are floundering about trying to get players in with less than 2 weeks to go. At present even without the hinderance of Walton we have a long way to go before we have the same squad strength and ability as last season. We've lost the excellent Tosin and Downing - two of our best players from last season - without replacement. We are missing the attacking options of Graham and Samuel who if I am honest I think the only things Gally and Bereton have over the two respectively is age and the potential to get better. As is Bereton isn't better than Samuel and Gally isn't better than Graham on last season's showing. Of course not being placed on the wing will improve Gally but it's an uncertainty in terms of the level of improvement and him not being played on the wing. Johnson and Mulgrew are a year older and weaker (realise this would have applied to Graham too so perhaps not too bad he was let go IF replaced) and Cunningham albeit a brief stint isn't here either. We also, and I can't believe I am saying this, miss Leuts as a second keeper. Don't get me wrong I am not totally gutted to see any of the players leave IF replaced properly. However at present the team bar keeping position is significantly weaker than last season and needs a fair number of players even to stand still, much less improve on the squad quality. Sure there's time to fix it but to deny we are in a weakened position right now and recognise a fix isn't guarenteed is naive imo. We seem to be doing one better (worse?) than the phrase to stand still is going backwards and actually seem to be heading backwards at full steam at present.

Well it can't be under wraps and known can it? Under wraps means not known and people don;t have the information, known means people, well know and have that information. They either have it or they don't. Either its accessible or it isn't. It can't be both. As for transfers there's a lot of work needed unless we want to rely on our youngsters which seems very risky imo. Chapman and Warton are very unproven at this level. We've lost a ton of players of varying quality and we are badly short on numbers. Some positions aren't filled, some positions are an injury away from not being covered. Sure, there's time to rectify it, but it doesn't fill you with confidence. An injury to any one of our best players leaves us in a lot of trouble. How we are in this situation after three year's of building a team is beyond me. The lack of medium term planning is appalling.

You were doing ok at putting your point across until this. I mean where to start with it? For 7 million you need more than something we are starting to see. 7 million should buy you a good championship quality player. 7 million was the majority of our budget and pushed us towards FFP. He has had 2 seasons of failure. 2 goals, both in dead rubbers, is an absymal return. His performances have been poor too. And what are we starting to see? Again it's not top championship quality or even a solid championship player. Just someone who might not be absolute dross. Also when are we seeing this? Friendlies Vs lower league opposition and Doncaster (where he also missed an open net.) I'll be honest I'm not seeing much. I get you wanting to defend TM and highlight the positives he has done, but to use Bereton as one of them is plain daft. He's been a terrible signing in any sense of the word - cost, performances, goals. In trying to defend TM you do what you accuse others of, not being objective. Heck, there are a number of good things TM has done, but Bereton isn't one pretending he is does come across as ill judged and lacking objectivity and appears from your perspective that TM can't do any wrong.

That's a good point, thanks Joe. I think my point was based on seeing a few Gally horror shows wide right and the false 9 experiment (and crossing issues in general). You are right the demand for him to go forward is there, and perhaps more opportunity than I thought. However I still don't think the set up at times has matched up to the demands - linking up with Gally, who to aim for in the box etc.

Well I'm not sure about the logic behind ignoring/dismissing a point that illustrates the weakness of your argument because it has been regularly used. (In fact this debate has probably in part added to it's usage, but there we go...) Two key reasons why I think you are way off the mark on this, aside from the assist nonsense. Think it's clear as day you can contribute to goals without making the final pass and it is churlish to ignore that. Firstly the team isn't set up to help Nayambe improve offensively. Let's say he gets to the byline and whips in a cross, who will be on the end of it. Armstrong is small, Bereton is poor in the air, as was Samuel. Loads of our players don't really attack the ball in the penalty area. And when we played with a false 9 then there's no one even vaguely meant to be in that position. You could have Duff and Ripley whipping them in and it would be to no avail if there's no one to get on the end of them. Not only that but a key part of an offensive full back is working well with your wide midfielder/wide attacker. Again, Nayambe has little support here. The best example I can remember of this is Emerton and Bentley. When Bentley got the ball Emerton would bomb past on the overlap, stretching the defence, leaving the opposition vulnerable either to Bentley cutting inside further or the pass out wide and cross in from Emerton. Can remember getting excited every time those two got the ball in those dangerous areas. Anyway the point of this is it only works if you have a solid wide midfielder, one who can dribble, cut inside, wait for the overlap and exploit the situation. In the likes of Gally, Samuel and Bereton last season out wide, that clearly wasn't the case. Whether it's lack of ability or nous is debatable, but there wasn't anyone who linked well with the right back offensively. So it's a bit harsh to blame the lack of attacking ability all upon Nayambe. Like TM it seems he is a convenient scapegoat for team failings. The second reason even more crucially is that being able to attack well is a bonus for a full back. Before you say agree to disagree - which really is saying let's forget the relative merits of different positions - considering for a moment most of Rovers full backs over time. How many of them have been attacking? Not too many that I can think of bar Emerton. It's not their main role. Further evidence of this can be seen when Bennett plays right back (something I distinctly remember you championing because he was better offensively). All that offensive "prowess" is offset by his defensive weaknesses. Why, because defending is a bigger part of the job. First and foremost a defender has to be able to defend. If they can't do that then they will do more damage than they will benefit. It's why Amoruso (admittedly a CB) was such a liability. He would get us a goal but cost us a fair few too. Or Steven Reid at RB. Great engine, cracking shot but not the positional sense to play there. Defenders bread and butter is defending and that is their first responsibility for them. Just look at who is trying to stop the wide forwards when they attack and you see it in practice. Actually, I said two things but there's a few more, sorry. You also need to consider we ain't in the market for the Robinsons and Alexander Arnold's of this world. All championship players have weaknesses and limitations, the manager isn't going to find the next Carlos and Cafu at full back. And like with all championship players a manager needs to maximise their strengths and limit their weaknesses. To suddenly change this reality for Nayambe seems a little unusual. You aren't crying out for Lenihen to go because he isn't a ball playing centre back or for Armstrong because of his lack of defensive work. Dack can only really play in the hole effectively and these are our best players and they have limitations. I haven't even started on our strikers! But given this is the reality for championship players why does this criteria go out the window for Nayambe? His main strengths are much greater than his weaknesses, so he is worth his place in the team. Given you defended Walton for so long, whose weaknesses outweighed his strengths I do wonder how Nayambe gets such a poor deal. It's also worth on a final note recognising our key issue is leaking goals not scoring them. It surprises me we can have such a collection of misfits and Armstrong up front and yet score a decent number but we do. The issue is keeping them out. Surely this again dictates we need defenders who can defend and this is where our priority lies rather in more attacking threats. So yeah, in short I think you are judging Nayambe way out of line. Outside of following TM I can't really see any reason to have him as a scapegoat.

Great post. Now sometimes you have to have a player with a dicey record injury wise to get a talent who would otherwise be out of your reach. Bellamy was one of those players for us. But it's all a question of balance - one or two is a manageable risk especially if adding otherwise unattainable quality but 5 or 6 and it's very worrying, especially with a thin squad. It's the aquaddies who are like that who I would move on. We were miles better with Lenihen in the team so wouldn't get rid despite his record (plus we have no defenders) but the likes of Evans and Williams who are only mediocre when they are playing at their best can do one imo. Waste of wages and a strain on the squad.

What I was trying to say but said much more eloquently. In any walk of life I'm not sure this is an employer/situation you want to be in!

If I were Kipre I wouldn't be wanting to join West Brom. Sure the money will be much better and that is a factor, but the fact they haven't snapped him up, even as a squad player speaks volumes. It should tell him that he really isn't that wanted there and even if they don't get other targets then the lack of enthusiasm indicates they probably want someone else and will keep looking so his playing chances at West Brom don't look good at all. Of course modern players take the wages then get loaned out when they can't get games so it probably won't worry him too much. But this way round does stunt your career and have periods of inactivity and a lot less stability. It would be much better for his career to have a solid year or two with Rovers and then move on to bigger things.

No, but not sure knowing a schedule is a prerequisite for posting. And thinking talking about players and who should play is tenuous in a match day thread is a tad pedantic at best, obsessive at worst.

Conversation moved on to talking about one of our players - one who should have played in the game - and their merits. It's hardly a major digression into the state of the economy or how to play chess. It's almost as if they are linked...

Again I seem a tad bemused by this done to death on strikers thing so move on, as am fairly confident you mention the Nayambe attacking issue every time he is dropped or treated shabbily by our infallible manager. The corner you are backing yourself into is totally daft. Wilcox only played 27 games - terrible stat which ignores how many whipped in crosses resulted in goals, even if there was a bit of a scuffle first. You totally ignore the point being made. Everyone saw, the team even said ,the plan was get it wide then cross it in, yet you try to wiggle out of the assists aren't that accurate issue by saying how few games Wilcox played. The reason people keep bringing up the strikers not scoring issue is because you focus on a minor part of Nayambe's role and are comparatively less critical of a major part of our strikers game. It comes across as hypocritical.

I think it's because Chaddy has an aversion to not towing the party line rather than trying to be right. It looks like TM doesn't rate him (and has treated him.absymally for 3 seasons now) so to support the club he rips on Nayambe. Have to say basics first with defenders - they need to defend. The clue is in the name. Assists etc are all well and good - even if they can be counted - but first and foremost keeping the ball out of the net. Nayambe has athleticism that cannot be taught, is defensively canny and any other manager would be delighted to have him in a championship team. Problem is he is a scapegoat for all our issues - wide strikers who prefer to be inside and Mr Bennett who can't hold down a position. If we lose him as well for a minimal fee it will be another TM cock up.

Didn't see the game so hard to comment but there are a few worries to me from the game - what I have heard and read. Firstly no Nayambe bothers me as he is a good championship full back. Sure defensive only but that's first and foremost what we need. Shame if he is forced out as it makes the defence even weaker. Needing to score 3 to win and Bereton missing a sitter seems all too familiar. JRC really should be further forward than full back. He can do it but not his natural position imo. Not sure how that formation accommodates Dack. Not am I convinced we shouldn't be building a team around him. The squad seems really thin and weak. A decent first 11 but after that it gets a bit grim. Nothing ground breaking in this and I appreciate it is still early days and still chance to make signings. And perhaps my thoughts are a bit of an echo chamber to others views. But all of the above did fill me with a sense of unease and disquiet. I guess a little like how I felt under Ince pre season and at the start - a nagging sense of impending trouble under the surface. I hope I am wrong, and it's me being overly worried but it all feels a little too familiar.

I know. And I think this is what irritates me even more about the situation. Most managers have to be pragmatic and have some focus on short term as otherwise they won't remain in post. Our guy is safe as houses and can rely on being here long term and yet somehow.despite this advantage cannot see beyond the current season.

Great post. And why I am seriously worried by his transfers. Last season he had a 50:50 ratio which was his best yet and still poor. However 4 of the 6 aren't here any more and a 5th looked over the hill when he came. Long term solutions and planning is not his forte.

You whenever we suggest we need players you don't think the club will buy...

"I feel like I am doing well"??? Blimey. I mean 2 goals in 2 years is in nobody's book doing well. And even under the circus of Venkys we have still seen some excellent championship strikers like Rhodes and Graham as well as great seasons from Armstrong and Gestede. That's doing well. Bereton is a million miles off that. Not sure when he's refering to but he hasn't done anywhere near this and until he does vaguely more then turn up for his annual dead rubber game then he should keep comments like that to himself.