I'd a formation includes Bennett as a full back or even wing back we've probably got it wrong. If Gally or the hapless Bereton are on the right wing we've probably got it wrong (as am aside poor Ben, he'd not up to scratch imo but stocking him on the wing is guarenteed to make it even harder for him). If Downing is anywhere involving a lot of running - e.g. wing back, we've probably got it wrong. These are all basic thoughts and not guarenteed by this pre season or speculative article but also are all possibilities. TM needs to stop tinkering with formations and just keep it simple. It probably cost us the League 1 title and anorher bout of tinkering could cost us again this season.

I'm wondering the same. It all seems a bit like the end of Souness's time with us - a horrendous run of results then a few wins to see us safe, saying one thing then doing another. Random buys in the transfer market rather than building a team. This transfer window seems fairly poor to me. Am happy with Gallagher but the money was really needed elsewhere and shows what an almighty muck up Bereton was. Reid for Johnson is arguably a step backwards - although Johnson is our player but at 32 how many seasons will we get out of him. In goal we've got a keeper from a team arguably weaker than us who didn't look great when he played for them, and on loan so no long game for us either - and got rid of a talented youngster to boot. Downing could work but is risky and as for the defence. Also in all of this where is the long term - or more accurately medium term planning? All bar Gally will need replacing within a year, or 2 at most. Most likely next summer we have the same issues. The lack of depth is appalling. If Bennett is a legitimate right back choice football has died, Mulgrew is past it, Williams is mediocre at his absolute best and our first two choice centre backs - and the offer on the table "centre back" Rodwell are all injury prone and all will miss half a season. It caused us huge problems last year and likely will again. Forget medium term planning I'm not sure the short term is there.

What exactly has he shown? Genuinely thought Raya showed far more talent yet isn't worth persevering with. Raya kept us in games made amazing saves yes mucks ups too hence the worries but he showed he has quality in him. What has Bereton done that hints at a top player being in him?

Well at least the mistake has been rectified (hopefully!) It shows how appalling the Bereton deal was rather than reflecting on Gally. Whilst Bereton was a huge waste of money sticking with that and not rectifying it would be worse.

I think this is a good move providing that he is not shunted out to the wing. If so terrible signing but that goes for most players - play them in their right position they're an assett, move them elsewhere they are much weaker. For those saying it makes less sense because of Bereton I'd say Bereton was a mistake regardless of whether Gally signed. Imo this signing rectifies that mistake. Hally's style and past performance make him a much more suitable successor to Graham. Good enough successor - we'll see but he knows the club, has performed well previously imo and Graham won't go on forever - or get injured this season - so getting a bit ahead of the game is not a bad idea at all. Of course there are question marks raised - our defence needs immediate attention and does this stop that happening? Can TM actually buy players he doesn't know, how limited is he in the transfer market. But overall as a transfer for the striker position I think it's a good move.

Big, big mistake imo. Decent keeper and the potential for so much more. We spend 7mill on Bereton who is not at the level of Raya progress wise and it's an investmen. we have a keeper showing much more promise (albeit with mistakes) with many more mitigating circumstances (a poor defence) and it's decided to cut our losses. Worst of all this is the last thing that needed to be fixed in the defence - a partner for Lenihen, a proper left back and letting Bennett nowhere near a defensive position all would come first. It's like your house flooding and sorting the new wallpaper before getting furniture. Bad move imo and most worrying is I suspect TM will think this fixes our defensive problems. Oh and if we were really serious about a top keeper and savvy business wise we'd have hired a proper keeper coach for a year and seen if/what progress Raya made. Or loaned him out. That much potential doesn't grow on trees. Rant over.

Forgot about that. Yes that would be much needed. As really think you're being overly optimistic about Bereton coming good. Especially to the level we need in the timeframe we need. But Gallagher is a good shout and more similar to Graham.

Agree about keeper and defence but that would involve upsetting 2 or 3 key players. We could have Sir Brad at his finest or any other top keeper and we'd still ship in goals due to crap defenders and a midfield with poor ball retention. Equally worryingly we don't seem to be bothered about a striker. There's a lot riding on Bereton coming good. If Graham gets injured we are stuffed.

His whole career has been one big mistake. From taking the money at the cost to his development at City through to the Sunderland debacle - he's not made many good choices. Personally am glad he has gone. Aot of question marks when he came and the answers we got weren't that encouraging. Much rather have a proper centre back then him.

It really should be more than minus 12 given they failed to play a game. Bit hard given they're already down and out but to not do could set a very dangerous precident. When Lowe is one of your best players you are pretty stuffed.

Was going to post very much the same thing. In some ways I'm happy with slow build - to go from Lowe to Smallwood to Johnson is a continual step upwards. Problem is if we make slow progress and others progress faster we'll actually be falling behind. Most worryingly for me is it is probably a good signing for a year or two maximum and then will need replacing. Given we'll also have to replace a few key other players in this time - Mulgrew (should've been done before) Graham and Downing I think we could have significant and urgent recruitment for talent in a year or two. Decent signing. As one of many it's a good signing. As one of our key signings or to be right mid, or instead of a defender - meh. Hope that it's the former though.

Agree. Which also emphasises how important this window is for us. A few key signings for us and we'll be looking upwards. No signings or poor ones and we'll be looking downwards and in a relegation scrap. If the question is how would the team as is finish next year then I'd say a little lower. Graham isn't getting any younger with Mulgrew past it, whilst Dack's lack of focus isn't helping his development eirher. Although Dack and Graham are still capable given how much we rely on them even a small drop will make a big difference to us. There's also real weaknesses in the squad from lack of other striking options, only injury prone centre backs, poor left backs and no real width (I imagine Downing will be more central) 4 key additions - a centre back, a quality striker, a wide (ideally left footed) mid and left back and we'd look very competitive. Travis and Bennett guarding the defence, or Downing pulling strings in there, Graham and another to out away chances, Rothwell and Dack for creativity and a bit of defensive solidity with some very promising youngsters potentially giving us a platform for years to come. Problem is I think TM doesn't see all bar the centre back position as needing improvement, leaving us narrow, over reliant on Graham and with rubbish left backs.

Shows the terrible attitude he has towards the game. Doesn't matter how much ability you have if that's the attitude - get rid. I'm not even convinced he's that good at centre back which is where he wants to play. Poor attitude, poor in his preferred position, a poor injury record - why is he still an option?

My thoughts: Keep Raya. We can have an expensive development project such as Bereton but not keep Raya. Seems odd to me. Contradictory even. Put it this way how much would a keeper currently as good as or better cost? Also given Raya's undoubted potential can we afford to let someone with such potential go? How much will be be worth in a couple of years with improvements? I'm not certain on the calculations but I'm very confident that if Raya fulfils some.of his potential we'll never be able to afford that quality. Also anyone thinking our bad defending is down to just our keeper is deluded. Bennett at RB, Mulgrew and any left back would be in line to be replaced before Raya imo, but that would mean upsetting the lads so can't see TM doing it. Gallagher- pleased with link. Thought he was good when with us and less risky because known. Am worried about the trend though that TM generally only goes for players he knows. That said I think in this case it'd be a good addition.

You forgot to add in they had a bucket load of talent there as well as all the additions that he brought in. Very overrated. (I agree with your post btw just think he was even less impressive given he inherited a heap of good players too...)

Was just going to post similar. Shows organisation and planning after an indifferent season AND it didn't cost them the earth either. Powell in particular is a coup imo. Shows how lagging behind we are in this area.

Disagree. Not saying he's great but I don't think he's the worst in the squad by a long way and can do a job. Certainly feel he can be effective and offer something both in games when we perhaps need a few more grafters and as someone to come on and shore things up. Think Smallwood has suffered for 2 reasons which hasn't shown him in the best light: 1 he has been played with players who don't compensate for his weakness. Tugay for all his brilliance wasn't great defensively but Savage/Reid covered for this. Not saying he is Tugs quality but the principle is the same. Put him with a cm who can pass and he looks decent/competent. 2 he is squad player level but suffers a bit as TM had him as unstoppable for a long time. Not Smallwood's fault but it does turn fans etc. against him in frustration and give them a perhaps overly negative view due to that frustration. Anyhow I don't think it's the biggest issue/debate in the squad by a long shot. If we got better as a back up I wouldn't be too disappointed but I'd rather we got a better first 11 and spent our energy improving that rather than squad players.

Agree with all of this. The worry is that Whittingham didn't work out but TM knows Downing so hopefully less of a risk. I think the answers to your questions/worries imo are yes he will tinker rendering it less effective and no we can't afford that many centre mids - although Evans would be the one to go in my book. Feel similar to you that Smallwood is a good reserve to have in the squad as a backup player. Evans on the other hand offers little

Sad that every Leeds match will be shown on Sky again next year. Who am I kidding though - a price well worth paying to see Leeds fail again. Hilarious the contrast between how much Sky and their fans hype Leeds up and how often the team fails to live up to it. Is there a bigger discrepancy in football? Well done Leeds on giving us all a laugh.

TM has dropped another massive clanger if the rumours of these new contracts are to be true. Firstly Conway and Leuts have done very little to suggest they will add a lot of value next season - so much for bringing in top quality competition and improving the team. Shows a lack of ruthlessness or high enough standards which cost us last season and looks like it may begin to cause us problems next year as well... Secondly even allowing for TM's lapse in judgement over the quality of the above 2, why on earth would Gladwin merit a contract? He's done nothing in 2 years. This is beyond bad judgement into madness. Do we really even see him as a viable option compared to even the youngsters we played in the last few games? Nothing good about this at all. Very early days so no panic as yet, but it is a worrying sign that the same problems and weaknesses will continue to derail Rovers.

Lots of good players on the released lists. Brentford have let a couple go McLeod and the ex Chelsea lad who both were considered very promising. If we could keep them fit they may be good signings.

Talk about kicking them when they're down! Also can't a lot of their players leave for free/hand in their notice as they've not been paid for a few months? Might struggle to field a team on top of all their other problems.

Season review/conclusion; 1 word: frustration. Don't get me wrong, the final position was more than respectable. There were some good games too, and nice memories. A couple of exciting players were brought in, especially Rothwell, but despite all of that, the feeling I mainly come away with is frustration. Why? Well, to me, all our mistakes were absolutely avoidable and of our own making. Sometimes the circumstances well and truly get the better of you: the small squad under Hughes running out of steam with 3 cup runs in a tough league being one example of this. Or last time we got relegated - I'm no fan of Owen Clueless but selling our best players for £10 million plus and giving him only £250k would have hampered anyone. And TM probably would've kept us up if those making decisions had been halfway competent had fired Clueless even a game or two earlier. This season though I feel all our mistakes were well and truly avoidable. - The 2.5 attackers and therefore struggling. As soon as we dropped this we looked really exciting going forwards. Everyone was clamoring for Rothwell months before he was a regular in the team. Who knows what would've happened had he been played even a month or more sooner? - Likewise the Evans/Smallwood combination clearly didn't work. Again in Reid and Travis we had some better options, but often these options were overlooked. Hypothetical, but who knows how many more points we would've gained had the Evans/Smallwood axis been broken sooner? In both cases it's not an if only we had a Kante or a Messi (or more realistically whatever the Championship equivalents are!) - we had the players on the books. - Defense - we knew from the last 2 seasons that Mulgrew and Lenihen were both susceptible to injury. Yet the only other "centre back" we brought in was an equally injury prone converted midfielder. There was no way we should have got caught out with injuries in this position, it wasn't unlucky - it was inevitable given all our centre backs have a history of injuries. Insult added to literal injury in this department was letting Downing go out on loan. I'm not entirely sure he was the answer, but surely cover was better than nothing. We dropped the ball so many times on defensive cover from not buying adequate cover in 2 windows, and letting last season's cover - who performed well last season - also go out on loan. Another entirely avoidable situation. - It was probably obvious to all that we needed strengthening in defense (especially with injury prone players) and top quality cover for Graham up top, but frustratingly we had the resources to do so. 7 million of them. 7 million could well and truly have brought in enough players to ensure we had good quality cover in both of these positions. 7 million in the championship can go a long way if used wisely, as there are some cracking deals out there - the ex-Hibs midfielder now at Villa looks a snip at £2.5 mill, and the Norwich lad who was top scorer was a free transfer (and I need to get better with names too.) All this talk of needing cover and strengthening really shouldn't have been an if only, as £7 million well spent would have made a huge difference. I'd probably rate TM as 50:50 in the transfer window but even 1 or 2 more additions of good quality - say 1 striker to take the pressure off Graham, or one better quality cb - would have made a massive difference to our campaign. The money was there, and we blew it. - Many players staying in the team despite bad runs; Mulgrew, Evans, Smallwood, Bennett, Williams (at lb). Again we had options to replace them with, yet these players were allowed to go on lengthy bad runs. Hypothetical again, but who knows how we would have done if a couple of them were withdrawn till they picked up some form? Equally with younger players withdrawn and singled out after a couple of poor performances, I'm unsure as to how the favoritism of veteran players would've helped the squad moral and dynamics. Again, this was avoidable, if a player is persistently poor over a few games, withdraw them. - Finally the not getting started for the first 20 minutes. This happened so, so many times. Everyone starts slowly now and again, and sometimes the opposition out-think or outfight you. Sometimes you simply get it wrong tactics or personnel wise. But for it to happen so often with us not addressing it, suggests that we aren't really learning. That it's happened repeatedly suggests that it shouldn't be that hard to spot, and therefore address. Again a hypothetical, but had we a stronger start in a proportion of the many games we started slowly in, I wonder how many more points we would have had. In short I feel that there is a lot of potential in the squad, and despite all the - blatantly rectifiable imo - mistakes we still were comfortably mid-table. That suggests to me there is a heck of a lot of potential in this squad, and with a bit of nous we should be optimistic going forward. The caution for me is that these mistakes are all of our own making, which makes me doubt whether we will actually make good on our potential.

He can say it all he likes but it's blatantly not true (yes I got your sarcasm). I honestly think that's the biggest problem we have - even more so than our square pegs round holes and defence. At best we give ourselves 70 minutes to get results and it's cost us a lot of points - yesterday being just 1 example.

I'm a bit worried that our slow start seems to happen every game. I'm also a bit dispairing that Bennett and Leuitweiler are still in the team. Not sure getting well beaten is a bad thing as hopefully it reinforces to TM how much work there is to be done. These positive and negative streaks have not helped at all as depending which one we are on our flaws or promise are both overshadowed. Hopefully today shows what we could/should be aiming towards.