Coyle was that and more. He failed miserably with the players you listed. Mowbray may not be Klopp or Guardiola but he's a far cry from Coyle - a man who should never get another job in football.

I've had Burnley fans tell me the same thing. I doubt it though. Hart played top level football for years. Being quiet isn't an attribute of a keeper. Aside from Hart's obvious fall from grace, his undoing was Burnley's early start due to their Europa League exploits. They didn't get a proper pre season in, and had to adjust accordingly. It was only after an international break that Dyche got them back to their working order.

Dann failed to live up to expectations during his first season for Rovers. I remember him being iffy in possession, and getting caught out of position a lot. How much of that was down to Kean's abject management is worthy of discussion. He did knuckle down in the Championship and got his move back to the Prem where he was a regular and at times was talked about for an England call up. He is a good header of a ball and is better than average on attacking set pieces. An old head centre half is usually good for a Championship team. I'd take Joe Hart too.

Or, he's perfect as they can see and learn from his experiences on what not to do. He can explain how hard they have to work if they want to reach the top.

Tennis isn't a big draw on this site but did anyone watch Federer v. Nadal in today's Wimbledon semi final? Federer won in 4 sets and put on a masterclass. He will be missed when he hangs his racquet up. I can't see him beat Djokovic on Sunday.

Warren Joyce, once linked with Rovers, has been appointed as Salford City's development squad coach; Salford appoint Joyce. 3 years ago he was performing a similar role at Man U. He tried his hand at management. Failed, and now ends up at a League 2 team. Although said team is flush with cash. I also found it interesting that Chris Casper (Frank's lad for those older posters) is Salford's sporting director. Another member of the "class of 92™" involved at the club.

Interesting article. On one side he is bemoaning the lack of character in todays game. On the other he comes across as a "it was better in my day" type. Most on here like Souness so will give him a pass. As a side, does anyone else find the Mirror website annoying? I rarely read any articles on there as it takes weeks to load. I'm on a PC too.

Yep, VAR needs some refining. The pen was given after loads of slow mo repeats. White was never offside. The same happened to Lingard against the Dutch the other week. I thought that there had to be daylight to give a decision. Not last night. The USA were trying all sorts of tricks. I don't think that the sending off was deserved. USA will walk the final. I'll not be watching. Unlike the last World Cup there isn't unanimous support for the women's team over here. Rapinoe angered Trump fans. Others got mad at them tonking Thailand, and more simply have a hatred for football so won't watch.

This Guardian article doesn't paint a pretty picture; O'Neill loses Forest dressing room Lung busting pre season runs for the players finally did him in. Football fitness has moved on from the days of long cross country runs every day. I can't see his successor doing much either.

That's my take on it too. Men and women's football although they look the same are fundamentally different. Men and women will never be able to play together. The strength and speed difference is too much. Living in the USA I've seen plenty of women's football. About 20 years ago I was a counsellor at a big university's football camp. Their women's team was, and still is, one of the best in the country. Every night we had a counsellors kick about. There were enough players for 11 a side made up from the university's men's team (18-22 year old lads - decent players - think academy level), a couple of coaches, and a few of the women's team. The women, as good as they were in their own game, were completely outmatched. It wasn't fair on them. They tried their hardest but got nowhere.

There are 3 international competitions currently in full flow (Copa America, African Nations Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup), as well as the women's World Cup. I have no interest in any of them. Coupled with Rovers bargain bin transfer antics makes this one underwhelming summer. As has already been discussed Mowbray will not have his transfer business done early. Whether Rovers bring in loans or permanent signings they won't happen until after the Prem teams get back from their money spinning pre season tours. Those Managers will use their summer to assess who they want to keep and who gets farmed out. Once they decide that the horse trading will begin.

Uruguay beat Chile 1-0 in the Copa America last night. Suarez pulled a couple of Suarez like stunts during the game. He tried to round the keeper and cross it. The keeper blocked the ball with his arm, and went out for a corner. Suarez appealed for handball. A protester ran onto the pitch. A Chile defender ran after him and tripped him up. Suarez appealed for a foul. If I can find a video I'll post it.

Fernando Torres announced his retirement today. It's strange to say this about someone who won everything but injuries robbed him of quite a few good years. I would have signed him instead of Ronaldo in 2008. I thought he was that good. He scored a belter for Liverpool against Rovers at Anfield. Both centre halves and the keeper had no idea where the ball was until it was in the back of the net.

I agree. The earlier you get players in the quicker they can adjust. I also agree with this. Players, via their agents, hold out for better deals. Getting signings done early involves work during the season - think Hazard to Madrid - it's harder to do at Rovers level.

The whole process around Qatar was crooked, but I doubt that they'll take the competition off them. The FBI were investigating the whole shambles, yet I've not seen much lately on progress. Platini, Blatter, bin Hamman, Chuck Blazer, Jack Warner, and others were knee deep in it all.

I asked the same question the other day. Nobody provided an answer. He's a 20 odd year old footballer. Glamour follows them around.

Mesut Ozil got married at the weekend to an ex Miss Turkey. Erdogan was at the service, and was apparently best man. After the controversy he caused last year over being photographed with Erdogan I don't think that this move will earn him any goodwill amongst the German populace.

This seems to be the main gripe with Dack. Where does the notion that he's George Best reincarnated come from?

The Nations League was a success. That is a rare accomplishment for UEFA. It's still friendlies but all teams tried to win. I thought that England were second best against Holland yet England only lost due to carelessness. If the current Dutch side had van Persie or van Nistelrooy they'd be world champs. I think that VAR got both decisions wrong against England. I don't think that Lingard was offside, and like Stuart I think that the Swiss defender made a meal of the contact, which occurred way before (in VAR time) the header hit the bar. VAR has good and bad, it is here to stay and will hopefully improve. Although England were poor on Thursday, and missed a hat full of chances yesterday I think that Southgate still has the team improving. Going far at next year's Euro's is a real possibility. Kyle Walker's days are numbered. He was great in Russia last year but has regressed. Alexander-Arnold may not be as quick but he is a better defender, and is wonderful going forward. Wan-Bissaka is also very promising, but not as good an attacker as Alexander-Arnold. If Stones plays every week next season he will return to his 2018 form, but Gomez looks the part. Central midfield is still a worry. Dier is limited. Henderson is all action but his style is not the Frenkie de Jong type international football needs. Winks? I've not seen enough of him to comment. Foden is talked about but will he get a game at City? Chelsea are looking for another new manager. Hopefully whoever it is will play Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi every week when they come back from their injuries.

6am? I'd be hungover for days if I did that. I agree with your summation. The early goal made it easy for Liverpool to force Spurs to play much differently that they would have liked. Liverpool's strength this year has been their defence, why not use it? Despite me usually getting predictions wrong I was right about Kane. He was as effective as a lamppost. He wasn't helped by a lack of supply from Alli and Eriksen who were worse than he was. I really enjoyed this year's tournament. There were some great games. Both semifinals were truly wonderful to watch. The big boys will be busy in the transfer market so there could be some different looking teams next year. Real will have Hazard and probably a few more. Barcelona aren't far off needing 5 or 6 new players, PSG will waste money.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game. Klopp has lost 6 finals in a row and Spurs are Spurs. It's anyone's game. Despite the usual doom, gloom, and complaining on here I'm happy that the final is being contested by 2 English teams.

It was an easy win for Chelsea at the end of it. I can't decide between did Hazard decide to start playing in the second half? Or did Arsenal manage to Arsenal it up? If Hazard does leave, as is expected, Chelsea will be much much poorer next season. Mediocre talent such as Pedro, Kovacic (if he stays), Jorginho, and Giroud aren't going to drag them through games. Arsenal need players too. Aubameyang and Lacazatte are talented strikers but their supporting cast includes the brilliant but becoming more and more anonymous Ozil, Xhaka, Elneny, and their dodgy defence.

I agree. Have him on the subs bench and bring him on if desperate. He can be anonymous in games as he is a player who needs service to do well.

Mistake. He's not match fit. It matters not how many training sessions completed he'll be off the pace. Edit; cue hat trick next week.

Last night's game was fantastic. Football doesn't get much better than that. Although Ajax are 1-0 up Spurs could still win it. They blasted City in the last round, and have Son back tonight. I'm not bothered who goes through. Ajax have been a joy to watch though.