Btw, did anyone genuinely expect us to go on and get the winner after we equalised, or after Stoke had a player sent off? Honestly I was expecting them to score.

Bowyer was sacked after a 1-1 draw, so who knows. I wouldn't bet on anything happening though.

Not going to celebrate a 1-1 draw at home with Stoke, especially with the performance being so, so bad for the majority of the match. The team needs fresh eyes and fresh ideas. The sooner the manager leaves the better at this point. I don't expect it, and I'm certainly not saying I trust the owners to bring in the right person, but it's what we need to progress.

Managers with winning mentalities almost always set their teams up to first and foremost be very difficult to score against. It's the first and most important piece of the puzzle. Mowbray has never and will never put that piece in place. His entire managerial career is proof of that.

I'd say simply because he's not very good - but it's not like we're spoilt for choice as far as CB options go.

At the very least top six is easily achievable with this team. If we had a manager who knew how to sort out a defence we'd be a real force. Venky's have always neglected the position of manager, though, which is why we've only had one season where we've ever looked like cracking the top six. That and the refusal to shell out proper money on the defence. Whether that's a decision from the top or just the decision of every manager the club has employed remains up for debate, though.

I can't say I'm surprised as I called this as a possibility at half time. It's a shit league with shit teams in it, and we have enough individual quality to make up for repeated, shockingly bad performances. Any decent team would have been out of sight by now. Stoke are nothing special. With a decent manager we'd be right up there challenging this season - the quality of the divison is so poor. Feels like we've wasted yet another chance to make a real stab at getting back up with a squad that could and should be doing so much better.

Everything about this match feels like a manager at the very end of his tenure, and a team who has lost faith in his abilities.

Have we literally had a single shot on goal since the break?

I'd agree, it feels different this time. Even after beating Birmingham at the start of the month we've gone right back to playing like total shit. Normally that result would have spurred on a few decent performances and results.

We've had one shot in 60 minutes so far and one disallowed goal. Stoke have had 12 shots. If Mowbray hasn't lost the dressing room then at the very least he's lost the ability to motivate the players to perform to anywhere close to an acceptable standard - and recently that even goes for most of the games we've won.

I think we all know deep down it's already over. We haven't performed well for months now. This isn't a team with a hope in hell of reaching the playoffs.

Both pundits on Quest thought it was a pen tbf. You see them given. Still, either way I think we can both agree that we aren't where we are due to bad officiating. That's just the cherry on top.

Interesting that Mowbray made two subs at HT, though. He very rarely makes any changes at HT - a sign of some pressure?

As @New Jeru mentioned Birmingham had a pen against us turned down which could easily have been given - we then went and scored straight afterwards. I know we've had some bad luck with Brereton not getting a couple of pens, but at the same time he has a reputation for going down easy and unfortunately that comes back to bite you in the end. We can still win this by virtue of the league and the teams in it being poor. We have enough in the ranks for a moment or two of class to dig us out of a hole. I just hate how our team seems to retract into their shells the first moment something like this goes against us.

I agree it's frustrating, but I'm so used to shocking officiating in this league that I'm somewhat numb to it. Not like we haven't had some of that luck ourselves recently! Remember the game when we had three blatant handballs from Lenihan and Ayala ignored?

Thing is, with the way this league is we could still come back into the game to draw or win. It seems unlikely but we've been here before. We have the individual talent in the team to get something even when we look totally clueless. Imagine we had a manager who could take our individual talents and turn them into a legitimate team though? That would be something worth backing. Not this shit.

I can't believe how poor we are. The pitch is a shitheap but we all looked at that team and said yeah, we should be able to get something with that lineup. Instead we look like a bunch of League 1 cloggers. It's so bad that I actually am starting to wonder if the players have stopped trying.

Our team has no backbone. So weak mentally. As soon as something goes against us we crumble. It's no coincidence that we very rarely come from behind to win. Stoke may not have scored and we'd still be 1-0 up. Maybe they get fired up and score 2 or 3. We'll never know. Our collapse afterwards is inexcusable though. We're lucky to be going in only one down.

For all we know we score that goal, they go up the other end and score two before half time. Just as likely as us scoring a second considering our recent form. I certainly wouldn't have backed us to keep a clean sheet even if the goal did count, and 1 shot on goal to Stoke's 7 in this first half doesn't suggest we've been in control of the game at any point. Not having a go at you mate but I am tired of the excuses for this manager and this team. Something has got to change.

If the pitch wasn't in such a shit state maybe we'd have more than one shot in the first half. Can't blame the officials for that one.

Winners make their own luck. Bad officiating happens in every game in this league. That shit decision has nothing to do with the fact we can't defend. Do you honestly believe we'd have kept a clean sheet if that goal had been allowed? I don't.

Tony has the offside as his excuse. "If that decision had gone our way it would have been a different game".

We've been told the owners will always cough up money if asked. Why is nobody at Ewood asking for emergency funds to sort out the embarrassing state of the pitch? Probably hoping for a COVID-related season suspension so they don't have to make the request.

"The king is dead, long live the king". Many in those groups to support whoever the manager of the club is as opposed to the club itself. They seem to think loyalty to the club means supporting the manager no matter how obvious it is he isn't going to get us any further than where we are now. Maybe it is appropriate for the club to wave flags of Mowbray at the ground. There's a definite cult of personality - which is funny because whilst Mowbray is a decent bloke he's not exactly charismatic.