https://www.infogol.net/blog/analysis/championship-promotion-race-assessed-23012019 An article from last month predicting eventual finishes, based on xG. We're slipping pretty quickly towards the 18th we were tipped for in the article (we were 10th at the time).

I'm not sure if it's intentionally playing to our strengths or just a result of our weaknesses. Playing the long ball game is OK if it's part of a strategy but I don't really get that feeling when watching us, it seems more like hit and hope a lot of the time. In theory we have the players up front in Dack, Armstrong, Rothwell, Brereton (?) and Reed to hurt the opposition as and when we win knock downs, but I'm unsure as to whether that is our actual strategy or not. If so then I think our form from November-December and now through February suggests teams might have found us out!

I'm not sure our approach is as much pragmatic as it is desperate and lacking ideas. I doubt Mowbray is drilling the percentage game and long ball positional play into the players. I could be wrong but I feel like our long balls are more a byproduct of a lack of ideas or passing options on the pitch, particularly at the back, which just ends up with a hopeful hoof up to Graham. The fact it's happening enough to make us joint top in the long ball table suggests that we really do have a problem with players making themselves available for passes and being aware of where they and the opponents are on the pitch.

If a long ball game is effective then I don't necessarily have a problem with it. Obviously it has been successful to some degree results wise, but our glaring inability to defend continues to cost us points. Perhaps retaining possession rather than lumping it up the pitch and generally losing it would be a better option, particularly when we're defending slender leads - which is most of the time if we're winning a match. The opposition can't score if they don't have the ball. I appreciate our players for the most part are not especially gifted technically - which I assume plays a part in our long ball strategy - but if they aren't competent enough to pass a ball between themselves and get into a shape that allows space and opportunities then there is an issue at both playing and coaching level which will get a lot worse when our few technically gifted players, such as Dack, move on.

Seen it all before. They always seem to wriggle out of it despite clearly being an absolute trainwreck financially. In any other business arena an entity as dysfunctional as Bolton would have been dissolved years ago. We're obviously not exactly a beacon of financial stability but other than that odd period where we were surviving on payday loans the club itself has never been in a position of receiving winding up orders, etc.

No, because that won't give everybody their daily dose of OUTRAGE and moral superiority. #GiveMowbrayAChance

Indeed, we are (in some cases were) angry because they promised to respect Jack Walker's legacy and instead disgraced it.

Feels like we're going to be in need of so many upgrades that we'd need summer to be extended indefinitely. Anybody who previously played for us going to be available? That seems to be our main market these days.

This is particularly damning when Mowbray's preferred choice of system is using wing backs! What good are they if we're not putting any bloody crosses in?

I suppose to some degree Bowyer had greater flexibility in terms of the wage budget. I have to think we were spending a lot more on wages with the likes of Robinson, Hanley, Duffy, Lowe (wasn't he on something stupid like £20k a week?), Cairney, Evans, Rhodes and Gestede in the team. How the difference balances out with the £7m earmarked for Brereton I'm not sure, but GB certainly had a decent enough level of backing in terms of wage budget if not transfer fees. As for Lambert, he obviously wanted a decent budget but saw what Coyle was eventually left to work with and ran a mile.

The owners stumbled upon TM, as they did with Bowyer. It wasn't some intricate plan that has come together, he was free, cheap and whoever represents him obviously managed to impress Suhail or Senior. Bowyer and Mowbray have been our only managers since they appeared who can be classed as "successful" - and both were cheap, quite obscure options. Bowyer got the gig because he was already here, Mowbray was on the managerial scrapheap after Coventry and we were likely his last shot at revitalising his career. There's no doubt that both Bowyer and Mowbray have overperformed relative to their achievements and standing in the game prior to joining us, but this was pure luck. So, yes, if Mowbray does leave we should be very fearful of what comes next. These owners have never taken the managerial position seriously enough and that has been a core component of our gradual demise.

Yep, think he's at the very least earned the summer window to show us he can genuinely improve the team. Have to say I'm sceptical based on his recent transfer dealings. I mean, our first team would normally be Raya, Nyambe/Bennett, Mulgrew, Lenihan, Bell/Williams, Evans, Travis/Smallwood, Reed, Dack, Armstrong, Graham. Only Bell, Smallwood, Dack and Armstrong are Mowbray buys, and of those I think only Dack has proved to be a significant upgrade. Armstrong has purple patches but still has a lot to prove. Bell and Smallwood aren't Championship standard imo. Reed on loan is good but unfortunately he isn't our player and probably won't be next season either. The rest of his notable signings, loan or otherwise - Gladwin, Whittingham, Samuel, Caddis, Nuttall, Leutwiler, Hart, Antonsson, Harper. Downing, Chapman, Rothwell, Davenport, Rodwell, Palmer, Brereton. It generally doesn't make for great reading. When you consider we will likely need a replacement for Dack, a challenger for Graham's spot, a centre back, a right back, at least one left back, a right midfielder and a central midfielder... that's a lot of work for somebody with a chequered transfer record at best.

So much for the kneejerk myth! The reality is that very few people want Mowbray sacked. Almost everybody appreciates the job he's done and understands that Rovers is far from an easy job. With that said, there have also been some glaring problems under Tony's management - in particular defence - that have never been fixed and remain broken with no obvious sign that the manager is aware or concerned about our appalling defensive record this year. A little reassurance from Mowbray that he's aware of this problem and will be looking into sorting it out ASAP would go a long way, rather than comments suggesting all is fine and we don't need to strengthen.

I've made peace with our surrender of a playoff challenge. Realistically we were never really good enough, a combination of momentum and good fortune had us up there for a bit but since November reality has been biting pretty hard. Mowbray's decision not to strengthen in January solidified our acceptance of mid table. Until we stop conceding so many goals we're not going to get anywhere near promotion, and that's something that will require some pretty big changes in both personnel and coaching.

My view (not expressed in the poll) is that he's done okay at best, but needs support in certain areas. Dack aside, transfers don't seem to be his strong point so I would appoint somebody above Mowbray to deal with that side of things. Obviously Tony should still have the final say on whether he wants a player to be purchased or not, but it couldn't hurt to have somebody focused solely on transfers and strengthening the current team. There are glaring problems in our team that haven't been addressed for two windows now. If Mowbray is unwilling or unable to bring in the right players to improve us then somebody else should be tasked with it. Unfortunately with Venky's in charge we have no idea who would end up in that role. Just as likely to be a returning Steve Kean as anybody useful.

The optimist in me says 5 points out of the next six games. I don't think we'll win any of those away games but we might get a draw against Rotherham (who are rubbish, but so are we). I think we'll probably beat one of Wigan or Preston, most likely Wigan, but I don't see us winning both.

Yeah, I think we beat them 2-1 in Lambert's first match. Funnily enough he nearly repeated the trick with Ipswich until Preston equalised towards the end of the match.

It's possible that we were active and just unable to bring in targets, but everything we've heard from Mowbray suggests he's perfectly happy with the squad and doesn't consider strengthening a huge priority at this moment in time. Unless we hear otherwise we have to assume that this is indeed the case, regardless of whether money was or was not available to him in January. Agreed that we should start giving the youngsters a chance. The current first team are frankly taking the piss with some of these performances, going all the way back to November when Wigan and Preston annihilated us. Travis should now be a mainstay in the team until the end of the season. I could probably perform better than our left backs as of late so there must be a prospect or two at the club who might benefit from being given a chance to show what they can do. Not too dissimilar issues at centre back - again, maybe time to call up a younger player and see what they can offer? You wouldn't want to throw a bunch of kids in at once, but a gradual introduction into the first team as we've seen with Travis may provide the extra spark we are very sorely lacking at present. Some of our team seem to think the season is already over. They're not necessarily wrong but the bare minimum is still to give 100% to the paying supporters who deserve better than what they're getting from the manager and the team at present.

I'm sure we'll scrape at least another ten points and end up fairly comfortably safe. Next season is where the shit may really hit the fan.

The problem, as has always been the case under Venky's, is that the manager has too much responsibility. He has to not only select and manage the team, but also the scouting, the youth system, the transfer activity, the club christmas do... it's too much. I'm not entirely sure what Waggott does in his role, but somebody should have been questioning TM about his apparent lack of interest in recruiting in the January window whilst allowing Downing to head out on loan. Surely somebody in a position above Mowbray should have said "look, it's nice that you're trying to run a tight ship here - but we've only conceded less than Ipswich and Rotherham, and we've just let a centre back go out on loan despite our other options being injury prone and questionable in terms of their abilities. Why are we not looking to strengthen what is clearly a weak defence? What are your plans to shore the back line up if not through bringing in better players?" Instead the manager seemingly answers to nobody, until Venky's randomly decide they don't like the way the wind is blowing this month or the meet a new "adviser" and suddenly the manager is out on his arse and the club is thrown into chaos again. The club isn't right at the very top and that's where our problems stem from.

That's an absolutely appalling statistic if true, and I think it most likely is. We've always been a 45 minute team under Mowbray and we're not in a division where we can get away with it as often as we did last season. We had a bit of momentum and a fair bit of luck at the start of the season, but it began falling apart in November and save for that brief spell in January (where, let's not forget, we played the likes of Millwall and Ipswich) it's been a really tough slog the past couple of months. The warning signs are all there, and I fear it'll only get worse in the summer when realistically we're likely looking at Dack and Reed departing. Meanwhile Graham and Mulgrew, who are already starting to falter now, will be a year older. We're suddenly looking at a lot of urgent replacements in a very short space of time, when you consider Rodwell may also be off and being brutally honest we almost need the entire back four replaced. Bringing a couple of fresh faces in during the January window would have made this process a little easier, but no, apparently that wasn't necessary. Personally I am very concerned as to where Mowbray is taking us. History suggests that he finds it very difficult to get out of these slumps once his teams begin to fall away.

We'll do well to finish 14th imo. I'm expecting closer to 17th/18th. We couldn't even beat Reading ffs.

I imagine Bell must be wondering what he did wrong to be replaced by the walking disaster that is Derrick Williams.

Thankfully didn't see the game but am I to assume we're back to Evans Mk I now he's got his new contract? Notice he was hooked at HT.

Worrying if he's being serious, because the rest of us certainly recognised them.