DE.

I'd love to see us let the shackles loose in one appropriate home match and just see what happens. Have Palmer, Dack, Armstrong, Graham/Brereton and Rothwell all in the same team. It might end up being a total suicide mission but it'd be interesting to see if we could put a team to the sword with a genuinely dynamic and energetic attacking focus, rather than having the likes of Smallwood and Evans slowing everything down and just punting it up to Graham with the hope of a flick down leading to something.

Fergal was certainly one of a kind. Probably the most adaptable manager in recent history. He certainly wasn't above being pragmatic if it was necessary. Once Ronaldo and Tevez departed United played a pretty rigid style pretty much until he retired - but they were still challenging, and that was the key. I think Mowbray can be adaptable, and he really wants to switch to this three at the back system, but he just hasn't been able to assemble a good enough team to feel comfortable going for it. So instead we have this defensive, cautious approach which is frustrating to watch but has so far been good enough. I'm not sure whether we'll ultimately get to the point where Mowbray can play his preferred style. It'll be a shame if so, as we'll never really see what Mowbray wants us to be. Arguably the story of every manager under Venky's tenure.

Fans who offer critcism really can't win with certain sections of our fanbase. If you point out flaws when we lose then you're overreacting, knee-jerking, doom mongering, etc. When you do so after a win or a draw you're accused of not supporting the team, being unreasonable and not being able to "just enjoy the result". If you then keep quiet and stop criticising when we get a good result you get the old "haven't got much to say now, have you?" It's lose-lose with some people no matter what, so if you have something to say, just say it and don't worry about what others think. There's nothing wrong with asking for improvement or questioning certain decisions. Obviously it's possible to go too far down the negative side of the scale, but it's just as prevalent in the opposite direction. The middle ground is where we should all be aiming for.

Mid-table is realistically where we should expect to finish. Until we get a grip on the defensive side of the game we're going nowhere fast, but we have enough quality about us to stay up without too much trouble. There are some really, really bad teams below us. We need to arrest our alarming recent drop in form sooner rather than later though, and I am concerned that an injury to Graham, Dack or Mulgrew would be pretty damaging for us. Hell, even an injury to Nyambe has left us looking significantly weaker.

Probably not, but maybe Mowbray's thinking is that Armstrong is our player whilst Palmer isn't and most likely never will be. In that sense you can make an argument for Armstrong being ahead in the pecking order. That said, it's all about getting back on track at this point and we need our strongest team out there, whether it's loans or permanent signings.

Worryingly Palmer hasn't looked very effective yet either, but I agree he probably should come back into the team. We need some pace in the team if we're going to play so defensively, especially without Nyambe bombing down the wing from right back. We moved at a glacial pace going forward against Sheff Utd and that meant they knew they could throw men forward as we were never going to catch them out on the counter. They overloaded the final third as a result and it was a matter of time until we cracked under the pressure. I don't expect Bolton to threaten us in the same way, but if both teams are defensive and slow to move it could become a very turgid affair.

People have definitely been getting carried away with talk of playoffs. We need to focus on making sure we stay in this league for now. Getting battered by Derby a couple of weeks back and Sheff Utd tonight shows we're still some way off competing with the better clubs in this division. Add in our inability to see out games, over-reliance on Dack and penchant for conceding goals and you aren't looking at a team that has a realistic chance of getting promoted. We'll do well to finish mid table and that's certainly achievable. We need to start taking our flaws seriously and trying to correct them, though, as it feels like we're repeatedly committing the same mistakes.

A huge improvement needed. Bolton had an inexplicably good start but they aren't anything to worry about. We really need to make a statement here and go for them, as they are definitely beatable. That said, I expect another defensive performance and to concede at least one goal. 1-1. Knowing us Lowe will score theirs.

Aye, I'm not blaming Brereton for being here or being ineffective. That blame lies solely on whoever decided he was going to be our primary reinforcement in attack. There's no doubt he has potential and could come good, I'm not saying he's going to be a total failure and is doomed to disaster. My issue is only that I feel the money needed to be spent elsewhere at this stage in the club's development. Again, not Brereton's fault at all. He's here and should be supported as much as any other player if he's putting the effort in. There aren't many youngsters who could come into this team and have an instant impact, especially with the way we play. That's why we probably would have been better off bringing in a player with more experience who can adapt quickly and give us an advantage in games rather than a player with potential whose confidence is only going to drop when playing and being unable to effect the game in any meaningful way. Much like Nuttall earlier in the season it isn't his fault he's being put in this situation, he's just costing us a hell of a lot more.

I'm pretty sure that it's been said the deal is basically done, I don't think there's a break clause. If he had cost less money then I'd be willing to cut him much more slack, but I'm sorry, when you bring somebody in for £7m at this level you expect to see something fairly quickly. Let's not use terms like "witch hunt" as it's just a lazy way of dismissing very real concerns about whether this is going to be a good deal for us. As I said, I really hope I'm wrong on this one. I'd love for the guy to be a success and end up worth every penny. Right now though he doesn't look like he's ready to have an impact, and that's going to be a big problem if Graham is suddenly unavailable as we have very few other options.

I said before the match started that a defensive pairing of Lenihan/Williams worried me. They aren't necessarily to blame for tonight as the entire team looked bereft of confidence and belief, but I agree that we should have been spending our money on defensive reinforcements rather than gambling on a youngster. That's the kind of purchase you make when you're established and already have a strong team, not when there's still areas in genuine need of improvement. I have some pretty grave concerns over the Brereton signing and really hope I'm proven wrong because right now it seems like that money needed to be spent elsewhere. Now granted we did need striking reinforcements too, but I don't think Brereton was or is the answer. He doesn't look like a hold up man, and that's how we primarily play, so what was the thinking behind that deal? It doesn't look like we're changing formation or style any time soon.

He hasn't been great but in fairness to him he has been trying. Far worse performances from the likes of Dack, Evans and Smallwood I'm afraid. Brereton looks lost out there. I know we have to give him time to adapt and settle in but if we're spending £7m on the bloke we should expect more than this. Six goals conceded in our last three games, nine in four if you count Bournemouth. I would say something has gone wrong, but we were conceding goals last year too, so I think it's just a weakness Mowbray hasn't been able to fix. Keep this up and we're in for a difficult season. The defence must be tightened without losing the ability to score goals to win games. Not an easy task but as it stands we're making it very difficult on ourselves. Dangerous imo to already be looking to next season. We've got problems in the here and now that need to be addressed first. Fortunately there are some terrible teams below us and despite only winning three games so far this season we're already nine points off the relegation places. That gives us enough time to get things sorted, but there is no question we do need to start looking at what isn't working.

Our slow, defensive tactic only really works if Graham and Dack are playing well. Graham was largely ineffective whilst he was on and Dack hasn't been at the races tonight so far. Armstrong has been our best player and looked lively, but he's had very little support. You can see why we draw so many games. The better teams in this league tend to overrun us in attack, whilst the poorer teams play a similar defensive game which often leads to the points being shared. A little more bravery needed, especially at home. We're beginning to fall down the table and it looks like it's going to be one win in six. The warning signs are there, Mowbray needs to figure this out.

It was a matter of time I'm afraid. We've been asking for it all night.

He's not been good enough all season, a constant weak link. He gives the ball away so often. Did a job last year but just isn't cut out for this league. It's a shame but Mowbray needs to be realistic about the detrimental effect Smallwood's performances are having on our play. Loyalty can only take you so far.

A little fortunate to go in level, Sheff Utd definitely the better team that half. We're trying but they are doing a good job pressuring us off the ball and are defending in numbers when they need to. We're standing off them too much when they come forward, and because they know how slow we are on the break they're confident enough to throw a lot of players into attack when they're in our half.

We're still too open defensively. Giving Sheff Utd opportunities to work themselves into the box and shoot. Need to try and get tighter. Part of the problem is that we're extremely slow on the break. There's so little pace in the team that when we win the ball back in our own half Sheffield United are already completely back into a defensive shape by the time we get it into their final third. Sometimes we don't even get that far and give the ball away. Some of that comes down to Smallwood. Our players seem reluctant to pass to him as he keeps giving possession away. This is obviously a problem when he's supposed to be one of the links between defence and attack.

Looking better now. Weathered the pressure and have started pushing forward a bit.

Armstrong busy on the left, trying to make things happen. Haven't seen much of Dack or Graham yet. Graham's won a few headers high up the pitch but hasn't had any runners to head back to.

This is tough to watch. We're being battered. Need to calm things down and stop giving the ball back to them.

Under the cosh at the moment. Sheffield Utd have a lot of space on our right hand side.

A decent enough team, although that centre back pairing really worries me. Disappointing that our future £7m signing is still warming the bench, but then I wouldn't put him ahead of Graham and there isn't anywhere else in the team for him really.

Tbf he was doing it last season with League 1 teams as well. As you say, it just seems to be the way he operates. Maybe he sees it as a way of reducing the pressure on the players. If we win then nobody cares, if we don't then it's seen as Mowbray being over-cautious. I don't pay too much attention to pre-match comments, the only thing that matters is getting it right on the pitch.

Can't see Dyche dropping a division tbh. Allardyce is a possibility though. There's a lot of talent in that squad - with a bit of defensive steel they'd climb the table pretty quickly imo. Would be interesting to see how Villa fans would react to that appointment. Moyes would be the funniest choice. Interesting, too, as it would probably be the last chance saloon for him.

If Villa are smart they'll get McCarthy in. I think he'd guarantee them top six at the very least. I don't think they are that smart though. We'll see. In some ways it's harsh to sack Bruce considering his record and the fact they are still only a few points off a playoff place. On the other hand, one win in the last ten matches in all competitions is very poor for the team they have, and if they were performing at the level they should be they'd probably be in the top two and wouldn't need to be making up ground. One of those decisions that could easily go wrong, but if the right decision is made it'll be seen as removing a manager who had gone stale and bringing in a new spark. If I was Marcus Evans right now I'd be calling Bruce ASAP and offering him whatever he wanted to come and save them. Doubtful they could convince them to come, but it'd be worth a shot.