Holden at Bristol, Tindall at Bournemouth, Woodgate at Middlesbrough, all examples why appointing internal coaches isn't the answer.

Pretty sure on net spend over the last 3 seasons we are in the top ten. Also at the bottom end on players sold and money brought in. Our CEO has said we are mid-way on wages. Anyhow, it comes back to time in the job and overall conditions. For example, Stoke and Derby are top end on wages yet both have been disaster zones over the last 6-12 months, and have been splurging away most of that money on dross they don't want. They are going through choppy waters with successions of managers and patchwork recruitment over 3-4 years. Nobody in their right minds would expect Rooney or O'Neill to finish above Rovers this season because they've inherited shambles and have to sort it out. Mowbray is well past the shambles stage having run the club to his liking over 4 years. He's had it plain sailing with little to no issues externally to deal with. No forced sales, no interference, no major cutbacks, takeovers, boardroom instability. Infact he's had it all how he likes it yet here we are no further on than we were at this stage in 2019.

Bristol City reacting to a poor run. Holden out the door within an hour of their latest defeat. They've now got first dibs on new managers. I'd expect Paul Cook in there soon.

Mick is going to put the handbrakes on soon and deliberately avoid the play-offs because they aren't ready for the PL yet and need a 'slow build' over the next 4 years.

There's a group of fans who will accept anything Mowbray comes out with no matter how ludicrous as it sits easier to just lap up what he comes out with rather than call it out as rubbish. If someone at Rovers told them the moon was made of cheese or that the earth was flat they'd accept it as gospel. As before, if Mowbray was so disappointed in Nyambe's performances then why didn't he put his 2nd choice RB into the team instead? Last time I checked that was 'skipper' Bennett who is back from injury and on the bench. Surely he would have been preferable to Gallagher?

“I think the right full back who’s played in the last two games has struggled in the last couple of matches and so I made those changes. “I don’t think there’s anything of a secret about that" Appalling comments from our great leader but nothing to be surprised about. There are some players he likes to pick on and others he's scared of criticising. We know how this game ends - Nyambe sold and made the scapegoat for our problems, Mowbray tries to avoid responsibility and the gullible elements of our support base lap it up and argue we should give Mowbray yet another window to replace him Meanwhile Nyambe will be snapped up by some tinpot outfit like Preston and will play every week and earn rave reviews under a manager that can improve him. Pack your bags Mowbray.

No problem at all if Mowbray wants to sit down during games. Alex Ferguson sat down most games, Steve Kean stood up all game and Owen Coyle running around like a dad at a 5 a side competition and it didn't do them any favours. Trouble is Mowbray has changed. In earlier days he was a manager who prowled the touchline shouting at players, now he's making a conscious effort to move away from that and not stand up. I'm not sure its because he doesn't want to or its a natural occurrence rather a deliberate attempt or act by him, with motives unclear right now.

Mowbray thought our first half v Preston was unrecognisable? Really? I thought it was all too familiar. Sh1te for the most part after the first 10 minutes. The only difference was we actually managed a goal for once thanks to the penalty, but then again we conceded 2 which cancelled it out. Usually we go in at half time 0. The only home game this season i don't think we've been rubbish in the first half has been Wycombe. Anyone suggest any other decent first halves at home?

Sigh. How do you know we don't have the finances for those managers? We are losing £15 million a year, so how can we not have room in there to employ a good management team? Its like owning a mansion and paying £2000 a month on your mortgage but not having the finance to put the heating on or repair the roof when it starts to leak. It makes no sense because longer term it will cost more to continue. Hughes and Pearson are two well known options. Both are unemployed and facing the managerial scrapheap unless they get back to work and quickly. Neither have the clout these days to wait for a PL job because they aren't going to get one. The Championship is the best they can hope for. Personally I'd go elsewhere because I don’t think either would be ideal options for us. Neither have assembled promotion winning sides recently although both are better than Mowbray and have accomplished more than him in their management careers. I'd be looking more towards an up and comer like Cowley, Neil, Rowett or failing that overseas like Brentford and Barnsley have done well. No baggage, on their way up in the game. Presumably we couldn't afford any of those even though we could pay them more than £0 or whatever PNE/Millwall are doing. The 'building' is just a myth. Half the senior players are out of contract in 4 months time, our top goalscorer is likely to be sold and our defence is built on loans. It is time a different manager 'built' in the summer window. I know what the next excuse will be. Once we've lost all these players and sold Armstrong it will be all about reinvesting and giving it time to settle. It never ends.

Bit of an exaggeration with this. Dolan will have been on a very basic academy contract having joined as an academy prospect from Preston. This will just be converting that towards a senior level contract given he has been in the first team squad all season. These deals like Buckley and Dolan whilst welcome news are not difficult or substantial deals to do. I'll be more impressed when it is Armstrong and Nyambe.

Couldn't really care less any more. A win is highly unlikely. All I really want is for Rich Sharpe and the other media guys to ask Mowbray how Barnsley's slow build is coming along having had 3 managers in just over a year, spent very little and sold their best players yet are now looking a better side than us. Wonder what his excuse will be on that one.

To be honest pretty much every reason the 'Mowbray in' group give for wanting him to stay revolves around side issues or non-footballing issues. Getting us out of League One 3 years ago - a good job yes - but not relevant to 2021 and our future if we are an upwardly looking/mobile club or planning on continuing to lose 20 million a year - for that sort of money we simply have to be looking forward rather than behind and looking to the Prem rather than being happy with mid-table. If we were breaking even, selling our best players or balancing the books with minimal debt like Brentford, Preston, Millwall and co. then there might be more patience to float around at this level. That Mowbray has delivered stability/sanity/been better than Coyle - again all might be true but there's something wrong if these are the best arguments for keeping him. Venkys are meant to have learned tough lessons and Mowbray will leave of his own volition sooner or later even if we don't sack him. So what happens then? He's put in place scouting/recruitment/coaching that we didn't have before - again all maybe true - but why does that prevent another manager doing the same or progressing further? Why is he the only manager in the world willing or able to do these things? Are we supposed to believe that nobody else would have signed a few decent players, bought some computers and drones and employed the services of a European scout? I mean these are bog standard elements of 21st century football not reinventing the wheel yet Mowbray would have people think he's a pioneer in management. For me it comes down to this - loyalty only gets you so far in this game. Make no mistake if by some miracle Mowbray was offered a Premier League job tomorrow or indeed even at his beloved Middlesbrough or some 'massive' club like Stoke or Forest (I jest) then he'd be on the motorway in no time. Then we would have to find a new manager potentially at a much more difficult or inconvenient time and we'd get nothing for our loyalty to him. Likewise he might decide in 6-12 months that he's had enough of the pressures of management and want to go and retire and spend time with his wife and kids. Again that's fair enough, but we'd be in the same boat as firing him only at a more difficult point. At least if it is done between now and April we can take our time weighing up options, move when one becomes available and approach the market from a position of strength rather than weakness.

Cynical hat on again but I see that they've just announced John Buckley has signed a "long term" deal. If I didn't know better I'd say this announcement ties in with the increasing pressure and scrutiny on Mowbray from the fans.

When we get a new manager we need to stop him going to India. It seems all those who do whilst they might get some extra cash also make themselves bulletproof. Mowbray is no fool. He realised this was his first job after relegation. Now he's covered all around. I doubt even Pasha would risk rocking the boat now.

Why does signing 3 players represent them showing faith in Mowbray? Two of those vaunted signings are short term loans. Without knowing the financial details behind those deals we cannot say exactly what 'commitment' they made in January but let's not make out like they flashed the cash to back their man. He was given licence to wheel and deal, sending a few out on loan including Harry Chapman and bringing a couple of teenagers in until the end of the season. Net spend there probably not much if anything. The Pickering one is unusual but I'm not sure it represents them showing faith in Mowbray in particular. Nor does it stop Mowbray being fired. If he's that good a young prospect then any manager would look forward to working with him upon his arrival.

Additional salary for what? Mowbray becomes 'Sporting Director' or 'General Manager', Venus becomes 'Head Coach' with Lowe/Johnson as his assistants. Carry on as you were with a new 'project' but at same cost and same faces just with different titles. That will keep the heat off for another 12 months or so. They just love a shuffle and a few new job titles without actually changing anything.

Yes. I've been wondering about something like this during the course of this season. I certainly think they will shuffle the pack to try and maintain the status quo but perhaps with different job titles in place. It was a similar weird arrangement at Coventry if I remember correctly when Mowbray took Venus with him there but Venus wasn't assistant manager, instead he was director of football and on the board. This in turn led to all sorts of accusations from Coventry supporters as to what he was up to. Not the sort of thing you expect to see happen - a manager appointing his mate to the board - yet Mowbray has a record behind him of doing that. I certainly think that something you mention will be the outcome - I think there is zero prospect of Lowe, Benson or Johnson being sacked off, and in a desperate attempt to avoid making wholesale changes or upsetting the apple cart it is much more likely they will attempt something like the above, with Tony going 'upstairs' effectively as general manager of the club whilst the coaches operate downstairs. Hope your suspicions are wrong because it will be a disaster waiting to happen and it suggests unhealthy levels of power and influence here for the manager once again. It needs a clear out and rebuild with new ideas, faces and voices. Sadly in the cut throat industry of competitive Championship football coaches and nice men lose their jobs from time to time when targets aren't met. The club shouldn't be held back or resist ever making changes just to avoid making painful decisions.

There are only two ways Mowbray goes. First that he chucks in the towel and walks. Highly unlikely unless we go on a run of unprecedented bad results like Coventry did in 2016. With this squad of players that isn't going to happen. Mowbray has everything here set up in his favour. It might be a different story if there were interfering owners or directors making him squirm but no such prospect here. The other way is if Pasha applies pressure in India for a change. Not likely. It took 6 months of unrest and poor results before someone did something about Coyle. Mowbray will have a lot more credit in the bank than that. The key will be when it is season ticket renewal time. Without changes they will collapse through the floor and maybe, just maybe, the owners will take notice at that point.

At other clubs he would be on very thin ice if he was still here, but chances are that owners elsewhere would have made a change by now. By the law of averages we will win a couple soon. Our squad is too good and this division too bad for that not to happen even if Mowbray completely loses the plot. When it happens that won't be evidence of him turning things around, making progress or learning, nor will it vindicate not sacking him or not making a change, nor will being 'only' x number of points off the top six. A quick look at the table will tell you that we are barely any better off than Preston, Millwall and Barnsley in the table. After close to 30 games for me that should be a sackable offence in itself.

For now. Until the budgets are cut and sales begin. Like with Bowyer. Then it might be a slippery slope especially if Venkys lose faith in his project but stop short of potting him.

I genuinely think Venkys are quite happy lolloping about at this level indefinitely as long as it doesn't cause them any aggravation. The £10-20 million a year thing seems to be quite manageable at their end and of greater importance is having a nice bloke telling them things they want to hear rather than someone they might not take a shine to telling them things they don't want to hear. He ticks every box for them except the one that really matters for a football manager. He's diplomatic, a politician, a spokesman, will work with what they give him and plod around indefinitely. He'll also ensure a string of wins from time to time to keep us clear of trouble with a squad good enough to do it.

Huddersfield manager will be down the road soon too at this rate. Should have stuck with Cowley.

We've had 3-4 opportunities to bring him in, just like Warnock, yet the snobs think we are too good for those type and buy into the 'journey' myth. Time and time again they prove their abilities elsewhere.

I can see both Bristol City and Birmingham firing their managers imminently. Both will then have a head start on us to bring in the best options out there. Then when they do the anti-change brigade will question 'who is there who we can get?'

Just bringing this one up again. Dinosaur Mick on course to go above us tonight. Such a good job we're on a journey with a modern innovative attractive management team rather than a hoofball 'dinosaur' aint it?