JHRover

Jack Payne has joined Bradford on loan. Think we could have done worse, and may well do.

So Lyndsey Talbot says no plans but it might close if it makes commercial sense to do so. Cheston says that there is no intention to close it other than for redevelopment purposes. Just think if 5% of our debt under Venkys had gone into Ewood Park instead of agents and players pockets. We could have a redeveloped Riverside and desso pitch by now.

I think Mowbray knows and accepts that Hart, Gladwin and Caddis can depart and that explains their supposed 'fitness' issues which have kept them out of contention vs Hibs and Port Vale. I reckon the club are working hard trying to get rid of those people and this may be part of the reason incomings are slow as getting shut might free up spaces and wages for re-allocation elsewhere. Even if they are 'only' on £10,000 a week combined that cash could go towards a new striker. I find it very difficult to believe that by pure coincidence they've all suddenly picked up injury issues. Hart is a young lad. Gladwin has supposedly been injured or close to a comeback since Christmas yet never appears. Caddis looks in appalling shape for a professional athlete. When I saw photos of him in Austria I thought he was a coach running with the players, he looked like he was pushing 50. Evans will stay but is entering the final 12 months of his contract and I suspect he'll be high on the list of people the club are happy to get rid of as he'll be a top earner. As others have suggested I don't think he's irreplaceable but with our financial model I'd bet my money on an inferior replacement were he to leave.

Maybe after we've announced the management restructure.

At the end of the day it is Mowbray's neck on the line. He went to India and came back singing the owners praises and talking about being given a good budget, it's his responsibility to make it work. He's earned as much patience and freedom as can be afforded to a manager after last season. He'll get judged on results and if the results don't come he'll be under severe pressure. If he thinks he can get by with a couple of loans that's up to him but he carries the can if it goes wrong.

Yeah, my mistake, need to pay more attention to tattoos.

Looks like Maddison might have joined West Brom. They've put a picture up on twitter. His 'sleeve' tattoo is very similar to Maddison's....

Yes I want rid of the owners. That doesn't appear to be likely to happen any time soon. The next best thing to them remaining is that they invest their money into it to try and improve it. If they aren't prepared to do that then what's the point in them? I said I'd sooner have Feeney than nobody. That's how short on numbers we are. I don't like him or rate him at all but I would sooner have him than nobody. Like it or not we're approaching the 'clutching at straws' stage. None of the players you mention have any Championship experience. Nyambe performed well in League One, now we're a division higher. Travis I rate very highly but he wasn't trusted in League One by the manager. Nuttall struggled in League One. My point was about firepower as I believe that is where our shortfall is. I don't think any of the players you mention can address that. I may be wrong but even if they all play they won't score goals or even create many.

As we all know strikers are the most expensive and highest risk signings. Goals cost money. There aren't many players out there who guarantee goals and those who do are highly sought after and can command big wages and fees. If you're short on cash or not prepared to put much cash on the table then you're going to either be picking up scraps or taking big risks. Strikers are judged on how many goals they score over a season, if they don't score many or any they will be deemed a failure. Even a striker who scores 10 in 40 odd games will likely be judged as average. Tough business. That's why we hear stories about Cheltenham Town wanting £1 million for a player who is 24 and has had one prolific season in the 4th tier. That's also why I suspect we're going through the loan market as the club is unwilling or unable to get drawn into an expensive recruitment process to go and buy a high calibre striker who is likely to notch 15-20 goals a season. We either can't or won't pay for one. So it will be either a loan or free agent. Trouble is both only get done at the back end of the window when clubs become more desperate and the Premier League boys have who they want and are prepared to let a few go out. Its all very noble and that to refuse to shell out big money whilst other clubs like Norwich cough up £3 million to loan Jordan Rhodes. I'm sure the bean counters and friends will sleep easily at night convincing themselves that we're on the 'right' path whilst others are on the 'wrong' path. Ultimately though all that matters are results on the pitch. If Norwich or whoever get into the play-offs through Rhodes' goals whilst we get relegated due to a lack of firepower then their approach is the right on and ours is the wrong one. Only time will tell.

Sorry but I struggle to believe anyone would argue that we are anything but weaker than we were in our final game vs Oxford. We have lost Armstrong, Payne and Antonsson. 20 goals between them, who were integral parts of the squad - settled in and knew the other players well. The fact they came to us on loan is one of my gripes - I recall raising this as a concern when we were signing them all - an over-reliance on loans which is unsustainable in the long term because when they go they need replacing. That's why I don't want more loans because it is filling a gap until this time next year when the process starts again. The only two additions are midfielders neither of which have any real track record of scoring or creating goals. Like him or loathe him Feeney was an experienced attacking option that featured for Cardiff on their way to promotion last season, so he can 'do a job' better than the current alternative of nobody. That will probably change but right here right now he was another option that has gone and not been replaced. If/when he is replaced then we'll see if his replacement is better. I would hope he is. But currently there is nobody to measure him against. We're playing a dangerous game, more so than rivals who already have squads in place that competed in the Championship last season. We are no better than we were last season, likely worse. Nyambe and Travis aren't going to bang in 10 goals a piece next season. I doubt Travis and Nuttall will be trusted by the manager to start many games.

Well also worth remembering that there should be some money left over from January as Mowbray said he didn't spend all of it. Maybe we'll do the same this summer. Spend a small amount of money and then after the window shuts claim more was available to spend but that it wasn't worth spending it?

Wonder what might have been had that decision not been given or had 8 minutes been added onto the first half rather than 3 at a stage when Croatia were creating lots of chances. Once again France fall on the right side of it.

Pretty sure that it has been said elsewhere that we are targeting 4 additions, 2 permanent and 2 loans from Premier League clubs. Armstrong and Kent fall into that category as their parent clubs are in the Premier League. If that happens then we've added 6 players of which 2 will be loans, 1 of which hasn't played in the Championship before and 1 had a short spell at Burton last season. Not much there by way of successful Championship experience. Risky. Having got rid of 5 from last season if we only add 4 permanent players and a couple of loans most of which are limited experience whilst keeping the likes of Hart, Gladwin and Caddis then I'd have hoped for more from the summer. Bogle done nothing at Wigan and Cardiff in the Championship.

The problem is that all the noise coming from Rovers and those at the Telegraph suggests 5-6 players is actually more like 4 of which 2 will be Premier League youngsters on loan. We all know that such loans only usually become available at the 11th hour once the Premier League boys have their business wrapped up. It means we have to wait and see what happens and we aren't in control. Even then I can't remember many doing that well in the Championship other than those from the top clubs. That leaves 2 permanent signings. I believe more is needed considering the influence and goals of those who have departed. Holding back for the loans will save a few bob though.

Uwe Rosler just been appointed at Malmo.

I did wonder whether we were back operating on an 'out before in' policy. Someone has to make way before more incomings are authorised. Wouldn't be surprised to see Tomlinson/Wharton head out on loan and then one or two come in the other way shortly afterwards. We've heard repeated references in the Telegraph (club mouthpiece) about apparently having 25 contracted players which I believe is a conscious attempt to try and convince everyone that our squad is ready or that it is necessary to get rid of people before bringing more in. Couple of problems there though. That figure of 25 players includes numerous u23s such as Wharton, Travis and Tomlinson who are untested at 1st team level and who spend most of their time in the u23s. On top of that the manager didn't use any of them during our League One season, preferring instead to go with experience. I understand that stance but would also be very surprised if he was going to throw them in now we are a League higher. Referring to 25 players is well and good if they are all 1st team players but 3-5 of them are not and then we've got the likes of Hart, Caddis and Gladwin who I consider to be surplus to requirements (they were last season so if not this season it is worrying). So we don't have a squad of 25. We have 25 contracted players but that includes some not good enough and some not tried and tested enough. We also have an obligation to play u23 fixtures. We don't have enough players, certainly not enough who are good enough, but I get the impression that this 25 figure is the threshold for the finance men and they won't want permanent contracts being issued beyond that point.

£30 + away tickets all around should cover a chunk of it. We're nice so we don't do that.

If we're 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go chucking an extra striker on who offers something different could be a good idea. Lost count of the number of times we've been hanging on to a slender lead and the opposition have thrown a big lad on up front and he's immediately caused problems and grabbed an equaliser or winner. Danny Graham does a good job but he's not getting any younger and is often dead on his feet after 70 minutes. Samuel and Nuttall not at all sure on. Perhaps we've room for one on the bench but not starting games and not as our only alternative to Graham. Nothing worse for the opposition than to see multiple threats getting off the bench ready to come on and try and get us back into the game. Very difficult to predict and defend against when you've multiple threats all with different attributes.

Trouble is we aren't at a 4th striker stage. We're in need of a 1st or at least 2nd striker. Samuel and Nuttall can be 3rd of 4th choice.

Some of the most unpleasant and annoying people imaginable have been successful managers. In the Championship people like Warnock and Davies are controversial characters who fall out with people left right and centre yet they have phenomenal results and track records and are great at winding up the opposition and rallying supporters behind them. The sort of people you loathe when in the opposition dugout but who would be loved if they were in our dugout fighting for the club. Honesty and integrity is all well and good. Particularly in our case where we have been exposed to countless individuals who couldn't be trusted. But it actually has very little relevance to managerial ability or results. Sometimes having a nasty character as manager is a good thing. Don't think Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho have reputations for being nice honest men either. Ruthless, cunning and calculating yet very successful.

The difference however being that most other Championship clubs were in the Championship last season and finished comfortably in the division, perhaps believing that they underachieved. Most other clubs haven't lost important players either so its as they were. We're going up a level so naturally there is a greater need in theory at least for us to strengthen. Add to that we've lost 2-3 important players in Armstrong, Antonsson and Payne who were in and around the first team providing goals and creativity and there's a fair argument that we're now weaker than we were at the end of last season. So I accept that we're not alone in being slow in the market but I'd also say there's a greater and more urgent need for us to be active than most others.

France expertly dealt with the Belgians who are better than Croatia so I expect them to win reasonably comfortably on Sunday. The way they ran the clock down in the last 30 minutes against Belgium was very impressive though not really nice to watch. We could have done with some of what they have vs Colombia and Croatia in the last 20 minutes. Interesting that Croatia have reached the World Cup Final having only won 3 of their 6 games in 90 minutes and none in the knock out stages. 2x penalty shootout wins and last night looked like going that way too until a fortunate turn of events. Likewise England were a whisker from the final yet only won 3 out of 6 in 90 minutes, 2 of which were against dreadful sides in Tunisia and Panama. All about the fine margins. I don't buy into the stuff about it being a different mentality or a new era. We've done better than expected because we finally won a penalty shootout then had a good draw in Sweden in the QF.

Game at Port Vale brought forward to a 12:30 kick off due to England playing in the afternoon. Bad do for those who have bought advance train tickets.

Eisa is 24 and only had 1 season of league football at Cheltenham. Think £1 million for him is asking a lot though his scoring record is impressive.

I know better than to start judging players on the basis of 45 minutes against Hibs in a pre-season game. Its pointless and has very little bearing on whether a player will perform over 46 games in the Championship. Hopefully he will but if everyone who looked decent in pre-season games went on to be a good player we'd have signed Dean Furman after his goal at Accy Stanley. Massive question marks on Chapman in terms of fitness. Even when fit Mowbray didn't trust him to start in League One so why would he suddenly want to start him in the Championship? You sum up why I am concerned - the market ends in less than 4 weeks - that's why we cannot be infinitely patient and there comes a stage where we have to act. it won't be any good if the window slams shut and we haven't done the necessary business because 'its a crazy market'. That won't score us goals or win us games. Yes I'm underwhelmed. I might turn out to be wrong and we might turn out to have done some really good business but by mid-July I would have expected more than we've got. Each week that goes by is a week less to integrate new signings and get them up to speed on tactics, fitness and settle into the squad.