I agree with keeping Trav out. Out of the regular starters he has been our worst performer this year imo. It takes courage to drop your captain though, and if the rumours of a rift with Dack are true, could JDT survive pissing Trav off before January too? Both are hugely popular figures in the dressing room But for this game I would, he looked leggy last week, and it's as good a reason as any My team Kaminski Brittain Carter Hyam Wharton Pickering Morton Wharton Garrett Brereton Hedges Switch out Hedges for Gally or Dolan if he isn't fit. If A Wharton needs a rest play Szmodics.

Garret's red card has been rescinded. We could all see it, never a red card in a million years, and let's hope the boy keeps tackling because he's a good en Certainly doesn't lunge into every tackle like some accusations. Nothing wrong with a bit of youthful exuberance. Our squad has lacked passion for years now

We need a striker. Hirst isn’t showing much I would say a striker and a wing back to rival Pickering and Brittain We could also do with a midfielder but that is less of a priority

Dack is more of a striker than Hirst And Hirst didn’t play as a striker. He played as a wide forward Something else Dack is better than him at In fact, name an area of the pitch that Dack isn’t better than Hirst at? Or Vale. You know, the whole notion of “strikers” is fading. They are attackers nowadays - they play all along the front line. Dack is a far better attacker than Hirst and therefore I have every faith he could do better than Hirst in the forward role

Waiting for the inevitable reaction to a poor performance I reckon we will go with roundabout the same squad, but Pickering in for A Wharton and the wing backs in the right places Travis will retain his position but for me he has to improve. I think he slows the team down far too often

You have to be on the wind up here Chad Explain to me why Hirst deserves a start over: Vale, Dolan, DACK or even Markanday / Leonard?

That was a depressing watch wasn't it? Awful from the first minute. Lost track of how many passes we gave away, must have been a record. Almost every other attack broke up by a sloppy sideways pass for their midfielders to break into vasts space caused by our midfielders being too wide. Travis was the worst player on the pitch, so long as you ignore Hirst ever came on. Trav killed momentum repeatedly. One of the worst performances I have seen from him. I don't understand why JDT left it until so late to make changes. Once the changes were made it looked better, but the referee put a stop to that. I don't think Garret deserved a red card at all. Hirst doesn't appear to have any redeeming feature. I will bite my tongue on him but I can't see it myself. We simply need to be better. Whenever we lose the performance is appalling Starting Trav as RWB and Brittain LWB cost us the game. Travis is no Hedges, he hasn't got the intricate play and his turn of pace is non-existent. If anything I feel like this team is outgrowing Travis - he's looked poor this season in comparison to Morton and Wharton. Their range of passing really does show up his own limitations Dack has to play more. He's ten times the player Hirst is. Vale was poor too, maybe cameos are more his thing, but if Gally is out then Dack starts

Travis is having a stinker Get Pickering on and put two wing backs on the right side

Brilliant performance again. All I really have to say except I thought Dack couldn’t be played in this system?????

Because Dack playing as a striker, or just behind BBD / Gally when chasing a game, is a better option than Vale or Hirst For what it’s worth I like Dolan so I’m going to exclude him from that, although Dack is far better than him too. Think Dolan flatters to deceive but his work rate is exceptional, and that’s why I like him when chasing games or seeing them out

No we haven't competed That is not the point I was making though There are teams who never have any long term ambition of PL success. They get promoted, ride it out for as long as possible, but always with the thought of it will come to an end I would hate to be that club Whether we have competed in this league or not is irrelevant. I've hated our years not competing down here too. But here we are For all the joy this new found belief of promotion is giving me I can't escape the thought that they will set us up as a Norwich - no real investment, just a plan to try and scrape survival year after year and cash in on the PL riches Sounds like my worst nightmare

Gally has stepped up a level this year, most definitely. We would have to change the way we play - if this high press genuinely materialises - but Dack has scored them types of goals for years, and would carry on doing so if given the opportunity. He's also terrific on the counter because his range of passing and off the ball movement is up there with the best in the league This isn't me saying drop Gallagher or anything but I do think Dack has a role to play, especially when chasing a goal The calls to hang him out to dry and sell him ASAP are premature. Quite where that has come from is anybodies idea. Last year under Mowbray we were crying out for Dack to return to fitness, in fact hinging our promotion push on his immediate return. All of a sudden a slight whiff of discontent between him and JDT suddenly means he will never possibly return to his former self, is unable to adapt his game, unfit and not suitable for us anymore Makes no sense to me. When we are chasing a game and the choice is between Vale and Dack I know who I pick every single time

Oh absolutely not The fact is that some Clubs lack any real ambition to compete. The likes of Norwich, WBA and Burnley never really made any effort to "push on". Burnley had a freak season under Dyche and then retreated back into the 'set up for the future in the lower league' plan I would absolutely hate it if we were to become a club like that. When we go up, which we will do, I want us to be back being a club with ambitions for Europe and top table finishes. Certainly not a club that survives year on year like Southampton, or a club which always has relegation in the mind before a ball is kicked In my opinion that's a bit of a sad existence when you are feeding at the top table Unfortunately with this current lot you can't help but feel they will have us set up in exactly that way

I felt at the time this was the case Tony Mowbray said what he said for a reason. He will more than likely pursue Dack and we will more than likely sell Writing him off as unable to perform in this team is silly talk. Let's have it right - it is quite clear there's been a clash of personalities. Bradley Dack is one of the best footballers we have in this squad and if he was asked to take up Gallagher's role in the team he would do so easily I enjoyed every moment of seeing Dack in our colours and his fall out with our current head coach won't change my mind about him as easily as others

Burnley are a good side but they aren't the side of Dyche. They are there to be got at. It all depends on which Rovers turns up. You just know the Wharton's and Trav are going to be up for it. I'm hoping that determination shines through. We have a lot of home grown lads compared to them - small margins matter and let's hope they are more up for it. You can bet Kompany will have his squad up for it though. He's used to a Northern derby having played in a lesser one down the road. Here's to hoping we play with Brittain and Hedges wing backs. I think Pickering will get torn apart by Burnley if he plays. Injuries are going to be massive.

There's no anger here. Just a bit of light hearted ribbing - what did you expect from a Rovers forum? Although you lot really can't get over Jack can you? Love he still lives on in your heads There's absolutely nowt wrong with a home grown lad, who made a huge success of himself, spending his money on the club he loved. It wasn't for status (ie City) and he never sought to remove competition, he just pushed his home town club into the new age. And all of that money you've spent on your facilities and ground and it still doesn't shine a light on what Jack built in the 90s One day a lad from Burnley might make a success of himself and spend some money bringing you up to the levels we reached. Then again pigs might fly In those seasons you spent in the Premier League did you actually enjoy it? It was almost unanimous across the board it was dreadful football; we had Champions League winners and International captains; won the league and league cup and a real European tour. It was a fantastic time to be a Rovers fan and all thanks to one of our own. Lovely jubbly You had Chris Wood and a trip to Greece. Bless.

None Yet £23m later and you are still right with us Built not bought is a myth too - you've spent over £100m since your time in the Premier League with nowt to show for it. Yet in your best period of recent history, and in our worst period in recent history, you now sit a lofty 2 points above us Football is a funny game 😄 Did you buy a dingle European tour suitcase or wait until it was on offer?

I have always found it amazing how much weight you have given towards players for Burnley, throughout this and other threads on the board. Who would have defined Cullen as "canny"? Based on what? The fact he was part of a poor Anderlecht side or based on his single season for Charlton in which they finished 22nd? Or Josh Brownhill, who has spent his career in the Championship, save for 2 seasons at a dying Burnley squad in which they only just survived and then relegated. Can he play higher? History suggests not very well The only player better would be Jack Cork, but he's 33 now, and found himself dropped, either through injury or form, in Burnley's last 2 seasons at a higher level. For all of their canny play they find themselves neck and neck with our young lads. If appearances are the benchmark for 'better' players then Jason Lowe has over 200 appearances at Championship level - is he canny or would you rather Morton? I don't think we have to fear this Burnley squad at all. We can beat them. I also thought Adam Wharton absolutely dominated Blackpool's midfield, whereas Burnley's succumbed to 3 goals conceeded. Football is a funny old game

Fantastic news about Batty. You know, it’s so refreshing to hear of all these young lads getting their contracts signed and chances in the first team. To a man they must be brimming with confidence right now. I’m over the moon we have a coach like JDT who is willing to throw them right in at the deep end and let them display their character. And here we speak about short and long term plans. Whilst in the present we have JDT to thank for his trust and confidence in them we must surely look back at the past for who to really thank. It once again comes back to Uncle Jack. For without his investment and his foresight the academy may not exist. When we speak long term planning we should use this as the barometer - yes investment made with the love at the club, but also with a sensible mind that the future of the game was changing, and to compete we would need to develop our own. We haven’t had too many successes but right now without that investment our squad and our standing in the league could be well and truly diminished. The likes of Lenihan and Nyambe stepped up to get us out of L1 and now the rest may be standing up to get us out the Championship, although not counting my chickens (sorry) yet. These current owners have not and will never show that level of commitment to the club. To put in place good investments that see the club in good fortune 20+ years after they are made. This is the true definition of long term planning. We have a lot to thank Jack for, and whilst the hard work was continued by the fantastic academy staff, the foundations he put in place have given us boys like the Wharton’s - home grown lads who are playing out of their skins for the club they support. Will we in 20, 30 years time have the same thanks for the Venkys? I don’t think so. Under their watch Jacks investments are crumbling and we would all be wise to remember their plans to effectively dismantle the academy in favour of a housing scheme. So when we think long term we judge on what we are accustomed to. I am excited for the short term, I think we have a good bunch in the football side right now, but still live in dread of what will be left the day we finally rid ourselves of the careless Venkys. Jack’s investments will not last forever but right now they are still coming to our rescue as we could surely not afford to buy a squad that has the talent we have produced.

When Dack is on the pitch you feel like he can score. He has an ability to be in the right place at the right time. The one thing we have done poorly this season is chase a game. If we concede first we tend to lose. Sometimes stealing a goal can be the difference between 0 and 1 point. Could Dack have converted a few losses into draws or wins? We are playing well and he probably doesn’t deserve to start, I get that, but I’d rather Dack coming on than Vale at the moment. Even after injuries I think he’s better. And if we are talking about adding value to the squad then allowing Dack to show he can still score will 100% be worth more in value than playing Vale - someone will sign him if they can see he still has it. He can’t show that from the stands though.

Carrick had a good football brain. It will be interesting to see how he makes it as a manager Compare with Lampard and Gerrard, two ultra talented players, who seem to be missing that managerial spark. Roy Keane another example of that Carrick was intelligent and knew how the game should be played. I kind of hope he makes a good head coach, he was one of my favourite non-Rovers play growing up.

Chad you have to agree that bringing Bradley Dack on with 25 to go would inspire much more confidence than Hirst or Vale Dack has always shown us he knows how to score. That instinct doesn’t disappear. I also believe Dack to be a good passer of the ball, and more than once during his time at Rovers, when playing on the counter attack, has he turned and made a good ball through the defence to put someone through on goal. It is a shame what is happening to Dack but head coaches often fall out with players. No man is bigger than the club and if our future lies beyond Dack we will survive, obviously, but right now he’s one of the best goal scorers we have and so his presence is missed, even if the results are still positive

I can't see Vale's deal having improved massively and having a player tied down to 3 years is okay for me. He has a lot to learn and whether he will make it as a regular first team player is another thing but if I have learnt anything from Brereton it is not to write players off so early on.

One thing I am enjoying is seeing our academy lads step in and play well Some may call them limited, I call them integral to a team now sat in 2nd in the Championship You can’t win with kids is the famous phrase, but JDT is showing why that is nonsense Carter, the Wharton’s, Dolan, Morton and now Garrett and in parts Phillips are all showing that if you are good enough you are old enough Yes they have improvements they can all make, as can any young man, but football is a game where people only get better - to a point - and the future is bright for our bunch of “kids” Vale needs to start contributing more in his cameos or we need to try another. It’s being proven that if you give them a shot they will take it or not

There’s an exceptionally good angle of the cross in from Hedges where you can see the exact moment Hedges kicks it and the positioning of the wall / Wharton You will see he is onside. It wasn’t a mistake from the official It was actually very cute play from Scott, standing in a position where the defender made no attempt to get between him and the goal, and at the last moment got himself onside by using the wall. A lapse in concentration from a Mowbray drilled team at a set piece - imagine that If it had been Rovers defending that free kick in a similar way to Sunderland I’d be fuming. Very poor from them but in no way an officials mistake. He was onside