Dreams of 1995

Must have been reading a different thread to me The lads who were the loudest about Buckley weren’t even there

I can’t see this game televised anywhere. Why have they only televised 4 cup games?

I’ll be glad to see a bit of Mola, although by all accounts he is a better left wing back than a centre half. I would have probably played Carter and Phillips with Mola left back. I don’t know who else to put in at right back because like others I’ve seen enough of JRC now. I think he’s a decent player, but the Championship is above his level.

Team is out, 11 changes Pears starts. Oh dear

You never know Joe, he could also mean it is because we let go of Mols and didn’t sign Whiteman After all, we are well clear of the teams both of them play for, right? 😄

Nonsense.

Yeah I don't think Travis will survive long in JDT's squad, but struggle to see him dropping him and Dack at least before the next transfer window. Maybe he will prove me wrong as Trav does deserve to be dropped

I'm more talking about losing the dressing room

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Garret's red card has been rescinded.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?