Dreams of 1995

Chapman has done absolutely nothing to deserve a start.

I don't doubt we can do better out there. It's just with our current squad we don't look nearly as bad as everyone is making out when he is played as a right sided attacking player. We are actually better when he's there than centrally. He's a good player in my eyes that is terribly short of goals. He's not had a good season but I'm willing to keep trying with him. by the players we were linked with it did look like Mowbray tried to solve the problem, or at least identifies it as one. In summer we might see more movement.

I think SG has goals in him. He showed under Coyle that if you put it into the box enough he will get on the end of some. 11 goals under him is a decent return considering the tosh he had behind him. I agree though. I think he needs more time up front personally but with a lack of options out wide, and the results showing he's more effective though, I think we will see him feature more out wide than up front for the remainder of the season. Especially with AA banging them in!

Exactly. Stats can be changed to suit whatever opinion you want them to suit. I was addressing the Gallagher on the wing vs up front though. Personally I'd rather have proper wingers than SG there. If we are to be a Premier league team I don't think I'd have Gallagher starting. However, once again, I was addressing the argument of SG being on the wing as opposed to being up front. It shows that the balance of the team isn't lost when SG is played out wide however. Alternatively, Hasta, we could argue that out of the 29 games that Gallagher has featured we have: Games lost when Gallagher features - 27.6% Games not lost when Gallagher features - 72.4% Everything can be taken another way, as you pointed out, but do the results suggest SG seriously unbalances our team to the point it deserves as much discussion we have had on here? I'd suggest not.

In fact, fuck it, in light of The Bores comments about facts I decided I'd do a little research this evening. We are talking about "balance of the team", or what that phrase basically means, are we any good with Gallagher on the wing? I'll have to add a caveat in that maybe google has the line ups / formation wrong however all of this info was taken from google: Results with Sam Gallagher starting up front: Won - 2 Drawn - 2 Lost - 7 Results with Sam Gallagher starting on the wing: Won - 6 Drawn - 4 Lost - 2 There are 10 games unaccounted in which he either did not play or did not start. Of the games he did not play we: Won - 3 Lost - 1 Of the games he came on as a sub we: Won - 3 Drawn - 2 Lost - 1 So, by collating the data I get it as we win more than we lose when Gallagher plays; we win more than we lose when he's on the wing; we win more times when he starts on the wing than when he starts up front; Gallagher is an effective substitution in order to not lose a game. If we are talking about balance of the team then one would have to assume that more wins = a more balanced team. Do we lose balance by starting SG on the wing? Not according to the results. Do the results trend towards Gallagher being more effective out wide right than up front? Yes. Of particular interest is that I don't get Gallagher down as playing up front since the Leeds game. Since then we've only lost 2 games in which he's started. Is Sam Gallagher a terrible failure of a signing? No. Are fans ignoring the 'facts' and only patrolling these boards with 'glib ad hominem quips'? Yes but it isn't those that try and defend Mowbray or Gallagher. Note: I value any fact checking you may want to do. I did this in approx. 15 mins by looking at line ups / results and putting it together. I may have errors- point them out to me and I will change the results accordingly. Note: Just noticed original post only accounted for 26 games. I have updated to suit all 33 games now. Stats have increased in favour of SG being on the wing.

We haven't really signed any wingers of real quality. Downing being the one this season and he's had to do a shift all around the pitch, to great effect I should add. Apart from Harry Chapman I can't think of many other wingers he's brought in. That, maybe, is a reason to be critical. However, my point was that Mowbray deserves credit when he gets it right just as much as he deserves criticism when he gets it wrong. I've said several times he should sign more wingers and even said that I'd have probably spent the Gallagher money on them too. That's all by the by though because whatever you may think of that situation we are on a terrific run of form and to claim that it is in spite of Mowbray is rather petty. If he deserves the criticism for all of the above then you must surely accept that he has put together a team that is, by results, doing very very well. That is to the managers credit. I don't think he's destroyed the confidence of Gallagher either. I think SG understands his role in the team. As said, he was playing regularly out wide during our winning runs too. It seems rather unfair to single him out for the poor balance of the team during our losses when he's present during the wins also. I think some quarters on here would refuse to give Mowbray any credit even if he got us into the play offs this season. They have entrenched themselves and are in overdrive trying to fend off any praise, even accusing other fans of "not seeing the facts", as if this game and fans' opinions are ever based on facts and not feelings. Like you say, football would be boring if we all thought the same, and whilst we disagree on whether or not we are succeeding in spite of Mowbray I'm sure we can both agree he wants the best for this club and has turned our fortunes around. Stuart I don't sit and wait on BRFCS to reply immediately. On Sundays I have plenty more to do. I apologise if the replies aren't to your liking in terms of speed but I certainly can't be accused of ever not providing a counter opinion. I'd suggest you yourself try and hold a discussion like the poster you quoted instead of going around this board waiting to have little passive aggressive "quips" at others. You'd probably get a bit more respect rather than being seen, and treat, as someone who only deserves little quips back.

This new argument about Rovers doing well currently "BECAUSE WE HAVE INJURIES" is absolutely comical. If ever there was proof required that no matter what happens there will be pelters thrown at Mowbray look no further. If I remember when we went on our 6 out of 7 winning run (have I got that run right?) we were told: "Mowbray has finally listened to the fans", essentially because he played Rothwell. Then when that run continued it was luck, we weren't performing and we were winning "in spite of Mowbray's tactical cluelessness". Now we are still on a good run it's because of the injuries and Mowbray's hand being forced. We were winning whilst Gallagher played out wide and we are winning since he's been injured. I'm in absolute agreement that we need a proper set of wingers to allow Gallagher to go more centrally but it hasn't happened yet. However, here we are, with all our squads deficiencies sitting close to the play offs and having a decent season. There are a few posters on here that need to remember it can't be both ways; if Mowbray is at fault for the bad, he is at fault for the good too. You can't have it both ways. Mowbray has had untold amount of criticism on here for his signings, press conferences, mannerisms, ability to keep a dressing room etc etc but them same people are mysteriously missing as soon as there's reason to give credit or, in the more frustrating cases, go into absolute overdrive trying to talk down any praise. "We are were we are in spite of Mowbray" is a dumb thing to say. Sorry if that offends. If that is the case then all of the bad runs we have been on is also not the fault of Mowbray's. He picks the team, he picks the tactics and he is judged on results.

That bottom paragraph is a classic. It’s the one sentence that drives me insane. No business owner should ever get credit for not refusing to sign a cheque, it’s their responsibility. They are putting a service on for us and it should be worthy of the entry fee. Currently it isn’t. So all of this not refusing to sign off cheques is shite - you can fix the ground, get decent pies in and put on a decent show without worrying about FFP.

With all due respect tho he’s hardly going to stand there and say “yeah I’m looking to move this summer mate”. Here’s to hoping he does stay though

We have some tough games coming up though. Brentford don't look like losing and then we play Stoke and Swansea in that same week. Things in this league can very easily turn. A win vs Brentford and suddenly belief starts to happen...already excited for that game, which usually results in a lifeless 2-0 loss.

4 in 5 now on the road. Unbelievable form. Dare I say we've looked good since Dack and Rothwell have been out? Absolutely bossing the games we win at the moment and today was no different. Haven't been on an away day in a few months but loved every minute of today. Even stretched to a couple after breaking the whole no drink until April rule but how can you not? Three points from play offs and players still to return. We go again.

What are you even talking about man? This topic is about signing Walton, not the manager. Besides, he's never 'admitted he's clueless' anyway so that's a blatant lie. Give it a rest.

All of the above is modern football in a nutshell. For such a global sport it is a very close circle, each infesting different parts. The truth is what happened to us was sin, we got on the wrong side of a deal that has been done many times before and many times since. When an agency gets so involved in a football club there will only be one winner in the end. In the case of Wolves both sides are winning, right now, but that could change at the drop of a hat if Mendes isn't placated. Unfortunately for us our agent(s) are bad. They don't have the talent pool and in our early days were interested in lining their pockets only. Now you get an idea the right kind of people are at the club but there's still that potential for the 'odd' signing that raises a few eyebrows. A horrible symptom of a sport gone bad.

Walton has made a few errors but we’ve also kept a lot of clean sheets with him this year. His distribution is good and has to have some credit for our better defensive record surely. I think at this level he’s a good enough keeper to get promoted. I don’t think Brighton will sell him though and if he does he will probably go to a club further up the league than us. There’s a lack of keepers out there now that every manager wants one who can use his feet too. Raya has conceded fewer and kept more clean sheets though, so whereas at the start of the season it looked like Walton was an upgrade it’s swung the other way. Raya looks assured and every bit the goalkeeper we thought he could be, although he has dropped a couple of clangers himself. Part and parcel of a young goalie though! My point being that whilst I don’t think Walton is necessarily better than Raya I don’t think there’s a lot in it and if Walton wants to come, the finances are right then I wouldn’t be averse to him signing. I would prefer a more experienced keeper though.

We aren’t in a predicament though and it’s getting very frustrating trying to get this across. The only crisis we are facing is an injury one and we are so far coping as well as we could have hoped.

Stuart, I can write an absolute guarantee now that I will never try and 'score points' at you being positive. In fact, the day in which you do I will even give you a 'like'. ? "Have some pride back" would assume one has no pride currently - losing 1 in 5, in my eyes, isn't lacking any pride. If anything yesterday made me more proud. Outstanding given our losses in midfield. Call me 'that guy' if you wish but I will always call people out for making out like we are anything but what we are. I haven't had a single moment this season where I've felt we had no pride.

It was only 4 weeks ago Walton was a pariah on here....now he's an unrivalled success and living proof our recruitment department is terrible because they didn't spot him! Our recruitment department also spotted Tosin, Holtby, Dack, Rothwell, Reed. We've had just as many successes in recruiting as we have had failure but that's a discussion for another time I'm afraid. I don't have it in me to go over that topic again, sorry.

??? What problem? I will hazard a guess that what you consider a problem 98% of people don't.

It says they got lucky. That's about all it says really.

A bit of pride back? We've lost 1 in 5 man....

In fairness to the twitter geezer he's more on about how this board is a mob of foaming at the mouth abusers and not our fan base as a whole.

This is literally halfway through his third full season. That isn't a long period of time. His first full season = promotion, his second full season = consolidation and now he aims for the top 6. I will judge after 46 games but anywhere above 10th and he keeps his job for me, especially given our injuries right now. You use words like naturally but there is nothing natural about the clamour on this board, like it or not. It's not a conspiracy either. Look back through the transfers sanctioned by Venkys since their arrival and there is no money spent on defenders in comparison to other areas of the pitch. There is a topic on this board about it, very well researched I may add, but it was brushed under the carpet though as posters preferred 150+ pages of debate on Brereton and how much of a slag Mowbray is. Anyway my point was that Mowbray should get criticism in equal amounts to praise. He has been the manager during the time our playing squad has improved. His money hasn't been wasted as we now sit comfortably in the Championship. If he was to leave now we would be in a far better state than when he found us and that is the measure of a manager.

Every single piece of praise Mowbray gets on here is met with a reason to as why it isn't such an achievement. However, when the lack of defensive reinforcements is shown to be an issue since Venkys came and not just TM that is ignored and used as a stick to beat the man with. We can't have it both ways. Regardless of the budget or not Mowbray has been the manager here through the good and the bad and deserves the credit for the good as much as the criticism for the bad.

I've posted something similar before but this is the squad Mowbray inherited vs Burton: Steele Nyambe Mulgrew Lenihan Williams Conway Guthrie Lowe Feeney Emnes Graham Subs: Stokes, Joao, Gallagher, Mahoney, Tomlinson, Brown, Raya Our squad vs Fulham: Walton Nyambe Lenihan Tosin Bell Travis Johnson Gallagher JRC Downing Armstrong Subs: Williams, Graham, Samuel, Davenport, Brereton, Bennett It's a completely different squad and there has been massive improvements. We are missing Evans, Dack, Holtby, Rothwell and Cunningham from what was our strongest squad after the transfer window in summer. So I expect more of the same - improvement in quality and depth. For whatever reason there is 0 appetite for the Rovers financiers to sanction defensive recruitment. This isn't a TM issue. It has happened since they came. Unlike when TM came in this summer we are only due to lose Tosin and Walton, rather than half the squad we lost in 2017. That would mean that a GK and CB is on the wishlist. Whether Venkys sanction these signings is another thing. Providing we keep hold of Dack it would leave us a winger short of a terrific starting front 4. The whispers in Jan would leave us with a safe assumption this will be addressed. It is absolutely remarkable how this topic was started with the "utter mismanagement of our first team squad". That is such an overstatement it is untrue. Take a look at the revolution we have had in players. Mowbray has brought the squad age down, ensured we own the majority of our key players and has some top quality experience thrown in (Graham, Downing). Our squad is considerably better than when he took over, so how we are now considering it "mismanaged" is beyond me. As things stand if Mowbray left us tomorrow he will have transformed the club from that squad to what we have now. That is fantastic management. Yes he had a terrible signing in Brereton considering the fee but at 20 years old he still has a chance to find some form and, hopefully in the future, move on for a fee. Other than that Mowbray has improved us year on year and this looks no different.

Gallagher's work rate has never ever been in question, even by his staunchest critics. He works hard whenever he plays. What are you even basing his agility from? ? You've literally thrown that in there to beef up the criticism. How are you even able to judge that? Gallagher is a good dribbler of the ball and his first touch is more often than not where it should be. He's had a tough season out wide but I tell you something I'd much rather a Gallagher than back to the days of Liam Feeney knocking about there. Gallagher showed during his first stint here he can score. That player is still there and like any striker we are hoping he can find the purple patch soon. When Armstrong first came here he had a great start followed by long spells without a goal- he's scoring free flowing now and looks every bit the striker we knew was there. Gallagher has more about him than Brereton and will get us goals. I know you love your stats but the eye is better than Opta and your opinion on his work rate, first touch and agility is just weird - he certainly doesn't deserve criticism in those aspects. He's lacking goals and no doubt he knows it more than most. I hope we bring in a few wingers in the summer and he gets his chance up top where, as proven under Coyle, if you throw the ball in the box enough Gallagher will get goals.