What a load of nonsense! It's got nothing to do with "glass half-full" (in fact, we aren't even speaking about Rovers here but other clubs so a slightly peculiar comment) it's do with the "facts", which is what you made out like you were putting forward, when actually it's only a fraction of the story. Both clubs have spent more, especially Norwich. Their wage bill blows most teams in this league out of the water so this idea that they "over achieved" based on expenditure is wrong. In actual FACT they were underachieving before their good form hit. If you want to end posts with "---------------fact" then I'd make sure they are actually "---------------------------------fact". Quote from yourself: "Other clubs have gone up without spending anything like that---Norwich and Sheffield UTD most recently", when it turns out they have actually spent pretty similar figures to us, if not more, over the course of 3 years. And there I'm finishing, I know from past experience I can never dim the enthusiasm or energy of the I Just Want A Reason To Moan Brigade.

Sheffield United also had 7 players on loan last season, including their goalkeeper, for which some, including you, have lambasted Mowbray for. Their loanees included: Henderson (fee), Hogan (fee), Woodburn (fee), Norwood (fee), Johnson, Madine & Dowell. They also bought Norwood in Jan for £2m and spent £5m on Egan. They didn't go up by spending nothing. In fact, the season before I think they spent about £5-10m as well, it's hard to tell in the days of "undisclosed fees". Norwich City had Passlack on loan from Dortmund, Krul on PL wages in net, Hanley/Rhodes on the bench. Their squad was (is) years ahead of ours, probably because they'd been in the Premier League not long ago. They are paying big wages because were still in receipt of the parachute payments following from their recent relegation. Make no mistake both clubs did not "spend nothing". In fact, take a look at this article: https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/how-every-every-pl-and-champ-clubs-wages-compare-to-their-league-finish/ This is based on the 2017/2018 accounts as they were the ones available at the time of writing (May 2019). You'll see Norwich City's wage bill was very high before they brought in the likes of Rhodes, Krul, Passlack etc etc. Something to look at with that article is that all of the clubs with the high wage bills are clubs that have achieved promotion recently (Wolves, Fulham, Villa, NORWICH). Sheffield United's at the time of writing was low - this was their first season in the league - but since then had spent money on the players mentioned above, and if you think they came cheap then you are totally misjudging the football market.

My bad police officer

Can't say I agree man. I think last season we dispatched of the lesser clubs more often than not - and the ones we didn't tended to be because we loved conceding after 75 mins. To be truthful our problems last season vs in League 1 were different. Teams in league 1 would literally park the bus and not make an attempt to beat us. Last year we got carved open by teams whether they were top half or bottom half but we did tend to get goals against the lesser sides. I may talk too early but we have seen out a few close wins already this season and have dispatched with relative ease the lesser clubs, Charlton aside. I suppose Luton at HOME is as big a test of any for this theory but I'm feeling pretty confident we can come away from there with a decent win based on our games vs Hull, Reading, Boro etc all lesser clubs than us this season.

Do you? I would suggest our record beating points tally in League 1, beaten by an equally great season by Wigan only, proves that Mowbray is more than capable of winning games that he should be winning.

Give it time. He’s one loss away from being blamed for climate change.

Don't forget Travis.

I'm hoping Mowbray rotates. I think he sticks to his formations and team selections far too rigidly in my view.

I think it's mad how Preston are being cited as a team we should emulate when they finished 1 point ahead of us last season and are 3 points ahead of us now. Yep, aim high. I'd also hazard a guess, in fact nay I'd wage money on it, that PNE rotate their starting line ups more than us.

Weird bloke

Gallagher will get goals. He did under Coyle and that was the worst squad since the dreaded takeover.

Which, of course, Mowbray stumbled upon by pure accident...............

Feeling positive about this. A few good performances under our belt now, team seems to be taking shape, brilliant depth in midfield and up front and a new signing that should up everyones levels. We have a real chance with this next run of games to get ourselves up the table. I wonder whether he will go with the 3 at the back system again. It's going to be hard playing all 3 centre backs at a time, unless he's planning on giving the academy lads more of a shout or sees Nyambe as capable of stepping in as a wide centre back.

Holtby also provides serious competition for Dack. We need that competition in midfield because it drives players on to be the best. If we can come up with a system that allows us to play Dack and Holtby from the start, with Rothwell coming on to replace the leggier of the two, then we have a serious mix of creativity and pace.

4 clean sheets out of 5 league games. Continue in that form it'll do for me.

There is definitely an argument to be had about the match day experience. It’s shit to be truthful. However we need to be realistic and admit that whilst it may gradually increase the fan base it isn’t the real reason to as why we are 10k fans down from last decade. Ultimately these arguments are about making the experience more enjoyable for us, the fans who do go, and if a few hundred are more inclined to go on the back of the changes then it’s a bonus. We do need better beer, better food, the weeds removing, the fan zone to be more in tune with its target consumer base but all of these ideas won’t suddenly improve our attendances like some are making out. 10k won’t come over night because we have a nice three tuns ale, proper spud pie and perfect paving. It will help though. I think throwing aside the myth that crowds will return gives these arguments a better standing. For me it’s about pride. I want us to aim to be the best we can be. Is that possible though with a 30k seater stadium and a 10k attendance? Ideally we’d have a smaller stadium and I think that would improve the atmosphere but that is obviously not in consideration.

The type of player worth paying for. Other players will see him play for us and be more inclined to join. Quality attracts quality. Need to offload Smallwood now in January.

More importantly what’s yours? Out of the signings he’s made this year all of them have featured almost straight away. Tosin being the exception but back in the squad when fit. You've literally admitted the mans point is correct but tried to make excuses for why

This is the same for all clubs though Pete and not just limited to ROVERS. Living in the Midlands and having gone to Villa, Blues and Baggies games with friends I can say that a day out watching Rovers pales in comparison to the cost of a day out watching the 3 teams mentioned. Our pricing structure is quite fair although I agree there are lots of room for improvements in the match day experience

There are 2 things the club can do to get attendances back to pre-2010: 1) Promotion 2) Venkys sell That is it. Beer offers, free days, school tickets all pales into insignificance in comparison to those 2.

Nope. Mercer made out that it was perhaps Mowbrays brand of football which is stopping him from attending, then diverging to his credibility on a topic dedicated for attendances. My point remains that should we be promoted then he’ll be back, suggesting it is not the brand of football that we play but our current stature in the game which is bothering him. Incidentally our stature in the game has risen year on year with TM involved so it’s not out of the question we won’t be back very soon. Also it is you that has decided people are bitter or annoyed. I’m certainly not.

100% certain fans like yourself will be back if we are in the top 6, or ultimately the premier league, even if Mowbray is in charge

By that sentence I meant anyone trying to peddle that line, not you individually

Hamburg fans actually petitioned to get the club to sign Holtby to a new deal. That can only be a good sign. More than happy with this signing. I assume he can play anywhere along the front 3. If that means Gallagher can move inside and we have a front three, with two of them Dack and Holtby, I'd wager us against most defences. Get him signed

No there isn't. After the Hull game Williams explained that he went to see Mowbray at the back end of last season and told him he wanted to play centre half, not left back. Mowbray got rid of his other left footed centre half and kept Williams. He didn't sign a centre back but signed, albeit on loan, a left back to replace Williams after he moved centrally and dropped Bell. In 4 moves (Sell Raya, Loan Mulgrew out, Drop Bell, Sign Cunningham) Mowbray has solved our defensive issues. That isn't an accident - it happened and he deserves credit for it. There's not a single shred of weight behind the argument it's accidental except the fact that you want it to be.