Smashing start to Johns tenure,which I think Damian Johnson & David Lowe deserve some credit for.

The direct style is so refreshing but once other teams have worked this out we will need a plan B.

Early days but hoofball rather than playing out from the back should decrease the number of goals conceded(in the very best Sean Dyche traditions). Sometimes simple things work!!

Just great to get a win. Felt like the shackles had come off for most of the team who played a football style they were more comfortable with.

A bit of serious hoofball was such a novelty and Dolans goal celebrations are the best in Championship football(with due acknowledgement to Pierre Emeric Aubemeyang)!!

Good luck John.

Very relieved  we have appointed this man(assuming accurate)if the other options were Robbie Fowler or Wayne Rooney.

My understanding is he is a defensive coach. Suits me given the position we are in.

Dont see how we could get anyone any better with recent history.

Yes its always the more expensive deals that fail to materialise. First OBrien and now McGuire.

Not only weakening the squad but so embarrassing no one will want to do business with us anymore.

Sounds like JDT has pointed out where the problem is (with his comments).

Gotta laugh at the speed of Pears recall in goal.

Well, yes. 

IMHO Leo isnt up to Vauxhall Conference/National League North standard yet.

How about loaning him and Brittain out(ALL salaries paid)the softest full-back ever to wear the blue& white.

.

Im no fan of the B.B.C. but  it put the facts like this.

Since the start of December Rovers have lost more games(seven),won fewer points(four),and conceded more goals(twenty-four) than any other Championship side.

Huddersfield dont have West Broms quality but do have the benefit of NOT playing tippy-tappy football.

0-3 to the Terriers. Hope Im wrong!

Think tomphil has nailed it. This"silly style of football" is exactly what it is.

If you are City/Barca with endless amounts of cash maybe you can afford to play ballerina tippy/tappy cos the players are just so good. Think that style really suits a much hotter climate than East Lancs. 

But when the players are uncomfortable with the style(as they clearly are)and its creating loads of errors why cant they mix it up with "hoofball"??

The parallels with Jim Iley and the"Stuart Metcalfe"incident are unnerving. As

older fans will recall the manager lost that one

No arguments from me Matty, that JDT isnt the paramount issue here.

However he is paid to coach/manage/improve the team. Turning into Owen Coyle II does his own reputation no favours. 

Well, Matty JDT is paid to improve the team & avoid relegation.

Continuing to do what doesnt work helps no-one (least of all JDT and his managerial/coach reputation).

Granted Venkys underfunding is the real issue. However a country like India probably has a different concept of where the lines are drawn on sport/entertainment/business and what it is worth ultimately.

This inane grinning by JDT reminds me so much of Owen Coyle and the defending is becoming so,so similar. Coyle had a threadbare budget as well. Goalies were Jason Steele & David Raya(a youngster then)vastly superior to our current pair of Pears & Wahlstedt. 

However the defenders like Wes Brown,Gordon Greer,Adam Henley were quite a bit worse than the current crop.

We all know how that ended up.

So either concentrate on defending sensibly and change the goalie. Forget all about buying strikers and having a midfield overload.

If JDT cannot do that, then he should do the honourable thing.

This one in, one out wouldnt  be so bad if we could  shift some of the dross.

Buying more dross on long(not short)contracts hugely problematic!!

Its pointless having a larger squad if the players you bring in are very poor.

Makes the Academy and an over-reliance on Brighton loans the only positive aspect. 

Remember what happened when we loaned Ipswich Keith Andrews a long time ago?

The lad scored loads of goals for them, had some great matches then they ducked-out of buying him!!

Whos to say they wont do a number on us again?

That £800k offer from Millwall looks quite tempting in hindsight!!

Agree with last 2 posters. Very disappointing Travis is heading for the exit door(if so). If hes being replaced with Isaac Hayden(injury-prone)on loan Ill do my nut! 

Why cant we get rid of Brittain and/or Markanday who havent an ounce of fight between them.  I dont even think the ultra-low fee is a problem - we have let bucket loads of better players leave for free!!

Wonder if Leo is any good as an outfield player? 

If he isnt, how about a loan to Accrington Stanley or Stalybridge Celtic ?  

Think Moran is a "manager favourite" cos of the number of assists hes provided this season.

Not sure if off-track or bang on match thread.

Arsenal fans on social media calling for Arteta to be sacked after 3 losses in a row! Apparently they always play the same way every game so opposition clubs have worked them out. Generally boss possession, create loads of chances but fail to take them! They want to walk/pass the ball into the net. No real goal-scorers in the team, Saka leads with 6? 

Does this sound familiar?

With the third-worst budget in the League(apparently)I dont think we can expect too much. However we might have the best academy in the League

which should count for something. 

Agreed,a loss to Rotherham is unacceptable. 

Showcasing a style of play to get more saleable assets resulting in Owen Coyle -style defending is a bit unfair on the players who cant play like this.

Its even more unfair on the long-suffering supporters.

Wasnt JDT turned down for the Hibernian managers job?

At least that line-up protects Leo to some extent. He needs all the protection he can get.

JRC and Dolan are massive losses(as already commented on by many posters),Hedges & Gally somewhat but the real sting in the scorpions tail is how much we miss Pears!!  

Tricky game for JDT with  limited options. However doing the same thing over & over again and expecting a different result is insanity(Albert Einstein).

I refuse to believe Ennis and/or Telalovic are any worse than Hirst, the worst player Ive seen as a striker since Chris Brown(and yes that includes Jack Vale).

Just look at Ipswichs position in the League.

So lets have Plan B. Plan  B I say.....its all about Plan B.

Yep BigBar is right. The manager sets the team up ,regardless of quality and we are too easy to beat. I remember seeing the Dingles knocking our players over last season, even Preston tub-thumped us. We cannot cope with any physical force whatsoever and its just no good. It happens time and again. If some players lack physical strength then they need to have ability to play a different way but a straight capitulation is not fair on the fans. 

I dont care how many players are out injured-drop Brittain and Wahlstedt now and try a more compact system.........show you mean business......Dont think he will though

JDT still needs to have a plan B-particularly when the players are tired out by the normal high-press of games gone-by. 

Leo came out of the game with a bit of credit by me-the only encouraging thing on show.

Reminds me of when we lost at Ewood to the Dingles in a League-Cup tie and only Lenihan & Raya(as a very young goalie)stood up to be counted. 

This really is Grella/Ayala re-visited.......can we move Siggy and Ennis on come January? No wonder we have a threadbare bench if we sign totally injury-prone players....maybe offer Ennis a pay-off if we have 4 more years of this to endure?

I really dont want Szmodics getting a trivial booking and then being suspended. It was a given Travis would get one(and he is at least useful for 20 minutes for tiring legs).

Whether Garrett could come in as a number 10 with Leonard up front is a big ask.

Dont understand why Gilsenan hasnt had at least some minutes, even Bloxham?

Still so far JDT has game-managed the threadbare squad really well. 

Just a point on Leo. Too early to judge really after a fairly disappointing start to his Rovers career, not to get too hung up on a few mistakes.

O.K. yesterday with a solid defence in front of him.

Adam Whartons freestyle careless passing cant be any picnic to deal with.

Thomas Kaminski started off at Luton throwing the ball into his own net in an early game,but now looks world-class(as he did for us the first part of last season).At least according to MOTD highlights!!

So lets give the lad a bit of time to improve.