any left back links or ideas?

The only one I can think of is the 2nd goal that he could of done better with? Might be forgetting something though. But even then I feel it’s harsh to label him as responsible, for the second goal he got turned by a good piece of skill from a player who caused a lot of problems for us in the 2nd half. Other than that I thought he did well, and along with holtby managed to control the game and also grab us an important goal. You can also make the case that Wycombe will be an opposition much more suited to his abilities than Bournemouth were. Not actually his biggest fan, and didn’t want him starting last week, but based on his performance in that game, if he’s fit, he should be starting.

Kaminski Nymabe lenihan Williams Bell JRC Johnson Holtby Dolan Arma BB Sadly I think it’s far too soon to give Ayala his first start, he hasn’t played since January I think, so would be better to ease him in. Thought Johnson played well last week and I imagine that we’ll need his physicality against a robust Wycombe side, if he isn’t fit would go with Davenport and see what he can do. JRC in the middle should offer an alternative to Travis energy and opens up a space to get Dolan in, who I think is currently a must with his creativity. A comfortable win and a clean sheet would go down a treat, but I can see an early Wycombe goal throwing a spanner in to that hope. Either way a win is a must, quite a lot of pressure on this game.

This summer has clearly been about quality and not quantity, which has personally pleased me as I feel we have often over the last few years gone for the scatter gun approach in the hope of finding a few gems. We seem to have identified the areas that need improving, which thankfully correlates to the areas that us fans have identified as weak spots. The one major weak spot which has yet to be plugged is clearly left back, and I am intrigued to see who we bring in. A lot of people have mentioned Cunningham, but I actually don’t think he would be the right move. No doubt he is a quality player and an improvement to bell, nor would I be against him coming in, but I do have my doubts about his suitability. Due to injury and being out of the Cardiff team he hasn’t actually played much football over the last 2 years, and at his age (29?), that can have quite a negative effect on your career as it can be hard to get going again. More importantly though I actually think we need someone with more pace and athleticism for the LB role with the new system we are playing being reliant on the press and the ability to recover quickly. I do believe Cunningham would be caught out in this system as he isn’t the quickest, with his strengths coming from his ability on the ball. Personally I am really surprised we didn’t have a look at Martin Olson on a free transfer as I believe he would of been perfect. There doesn’t seem to be a plethora of quality left backs available right now so we might well end up with Cunningham, but I am curious to see if any other names get put in the ring. In terms of centre back I am one of those who would be perfectly happy with Williams and Wharton as third choice, as both have proved to be able players. I would agree that we need a back up keeper, but I would like to think that’ll be a low cost, under the radar signing as I hope they won’t actually be needed to impact our season. If we can get those two signings sorted I actually think we’ll be in good shape for the season. I’ve been really impressed with how we have performed in the last two games, despite losing both. For long periods we have dictated the game, and not let our opposition get a foothold, which was a prominent feature last night in particular. I think it actually counters our biggest weakness, our defence, as we win the ball higher up the pitch and, due to our possession play, make it difficult for opposition to build up momentum and pressure on the backline. It’s pretty much how leeds played last season. If we can find that cutting edge we will be a real force this season, and I think the fears that we don’t have it will be massively erased when dack comes back into the team. Not only does he make things happen but his finishing and positioning is exceptional. A fit Dack could quite easily get us 15 goals this season, and Arma I reckon could push for 20/25, which is a potential 40 goals between just 2 players. I also think I should give a mention to Holtby who I think has started the season as our best player, he’s been fantastic on the ball and is always looking to make something happen. Importantly though he hasn’t drifted in games, which was my major criticism of him last season, he now presses and isn’t afraid to put a foot in and seems a lot more vocal. He is absolutely crucial to this press and possession style we are going with and I think he could turn out as one of our most important players this season, if he can stay fit, which is my main worry with him. There is a lot to be worked on still, there is no doubt about that, we need to stop leaking goals and have a better defensive organisation, something which I hope Ayala is being brought into do, his reviews are very promising but it may take a couple of weeks for him and that backline to be steady and use to playing with each other. In terms of our other signing, Kaminski, I’ve been very impressed. None of the goals we have conceded have been his fault, and his play aside from that has been pretty much flawless. The fact that he is so comfortable with a high starting position and has quality on the ball means our defence can play a lot higher which is crucial to the pressing game we are going with. He hasn’t made any mistakes as of yet and I think that’s the main thing as a keeper - do the basic rights, make the odd important save and don’t give away soft goals. If he can continue to do that he will do just fine, but time will tell. The Travis injury would be a big spanner in the works though, I love him as a player and I think he’s a real leader, but it looks like we may have to cope without him for abit, which is a shame especially with Dack just about to be fit again. Hopefully a loan move until January (Garner?) can cover him well enough. Aside from that, and the two losses of course, I have been encouraged by our business and our start to the season. There’s a lot to be hopeful for. A lot will depend on how our defence fares, I personally don’t think TM can organise one properly, so I don’t have a great deal of hope in that regards but I guess time will tell. Either way, we really a win on Saturday.

Is there a steaming service for tonight?

Kaminski Nymabe - lenihan - Wharton - JRC/Benett Rothwell - Evans - Davenport Dolan - BB - Chapman Would go with this personally. Give Dolan, Rothwell, Wharton, Davenport and Chapman the chance to impress while still keeping the team fairly strong. Players like Dolan, Chapman and Rothwell and evening BB to an extent will give us a chance to counter which will most likely be our best chance of nicking a goal or two. While I feel it’s a winnable fixture it’s a tough ask, especially for a side who is need of reinforcements, showcased by JRC at left back, and when you consider Newcastle are in the opposite position having come through an excellent summer of business. We’ve seemed to make a habit of getting knocked out by prem opposition in the early stages of the cup over the last couple of season under TM (Burnley, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Sheff united etc etc) so don’t have high hopes, but encouragingly we’ve made a game of it in nearly all of those fixtures so I do expect us to push Newcastle in stages. A win would be great for confidence and take a little pressure off the Wycombe game and a cup run would certainly boost finances a little so feel like this competition has a little bit more meaning than most years. Come on Rovers! EDIT - completely forgot about Buckley, would like to see him play a large role in this fixture to assess where he is at. Not sure where I would fit him in though, potentially by moving Rothwell further forward but then again I like to see Rothwell driving from deep, it’s 100% where he’s at his best. The flip side to that is I don’t think we can afford to play both of them in a midfield 3 as we would get overrun. Guess we’ll just have to see what TM goes with.

Davenport didn’t play for the under 23s so I’d imagine he’ll come in to the side for Johnson.

Agreed but at least in Ayala we would have a quality first team defender. Big improvement on what we already have, Ayala would be a free transfer so wonder who the player we have a bid in for is.

Gutted. Played really well and were the better team throughout apart from the opening 20 of the 2nd half.

Incredibly strong team, even with brooks on the bench. Really tough game this.

Joao Pedro for Watford looks a great player

Heard from a Fulham mate that they are in for josh king. Fingers crossed.

As frustrated as I am with our current lack of buisness/missing out on players, I do find comfort that the players we seem to be going for are ones of quality. Both Kipre and Ayala would of been quality additions and while it is sad that neither will end up here, we do at least seem to be looking at the right players. I only hope that that continues and one comes through, and quickly. I would say currently we are at least 3 signings off where we need to be. A back up keeper, a quality centre back and a quality left back. If we keep hold of Williams then him and Wharton are decent enough back up centre backs, along with a couple of promising youngsters, however if Williams does go then that will obviously need to change. I actually feel like we are alright in midfield, I would say Travis holtby and evans are first choice with Johnson, rothwell, Bennett and Buckley as able enough back up. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s a totally ideal squad but in these circumstances I believe it is manageable. Either way I worry that we look very midtable.

Really hope we end up with Carter Vickers. Would be perfect for us.

Any idea on who the player was

4 million for Tosin would be a bargain. End of. Only going to get better aswell. Still feel like there’s a chance of him ending up on loan here towards the end of the window if he hasn’t ended up somewhere else.

Right anyone got any names or info to get us excited about? Feel like it’s been quite depressing since we missed out on Kipre.

I actually think this is a great opening fixture for us, as there is very little pressure. Bournemouth will be massive favourites and while most rovers fans, like myself, will be optimistic there should be an overall recognition that they have a far superior squad to us. It’s almost a free hit, which means we should avoid the disappointment and anger experienced when we lost on the opening day to Charlton last season, who many saw as a home banker. Having said that, this is still a game we can get points from, especially as relegated teams tend to take one or two games to get going, such as Fulham who lost to Barnsley on the opening day last season. Along with that we probably have a more settled squad than them, so I can see it being a fairly even game. I would go with: Kaminski nyambe lenihan Williams New/bell travis holtby evans JRC Arma BB subs: fisher, Wharton, Bennett, Johnson, rothwell, Chapman, Dolan. would actually prefer Davenport over Johnson but can’t see TM going with that. I think our recruitment this week will actually have a massive impact upon the outcome for this game. I think In centre back we have enough to get by one or two games if need be but at LB we really need to get someone in, Bell will cost us games. Going for a 1-1 draw.

Would love Ampadu on loan from Chelsea. Probs out of our reach in terms of wages and prem interest but would be a great signing and is yet to go anywhere.

According to lancs live : - Phillips and Sarr are none starters. - A deal for a centre back is still currently being worked on aswell as a foreign target.

While I agree that Maglorie was impressive I would still have Wharton ahead of him, as there were one or two moments where he demonstrated a lack of experience. Defo a player to watch this season though.

Really impressive performance. - Shout out to Magloire and Williams at the back, thought they were both excellent. - Nymabe was man of the match - Bell was better than normal but still desperately need to bring someone in there. - Holtby oozed class, plays one touch football and always moves it quickly. Travis, Buckley and Davenport all impressed aswell. Johnson was poor. - Thought everyone who played in the front 3 was decent enough. Excellent stuff from JRC, has to start in that front 3 next week with arma and Brereton.

Unreal stuff from JRC

Missing out on Kipre is very frustrating but I don’t think we can blame the club for this one. We just have to move on. We desperately need a new first team left back and centre back before next Saturday. Need to get a move on.

If we’ve missed out can we get a name?