Play how we have in the previous 3 games and we will win this. Seems like a good time to play Derby aswell. kaminski nymabe Lenihan Williams JRC Rothwell Johnson Holtby Dolan Arma BB Wouldn't be against starting bell and saving JRC for the bench. If we have a new left back then I would throw him straight in aslong as he’s fit.

So are we expecting a signing/announcement tomorrow?

Agreed Arma - 20 million Dack - 15 million Travis - 10 million lenihan - 5 million nymabe - 5 million Dolan - 5 million Thats about 60 million worth of assists there I reckon. Of course a lot of those values rely on tying down players to long term contracts, but aside from maybe travis I feel those values are realistic. In the cases of Arma, Dolan and even Dack they could even go up 5 million further each with a successful season. In terms of where we currently are at with incoming, I think we should go all out to secure a quality perm left back. A loan would just put us in the same position next summer. I’m happy with where we are at in the centre back department. The emergence of Williams means we have 3 decent experienced CBs, with 2-3 emerging young ones to provide cover. We do need a back up keeper for sure, however I would rather gamble of the fitness of Kaminski than risk a season of bell as first choice. In terms of midfield and attack, Whiteman and Jozwiak would of been the dream, but we probably have enough to get by, and both departments have started the season extremely well. The start of the season has been so encouraging, we have looked like a promotion worthy side at times, but there is important work to be done in the market if we are to sustain that. On a side note, are the people who suggested that someone had signed sticking with that knowledge? Are we waiting until Monday to announce? Or are we assuming that ‘the source’ got it wrong?

Every points to us being serious playoff contenders this season. Another fantastic performance. This is without Dack, Travis, Gally, Evans and Manning (?). Can only see positives right now.

Finally the good performances being rewarded!

I would imagine it’s a knock for nymabe rather than being dropped. Travis injury in midweek may have swayed TM to be more cautious with players that are carrying a knock. A big positive though from that selection that I’m suprised peopke haven’t picked up on is that Bennett hasn’t replaced him. Really need a win today. Our season starts today!

Most QPR fans speak very highly of him, both defensively and attacking. From what it sounds like he’ll very much suit our current style of play, which is a massive bonus.

I remember that, didn’t the Lancashire telegraph do an article on it? Something about our team line up getting linked on forums. Henning Berg was furious. Wonder what happened to him.

All the noises seem to be that it’s Manning. Which would be a really class signing all things considered. Still got a gut feeling that we’re gonna end up missing out for whatever reason though and be back to square one.

wouldn’t be surprised at all if we don’t get any announcement today. This is Blackburn after all.

If this is true then I can definitely see manning being TM’s number one target which we are hoping to get. Would be a great signing if so.

Pears was first choice for Boro for large periods of last season I think.

I don’t think he will be coming in this window but a midfield 3 of travis - holtby - whiteman would be very strong with whiteman offering some real balance with him being left footed. On the flip side you could drop travis and whiteman abit deeper and play dack ahead of them when he’s fit.

Let’s see if he has a name.

I’ve heard he’s asked to leave. A couple of prem and champ teams interested in him. Would take him back in a heartbeat but I do feel he’s ready for the prem and that should be his logical next step.

While I can see the reasoning behind this suggestion, I think it would really take away the high press we’ve been working on in the 433. Dack as the more advanced midfielder in a 433 with holtby and Travis (Johnson if travis ain’t fit) sitting behind him would work out fine. Would love to see Gally play that centre role so players like dack, BB, Arma and Dolan can play off him. The only thing we really have missing from that starting XI would then just be a left back imo.

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.