Good to hear that Vale is impressing. He turns 24 next year, so I think it's best for all concerned that he goes elsewhere to play regular games. We won't get much for him, but maybe a couple of hundred grand and a decent sell on is better than we would've managed in January.

For some reason I expected him to be a sicknote, but I've looked again and he seems to have played near enough every game. I must've seen him on his good days, and his goals probably helps mask some of the weaker aspects to his game. I like how physical he is - it's really stood out comparing him to some of our midfielders when we've played them.

Some interesting ones there. As a rule I don't like going for players just relegated and used to losing every week, but that doesn't always work. I don't think they'll go down, but there are massive red flags around Chair and especially Willock from QPR. Talentwise they should both be amongst the best players in the league (and might be beyond our reach), but they've looked like they've downed tools for really long spells over the last few years. Risky. I'd definitely be interested in James and Bacuna from Big Club. There'll be loads of interest in James though with him being so young. Don't think I'd take anyone from Wednesday. Rathbone stands out because of his name and that he always seems to do well against us, but he's older than I thought he was. Wouldn't be against signing him for the right price.

I think he'll be in the Championship next year. No idea of what he'll cost (£1million?) or if we'll be interested, but he's a good keeper.

I tried to think of how I'd look at our priorities in the summer, but I'm struggling because so much of it depends on if/how we decide we want to play. We talk a lot on here about whether player X, Y or Z is good enough, but I think a bigger problem we have is that we have a squad that clearly haven't been assembled to fit a certain way of playing. Letting Travis go on loan was a shocking decision, but then there's no point keeping him if we want our midfielders to play like Wharton. Similarly, there's no point in keeping Gallagher if we're not going to play to his strengths (which then wouldn't really suit Dolan and Markanday, etc.). I don't especially care how we play, just so long as we start recruiting in a way which is a bit less scattergun and more strategic. Having said all that, I think you're completely right about needing a new keeper, and we're at least one full back short. I don't hate our midfield options if we're going to be playing a more Travis-friendly game. We need another centre back if we're playing 3 there, but Hyam Wharton and Carter are all decent options in a standard set-up and I wouldn't be spending our limited resources on an upgrade. The big question marks are in attack. We definitely need more quality there to either help or replace Szmodics, but who we go for (and who we let go) for me is a function of how we want to play. Must say that you rate Siggy more highly than I do. He has ability, but he lets far too many games pass him by. Beyond his fairly average goal return, I don't think he's contributed anything really.

To be fair I was only about 7 or 8 myself. I'm sure it didn't take long for those at the time to realise it was bad deal, but I think it's only with hindsight you realise *just* how bad it was. It's the equivalent now of spending well upwards of £50 million (probably more) on a dud whilst at the same time giving away a Rovers fan who ended up playing for England just a couple of years later. An absolute scandal. Given I think was much more forgivable. It was a couple of years earlier and he couldn't get a game when Flowers was fit, so didn't sign a new deal.

I'm still angry about that. When you take inflation into consideration, it must be up there as one of the worst bits of business in the PL era.

Cause and effect going on there though. Maybe the grounds with the biggest crowds are also the clubs that can afford to buy the best players? I'm pretty sceptical of massive away followings making much of a difference. How many times have we brought 4 - 6k to PNE, Wigan and Bolton over the last ten years or so and still underperformed? I'm just looking forward to seeing Ewood a bit more full to honest.

Hard to say that when he's not been given any serious money in the first place. Leo obviously wasn't ready, but the other significant fees paid for players since he's been here are Szmodics, Brittain and Hyam. The latter two have had their struggles this season, but it's hardly an atrocious record. There are a couple of dodgy loans and frees in there too I suppose, but that's to be expected when he isn't given any money to work with. And you'd set that against bringing in Tronstad on a free.

Agree generally, but I wouldn't go as far as to say he's more popular that JDT ever was. There were more shouts of Euseless near where I am in the BB end at the Ipswich game than I thought was fair, albeit they seemed like lone voices! It seems like most are giving him quite a lot of rope this season, so long as we stay up. I certainly haven't made my mind up on him yet and I get the sense that most are broadly in the same boat.

Definitely, I'd add power and general hold up play to that. We have attackers who have got something to offer at this level, but none of them really are effective out-balls. A player like Danny Graham, admittedly not a quick player, would see us get so much more from the likes of Dolan, Markanday etc.

Pointing to his injury record is fair enough. Perhaps If he could strong together 15-20 appearances then he could kick on. I think goal threat is stretching it a bit though. At Aberdeen yes, but how many has he got for us since being here? A few, but not enough to say that's really a feature of his game. 7/10 most weeks, with reasonable pace and decent strength sums him up really well I think, but I'm not as optimistic as you that he has another level in him. Compare that to JRC, who you could really see as being a key player in a promotion chasing team if he could stay on the pitch.

Agree that he currently gets in our best team. Sigurdsson has been very disappointing so far, although his best moments suggest he might have more ability than Hedges (Watford goal aside!). Quite different players, admittedly. He's solid at this level. If he starts 30+ games on the right of a front three he'd probably have a half decent goal return and he'd set up a few. But I don't think there's any particular aspect of his game that I'd say is outstanding, even at Championship level. In fact you'd probably say the best thing about him is that he's well rounded and adaptable enough to do a job in lots of positions. But I think that sums him up, he does a job.

I'm lukewarm on Hedges. I don't think he really excels at anything in any position to be honest, but he's tidy enough on the ball and reasonably quick and broad shouldered. Lots of our other options are lacking either in size or ability, so he balances the team and doesn't go missing like others have the tendency to do. I'm happy enough to have him in the squad, but if he's comfortably in our best XI then it doesn't say much about the rest of them to be honest.

He definitely is. We forget how raw Buckley looked until he had at least 50 or games under his belt. He's still flawed and inconsistent, but he was like a little boy when he was first in the team. You'd say that he hasn't really kicked on since Mowbray's last season when he started to look the business. Injuries and not being fancied by JDT didn't help, but he has to take responsibility too. Big season for him next time around, because you're right that he can't be considered a youngster anymore.

I've found a situation where we go down with three draws - but I've had to be ultra generous to some of the other teams down there and even then we're only one point below where we need to be. Realistically I think 3 points vs Wednesday will do us, but 4 points however they come will be absolutely be enough bar a freakish set of results.

I know Cov are on great form, but I'd be targeting a win there because of the week they'll have beforehand. Play United at Wembley on the Sunday and then play again midweek before playing us on the Saturday.

As much as some weren't impressed with his interview the other week, JDT's style of football must've been an absolute nightmare as a centre half. It's not even the passing out from the back as much as it is the positions you have to take up when we have the ball and the lack of protection you get from the midfield. It might still be worth it if you get more from other areas of the team, but I don't think any defender in the league would flourish in that system.

Results elsewhere are showing how important last week was. We can still see today as a step towards staying up with a point. Had we lost last week, and with other teams at the bottom picking up points, we'd probably be saying that draws against the likes of Southampton and Leeds/Leicester are not enough.

Exactly the sort of player who if we signed on a 4 year deal, we'd be absolutely delighted. A 6 month loan when you're in a dog fight, it feels a lot more like he's just making mistakes on your time. Having said that, he too is winning me round. He looks very, very green in terms of his game awareness I think, but that's understandable. I think it goes to show how tricky it is to bring in good quality loans who from the get-go are only ever likely to be squad players.

Agree with quite a lot of this, but I'd add a couple of caveats. The first is that when you've had 18 months being so committed a particular style of play like we were under JDT, you can't just unlearn that overnight and start afresh. You have to try as best you can, but it's not a simple transition to from that to a completely different way of playing without a decent amount of time on the training pitch. And that's the second point, we were playing Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday since his arrival until after Plymouth, meaning the last three games were the only genuine chances to see the fruits of his labour in my view. And like you say, there's been an improvement there. It would still be a big failure on his part if we were to actually get relegated. He hasn't been dealt *that* bad a hand. But it was a bad one nonetheless. I think we've seen how important playing Wharton and Trondstad together was to our early season form for instance. If he keeps us up, as it looks like he will, he'll start with pretty much a clean slate from me next year and we'll see what he can do with a full pre-season and with any luck a better squad.

Doubt it to be honest. I think if they view him as having even the slightest chance of making their first team squad in the next couple of years, then they'll want more money than any club would realistically be willing to pay. Even if they don't see him as a future player for them, they'll probably be looking to loan him out for another 12 months to get more value out of selling him next year.

I'd be amazed if signing him permanently would be an option - prem teams don't give away their kids who don't quite make it as readily as they used to. He's really growing on me though. I had a downer on both him and Ayari after their first few appearances. They looked far too green to come into the situation we found ourselves in. Physically he looks great though and he has improved markedly not he's getting used to the Championship. Even another 12 month loan would be worth exploring.

I think the thing which meant three at the back worked under Mowbray was at least as much about the pace of Khadra, Brereton and Rothwell than it was about the defenders. Eustace doesn't have that to rely on sadly.

If that one win is alongside a draw or two I think you're right. By itself, I'm still very nervous. Plymouth still have Rotherham, Stoke, QPR and Millwall to play, alongside Hull who have nothing to play for. Huddersfield have both got several winnable games too, although 49 points is probably beyond Wednesday looking at their fixtures.