Admiral Nelsen

If anyone has said that Mowbray is a better manager than Hughton, they are very much mistaken. Almost every manager at this level has spells where it doesn't work out, Hughton is having one now, but his record speaks for itself. On Mowbray, I could be wrong, but I don't see too many damascene conversions from our fans after three good results. I suspect that there's a large group who were once very much behind Mowbray but were very disappointed in the last 12-18 months and would have been happy to see him go at some point last year. Seeing as that hasn't happened, he's not going into this season with any credit in the bank with these fans, but at the same time they are not immediately clamouring for his sacking & are willing to judge this season on its own merits. Too forgiving? Maybe, but I don't think there are many who are expecting a particularly good season, even after a good start.

Agree with all of that. I'd add too that quite a lot is made on here about the envious glances that we're casting towards Brentford and the way in which they have based their growth & success on buying low and selling high, often from the lower leagues. We will obviously have to wait and see how well Dale and Pickering cut the mustard, but this strategy of targeting the best young players from L1 appeals to me a lot more than putting all of our small budget on loans.

I'm open minded about him purely on the basis that I've never seen him play, but I remember we were talking about him January just gone (or was it the one before?) and the idea that we'd pay £3million seemed absolutely insane. Sounded a bit like a L1 MGP in terms of style of play according to one poster who lives down there. Not really exceptional in any aspect of wing play other than having an eye for goal and good final ball. We need more goals from midfield & out wide, so it could work, but if we have that sort of money it should either go on i) a striker or ii) contracts for players already here.

It did, 2-2 at their place alongside a Benni McCarthy goal if memory serves. Not sure if it was a volley though, thought it was just a shot from outside the area.

Almost certain to be a step above anything we've faced so far. I'm just glad we're going into the game with 7 points from 9, rather 1 or 2 and already with the pressure cranked up. It's not often I'd take a draw before the start of any Championship game at Ewood, but I would for this one.

I think Bell eventually got to the stage where he travelled with the ball well. The trouble was his delivery, which as others have said, was pretty much as bad as it gets. I think once most people make their mind up on a player, it takes something pretty drastic to change their opinion. Bell did improve a decent amount over the last couple of years in my view - just not enough to make him good enough to be first choice and definitely not enough to shift the poor perceptions of him amongst Rovers fans. His good start will probably mean that Luton fans will never see him as the liability most Rovers fans did, although I agree they will come to see his limitations.

Maybe, don't think there's much between us to be honest, assuming we offer two identical contracts. I'd guess that he's still Manchester based too, so that might swing it for us.

Had to google him, but you're right, just gone to Cheltenham for a second spell, it seems. 21 now, too. Apparently did well for them last year, so would've been interesting to see how he would have progressed at Rovers over the last few years.

Quite a lot online being made of being a left-sided centre back. Wonder if that means he can cover left back too? A player who could cover all the same positions as Williams, but just do it better, would be a great addition given where the squad is at the moment, and that we're obviously looking to play with three at the back more.

Hopefully the boy who went to Leicester can act as an example not to follow, in that respect. Would have surely got decent game time for Rovers by now had he stayed with us.

Won't pretend to know too much about him - but CV looks decent enough. Warnock knows a centre half when he sees one too, so would be pretty optimistic with this one. Him and the City lad on low wages, with Wharton to come in before Christmas looks pretty good to me.

Great to hear. Know anything about his background Joe? I.e. has he been at Rovers for a while, or was he another let go from United/Liverpool?

He does. I have to admit I wasn't immediately gushing about him after Swansea, but then you get back from the game, realise that he won something like 14 out of 15 headers and realise that that's exactly what we've been missing for years. No issue with wrapping him in cotton wool either. The only thing I worry about that comparison is that both McGrath and King were (before the injuries) pretty agile and athletic for centre backs. There were times last year where Ayala looked very clumsy and an accident waiting to happen against opposition forwards with a bit of pace about them. I wonder if Ayala needs to be properly fit to cope with those sorts of players? Guess we'll find out anyway. Certainly much happier with him on the pitch than on the treatment table.

Genuine question, which shit left back? We've had about 7 in the last 5 years or so.

I'm a few years older, but like you am not old enough to remember us being top dogs, much less appreciate it. Like others have said, fair play to him for still being a Rover after what we have subjected him to over the last ten years. I bet his best XI from since he started watching us is laughably poor. Give it a few weeks he might even be in it himself!

Just seen this on twitter - Clarkson with Sparky from a few years ago. Anyone else feeling old?

Definitely. For now though I'm going to enjoy doing to other teams what seemed to happen to us all the time last year - have 20 shots and still throw points away via a set piece! Staying fit for two games doesn't absolve us from the poor decision to sign him last year, but his performances so far underline why they found it so tempting to take the gamble on signing him in the first place. Been a long time that we've seen a centre back dominate in the air and look so assured doing the basics of defending. Even the one-on-one chance that Swansea had in the first half which looked to be his fault was fairly clearly offside, so I'll give him the benefit on looking flat-footed on that one. Swallows, summers etc. If he plays 30 games this year though he will make a massive difference.

(Tenuously) Fitting that our first signing was made on the same page as Tony's newly preferred formation.

They'll be well up for this after losing the first two, but still might be a decent time to play them with their injuries at the back. Going for an optimistic 1-2 Rovers, Brereton Diaz putting us top at his former stomping ground.

I think that's a good argument to not go mad with filling the squad with loans, which if certain reports are to be believed, we might end up doing sadly. Buckley in particular needs be starting more games, and it doesn't make sense to send Carter down to L1 if whoever is playing at Ewood is as raw as Branthwaite was last year. That being said, we can't lose the number of players that we have (even if we weren't sorry to see lots of them go) without bringing at least a few extra bodies in. Like you I'm encouraged that we already have the ability to stay clear of trouble, but the depth that we've had on the bench is a real cause for concern. That's why this one makes perfect sense to me - we start three midfielders every game, and of the five options we currently have, only one (Buckley) hasn't had significant fitness issues recently. I think it just comes down to being selective. 2 or 3 players with the ability of Harwood-Bellis/Elliott is ideal. 5 or 6, with a couple of Jack Brynes, Martin Samuelsens or Stephen Hendries thrown in, then serious questions need to be asked.

Purely guesswork, but the interest of two obviously more monied, southern based clubs smacks me a little of an agent trying to squeeze a better contract out of Rovers. Especially considering there were rumours that he had already rejected us which seem now to be premature. Obviously if there are genuine offers from either Fulham or Bournemouth, then I'd expect that he'd be off there in a shot.

If he was coming through now, they'd never think about keeping him as a centre forward. Not surprising that he ended up playing his best football in his later years as he moved deeper and deeper.

So he is! Not sure where I got that from. In any case, I think we were a body short so I'm happy with this one. Interesting that we're still after Doyle from City, apparently. All of a sudden we might look slightly overloaded with midfielders if everyone stays fit, although if last season is anything to go by we'll usually have at least one or two in the treatment room.

To be fair, Garrett's only going to be 17 by the time Clarkson has gone back to Liverpool. I don't think this is going to have a particularly meaningful impact on his development. If this goes through, we'll have 6 first teamers (Travis, Rothwell, Clarkson, Johnson, Buckley and Davenport) going after three positions in our midfield. You could argue maybe 7 depending on how we play Dack when he comes back, but we're going to be using all of these players if they can stay fit.

I guess with his injury record no team would pay more than a tiny fraction of those wages. I'd be a bit surprised and disappointed if we're risking as much as 30% given our financial position, even if he is a really talented player. From City's perspective, their best option with him now is to not worry about wage contributions, and just get him playing regularly at the best level possible for a season and hope he can stay fit. If he does well, then they can offer him a new deal then maybe sell him for a few quid like they did with Tosin.