I agree with plenty of this, including that we probably could have expected a few more points last time out given how we started. Having said that, I still think that looking at the big picture, we have improved from this year to last, and that it's really hard to see a good case to get rid of the manager whilst that's true.

That's completely valid and a totally justified fear, but equally I think it's unfair to bin off Mowbray until that actually materialises! Especially when you could easily say the same for virtually every club in the league. You're right that promotion, rather than linear progression is the name of the game. Linear progress does however count for 1) an indication of how far away we are from 'actual' success, and TM's record shows that we're probably going to be reasonably closer than last year, and a hell of a lot closer than the previous 2/3/4 years. Because of this, it also matters for 2) how easy it is to attract/keep hold of the right players. Even if this means that you lose players along the way, like you say, a team that finishes just outside the 6 looks a much better proposition than one that finishes 14th. I'm getting slightly away from my main point here; I accept that there are good reasons why some fans might have issues with Mowbray - but getting rid of a manager is an enormously unsettling thing for a football club, and for me should only happen where there is good evidence that you need to change. At present, when we're making progress, I don't see anywhere near enough evidence that we're in that sort of territory.

Hardly glacial. Remains to be seen where we'll end up this year, but promotion from L1, 14th in the Championship, and then lets say we stay where we are in 10th this year? This is more than just trivial levels of year-on-year improvement. A horrible transfer window/reduction in budgets could undo everything, like you say, but this is the sea in which almost every club at our level swims. Maybe the level above too. Doesn't seem like a good reason to get rid of the man in charge, especially when he has a record of bringing in players who can improve us, even if there are a couple of expensive mistakes too. I get that there are gripes with Mowbray, the SG & BB signings being the obvious ones, but I really don't get where the clamour to get rid comes from after looking at his record overall.

Seriously? Proud Preston indeed.

I'm with you with most of that, but I'd still see Walton as being under-par. I think our stronger defence says more about about getting a stronger partner for Darragh (and perhaps Lenihan staying fit for longer). Walton will take some credit too, and I do like some things about him, but he's made one or two too many errors. By no means a disaster, but equally I think we need better.

I'm really surprised that this doesn't seem to be a more common view. Even accepting that it's going to be hard for some to get past the money spent on Gally & Brereton, I can't quite fathom how we can be in sacking territory if we're improving. I also think that the difficulties that all clubs will have this summer makes it a very risky time indeed to be chopping and changing, and will give a very short pre-season for a new man to properly introduce his ideas, even assuming that we don't hire another dud like we have in almost every other appointment post Big Sam. On Bennett, don't think there's any point trying to hide that he hasn't had a good season, but equally I'm not at all convinced that he plays when we have anything like a fully fit squad.

Didn't realise he was quite as old as that until last night. I've been totally perplexed by how ordinary his career has been. He wasn't the complete player at Rovers but he seemed so threatening when on song. I would have put my house on him being at least a good level premier league player in his late 20s, if not an elite one. Certainly not slumming it at a mid-table second tier team.

2-0 Baggies, the race for seventh is looking wide open!

To a point, although I think there have always been as many match-attending football fans than rugby fans, it's just that they were all at Old Trafford, Maine Road, Anfield, Goodison or a few (like me) at Ewood instead of at Springfield Park or the god-awful place they play at now. You're right that it's much closer now, all because of the investment of a wealthy Blackburn Rovers fan! Slightly off-topic for a Rovers forum, but moving away from Central Park to an identikit ground miles away from the town was an absolute sin.

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but Brennan has ended up signing another deal with Rovers

Bennett left back, Evans not in the squad so Rothwell in midfield. Otherwise, as last week. Arma on the Bench, as is Smallwood

Not even conceded in 5, not bad going considering one of those games was West Brom away.

This is fair, but equally Klopp has an unbelievably well resourced recruitment department, and even putting aside how easily Liverpool can attract players, he's got the depth and richness of scouting data which is well beyond that of most clubs, including ours. I think Mowbray's transfer record is mixed, but certainly not poor. The big bucks spent on Brereton and Gally will rightly be talked about until they start living up to their price tags, but profits from Dack, Rothwell and Armstrong offset that for me. We won't make any money off the loans or players signed on a free, but there are loads of examples of players signed this season and last which have meant that we're continuing to improve. I think the first team has continued to improve, which is a pretty good measure of success of the manager's performance. Last thing I'd say too is that our targets have changed pretty substantially in a short period of time. We're rightly looking to get in the top flight now, but that doesn't mean that the signings we made to get us in the shape we are now like Smallwood, Samuel, P. Downing, Nuttall etc were the wrong calls, just that we've outgrown their usefulness.

I'm not completely unsympathetic to that - I rate Downing above Holtby as a creator of chances - but it is a way of getting both Holtby in a position where he might be more effective than last week and get Armstrong in the team too.

I don't quite agree that it's a no-brainer, mainly because I don't think that Bennett at left back is a disaster when we don't have a fit first team left back (accept that I'm probably in the minority on that one) and even though I think Downing is more than capable of doing a good job back there's still an element of risk moving him there. That said, on balance I agree that it's probably the best move - it's the one I'd make anyway.

Got a hell of a brain on him though. Not saying that Lowe wouldn't give him a hard time, but he's coped excellently with coming up against wingers plenty quicker than him so far. Maybe by having Downing making overlapping runs Lowe will be spending more time thinking about his defensive duties and less time running at the full back.

Managing the squad will be a real challenge from now til the end of the season. I'm not sure that Evans can put in that sort of performance three games a week without picking up an injury, but if we can get 4-5 games out of him at that level then it could be the difference between getting in the top six and missing out.

Ideally, but then again this is a way to get Hotlby in the game more whilst getting Arma on the pitch too. I'd be perfectly happy with either scenario to be honest, but I'm thinking that having three left back injuries might be seen as an opportunity to reshuffle to get our best players starting elsewhere on the pitch.

If there's not improvement with the left backs, I'd be happy sticking Downing there, putting Holtby back in the midfield and starting Arma with Brereton and Gally up front. Suppose Bennett to left back is the least disruptive option with Nyambe being fit.

Believe Brighton have hinted that he'll be involved in their first team next season, might be wrong though. I think that Walton is one of those loan signings that would be viewed differently had he been signed on a four year deal, rather than a season long loan. He has probably made one or two mistakes too many, and the PNE one in particular was hard to take, but he obviously has a lot of the tools needed to develop into a good keeper. We've picked up plenty of clean sheets this season, and whilst that's quite a lot down to our centre back pairing, Walton needs credit too.

That game at Hillsborough was horrible, genuinely not exaggerating in saying that was one of my worst days watching Rovers.

Just had a look at their win at the weekend, Huddersfield had 70% of the ball! Hard to say whether that played into Wigan's hands or not, but they'll get a very different sort of game against Rovers. Can only see this being tight, with the odd goal probably being enough to decide it. I think we have more quality though, especially in depth. 2-1 Rovers.

It would be flawed if you try to extrapolate our final position over a season, but I'm not. I'm saying that claiming TM relegated us by 'stubbornly keeping Lowe as captain and playing him at all costs' is an incredible thing to say when 1) we were picking up a healthy number of points and 2) we were so thin on quality and numbers there that we didn't have anyone to replace him with anyway.

Apologies if this was a tongue-in-cheek comment, but otherwise that's an absolutely outrageous statement! Our form after he joined in February came in was just short of play off standard and it's not as though we had anyone to replace him with anyway!

Robbo was a pretty good keeper in his pomp, but the fact that he got around 40 odd caps in an era before being dropped in his 20s shows how the quality dropped off. No expert, but it does seem we still produce plenty of good young keepers but few kick on to be consistently at the top level. Going back a bit now, but there's been Carson, Kirkland, Hart, Foster, Butland, Forster and probably about half a dozen others who looked they could be the real deal and for different reasons either didn't develop or couldn't do it consistently.