Admiral Nelsen

Done well at that level, but can't have them all. I know it's been said that we're after another winger, but after signing Gally it seemed unlikely that we'd be going for someone with stock as high as Lowe's.

Think it's both good and bad. If Rothwell doesn't play, then that's the wrong call, but in fairness it's been a long time since we've had the options there that a call like that can be semi-justified, which it can be with the curren squad.

It's not exactly uncommon for new players not to be thrown in the first game after they've signed. Santa-Cruz didn't get in before Roberts straight away!

I think for the most part it's semantics. We play wide forwards, as you say, which is the more popular role of wide players for 90% of teams at this level and above. It only becomes more than semantics when you're looking bring in a player specifically because they play the position in more of a traditional style. Basically: i) I think the way we use wide players is fine ii) They are not wingers in the traditional sense iii) We have plenty of them. So there is no reason to bring in more unless we specifically want the option to play in a different way to which we do currently

Me too to be honest. I wonder if, with TM being recently impressed with Rankin-Costello, that might've been put on the back burner. I suppose we don't have that much in the way of out and out wingers other than Chapman, but then again we don't play with wingers!

Interesting how other teams perceive us versus how we perceive ourselves. I think alll fans can get a bit doom-and-gloomy at times, but this is a league that's full of sides taking backward steps this summer (I don't think we can really say the same about us).

Over the course of the season, would have to agree with you. Some very difficult choices to be made about leaving out one of Rothwell, Gally and AA assuming that Graham or BB play as a lone out and out striker. That said, both Rothwell and Armstrong have done enough to warrant starting berths for me. Gally on the bench for round one, let's see how quickly he can earn his place.

Their main forum has a pretty long thread from the start of last season to the end which has a very mixed set of opinions. Some don't rate him, others say that'd he was worth signing for a few million quid. Plenty saying that he was played out of position.

Certainly think it's going well so far. Caveat would have to be the defenders are partially unknown quantities, and are probably the more important signings, but definitely plenty to be optimistic about.

WBA fans comments (as with any set of fans) are subject to recency bias. Finish a season badly or well, you're more likely to pay attention to this spell than their performances earlier in the year (or indeed, they bias your memory about what those earlier performances were actually like). If you're as sad as I am and read through what they were saying at the time, his reviews earlier in the season were actually pretty good, and this from a set of fans who probably had higher expectations than most when it comes to the quality of their players at this level. Happy with this. Totally agree about Johnson too. Our defensive frailties last year were about more than just the defenders (although one v. good centre half could feasibly have made an enormous difference).

This is the team. Big Armstrong fan and think this could be a really big season for him , make Gally (who I also like) really earn his place. I wouldn't go overboard with just one game, but I can't pretend that I won't be very dissapointed if Rothwell doesn't play from the start, even if he has strong competition.

Hard to compare (if not impossible) - I'd suggest that Jones' might just edge that one. League debut against Drogba, basically in his prime. Back pocket. Next game away at Burnley. Clean sheet and they never got a sniff all game. Unucky not to score in that game too.

Agree. Armstrong had bursts last season, but Graham and Dack were asked to far too much of the work in the final third. Not saying that it will necessarily be successful, but if we have at least two of Armstrong, Rothwell and Gally on the park too, teams won't be able to get away with a 'stop Dack, stop Blackburn approach'. Travis and Johnson should be able to knock the ball around quicker than any partership we had there last season too. Being am optimist, all of this points to less pressure on Dack, and more time to show his skill across the pitch, but we'll have to see.

On the subject of new songs, I'm still shocked that the wider footballing fraternity hasn't made use of Baby Shark. Perfect fit for a football song. Even works for our Bradley. Bradley Dack doo doo doo doo doo doo Bradley Dack doo doo doo doo doo doo Bradley Dack doo doo doo doo doo doo Bradley Dack!

I can see the change of style meaning that he scores fewer goals, but is more influential in our build up. Early signs of this squad looks a little more capable of creating without relying too heavily on the Dack/Graham partnership, so hopefully that takes some pressure of Dack and means that he won't receive 90% of attention from opposing managers. Hopefully that delicious through ball he plays to Armstrong against Bury is an indication of where he'll be at next season.

To be fair, those changes in positions look tailor made to get the best out of the individuals we have in the squad. Let's see if it works out. Several teams have got promoted from this league in the last few years on the basis of having a very specific approach to the game that works for them. Hudds & Sheffield United stand out, but I'm sure there are others. More to the point, I can't think of a more sure fire way to make sure a squad under-performs than to neglect that side of management when other teams are going to use it for a competitive advantage.

He's more what we need imo. Reed was a very tidy player who I would've been very happy if we re-signed, but he was as guilty as the rest of the team for not being as canny as they needed to be last season. Don't think we can say that about Johnson.

I think most of the players usually picked as deadwood are decent back up to be honest. Bennett, Smallwood, Evans, Mulgrew - all players who won't be major cogs in a promotion winning team, but played big parts in some good spells for us last season. Whether we can afford to keep them as back up is a different question, as is how much they should get in the way of promising young talent, but I really don't get the clamour to see them leave the club entirely if they're happy to fight for their place.

He's still all potential for what we have seen at Rovers. He's chipped in at a decent rate when he's played, but hasn't had enough game time to develop. I think if he's going to flourish, Blackpool are perfect for him. He has good instincts as a striker, and despite a few comments about his attitude, has always struck me as a very motivated player. He seems to be getting his chance a little later than some, so seems (as much as you can tell) to really want to make the most of it. I have doubts about whether he'll ever have the touch or all round game to really make it in the top two divisions, but given enough room to develop and make mistakes, I can see it being a very good signing at L1 level.

Do we actually have any indication that we don't have a loan-to-buy option? These arrangements tend to come out in the wash, rather than being announced straight away, don't they?

Think we'll likely start with that formation, but with Tosin (or another incoming) in for Williams, Bell in for Hart, and I'm not confident at all about who starts on the right. Personally I'd like Rothwell on one side and Armstrong on the other, but I think Downing or Bennett are probably more likely.

Wouldn't disagree with that to be honest. As much as I think he's doing a good job, I felt deflated when I heard he was our choice. Not quite Coyle levels of disappointment, but not happy all the same.

Picking players Bowyer may well have been better, but there's no shame in that. Found some very talented players for peanuts. Tactics, absolutely not a chance. The hallmark of Bowyer's Rovers was a committed group with some talent, but never looking that cohesive or well drilled. Hardly ever deviated from a simple 442, and whilst we had enough talent to win tight games, it's hard to imagine Mowbray not getting an awful lot more out of Cairney and King, just to name two. I know that not everyone agrees with TM's approach, but tactically he's on a different level to Bowyer.

To be fair, our problem with King was mainly just not playing him, full stop. If he was getting regular game time, even if it was on the wing, I don't think he'd have been in as much of a hurry to leave.

Totally agree. Will be tough for Cardiff to bounce back too in my view, Warnock or not, but he will definitely make it easier for them. Fulham will have the players to score a lot of goals this season, but teh Championship is a ruthless league to cut your teeth as a manager. WBA are a reall funny one this season. Their saving grace last year was a lethal strike force which has gone and has only been replaced with a gamble in Zahore. Bilic is a real coup, but does he have the squad to stand out? Think they'll need to bring in a few for them to be optimistic.