There aren't that many that I'm too eager to see the back of if we don't have to. We need a few key additions to progress, certainly, but there are plenty that have shown themselves to be good squad players, capable of playing in a team that can get results. Trouble is, we have too many, and now it seems to have caught up with us. We definitely need to bring in another centre half and centre forward imo, so I'd let Downing get first team football elsewhere, only take Rodwell on a modest wage and, whilst I really feel for the lad, don't think Samuel will do himself any favours fighting for a spot on the bench. Nuttall I'd look to loan to a L1 club, but don't see any urgency to get rid. Conway has just about been worth his low-risk extension this year, but I'd be concerned if we were looking to him to play a significant role next year, so should probably go as much as he's been a great servant. Hasn't worked out for Gladwin, and another keeper to compete with Raya instead of Luetwiler seems sensible. Other than that, I'd be more than happy to keep anyone who wants to fight for their place.

Little snippet in today's LT: looks like Rankin-Costello is likely to sign new terms in the coming days. Seems like he has impressed since coming back from injury

Without exaggerating, there is still a healthy number of at least nominal Rovers fans in that part of the world. Think the supporters club moved to the Dog & Partridge down the road (which has since closed & reopened as a gun shop - the Dog & Cartridge!). You probably need to get as far as Chorley before you would class it as proper Rovers territory though. Can get to Ewood in 30 minutes, but then again you can say the same for the Manchester & Liverpool clubs, and even Bolton. Also goes to show why it's not surprising that even after their relative glory years, Latics have never been able to get much support.

I remember getting free tickets to watch low-demand Rovers games from school in the early 2000s, and that was in Wigan! No reason at all why we shouldn't target basically everywhere in Lancashire north of Bolton imo.

Needed a fixture like that to get us out of the bad run of form, but with a patched up team, we really did play some good stuff. Credit to all involved, especially Magloire. Our form this season shows that, even though we have a team capable of causing anyone in the division issues on our day, we're probably about 3 additions from realistically being able to compete in the top 6. Plenty of these players should be hungry until the end of the season to show that they are not the ones that need replacing. Big summer ahead. Also, Wigan are absolutely awful

As others on the first thread have said, think we should be restricting future entrants to no more than 3/4 a year. This being the case, Tugay, Parkes & Berg are, for different reasons, the standouts for me.

Bennett at 10 is a great shout. Think there might be a case of having Reed in front of Rothwell with Smallwood/Evans if fit coming in CM, but otherwise that's the team which makes the best out of our predicament imo.

Unfortunately for Tony Parkes, it's probably in-keeping with his association with Rovers that was overlooked for this first time round! As and when the group gets bigger, him & Tugay should be the absolute shoe ins. Beyond that it's difficult to get the balance if you want to keep the group exclusive, but I think Berg, Sherwood, Kenny & Dunn are the modern day players with the best cases, for varying reasons. I suppose Hendry too, but I know some might have their own views on that.

Possibly. I wonder what the attraction (beyond salary) there would be for a youth team manager to go to another club though. The youth set up at Rovers appears to be as good as (almost) anywhere, with an excellent record of getting our youngsters into the first team. He seems to have a pretty genuine emotional attachment to the club too. Obviously being made head of youth development at United/Liverpool/Man City would be one thing, but where else? Don't think we need to worry about the Newcastles of this world poaching him in a way that we might have done with a manger or player.

Jack Clarke as good as some have been making out? Seems very decent, but I haven't really seen enough to work out if he's worth the hype or not.

Think his rehab in the eyes of the rest of the game may take some time longer than that, even if he keeps up his current form.

Assombalonga and Abraham in the same side. Not sure exactly how that works, but that's one lethal partnership at this level

I do like the way that we've being doing our business in recent windows. Much cannier than we have been. Not quite the "we've just signed Craig Bellamy. Surprise!", approach of Williams et al, but still impressive in this day and age.

Don't think I've ever agreed with a statement on this forum more than this one. Would like it 100 times if I could. Another instance of football being changed by people who either don't like or don't understand football as match-attending fans do.

Last couple of minutes showing why VAR can both lead to more correct decisions, and at the same time be a backward step for the game. Chelsea fans singing 'VAR, VAR, VAR'. Abysmal.

If we're assuming that down south is somewhere in the Southampton, Hampshire area, then his options for commuting might be limited. London clubs, Reading and probably Bristol City in the championship. Maybe pompey too, but can't see that happening! If the lad gets his chance at the Saints, then fair play, but if he gets the green light to leave, I can see us being at the front of the queue of any second tier clubs that are in for him.

He would cost a few quid, no doubt, but there's no way they'd expect to get their 15 million back. Square peg in a round hole, and they're looking to offload. Would be surprised if his price tag was 8 figures, although agree that it'd be expensive for us.

Away from Assombalonga chat, Brad Lyons has just played for St Mirren against Hibs. Faded with the team in the second half, but played well in the first, good run and cross to set uo their goal. Good showing for (I think) his first league game at professional level.

Just had a quick scout on Boro forums. Sounds as though they'd be surprisingly alright with him leaving the club, although that seems mainly due to him being one of several players unable to get anywhere near their best under Pulis. Played on the wing quite a lot, Have to admit, beyond his being a proven goalscorer, I'm not that aware what his all round game is like. I know he's an absolute unit, so presumably can hold it up, but how well can he fit into our system? He's someone Tony will know well, especially being a Boro fan, but it's a surprising one in a number of ways.

Liked Gally when he was here. Loose player, but scored a few, and some good ones at that. If we're using that players who looked decent under Coyle would look 50% better under a decent manager, he'll do for me.

Think he'd potentially be a very astute signing for a lower-half top flight club. Even so, I'd expect in the end that he'll have to settle for a Championship club. It's good that it looks like he's enjoying it here, beause next time they'll be queueing up for him.

I said in the summer that Chapman would be a low risk/high reward option. This was before the injury, but even so I don't see any reason to change my mind. He'll be as likely as not be on buttons, and as unlikely as it seems now, we know how good he can be if he stays fit and can progress. Totally get why people wouldn't take him, but I still think it makes sense as a low risk investment.

To be fair, Corry Evans but with a better range of passing could prove to be a very useful player imo. Excited about the what a future pairing with Travis could look like in a couple of years.

Agree with the Rothwell point, for this week at least. I would still want the option of him off the bench anyway, seeing as he was so effective last weekend. Think Armstrong's a shoe in, as is Travis now. Nyambe being back fit throws a spanner in the works. I'd rather have him playing RB and Bennett moved forward, but who gets dropped? Reed, probably, if we're thinking that Reed and Travis in the middle might be a little too green, but it's not an easy one. Suspect that Tony will go with as you say though, with Bennett at RB and Nyambe on the bench.

I'm still really grateful to Bowyer for giving pride back to the club after 2012-2013, so I don't want to badmouth him too much, but looking back on the talent of some of those players that we had, it's clear that we should have troubled the promotion places more than we did. Back to King, another strength that he had was that, even if he wasn't on it with his final ball (frequently!) he still occupied the attention of defenders because of how quick & stron he was, and how well he travelled with the ball. Equally, when we had Rhodes & Rudy, both were goal scorers rather than target men, but they both needed constantly looking after. We had so many attacking threats that it seemed impossible for teams to deal with everyone all at once. No co-incidence that it coincided with Conway's best form in Rovers shirt, having so much extra space & then Rhodes & Rudy to hit in the box.