He got criticised by Hodgson for losing the ball for the goal - but, as mentioned, got highest individual rating for Palace from users on BBC website. Just based on the highlights, I thought he might’ve given the attacker too much space in the pass that led to another goal. It will be interesting to see how he does and whether he gains maturity to dominate games. We know he’s good on the ball and Palace have quite a few players like that but lack defensively, it seems.

It almost feels a side-note at the moment, but what formation was it today? The 3-5-2 at Wrexham worked very well, even with JRC out-of-position. I would've thought Tomasson would try and stick with that. There is a major problem in that most of our defenders are slow - so, against better opposition, the Liverpool defender who is apparently, quick, might play an important role. Not sure about O'Riordan. Edit: Wharton and Hyam simply can't be a centre back pairing, given their lack of pace, unless the tactic is to sit on the edge of the penalty box.

It is sickening to see Wharton sold now after the club’s bullish and now, apparently, foolish choice to let Brereton, Rothwell, Lenihan and Nyambe all go for nothing. The club presented it as an ambitious gamble (though Lenihan and Nyambe were definitely replaceable and not vital to promotion chances) but now it seems even more clear it was pure mismanagement (whether intentional or not) that they all went. What is even more worrying is that it’s not obvious there’s anything coming through the youth set-up now. We might be surprised but the reserves and U18s aren’t doing too well. The choice to bring in some young loanees will only temporarily cover up these issues and at a cost. On Palace, they are about to go through big transitions. Hodgson will surely go soon and their star men, Olise and Eze, will likely be picked off in the summer. They are a talented squad lacking leaders, I feel, so Wharton will possibly lack mentors, as the current squad stands. Looking at their squad, their traditional CMs have max of one assist each and Wharton must fancy his chances of challenging likes of Hughes to play. However, Palace need players with authority and determination to really improve and that’s not Wharton’s hallmark at the moment. If he can demonstrate a fighting and winning mentality, he could make a quick impact but I think he needs to mature and needs guidance and I’m not sure if Palace have that right now.

Hard to judge the players because Wrexham didn’t play well. I think they were unsure of their approach and were in two minds. To be fair, they are in League 2 and will only grow, it seems. We might be meeting again before long… Rankin-Costello, Tronstad and Szmodics were the big stand outs. They made the play fluid because they dragged the opposition out and beat them. JRC and Tronsrad mainly with passing and Szmodics with movement. Football becomes an easier game by far with good and constant movement. It should be the bare minimum. I thought Sigurdsson looked disappointing and not comfortable out wide. The other players didn’t always seem keen to pass it to him though he was positionally disciplined, offering width. He kept possession but just wonder if he could do more.

Replay because of ‘misapplication of rules’ has precedent in England in non-league case, at least. However, if misapplication is applied to video refs, it opens up much more. The ref apparently didn’t see Ivan Toney move the ball and the foam for his free kick goal against Forest. It could be argued that video refs did see and their inaction was a misapplication of the rules in a goal situation. I saw a clip online of Dermot O’Leary answering questions on the Toney goal and he denied VAR can get involved but the seemingly deceitful way he avoided answering questions makes me doubt him. Legally, refs were the final arbiters and given leeway for human error. That seems to be ending and as well as more legal challenges to results, I fear we will have ever growing stoppages in games as VAR is involved in every key decision and officials spend more time clarifying advice. Edit: The difference between human error and ‘misapplication of rules’ seems to be a judgment on how blatant and unreasonable the error is. I think intention is factored in too. With video refs, clubs are arguing (as Club Brugge have done recently in their own appeal) that any human error is misapplication of rules. Club Brugge’s appeal got rejected but I think they have also appealed to a court of arbitration, so this may go further.

Selling Craig Bellamy and replacing him with Benni McCarthy was an occasion when we replaced a top player successfully, but the decisions made in recent history don't augur well.

I am still confused about the Raya loan deal and why Brentford agreed to a option to buy, unless Raya was adamant he wanted to go and/or, Brentford felt that the player had likely peaked in value and were desperate to do the deal. Arsenal (and, I'm sure, others) have a record of testing rules of the game in transfers. This legal summary discusses how Arsenal inserted "anti-rival" sell-on clauses into player sales. When they sold Joel Campbell and Chuba Akpom, they inserted a sell-on of 10% for a UK club and 5% for a non-UK club. The intent was to financially discourage the buying club from selling the player on to a domestic rival of Arsenal. The article goes on to discuss how Arsenal successfully challenged a ruling against such clauses - so, presumably, they are still valid and used now. https://www.linklaters.com/en/insights/blogs/sportinglinks/2022/january/play-on-cas-clarifies-the-permissibility-of-variable-sell-on-clauses-in-football-transfers

Just saw latest transfers and see that Brighton have sent a young Romanian winger to Vitesse Arnhem, having signed him previously and sent him back on loan to his Romanian club. Meanwhile, Villa have signed a Red Star Belgrade player and sent him back on loan there immediately. I can't help be struck by the incredible contrast of these Premiership clubs investing in global young players and developing them out on loan. This is a separate development programme which plans for seasons ahead, alongside their academy and their first team. Meanwhile, Rovers, in the second tier, are operating on the short-term of bringing in young players on loan just to stay in the league, spending money on loan fees and wages, only for the player to disappear in a few months and any added value going to the club they are contracted to. It's increasingly two different worlds.

A vague thought about Man City who really start getting into gear when Foden and De Bruyne (and, others in the past) are played regularly. That is, when Guardiola stops altering the team game to game and plays them more consistently. I question Guardiola with caution given all that he's won, how he has helped to transform the game tactically in the UK, manages a squad of stars and motivates them and so on. But I do wonder what would happen if he stopped his constant tinkering and played his best players regularly. I'm quite sure that now until the end of the season, Foden and De Bruyne will play most games. However, for the first half of the season, my impression (I don't follow them closely) is that he is nearly always changing selections. My feeling is that Guardiola and others like to treat the team as a machine of interchangeable parts. It comes across as rather self-indulgent, as if they are the master technician and the players are machine-like tools. And, yet, when his best players get a run and start to express themselves, that's when the team are at their best. The contradiction (or hypocrisy) to me, is that these managers want there to be no dominant stars in the team - in a way, they are the centre of attention or the star. And, yet, when Foden and De Bruyne start starring, the team goes to another level.

Disagree - assuming Gallagher continues with Rovers in his usual hum-drum way, scoring occasionally, getting injured occasionally, I don't see anyone offering 1 million for him in the summer. Ipswich are surely looking to him as a dispensable 'get them over the line' signing. No-one can expect him to do anything if they are promoted. In the summer, there won't be that kind of urgency from any club, I would have thought. Ideally, I would sell at anything around 1.5 million and try to get someone in, perhaps, from abroad (though, not the 4th level of German football, preferably). But, I can understand why few have any confidence that the club will reinvest or a decent signing will be made. He is an ok player at this level and probably our best striker at the moment, if fit - which says more about our squad than anything.

A few talking points from these highlights of Birmingham City 0 Rovers 4 in December 2003. Barry Ferguson scored a goal and Tugay hit one of his best goals for Rovers but I’d like to point out Paul Gallagher’s first Premiership goal, a neat touch and finish. He also had a hand in two others. Gallagher was given his debut by Souness after an outstanding goal record at reserve level. He could score almost any goal, be it dead ball, in the air and poacher goals. Early on he lacked physical strength and he never had a lot of pace but he had excellent technique and came on to play right midfield at times. In some ways, though playing in a different position, he reminds me of Adam Wharton, in his effortlessness on the ball but question marks over his application and mentality. He did end up having a very good career away from Rovers but, perhaps, didn’t fulfil his potential. Birmingham City 0 - 4 Rovers, December 2003 (Ferguson, Neill, Tugay, Gallagher) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Z4ZZuFKFc&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brfcs.com%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt Edit: I remember him going on loan with Jay McEveley to Plymouth and despite scoring some great goals, their fans weren't convinced by his commitment or work-rate. They were relegated that season, if I remember rightly. Personally, I feel he had the all the attributes to be a decent Premier League player barring the attitude. However, at PNE he did really well and even became a central midfielder.

I think, maybe, Rothwell over Wharton, at the moment. We desperately miss someone like him in our current team with some pace and skill. Reda Khadra, and Poveda, eventually, made a good impact because they could outrun defenders. I find it surprising we don't place more emphasis on pace in forward players when it comes to signings - whilst acknowledging that you need skill to go with it.

Markanday seems like a player that would be best as a second forward. He has skill and shooting ability but not sure about the physicality or pace to play as a wide forward. Unfortunately, for him, few play with two forwards and no-one seems to see him as an AM. He needs a regular run in the U23s to build up his confidence or a loan move - or a permanent move. But it doesn't look promising for him at the moment. Edit: It's been mentioned before, but I'll raise it again because it seems unusual to me. By my account (do correct me if I have got any wrong): Lenni Cirino, Sam Barnes, George Pratt, Isaac Whitehall, Ben Fyles, Alex Baker and Harrison Wood are all on the books at the club and out with long-term injury. From what I can tell, they've all missed most of this season. I don't know how typical such a long-term injury list for youngsters is but it does seem, as an outsider, a cause for concern. In the case of Barnes and Whitehall, I think the club backed them with contract extensions despite their injuries which is admirable but I don't know about the others. I presume most will leave this year.

I would have thought the club would try to get a transfer fee for Travis in case it becomes all too apparent that he's not the player he once was. It could go the other way, but there's a big risk, as it's very unlikely he'll play for Rovers again. Even a small nominal fee would have done, I think.

Am I right in the thinking that the club don't report on the U18s regularly any more online? The last result I read about was the FA Youth Cup 3rd round exit away to Wimbledon, which seemed, on the surface a really bad result, as a PL1 side. Even more so looking at the squad which included first team 'fringe' players (as unfair it is on them, given inexperience) of Atcheson, Davies and Finneran. Given how much we have relied on youth players coming through, it is concerning as it does look like there may be a dearth of quality players coming through in the next tranche, over the next few years. Moreover, our loanees such as Vale and Walker aren't doing much on loan, which might suggest it might be hard to recoup financially as well. George Gent seems to be playing regularly for Motherwell, though. In the past, we added the likes of Brad Lyons, James Brown, Stergiakis and Connor McBride to the reserves and whilst they didn't amount to anything at Rovers, they did play and , perhaps, contribute to the development of those around them. (Though, Brown, spent most of his time on loan). I wonder if financial constraints or priorities mean a struggle to compete for players both locally and wider afield, including those released by Premier League clubs. We did add Dolan and Walker from PNE over the past few years. I do question the merit of the constant changes to the U23s team with weekly keeper rotations, almost, and constant shifts in personnel. However, it does seem if the wider story, taking into account injures to hopefuls like Jake Batty, that the quality is not there at the moment. Would be interesting to know what regular watchers think.

I'm running out of hope for Buckley to fulfill his potential having always rated him highly. He has had some spells, such as when he played as a false forward with Reda Khadra on the wings and we surged to near the top of the league under Mowbray, mid-season. He really impressed for a while with running with the ball, if not actually being a threat in the box. Reda Khadra's pace really helped, I believe, by creating an outlet and a goal threat from different areas of the pitch. There then came a Mowbray spell when Buckley came in at the end of the season in central midfield and scored a couple of long-range strikes, if I remember correctly. I was surprised by it because he had never seemed much of a goal threat and here he was slamming a shot in from 25 yards. JDT believes in minimal touches from his midfield, and Buckley and has struggled to make an impact. To be fair, nearly every Rovers midfield player from Travis to Wharton has been very inconsistent, if not poor at times, suggesting a wider issue with the team. Only Tronstad seems to have any consistency at the moment. Buckley has comparable ability to Rothwell, I believe, though he might not have the same pace, so it might be useful to think about how Rothwell went from bit-part and frustratingly inconsistent to a first name on the team sheet. My own pure guess is that Buckley struggles with self-belief and this might be the club's biggest challenge. If he was put in a team that relieved him of too many defensive duties and the confidence to express himself, it might help him flourish. But, I personally I don't have confidence of seeing that happening at Rovers given our wider struggles with quality and a utter lack of pace in the team. Players like Reda Khadra and Poveda seemed to get the best out of him and others because of their threat over the top and offering a bigger area of the pitch to make passes within and a speedier counter-attack.

Interesting point but I think, if I understand the situations correctly, Poveda - for whatever reason - remained on Rovers books during his injury rehab at Leeds and would return to Rovers once he recovered from injury. Buckley's deal has, it seems, been permanently ended by, according to Rovers website, a recall.

I'm not watching other Champ clubs closely but it occurred to me that I don't hear of Prem clubs chasing Championship first team players as much as I seem to recall in the past. The gulf is growing but I wonder if the standard in the second tier has sunk a lot? There may well be some useful defenders knocking around in the league and one or two midfielders (eg. Boro's England U21 player) but in terms of attackers, I'm seeing very little - reflected by the fact Szmodics is a top scorer across the league. I can only really think of Dewsbury-Hall, Gnonto and maybe, a few of his Leeds teammates as being forwards/creative players that might interest Prem clubs. Others will be in a better position to judge but my impression is that the quality is really weak in the attacking areas at least. Does anyone see any forwards or attacking players, in particular, in this league that might make the step up and be a successful Prem player?

Fluminese have an expected revenue this year of $74 million, apparently, which puts them well below Burnley financially! City spend over $500 million annually on wages.

The helplessness of Sheff Utd, Burnley and Luton Town in the Prem makes me think that the English Closed Shop League is almost here. Newly promoted clubs seem to barely able to compete - even when an established club is docked points for rules violation. If at least two of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton go back up, which looks a real possibility, the Closed Shop will be basically intact again.

Interesting to read that Pere Guardiola, brother of Josep, is the chairman and big shareholder of Girona. The club is 47% owned by City Football Group from the UAE, which has stakes or majority ownership in 12 clubs, including Manchester City. I can't make sense of the rules properly, but, according to this article, it seems that UEFA would not object on conflict of interests grounds if City and Girona compete in the Champions League at the same time. It would seem that UEFA look for majority ownership of over 50% before countenancing any issue. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/what-happens-girona-champions-league-man-city-owners-uefa/236ae8681989cb520ebd0f24

I'm sure everyone is aware, but the precarious situation of the club, in terms of playing staff, is quite shocking. Consider that the likes of Bloxham, Atcheson and Gamble who are fairly regularly on the bench these days have no real record even at Rovers U23 level, albeit, they are promising players and may well develop into useful players one day. Gamble, I guess, is the most experienced. As far as I can tell, we don't have any significant talents coming through - those that have showed promise have been decimated by injuries. From what people say, Atcheson has the most potential. To me, it looks like a house of cards that is going to collapse at some point - and that's only from the personnel point of view. The only saving grace will be if there are enough clubs in a worse situation than Rovers. I think we might look back at this period and wonder how we were so high in the league, all things considered. We're in the same zone at the moment that Mowbray was when he had Armstrong, Brereton, Rothwell, Elliott, Harwood-Bellis, Lenihan and Branthwaite in the squad.

Surely a half-decent RB can be found somewhere, within the club on a free to put Hill at CB, where he is more comfortable? Even Nyambe was available earlier in the season (and might be again in January). I would prefer not to bring back Nyambe - and it might be mutual - but someone with a bit of pace and athleticism would help.

Maybe, Damien Duff? He got kicked so much but he just kept getting up and running with the ball. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that he had an issue with a shoulder that got dislocated a couple of times and Chelsea got him to do some judo sessions to try to reduce impact of falls - though not sure if it had any effect.

Türkiye's recent friendly win over Germany looks like a very un-friendly type of game with some great goals and moves. This highlights compilation of the game from Viaplay is so good. Unlike some of the highlights you see, it's not just the goal scoring you get replayed, but the team moves and build up, which makes it infinitely more interesting, I feel. The various camera angles add to it as well - and, perhaps, the absence of any forced commentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlJg-FSDg3Q&t=147s