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

Morton played well in the parts of the Eng U21 v NI U21 match I saw yesterday but it was very one-sided with NI not having a single shot on target - and barely able to make three consecutive passes. Morton played the holding role, and stroked the ball about comfortably and took his strike through a crowded box well. However, it really was no test and he wasn't made to work defensively. Harvey Elliott looked very good, albeit, I think forcing things too often with long passes and dropping deep. It is remarkable to think, once again, that Elliott was not always selected by Mowbray and when he was, it was as a winger/forward. Moreover, we couldn't make the play-offs with Armstrong, Brereton-Diaz (was he Diaz at that time), Rothwell and Elliott. We had Harwood-Bellis in defence alongside Lenihan, as well.

Watching the England U21s play NI, I do wonder if a trough might be coming in terms of England talent in some areas. Tyler Morton and Hayden Hackney are in midfield, with Harvey Elliott, and the former two are tidy players (Morton's got a decent goal) and dominating this game but, I'm not sure if they're exceptional standard. Could go some way to explaining why Phillips and Henderson are England regulars. England's upcoming striker options don't seem too impressive at the moment, either, though, as with all these players, the likes ofJay Stansfield, who is playing today, have time on their side. Harvey Elliott looks the pick and will surely be an England player, albeit, in this game, he seems to be searching for the ball a lot, rather than space. Noni Madueke, the Chelsea winger, is also looking impressive.

Pelly Mpanzu has been with Luton since their conference days in 2014. I suspect in yesteryear, he'd be better known, when players were treated less like commodities and, frankly, when there were less games. I'm sure the feeling's mutual. I would guess, in the past, Prem fans would be able to recall more names of Championship players or lower league players than they would now. Just a guess.

That decision in itself is a political one which much of the football world claims to operate under. So it's quite false that football is being kept out of politics, it's just a matter of being silent about it. That is, until it is sanctioned by the state, officially or unofficially, to speak about it and everyone knows they're not going to be punished for it. E.g. It's quite acceptable to talk about the FA's ban on women's football and the movement for equality in this aspect of the modern game, even though, this is a political stance.

No Eastham, Haddow or Cirino? Stricter age rules or injuries? Saadi has gone out on loan to Marine and had hardly played this campaign. Was he sidelined because he had no future at the club or was he also injured? It seems the youngsters need all the help they can get. New recruits wouldn't go amiss. We're conceding a lot at this level with Atcheson and Gamble in defence and they are Rovers' back up first teamers, which is a concern.

You might have seen that clip from a press conference when Pochettino was asked about Malang Sarr and an English youth player at the club and he didn't recognise the names. Sarr is a French U21 player has been with the club for three years and played 8 games, according to Wikipedia, and been on loan three times.

Random talking point... but from the starting line-up that won us the Worthington Cup in 2001, I make it that the players not to go into management are Martin Taylor, Keith Gillespie and Andy Cole. Though, Cole has done some coaching. We also beat Barcelona in a friendly that year, with their team including the likes of Kluivert, Geovanni, Overmars, Xavi and Puyol. Those were the days.

The quality is great but the grotesque inequality and the people behind the clubs turning it into a close shop is something I find hard to forget. We are meant to forget that Roman Abramovich, Russian oligarch and funder of Palestinian home dispossession in Israel (see BBC documentary on Elad) is the modern 'builder' of Chelsea FC. And, we are to forget the US financiers and Middle Eastern dictatorships. No politics in football, goes the mantra, but football is definitely in politics, and you can't see it because no-one talks about it. However, as long as players like Bernardo Silva are playing in the Premier League, I'll still follow it. The quality is definitely impressive, even if the style and tactics have become somewhat homogenous.

Didn't Leicester win the Prem mostly playing 4-4-2? Whatever the formation, I do feel that someone like Gallagher or Leonard, who might be rough at the edges, would really benefit from playing closer to another player, be it an attacking midfielder or a striker. Without being nostalgic and idealising the past, two forwards meant those two players had to work more closely in a partnership, I feel. So, I think, you would see more inventiveness and coordination. And, you might see two very different style of player working together and bringing the best out of each other. There's no reason why it shouldn't also happen in a three, albeit, they are spatially further apart, usually, but I haven't see it, I don't think.

Sorry if discussed before, but am late to see the news that the top tiers of women's game will be, I think, handed on from The FA to a new entity called Newco. I know very little about this and just wondered what others thought or knew. I saw that an official from Rovers were positive about the news. A recent Guardian article by Suzanne Wrack sounds a note of warning that it could fuel increased financial inequality between leagues. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/18/wsl-plan-womens-super-league-football

The gulf is incredible. Chelsea’s third string, loaned out players included, would beat our first, I would guess. I don’t know if everyone is aware of the chasm that is accelerating and how terrible it is for the game.

I guess if Sheff Wed fail to pay any loan fees then the contract is breached and Buckley returns by default. Though, not sure if there's any issue with him playing for Rovers straight away under EFL rules. One thing that has puzzled me about the Buckley move was that, from quotes I saw from Buckley and, I think, Barry Bannan, it was the latter who recommended Buckley to the Sheff Wed hierarchy. I read an interview with Buckley in which he talks about knowing Bannan prior to the move. It's not inconceivable that they have some connection as friends or family but it made me curious. According to Transfermarkt.co.uk, they're both on the books of the agents, SMI Sports, so, perhaps, part of the connection arises there. Overall, it seems a strange move from Sheff Wed, seeing as Buckley, for all his talent and frustrating potential, he's not someone you'd put forward for a relegation scrap and with Bannan there as the midfield creator, he was always going to be a deputy at best - though, they have tried him in wider positions. The loan bonus concept does surprise me... I wonder if it is a substitute for performance-related bonuses the player would likely have got?

Harwood-Bellis, Branthwaite, van Hecke, Tosin Adarabioyo - defenders seem to go on to better things once going through a loan at Rovers. Although Branthwaite wasn't good for us, the choices have been pretty good, which hasn't been quite the same with other positions in the team.