There could well have been financial imperatives to it but letting Palmer and Delap go is increasingly looking like something like (but not on the level) of Mourinho letting Salah and De Bruyne go at Chelsea. (Again, don't know the precise reasons that they went). Away from any financial issues that might've affected player dealing, my complete guess is that Guardiola is not being challenged by pragmatic voices at the club. He wants cosmopolitan aesthetes but also needs rugged players, which he seems to overlook often. Moreover, just maybe, the thrall of negative possession football is waning, and his team are being challenged with more direct football these days. The paradox of Guardiola teams, I think, is that they are based on his rigid collectivist vision and micromanagement - but the times they come alive, is when players like De Bruyne or Foden, have got into a roll and started to express themselves as individuals. There is a balance to a system and individualism and my guess is that City have got lost. But, of course, because of the players they have - and the manager - they will surely bounce back with avengeance.

If England were genuine about winning trophies the media would pay attention to the U21s and other youth levels a lot more. That's the stepping stone for many players and where the winning ability and mentality is developed - though, admittedly, the best few will by-pass it. England U21 just drew 0-0 in Spain and, it seems from highlights and reports, got battered. The result could have been 6-2, with England not hitting the target once and Spain fluffing many chances. And the FA's title for their Youtube video highlights? "Jobe impresses on first start". It's all very well paying eye-watering sums for managers of the national team, but most of the work is at the lower levels.

Dredging this up again as I noticed Ayari starting for Sweden again. He's had some starts for Brighton too, though, probably is going to be a squad player this season. Also, noticed the other day that Ben Chrisene made an England U21 appearance. Thinking back to Branthwaite, Clarkson, Harwood-Bellis (he was decent, I think, for Rovers) and others, it does seem that a lot of the times Rovers are paying for the 'privilege' to develop Premier League players for relatively little if any gain for the club. Fortunately, Owen Beck has been a success story, as loans go (thus far, because if Liverpool are still flying high, I can see them trying to recall him). It would be more palatable if we were getting comparable benefits with our outgoing loans. In most cases not, though Markanday is doing well and adding a bit of value as an asset, if nothing else - and Gent's loan success earned the club a fee. The system looks very flawed - with relative added value skewed hugely to the Premier League clubs. No doubt, Beck's transfer value will rise a lot if he finishes the season with us as player of the season. Rovers are surviving by loan patch-ups - and will do more so as our academy pipeline looks like its drying up. However, we need to have a longer term outlook. If we get a Chrisene on loan and he looks promising, we need to consider signing him up permanently and retaining and growing the value we've added. It's tough to compete for Prem players, but I think there'll be cases where it can be done, if there was a will.

Given what the handball rule looks like now, it seems that smashing free kicks and, perhaps, in other attacking situations, straight at defenders might be more fruitful than anything else. Northern Ireland won a penalty as a Belarus defender in the wall instinctively tried to protect himself - it seemed to me. On another point, looking at the highlights, it seems Scotland and Rep Ireland had some joy with traditional wing play, with Ben Doak and Mikey Johnstone running at the full back. Looks like it’s coming back into fashion after all.

George Gent looks to have done well with his move. Had a difficult start but is now one of Barnsley's best players, from what I've read.

I think it's a shame for Buckley, on a personal note, to not play. He might have passed rings around the 17 year olds and got a trial at Athletic Bilbao. At this point, it seems only a move to a slower paced league might bring the best out of him.

From what I have followed, which admittedly is far from thorough, Markanday’s performances are being misunderstood. He’s doing well and improving - holding down a first team spot and getting some goals, but he’s not blowing away the league yet. This is a league where Tyler Magloire (all credit to him for what he’s doing) can be a starter, before his terrible knee injury.

Back when Rovers closed their official fan message board, I seem to remember emerging social media was given as an alternative by the marketing/web team.

Aren’t these games perfect for the education and development of our best youngsters, to match up against opponents from probably the world’s elite nation in youth football? Why are Buckley and Baker in there? And would it serve Montgomery and Edmondson to be there (fog permitting) than away in non-league? Seems self-defeating to me. Edit: Match abandoned!

That’s Buckley’s game too but sadly doesn’t seem to have the mentality to apply it, for whatever reason.

Fair point, you could argue, also, that extra-time and pens is the best bet for a cup upset, rather than a replay. Though, I do feel 5 subs (rather than 3) gives teams with better squads a greater advantage, especially in extra-time. To me, replays gave smaller clubs greater representation in the game, reminding us all where the roots of the game lie.

Sad to see no FA Cup replays any more from 1st round onwards. Weston-super-mare would’ve taken Bristol Rovers back to their ground in yesteryear, as it was a draw today, but under new rules, Rovers went on to beat the semi-pros in extra-time. The replays were removed to free up spaces for the expanded European tournaments at request of Premier League. Not much else to be said, except that the heritage of domestic football and lower leagues are under serious threat.

Maybe, Mike Sheron should ‘get out there’ too and stop waiting around for relegation/jeopardy-free U21 fixtures? In all seriousness, it has some logic but not, in my opinion, the scattergun manner occurring now. More reasonably, some planning takes place and a select group are sent out early for a whole campaign away - with time to adapt. The remainder stay behind to build a team unity and grow together at U21s. Then, in January, you revisit. I await examples, beyond the anomaly of David Raya, of a player showing serious improvement or added value after a spell in the national league/confernce. I don’t doubt it’s useful for an Eastham or Saadi who’s leaving. And maybe it could be so for a player who has a whole season to adapt and gain experience. Edit: Beyond this point, there’s not much signs of the levels of serious talent seen before on the conveyor belt - though there’s hopes for a few and Duru and Tyjon are on the fringes. The club are surviving off academy graduates and if that dries up, the future looks bleaker. Moreover, none of the new U21s recruits are making too much of an impact, though, again it’s still early for them.

"We took the final decision [on Wharton], he will have surgery. He tried [training] but the pain is too much and then it makes no sense. He has really struggled in the last weeks and months."

Selling McTominay seemed like an attempt to undermine the manager by the upper echelons. Never the most popular, but a very useful player to have around. It’s a different era but Utd have forgotten that players like Nicky Butt and P. Neville emerged as integral squad players and McTominay seems like a better player than them.

Without knowing the details of the injury, but the fact they know he needs surgery but are delaying it just highlights a paradox of professional football. Investing huge sums at every level on players (down to schoolboys) and their health but still relying on injured players in their first team. Wharton has been poor to average the past few months and they surely would not lose anything by playing Kamada or someone else. Perhaps, the league is more competitive now and that is why, but I recall Alex Ferguson getting tunes out of the likes of John Curtis, Luke Chadwick and the like when his regulars were absent. A different less competitive era but there seems like no room for giving such players a chance these days. Guardiola, in his wisdom, prefers two goalkeepers on the bench than have a reserve youngster take another spot.

I have no experience in footballer youth development but the argument that any men's football at, seemingly, any time in the season, is beneficial leads me to wonder why Premier League clubs don't send their youngsters to non-league on a regular basis to toughen them up? In fact, as I understand it, they try to match their best young players with the highest standard possible and teams that play the 'right way' for their charge's development. Or so they say. Ultimately, however, a basic requirement, I think, for a player's development is stability. So, if they do go on loan, whatever the level, they need enough time to adapt and gain experience. That need for stability also applies to the U23s team. The approach at the moment seems too scatter-gun and unstable for me..

Whoever invests in a club, majority fan ownership, as I believe is common in Germany, is essential. I don't know in any detail but the top flights in Germany have the 50+1 rule, meaning fan members must have a majority stake, whether it is the parent or subsidiary company running the club. This has, from what I read, helped keep clubs financially stable and, I believe, ticket costs relatively low. I'm sure there's issues, such as making it harder to compete financially with other leagues. That said, in the UK, the genie is definitely out of the bottle.

It understandably hurts pride to know that this major football nation can’t produce a decent coach or two. (Let alone a well functioning team) and needs to turn to a sporting rival. But I’d advise all to consider that the British game is literally being bought up by US investors, in particular, even to point of Women’s Championship sides and EFL. It’s a takeover occurring throughout the economy, but this is the real threat (not the nationalities but the values) to the national game as these billionaires and corporations are generally far removed from the fan. Owners in English football - a list which might not be wholly updated; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_owners_of_English_football_clubs

The bigger concerns for England fans should be the growing financial disparity in the game and the declining English players at the top level. From a Guardian article March last year: "On more than one Premier League weekend of late, only 28% of starting players have been eligible for England – the lowest ever number. More generally it has been about 32%." https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/16/gareth-southgate-fears-successor-will-face-shortage-of-english-players There’s a balance to be struck, with overseas players raising levels, at the same time, if smaller clubs want to compete with the oligarch clubs, they’re more likely to bring in an experienced players than take a risk on giving young players a chance. And an experienced player from abroad will probably be cheaper than here.

I actually think Lampard could've been a good option for England - and maybe one day will be. Just a hunch. He did fairly well, I think, in his first Chelsea stint, and brought through a number of their best youngsters when they had transfer difficulties. His CV, admittedly, is not too good since. I think Tuchel will start well - immediately commanding the respect of the players through his reputation. How it will pan out, however, is anyone's guess. England managers have found it difficult to build a team unity and tactical set-up. I would really like the England national manager to have a role in the FA"s youth programme. We need a longer-term vision that sees the youth players as being the seniors of the future. Moreover, if, as I believe other countries do, youth squads rise up the ranks together, they might have the unity and tactical know-how to win tournaments inculcated in them already. So, the national manager doesn't have to start from scratch with his squad.

Possibly reference to Ryo Germain who was linked with Rovers, though don't think he's in the Japan squad. Not sure. Incidentally, looking up the Ohashi deal, I see that the Home Office relaxed post-Brexit rules for player signings. There's a points-based work permit, after Brexit, for all players - including EU - based on club appearances and international games. Now, however, clubs can sign 4 players who don't meet the work permit requirements but meet a lower threshold, such as five appearances in a domestic senior competition or certain youth appearances. It's a major change, it seems to me, but I've not heard it discussed. No politics in football, of course.

Gerrard and Lampard job-share? The more I think about it, what really matters, I think, is getting the youth set-up right, up to U21s, in particular. If England are regularly winning at these levels, it will translate to the seniors. There's been a lot of catch-up as England players can play possession football now. But, they need to find a way to implement possession football according to their strengths. In the recent Euros, with Phillips & Henderson in the middle with Sterling leading the charge, attack-minded full backs, they seemed to be edging very cautiously towards finding a style under Southgate but it's all unraveled, it seems. I think a lot of players and managers are caught in two minds in the modern game. Possession is God - but creating a chance requires taking risks and possibly losing the ball.

Jake Batty's loan to Accrington came just in time, it seems, as he seemed to be struggling to impress in the U21s. Perhaps, he was going stale after bursting on the scene, having injuries and losing form.

He may have played one game for Rovers but a record held by former Rovers reserve forward, Gary Hamilton, is that he once scored 6 goals in a game for Glentoran in 2004 - which, I read, is a modern record in NI topflight. He gives a bit of background to his career, including his time at Rovers in this interview: https://cmfootballwriting.com/2024/09/11/exclusive-gary-hamilton-on-blackburn-rovers-irish-league-playing-days-and-northern-ireland/