You can't recall a player once the window has shut and if he played for his loan club he couldn't play for us anyway as he would have already played for 2 teams in a season. I'd take Chapman on loan but I certainly wouldn't be spending money and committing to a contract. He's hardly played any football for more than year, his pace is his big attribute and after numerous hamstring injuries at least some of that pace is going to have gone. There is no doubt that we need a pacey winger the 3 players I have said before that I would be looking at would be Hunter at Fleetwood, Lowe at Portsmouth or Dembele at Peterborough.

I really don't get why he is so reluctant to sign from abroad. He seems like a manager who in the transfer market is a few years behind his contemporaries as over the last few years there have been a lot of players who have come from abroad and adapted very well to the Championship and many have offered much better value than their British counterparts. Also if a player does come in from abroad in January but doesn't have an immediate impact you can still get him in during January and integrate him into the team, he gets to know his team mates, adapt to a new country, get up to speed with a new league and by pre season he is well integrated and ready to make an impact come August. A rather short term outlook from Mowbray in contrast to how he has previously spoken.

If Rovers are spending £7 Million on a young forward then that is a high risk signing. But that is pure speculation do you really think that a man of Mowbray's integrity would stomach being told what type of signings to make by the owners? I don't I have no doubt that Brereton is Mowbray's signing but because so far he has been a flop people seem desperate to absolve Mowbray of making the signing and do the easy thing which is pin the blame on the owners.

Once the window closes you cannot recall a player.

No point rushing? We've needed a high quality centre half for years now. If it really is all about next season then we are going to need to have lot of players going out and a lot coming in during the summer. Why has Charlie been out of the team though? Because far from the first time this season has hasn't been fit to play, Rodwell isn't exactly the most reliable in terms of fitness either which means we could be lining up with Williams at centre back for games for a number of games and he is worse at centre back than at left back. Look at our defence against Newcastle when Rodwell and Mulgrew were both missing, shocking. Also why does the centre back we bring in have to be 4th or 5th choice, why not bring in someone who is better than what we have? I mean our defence isn't exactly rock solid is it. Why not look at someone to be our 1st or 2nd choice centre back who will improve us as a team? The key question is what do we want to try and achieve this season, as we are only 7 points from the play offs (and it should be even less) do we want to have a real go for them or as we are near enough safe already do we want to just have the season peter out with a mid table to bottom half finish? If we want to have a go for the play offs then we need to bring another centre back but if we are happy to plod along in mid table then stick with what we have.

I think it came in this season because there is no loan window now like there used to be. So now a player can only be recalled during a transfer window.

Once the window shuts I believe that you cannot recall a player.

He's a one-off alright.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/17382796.mowbray-on-whether-rovers-will-add-a-defender-in-January/ "Where do you get someone who’s better than the four (centre backs) we’ve got and someone who would sit as fifth centre half? That is really difficult." I find that an incredible comment from Mowbray if he can't find a better alternative to Williams then he'd just as well chuck in now. Rodwell and Mulgrew aren't exactly the most reliable in terms of fitness. Also the fact that we have the worst defence in the entire top half (by some way) suggests we need to improve our defence, so rather than looking for a fifth centre half look for someone who is going to be your number 1 or 2 centre back. Mowbray whole approach seems to be we have a good group of lads and he's going to back them whatever. He seems to have no interest in improving the team from the team that got promoted, every time he talks about signings he says something along the lines of where are you going to get better than what we have. Well that is his and the scouting departments job to find out and if you keep taking that attitude the club will go backwards as other sides will sign players that improve their team and overtake us. Downing and Palmer gone and no incomings our squad is weaker than it was at the start of the month.

I don't know about feeling stung by the deal but I reckon we're feeling skint by it.

If we are serious about trying for top 6 then we will bring in a centre back, if we are happy with the season petering out with a mid table finish then we will go with what we have. I don't see Williams as a viable option at centre back particularly for a side looking towards top 6, so that leaves us with Lenihan, Mulgrew and Rodwell. In Mulgrew and Rodwell you have two players who are both prone to knocks that can keep them out for a few weeks at a time. And the fact that Downing has played and been on the bench this season shows that we are now a central defender light.

Hope that Wharton gets a lot more game time at Bury, if he's going to have a chance of making it here he needs to. Bury 2nd in the league won't be an easy team to break into.

Raya Nyambe Lenihan Rodwell Bell Reed Travis Armstrong Dack Rothwell Graham Subs: Leutwiler, Mulgrew, Williams, Evans, Bennett, Conway, Nuttall

A strange decision to loan Hart out if we were intending to give him a new contract. Surely it would have been worth keeping him about and giving him a few games to see if he is up to this level with a view to next season and its not as though we are blessed with quality at left back. I suppose one benefit of a new deal is that if he does well enough at Southend we may look to sell him to a League 1 club in the summer for a small profit.

You'd expect a good striker to hit the target and certainly not put it out for a throw. As for Graham doing it one he didn't and I don't think that he would but the big difference is if Graham did it he still has 9 league goals this season and has been one of our best players, whereas Brereton has done nothing when he's played and is still yet to score after an expensive transfer. That chance was a very good opportunity to break his duck but he badly fluffed his lines. Youth games are completely different to Championship football. I've lost count of how many players over the years have looked to have great ability at youth level only to go on and do little in their career. You can't compare youth football to Championship football, for example if he played yesterday he wouldn't have encountered a centre back with the experience and strength of a James Collins at youth level.

He didn't look a finisher against Newcastle when he had a great chance from 6-7 yards out and put it out for a throw. I'd expect a finisher to have at the very least hit the target.

First half absolutely dire as usual at Ewood. Second half was decent although it wasn't going to take much to dispatch a very poor Ipswich team. Raya- Fine on shot stopping but a silly mix up with Bennett could have given Ipswich a lifeline back into the game just as his mistake did against Birmingham. Bennett- Good going forward, less good in defence. Not a full back, if he plays then it should be further forward. Lenihan- Appears to thrive in the leading the back line in the absence Mulgrew. Rodwell-Calm and composed, showed his premier league class. Bell-Steady, which is probably about as good as it gets for him. Evans- Was one of our best players during the first 4 months of the season but the last month or so he has gone back to the Evans of old. Ineffective Travis-Good again, plenty of energy and a threat in attack. Reed- Struggles in a wide role in games like today where we need to be attacking and on the front foot. He's good enough out there against side's where we want some more defensive solidity but games like today he looks a central midfielder being played out of position. Dack-Didn't quite come of for him today but plenty of endeavour. Armstrong- Playing his best football since last February/March. They couldn't cope with his pace and nice to see a real end product with him the last few games. Graham-A quite game from him no doubt feeling the affects of mid week but nevertheless put the penalty away when it was starting to look like one of those days. Subs: Rothwell- Showed again what a tremendous footballer he has the potential to be. I said the other day on here i thought his best position would be wide left and he certainly impressed there today. A run of games and i think he will only get better. Nuttall-No question about it he is now our 2nd choice striker. Like all good strikers in the right place at the right time again.

Petty beyond belief.

I don't think he ever played a game for us.

Personally I think he's best wide on the left. He has the skill and pace to beat a man on the outside and he would also be able to come inside on his right foot and link up with Dack

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/17366433.tony-mowbray-on-the-difficulties-of-strengthening-in-January/ Some comments here from Mowbray that worry me. He says "I wouldn’t want the fans to think we are going to sign three players who are going to play up front, in midfield and one at the back and be better than Mulgrew, Evans, Reed or Smallwood, or better than Dack or Graham, because I like the team." Whilst it may not be possible to get anyone as good as Graham we certainly need someone who is capable of doing Graham's job when he is not on the pitch. Also rather worrying that he singles out Smallwood and Evans because I would say if we want to progress from mid table then we need to improve on those two in central midfield, hopefully Mowbray will see Travis as one of those upgrades. He also says "Reedy can play central midfield, he can play wide right, wide left, or right back, and we’ve also got Nyambe and Bennett who can play that." It's not a case of Reedy can play central midfield he is by head and shoulders our best central midfielder disappointing that Mowbray doesn't see that but see him as more a utility player. If that is how he views Reed I would say Reed is unlikely to want a permanent stay. As for him saying Bennett can play right back I think its clear to everyone that he is not good enough to play right back yet after numerous poor performances there this season Mowbray still can't see that.

At least he's capable of beating a player look at the alternatives to him out wide Bennett, Conway, Brereton, Reed how often do you see any of them beat a plyer. Saturday will be an ideal game for Rothwell Ipswich are going to sit back so we could do with some with a bit of attacking invention to break them down.

Raya Nyambe Lenihan Mulgrew Bell Reed Travis Armstrong Dack Rothwell Nuttall Subs: Leutwiler, (whatever 2 defenders are fit), Evans, Bennett, Graham, Butterworth

Most the comments I see about Brereton are more gallows humour than anything. We can all see that we've over paid on someone who looks awful all you can do is have a sense of humour about it because if you sat and thought about how that money could have been spent you would only depress yourself.

I hope not he's no way near the required level. Last night he was a bit embarrassing when he came on well of the pace and looked knackered after 10 minutes, I'd rather see someone from the under 23's given a chance than him plodding up and down the wing.