Ewood Ace

Is that just because he played for Burnley?

Former Rovers defender Callum Davidson has just guided St Johnstone to the Scottish League Cup beating Livingstone in the final today 1-0. The goal was a header from a corner by another former Rovers man Craig Conway. How we have missed his delivery since he has left.

Problem is he'd have been stuck out on the wing.

This is what Mowbray's backers say this but why is he better than Bowyer? Bowyer like Mowbray inherited a poor side in a relegation battle but unlike Mowbray he kept us up. Then he finished 8th and 9th higher than Mowbray has ever guided us and he did it by spending less on players in total than Mowbray has spent on Gallagher alone and he isn't even Mowbray's most expensive signing. If it wasn't for Sheffield Wednesday's points deduction then we would be in a relegation battle. Mowbray has had 4 years and spent what must be getting on for £20 Million and we are only 8 places better off than when he took over. If you gave that sort of time and money to the likes of a Warnock, Pearson, Hughton, McCarthy they'd have got promotion not hanging on for a point at home to Coventry to keep some breathing space from the bottom 3.

Thank goodness for Sheffield Wednesday's points deduction otherwise we would only be 6 points from relegation. It's incredible really all the time and money he has had and we are only 8 places higher than when he took over.

Absolutely pathetic for the third home game in a row we went in with some momentum but for the third game in a row at home we were second best in the second half. Branthwatie and Douglas were both horrendous. Branthwaite wouldn't get a game for Carlisle and if he has any sort of a career at Everton then I would be absolutely amazed. Another clean sheet for Carter at Burton today, I'd much rather he was playing for us because at least if he was making mistakes then we would still benefit from him learning from them in the long term. Douglas is just a terrible player who thinks he's rather good, he reminds me of Bradley Orr. Rothwell was the stand out player for me the only player to show some urgency and drive us forward, so of course shortly after they went down to 10 he was taken off. It was a case of another game another role for Dack, the manager seems clueless as to where to play him and Dack seems confused as to what he is being asked to do. And that probably sums up the players as a whole they seem completely confused as to what the manager is asking them to do

Needed that goal we looked very nervy the first half an hour but that goal looks to have settled us down. Coventry look a poor side if we can get one early in the second half then it should be a comfortable second half.

Travis' progress has been stunted the last year to 18 months. When he first came into the side he was a breath of fresh air, he looked a good footballer, he was very comfortable on the ball, looked to play progressive forward passes and would get stuck in as well. Now like quite a few players before him that progressive side of him has been drained out of him by Mowbray and on the ball now he is very safe and conservative just like the Smallwood and Evans pairing that Mowbray used to love. Also Travis seems more interested in trying to get opposition players riled up and booked than he does playing football.

He probably thinks he is deserving of a Premiership job. But these days a manager like Hughes who is British and plays pragmatic football rarely gets a Premier League job. And for some reason there seems to be a bit rewriting of history and Hughes has been painted as bad manager.

Mark Hughes over the last few years for some reason has gained a reputation as a failure but honestly for me that is very harsh, in a full season he has only once finished outside the top half. We all know what an excellent job he did of course did at Rovers but since then his record is still very respectable. At City he had to deal with the take over happening in his first season where he finished 10th which at the time was a respectable finish for then the following year he was sacked with them finishing 5th in the league. Also at City he signed 2 stalwarts of their successes to come in Zabaleta and Kompany. At Fulham he had one season where he finished 8th which is Fulham's second highest ever finish in the Premiership. At QPR he took them over in a relegation battle and kept them up. The following season didn't go well and was probably the first real struggle of his career but things got no better there when Redknapp went in. At Stoke he had 3 successive 9th place finishes and then a 13th placed finish. The following season he left with them in a relegation battle, he more than likely would have saved them given his record and what has happened to them since sacking him shows that the decision was probably a mistake. Even in his last job at Southampton he took on a team in a relegation battle that had just 1 win in 17 and he kept them up, then he was sacked early into the following season. I think that any Championship club would be extremely lucky to have Mark Hughes as manager.

Did the job they needed to do they took over a club who were one from bottom with just 1 point on the board and guided them to an 18th place finish.

First Joe Lewis is in his 80's and secondly Spurs have just built a state of the art 60,000+ capacity stadium. Meanwhile we are selling of the training ground for housing. They quite clearly don't care the only reason they keep funding the club is pride and to save losing face.

Second game in a row yesterday he's said that Armstrong has looked a Premier League player yet when he was playing better earlier in the season he said he wasn't ready for it yet. Seems to me as if there isn't much interest in Armstrong so Mowbray is trying to drum some up by talking him up.

You certainly have a lower threshold for the word great than me.

You'd struggle to name 5 great ones by Mowbray.

The most and probably only sensible thing that Mowbray has said in the last few months is that centre back is a man's position. So what did he do he signed two teenagers on loan who are hopelessly out of their depth, I'd rather use the likes of Magloire and Carter at least we could benefit in the long run from their mistakes. Branthwaite in particular was rancid tonight, I doubt he'd get a game for Carlisle so what the hell is he doing lining up for a team who are supposedly aiming for top 6 in the 2nd tier. Barry Douglas must be embarrassed to call himself a professional footballer tonight, he was utterly pitiful. How he lasted the duration is beyond me also. Also though why did we line up to match Barnsley but we didn't do anything such as doubling up to counter Sarr one of the best players in the league who has already torn us apart once this season. Nyambe the only defender who could hold his head high tonight there was one fantastic piece of covering one on one defending with Sarr. Travis and Evans both a disgrace to the shirt as well, Will Hughes bossed the pair of them. I'd forgotten Evans was playing until the commentator mentioned his name in the 2nd half. As for Travis he was constantly caught dawdling on the ball and to think a few weeks ago he was going to be our saviour. Travis is a great example of what Mowbray does with players he takes that exciting spark out of them, he used to be a progressive player who would get his head up and move the ball forward now he's more of a Richie Smallwood ponderous on the ball and just goes sideways or backwards. Rothwell was by far the best of the midfield tonight and shouldn't have been subbed. Elliott excellent when out on the right. We are failing to play to Armstrong's strengths. As for putting Dack out wide another ridiculous decision, what is his obsession with with playing players out wide who aren't wide men and never will be. Nice to see a goal from a set piece why oh why when Downing is on does he not take all the set pieces and just put them in the mixer rather than letting Elliott take them or even worse messing about with short ones. Five defeats in a row for the first time since Kean, when your equalling his kind of records then your time is well and truly up. Lose on Saturday and we will somehow find ourselves in the midst of a relegation battle.

The big worry is if he is still here this time next year (and I fear he will be) then I think that question might be a much more difficult one to answer.

Sounds like he was his usual charming self at the press conference. Rather than acting like a spoilt petulant child he ought to think himself lucky he gets such an easy ride from the press. Someone like Steve Bruce is questioned every week about his position, Mowbray get's easy questions and responds with insulting nonsense that they just lap up.

Nigel Pearson and Joey Barton managing in the same City, well at least it ought to make the local sports reports down here entertaining.

Joe Hilton on the bench for Ross tonight live on Sky. Seems like a completely pointless loan spell sending him all the way up there just to sit on the bench every week. Do we not do any due diligence when we send our players out on loan because too often our players go out on loan and just sit on the bench. As Hilton, Vale and Grayson are all doing now and as Brennan did earlier in the season.

When we have owners at the club who actually care about the club and have it's best interests at heart.

One of the things that most players mention when they sign is the facilities. Also if our facilities were really outdated then I doubt Man City and Liverpool would be allowing their youngsters to come on loan here.

But is not local owners doing it it is the owners who over the last decade have reduced the club to a shadow of its former self. Since Waggott has turned up nothing has been state of art everything has been on the cheap. And all this is before you even get into what has happened at Coventry previously.

I think Coady only even get's into consideration if you are going to play a back 5/3. I don't think he looks very good in a 4.

And nor do the owners (despite the lies they told) which is why they have taken us from mid table of the Premiership, to mid table in the Championship via League 1. We were a model club a decade or so ago now we are a debt ridden rabble, selling off the training ground to try and make a quick buck.