Ewood Ace

I'm expecting another tight scrappy game with one goal being the difference either way. We need to keep Bowen quiet or his quality will prove the difference, for me he is the best player in the Championship.

Just about got the job done in a very scrappy game between two very ordinary sides. The big difference today was the quality of Danny Graham, why he wasn't starting from game one is something I will never understand. He brought to the table exactly what has been missing a physical presence to hold the ball up, footballing intelligence and most of all a goal. We can spend all we want on strikers and talk about style of play but we are still at our most effective when getting the ball into Danny Graham. I must say though I was still most unimpressed with our fitness levels and a better side would have taken advantage of that. Walton- Not convinced at all by him and he is certainly no upgrade on Raya and I say that as someone who wasn't a fan of Raya. Bennett- Gave the ball to the opposition as much as he did his own team mates. I don't think he has one attribute for a right back where he is better than Nyambe. Lenihan & Williams- Steady and solid against a side that looked void of ideas in the final third. Cunningham- A massive massive improvement on Bell. Travis & Johnson- Did the defensive side of their jobs very well but they need to offer us more going forward. Gallagher- 10/10 for effort but sadly not for quality and that is what you pay the £5 Million for. Downing- He certainly does have quality and impressed again today with his use of the ball. Just a shame that he doesn't have that extra yard of pace. Dack- Not at his best but looked better with Graham up there Graham- I said on here that earlier in the week that I thought after Tuesday Mowbray would go back to Graham and he would be the difference and so it proved. If he is fit he simply has to start.

The thing is though it leaves us with just 3 centre backs 2 of them being Lenihan and Williams who were both a part of those two teams that Mulgrew played in that got relegated and shipped over 60 goals last season.

You spoke too soon.

Walton Nyambe Lenihan Tosin Cunningham Travis Johnson Rothwell Dack Downing Graham Subs: Leutwiler, Williams, Rankin-Costello, Evans, Chapman, Armstrong, Gallagher Got a feeling that we might well win this as they are struggling and I think Mowbray will go back to Dack and Graham who will prove the difference.

Last night showed that the despite spending £12 Million on strikers the only way he will get the results to keep his job is to play the 34 year old that he inherited from Coyle.

You forgot his other claim which is behaving like a court jester on the rare occasion that we win a game

And despite all this we still conceded 2 goals. Of the current squad it doesn't matter who plays there as none of them are up to the required standard and that is due to Mowbray's failings in the transfer market, again.

There can't be a worse pair of full back's in this league than Bennett and Bell.

And then after 8/9 games it will be give him until January. This is not just about this season it is just a continuation of the poor performances that we saw last season. 17 points from out last 19 games says it all.

17 points from out last 19 games. We are a team devoid of ideas in attack, shambolic at the back and are most certainly in a relegation battle. We must act now and get rid of Mowbray.

No plan in transfer market and no plan on the pitch. Mowbray Out!

That must be nearly half the team now playing out of position.

Pointless bringing anyone in on a free as by the time they have gotten up to Tony's fitness standards the January window will be open.

A sign of the shambles that our defence is in with Platt making the bench. Last year he couldn't even make the bench for Stanley so had to go to Southport to play and now he is one injury away from playing in the Championship. Whilst just 2 days ago we let Mulgrew and Magloire go out on loan, crazy.

One game into the season and we have just 2 fit centre backs. Not due to an injury crisis but due to managerial incompetence.

A last hurrah? It was a league game not a testimonial.

If yesterday was planned then why would he start the 1st game of the season & be captain?

I would have started Tosin in his place on Saturday. But the fact that the season hadn't even started and he was playing shows just how light we are. We didn't even have a centre back on the bench yet we let a starting centre back go and bring no one into replace him. As for Williams he is injured as much as he is fit these days anyway, so that leaves us with Tosin (who is unproven) and Lenihan (who is no stranger to injuries himself).

Sadly Bennett still has another season on his contract after this one. And Gladwin is already off the payroll. But my goodness it is a very worrying thought what Mowbray will do having to replace those players along with the 3 loan players and probably Dack.

Defenders are going.

The only players in our squad who haven't had new deals since promotion are Samuel, Bell and Leutwiler.

Yet he started him and made him captain at the weekend. I wouldn't believe a word that Mowbray says, I think he makes it up as he goes along much like how he does his dealings in the transfer market. We have just 3 centre backs, which are were Lenihan who is injury prone, Tosin who has only been here a week and we all know how long Mowbray takes before he trusts someone to start regularly and Williams who is a left back and injury prone. Wigan already have 3 centre backs so he faces similar competition there. It seems that whenever a player leaves or decides not to sign for us the same old excuse of game time is citied as the reason.

I'm very surprised that no one has signed him up because as you say he was very good for Villa last year.

He won't be playing against us as he is on loan.