Well up for this, Sky day pass bought, England about to win T20, can Rovers make it a perfect day?? My heart is well in charge of my head just now, 2-1 Rovers victory coming up!!

If we were to lose Maddison it would hardly be as critical as losing any of those, given he was last name on the squad list. Rees James is far more impactful, and his injury was weeks ago. We're gonna do rubbish anyway, regardless.

I think we should (and will) keep Diaz until summer. Maybe he already has a pre-contract agreement lined up abroad, hence how certain he is he will be here until summer? Venkys won't sell unless everything is right for them. BBD now epitomizes the spirit & morale at this club, he wants to stay on, the fans want him to stay on, JDT wants him to stay on. Making money can't be Venkys motivation behind their ownership in view of them having lost it hand over fist, so it makes no sense to lose such a crucial asset (a la Rothwell, but magnified 10x). It's a risky strategy, no doubt. But on balance that would be the most sensible thing to do. Losing him for £0 in summer sounds mad, but even if we are still in the Championship it doesn't affect FFP too much on my understanding.

Cracking result last night, everyone did their bit, not least all 10 eligible outfield players scoring their penalty. Can only be a good confidence building thing for all concerned. Theres a great article on the website about Szmodics, including a video that he posted that either his family or friends shot from in the stand showing him taking his penalty, clearly big Hammers fans like him, but willing him to score nonetheless!

VAR will be in operation for this one won't it? Another way for us to be shafted I guess!!

Well I guess we'll see more of what they're about tonight because they're almost certain to start, injuries permitting. I could agree that their initial performances have been a little underwhelming, but I wouldn't go further than that at this stage on such a small sample size. Looking back through their careers, they both know generally where the back of the net is, Hirst has size on his side (plus a dad who knew a thing or 2 about scoring), and Vale has shown good awareness and link-up play IMO. Of course, for both of them it's mainly about goals, like all forwards, so let's give them more opportunities to convert chances & see what that does to their confidence.

Sorry to pick you up specifically on this as I know it's a widely held view amongst many on here, but isn't this just a tad premature? They've had the grand total of what, 6 x 90 mins between them in 3 months? Much of which has been 20 mins here, 30 mins there, and often in away performances where generally the team has played poorly anyway? And you're putting them in the same basket as Chris Brown, Joe Nuttall, David Goodwillie, Anthony Stokes, Liam Feeney et al? Give the guys a break, c'mon!

Hahahahahaha!!!!

I'm sure his card is marked by many clubs as one to follow as he just seems to play the game in such a natural way, it's instinctive for him, not practiced. But I think we hold all the cards on this one, which is one of the big pluses of the GB/JDT era for me with the likes of Phillips, Garrett, Batty, Vale, Barnes et al also all being tied up long term.

He's just signed a new contract so we can name our price. Plus as a local boy & fan, he will appreciate being a first teamer here more than being a "who's he?" anywhere else. Of course, if he does well here over the next 18 months & we don't go up we will lose him, but he's young & has a clear pathway to first team football. No way will we lose him in the summer imo.

Queen - Let Me Entertain You https://youtu.be/LmeOC0OTY_Q It has the impressive "duh-duh" intro beat for when the teams are waiting in the tunnel, the explosion into noise as they enter the pitch, and a decent family-friendly first verse to welcome everyone during handshakes. Plus of course it includes the reason we're all there - to be entertained!! The only downside I can see is that the first words are, "Hey, it's a sellout", but we can maybe gloss over that...

It's a shambles of a situation & whilst it doesn't directly affect me, I really feel for fans on both sides who, 2 days prior to scheduled KO, have no idea if, when or where the match will take place. The EFL should be stronger on this & any postponement should result in a forfeiture in our favour, but the difficulty is that to some extent a precedent has already been set in respect of the fiasco earlier in the season re the commonwealth games, which resulted in games being postponed. I know the circumstances are different but I'm sure if we got the 3 points from this both Coventry & the other teams whose games were postponed would appeal. It really is ridiculous on all levels.

I wasn't at the game and am only going off what I read on here (I know, I know!). I'm one of Gally's bigger fans, I think he's massively underappreciated by most on here so I'm pleased that, in your eyes at least, he did his bit.

What a guy!!!

On a side note, there's one young Hull fan who ought to be getting a clip round the ear hole tonight (much like some posters on here probably given the last couple of hours' shenanigans!).

This is a great win, no doubt. It should further breed confidence, and keep momentum going up to THAT game before the WC shutdown. Hull were in decent form, with 2 wins on the bounce going into this game & no shortage of goals scored. So to keep a clean sheet & concede no shots on target is quite a performance. There's no reason to think that's because they were rubbish, the stats suggest it's more likely that we defended very solidly. V happy for Szmodics, he's had a few doubters since he arrived but he's starting to show his true worth to the team. Is that 2 winners he's scored now, plus an assist for another? It sounds as though Dolan & Gally were below par, but can't expect every player to be faultless every week. At the end of the day, despite having 2 key performers this season out (Hedges & Brittain), we still comfortably beat a confident side in their own backyard. JDT clearly has the support of the players, and in turn the rewards for them are tangible. He's been quite clear in stating that he is bothered about the team not individuals, and proven that if players are playing well & can help the team then they will play. I also think JDT is using the squad well, being mindful if some players' inexperience & the physical demands of 2 games every 7 days. He also seems to have the knack of being flexible in his tactical approach, both in prepping for each game & in making one-game changes. I'm really buzzing; Coventry (or Brum, Burton or Northampton!) is certainly another chance if 3 points if we put in a professional performance.

And that's how it should be. All good teams have good keepers who prove their worth in games where the rest of the team aren't firing. I don't think I can recall any successful team that has had a poor keeper.

It saddens me a little how quickly some folk are to write players off completely, particularly young forwards. People are entitled to their opinions of course, but often I feel they're unjustified. Coaching staff & management, who have lived the game all their lives, with not insignificant success in JDT's case & also GB's to a lesser extent, are with these players day in, day out. They have a wealth of info available to them about those players re fitness, confidence, off-field matters, team dynamics & player relationships (to name a few) in order to take a justified view about who may be good enough & who isn't, as opposed to just 90 minutes or less every week or so. They're not always right of course, but must see talent in all those players that make them worth working with & trying to develop. It happened with BBD and Gallagher, even alongside of it being also recognised that they were not being played to their strengths, though I think most people now recognise their abilities and value to the squad. Szmodics then went through it, arguably still is, likewise Dolan. Hirst, Vale & Markanday are definitely current recipients, both being dismissed as not good enough by many on what can only be described as scant evidence in terms of first team experience, despite having excellent records elsewhere and / or at lower levels. We all love the game as a sport, as entertainment, and we all want the best for the club. And like I said, opinions are fine if they can be justified; some are more valid than others, and voicing them on a forum is better than doing so in the ground. But to me many people are way too quick to judge and do so at risk of having to eat humble pie at a later date. Rant over; I'm going for a 2-0 away win, BBD & Gally to get one each.

Lucky me.

I've spotted the deliberate error in the title, what's my prize??

Missed the match as am on holiday. Chuffed with the result, this was always likely to be a tough match given the form Brum have been in. Sounds like it was v similar to the Sunderland game, with a bit more squeaky bum time involved as Brum were better up front than Sunderland. 2-0 is a bit of an Achilles heal for us, probably cos teams think "sod it, might as well go gung ho to get back into the game & risk losing 3-0". Certainly against Sunderland we should've got a 3rd on the break, it seems we were less likely yesterday though. Am pleased for TK, he really is a fine 'keeper at this level and he seems to really feel part of things here. Good, successful teams have good, match winning goalkeepers, end of. Back 3 seemed solid again, save for Hyam being off balance for the goal. Adam Wharton looks like a real bonus, I know there was some noise around him last season when Scott came into the team (iirc Scott said he's not even the best player in his family) but I didn't expect anything as smooth & pleasing on the eye as he is. BBD sounded knackered, but I'm not surprised given the shift he put in on Tuesday. Hopefully he benefits from a free week as we approach the 5 match run to the WC. I'm well chuffed for Gally. I've been a staunch defender of his over the last 2-3 seasons when despite being played wrong, he's been heavily dissed by a large section of our fanbase. Used correctly, and given service, when fully fit he is a proper handful for defenders & has a good goalscoring instinct, as well as a super shot. He's definitely a 15-20 goal a season man if played properly. Joint top going into November is unbelievable, when the team is so young & still finding its feet. There's a huge task to stay there but if we can get to the WC, rest a month & work on shapes & tactics, then strengthen in January I don't see why we can't maintain at least a playoff spot. This time last season we were just recovering from a 0-7 reverse; how times have changed, and long may it continue.

I seem to remember this being said in each season since we came back up, be that carrying on promotion momentum, or having consolidated our Champ status, or having been 2nd in Feb last season. Maybe the best chance will be next season, once JDT has built his own squad? Of course, let's go for it this season though!!

I can't understand your first sentence. We're joint top with a team of kids and lower league journeymen, working under a whole new management team, having won more games than any other team in the division. Considering we're still very much in a transitional process after 5 years of TM, that is (to steal arbitro's word) phenomenal. What a great platform on which to build. Yes we can point to some poor performances and agree they were unacceptable, or to the fact we've lost 7, but to my mind that is part of the learning & transitional process. All good teams put in poor performances & get poor results, but still achieve or exceed their overall goals.

First chance to post on here since Tuesday. Have to say it was a great advert for Championship football. Without being a 9 goal thriller, both teams went at each other with 100% commitment right into the 95th minute, & there was no shortage of ability on show from either side. I think we deserved that win, whether or not there was some controversy over the goals themselves (fwiw I think both were valid but could've gone against us, we've had enough 60/40s go against us to be entitled to some luck). I think that it would be picky to be critical of any Rovers player, who all played their part in a really hard fought win. Standout performances were from Hyam, Morton & Szmodics for me, but credit to everyone. BBD is just a physical beast, the power & strength in his running in injury time testament to his fitness levels, just a shame he couldn't find the finish or final pass.special mentions too to Hedges, Brittain & esp Carter, who I felt had a great debut and didn't look at all out of place. I read some comments on here earlier in the game that he was hiding, I didn't get that impression at all. TK seems back to his best after a bit if a blip, Carter & Wharton were solid, Gally was quiet but still put in a shift & was crucially involved in BBD's goal. I think we all wondered what formation we'd have when the team was announced, but it worked really well. Ok it was "only Sunderland" but I think it shows that JDT and his staff have a good amount of tactical nous about them. The future looks really bright. We started that game with Scott W, Carter & Garrett, finished with Dolan & Vale in addition, with Adam W, Buckley & Phillips unused & the likes of Travis, & Barnes unavailable. That's some credit to our academy, plus 19y/o loanee Morton directing the midfield. Even our older players are under 30 (bar Ayala), and all have plenty of time on their contracts bar BBD & Dack. Whilst there is clearly a long way to go, and some difficult decisions to make off the pitch (northeast the futures of the latter 2 players mentioned), after 16 games we have to recognise we"re in a far better position than we could have expected, and have given ourselves a real springboard for success.

Dack is a shade under 2 years older than Szmodics, but also has 2 v serious recent injuries behind him compared to Szmodics. Plus his contract expires in the summer; if the club is looking to the present & future, then arguably Szmodics has more to offer than Dack does (sadly). As for it being a young squad, whilst in general it is there is still plenty of experience in it, with the likes of Kaminski, Ayala, Hyam, Hedges, Szmodics, Dack, Gallagher. What we don't have is a crop of 30 year olds; we just have Ayala, but we have a good spread of players in their early,, mid & late 20s. I don't mind that, and I don't think losing Dack for his experience alone would be that great a loss (which is not me saying we wouldn't miss his footballing ability).