Liam Delap at Stoke is 19, he turns 20 in February. Tommy Doyle at Sheff Utd is 20, he turns 21 next week. James McAtee at Sheff Utd is 19, he turns 20 next week. I think my point stands!

Not sure if I'm included in this or not, as I admit I have been a bit more vocal these last few days in calling out what I perceive to be unfair or exaggerated opinions, which I know will rub some people up the wrong way! But like those posters, I'll call it as I see it when I have time to post on here, will always be able to justify my comments with evidence, and am always happy to engage in healthy discussion that plays the ball, not the man. I just want to clarify also that in no way do I diss the match-going support which overall is as supportive of our young team as possible (besides some of my fellow Riversiders, who are a tough crowd to please!); my only wish there is that there were more of us!

I think that slightly undersells us though, given we had a 17y/o CB & several 18 yr olds in the team too, with one other in the senior squad. Not only that, from what I've read we thoroughly deserved the win, on table-topping City's own patch. No mean feat I'd say.

The run the U21s are on atm seems to have snuck under the radar a bit on here. That's 4 wins in a row isn't it, after a poor start? Rovers 9 Manchester 1 so far this season, quality stuff! I know some will say their best youngsters are out on loan, but many of ours are injured / coming back from injury or with the first team, & aside from Edun, Buckley & Vale, the other players were all on the younger side I think. I don't know if JDT's use of the games to give a couple of senior players some game time when rotating is a factor, but it doesn't seem to be doing them any harm. If it also pays dividends by keeping rotatable first teamers fit & sharp then it's win win for the club.

Me too, I was v surprised when he was named in the first 11 at Palace, but he never looked back from there. But that's my point, he was persisted with & flourished. Hopefully Szmodics is given the chance to do the same as he clearly has ability given his hero status at Peterboro (much like Dack was at Gillingham).

I'm not sure that was the general consensus actually, though it was certainly the opinion of some. Most people (I would argue those less prone to exaggeration or hyperbole) were of the view that he deserved more time & opportunities to show us what he is capable of doing. Thankfully JDT doesn't seem to be someone who gives up on a player after a couple of appearances. Tim Sherwood wouldn't have had a chance with some of you!!

You've not looked at the table much recently then... they're now 17th, but if they'd won they'd have leapfrogged us, who are now 3 points off top. Give the bloke a chance, and some credit. He came in 7 games ago, scored on debut, then suffered a concussion on his 2nd appearance, then yesterday got a goal & a quality assist. It's like saying, "Apart from scoring 7 goals in 13 apps, BBDs done jack shit."

Fair enough, I didn't see it as I can't get to away matches & don't have sky. But even though it was a poor performance and folk are entitled to call it out, it didn't warrant the extended OTT conclusions that many came out with. We are so early into JDT's reign, with a young squad, trying new things with many players barely half a dozen games into their careers here. It's bound to be bumpy and there will be bad choices made by players & staff (as pointed out by JDT yesterday), but to me that's just natural. Anyway, I've probably taken this as far as I should for now & don't want to come across as a kill joy! I think we can all agree that we're in a decent position from which build. Szmodics comments after yesterday re everyone buying into his thought processes (esp his use of the U21s games) is good to see, esp with the U21s being 2 up v the Mancs this season! What would make this better is Dack being more involved. Whatever the reason, JDT can point to us being in striking distance of the top to justify his decisions but it would be great to see Dack get more of a chance to be influential from here. A goal @ Wigan would be just the tonic for him & us.

I've just seen the highlights, I think it would've been a straight red & penalty had there not been another defender level with the offender, and also Morton was going slightly away from goal. There was clearly no attempt by the offender to get the ball, but a yellow & pen was probably right. Can only repeat what others have said re the quality passing involved in all 3 goals, they were all firm, positive, incisive periods of passing into players making good runs ahead of the player in possession, which is how i think we all want the game to be played. If we can find that type of control in possession more consistently we will be a handful for anyone.

Fair comment, perhaps my selection of the cardiff game as a comparator was also a bit misleading, but it was the most recent & "in the mind" example. Like you say though, the point is still a valid one. It's strange to me because clearly most folk on here are knowledgeable, dyed in the wool types who are clearly passionate about the club and therefore know & have experience of the ups & downs of the game, so to go so overboard during / following a defeat or poor performance runs contrary to that. Someone above said, "after a poor run of form, all of a sudden we're 3 points from top". I don't class 7W 6L as a poor run of form, and don't think we've ever been lower than 8th or 6 points off top. I guess all I'm hoping for in future is that credit should be handed out as fairly as criticism, and players (like Szmodics), GB & JDT need to be given time to show us what we can do. We're in the best position as a club that we've been in for a decade; let's hope we can push on, starting with a win on Tuesday to break this bizarre run of results!

I've not read beyond this post yet so maybe this point has been made, but I don't think that's truly representative & is very misleading. 90 days ago was shortly after JDT arrived so interest was piqued, plus it was the transfer window. I presume the peaks are days of signings & deadline day, and how many days in between were filled with speculation, "where's Greg"isms & all sorts of waffle & bickering unrelated to the current squad & just fluffed out the threads?? Once the season starts, posts are limited to matches, & esp as we've played pretty much every 3 or 4 days, interest quickly moves onto the next match, there's not much time for much else! One thing I have noticed is the lack of content on here following victories compared to defeats. Today for example we're only on page 16, at 9.30pm on a Saturday night; half of that was prior to the lineups being announced & most of it not too complimentary following on from the Cardiff loss. On Tuesday, by about midnight there were 30+ pages, mostly derogatory about the performance & comments that JDT isn't up to the task. I think that speaks volumes for the general tone on here being hyper critical, in that when we win folk find it hard to compliment (hence lack of posts) & say it just papers over cracks, yet when we lose they go overboard in their criticism & claim (for example) the selection was wrong, style is wrong, players are L1 standard at best, we'll still end up in a relegation scrap, bought cheap, waste of money, etc. It just seems unnecessary to me how folk go so overboard on defeats, but pass off wins as well so what, that's what their paid to do right?? Maybe that isn't just a BRFCS thing, maybe it's forums per se; I don't know enough of other forums to compare. But I do think it's a valid point to raise in this context. Anyway, I keep coming back, posting & enjoying banter, so maybe I'm a glutton for punishment!! Good win today, glad for Szmodics to get an assist & a goal, it can only be good for the club that he succeeds here.

Been a busy week for me so not had chance to post on here following Cardiff (which sounded v disappointing all round) & can't make today either. Hopefully the inconsistency continues & we get 3 points, just as importantly though a decent performance would help quell a few nerves I think. Of course, what's decent for one fan is rubbish for another, so let's hope that we can look back at 5pm objectively happy with 3 points! COYB!!

Relevance?

Where??

I'd rather finish behind Burnley in 2nd than ahead of them in 7th.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek there really Chaddy, I just wonder if there's a bit of Mowbray that perhaps wishes he'd waited another month before taking a new job! I'm sure he'll stay at Sunderland. I can't see why Rob Edwards should be high on their wishlist, not what they need. Corberan I could see happening & being a good fit, but then I thought that about Wilder. Big appointment this for Boro, got to get it right or they'll be in bug financial doo day I think.

Wonder who they'll appoint? Would TM drop Sunderland for his hometown club?!

I stand corrected, you're right, although they could still have crept into the top 6 on the last day whereas our match was a dead rubber. That said, my point still stands re Millwall being a tougher but to crack than some give credit for.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but to me this is just unnecessarily pessimistic. I'm not saying you won't be right as any result is possible, but going into games with this kind of attitude is crazy. I guess some people just like to focus on & magnify the negatives, whilst overlooking the positives and therefore have a skewed view that is out of context with reality. Another way of looking at it is that we've won 6 matches to Cardiff's 3, having lost the same number of games, & start the game in 6th compared to their 18th. But I'm not using those few cherry-picked stats to support a pessimistic 3-0 away win, because reality is far more nuanced than that. I agree with a post above that this looks likely to be our first draw. A defeat would be disappointing but not disastrous, a win would be excellent.

I think the performance overall was below par, of course it was, though there were still positives to take from it, not least endeavour & successful determination to get 3 points. We won't steamroller teams regularly 13 games into a new season; some peoples' performance expectations on a consistent basis are still too high imo. Don't forget, Millwall finished above us last season, as did Luton.

I agree to a point, but in the PL you'll see better organisation, hunting in packs, better fitness / pace & greater intensity than you do in the Championship. It's the same principle as you allude to, of the quality improving as you go up the divisions.

As I said above there's a time and a place for it, and the players don't always select the right moments. There will be bumps in the road to where we want to get to, isn't that what we were told to expect? Here we are, bumping along in 6th place, 5 points off top! JDT has had two thirds of a transfer window to get to know his squad, identify upgrades & mould a winning team. In that time he's also had to manage us through 13 games (W8 L5) half of which were before the window shut & when we had a mini defensive injury crisis. I just don't see how folk can be disappointed that we're not rolling teams over 3 or 4 nil every week! And isn't it the job of a head coach & his team to improve their players, as well as find a system & style that suits them? Ayala I agree is probably too old to improve much, but S Wharton, Kaminski, Pickering & Travis are all young enough to improve on that front (I take the view Hyam & Brittain are already there). Add to that the growth & further first team integration of Morton, Phillips & A Wharton, more coming through the youth team, & suitable acquisitions in future transfer windows & it can only improve. Whilst improving, they should be encouraged to practise what they're learning in training in a match situation. That will mean errors of judgment are made (some costly, some not) but that's part of the learning process & overall it should lead to a better long term outcome if implemented correctly.

Not strictly true because our opposition also isn't the standard that City will face, but I take your point & agree we need to mix it up a bit. There were some heart stopping examples yesterday of when not to overplay! IMO, things are going better than we had a right to expect overall and that anyone who expected us to be the finished article of what JDT wants us to be by this stage had over-inflated expectations & didn't listen to what GB & JDT clearly set out as their aim on their arrival.

It takes time though to grow to be more incisive & build up confidence. The Dutch Disease refers to passing for passing's sake, the theory being if we have the ball, the oppo won't score, but then not developing further into passing with precision, at speed & progressively up the pitch using 1 & 2 touches. It's clear JDT wants to take us beyond the possession only game into a more fluid, progressive style of 1/2 touch flowing style. We've seen it at times this season (Swansea leaps to mind). That process will be bumpy, we were warned about that from his arrival, so I don't see what folk are complaining about whilst seeing us sitting in 6th place! There's no patience in football amongst most fans, who seem to think we should be a finished product 12 games in. It's not JDT's fault what he inherited, give him time to stamp his ideas on a young team in a situation where he's barely had a fully fit squad to choose from!

Again I think there are a lot of OTT downbeat observations on here, which started with the lineup. I agree it wasn't a great game but in keeping with experience it was never likely to be (first game after international break, Millwall playing with a low block were always happy to take a point, es evidenced by their asst manager 's comments afterwards). But ratings wise all 11 starters scored 6s & 7s on here, which isn't disastrous. JDT said in the week that Brittain was fit, but not quite match fit. Arguably he ought not to have been on the bench, but that still leaves the question of who replaced him. Carter was the obvious answer but we went with Hedges, somewhat surprisingly but who was close to MoM so not too shabby. Morton was wasteful at times, but did play the ball over the top for Gally for the first. Dolan was composed with his finish & a pest throughout. He gets unwarranted criticism on here for me, people forget he's only 20 & far from a finished product. BBD had a poor game overall by his recent standards but still scored what proved to be the winner. His 1-touch round the corner flicks didn't come off today, but on other days they do & we look a lot more dangerous. Gally's 1st game in what, 6 weeks? Looked rusty but his effort was top and his charge forward for the first goal was a game changer. Yes the cross wasn't the best but at least it drew a mistake from their defence which Dolan profited from. When we moved the ball quicker, like we did 2nd half, we looked good. Playing it slowly at the back we look vulnerable but that's arguably part of the development process of turning into a one touch team that can beat a high press. As for team selection, we have 2 games a week for 6 weeks thereabouts. Injuries, form, illness, suspensions etc will mean everyone in the squad will get selected & get their chance to shine, quad rotation will be v important. I'm sure that will include Dack, Szmodics, Buckley, Markanday etc. somewhere down the line. Wharton & Phillips are 18 & 17, have just been involved in 3 internationals abroad. It was Wharton's 1st such experience I think. I'm happy for them to be managed gently back into the club, keep them grounded, protect them from burn out & lumping too much pressure on them. I don't want them to end up being the next targets for undeserved criticism for inconsistent performances In short I think JDT can justify his selections and 6th place backs that up. Not one of us would have rejected that if given the choice in the summer. It's not perfect but look at the Championship table for context too see how mad this league is. Just yesterday Sheff Utd failed to beat Brum, W Brom lost at home to Swansea, Boro at Coventry. Our problems, under a new manager & coaching team having lost 5 first teamers for nothing, could be a lot, lot worse!