All true but that probably applies as much,if not moreso, to our rivals. Teams need luck as well as ability, hard work & good tactical nous. We certainly missed out on the first of those last season due to long term injuries, hopefully we get dealt a better hand this season but if not we're as prepared as we could be to cope. The best form of defence is attack, as the saying goes...

Mate of mine, a Bristol City fan, said Forest were excellent against them a couple of games back, should've won. We can't take this game lightly, they've a strong squad & a manager who knows how to get results in this league. That said, we've got to be confident & be on the front foot from the off. Assuming there's no Holtby or Rothwell, I like Rev's team. A little concerned about Ayala & Douglas being new to the back 4, but worth giving it a go with Bell benches. Options off the bench are v promising, with Elliot likely to get a 25 minute run out whether we're struggling or cruising.

Well that was a fun day deadline wise, made even better because I woke up this morning and it wasn't a dream! Some excellent looking additions have been made across this window offering a real mix of competition, depth, creativity potential & winning experience, all done at relatively low cost. Equally significantly, we've kept hold of our main men whilst having moved on some of those who no longer offered enough value. I'm really pleased, though of course the proof will be in the pudding & TM has given himself some real positive selection headaches. I think he views this season, rightly, as the one to go for it. Certainly subject to luck with injuries, he's got to be achieving top 6 now minimum as he's assembled the tool to do it.

Kaminski Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala, Douglas Johnson, Holtby, Rothwell Dolan, Arma, Brereton Stergiakis / Pears JRC, Williams, Wharton / Magloire, Bell Travis, Buckley, Davenport / Trybull Chapman, Gallagher, Dack Plus potentially Downing, with Vale, McBride, Brennan, Butterworth and a few others looking good behind them in the U23s I've probably missed some, and there's a couple of assumptions and a couple of square pegs in there too, but overall I'd say any combination of the above two 11s has a chance of matching anything else in this division this season. Reasons to be hopeful I think.

Karlan Grant set to move to W Brom from Huddersfield for £15m. 23 year old Englishman who scored 19 goals last season. We should be looking for at least that for Armstrong should anyone come sniffing. Hopefully they don't...

I'm sure the January transfer window thread will be up n running by Saturday...

He's still last sadly, with just 2% of the vote...

Four nil to Rovers then Mercer?! ?

Brandon Lonsdale nominated for LFE goal of the month for September https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2020/october/lonsdale-goal-up-for-monthly-award/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54496129 West Ham seemingly losing interest in Josh King & moving onto Benrahma. I can't see us getting anything useful out of King this window, whether for transfers or to plug covid-related gaps in income.

Speedie did absolutely nothing wrong there! A good, strong full blooded shoulder charge between both players, but then Bennett's response was completely one sided, Speedie didn't retaliate one little bit! Don't get me wrong, he was a spikey character & I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bit of a back story to the incident in the game previously, but he was entirely innocent of anything in that clip! The same can't be said of Lee or Hunter though...

I just checked, he scored 23 goals in 36 apps, a tremendous record, the most prolific spell of his career (albeit most of it having been spent in the top tier). Like you say he played like every game was his last, a real terrier of a striker who I bet most CBs hated playing against. I was sad when he left, it felt unfair and too soon, but that decision really can't be criticised & the plus side is he can now be considered an untarnished Rovers hero.

Speedie leapt like a salmon there & hung around for an age, fantastic technique! He really was superb for us in that 1 season, perhaps amongst the best players we've had who only spent one season here? Bellamy another.

Got to say he's had an excellent start to this season. The games come thick & fast from next weekend so there will have to be a certain amount of squad rotation to avoid burnout; I therefore doubt he will feature from the start in all of them, but then his style is more suited to certain types of opposition than others so hopefully TM can select wisely & utilise Davenport or a loanee in his place for the so-called easier games.

Looking at that programme & the league table, Rovers were 3rd after 11 games but with only 14 goals scored & 10 conceded. Blackpool a place below us with a similar record. That's a bit boring & perhaps not too impressive, but look at Brum, the entertainers in the division with 24 scored and 27 conceded, in 11 games!!

Shame I can only like this once. His engine was most definitely world class, but then I would say that...

That's a bit optimistic philipl, even for me; I'll settle for a goal difference of +90!!

I accept today was a bit disappointing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing & it helps keep everyone grounded after the previous 2 results. There are certainly positives to take from today, albeit mostly defensively; Kaminski, Ayala & Bell were pretty much faultless I thought. Reading & Bristol City are flying now, but I bet they're not come Christmas. The key question is, would we have taken 6th place / 7 points / GD +8 at the start of the season? Of course we would, all of us, so let's not overreact to today's minor setback.

You're a glass half full guy, right?

Anyone else having ifollow problems? I've redeemed my pass ok, but the live feed is just buffering. I've switched my laptop & router off & off again but no different. ?

Yeah, it's a really uncertain time, and to a point professional football is low down the scale of importance economically, but the psychological benefit of it continuing now & into the future (be that in its current form or something more modest) cannot be underestimated as it is a social crux for so many communities, financially & sociologically. Someone posted a link on another thread though about how the PL are reluctant to give handouts to Championship clubs due to their owners having a combined worth of over £30bn, which I can understand. I guess though that with FFP still being a thing despite loss of huge income streams, owners are technically stopped by the rules from plundering their life savings, should they wish too. (That's certainly the rationale behind the rules, whether or not there are imaginative ways around them.) Anyway, I digress; hopefully we put in another good performance (or at least a good result) today and it encourages a few more fans to take advantage of the extended sales period & sign up.

Haha, I think all true fans are, to the point of irrationality, if there is such a word. There's lots of different levels to it and I'm far from a superfan like many on here (I've barely been to an away game in 20 years unfortunately, and that's not gonna change anytime soon!), but I just couldn't imagine not being able to call myself a Rovers season ticket holder after 30+ years. Madness is the only word for it!

I renewed this morning, as much out of habit as anything. I just love the club I guess and couldn't bear not to be involved in my own little way, but fully understand those who don't feel able to commit in these horrendous times. The lady on the ticket office phone said it was v busy, I was on hold for about 10 mins before I got through. Read into that what you will. My wife thinks I'm mad, for what it's worth...

Was much happier the following season...

Dunno but they scored 3 today.