But there's an emerging body of evidence that he has something effective to offer the club, so let's support the kid & give him a proper chance to prove himself. Defenders hate forwards running at them and turning them inside out, he has that type of style and I think is growing in confidence to be able to show that ability more frequently. He could be one of those players where lockdown has done him a favour by taking away fan pressure.

Fair enough, it was a great one!

Not Beckham v Argentina? That's the most (in)famous isn't it?

Well, in our last competitive game his driving run set up the equalising goal, and his pass to Bell brought about the penalty which won us the game. So he has started doing something constructive in competitive games, albeit not directly in front of goal yet. I'm sure there's more, much more, to come from Brereton in terms of goals, assists & other meaningful contributions. With no Graham or Samuel on the scene, and Gallagher without a pre-season, now is the perfect opportunity for him to put a marker down and prove he is worthy of a starting place.

How youthful are you, and can you play left back?

Shock was perhaps the wrong word; upset would've been better. I take your point re pre-season; it was just intended to be an observation that 6 of our league competitors went out to mostly lower league opposition in circumstances where had we done the same many would be foaming at the mouth, but no-one seemed to bat an eyelid that such results had occurred to other clubs that supposedly have better managers than ours and / or better transfer policies. You're right about the cream rising by November; so let's see where we are then before starting to pass judgment on this weird transfer window.

Brum too, lost at home to Cambridge. Not an ideal start for Karanka.

I see Forest, Norwich, Huddersfield, Swansea & Cardiff all got dumped out of the cup in shock results today, & of course Derby scraped through against Barrow on pens. Besides Derby (who had a young team out) I've no idea what strength sides were put out for each match but they're all teams you'd expect to be pushing for promotion next season. Whether or not they've taken the view of preferring just to concentrate on the league, I can only imagine the furore on here if we'd been amongst them for failing to beat Doncaster...

Now? No, he doesn't have enough experience. In 12 or 24 months time? Maybe.

You think a new manager would come in and make Academy players the nucleus of his team? Of course he wouldn't; like all new managers he would look to bring in his own choice of players from elsewhere as his key men and use them to supplement what comes through from the academy. If you want Academy players to thrive at Ewood in numbers and be given game time, Mowbray is probably the most likely to give them that opportunity I reckon given how well he knows them after 3 years here and how many he has integrated into the squad already, with the help of Damien Johnson assisting them in the transition. Yes he might dig them out every now and then but isn't that part of helping them develop & grow in the long term to become better, more rounded professionals?

It was a friendly, the most important thing is getting game time into players. If it turns out we don't get a CB in before Bournemouth & if Lenihan picks up an injury with Ireland, then one or both of Williams & Magloire will be needed to step in. Neither have played all year so needed game time, whereas Wharton has played what, 25 games? So quite sensible I'd say, with the added positive that it worked out pretty well.

You can't honestly believe that to be the case surely??

I think most of us are waiting for Bell to go off aren't we?!

Ok, so why does Mowbray get so many pelters on here from many for his complimentary comments about our opponents, if it's just to be accepted as football politics when others do it? Double standards don't you think? I just feel Mowbray gets unfairly critiqued on every aspect of his management style by folk who just can't wait to get a dig in. There's room for improvement of course, and I'm not opposed to fair criticism. But there's a context & a bigger picture that gets ignored.

Comments from Brendan Rogers: "You can see Blackburn are playing competitive football already in the Carabao Cup, so they're up and running and you can see with all the players, they're a good side. They're a team that will be up challenging in the Championship next season. It was always going be a really good test for us, but I'm pleased for likes of Daniel Amartey coming back, his first game in a long time." As I've said previously, knowledgeable people outside of Ewood respect what is going on at Rovers and consider TM to be building something creditable, albeit we all know there's work to do. It's far from all doom & gloom as is often inferred on these boards. That's also the first goal Leicester have conceded all preseason apparently. That's no mean feat either, esp as we apparently had other good chances too.

Didn't catch the match but got to be heartened by what I'm reading. Clearly more experience is needed at the back but to limit Leicester to just one goal, and a gift at that, sounds very positive. Great to hear of good performances from McGloire, Nyambe, Williams, Holtby (again) & JRC with strong cameos from Buckley, Dolan & Chapman. I think there's more depth to this squad than most at our level. If we can find a good back up GK, a 1st choice CB & LB then I think there's a real prospect of a strong push this season.

Come off it, more hyperbole. Without any new signings our back 5 v Bournemouth is likely to be: Kaminski Nyambe (or JRC) Lenihan Wharton Bell (or JRC) Not ideal granted, but far stronger than the lineup that you consider as a remote possibility. In fact it's such a remote possibility, it won't happen.

I'm with Chaddy on this one. Despite the throwaway remarks of others since last night, he's clearly not saying we shouldn't aim for a good start and it's unfair to suggest he is, but he is correct in the sense that it's a marathon not a sprint. A good start doesn't guarantee success, nor vice versa. On paper, our opening game is one of, if not the, toughest all season. We won't go up, stay in the Champ or go down depending on whether we win, lose or draw that match. If anything, the Wycombe game is more important in view of past experience, as that's the type of game we historically struggle with. In any event I'm 100% certain the aim is to go into the Bournemouth game with a new LB & CB. The club is clearly not just sitting their twiddling it's thumbs in that respect. Whether it happens or not remains to be seen, but good late arrivals did happen last season (Tosin, Cunningham) which supports Chaddy's premise that clubs on a budget can do their best business later in the window once realism dawns on a few players, agents and their parent clubs that their wage / transfer fee expectations need reining in. Oh and Chaddy, you forgot to mention that it was the much-vaunted Warnock who was in charge at Cardiff during their slow start last season. Just sayin'! ?

If I had a chicken that could reach Darwin, I'd be pretty chuffed. ?

Unfair. Ignores the clear development seen in the likes of Armstrong & Dack, and the tangible advancement of numerous academy graduates past & present during TM's reign. Plus the potential for improvement in several other signings. There's plenty for Mowbray to crow about when trying to sell the club, despite having uninterested owners.

Yet again, the good work being done by Mowbray is being overlooked / selectively ignored or brushed off as being pure good luck, with the less successful work (to date) being Mowbray's fault. The man can't win. If he's going to be hung out to dry for signings, team selections & tactical decisions that go wrong (as managers should be), he should also be credited for what goes well; it's just basic fairness. Yet he's the one who gets criticism for a perceived lack of integrity / decency for continuing to work for Venkys...

So disappointing to be reading again on the transfer thread about Mowbray's lack of integrity / decency / pension pot. Yes I'm sure his salary dwarfs most ours on here but do folk seriously think that's the only reason he's been here for 3+ years? He could get a decent job elsewhere now if he left, he's repaired his reputation in the game (should that have been his original intention, which I doubt) as nearly everyone whose asked about it outside of Ewood thinks that overall he's done a great job in hugely adverse circumstances. So maybe he's staying precisely because he has integrity as he wants to help the club progress further and return to some of its former glories despite the owners for the sake of the club, the fans, and the town; unlike say Lambert, who couldn't wait to leave? I really can't help thinking that were he to leave, we'd be in similar straits to Ipswich following the departure of Mick McCarthy. On here at least, I don't think his contribution to the turnaround at this club will be properly appreciated until he's gone, which is a shame.

But I assume he was asked why, given what Chapman did on Saturday, why didn't he feature more? TM answered the question, he needs more effort from him. He's obviously told Chapman directly time & again, but doesn't feel he's getting results. As for Bennett, TM's said quite publicly that he's not the most skilful of footballers, but likes his work effort & graft. I don't think any one will argue with that assessment? In that respect, Bennett & Chapman are complete opposites. Isn't it often said that fans won't criticise lack of ability, but will criticise lack of effort? Plus Bennett is too old to improve, Chapman isn't. TM clearly likes Chapman's talent, so is probably more frustrated than anyone that he isn't listening. It's another case of TM being damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

Concur. Could be good for his longevity too. He could watch vids of Tugay & learn his it's done properly, might give him another 6-8 years.

Not sure I'm hearing too much wrong with what TM is saying there TBH; he's looking after the team isn't he? We all talk about needing to defend better as a team, conceding too many goals. If the way Chapman plays, & his lack of effort in tracking back leaves Nyambe or whoever exposed, then that's a massive black mark against him isn't it?