Atko's Engine

Leaving aside whether or not Mowbray deserves to stay (for the record I voted stay, & explained in the Leeds thread why he's not as bad as he is often made out to be), it is impossible to ignore the question of who might be appointed in his place should he be sacked. Just rolling the dice is not a meaningful strategy, is it? So those who are asking that question are entirely reasonable in doing so, and before he is sacked proper thought should be given to it. In the real world, there's more to it than just "he's crap and should be sacked", howsoever we might wish it were otherwise.

Brentford are a better side than us granted, but they came up against a club that fell on its knees just 2 days pre kick off with the Administration debacle. When we played them, they were a top-of-the-form table team that until then was unbeaten in 7 with 5 clean sheets in a row. As for Stoke, yes they put Barnsley away very well yesterday. But 4 days earlier they got rinsed by Wigan more so than we did, and I don't think anyone would swap our position for Stoke's, right?! Like I said above, nothing in this debate is black & white.

ARA, folk are entitled to an opposing view to the majority and to express it, whether or not you agree. There's nothing in the few posts above that doesn't stand up to reason, albeit it is a minority view. Not only that, DaveyB, Waco & myself have done so whilst recognising the merits of the arguments against Mowbray. All we're saying is there's always 2 sides to the argument. It's hardly ever black & white, things are always more nuanced than that.

I think this is a really well reasoned post and offers a great counter argument to the (also well-reasoned, mostly) criticisms about lots of Mowbray's transfer activities, team selections & tactical decisions, and i agree with pretty much all of it. Teams that succeed are lucky as well as skillful, most successful teams will tell you that. With injuries we've certainly been unlucky & they've served to highlight deficiencies elsewhere, which would have been less obvious otherwise. As ever, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Re transfers he's failed spectacularly so far re Gallagher & Brereton, yet done wonderfully with Dack & Armstrong. He's made some strange team selections, but whilst some failed others have come up trumps. He's a steady pair of hands, not great but not rubbish. With a bit more conviction and / or luck, we'd be much better off. Would we be better off without him? Maybe, but many alternatives that others have touted as better than Mowbray have struggled too when managing at clubs that are far better run than ours. Others have gambled on young management potential, but also struggled. There's no obvious, likely-to-succeed choice for next season. The option that would be most economical & probably garner most support from the fans on both sides would be for TM to take a DoF role & for Johnson to take the helm as manager, a best of both worlds approach. Does Johnson's recently-obtained role with NI scupper or assist in that? I don't know, but I think that could succeed and I would support it enthusiastically. Otherwise, think he's just about done enough to start next season. Money is low, this close season is short and alternative options are thin on the ground, but there's no doubting he has a big job on his hands close season and it's a close call with him in last chance saloon.

Bonus Jovi - Living on a Prayer

Black Box - Ride on Time

Feeling very down tonight. That was the first must win game of the season for me (maybe now the only one); at half time I feared that those missed chances would bite us hard, and boy did they. How poor was Samuel's decision making? Credit that he got into some great positions, but his choice & touch was horrendous. He had 3 gilt-edged chances & fluffed them all. Much as I don't like the fact we relied on Bennett & Mulgrew, they weren't major faults tonight. I thought Adarabioyo & Nyambe were very average & clearly at fault for the first goal. Rothwell was anonymous again, Downing subdued, Johnson nowhere. BB"s challenge was daft, but a red? No way. Injuries to Travis & Evans are such bad timing. The space Barnsley found wouldn't have been there had they played. I guess, clutching at straws, there's still a glimmer. There are some strange results happening so it would be typical Rovers to beat Leeds & Cardiff next up. It's hope rather than belief, just to keep some interest going in the next few weeks. I trying to find positives, but it's incredibly hard & painful.

I like this. Solid defensively, with good creativity in midfield. I might be tempted to swap Travis & Davenport, and if Travis is unfit then it was have to be Johnson. Brereton has looked good & can surely play that role better than Gallagher (in the absence of a proper wide right player), possibly even having licence to come inside and play in between the lines, and Graham & Armstrong can work well and a big man / small man combo. In the starting lineup, there must be no room for Bennett, Gallagher or Rothwell I'm afraid.

As disappointing as Saturday was, I'm not as despondent as most. At the end of the day, the bare facts were that Wigan were flying on form and confidence, inc having recently beaten Leeds & W Brom and having kept 5 clean sheets in a row. Ignoring local rivalry, previous results between us & a healthy dislike of Paul Cook, a draw was what I realistically hoped for in that context, and would've been what we'd got but for Walton clashing with Tosin. That said, it was a chalk & cheese performance when compared to Bristol City (esp 2and half) and we must do much better in possession tomorrow to stay in touch with top 6, and cut out individual errors.

There's no easy games from here for us home or away, above or below us. Just got to take each game as it comes.

Initially I got a message that Rovers.co.uk wasn't responding, but I refreshed & got in ok, been fine since.

Re ifollow, do we get Rovers commentary, or Wigan's?

Pilkington starts for Wigan. Hopefully he plays with his heart!! I'm not too surprised by the lineup. Think it'll be Bennett at LB, which is risky but allows Downing to stay in his best position for us. We'll deffo see a front 3 swap again on 60 mins, or sooner if we're struggling.

Our game down Cardiff will be tough. I hope we still have something to play for by then.

One thing is for sure, due to the fixture list there will be surprises, not all will be welcome ones. But this time last week there was some dismay on here at the team, but that panned out well so let's be positive about what is announced in 10 mins and try to see the bigger picture. I'd play Downing at LB, and bring in either Johnson or Rothwell depending on how TM wants to approach the game. I'd also swap Gally for Arma too. BB stays.

On Mowbray, I would say people need to give him a break and not analyse to death every word that comes out of his mouth. He's not the world's best manager by a long stretch. He's human, so he makes mistakes and shows inconsistencies. He's trying to balance breeding / maintaining confidence within the squad whilst shielding the club & players from understandable flak towards the owners & the corporate structure of the club. In doing so, despite the adversities suffered this season re injuries to key players, we're well in the hunt for top 6. My main criticism of this season would be about lost points from winning positions. Even 25% less would see us up there pushing for auto promotion. All teams will view us as a dangerous opponent, albeit with weaknesses. If we can improve game management and not lose leads so frequently, the playoffs are the for us & we would all have considered that a good season back in August, regardless of how we got there. On the Bell & Williams debate, both will make good cover options in a team pushing promotion & both will have suitors if they're available free or cheap. Whilst none of us are overly enamoured with either, Bell has pedigree as a top L1 player and Williams is an Irish international. Of course there will be demand for them if they are made available by Mowbray.

That was at Plymouth after his hat trick down there wasn't it, to get us into the playoffs?

Great clips these Herbie, cheers.

Queen - It's a Kind of Magic

Oasis - Morning Glory

Going under the radar again...

Great win!

Evan's MoM. Well deserved.

Great from Travis there

Evans looks possessed, been really solid.