I'm not disagreeing, those scores are definitely in range. But a D is a failure in old money (I.e. not accepted at college & university) and I think, given the goal on his appointment last summer, JDT and his coaches have done well overall despite the admin cock ups, and in the main the players were left exposed to making physical & mental errors due to the lack of depth in the squad that 2 or 3 more decent players could've brought (O'Brien, one or two experienced strikers & / or Brierley). As for the backroom team it would be a U but for the fact that most young players with promise or who have broken through already are on long term deals. If the stated aim was long term stability & self reliance then that's the main big step achieved IMO. Of course, that has to be realised by their ongoing development, contribution to success on the pitch & / or being very saleable assets (much to prove), and that just cannot mask the shambles that was January which, imo, ultimately is what caused us to miss out..

B+ for me for JDT, coaching staff & players. Didn't expect us to be in contention at all back in summer. But it's an F for the backroom team who let everyone down very badly. Just when we needed them to perform, they failed. So overall it's a C for me. Hurts like hell right now but, being objective, that has to be the score. I've sent another email to SW, hopefully he will reply to this one rather than just have his assistant acknowledge it & say it had been passed on.

Can't argue with any of this.

I do think today will prove to be a bitter lesson for everyone at the club. It's a combination of things that have left us in this position, I'd say in this order of significance. 1. Mistakes in January 2. Invisible / disinterested owners. 3. Individual player errors / decision making 4. Poor substitutions 5. Poor team tactics 6. Bad luck / poor officiating. 4 of those are remediable at dressing room level. The bit in italics above I typed before the game but failed to send as I was out. Couldn't be more true imo after this afternoon. Gutted is not the word. Given the margin of missing out we can point to any number of individual incidents that have proven costly, but the overall issue is mismanagement above JDT (I.e. 1 & 2 above). I hope to God he stays despite that, because I believe he can take us further given the right support. Time for my another email to Steve Waggott; hopefully he actually responds to this one, rather than leave his assistant to acknowledge it & confirm it had been passed on.

Coventry, Luton & Millwall are all punching above their weight granted, much like we did under Souness & Hughes. Those 3 benefit from having solid foundations playing staff wise; JDT inherited a squad bereft of half a dozen first teamers, inc the player of the season. Doesn't mean we can't still be punching above our weight in this div given what we have. W Brom, Norwich, Watford to name 3 should be ahead of us in terms of squad value etc.

Today's likely 11: Pears £300k (or TK, free?) JRC - academy Carter - academy Hyam - £1.6m Pickering - free A Wharton - academy Travis - academy Hedges - free (or Thomas, loan) Dolan - free Dack - £500k (or Szmodics £1.6m?) BBD £5m - £7m (or Leonard, academy) Let's face it, the big fees are outliers, in many people's eyes costly mistakes. Factor in the likes of Buckley (academy), Morton (loan), S Wharton (academy), Ayala (free), Garrett (academy), Phillip's (academy) plus of course Gallagher, and the frugality massively outweighs the splurges. With a new management team w/o Championship experience, hamstrung by a dysfunctional admin team & disinterested owners, and it puts things a little more into perspective IMO.

No, just £12 extra!!

Stop peeing on today's parade, that doesn't fit the narrative, so is irrelevant. Jeez, the negativity on here...!! Blowing my own trumpet, I also donated a small amount to the Trust, but didn't count that either.

So, starting today off on the positive note I intend it to continue, I've just booked my early bird season ticket for 23/24 then I don't forget in the excitement / anguish of post-match mentality. £379 for 19 matches works out at £19.95. That's surely an omen right, 1995?? C'mon boys, don't make me feel instant regret!!

Whoever's name is above the door, whatever incompetence has occurred on & off the pitch in the last 12 years or 12 weeks, this club is OUR club and this is still the best chance we've had of returning to the Prem since we came down. It's in our hands, however we might have struggled to get points on the board these last few games, we'd all have taken this in summer. The players have shown passion IMO, they've shown desire; what they've lacked is killer instinct, experience & no small amount of luck.

No, the ship's still at the quay side waiting for late arrivals, but the captain's revving the engines & about to tell his crew to cast off. I want us to be sprinting now to be on that ship, I presume you do too & if so you need to find some optimism & belief for tomorrow night.

Even better! Great outcome, all things considered given stretched resources & backroom changes.

Excellent. That SHOULD see them safe given the number of teams below them.

Top news this. Keep it tight lads!

Without stating the obvious, tonight is the biggest game of the season so far. Win or draw & it stays in our hands (just in the latter case), lose & we start being reliant (or at least too reliant) on others. Results mainly went our way last night with only W Brom making any real move (and they now have real momentum, where were they 3 weeks ago??). To keep hopes up of a top 6 finish, we have to win tonight. Ideally we do it in style, but I'll take any kind of win. I think bring Adam Wharton into a 3 in the middle, with BBD, (possibly Hedges) Thomas and Leonard up front. Stick with same back 5 if possible. Close call between Pears & TK but keep it simple. Brittain in for Pickering if he's injured. JDT needs to make sure that if changes are needed,he makes them promptly, first half if needed. We cannot let this opportunity to jump up to 5th (whilst holding off 8th) pass us by, otherwise I fear that would be it in reality this season.

9th, 10th, 1st, 5th, 3rd. A tall order, but still in our hands. COYB!!

That was so frustrating. Much like the Huddersfield game, we could / should have won that game two or three times over. I know we're short on out & out strikers (as in don't have any following January) but every player of an attacking persuasion ought to have the confidence to shoot. The number of times Travis in particular refused to shoot when in and around the 18 yard box is unforgivable. Anything could happen if you shoot, it might get deflected, parried or rebound off the woodwork. Hey it might even go directly in!! Who'd've thought?! Don't shoot, don't score, simple as that. On another note, again I thought JDT's subs, whilst right in terms of personnel, were made too late IMO, it's becoming his most annoying feature. The best thing to be said is that it's still in our hands, but all breathing space is gone & looking at our remaining fixtures, you couldn't choose a much worse run-in if you tried, especially whilst (not) firing blanks. Just go for it Rovers, have no fear. And BBD, do something positive now to leave us with something tangible from your time here, otherwise you risk tarnishing the goodwill that has built up over a rather unique few years.

Great result, wonderful comeback, aside from boosting our chances Spurs will feel that's a real sucker punch for them. Still not out of it but in Rovers' own hands again. With U18s winning at Stoke too, we could make it a huge treble tonight... 🤞🤞🤞

I don't think @IraC ever felt better off after 6 pints...

The number of times I stumbled over that step!! 🤦‍♂️

What you're effectively saying there is that back in the summer when JDT was appointed, you expected a top 6 finish. That's not right is it? If you did, you were in a minority!

That would make sense!!

Think this is a little short sighted. Talking to non-Rovers supporting friends of mine he was the one player in our academy who they knew of & had a burgeoning reputation at that level. He starred for the U23sby all accounts, & had a decent impact into the first team before then suffering numerous injuries. He certainly looked off the pace on his return to fitness until Christmas, but he is showing his ability now & is one I can see having a v bright future here or elsewhere & realising his potential, once a clear role has been identified for him. Rather it be here then elsewhere I think.

Forest have just spent £160m on new talent in the last 9 months, isn't the fact that they played half of those against mostly our kids in the League Cup 4th round just as unfair?? I didn't hear much moaning then, it's no different really. It's within the rules, so we have the right to choose our team if it complies with those rules, regardless of motivation. FWIW, it's true that JDT has been consistent in ensuring kids mix with pros, be that in first team squads, U21s squads & in training. Nothing to see here, unless you have an agenda...

It's the same for both teams though. I think I'm right in saying that most games we've played in this comp have been much younger than last night's was, and in fact given how many players Forest have on their books they might regret not doing the same. This is as much a case of us using the rules to suit our squad as it is of proving how reliant we've become on the academy as a whole, with so many younger players being part of the 1st team squad. At the end of the day, the best academy youngsters playing alongside seasoned pros is only going to benefit those youngsters for the benefit of the club long term. Those behind them in the pecking order will hopefully only be further motivated.