Just now, Admiral Nelsen said:

No reason to believe that this is actually on the cards, but how would people feel about a cheeky bid for Aiden McGeady now that Sunderland are spending another season in the third tier?

If we're playing three behind a lone striker, currently we have Rothwell, Dack, Armstrong, Chapman and at a push Bennett. Seems to me like we're probably one short unless we're asking players to play away from their natural position.

Never really been convinced by his character, but there's no doubt that he can do it at this level and he knows Mowbray from Celtic. 

Not a bad shout that. He looks far to good for league 1 and even when he came on in the final he seemed to play better than most with ease.

If It was sensible wages and a decent fee I wouldn't be against it. May not be lightning quick now but he's a natural winger who if he can turn up for most of the time would be a game changer.

I think a mix of youth and experience is needed this summer. Say if we sign 3-4 players. Maybe having 1 or 2 more experienced with the rest being potentially better in a year or two.

This news page is really depressing not even a whisper of a potential signing. Is there any knowledge of if we've money to spend or not?

This Dack sale might be a way of keeping prices down by suggesting we've to sell before buying with the hope of getting players in first but that's not much to inspire confidence.

Would rather improve the defence over any other position. Maybe a premier league loan or two?

57 minutes ago, tomphil said:

He's already said in the LT Gladwin isn't a football decision which translates as he feels sorry for him and probably wouldn't like to see him end up on the scrapheap. Fair enough if he feels some responsibility he brought him here and it would be his call to let him go, maybe he should personally foot the bill then ?

We are carrying too many like this in recent years and it never works out because by and large they are either old and busted when they arrive or were poor players whether they are fully fit or not. Gladwin fits into that mould and as paying fans I think most would want his wages going towards someone who can contribute and as I've said before what if we end up not being able to stretch another five grand per week to a good centre half who might come ?

Deadwood weights you down and if he ended up on the bench in his quest for fitness and so the manager can get him in the window to be fixed up elsewhere but he's keeping one of our own youngsters out or someone more capable even worse !

 

Agree with this point. It's okay going with the idea of trying to give the guy some sort of career and income and many will say it wouldn't be right to boot these types of players out the door but think of it in another way.

In extending a contract for someone who can't offer what's needed just to prolong their career here. You are directly ending a career of a young academy player who might be ready to run through walls to get their chance.

Blackburn Rovers owe no player a career. Not from your Dacks to your Gladwins. If you play and are employed by the club then you contribute in someway or another.

As for the previous poster stating that we should be out next year with the team we've got. We were in a 10+ losing run which took us from top 6 to near bottom 3. We will be near relegated next year if improvements are not made.

Instead of McKay Stevens I'd rather get Jamaal Lowe from Portsmouth at least he's done well in the English leagues. Half of the Scottish premiership would get demolished in league 1 and I don't think even Celtic would get top 6 in the championship.

Poor league with very very few quality players.

A midfield option for us could be Joe Aribo at Charlton. Around 22 years old and nearly has double figures in goals with a few assists as well. Also think he's meant to be a powerful tall player and is near the end of his contract.

A quality centre half who dominates and leads by example will improve the likes of Bell, Raya and Nyambe.

I'd rather have 3 proven signings at centre back, centre midfield and striker than 6 or 7 maybes.

Rather shift Bennet to the wing and bring Nyambe back in. Keep Armstrong for later in the game for his speed. Swap him directly for Bennet around 60 minutes in.

Or simply put our other winger in Chapman in the team.

I don't believe for a moment that Brereton was the managers signing. I'm more sure it's the owners signing with a warning to the manager to put up or ship out.

Although I won't lay any major blame at the players feet as he's been poorly managed this season. 

But...... You've got to admire the morals though yeah? Another manager who will pull the party line to keep his wage. At least that plonker Lambert called them out on it.

Raya

Bennet Lenihan Williams Bell

Smallwood Travis 

Conway Dack Armstrong 

Graham

I can't see him not changing the team.

3 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I don't see why Mcgoldrick would leave Sheffield United to join us. Good player though. Excellent target man. 

If they got to the premier league I don't think they'll sign him up again. They'll look to bring in a younger quality forward.

Incomings

Liam Lindsey 

Patrick Bauer

Dominic Iorfa 

Jake Bidwell (Free)

Harrison Reed

Will Vaulks

Jon Taylor (Free)

David Mcgouldrick (Free)

Garry Hooper (Free)

There's definitely players out there who can contribute. 

14 hours ago, LDRover said:

I don't think I'm underplaying this by saying that is right up there with anything Kean came out with.

Kean quote - Goodwillie is the new Scottish Wayne Rooney. 

Mowbray quote - Evans and Smallwood play better than Reed.

I think it's more along the lines of being weak willed against the senior players. You've got Evans, Smallwood, Bennet, Mulgrew and Conway who shouldn't start regular games yet can be guaranteed to be playing.

It's already been demonstrated that he'll dig Raya and Rothwell out. He doesn't dig Brereton because of his price but if he cost a low amount he'd be on the hit list as well.

It's cowardly, piss poor management. It isn't being to afraid of other teams it's simply keeping the right players happy. Everyone else can do one mentality. 

Dack won't go to the premier league. He's a good player but doesn't have the speed to be effective enough. The most dangerous team who might take him is Fulham who will be in the championship next year.

He doesn't have the mentality for the top league.

Controversial opinion, I'd rather keep Williams for centre back cover than Mulgrew. He's a better natural defender than him just with his ability to stand up to forwards more in a physical battle.

Good performance last night and think the fans deserved to see a win like that. No coincidence that the better players played and we won the game. 

Will give the manager some credit for picking the team but I still think he's messed this season up especially when you see the agility on the pitch yesterday and you've got Bristol city in 5th position.

Team get an 8/10 for last night, manager gets 7/10 but over the season it's more like a 4/10 done well in spots but can't see the obvious in front of him.

Better managers out there. If we could get them then I would.

Rothwell won't play next game and the usuals will be back in the team. Watch this space........ 

2 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

The problem we have is the whole defence is extremely vulnerable  (probably worst Rovers defence in over 25 years of supporting the team). As a result it needs heavy duty protection.

433 is the sort of formation you can use if you're confident of overpowering the opposition. We just can't do that.

Inverse is in 4231 we end up with a static team mostly behind the ball. A diamond and we end up expecting our defensively poor defenders to overlap to provide width, which then leaves us further exposed. Play 3 at the back and Mulgrews, Williams and Rodwells lack of mobility gets brutally exposed.  Anyway you move the pieces around it looks a very very poor team at the moment.

We've got some individually okay players (Graham, Rothwell, Dack, Reed, plus Travis, Armstrong & Evans on a good day) but as a unit it's shocking because the defence is calamitous.

Get a proper centreback and decent fullbacks and we would be a totally different proposal. But who would trust Tony to find those? Plus if you take Graham out - and he's getting older all the time - and we don't have an effective striker.

It's really really bad. If we can't sign due to budget I would seriously consider going into next season mostly with the kids. That's not being hysterical, it literally looks a better option to me than persevering with Mulgrew, Smallwood, Williams etc. And I would never normally say anything like that.

Understand what you mean. It's a lose-lose situation. I'd rather be entertained a little and just go with the mentality of stuff it we'll have a go too. I think we'll lose this one regardless of the recent form as they have better players all over the pitch.

The only player or two I'd take would be Graham and Dack possibly, can't say any of the rest would get in. Some might say Reed but they've got Mount, Wilson, Huddleston, Johnson the list keeps going. Maybe Lenihan as a rotation player at a stretch.

If we had a set way of playing that was effective I'd be more confident but I think this will be the game a lot of fans turn. Could be a 1-3 or 1-4 going off recent form. Hopefully it's not the case though.

Raya

Nyambe Lenihan Rodwell Bell 

Rothwell Reed Travis

Chapman Graham Armstrong 

Dack can get lost with his constant fallouts and problems off the pitch. Wouldn't play him here at all

Raya

Nyambe Lenihan Rodwell Bell 

Reed Travis

Armstrong Rothwell Chapman

Graham

Just now, jim mk2 said:

If Mowbray had any sense of moral duty he would tender his resignation

Got to get that payoff money though. A manager too stubborn to change from his own view. He'll make Bennet, Evans and Smallwood work or take us down trying.

22 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I don't see how we need a centre midfielder when we have around 11, or a winger when we have Rothwell and Chapman to name but 2 who have barely played this year 

Rothwell isn't a winger. Chapmans not played. I'd want Conway gone next year and Bennet as a rotation player which leaves Chapman as a natural winger and Armstrong because he's got some pace. 

A quality winger is just as important as a left back. I think a quality centre half would make the fallbacks play better because it needs some leadership at the back.

Centre half, centre midfielder, Winger and forward. 4 players that £5 million spent properly would fix.

1 hour ago, bigbrandjohn said:

Ipswich were a play off chasing club not so long back. They would pray for such going nowhere. Does anyone truly believe that pushing for a play off place and getting promotion would have been a good thing?

 I am not saying that I am happy with this run of results or even some of the line ups. I am happy with consolidating and blooding some youngsters before season end.

Dack will go and we will rebuild. And hopefully we will go back to our usual colors. 

 

 

I honestly couldn't see any negative to going for promotion it's not something every club can pick and choose when to do. At the very least it would have cleared a large part of the club debt and made it more likely that Venkys would leave.

I also don't think the league is that good. You have your top 6 but look at Cardiff and Burnley. Both absolute garbage but one of them will stay up and get another 100 million plus next year so could Rovers not have gone up. Spend £20-£30 million and scrapped survival by a point?

Anyone who thinks they would rather be in league 1 every year to batter the crap in that league rather than fight for survival in the premier league doesn't see what is best for the club.

2 hours ago, The Hypnotic said:

 

This makes no sense. 6/10 for effort is never going to get you anywhere near the top of any table. Are you serious with this statement as it’s not logical. 

The best teams in a league end up at the top, and the worst teams in a league finish bottom. That’s the whole point of a league.

The relegation season we were one of the worst teams, we then spent a season in the league below and eventually came up as one of the better teams at that level. Common sense would suggest that means our level is lower championship. Sad but true. We have no right to be near the top of this league and apart from a couple of good runs we’re performing about how any neutral observer would expect.

Good luck to us if Mowbray goes, I can’t see anybody achieving much more than he has with the tools he’s been given. 

Are you a troll? I said 6/10 or 7/10 in terms of performance. You've got Bennet syndrome where you see running around as the only type of performance.

Yesterday prime example. Mulgrew good set piece, bit of poor goalkeeping got Rovers 1 goal.

Earlier. Mulgrew 1v1 in the box for a header got Villa 2-0 up. If everyone performed at a 6/10 or above you wouldn't concede as much and would make games more winnable.

I'm giving a 6/10 example because the only reason this league is competitive is because every team is pretty poor. Some more than others.

I certainly don't think Rovers are any worse than a Preston or a Hull or a Bristol city yet we are a good distance down the table. Every team there would love a Dack a Graham and probably even a Rothwell because they would know a way to integrate them best and get relative consistently from them.

Not this you score 3 we'll try and score 4 crap every week. A one off now and then sure. Not every bloody week. Piss poor manager who is only backed because he's apparently likeable.

Also he isn't an honest saint. He's already thrown a few of the kiddies under the bus in Raya and Rothwell yet won't pull up Mulgrew or Dack? I don't put Graham in that category because he's been quality this season. To make scraps out of what he gets is brilliant.

But hey we apparently play good football. More like BTEC allardyce footy without the defensive part.

The team that went down under coyle should not have gone down. It was not in the 3 worst teams in the league category for me. People are overestimating this league and not realising that solid 6/10 or 7/10 every week get you near the top 6 table.

Out of that team that went down the only real exit was captain Lowe but he got replaced by the magic of Smallwood so the team didn't really lose any quality. 

You then look at players like emnes, Gallagher and joau and I'd take Dack and Rothwell before all 3 of them. Mahoney left as well but I think Chapman is just as good once he gets on. 

The only player I'd take from that years team would be Duffy even though he's a knob but him and Lenihan at the back would do well.

So all this crap of it's the first year back remember that it was for one year basically bullying league 1 crap for a year. 

Again Mulgrew yesterday can't defend for his life but takes a set piece that contributes to a goal. If I was his manager I'd be fumming at him because if he could defend he'd be gold dust to us.