sharpysharps86

Have to commend Sunderland for a fantastic start. Of the teams that are expected to be up there I suspect that Leeds will build up some steam over time, but the jury is out on the three sides relegated from the prem. Luton in particular look to have recruited poorly. I like Sheff Uniteds signings but is Wilder still the right man for them? Not sure. Burnley's squad is likely to take time to gel. It gives the likes of Sunderland, West Brom, Boro and others some hope of challenging. Hopefully Rovers are closer to the top 6 than the bottom 6 as well.

This board is in meltdown over most things, it doesn't mean anything. Personally I couldn't give two hoots if an opposition player had gestured the same way Gueye did. For me it's just part of the game in the same way that players dive all the time, roll over at the slightest of touches, managers berate 4th officials, etc. Not saying I like all those things but I'm not gonna cry about an opposition player gesturing for one of Rovers players to be booked. Dont be soft.

Exactly this.

If you can't beat them for whatever reason, just don't lose to them. Would've taken a point before the game and given how the 2nd half developed you simply have to take the point and move on. Ref had a stinker, had no control over the game throughout. Don't think either set of fans will be particularly happy with him, but I imagine Burnley fans are relieved that a perfectly good Rovers goal was chalked off. 2nd half performance felt similar to Leeds away last season in terms of resilience. Burnley for all their possession where really quite poor 2nd half, and Pears thankfully didn't have much to do. On the sending off, think Gueye can consider himself hard done by for the first yellow, and then falls victim to a silly rule that shouldn't exist. Hopefully he learns from it. Might not have a championship goal to his name yet but he has 3 lovely assists. Proving himself to be a nuisance for opposition defenders. Weimann with goal of the season in the biggest away game of Rovers season. No need to run a competition at the end of the season now. Reminded me a lot of Andy Cole against Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing Day, but even Coley had to chest that one down first. If Beck performs to a similar level all season then we have ourselves a new left back at least for this campaign. Pickering should be facing a spell on the bench when back from injury. We go into the 2 week break in good in good spirits. Really pleased with the start that Rovers have made and with the new additions I hope they can kick on and maintain a steady position in the top half of the table. On Trav....can't remember if he played in the game at Turf Moor when JDT was manager, but thought he was brilliant as captain today. Clearly understood the importance of the game. Finally, the manager. We all loved JDT's football when it clicked, but I have to say Eustace is working wonders so far this season. It won't be pretty at times but that's fine. I would much prefer we went back to the Mark Hughes days of being a tough to beat, resilient side that can play nice football when its the right time. Should be all about winning first in this division and I think JE knows it.

Really mixed emotions on that first half. Thought Rovers were poor for the most part and yet should be 2-1 up. Playing the ref doesn't help either, hopefully he sees what a dreadful mistake he's made at half time and gives us a bit more rub of the green in the 2nd half. Feels like there is another goal in it for Burnley. Pears looks shakier than ever. Felt that young Beck has held his own for the most part in what is a baptism of fire. Can't see Gueye lasting the 90. He's a sending off waiting to happen. Expecting Baker, Yuki and Cozier-Duberry all on at some point. Would snap your hand off for a draw right now.

Goes without saying really, but yes absolutely. Nothing they do will ever change that, but I can at least be happy that the signings have been better this summer than the last 2.

This is so far, night and day compared to the last 2 seasons. We might still find ourselves a little short as the season goes on, but this has turned out to be a very good transfer window on paper, so far....

Think the best we can hope for is a hard fought draw, but I suspect we'll come up short and it'll be a 2-1 win for Burnley and a Pears howler likely costing us a point. I think Rovers will certainly give it more of a go than they did last time they went to Turf Moor and JDT basically rolled over for them with a horrific team selection. My predicted team: Pears Brittain Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Tronstad Hedges Dolan Sigurdsson Gueye I don't think any of the new signings will start even if they have signed in time. Gueye to score for Rovers.

Highly doubt there will be anything else after Cantwell and the two winger loans. With Beck coming in for LB cover, Pickering an be used as a left sided CB if needed, and striking options we have Gueye, Ohashi, Weimann, Dolan, and Leonard to come back from injury who can all play that position. Suspect if there is still interested in Ryo Germain then they'll look to bring him in for free in January when his contract is up.

Nobody is paying 9-10 million for Stansfield. Except for Birmingham I guess.

Now we just need that lad with the 'There We Land' tweet and we're golden

It's another leftfield signing from the new recruitment team to go along with Gueye and Ohashi, but we have to be hopeful that Toth is an upgrade on Pears. Unfortunately it looks like we'll be stuck with Pears in goal for the Burnley game. I have to say, so far this summer the new recruitment team have ticked all the boxes for me. If all other potential transfers come off today then Rovers 'should' be nowhere near the bottom of the table.

Woke up to the news we've signed Baker on loan. That's a really good deal given he's out of contract next summer, so he's basically playing for a long term deal, with more championship experience added to the squad as well. Wouldn't be surprised to see Buckley moved on late in the day now. Rovers have generally surprised me this summer with their transfers as it feels like a big improvement compared to last year. Time will tell though...

Cantwell and Duberry on paper are very decent signings. Don't know anything about the keeper so could be a Kaminski or a Wahlstedt, we'll just have to see. Gut feeling is that we've gone for Cantwell instead of spending money on Dembele, and now the Duberry is coming in as the winger. I'm not against this, as Dembele seems to have his critics. I'd much rather we brought in another winger on top of Duberry instead of cover for right back. With Brittain, JRC and Duru all able to play there it feels like that should be enough. Cantwell, Duberry, Toth, then another winger and CM cover please.

Wouldn't be against Cantwell but it is a risk as he seems like a bit of a bad egg. It'll probably put JE's man management skills to the test.

That's a decent signing for them if it happens. I'd have him at Rovers.

Been a lot of talk about Siggy and his work rate but when he came on yesterday I thought he worked really hard for the team, scored a lovely goal and ultimately he (with a bit of help from Big Mak) turned what would've been a frustrating draw into a hard fought win. He just needs to do that on a consistent basis. There is an opportunity for someone in this squad to become the new star man, if he knuckles down on a consistent basis then it could easily be him. Yesterday was not easy on the eye really, but I honestly couldn't care less because we won the game. Ohashi had a another good game, felt like the crowd where desperate to see him score again which would've been brilliant, but not to be. I appreciate Dolan does a lot of work off the ball, but his decision making on it needs work. Several times yesterday he picked the ball up in a position where if he just played the simple ball we'd be further up the pitch, but instead we get to see a couple of little tricky steps and it slows us right down. Just play the obvious pass man! Although he did make an impact when he came on, I thought Gueye looked quite clumsy and sluggish, not as alert as he perhaps was against Norwich and Derby. I imagine he'll start on Tuesday though and Ohashi will get a rest.

My main takeaway from today's game is that Rovers really need some help in the form of a few new players. Some of the lads looked tired and leggy in the first half. Its a lot to hope for in the next week or so but a new number one GK, LB cover, CM cover, RW and a Centre Forward all feel needed. Bringing in a RW then frees JRC up to play elsewhere, possibly in that number 10 role.

Don't disagree with that at all, its very true! That being said it feels a touch unimaginative if we do sign him, given that it'll be purely based on JE working with him before.

Not sure Dembele is the answer. Only 1 assist in 33 championship games last season. That's just not good enough at all. Stansfield, obviously a decent player and would be a good investment, but can't see Fulham letting him go. He scored 12 goals in a relegated Birmingham team and probably would've scored more if they hadn't gone and appointed Rooney and dropped off a cliff. I'd be happy with the signing but just doesn't seem viable given Rovers circumstances. Ruddy should only be brought in as a last resort IMO. It's an extremely short term solution and if Rovers can bring in someone as a more long term investment then they should be actively pursuing that first. I still expect a couple of prem loans as is customary for most Championship clubs, but I imagine they'll come very late in the window, possibly deadline day.

Court case has been delayed till November apparently.

Disappointed, yes. Surprised at the delay, absolutely not. The horror show continues....

Think this will be an extremely tough game, and Oxford will certainly create more than Derby did at Ewood, and they still managed 2 goals! Tempted to say it'll be a draw or a home defeat. I just have a feeling about it, a little bit like when we lost at home to Luton in their first season after promotion from League One....Travis scored in a 2-1 defeat. Also can't see there being any changes to the starting 11 providing there are no injuries or arrivals this week. I don't think Ohashi will start because the club need to be careful with him, and having a player like that to come on when you need a goal is something we have rarely had in recent years. Question marks over JRC and Dolan based on their performances from Saturday, but I think they'll both get the nod. Just not sure about JRC on the right wing. Swapping him with Brittain might be a good idea.

Stansfield? Now surely that is someone putting 2 + 2 together and getting 5. Absolutely no chance Rovers go and spend 6 million on a player. Barely any point discussing the 'what if' scenario of Rovers actually bringing him in. Germain on the other hand, sound far more likely. On goalkeepers, Iversen is the standout choice if it can be done, even as a loan...but it'd be just typical Rovers / Waggott to sign Tim Krul, knowing full well he's injured.

Very early days but Ohashi is looking like one of the signings of the summer. His first touch might not be great but if he can put the ball in the net on a regular basis then I couldn't care less.