Mashed Potatoes

Hardly. We could lose all 3 and still get enough points from the 10 after that.

Who is Gent ?

If you think we can afford Walton's fee and wages for a back-up keeper in the Championship I think you are in for a disappointment.

It's not "failure" if the right players aren't there at the right prices. It's a question of exercising judgement - it would have been failure if we had brought the wrong players in.

Or maybe the right deal just wasn't there ?

Crikey - he's had more models than Rod Stewart.

Use of the loan system is a necessary part of the skill of player recruitment in the Championship and inevitably means that most clubs in this division will face needing to bring in a fair number of players each year. On Saturday West Brom used 3 loan players and Leeds used 4 with another on the bench. Transfers are a means to an end - improved results on the pitch - not an end in themselves.

The two are interlinked; you may have some funding to buy players but not enough for the players you want.

I think it is our push for the playoffs that is being hailed. I think Mowbray has made it clear that signings have to fit in with the ethos that he has installed at the club - be it attitude or playing style. Hence why he was right to refuse to make signings in the transfer window if the players available weren't right.

Why will we need an overhaul any greater than other Championship clubs ?

A very enjoyable day. Marked especially by the way that unheralded players like Samuel and Johnson stepped up to the plate, and Walton absolutely superb.

He has strengthened the defence which is why we are conceding fewer goals.

The club needs owners with a better understanding of how a successful club would be run - no doubt - but what "positive action" to persuade Venkys to move on have you identified ? I can't think of any.

I mentioned those two because I think they are the only ones from last season's Championship now playing in the Premier League - the clubs there don't seem keen to move in for Championship level keepers. As you say, it would be good to have the best keeper possible - but perhaps worth remembering that it is unlikely that they will be as good as Brad Friedel who was our keeper last time we were promoted to the Premier League.

I wasn't trying to invalidate your opinion per se but it's more a case of trying to establish the yardstick by which Walton is judged - I get the impression that people are expecting a Premier League class keeper. How many were there in the Championship last season ? Henderson at Sheffield United - on loan from Manchester United - and Krul.

An interesting post as an indication that even the Mowbray Out brigade maybe now realise that the process of appointing a successor will probably not be as straightforward as they assumed. Who is Bruno Ribeiro's agent ? On a more general note you rightly point out how close involvement of an agency with a club creates a conflict of interest. The Times last week carried an article regarding the situation at Wolves where the manager and 10 of the first team squad have the same Portuguese agent in Mendes - indeed Matt Doherty recently switched his agent to Mendes. The outstanding success that Wolves have had on the pitch in the last three years has helped to quieten concerns but as the article pointed out - what happens if the day dawns when his interests and those of Wolves no longer coincide ?

How many good keepers do you think there are in the Championship - and who are they ?

Only West Brom and Brentford have scored significantly more goals than us.

Website whoscored.com rates Walton above Raya - 6.69 to 6.59. Walton ranked 8th best keeper in the Championship with Rodak of Fulham ranked best.

Isn't Iversen on loan from Leicester ?

But he doesn't seem to be showing this improvement . The website whoscored.com gives Walton a rating of 6.69 whereas Raya is down on 6.59.

Yes, the weather forecast here down south is for very blustery conditions at the weekend. Those older posters who remember the huge space of The Valley before its redevelopment will be grateful that the stadium is now enclosed.

If it is true,whatever view one might have regarding an individual player I can't see any defence for a player refusing to play. I suspect he isn't refusing to be paid his wages. What would Alex Ferguson have said to a player who refused to play ?

And yet despite it all we are heading for our highest finish for 5 years.

Still an oversimpification.