Morton on instead of Wharton seems like a pointed message to the latter. Weird thing to hold a grudge against a teenager when you’re JDT’s age.

BBD should be burying that but the build-up was incisive and the little backheel switch was excellent. We look good here, although I’m conscious Norwich are abject at the minute. Their fans are silent.

Yeah, I did see and the fairly “fluid”/totally amorphous shape in front of the back four probably isn’t helping that. He’s not yet a starter but when we’re trying to break down a team late on, he would be very useful. Ironically, he’s just been instrumental in that goal with his press!

Luckily I’ve got the Cardiff game on in the background, which is a good watch.

Markanday is a very silky player. Norwich can’t get near him on the ball and he releases in good time. Has to be getting more game time.

Honestly such a visibly lazy player. Not got much pace either, so it’s not like he’s preserving himself for anything. If he is, then he needs a lot of work on the fitness front.

Madness, really. Last week, they were talking as though they’d be there and Szmodics offered to do commentary. There’ll still be those wanting to watch via the Int’l pass in the dark markets. Why not have the stream set up?

Anyone else looking at a black screen in RoversTV?

Agreed. Loved watching him score goals for us but without a lot of other investment and some considerable change to his approach, I don’t think he materially improves the potential of the side. Undeniably, he would score goals, but the shift in dynamic means throwing out the current philosophy. While a lot of us would be in favour of that, I’d expect performances to drop off a cliff and his goals to then dwindle.

Certainly not sad for them. I’m pleased for Brighton. Living in London, I have a fair few Brighton fans as friends and it’s a good club, run well. Good day out for a neutral, as well. A guy I play football with works for Tony Bloom and could not speak higher of him and the operation he works at. A sophisticated, progressive and considered approach to football club ownership. We should be happy for them, really, much the same as they are sad for us. It’s a good thing for football, generally.

Never treated the BBE as a fountain of wisdom.

Don’t confess!!!

“JDT out” shouts are premature for me. Entirely fine to be dissatisfied with recent performances (would take a lot of exceptional performances to overturn the bad feeling after Burnley) and concerned about what it means for us going forward. Having said that, I don’t think many of us would have put us where we are at this stage of the season and a great number of us expected a transitional season as well. I have to assume we spend a bit in January and subsequent windows to get the squad where it would need to be for a genuine promotion assault. I wanted us to do it this year and potentially tie BBD down to a deal but I’ll be supporting Rovers long after BBD retires and with the long-term in mind, we’d take 20 batterings in the Premiership at least. It simply might not be our time. Either way, I always expected a transitional season, a build season and a push from there. I don’t enjoy watching us lose but I’ve some sympathy for everyone involved tonight. Ref made a show of himself with help from the twat in the hat on the sidelines and you can’t legislate for that.

Difficult not to side with him if all of the above is true.

A better team would have finished us off here, so that’s worth bearing in mind, but an improvement in terms of mentality and desire to chase it when you’ve felt an injustice go against you. Gally probably tired here, but not taking up good enough positions consistently. So difficult to defend him as a player. Wharton should’ve been on instead of Garrett. Needed some creativity and Garrett is not creative enough.

They’re saying “violent conduct” on comms and with that it could also be “serious foul play” as the other option within the laws. Practically speaking, it’s unsporting conduct, which is a cautionable offence at worst. It’ll be rescinded but that doesn’t help us at all. Very poor showing and I’m inclined to write this off. We should’ve maybe put a couple away in the first half and not conceded early but the cumulative effects after the red make a loss here easier to forgive.

Poor decision. It’s at worst a yellow, realistically a talking to.

Eee dear

Inclined to agree but we’ve had one clear-cut that we put away. Gally should’ve hit the target and other than that they’ve been well-defended.

Genuinely pleased to see JRC playing well. Fully assumed he was finished. Some really lovely stuff being played around and in their box. Not sure why it seemed so much more difficult against Sunderland but fluency is much higher here.

I’ve cracked open a beer, in the hope that it remains an enjoyable watch. Boro are pushing their luck with this high line. Don’t look familiar enough with it to execute.

It’s just happened again, albeit the ball was too far ahead of Gally.

BIZARRE goal. Get in.

Evening all!

That’s a very poor result. Sunderland had a whole stadium behind them, roaring them on and really didn’t bother us much in the second half. At the death, a fresh captain gives away the ball and the striker has about two weeks to figure out what to with the ball. Woeful. We look worse now than before the World Cup. I still don’t think you sack a manager who’s in the playoff spots and I still have faith in “The Project™” but it’s definitely waning at an alarming rate.