Well until recently we were trying to become a possession based, play it out from the back, style team. With out much success in my opinion. That appears to have changed with the signing of Ayala and the pursuit of Kipre Neither of those are noted for their passing ability. None of the existing centre halves at the club are any better in that respect. My main criticism of Mowbray is that he's never really come up with a way of playing that suits the players we have at the club, most of whom are his signings. It was only the very basic long ball to Graham bringing Dack into play that seemed to work. I await with baited breath our latest change of style.

What style of play is that then ?

The thing is mate those stats could have come from a hell of a lot of our recent games. We don't convert enough shooting opportunities/chances into goals. There's a reason for that.

How many players have we got at the club that are capable of taking even 1 chance out of 2 ? We've got a hell of a lot of blunt instruments playing for us at the moment in front of goal.

The number of shots on goal last Saturday ( 2 ) would suggest we are struggling to create chances.

I didn't either. He was just about ok the first time around but he'd obviously gone backwards since that point. Mediocre at Big Club and a nothing back at Southampton. He doesn't run his weight for me.

I'm expecting a turgid scrap were we have most of the ball and end up having a couple of shots on goal. The Wycombe bus well and truly parked. It'll be like watching a submarine race. The fans locked out will have dodged a bullet. Prove me wrong for once Rovers and take this lot to the cleaners !

I wouldn't argue with that but the goals he scored were evidence he knew were goals come from/

Nuttall knew the one thing that matters - to score goals you've got to get in the box.

I was just reading the comments in my local paper of a new striker Rochdale have just signed - " Brian ( Barry Murphy the manager ) is a manager with lots of modern ideas - he wants to play Premier League style football. We've got a new pitch so that will help towards the way he wants to play " I'm sorry son but to play Premier League style football it helps if you have actual Premier League players. It takes a lot more than a new pitch. Cue plenty of clumsy journeyman centre halves getting caught in possession at the Crown Oil Arena this season. I don't think he's the only manager with the new " pass it around until you lose it " mentality

When I look at these highlights reels I always look for what's missing. Like in the Brererton one -plenty of running with ball but not much play near to goal and no evidence of heading ability. Same with the Garner one, not one example of him out jumping an opponent to win a contested header. For a defensive midfield player I'd expect to see a few headers won under pressure. You've certainly got to have reasonable heading ability to play regularly in the back four.;

Yeah, you need to be quick out there. Henning Berg wasn't the fastest either but he was another class act whose positional play was exceptional.

Why have we been playing him there then ?

It would be worth having a look at him. I was labouring under the impression that he was similar in style to Buckley, going off the clip he obviously isn't.

Pro's - He's got a fair bit of pace about him, reasonably tall, definitely likes a tackle, senses danger, decent close control and spacial awareness, good right footed passer of the ball.. Cons - goes to ground a bit too easily, no left foot to speak of, almost everything in that clip was right footed play, No evidence of his ability in the air to win contested headers in the clip.

Mm, There's not a tackle in that 6, apart from maybe Dolan. Who's going to get us the ball ? You can count on Wycombe wanting to make it an arm wrestle.

One thing you need at full back is pace. There aren't that many really good but slow full backs.

Well it won't be Rathbone then, Rochdale would want the dosh. Hull offered them cash.

Maybe our rumoured interest in Rathbone at Rochdale may become more serious now. A poor mans Travis if ever I saw one.

Look at the pitch, that's terrible.

Yeah it's hilarious, just tell us what you really think about the ref Mick. Skerrett, who went in with the swinging arm, got his jaw broken by a similar " tackle " in a subsequent game against Cas.

Wasn't it Brian Clough who paraded Ian Storey-Moore around the old Baseball ground as a new signing before a Saturday game only for him to sign for Man Utd on the Monday ?

It seems a lot to pay for a probable bench warmer. I would have thought a decent second in line could be got for quite a bit less than that Maybe Mowbray has heard Pears looks like a decent outfield player in training, he could slot him in at left back.

He might get a bad back picking the balls out of the back of the net.

I don't know wether you follow Rugby League but at half time in yesterdays Cas v Hull game on BBC TV they had a piece about Rob Burrow, the ex Leeds scrum half. He's another MND sufferer. He's one hell of a tough little guy but it was heartbreaking to watch the interview. It's a cruel illness in one who should be in his prime with a wife and very young family.