Weren't they after Gallagher when we signed him the second time ?

He should have been history years ago. He's got no idea of how to get out of this division. You don't need to be a mini Liverpool, you need to be well organised with a coherent, settled way of playing. It doesn't need to be too sophisticated at this level, everybody in the squad needs to know exactly what's required of them and be able to fulfil that role. Under Mowbray we've never looked like a team were every element of the team is fit for purpose. And that's when we were playing well. How long has Readings manager been in the job ? Yet he's already constructed a team that will be there or there abouts at the end of the season. Just tired of this " Ground Hog Day " of a club where no matter how many changes we make nothing actually changes.

I stopped listening to anything he has to say about a year ago.

He'll still be here this time next year. He's on easy street.

When was the last Rovers team that wasn't easily bullied ? Too many nice lads and not enough blokes who don't take a backward step.

Ground Hog Day. Taxi for Tony.

I was thinking that. It's hardly stopped raining all day here in Rochdale and we're not that far away.

If you're a good passer of the ball full back is the place to be. Normally you have all the play in front of you so there should be plenty of options. Of course you need to be able to defend. The chance that the Coventry lad banged against the post came because there was a gap you could drive an oil tanker down where the right back should have been.

I think it was Fuccillo I think that went over Keeley's shoulder onto a bone hard frozen pitch. I've been at a couple of rugby league games were I thought a player had been killed but when he came straight down head first I thought he'd been killed !

If we are playing really well by Xmas, as I fervently hope we will be, it's not going to be easy gradually incorporating Dack into the team. We wouldn't want to disrupt a team on a roll. On the other hand if we're on one of our regular downward spirals it wouldn't be fair to expect a Bradley Dack just back from a serious injury to pull us out of it. Who'd be a manager ?

Futcher was a complete knob, a master of shithousery. Tim 's brother in goal for Grimsby. We were starting to look a team who could go places at last.

Was that the game were he shinned in the winning goal from the edge of the penalty area ? Great connection.

Angus had a nasty streak as well. We were playing the dingles at Ewood and I was stood at the Blackburn End at the front near the wall towards the corner flag. Mike Harrison and Angus had been involved in a tackle right in front of me were they both went to ground. The ball was quickly cleared downfield and as Mike was getting to his feet Angus kicked his legs right from under him. Not many people saw it because most were watching the play down field so he got clean away with it. No TV then. I think he knew Mike wasn't keen on the rough stuff and was trying to intimidate him. Brian O'Neill was a good little player, in the later games he was usually marking Dougie. I remember him ripping Dougie's shirt right down the middle in one game at the Turf. I heard he'd had women trouble and Bob Lord had told him to leave town ! John Talbut played for the same England school boys team as a one time drinking partner of mine, Tony Street, with Barry Bridges, Willie Carlin, Warwick Rimmer and the old West Brom goalie John Osbourne who actually was an outfield player as a schoolboy.

I think the likes of Ray Pointer, John Angus, John Talbut, Jimmy Robson, Gordon Harris etc were all Geordies. Maybe they were before your time. Brian O'Neill was some player, if he hadn't have been such a bad lad he would have played for England. Bob Lord got fed up with bailing him out in the end and got rid of him.

Goals 1 and 3 were real pub team defending, Goal 2 was a beauty. I can see these being a handful if we don't impose ourselves on the game.

The Dingles had a conveyor belt of talent coming down from the North East at that time. Johnny Price was one of them. What Newcastle and Sunderland were thinking of I'll never know. I think the guy who took Shearer to Southampton was the guy responsible for all those players but he had a falling out and left them. The conveyor belt stopped right away. A lad I knew was in and around their reserve and " A " team then and he told me the coach went up to Newcastle for a Saturday afternoon reserve team game with a full compliment and came back nearly empty because the Burnley lads were all Geordies and they were having a weekend at home. Stan Ternent was one of them.

Years ago I was watching a Rugby League game at the old Spotland stadium. Our opponents were a Yorkshire team who had the Fairbank brothers playing for them. Two farmers boys who were both a sandwich short of a picnic. They were punching everything in sight in the tackle and eventually the ref lost patience with one of them and sent him off. The tunnel at Rochdale then had sloping brick walls to about six feet high topped with iron railings. As he was coming off one of young lads I actually worked with ran over to the railings and started giving the player dogs abuse. He obviously thought he was safe behind the railings. As the player was going down the tunnel he saw the lad who was abusing him, sprinted towards the tunnel wall and then leapt like Batman up to the railings. Within a split second he was face to face with the lad. The leap he made was unbelievable. The lad shat himself and ran off through the crowd to the cheers of the fans. If you ever went to watch Bradford play Rugby League at the old Odsal ground you'd know the players got changed in changing rooms at the top of the ground and then walked down through the crowd onto the pitch ! Obviously at the end of the game they had to go back the same way, this could be interesting. We had big prop who was well known for being a rough handful and he'd been putting himself about throughout the game. As he was making his way back up the hill a little old lady who was waiting there with her husband started hitting him with an umbrella ! He said to the lady " If you don't stop hitting me with that umbrella I'm going to hit him ", pointing to her husband.

I think we're quite a way off having to make that decision. I'd be surprised if Dack is ready to start a first team game before Xmas.

If you watch it back carefully the chasing pack are all running towards goal, Gallagher suddenly stops running, the Coventry centre halves keep going back towards their goal and have lost him, then the lad on the wing picks him out perfectly.

He's obviously playing in a role that suits his ability now. Playing on the wing or up front didn't. I reckon Dack could play a similar role if he's back to his best. He's got everything that Brererton has and more.

I think it's more to do with him being asked to do a job that he's actually capable of doing. IE pick the ball up higher up the pitch in midfield and run with it. If you look at that famous " highlights " reel basically that was all it consisted of. I just think that if Dack was still fit and playing for us Brererton would still out on the wing or up front and looking lost.

I think they've drawn all their home games.

I've never abused a player at a game. I don't see the point, it's hardly likely to make them play better. That's at a game, they have to be there , they don't have to come on here and read what people write on here . Getting back to the game. The fourth goal was a classic example of how effective wing play can be. We get in up the sideline, everybody is running back towards goal, The Coventry back four are looking out to where the danger is. Gallagher just stops running and lets all the Coventry defenders run away from him. A huge gap opens right in front of him and he can hardly miss. He's obviously learnt something about finding space but we needed to get their back four turned around and running back towards their own goal first. . More wing play please Rovers.

If Armstrong had have put that penalty away in mid week he would be holding the record.