I'm not so sure about Cunningham. You don't normally become a better player after injuries like that. We'll already have one coming back in Dack, I'm not sure I'd want two potential liabilities. Is he the only left back on the planet ? Is our European scout self isolating in his bedroom ?

Ossy Ardiles wasn't much bigger than a jockey but he could run the show all day long. Size helps but it doesn't trump ability if you have plenty of it.

That was a ball defenders hate. It took out the goalkeeper and the centre halves and left the full back isolated.

I'm afraid I agree with you.

Or the slow but clever " Wagstaffe " type of winger who never beat you once but ran the game by playing just outside of your zone. if you went deep to mark him you found the centre forward running into the space you'd just left.

Even at top level it can work. The Giroud goal tonight is a classic example. The Chelsea full back gets to the bye line and puts in a low teasing cross. Giroud nips in from behind the centre half, who doesn't see him coming, to get to the ball first and flicks the ball goalwards. De Gea has no real reaction time because the play is so close and before he can react the ball is over the line and into the net.

She said " What a terrific film, I've not seen a film as good as that for years ",

That's the style today. As you suggest it can be wasteful, especially if your wide players can't cross a ball. The top Prem teams prefer a possession based game because they're up against a better class of big defender by and large. I still think getting the ball out wide can be effective at our level.

That's what happens when you get up the side of teams. A deep cross from wide, left full back gets turned around watching play, Gallagher comes steaming in out of sight and gets the drop on the defender to head a good goal. You can play in front of teams all day long and not much happens, get their back four turned around and it's another story all together. Of course we'd usually prefer to play blokes out there who can't cross a ball or beat a full back with the ball at their feet so we don't create many chances like that one.

Therein lies the fly in our ointment. Our recruitment is mediocre at best. Certainly it's not in Brentford's class.

I agree with your remarks regarding the cost of ready made players but £12 million would have got us a top striker and a very good centre half.

It went through at head height I thought. It was a good free kick but there wasn't a lot of pace on it. My first thought was " Raya would have got a hand to that ". Walton is one of the most leaden goalkeepers we've ever had. If it's not hit right at him it's a goal. How did Rothwell get awarded that goal, I thought their guy headed Rothwell's shot into the far corner of the goal. A clear OG.

It might be before your time but Rochdale had a similar player to Vardy in a lad called Alan Taylor. He'd been at PNE as a kid and got let go. He ended up playing at Morecambe in non league. Rochdale took a gamble on him and before long the scouts from bigger clubs were watching him. West Ham jumped in and paid a decent fee for him as one for the future. He was thrown in to FA Cup quarter final at Arsenal because some senior players were injured and he scored both goals in a 2-0 win. He scored both goals in the semi final and he also got both goals in the final ! Earlier in the season I'd been watching him running around the mud of Spotland in the old fourth division, now he's running around Wembley with the cup. Rags to riches He failed to thrive after that for much longer unfortunately. He was very quick like Vardy and a series of injuries robbed him of the pace he relied on. He ended up having a spell at the dingledome.

As in most games it'll be the team that want's it the most that wins it. So I can't see beyond a Luton win but Rovers are pretty unpredictable at the moment. If Luton do win it will mean that they've done the double over us. Think about that for a minute. Our performances against the lesser teams have been woeful again.

Yes it's a great film with some superb performances from the leading characters. We saw it when we were out in Spain last year. I liked it so much I watched it again last night. The problem is I'd forgotten about all the swearing in it. That's not an issue for me after spending most of my life in the engineering industry but I recommended it to my 89 year old mum ! I'll be seeing her later today and I wonder what she'll say.

Jamie Vardy came up that way also but I suspect he's got more desire and pure will to win than Armstrong, There's no lost causes with Vardy.

I agree with that but the Prem is another level up. Defenders at that level have pace also.

As you say they'll be fishing in a bigger pool now. Lenihan's too rough around the edges to make it at top level at the moment.

One good thing about him going to Big Club if it comes off - we might be able to beat Wigan again.

Both of them walked straight into good First Division teams when they left Rovers.

I don't think any of our players our " oven ready " for the Prem yet. That's not to say one or two of the younger ones might be the subject of bids with a view to future developments.

There's plenty of them in football management.

It looks like you'll be getting your wish at the moment.

I agree with you about Lenihan's positional play. He's too easily drawn to the ball. Phil Jones was the same as a young player and as far as I can see he's never grown out of it.

He's not marrying your daughter, he's motivating a group of daft young blokes to bust a gut out on the pitch. I've played on teams with blokes I wouldn't have a drink with in the bar after the game but that doesn't mean they weren't worth their weight in gold once the whistle blew. We need winners not grinners. He's a winner, just like Warnock's a winner.