He peaked at Rovers and he managed to peak Andy Cole at the same time !

I liked Andy a lot. He was a very under rated striker. When you can match the likes of Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves in the goal scoring charts that tells you all need to know. He was lethal in the penalty area, very calm and measured in his finishing. He never belted it when he could pass it into goal. A perfect foil for Big Fred.

What car does he drive ? That'll be a clue.

Speaking from the lofty position of someone who actually saw both of them play in their prime - Fred had a fantastic shot in both feet and he was also a very good header of the ball. He was very nimble for a big man with good close control, he could go past players on either side with clever ball skills as well as sheer strength. On the down side he had off days when he wasn't as effective for whatever reason. I think some players in those days didn't take the game as seriously as they do today. You could earn as much if you had a decent job in industry in those days. Also you've got to remember that Fred had Andy McEvoy playing along side him and Bryan Douglas providing the ammunition from midfield and two top class wingers putting over a stream of crosses. People forget that when we sold him to Everton he went for a record fee between two English clubs. He was that good. Alan wasn't as nimble as Fred, he could run past people and sometimes run through people but he wasn't noted for his dribbling skills. He was strong and aggressive at all times. He had a terrific right foot shot but his left foot wasn't a strong point. He was one of the best crossers of a ball off that right foot I've ever seen. For someone who wasn't as tall as Fred he was just as good a header of the ball. Where Alan has it over Fred is he never went missing in a game. You knew that we might be under the cosh and he hadn't had much of the ball for ages but just give him one good ball and he would make something of it. Ability wise there isn't a lot to chose between the two, it's the mental toughness side of Shearers game that would lead me to say, much as I loved Fred, Shearer would be my No 1 choice as a striker for Rovers. I've often wondered how many goals Alan would have got in the forward line that Fred played in !

Yeah, Rotherham have been there and done it before. That always helps in a crisis. I'm just glad we weren't in a relegation battle with them.

I saw Grabbi get three goals at least for the First Team.

If you rolled Nuttall and Brereton into one you wouldn't have a Danny Graham. The difference is in the fullness of time we'll make a small amount of money on one of them and we'll lose our shirts on the other. I don't know what money Brereton is on but whatever it is it's too much.

He's an average manager as his CV makes plain. He nearly kept us up in his first half a season but his cautious attitude ultimately led to us not keeping our heads above water. Last season we got promotion comfortably in the end but we were less than convincing for long periods in a pretty average division. The abdication of our pursuit of the league title left a bad taste in some peoples mouths, mine included. This season he's stuck with the old guard for too long when fresh blood was required. Some one mentioned that it's not his fault that we couldn't sign a desperately needed back up centre half in January but he has to take responsibility for the situation we found ourselves in with a young kid having to be thrown in at the deep end. A young kid who would have been behind Downing, Wharton and Platt in the pecking order if he hadn't foolishly loaned out all three to other clubs. On the recruitment front he's got more wrong than he has right. That's what average managers do. Good managers also make poor signings but they tend to get more right than wrong. If we want to maintain our somewhat bumpy progress in an upwards direction I honestly don't think he's the man for the job. I really like him a lot as a bloke and I've no doubt that he'd be good company if you met him in the pub. However things change rapidly in football and by and large it's a younger mans game these days. I've made it plain before that I'd like him to remain at the club as a sort of father figure and for Johnno to having a much greater input on the first team coaching side.

There in lies the problem. His previous recruitment does not lead me to think that he will pull it off. Let's hope I'm wrong.

I like Raya but since he got that boot in the face he's not been the same player. Apart from the flap that led to their goal today he spilled a simple shot in the first half. It was a ball he should have swallowed yet he managed to push out all along the ground right in front of goal. He was lucky a defender got a boot to it first.

I saw Jimmy Kerr a lot for Bury before he signed for Rovers, a pal of mine ( Tommy Claxton ) was in and out of the same team as Jimmy over there and I'd go over with him from time to time. If Brereton turns out to be half as good a footballer as Jimmy Kerr was he'll do for me. Steve Agnew was another one who came with a big reputation but got a career finishing injury almost as soon as we signed him.

We needed a striker capable of replacing Graham this time last year.

Dougie thought Fred Pickering was better.

I'm trying to think of a big money signing for Rovers that has made less of an impact, I suppose there must be one or two.

We've got Davenport and Gladwin to come back for the midfield roles, remember them ?

Mowbray's already signed two, Bell and Hart.

If Samuel was fit now he'd definitely be in front of Brereton.

Armstrong would have a great signing 20 years ago when most teams played with 2 up front. Normally a big target man and a nippy little player along side him. That style of football seems to have gone out of fashion. If we played like that now with Graham and Armstrong up front where would Dack play ? Armstrong's not a winger and he's best suited to a way of playing we don't use even when we're chasing the game. I said as much when we signed him back in the Summer.

We aren't playing in " the famous blue and white halves " at the moment which ever way you look at it. We've had some crap kits over the past 20 years or so but the current kit is the worst by a long way. It's an embarrassment.

Fair enough, I don't remember it.

And maybe the game will just pass him by again.

I can't believe we spent that sort of money without him being regularly scouted for half a dozen games at least. As the Forest guy is alleged to have said - " Have you found a position that suits him yet ? " He's not robust enough to play up front and he's not quick enough to play out wide. Maybe we need to do a " reverse Fred Pickering " and convert him to a left back !

You've only got to listen to the opinions of various ex pro members of the football panels to realise they aren't the fountain of all football wisdom. That's why dozens of managers get fired every year, they get more things wrong than they get right.

Yeah, it's just a shame he's over achieved where ever he's been. Mowbray's not in the same league.

We need players who are going to strengthen the first team not bench warming players who will be keeping our young players out of the reckoning.