Tyrone Shoelaces

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.

Yeah and he didn't help out his fullback much either !

That's what my pal said, he's not first choice when everybody is fit. Having said that he was really outstanding on Saturday in a rough and tumble game. Wether he could do it at our level I wouldn't like to say. I could see why we were looking at him though.

I'd like to see Chapman given a whirl out on the wing, especially away from home were he can catch them on the break. Bench Conway and Bennett and return Nyambe to right back.

It's obvious to me that with Evans and Smallwood playing you are effectively playing 6 at the back plus a goal keeper. That way you can only invite pressure and play most of the game on the defensive. As I said earlier if we were coming away with a succession of 1-0 wins a la Howard Kendall's team I might not like it but I could see the point. As it is we've had some real bangings this season and some of the football as been mind numbingly dull.

I went to the Rochdale V Sunderland game last Saturday. A very good pal of mine is a Sunderland fan and he got tickets, so him and his wife visited us for the weekend. . It was a pretty turgid sort of game, bags of effort but not a lot of skill on show. The one player that was head and shoulders above all the rest was that Dylan McGeoch who Rovers tried to sign last close season. What a good little player, a poor man's Tugay in the way he was always available for the pass and was always looking to spread the play. He was a shining light for Sunderland. He was for them what I thought Danny Murphy might have been for us. Rochdale had a good centre back who's on loan from Wolves, a big guy with a double barrelled name, he looked very capable although he was playing on the right hand side of a back three.

It's his inability up to now to sign players that genuinely impact the team that worries me as much as his defensive mentality. He seems to need to sign six players to get one that he's prepared to risk in the first team. Somebody reminded me the other day that it took him months at the start of last season to give Dack a starting place !

Not really no. He scored his share of goals and it goes without saying that he was the best left winger we've had in my time but he wasn't in the class of Andy Mac or Garner, Speedie, Benny Mac etc in front of goal. Finishing practice will help, don't get me wrong but if you haven't got that mental coolness in front of goal practice will only take you so far. From what I read Samuel was training twice a day but he was still a blunt instrument in front of goal and I suspect he always will be.

Confidence is a variable. Some days you have it, somedays you don't. I suspect Rhodes was low on confidence and has been since he left Rovers.

Good result for Villa given they were away, a goal down and a man down.

I don't agree. It's why some players can take penalties and some can't. Every pro player will be able to put 9 out of 10 in the top corner out on the training pitch. Put them in front of 80,000 at Wembley in a play off final and it's another story. The ability is still there but what's going on in their head has changed.

When one goes the other should hold their position and vice versa. They don't both have to stay at home.

Practice definitely helps with technique - shooting power, two footedness, good heading ability, these can be worked on but that coolheadedness when you're bearing down on the 'keeper comes naturally to the likes of Rhodes, Garner, Yakubu amongst many others. Jason Roberts could have practiced 8 hours a day but he would have always fluffed those chances he got when he had time to think about them.

Whatever Samuel's good points are finishing isn't one them. I also think good finishers are born and not made.

Even if they don't go up I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Grealish will be on his way.

I'd like to see him coaching the first team instead of the wasters we have at the moment,