The system annoys me. Loans are important but I think there should be a lower limit on the amount. 3 maximum. There are a few sides playing 4 or 5 loanees per game. The form of the likes of Boro and Stoke are no coincidence when they've packed their sides with loans, many of which were brought in January. I know we could in theory do the same, but I'm just a bitter man 😂

I think Real will adjust tactically. They did it superbly well last season with Ancelloti proving to be a master in knock out competitions. I see Real sitting back, staying compact and either hitting City on the counter or picking short spells in the game where they up the intensity. If City get the lead in the tie it'll be difficult for Madrid. But given their quality I wouldn't think City would feel remotely safe until there is a cushion of a couple of goals.

You can never tell too much from YouTube but he looks excellent. Strong, a good and intelligent tackler, good at shielding the ball and breaking when pressed and a decent passer. Can't see us having a chance with him. Maybe he's been looked at for if we win promotion. The only other possibility would be a loan with an option to buy, to put him in the shop window.

Given the quality and rate of youngsters developing into first team players, it does give me a feeling we're seeing the start of something special. Should we still be in the championship in a couple of years I don't think it's a stretch to say 8 or 9 of our strongest 11 could be either academy graduates or youth players who've joined us aged around 16. Balance that with ambition and a few shrewd additions and the future is beginning to look very bright. Reputations matter. Our academy coupled with the open pathway to the first team is going to make us an increasingly attractive proposition to any younger players. The clubs and Jack's vision are looking like a reality and the momentum which is building is only going to increase.

The entire purpose of the academy is to feed the first team and its doing an incredible job in doing so. The fact its being used to maintain match fitness of the first team is an added benefit which also brings huge value for our younger players, getting the opportunity to play with and learn from senior pros. The fact we played such a strong team against Forest is of little concern. It wasn't done to ensure we dispatch them with ease, it was done with development and fitness in mind. The win is positive, but that success to me is just a small part of the bigger picture and goal of the academy.

If memory serves me correctly JRC held out a long time before signing his last contract. He's bang in form. I'd say he is showing what he was always capable of, but injuries always curtailed his progression. Part of his value on the pitch are who he is, in his determination and his intelligence. He's good technically, but not superb. His real value is his reading of the game, not directly in relation to his own position but the game as a whole. What I'm saying is he's smart and I'm sure he is enjoying playing football. He's also smart enough to see his value and brave enough to back himself. Any contract is a negotiation, so those two qualities of intelligence and bravery come into play here. I think he'll sign a new contract. But he's holding out for what he sees as his perceived worth. Broughton will see that and they'll find a deal they are both happy with. It's just not as straightforward as someone who is willing to jump at the increase regardless of other factors. Fair play to him. I love him as a player and even though it makes negotiations more difficult those are the characteristics I like to see. Hopefully we'll reward him with what he's worth and he'll repay us with his winning mentality.

I saw Ethan Brierley got a goal and an assist on good Friday. Led me to look at Rochdales form and even though they are firmly rooted to the foot of the table, their results have seen a significant upturn since he came back into the side. Hopefully there is an agreement in place after the January debacle.

Kaminski Jrc - Carter - Hyam - Pickering Travis - Morton - Wharton Sorba - Leonard- Szmodics My only other considerations would be JRC in midfield for Morton and as poor as I think he's been, leaving Diaz out would be a big call. Really hoping Leonard starts. Give him a chance because the other options are poor and he showed promise.

Two suggestions I'd have would be anytime physios are on the pitch the clock is stopped and alternative punishments for certain forms of time wasting. Yellow cards are an insufficient punishment as often players are given multiple warnings before one is dished out and you never see a second yellow for time wasting. The reward outweighs the punishment. One alternative punishment would be if during substitutions a player has not left the pitch within 20 seconds, the replacement is effectively in a sin-bin for 5 minutes. Another being, during restarts if the ball isn't back in play within say 20 seconds the restart is given to the opposition. Same with corners changing to a goal kick, or a goal kick to a corner. If there are any mitigating circumstances like a player carrying an injury, the ref has authority to step in and stop the clock. I'm not a fan of stopping the clock each time the ball goes out of play, but simple punishments such as turnovers of possession would hugely speed the game up and increase the quality of the product. JDT is correct when he says fans have paid money to watch, so play football.

I agree with those saying it's not the time for experimentation. We are firmly in the playoff hunt and it's all about points between now and the end of the season. But... if I look at it objectively. I saw him hold it up today, his touch looked tight and he got himself into goalscoring positions. 3 things you need from a striker and 3 things Gally has rarely shown. Dolan can do a job but it isn't his position. So I'd stick Leonard in, based on what he showed in his cameo today. I think he earnt the chance, even though that's largely influenced by the lack of alternatives. You never know, he might fire us to the promised land.

Also, I'm willing to hold my hands up. I was fully in the camp of him needing to show it in training before he's in the first team. But after seeing him again today, even if he's lacking in stamina there's no way he shouldn't at least command a place on the bench. I'm all for JDT giving him a hard time and making him work his arse off to keep getting better, but he is an absolute gift. He's got more talent in his little toe than most of our squad.

Wharton seems to use his body well to protect the ball and doesn't mind some if the rougher side if there's a lose ball. Like you say, his slight body allows him to glide past players easily. Boy does he need to up his cardio though. Even if he's slight he needs to be able to run. If you look at him though he's still a kid. Everyone develops at different rates. One 19 year old will naturally have very different levels of fitness to another. One thing I am surprised at, is some people saying it was his worst game in a Rovers shirt. I thought he was a joy to watch. Every time he got the ball, he had an extra second compared to every other player on the pitch. He's a class footballer and his passing was superb. He's a luxury at this stage of his career, but I'd say he's the most naturally gifted footballer in our squad, both now and since Duff/Dunn came through. I really hope he trains hard and builds his stamina, because if he truly sets his mind to fulfilling his potential, he could well be an England regular later in his career.

Bloody Preston! Late, late winner. Overall though, I'd have jumped at that set of results at 3pm. Holding onto 6th after 1 win in 5 games.

I might be jumping the gun, creating a thread for him after a single 30 minute appearance, but I was impressed. Playing as a striker is the hardest position on the pitch. I thought he put himself around, held it up well, showed some good close control and was unlucky not to score with his snapshot. The biggest thing he showed though was confidence and bravery, looking like he belonged. Given our only other options are Gally or Dolan as a false 9, I'd be very happy to see him given a start in the next game. He was very promising.

I'm not sure that BBD has his head elsewhere. I think he can only play in a counter attacking system. I think he's playing at his level now. And he's not technical enough to play in a better league.

My take on the performance. Loads of positives. It's the most dominant I've seen us in years. We created chances at will. Even though the stats are so weighted in our favour they still don't tell the whole story. The amount of blocks Huddersfield made was phenomenal coupled with some shocking first touches by Diaz and Szmodics when through 1v1. The 3 in midfield was a revelation. We were fluid, creative and dominant. Wharton is the best natural footballer at the club, though is evident he is no cross country runner. Still, he's a phenomenal player. I'd be playing 3 in the middle for the remainder of the season, and one of those would be JRC. That was a god like second half performance from him and not a minute of it was played from right back. It's evidence enough that he'd be good playing CM in a 3. Wharton - Travis - JRC. Another positive was Leonard. I thought he looked natural. Held it up well at times, didn't look shy, unlucky not to score with his snap shot. I was all for throwing him in, but my expectations weren't particularly high. It's a big step up, especially when playing as a striker. Its the hardest position on the pitch. Very promising. The negatives. I'm patting myself on the back a bit here, but I've felt the shakyness from Pears since Sheffield United. That was abysmal. He cost us more than any other player on the pitch. Kaminski back next game please. Morton was better second half, including a great cross for the second goal. But a little more awareness from him and both Huddersfield goals are prevented. The first he’s flat footed. The second had me screaming. Hyam missed his header from the long ball. Morton is trotting back and ends up in the area Hyam would occupy. Except he stops in no man's land and doesn't cover the space. A lack of very basic footballing intelligence. I thought Diaz was also very poor. We all talk about his hypothetical value. If we can recruit smartly in the summer I don't think we'll miss him much Hopefully we can use this comeback and new formation to propel us forward. Even though we didn't win I don't think we were bottle jobs. Pears was, but on the whole we were brave, stood up to be counted and should won at a canter. Also the ref was a joke. 7 fouls given against us vs 5 for them. How's that work when we had 81% possession. And it should have been 10+ mins of added time. No control over the game. He's pretty poor at his profession.

Ref is a tanked up twat. Complete homer. How does he give them more free kicks than us when we had 80% possession. 4th official.... ah yes. Another twat. How on earth did he come up with only 5 added minutes. The only thing that kept Huddersfield in that game was obscene amounts of time wasting. It should have been 10. We were actually very good. All game. Pears needs to be dropped. I think he's the biggest reason we've not come away with 3 points.

Ref needs to get a grip of this diving and time wasting.

Unbelievable. We've played some brilliant football. It's not been possession for possessions sake. We've had golden chances. JRC, Szmodics x3, Diaz. Szmodics and Diaz especially have both been played clean through and had horrendous first touches. I felt Pears needed to be dropped for this game. What in the fuck was he doing for their first goal. It's Wigan-esk. Second goal, Carter gets done by good movement. I'm on Morton watch though. Why once Hyam has missed his header is Morton just jogging back rather than covering the near post area. A tiny bit of awareness and he could have easily covered. He leaves Carter very exposed. We should be about 2-0 up, let alone 2-0 down. We are very open however. Wharton has been brilliant on the ball, but he's offered nothing off it. Morton being the deep lying midfielder is laughable as he's just shite. Trav being pushed further to the right has left us so exposed. Second half, Brittain for JRC, Wharton for Carter, Garrett for Morton. I'm very annoyed.

Huge game for us today. The wheels feel like they have fallen off. I'm fully expecting a loss. I'm hoping Rovers will go out there and prove me wrong with a battling performance and get our playoff push back on track. Kaminski Brittain - Carter - Hyam - Pickering Travis - Wharton Hedges - Szmodics - Diaz Dolan / Leonard Not wholesale changes but 4 players in to bring energy, with a point to prove. Hedges provides little width and always drifts inside, as does JRC. Brittain can offer a bit of wing play. Wharton is so much more talented than Morton and hopefully he wants to stick it to JDT. Dolan, as small as he is, the ball sticks to him if it's played into his feet. If JDT wants a fluid front line then Gally just isn't it. Then Kaminski to come in with the chance to win the gloves back and hopefully pull off some big saves.

I'd posted in the A.Wharton thread that I felt he needed to pull his weight to get back in the side. I like JDT's man management and I still stand by this, but I thought he was very in his 20 minute cameo against Norwich and has to start for me. Maybe he also needs this game time to get the bit between his teeth. Looking at our recent form, it's fallen off a cliff since Buckley injured his knee and Morton replaced him. It's not all down to him, but it's a situation which can't continue. He's not good enough, especially in a 2 man midfield. Either replace him or switch tactics to a midfield 3. Or both.

That's what I mean. He's very good at it. Gally is the hide and seek champion of the championship, 4 years running. If there was an award for it, I'm not sure we'd ever find him for the presentation.

I'd be ringing in a few changes. Just get some players in who will be chomping at the bit. Kaminski for Pears, Brittain for JRC, Wharton for Morton, Leonard for Gallagher. Not all those players necessarily deserve to be dropped, but mixing it up when results aren't going in your favour is no bad thing.

In a weird way, it's actually quite impressive how he's literally always in the wrong place. I'm not sure how he manages it.

Watched the highlights of the Spurs vs Brighton game. Quite stunned at the level of incompetence from both the officials and VAR. Incompetence so bad that you almost start questioning whether it's more than that. Tough for Brighton to take in a game that would have seen them knocking on the door for the Champions League had they won. Spurs really are very easy to dislike.