I could see Burke fitting into our system. He's a powerful runner and very direct so would suit a counter attacking team. I don't know how he is defensively though. If he had the work rate then I think he'd be pretty effective and add a little more depth which we are sorely lacking. With our current system from my limited knowledge of him he feels like a round peg in a round hole. A loan with an option would be good as I wouldn't be breaking the bank to bring him, but at the same time if he did the business we don't want Sheffield United holding us over a barrel in 6 months time, when as it stands they clearly have no interest in the player.

They will. They are losing 4 first team players to the African Cup of Nations. Their keeper Dieng who is very good, Adomah who has been a revelation at wing back and then his back up Kakay. They are also losing Illias Chair who's probably been their best player this year. They do seem to have a habit of scraping 90th minute winners though. They've won 2 and lost 2 of their last 4. But the two they've won have been stoppage time winners. They'd be nowhere near otherwise.

Huddersfield are a real bogey team for us. Another big test. The longer this run continues the more pressure I feel mounting every game. But at the moment it seems as though the players are thriving on that pressure rather than crumbling. Last night was a huge banana skin. We could have easily come away with just the 1 point. Another 3 is huge. It's become 1 game at a time now. Just keep the run going. When we do eventually lose. Hopefully it will become a real shot in the arm and inspire us to another winning run.

There is still that young lad James Hill at Fleetwood. 19 year old centre back that a lot of Premier League clubs have been sniffing at. I've not seen anything of him first hand, but his contract is up in 6 months so if he is of genuinely quality, he might be worth looking at.

Yet you still quoted me.

Merry Christmas to all. It's a good time of year, especially this year. Because I bloody love Rovers and I bloody love this team.

I remember somebody posted a graph last year showing goals vs shots for all championship goalscorers. I was baffled after staring at it for a good 5 minutes that they'd missed Armstrong out. Until I realised that the graph wasn't cropped where I thought it was. It's just the dot for Armstrong was so far along the axis for shots taken that it looked like he was on a whole separate graph. Armstrong was playing for himself last season. Strikers need to he greedy at times but all he was aiming to do was score goals and didn't play for the team at all. I'm certain that a major part of our upturn in form is that we are a significantly better side without him in it. He needs a lot of work to be premier league class.

Agreed. Though there are more pressing matters in terms of contracts, what we are doing with Gallagher is exactly what we should have been doing with the current batch who are seeing their deals expire. A bit of foresight. One would imagine however, with Gally being towards the top end of the scale in terms of earners and you are Joe Rothwell, being offered less or only at equal terms then it is very clear where the sticking point is. Of the out of contract players I can very much see a Premier League club taking a gamble on him. He'd be very cheap by Prem standards and his skillset from central positions is rare at any level. He may not pin a first team place down but would be a great squad asset coming off the bench. He's good enough and unless we go above and beyond, I'm fairly certain he is gone.

If our game is on and we can win this weekend it puts us in a wonderful position. With all the cancellations at the moment it would put even more distance between us and 7th. If there is a pause in fixtures the bigger that gap, then the more confidence the team will have and be chomping at the bit for any restart.

This is the least transfery transfer thread ever

I don't think there is anything to suggest he's off in January. He effectively has 18 months left. If he is to leave in Jan then a buying club will have to pay a premium. Say we were languishing mid table then I could see him leaving. But our current position adds millions to his current value. We shouldn't even be entertaining talk below £25 million. I don't think he's worth that much but he's worth that amount to us right now. Keep him and we don't get promoted and I'm sure there will be teams still willing to pay over £15 million in the summer.

Hope all these covid cases don't have too much of an effect on fixtures. We really need to keep our momentum going. Qpr look to have stalled with a postponement and a loss. Fair play to them if they bounce back. It won't be easy.

Agreed. He's a big risk and one I wouldn't be taking. Diaz stepped up, Gallagher is an adequate deputy. We then have Dack to come back too. Between the 3 of them I'm sure that's enough central attacking potency to see us through the season, maintaining a promotion push. Biggest priority is a right wing back. Nyambe has looked like the weak link in the side there, is injury prone and possibly on his way out. After him a replacement for Poveda is critical. That would also lighten the load on Diaz and Gally. Then everything needs to be put into tying Rothwell down and to a slightly lesser extent Lenihan. If they won't sign then unless somebody stumps up a couple of million I'd rather they went on frees. If they do go. Obviously January replacements are needed. Long story short. Maja wouldn't be a major priority anyway and his back issues mean we should be staying well clear. It's a huge, unnecessary risk, one I hope we don't go back for out of laziness.

Exactly. We have far more to lose right now. To be honest I could take it or leave it as far as Nyambe is concerned. I don't think there will be a queue around the corner for him if he is asking for major money. Lenihan is our captain and is an important member of our inexperienced squad. Rothwell is the one. He merits being equal to our highest earners. I think the club need to budge first. Show that we are willing. Because the players. They will have other offers. We can talk about them being happy here etc. But the longer it goes on with the club not showing them they are valued. The closer they will get to being pissed off.

Joe Rothwell should undoubtedly be one of our top earners. He's earnt it through his performances. It's been a long road getting here but he is absolutely integral to us. And he is the player with a skill set we simply won't be able to replace. Boat needs pushing out.

His contract doesn't expire at the end of the season. There is an option of an additional year which we will undoubtedly trigger. He essentially has 18 months remaining.

I think Chapman has given up a bit. He's at Burton and not playing regularly, with zero goals or assists. Everybody knows he has talent so for that to be the situation I can only assume he's not applying himself. I'm sure there is more behind the scenes. My bet is he just isn't fit and has other interests that trump his desire to be a top footballer. I question Mowbray a plenty but I'm certain there's stuff behind the scenes that led him to never having faith in Chapman.

Whether it happens or not is another thing. But we've certainly done ourselves no harm in the negotiations with our current league position.

In regards to the out of contract players. Nyambe and Lenihan. If they are refusing to sign then they should be sold in Jan. The fees we would be able to get for them would be small. However with decent recruitment I do feel both could be replaced at a relatively small cost. Brereton-Diaz should simply have the extra year on his contract triggered. Even if it shaved a couple of million off his value then I'd rather we sell in the summer. Given his status in the game now, I don't think the club are likely to be able to tie him down long term regardless of the contract offered. Joe Rothwell. We don't know what's being asked for on his part. But if there is a player worth upping the contract for its him. Yes he is inconsistent, but unlike RN and DL players of his ilk just don't exist on our budget. The midfield 3 of Travis, Rothwell and Buckley compliment each other very well. That is the core of our side and we need to keep them together. They are all at a good age too.

It'll have to be a busy window then!

If Mowbray had been replaced in the summer and we were performing like we are now under his replacement we would be praising them to the heavens. I do think its been stumbled on to an extent and I'm very cautious in my optimism as we have all been here before. Conditioned by failure. As it stands though, in this current moment Mowbray is getting a lot of things right. Tactical genius he isn't, but even crap managers have seen success in their careers by simply recognising they've stumbled upon something good and knowing not to go and mess with it. In saying that it'd be amiss to slate him in the middle of a death spiral and put it down to luck when we are winning. He's clearly got the players playing for each other and for him. So credit where it is due. To say its taken me by surprise is an understatement though.

What app is this. Very useful way of displaying live scores

Doesn't seem so with talk of us having a year extension option in our favour

I'd be looking at Siriki Dembele this window. 6 months left on his contract. Posh owner stating he wants silly money for him still but when it comes down to it they aren't going to be able to demand much. With the current squad I'd be happy with him and a right back. It then comes down to the out of contract players. If one if Nyambe, Rothwell or Lenihan goes they will need replacing. The form of Brereton-Diaz to me makes a striker not a priority until the summer. He has more than replaced Arma. With Gallagher as back up and Dack able to play up there in a pair as a 10 if we are playing 3 at the back, the central role is filled for me.

I was at the game and commented on how I was glad we weren't Bristol. I'm not one to preach that football should be played a certain way but it must be terrible watching them. When their goalie had it, it was a set piece. Then long throws, soft free kicks and everything just launched all game long. They were woeful. But were solid defensively. There's no way I'd want to watch them every week. It's not football. It is shithousery and taking advantage of shite rules