Thought Toney grabbed Lenihan as much as Lenihan grabbed Toney. Silly to grapple in the area but it was extremely soft. Referee couldn't wait to give it that's for sure. Ayala is really going to have to Marshall the defense now. Feel for John Buckley in a right back. Gallagher is going to have to give him a hell of a lot of defensive support.

Very pleased to see Wharton given his starting spot back. Think we are much more solid with him in there. Great to see Douglass back in too. Thought we might see Holtby dropped. He's really struggled the last 2 matches. However I would have far rather seen Downing slotting in there as opposed to Trybull. Wouldn't have minded seeing Trybull holding instead of Johnson. But I do think that Downing would have offered more balance and control over midfield.

It's been pretty much the same injury to his back the majority of his time out though hasn't it? Not promising to get a back injury so early in your career but a little harsh to write him off.

It won't happen but I'm a bit worried about Holtby. Thought he was extremely poor our last 2 games. Whereas he was our lynchpin before that. Does he need a rest. Or was it the tactics of Barnsley and Millwall. I actually felt more comfortable with Downing coming on and think he will have a role to play at the weekend. But he seems a good replacement for Holtby if he's struggling. Bad timing that it's their first game in their new stadium with fans. Mowbray and the players will be well aware this is a big test. I hope they go out there to battle and enjoy the occasion. Don't be fearful. It'll be tough but we can compete. I expect to see space in behind for Arma on the counter attack too. Would love to see him in a foot race with Jansson. I think he's rash and could be liable to a last man red. We're good on the counter. We don't need to all out defend. But we do need to be more compact. It will play to our strengths. Lay the trap. We can win

My man of the match last 2 games. This contract situation is becoming urgent. Equally so for Joe Rothwell. 2 huge assets who need tying down. Then theres Holtby and JRC before even looking and the urgency of a few big assets expiring next year.

Given the way we've been playing the last 2 games I feel another Mowbray death spiral coming on. Especially given we are knocking on the door of the promotion spots. Shake up needed in the middle for our next match.

Dont think it's a coincidence we've struggled against 2 pressing sides with 3/5 at the back. Swamp our midfield by cutting off the outball wide and we end up playing it around the back 4

We did. Thought the ref was poor for us at times. But he totally missed multiple handballs in the area by our defenders. Absolutely got away with one tonight. Thought we played better second half though until Mowbrays inexplicable subs. No idea what that formation was. Either way. 3 points feel amazing

Absolutely ridiculous challenge and ridiculous from the referee

Holtby anonymous, Johnson looks unfit and immobile and we are getting completely overloaded on our left. Bell has done quite well considering it's been 2 v 1 against him much of the time. Arma looks sharp and up for it. Would like to see Gally off, Elliott right and Rothwell on

Predictable Douglas and Wharton would miss out.

I'm not sure why I like this so much but I really do!

Come the end of the season, should we not get promoted I would have a minimum £10 million tag on his head. To be honest I'm not sure I'd want to sell even for that. It's clear what a difference he makes to our backline. He's worth as much as Arma is to us right now. I don't think it's just his kicking which makes him good on the ball. Raya could often pick a player out. It's his first touch. It's always good and it buys him more time. The opposition are hesitant to close him down as a result. As it seems as though it will rarely bare any fruit. He's a consistent safe outball for our entire backline. Pears on the other hand is often rushed in his kicking as he doesn't create time and space for himself.

Feel this really is a huge game. Win and we go into a tougher run of games right in the mix and with confidence high. Anything else and the pressure is heaped on. Even if we manage to win this game and have an average run of games thereafter it should keep us in touching distance. It's the proverbial springboard this game. So important. I'd love to see another win ground out in the same fashion as we did against Barnsley. Rightly or wrongly I always make the assumption Millwall play route 1. I'd like to see Wharton remain for his presence in the air if he's fit. Can't see any team pressing us as high as Barnsley did. So a lot will come down to our ability to break them down.

Wharton is also a left footer whereas Ayala is right sided

I think Scott Wharton has really grasped his chance the last few games. I feel quite comfortable with him at the back. He looks like a defender who really likes defending which as silly as it sounds can be a rarity these days. He can tackle, looks positionally sound and can head a ball. He's not the best on the ball but he can manage just fine. He and Lenihan played a lot of passes today. With Kaminski such a safe outlet with his feet I think that fills in for Tosins composure. I don't have the dislike for William's like many seem too. But I'd still rather see Wharton at the back.

Nice to win a little ugly. I think a lot of that was down to how well Barnsley played. They had the centre of the park absolutely packed! In a way I feel an ugly win might be better for our momentum. Often a big win we follow it up stroking the ball about but in a very lethargic fashion. A gritty is just what was needed.

It feels as though they have about 2 extra players in there. The amount of passes Kaminski, Lenihan and Wharton have made between them as there's a yellow wall ahead of them.

Watched Brentford v QPR. First time I've seen Toney at this level. He looked superb and actually an upgrade on Watkins

Thing is I don't believe Mowbray is over cautious. He's in-balanced. I wouldn't have a problem with an over cautious approach if we were keeping clean sheets and grinding out wins. Someone else pointed out Boro under Warnock. Mowbray has full backs absolutely bombing forwards, even when they aren't offering a huge amount in terms of goals scored. Then unless he has the trio of Holtby, Johnson and Rothwell all on song in the middle the midfield gets stuck with too many players who pass sideways, but still don't offer that overall discipline that will protect the defence. So it's neither here nor there really. An attacking philosophy not adapted when we don't have the right players available. The only tactical tweaks i've seen Mowbray make at all this season is JRC in for Nyambe as he can cross a ball better. Apart from this is just been players with different skill sets slotting into the same roles. When we've got everyone available it has kinda clicked. The rest of the time we've been passing the ball around a lot. Looking a bit cautious in midfield. A long diagonal into our fullbacks and the entire defensive set up is bypassed.

My betting would be a maximum of £10 million, probably less to reinvest after Newcastles cut and running costs.

Odd that they are touting this before January. I would wager with Arma only having 18 months left on his contract there has maybe been some hesitation on his part to be resigning. January is going to be the time he is at his premium in that case. Prices are usually inflated. On the one hand we have missed the boat previously in terms of selling players when they were at their premium. But say we do put a run together between now and January. We're in the hunt for those playoff places. Selling Arma would be quite representative of where the club, Waggot and Mowbray see their priorities.

Jeez that was a heavy challenge at 3:12 What the hell was the fella playing at. A second tier friendly and throwing that around

I don't think Dunny has told anyone how they should feel. He said a lot of fans will disagree with him. So I don't think he is preaching. I would argue looking at other clubs that Venkys have done more than the bare minimum. They were roundly hated and that showed when they last visited, what 7 years ago. It would have been easy for them to completely pull out of the club but they have put their money where their mouth is. For me that is the most important thing as that is the only thing that keeps the club afloat and functioning. I believe the levels of investment they have put in to be far above the minimum. (And yes I understand it was self inflicted and I'm not saying their reception was unwarranted) Also, non of this is aimed at you K-Hod, just a quote of many i have picked out. Would an apology from Venkys regarding some of their mismanagement be enough to get some fans back onside. For me that would be meaningful. I don't know if it would be enough for other fans to begin to move on.... As I feel as though I am very much in the minority in my attitude towards Venkys.

Could be something to do with this deep clean at Ewood. Reducing the amount of people onsite, bit of a break in the players being in. Just a hypothesis though.