ben_the_beast

I see we're being linked to Thelo Aasgard again. I don't know enough about him outside of highlight reels. He looks comfortable on the ball, two footed, robust and fairly creative. Anybody who's seen more of him able to shed any more light? Work rate is the biggest thing in a Eustice team. Does he pull is weight or is he considered more of a luxury?

Hamstring tear and out for 3 months apparently. Still wouldn't be opposed to us bringing him in. But he's unlikely to be making much of an impact in a promotion push.

We've struck a good balance with playing out from the back. Recently we've seen a few lovely moves starting in the defence resulting in goals. But at the same time, if it's not on we've been going long. Eustice seems to have the players trusting their instincts rather than rigidly sticking to one philosophy.

Keep it tight, keep battling hard and we've every chance of another 3 points here. I'd have us down as ever so slight favorites, but really wouldn't be surprised to see a 0-0 draw.

From what I can see, in the fleeting time(s) he's been here, Park has done an okay job. He's experienced so he'll get another gig elsewhere, somewhere where his hard work actually sees players come through the door.

I think it's the last time we'll see that set of players in the starting like up. Think Eustice has been cautious with new signings, bedding them in slowly. Another international break will see them up to speed and more pressure and options applied to the first 11.

I think it was an absolute red in today's game. Lost control, lunged, over ankle height. It's the type that breaks your leg if your foots planted.

Think this will be a tight game. Head says 1-1 but heart is hoping for a narrow win.

I don't think Mowbray was a twat. I think he was just a man with an extremely fragile ego. He'd say contradicting things every other week. Which was mainly down to his own shortcomings as a manager. As soon as results didn't go our way, he'd revert to little old blackburn, we should be grateful, blah, blah, blah. Simple because he couldn't reflect on the fact his own ability was the root cause behind some of the legendary death spirals. One of his biggest problems was he loved the sound of his own voice. He'd never stop talking and he'd say things he shouldn't sometimes. The Sunderland juggernaut comments really stuck, especially as it came in line with encouraging our staff to jump ship. But he did do a lot of good, generally wanted the best for the club and definitely left us in a better state than when he arrived. The issue really was Venkys and Waggot not holding him accountable. Unless you're a very special manager then there is a shelf life and after the good he did, he had stayed on too long.

David Raya doing the business again for Arsenal tonight. I was ridiculed for this when I said it last year, but I genuinely think he's in the picture for top 5 goalkeepers in the world. If not top 5, he's definitely top 10. Still can't believe Mowbray shipped him out so cheaply.

I agree with this. It feels plain lazy. And if not that, its just a load of men in suits looking at each other not knowing what to do. They've been on easy street with Southgate at the healm, but even when things began to turn sour, it said a lot that they offered for him to stay on. It was purely Southgates decision to call time on his tenure. Strikes me as reminiscent of Mowbrays time here. His job security in what is a turbulent industry was unheard of because his employers knew they wouldn't have a clue where to turn for a replacement. Both him and Southgate only left their roles because they wanted too. Mowbray because his nose was put out of joint with no new contract offer and Southgate because he didn't like a few boos. Now the FA are taking the easy option and just promoting from within. I seriously doubt there is anything they have seen behind the scenes which screams at Carsley being the best man for the job. And a few 'friendlies ' against very poor opposition is nothing to get excited about and a couple of poor results in bigger matches could easily see things turn sour quickly. Carsely has a big job on his hands earning the respect of the squad. I hope it works out, but if it does I'm sure it will be more by luck than design.

God these meaningless international breaks are boring. I'm dying for the proper football to be back.

We all know this anyway but somebody is telling porkies. £9m plus bonuses for Szmodics is a bargain. Out of that we'll be paying Peterborough a sell on clause and Szmodics will probably get one of these ridiculous loyalty payments which are common these days. We'll bring in very little after deductions of which peanuts will be reinvested. With the quoted price it makes no sense to sell if Venkys are willing to cover running costs. They obviously don't want too, hence the desperation to sell. We were told the court case had no baring on the running of the club before Wharton was sold. It'll be same again. Lies, lies, lies.

We learnt absolutely naff all from that interview

Feels like a very different approach to scouting with John Park. Under Broughton it felt like everything was stats based whilst under Park it feels a bit more old school. Someone who has bounced around a lot and has a lot of contacts in the game. Strikes me as a bloke with a notepad of good players who knows who to call to get the deal done. Last time he was here we brought in JpVH and Khadra who were both huge parts of our promotion push (plus Hedges). Gives me a little hope that those we've brought in will be better than last seasons unknowns in Wahlstedt and Telalovic. The Japanese connections definitely feel like players he's watched whilst up in Scotland. Time will tell whether they cut the mustard. I personally liked Broughton and felt with proper backing he could have done a good job, but his bargain signings proved to be dreadful and a major blot on his record here. Hopefully this new approach bears more fruit.

I'd be very happy for Szmodics to stay. There would be damage in August as I doubt we'd see him on the pitch and he'd need a couple of games to get upto speed. But then, what choice does he have? If he's not playing for the club he'll play for himself to potentially keep a move alive in January. Ipswich are taking the piss big time. If Szmods was younger we'd be demanding £25million plus. Just because he's nearly 29 it doesn't mean his value is a paltry £6-8 million. In my eyes £12million is fair and if Ipswich want him, it's about time they paid the fee. You can guarantee if there were another club showing genuine interest they'd shit the bed and pay it in a heart beat. In this instance I'm very happy for us to walk away from any deal. I'd be reasonably confident of survival this season if he stays and I can't say the same without him.

I think everyone is right to moan. We have the worst owners in English football, holding us in a purgatory hell. We're reportedly signing a couple of complete unknowns, whom fee or not, when you factor in wages are coming in only because they're cheap. We're looking to sell the leagues top scorer and the only reason we're still in this division. I hope the new signings hit the ground running and strengthen us but even the most optimistic fan must admit they are major gambles. It'd be all well and good if they were calculated gambles, adding to an already strong squad, but we're literally pinning our future on them. The only caveat is if we reinvested a huge portion of the Szmodics money and even then I'm being kind considering the money which has flowed into the club the last 12 months. And if I've learnt anything about Venkys and Waggott over the years, the chances of that are slim to non. We're on our knees and people are saying some posters fail to see the positives in anything... It's going to take a hell of a lot more than a bulldozer with a worse touch than me and a gamble on the Japanese lad to get me seeing the positives. And I've not even gone into Telegraph pretending Mcfadzean is some kind of new signing.

I really don't think it is too far fetched with Waggott in charge, that we consciously wait until the end of the window to bring players in, in order to save a measly amount of money on wages.

Agree with most of this. I don't think we'll see the Trent experiment again. Even the stubborn Southgate seems to see this has failed. My biggest worry is though, that these group games are about getting the job done AND building momentum. Southgate's befuddled tactics have seen us not having a clue. I think he'll slowly begin to stumble upon a system which works, but it'll be too late. Either that or once again he'll come up against a manager with a bit of nous and won't have a clue how to react. I'm pretty sure he's scuppered any chance we had. Or at least seriously limited them. Thankfully he'll be gone after this tournament. I'm grateful he restored some pride in the England shirt. For me, that's his legacy. I'd like to see Gary O'Neil given the job. Love listening to him talk tactics.

To me Trent looked utterly lost. He didn't have a clue where he was meant to be positionally. He's a wonderful player but a CM he's not. He'll always get one or two on the highlight reel as technically his long passes are superb. Unfortunately you then get the pundits waxing lyrical about that being the reason he's in there. What I saw though was a team with no balance. Nobody to make things tick, being good under pressure, when to play short, when to play long. We had one player in Bellingham grab the game by the scruff of the neck which somewhat bailed us out and people screaming that Foden was awful. It's no wonder when we fail to control a game with meaningful possession (not just passing around at the back). Wharton is tailor made for this system. I guarantee if he were in there the players around him would begin to shine. That's what he does. He controls games whilst finding players in small pockets with forward passes. Trent and his Hollywood passes are going to mean we struggle in this tournament. Southgate is doing the age old England manager trick of shoehorning the big names into his side. If not Wharton then I'd at least like him to give Gallagher or Mainoo a go as they are actual centre midfielders. I wouldn't drop Bellingham back there as it makes no sense to move our best player away from where he just got a man of the match performance.

When Nicko is getting good info on Rovers it's usually a sign all is not well at the club. He's a chancer journo hack and his contacts in the game are usually slimeballs. It's no coincidence that Waggott has his slimey fingers everywhere is the same time Nicko is on the money with what's going on.

Though Grealish created some chances against Bosnia I think he slows things down way too much. He holds onto the ball forever. Quite pleased he's not going. I've been a fan of his over the years but feel he's regressed at City, not to mention his lack of game time this season.

Thought he actually made us disjointed though. Hanging onto the ball for an eternity every time he touched it. Though obviously I'm being bias as it was annoying me when he wouldn't pass to Adam. On his debut I thought he did well. Difficult to do when the game is being played at such a pedestrian pace. But he played some good incisive balls forward and as always didn't look out of place. Super Adam Wharton is a class act.

That's the last thing we need. We already had Mowbray the unsackable since he was working with his best bud Waggott. All these mates working together just creates a cosy club with no accountability and standards drop. I'm not sure why I bother though as Waggot clearly has the club in a stranglehold again already.

Been on holiday and disconnected this last week and playing a bit of catch up. I'd seen the BBC article about Broughton leaving and thought I'd take a nose at the LT to see if they could shed anymore light, only to find there's nothing there. If the LT aren't publishing an article on the second highest ranking person at the club leaving (we all know itw 3rd most with the shadow man), then what is the point in them as a Rovers focused media outlet. Again they are just a mouthpiece for the club. No proper journalism, no difficult questions asked. Positive news only. It really feels as though the fans are back in the dark with no allies. Jdt at least tried to raise standards and talk honestly for a while. Now it's back to shut up, give us your money and accept the downgrading of every facet of the club, all in the self-interest of a select few. What a time to be a Rovers fan!