Favourite quote from TM in Rich Sharpe's article this morning on LT website 'the new guys have to step up'. Will there be some unexpected signings in the squad today? Remarkably stupid comment and he now needs to stop talking and sign some players!

Clubs coming in for our targets 'at the last minute' is becoming a theme. If you dither for long enough then there are more potential 'last minutes' for others to capitalise on. Our dithering and lack of decisiveness is chronic. If an agreement was in place for Ayala on the Saturday why didn't we have him in to sign on the Monday? By the Thursday there was still optimism about the deal and then by the Saturday it was all over and he's supposedly off to Saudi. If you dither for long enough its inevitable that others will sniff around and this is even more likely when its decent player. If a player of that stature is ready to sign then quit hanging around and get it signed!

The issue with a wage structure like the one Waggott describes is that you then have to recruit expertly to have any chance of progressing. This is presumably the plan given the recent investment in the recruitment team. It would require a massive upturn in the quality of our transfer activities to convince me that we can make this model work! Mowbray's signings have been hit and miss so far and this summer the recruitment team have achieved 1 senior signing and the other players they have attempted to sign have all chosen not to join us and they are all players who shouldn't have required any scouting (played in our division and all widely known to be available). Must do better.

Mowbray said they 'had an agreement in place' which suggests they were close to agreeing terms. If ever there was a player to break the wage structure for (a little bit - they shouldn't bother wasting time if its completely unrealistic) then its Ayala as we desperately need an experienced centre back to give us any hope of promotion and that's going to cost money.

Why are we wasting time and resources on players who don't end up signing. Surely we know their wage demands in advance? Who knows what goes on behind the scenes or why Ayala has chosen to go elsewhere, but we have to be realistic. If we want top players who are likely to move us towards being playoff challengers then you have to pay the premium. Ayala would be a perfect fit. Good age for a defender, loads of experience and quality and a good role model for the young defenders coming through. If he stays fit its the difference between mid table mediocrity (or worse) and challenging for promotion. Surely that's worth pushing the boat out?! This is a mess.

If we were so concerned about the delays that a quarantine would cause, we would be signing players now. It appears that we are happy to wait until the deadline to get a better deal.

For someone who earns in a week what some people do in a year, his sulking is very tasteless. If my employer gave me an astronomical pay packet just to run around most mornings I would think they were pretty loyal. A lot of footballers are so detached from reality and it stinks.

Not really, I'm very much on the fence. I have doubts that he can continue the slow improvements he has made over the last 3 seasons given our lack of a squad at present. In fact as it stands we look pretty weak and at risk of rapid decline, but it seems fair that he is afforded the opportunity to prove me wrong. Having said that if he were to walk or be sacked tomorrow then I wouldn't be too disappointed. Sorry for my lack of a strong opinion either way.

He's done a decent job overall. He's made small gains year on year and brought back some integrity to the office after a string of disasters. Its only fair to mention his transfer successes alongside the money he has wasted. I also think he seems like a nice chap. He has made errors and I think he has taken the team as far as he can, but I can still be a fan of the bloke despite that. Everything doesn't have to be black and white.

I'm a fan of Mowbray but I'm surprised to see that people don't seem to see us as relegation candidates? We may be saved by points deductions for other teams I suppose, but we look threadbare and a couple of injuries away from catastrophe. We don't have a first choice goalkeeper. We don't have a second choice keeper. Its not necessarily the managers fault as we evidently have no money. If you believe the rumours we are looking at decent players, but we can't compete with competitors for wages or transfer fees. Sadly he doesn't appear to be able to wheel and deal or sell the club like some managers who work on a shoestring can. We may be forced to bolster the squad with inferior players or loaned youngsters and this looks like a recipe for relegstion, but I barely see this mentioned...could come as a nasty surprise for some!

This was precisely my thinking when I read that! There's a fair chance its all nonsense I suppose, but if its true and the quoted price is £800k then we are either brassic or clueless. How little do they expect a club to charge for an established championship goalkeeper with age on his side?

I think that late equaliser is psychologically really important. Keeps the self belief flowing at an important time.

An emphatic YES. He has all the attributes to become a premier league keeper. Decent shot stopper, reads the game well, commanding presence and good distribution. He has made some mistakes but he is very young for a keeper and will only get better. Brighton would be foolish to let him go, but if there is the option to buy we should push the boat out if necessary...would fit the Venkys ethos of buying young and selling for a profit. I'm sure someone wise once said that you are only as good as your keeper and I believe it's no coincidence that we have appeared much more solid since his form has improved.

We may be further from the playoffs but other results were pretty positive keeping plenty of others within spitting distance. Long way to go.

Having a decent goal difference is certainly helpful and serves as decent evidence that we are where we deserve to be in the league! I also don't think any of the teams above us (maybe excluding WBA) are home and hosted so it's all to play for.

Feels like the tide has turned for Tony, which is interesting after a win. We must have been atrocious!

We've scored twice within a minute this season and lost both games 3-2. We are mentally fragile and not at all ruthless. Frustratingly, we have decent players (who won't stick around for ever). We need a new manager to marshall the troops. Venkys should act soon to prevent matters getting worse. Suspect they won't.

I don't see why we wouldn't be able to attract a decent replacement. Venkys have been loyal to Mowbray and have backed him with funds. Managers wont care about their previous misdemeanors if they are promised time and funds. I doubt their ability to sack Mowbray and choose the best candidate, but there should be some decent applicants.

I agree with TM that we look a better team than last season. He has made lots of mistakes, but we are making slow progress. My suspicion is that he has probably taken the team as far as he can and that a more dynamic manager could get pretty good results from a squad that has the makings of a decent team! He deserves so much credit for steadying a rapidly sinking ship and starting the rebuild. I hope he realises his limitations and steps aside before things get messy.

They won't win many away from home! Had a feeling today might be underwhelming after the recent positivity.

Mowbray seems to be making a lot of bewildering decisions that are generally at odds with the fan consensus. Generally not a good indicator of longevity.

I know he is not a world beater, but signing Lynch on a free as a no nonsense type CB would make the squad look more complete. Maybe this is the plan.

I bet he's telling Cunningham that he is not assured a starting spot as we speak...

A very amateurish pre-season has culminated in a home defeat to a relegation favourite. A game we really needed to win considering the quality of our upcoming opponents. The quality of the pre-season opposition was laughable, but the biggest failing though is our inability to recruit the defenders we so desperately need. It has been clear since the New Year that we needed a defensive overhaul and TM even stated as much in the spring and here we are starting the season with Mulgrew, Bell and Bennett. TM told our only firm long term defensive target that he is not assured a starting position so he chose to go to PNE. Looks like he told Tosin something similar which nearly meant he changed his mind. Peak stupidity from TM. If we fail to recruit by Thursday then fans will not be especially patient if we struggle in our first 5 matches.

Tommy Elphicke would be an ideal signing and has been released by Villa. Was the catalyst for reviving Hull City's season!