My thoughts exactly. A really poor interview and the negativity and self pity filtered through to the players. Set up to fail. We are really lacking a ruthless side and the results are becoming worryingly inevitable. .

We can't expect their children to not receive an education in order to keep a football bubble from bursting. Like everyone, footballers should be doing all they can to prevent the spread of the virus, but given the nature of the virus its inevitable that some players will get infected.

You're probably right...but you never know. He has been well backed financially again and talks about having the team he wants now. There was a slight feeling of going for broke on deadline day which might suggest some pressure has been applied.

Oh well.

Been a difficult start to the season and we are clearly underachieving so far. We need to remember that due to COVID and injuries there has been a lot of chopping and changing which hasn't helped matters. We have also had some tough games with last night and next Saturday being examples and played teams at a bad times (fleg forest). It goes without saying though that you have to compete better and deal with adversity more effectively if you want to compete at the top of the league and patience will rightly wear thin if this inconsistency persists. I think there is enough positive stuff there to suggest we stick with Tony to see how it plays out though. We are playing some brilliant football and at times we are unplayable, when was the last time we could say that? We also have the strongest team in years despite a very challenging economic climate and that deserves praise and should offer us some hope that things should improve as teams around us with inferior squads flounder. It feels like we are waiting for something to click to find consistency, be more clinical and challenge against the better teams. The defense is an issue, although I think its more to do with the balance and formation than individuals. There are signs that there's a really good team in there somewhere, but at some point soon this needs to translate into consistent wins!

I know Tony is a purist, but seriously, just get on with it and start Douglas. Its all well and good saying that it takes time for the new players to learn the system, but what does it matter if we lose anyway. We're not Barcelona Tony.

Maybe the late signing of Harvey Elliott shows that TM has realised that Gallagher is a cart horse. Definitely pleased we signed an offensive player given the toothless showing today. I knew they would score and the deflection was inevitable given the new manager curse...not that we challenged enough to prevent it happening though. Oh well.

I now believe that Mowbray doesn't tell the fans the truth when it comes to transfers. He says something different every time he's asked. I wouldn't be surprised if we stumped up a decent transfer fee over the next couple of weeks. He likes to keep his cards close to his chest and there are very few rumours regarding Rovers. Nicko clearly has no contacts at Rovers. I don't mind being completely oblivious to whats happening behind the scenes if we sign decent players!

I don't think its been confirmed that Manning was the LB who nearly signed. The target was supposed to be signing for another club. Manning hasn't signed for anyone yet and there doesn't even appear to be any rumours circulating. Maybe we can revisit that one if he or QPR realise they're not getting a better offer! I think he would be a brilliant signing, but it may require some patience!

A new LB and a better back up keeper and I would be happy with that providing Williams stays. More would be nice clearly, but we have the depth to cover other positions. A quality over quantity approach is very appropriate. A good left back and a bit of luck with injuries and we have a chance I feel. I also feel that Mowbray says something different everytime that he's asked about transfers. He is possibly bluffing or maybe doesnt really know what transfers will come in as he is waiting for sell on fees or approval from Venkys who often decide to flash the cash just before the deadline. I also think he probably wants Manning and is pleading poverty or distracting other potential interested parties. We just need to wait until the deadline closes to see where we are. We are basically all completely clueless.

I wonder whether Tony is waiting for the money from King's sell on clause to buy Whiteman. Think it would be a sound investment.

Performances like today occur far too often under Mowbray. Some good football interspersed with lapses in concentration. Losing despite dominating. Too often the nearly men who lack the cojones when the pressure is on. The amount of times Tony has mentioned 'there only looked like one team that would go on to win it' in his post match interview. Unlike Tony, I'm always pretty confident we won't win when the game is in the balance approaching the closing stages. I know its only day 1 of the new season, but it feels like groundhog day.

Have a chance of winning this one. Looked decent against Leicester and its hard to predict how Bournemouth will fare given their relegation and subsequent upheaval. If we do end up losing though it might be preferable to ship a few goals....Might inject some urgency into our glacial transfer policy.

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.