He doesn't bring enough to the table to play out wide or oust Dack behind the main striker. His defensive weakness is massively overblown.

He could develop into a good Championship CM. He won't realise that under Mowbray though.

If you're playing Evans and Travis together in CM, you'd better have worldies at FB or up front. They provide nothing in attack. It's an incredibly negative way to set up your team. I'd ask him to play CM with Travis with the understanding that Dack is playing AMC / #10 so he needs to get back when we don't have the ball. He's also MOST threatening when running with the ball through the centre - I watched a lot of iFollow post-lockdown and pretty much every commentator was marveling at how much panic he was sowing simply by being willing / able to carry the ball through the middle. Travis can cover for him - that's what he does best.

He's a talented player that has been mismanaged. I think he's a CM who's been asked to play at AML because he's got a bit of pace and Mowbray has a love affair with a certain formation (and hasn't bought himself a squad to play it properly!). Put him alongside Travis (I'm under no illusions that we're going to sign a CM to compliment Travis) and give him a run of games. He TERRIFIES teams carrying the ball through the centre. He's athletic enough to get up and down the pitch and his defensive deficiencies are widely overblown. It also masks the fact that his final ball isn't great - even though his range of passing / vision is generally pretty good for this level. Of course this won't happen, so he'll go down as a bust.

So you're for loans because they limit the financial damage our mediocre manager can do? That's fair when you consider some of the money he's spent.

I've zero problem with loaning players - it's how the football pyramid operates (money talks, bullshit walks). I have a massive problem with those loan players not being ones that put you over the top. We, essentially, loaned Cunningham, Walton and Tosin to finish a comfortable midtable last year. That's an expensive, short term option that doesn't really benefit the club.

It adds to the length of the 'slow build' if you don't own anyone. Crafty, Tony, craft.

As there's often a loan fee involved, and contract stipulations about the number of games / position a loanee plays, they're not great. I'm ok with a loan being used to push a team over the top. I'm not ok with a loan being used to cover up your mediocre reruitment.

Nothing gets past you does it?

We need an independent tribunal to investigate all Mowbray signings. Anyone who has a link with him shouldn't be allowed. He's clearly just setting his mate's son up with a nice living here.

In fairness, these players have had the best coaching money can buy since they were 6. He's out on loan to get game time. He's not going to listen to the coaches at Rovers et al.

I'm ok with expensive loanees (fee + wages) if they're going to put you over the top for a promotion challenge. We're sadly nowhere near that, so it seems an odd way to conduct business. If I was in charge I'd rather spend the same money (as I bet it wouldn't be much different) on the Keeper from Wigan or Charlton and the Doncaster CM.

Hodgson was a disaster for us.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Should probably be based on turnover rather than a flat rate though. The only league (with excess money) I know it works in is the NFL. In RL it stifles the bigger teams and leads to a talent drain.

You don't begrudge Duffy after the way he conducted himself?

Not for ol' Tone. Can't lose that pillar of the dressing room.

It's for Bennett. 2020 strikes again.

Yeah he was one who you could tell was clearly a fantastic player, but didn't have a lot of luck, not suited our style of play at the time.

Ferguson holds a place in my heart for a) not being good enough and b) insulting the fans by saying he couldn't get up for a Lancashire derby like he could for the Old Firm game (in their third rate league). Up there with Murphy as just being an utter cunt.

For mine he's 22 and still all potential. Good on the ball, but his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Funnily enough City is probably the best place for him - gets to play with the ball much more than without it, which is his strong suit.

I'm already there.

I was going to say, I just had him down as an Ozzie. Emerton was v meek for an Ozzie.

Now cricket and RL have ingrained in me a hatred of Australians (especially their sportsmen), but I can't think of an arrogant Ozzy that's played for us?

Such as?

They've been had.