I’m not sure I buy that the only reason Gallagher can’t trap a ball, turn, beat his man etc is because he’s being played 25 yards wider. Every good striker we have had could also do things out wide: Shearer and Garner were terrific crossers, Benni could hold the ball up all day out there, Roque terrorized fullbacks. Even Kuqi could plant a 40-yards cross on MGP’s left foot. Maybe he’s just not very good.

The goalie’s jerseys from this era always make me laugh - good for a six-week voyage on a trawler from Fleetwood!

Three dreadful goals. A man with 300 league appearances turns his back on the ball heading toward his own goal is something a 7-yr-old would know not to do. The next two should be patented by us: Lenihan diving in upfield and not getting the ball, then shooter at the D not closed down. If Armstrong could head, we’d still be in this.

Have we ever had two 17-year-olds score in a season? Hird/Bailey? Pickering/Byrom?

The last couple of games, when he gets the ball in midfield I’m now expecting him to turn his man, run at the back four and pass to a teammate. His assists today were terrific I thought, plus a few where the shooter missed.

We are playing much better because we now have much better players or players playing much better. All the new players look a substantial cut above. Brereton looked a £7 million player, JRC offers us much more than Nyambe, Johnson putting in more good than bad showings. Highlight for me was how Elliott playing centrally looked more like Dack than Dack.

Hard to complain about anything other than finishing: Holtby could’ve had four and Armstrong is beginning to look like during his loan spell. I also thought it was a worse penalty than Weds, if the goalie had gone the other way he couldn’t have missed it.

That’s the team for me. I expect us to be much more productive down the right today.

Just to emphasise the importance of a flying start, the following were our records after six games in each of our last six promotion seasons: 1957/8: 2-3-1 74/5: 4-1-1 79/80: 1-4-1 91/2: 2-2-2 2000/1: 3-2-1 (we were 3-3-4 after ten games) 2017/8: 4-0-2 So two flying starts out of six.

Because he doesn’t have the brain or skill to do anything better. Add to that, his positioning last night was constantly ludicrous - 15 yards ahead of Elliott ffs.

Indeed so. Preston were top last November...

As it did when Kenny lost six on the bounce, not one of which we played remotely well in. Shit happens in football, even promoted teams fail to win 1/3-1/2 of their games. Arma missed a penalty, Lenihan scored a pointless own goal and failed to score a simple header - I’m sure everyone would have welcomed a team sheet without those two.

Nine times out of ten we win a game like that. The new players look miles better than the incumbents. Once the team settles down and the plodders are banished, I think we will have a stonking second two-thirds of the season - could be another Souey/Kenny type promotion run. Personally, I want to see JRC and Douglas as fullbacks, Evans and Johnson benched and then get Dacky in with his 15 goals. Haven't been this optimistic since Hughes.

Is it just me thinks Nyambe is a problem in this formation? He subdues Elliott/Dolan, takes their space, can never play them in, and defensive positioning is rubbish - how many goals the last 18-months have been a tap in with Nyambe three yards behind. Get JRC in and we’ll murder teams down the right.

I think the message of no excuses being acceptable is a good one early in a manager’s reign.

Interesting interview in many ways. Coyle got a million quid for Burnley’s promotion! It seemed clear to me how divergent fans’ and players’ interests are - The fans pain about Coyle seems in stark contrast to the jolly japes at his expense by the players. It really is only a job to them, and when you have what is effectively an unbreakable contract then your job isn’t at risk no matter how useless the manager. And I for one think Mowbray was right to drop Graham for missing training the day before a game, no matter what the reason.

Me too

9/10

Aka this Wednesday.

I’m not sure I agree that a move started and finished by our very own Bradley Johnson equates to a managerial Masterclass by Gus Fring. Other than that, and one snap shot that hit the post, I thought it was two teams going nowhere.

Pretty much a B team front six today showed why they belong there. Even Armstrong will need to buck his ideas up when Dack is back. Was it Johnson who deflected the corner-flag bound shot as well as giving the ball away?

Two teams effectively cancelling each other out. Johnson and Evans been poor, Buckley some good forward passes. I don’t think the RW combo of Dolan and Nyambe works: Dolan can set Nyambe free but the guy can’t cross; Nyambe hasn’t the guile to set Dolan free. Armstrong nowhere to be seen.

To summarize your summer’s input: this washed-up manager, who has been clueless in the transfer market and has no idea how to develop young talent has, in a summer where the scouting network was a flop, he had no pot to piss in and had to sell our Crown Jewels to cover Venkys pulling the plug, assembled a squad so brimming in talent the only thing that will stop us getting promotion is his tactical ineptitude?

You and I must’ve gone to the same barber!

First game at Ewood where I remember significant aggro was Sunderland at home in 1969 I think. Back then we usually started off in the Darwen End. At half time all the Sunderland fans in the Blackburn End strolled round the Riverside and proceeded to kick the shit out of the Darren Enders who had quickly abandoned hope of strolling round to the Bburn End. I, for one, ended up with the pensioners in the Nuttall St Stand! I think that game prompted fences going up either side of the Riverside.