Garrett channeling John MacNamee there

Hedges being put on the totally right-footed left forward Clarke is working well, the guy just won’t use his left foot.

Two goals created by our tombola, clueless, inverted fullbacks!

Brittain has absolutely monstered them first half

If Gally had gambled on Brittain’s cross rather than stand motionless, he could have had three touches plus a goal.

Isn’t Mowbray playing inverted wide forwards? Can see the logic in dealing with that by inverting the wingbacks. Like any tactic, brilliant if it works, crap if it doesn’t.

I’d like to know how everyone who complains about no consistent team would have planned for 8 games in October - this is why teams have squads.

Hedges could do with a good game tonight and best of luck to Garrett.

35 minutes ago, 47er said:

Which Championship club lost 3 regular players last summer?

If I understand you correctly: you think they should have been sold Summer 2021? In which case either Mowbray would have spent the money on replacements - negating any FFP benefit of selling them - or they wouldn’t have given him the money. Either way, I think we would’ve ended up with a weaker team, especially defence, and any FFP benefit while ToMo was around would most likely have resulted in the owners just pumping in less, leaving us no better off.

Chesterfield at home in, umm, 73? We were pushing for promotion, had lost to them at home but then, miraculously, the game had to be replayed due to them fielding an ineligible player, and we lost again and missed promotion by two points.

Kaminski, Brittain, Hyam and Wharton Jnr all fantastic today. Phillips I don’t think is quite ready: always place the safe ball and looks offended when some big twat gives him a push; Carter fancies the rough stuff more.

But for Gallagher’s awful header and a moment’s inattention at the back, should’ve been deck chairs and cigars second half.

Gally’s missed header was such poor technique: unchallenged, saw it all the way, perfect height, all it needed was to be headed downward to be a certain goal. Should’ve been game over.

12 hours ago, arbitro said:

If Tomassons goal isn't maximising points ((or winning games) then we have a problem John. The whole club relies on the football side doing well. I suppose it goes back to this five year 'project' we are hearing about. I simply don't care about that. I want Rovers to win every game and get promoted as soon as possible. Getting the players on the pitch to achieve that should be any managers priority.

I watched Dack intently on Wednesday and he wasn't the pre injury Dack but in my view he would bring more to the team that several regulars. To play him though would require a different approach from Tomasson. That is what I believe Tomasson is struggling with.

I’m sure you are right Tony on Tomasson, but he doesn’t seem to me like the kind of guy who’d change his approach, especially as by some miracle we are three points off the top (temporarily). I think it almost certain he’s made Dack the issue on which he is seen by all to be the new broom.

3 hours ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

It's a worry. I started to think of Stuart Metcalfe, when Iley came in!

I don’t think Kendall liked him much either if memory serves.

3 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

There's been a couple of occasions in recent matches where his touch has let him down and cost us a possible goal....... but I don't think it's his fault. Anyone who's played the game and been out for a lengthy period would tell you that regaining "match" sharpness takes a long time. I'm sure if he had a decent run of at least 10 games in which he started, his touch would come back. 

Could well be right jim, but to get those ten games, you at least need to be showing the right attitude.

3 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Oh yes it damn well could be.

The Elvenking* has no previous experience in managing in high level English league football and will have seen a lot less of it than most of the "assorted gas fitters, binmen, desk jockeys"

* And neither has Voldemort...

You mean experience like that of Bruce and Wilder? Good is good anywhere, otherwise the Premiership wouldn’t be full of foreigners. Tactically he needs to adjust, but I think it’s ridiculous to jump to the conclusion he doesn’t know what good players look like.

4 hours ago, arbitro said:

In that though John is a real element of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Dack is undoubtedly our most creative player who can score and create too. It says more about Tomasson than Dack the way he has been pretty much ostracised if indeed he is trying to prove a point. 

Ordinarily I’d agree Tony. But that assumes maximizing points in the short term is Tomasson’s goal, which I don’t think it is. All him and Broughton talk about is The Project, building a team that can get promoted and stay there. Dacky is the Billy Big Bollocks in the dressing room, the younger players must look up to him and follow his lead. If his lead is that you don’t need to take this guy seriously, you can do what you like on the pitch, then it becomes much more than a Dack issue. Contrast with Hedges, who must’ve had no mates in the dressing room: I think the message is, follow his example and you’ll play every week; follow Dack’s example and you’ll be in the Stiffs.

As an aside, I think Dack’s touch has degraded, even though he does still ghost into really good positions and can play a pass. No surprise, he’s spent two years not practising it in match conditions. Same as Federer: after a series of injuries his fitness is back, but that instinctive skill that no-one else had isn’t quite there any more.

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

The fact that Tomasson is "Denmark’s Champions’ League-winning record scorer" from his playing days has little relevance really, there isn't the strongest correlation necessarily between playing ability and managerial ability.

More of a correlation though than there is between us assorted gas fitters, binmen, desk jockeys etc and professional football managerial ability.

My point was that the Dack situation cannot be because JDT doesn’t know what good looks like, in my view it’s all about culture change. Dack is the Jamie Tartt who cannot be indulged if the manager is to have any chance of succeeding of imposing his will on the others. 

11 minutes ago, rigger said:

Dack was doing similar in the second half for the U21s. He went looking for the ball in defensive positions. Not what you want from an attacking play maker.  

He did it at Wigan and Cardiff too, and when he got the HT hook against Stoke.

1 hour ago, J*B said:

I'm putting it down to this as well. It's a tried and tested technique when you're coming in and changing big things, get rid of the previous regime. 

Especially if the ringleader of the old regime isn’t taking the new one very seriously, didn’t go all out in pre-season, isn’t fully fit, doesn’t follow the on-field instructions, and, based on his last two fleeting appearances, can’t control the ball in those great spaces he finds when played in.

I’m pretty sure Denmark’s Champions’ League-winning record scorer knows skill when he sees it. I’m also sure he’s seen better managers than him fail by not imposing their authority on players who don’t buy in, just because short-term results might improve by playing them.

2 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

You don't get it

It's a Project

It'll all be fine in 5 years

Or maybe not

Which is why I don’t think he’ll be changing system to suit the current players. He’s made it as clear as can be that this season is not about trying to go up, the squad isn't good enough to go up anyway. I’m expecting, at best, this season is moving backwards to move forwards. Or maybe not.

Can’t recall a game where so many players were so poor. Only Hyam, Brittain and Wharton Jnr can hold their heads up. The days of £20m for Diaz seem a long time ago, he got every decision in the box wrong. As said above, there’s just not enough quality.

This could be Brereton’s worst ever game.

Not the finished article yet, that’s for sure. Hedges not able to leave the RB spot negates all the good he can do further up the field; Wharton a liability so far but Ayala and Hyam immense. Front three all poor, especially SS, but I am liking the fact Hirst can control a ball played into him with his back to goal, a skill that eludes Big Sam.

Up to the manager now whether we get a result or not.

Still too early to read much into his selections IMO. He’s still finding out who buys into his philosophy and who can deliver it on the pitch. Hedges clearly ticks both boxes and can be trusted with a very complicated dual role. Szmodics clearly buys into it after his North Korean style quotes the other day, and definitely delivered it on Saturday, let’s see if he can tonight. Bucko probably needs a few months to forget all that false 9 shit and become a proper midfielder and I don’t think Dack buys into it at all. The management must be thinking about what they could do with Dacky’s and Sam’s £40k/week.

2 hours ago, J*B said:

Fun fact, I worked at United whilst they had Mourinho as manager and he sacked off all GPS data in training as he felt players where being picked because they where athletic in training rather than good footballers. They finished 2nd that year, nobody has come close since. 

EDIT before the Data police come at me, I realise this is entirely unconventional in the modern game and within the football community is probably considered to be ‘dinosaur’ type behaviour.

How’s it been working for him since then?