He also finally looks like a week in, week out 90-minute player the last few weeks.

When said player had just given away a stupid unnecessary penalty after everything that has gone on the last few games, I personally couldn’t give a stuff how he felt about being subbed. It’s about time there were consequences.

Excellent three points just when we needed them. Dack giving away that penalty defied belief after verything that has gone on the last few games. Plus Bell brought on a lot of the late pressure giving the ball away in our defensive third. Another great performance by Travis. Get a better centre half and left back and we could have a good second half to the season.

Mowbray never comes out and says dropped. I think the injured line is trotted out for players’ benefit

Once you put Graham and Dack in, the rest of the team virtually picks itself. We can’t go 5 across midfield and both Palmer/Rothwell give the ball away too much. I’m no fan of Armstrong but his pace is an asset we sorely lack. Until we get better defenders, the midfield has to be picked to offer some degree of protection. Be interesting to see Dack’s energy levels as he was still going strong at midnight last night, as evidenced on his Instagram.

Graham is usually the player in the team with the least touches, so it was no different for Brereton in that regard - most of our passing takes place 40-yards behind them. I thought he was nondescript, not awful and not impressive.

I think he’d be better in Dack’s role, should a vacancy occur. I found him too heart-stopping whenever near or in our own half.

Agreed. If today had been his debut, there wouldn’t be too much angst about him. He got next-to-no service and his coming short for the ball fitted well with having two central mids who can pass.

Assuming Dack is a goner, and given it unlikely we can find three competent defenders in Jan, I’d like to see the following making the best of a bad job: Raya Nyambe, New Towering Colossus, Mulgrew Bennett, Reed, Evans, Travis, Conway Rothwell Graham

Agreed. I had him as our best player

Smallwoods ridiculous challenge was clearly meant as revenge on Sharp for his foul on Travis moments earlier. Given how Travis was banished from the team after his stupid sending off last season, I’d hope the same is applied to Smallwood. Something’s not been right since Preston, and it’s Mowbrays job to sort it out.

Interesting half. I’m really liking Reed and Travis with Smallwood behind them in the middle of the field. Rothwell and Palmer showing why they are peripheral to the team; Rothwell does too much and gives the ball away in bad positions, Palmer offering zero support for Bennett, which Travis keeps covering for. Ben started slowly, much like his sub appearances, but last 20 mins has looked really good when coming short for the ball, which gives us a very different approach play.

Looking forward to see how these lads do, it’s most likely a preview of next season’s team. The A team got played off the park at Ewood against this lot so there’d have been no point repeating the exercise. 3-0 Rovers

I think at the time we mostly assumed it was just a dream and we’d wake up still in the 2nd Div. More a grim resignation we’d never have glory days again. It certainly felt that way on the Port Vale terraces when we meekly surrendered 2-0 without once looking like scoring.

Well, I think we’ll lose tomorrow and most likely to West Brom as well so four defeats in a row will sharpen the pitchforks even further. We’re in a bad run but did anyone seriously expect us never to have one? I was reading about our 91/92 promotion season a few days ago. I had forgotten that our infamous six defeats in a row actually came in the middle of a run of 13 games from which we amassed a massive 7 points. That was pretty much the last third of the season up the Swanee. Thank God this site didn’t exist back then!

Great story, very well told. Bobby was symptomatic of Jim Smith’s struggles to get a consistent goalscoring centre forward in an otherwise exciting team. Graham and Dack up front would’ve seen us go up for sure.

Almost as bad a day as when we sold Keith Newton. Whodathunk we’d be promoted 15 months later with Beamo up front! Hilarious preview. It’s neck and neck between us and Man City as to who can avoid losing three on the bounce. Time the Dackster won us a game against better opponents.

Now we have played everyone, the biggest thing to strike me is how far off the top 6 our squad is in technique. Leeds yesterday, Sheffield Utd, Derby, Norwich and West Brom all passed us off the park. How many of our players would get into their teams? Dack, at a push. BUT, we have taken 6 points off the top 6 and it should’ve been 11, which suggests to me we are playing to existing strengths. But I don’t think those strengths are enough - every game is a slog, which means we tire more and make more mistakes. The next two windows will say a lot about how far we can go. Mowbray’s Achilles heel is how little his last window took us forward.

Yes there was, but it’s another BRFCS reverse ferret as it doesn’t fit with the new narrative that Mowbray had promotion handed to him on a plate. Don’t you recall the numerous “Thank God Cory Evans Is Staying!” threads? And all those “If we go down we’ll be playing at Plessy in three years” threads were just malicious Dingles toying with us.

Stretching now, given no one knows their wages. Two current internationals happy at dropping down to Div 1? I doubt that.

A poster yesterday - Mellorsomething - hit the nail on the head for me: since Venkys took over, a grand total of $250k has been made available for defenders, whereas money seems to fall from the sky for forwards. I think there’s something in that.

I’m confused. Were they top players that could guarantee promotion or three useless has-beens no-one would touch with a barge-pole?

Ummm yes, because virtually any player can force a move from any club at any time. Unless it’s still 1963.

No need to get worried, I think this thread is just the Christmas reunion of last season’s spectacularly well-timed Mowbray Out thread. We’ve hit our first major bump in the road. Mowbray needs to act, and the results give him license to make some changes. Let’s see if he does.

Most players like Graham, Mulgrew and Evans wouldn’t stay at a League 1 club, someone persuaded them to. Something I think Mowbray gets too little credit for.