Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be renewing his contract. But that's because of his 'injury' issues. He is, when fit, fine as a bench option. His time has to be up this summer though. You would hope. Not a low earner either. BB played well early doors this season, been a bit poor again since returning. I'm not ruling him out yet though as a useful player. Stupid price tag aside.

Don't agree about the bench tbh. Some good players on it. Obviously Pears, Bell and Bennett aren't good players but I'm fine with the rest. Even Evans is an average Championship CM. Dolan, Rothwell and Brereton I'd be starting over some of those on the pitch.

Plenty of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels around though.

I'm afraid the reason is indeed major cock ups. By the manager.

Steve Martin wasn't in Groundhog Day, that was Bill Murray. Or are you referring to last time this guy reffed us?

You're both right. When you watch a game in general you're not going to be only watching one player. So you will pick up on everything he does on the ball in a way you won't from watching a whole game. But you're also right that off the ball movement and running is a crucial part of the game. The best of both worlds really is to watch the whole game but with an intense focus on one player. Which I assume is what scouts do when they are there to do a proper report on one target rather than just watching for whoever catches the eye.

Swearing is just words. It's an inane taboo carried over from past generations that adults shouldn't fixate on.

The ironic thing about it is that, over the years, our owners HAVE spent well over a hundred million. I know only a certain amount of that is under Tony, but still. We tack on about 20 million more a year generally, so it must be 60-80 under his watch. He is basically telling them that for that investment they can only expect somewhere from 9th to 17th and they shouldn't care where in that range we fall. I'd be fucking spitting feathers at those statements if I were them. They won't be (ironically given their main livelihoods) as they won't even hear about it, and if they do they'll surely just lap up Tony's tripe.

The bigger issue with him saying that is that - and someone correct me if I'm wrong - nobody has ever spent 100 million to get out of this league.

Very similar was said about Douglas compared to Bell when we signed him.

I was just reflecting on something when I saw Carter now has 4 goals in 18 games on loan. Which is good, albeit in League One, but it made me think. Defenders absolutely should defend first and foremost, and attacking-wise fullbacks' priority should be creating not scoring. But has a SINGLE defender scored for us all season? I certainly can't remember it.

Interesting, the article says he was head coach of the YDP, rather than in charge of recruitment. I appreciate these roles can overlap though. Do you have any more insight on him then if he's in your contacts? Knows his stuff? It occurred to me too, that he will at least give us the scoop on Preston's best and it may be another hunting ground for us this summer.

A month or so ago I thought the same, but I can see it. 'With the huge turnover of personnel this summer that was in no way my fault, it was crucial to tie down such a versatile player as Benno. He always gives his all, and gives us so many options in several areas now we are looking light in nearly every area. He's also a fantastic presence in the dressing room, and we've hooked his arm to a generator so that every time he fist pumps it powers the training centre. Practically pays for himself.'

Interesting considering our recent forays into signing Preston youth players. Wonder if @Sparks Rover knows much about him?

He won't be going anywhere in the summer with the lush contract he's on.

Indeed. And personally I think we need someone who can fix a poor defence a lot more than we need someone who can whip a cross to an isolated 5 ft 7 forward.

Those pointing out he is playing in a poor defence should remember that he is a quarter of that poor defence.

Broken clock and all that though.

Too hypothetical for me - I reckon we could sell him tomorrow for 10 million if the window was open and that was our price. Can't envision a scenario, major injury aside, in which we only get 8.

I dunno, I'm not sure how that works that's why I'm asking.

With him being Spanish, is he even available to British clubs under the new regs? League Two isn't a top league. Not sure how it works with players who currently have a work permit here once their existing contract expires.

Sadly we have put ourselves in a position where it may not be feasible to ignore the loan market entirely. Largely because of *checks notes* relying on the loan market too much in the past. It may seem counterintuitive to rely on it again, but 5 more new players to add to the out of contract lot is likely too big an ask for the budget to get enough quality from. We can't rely wholesale on young players coming through. I agree with the sentiment, and I wouldn't want to see us get 5 again if we can help it, but realistically I'm not gonna be mad if we get 3. I'd understand the need to transition a bit.

Power without responsibility shouldn't exist. I'm not saying it doesn't, just that it's reprehensible. But I agree from experience that responsibility without power is awful. The two should be in balance as much as possible.

There is nothing intermittent about 8 points from 45. There's nothing 'perhaps' shit about constantly playing Gallagher wide and ignoring every single thing that doesn't work about our approach. It isn't just his mentality, but his tactics that have us in this mess. Teams figured us out with this approach after early successes, which involved a fair few opposition reds, and we haven't looked good or had a plan B since.

Actually I'm going to go with 'Mowbray's ideas are very shit'.