In the public sector it is quite common for jobs to be advertised externally and an internal applicant get the job after a thorough interview process. However, sometimes, when an external candidate comes along that is simply too good to turn down you go with that candidate. Advertising externally gives you the opportunity to judge your internal candidates against the rest of the field. Surely that can only be a good thing. Ultimately we have made a couple of excellent appointments in my opinion, having witnessed the work they have done with the academy over the past few years.

A great away trip. Good journey, entertaining match, clean sheet and a welcome away win. I thought we looked much better at the back with Williams being outstanding. Fair play to Walton who I have my doubts about but tonight he looked very good, particularly coming out to claim the ball. As arbitro said, Travis and Johnson were excellent in the middle of the park and I thought Downing was man of the match with a terrific display. His range of passing, ability to see the opening and his knack of being in the right place to keep the play moving is something we have missed. Johnson and Downing have brought a touch of class and know-how to the team, particularly in the closing stages when they have the confidence to use the ball and retain possession. Attacking wise we always carried a threat and have a decent array of players to utilise during the game. The likes of Dack, who is getting back to his best, Graham, Gallagher, Armstrong and Rothwell all offer something different at various stages of the game. Saturday will be a tough game and Cunningham will be a serious miss for us but confidence should be high after two clean sheets.

Excellent appointments by the club. Having watched the progress the youngsters have made under Billy and Mike it's good to see them promoted to the new roles. Damien was promoted from the Academy to work with the under-23's and that turned out OK. Hopefully the same will happen with Billy.

Pleased with the performance in general today. Still a lot to do to get us fully up and running but I thought there were plenty of positives today. We looked more organised, the side looked to be better balanced and the attacking formation of Gallagher, Dack, Downing and Graham up top always caused a threat. I was very impressed with the workrate of Gallagher today on the right - which seems a natural position for him to use his height and strength. Downing looks a class act on the left and his crosses should be a source of goals this season. Johnson too, after last week's indifferent display, was excellent and looks to have formed a decent partnership with Travis. Defensively, I thought the back four did very well with Lenihan and Williams looking sound in the centre of defence. I thought young Buckley did well and didn't hide even when one or two things went against him. He has quick feet and will cause problems for defenders. Walton seemed to be better until that moment of madness when he is flying about nowhere near the ball - very lucky to get away with that. On the evidence of today the manager certainly hasn't lost the dressing room and the crowd seem right behind him.

Why wouldn't I. He is a highly qualified coach with an excellent track record in terms of coaching in youth football. You seem to be confusing first team football with youth development. Why wouldn't a lad be inspired by a highly qualified coach taking their sessions? We've been fortunate in having a highly qualified coach - Tony Carss - taking the sessions in pre-season so it's hardly been the shambles you seem to think its been. We are fortunate to have the likes of Barr, Carss, Sheron etc on our staff.

How do you know that Billy isn't an inspirational coach for those he is coaching? What do you base your argument that he is old school on? Have you seen Johnson and Barr take sessions, if so please tell us the difference. Basically, because it is an in-house appointment, you automatically think it will be a poor one without looking at the coaching credentials of Barr, or Johnson for that matter. Johnson has moved to a new role to further his own coaching career. The technical role is one that many clubs are now using so surely it is a good thing that we are constantly evolving our approach to coaching.

Players with fantastic playing careers have made terrible managers and coaches in the past. Likewise, people with moderate playing careers have been hugely successful as both managers and coaches. A coach inspires players with his coaching methods, by improving the players not by what he himself as done as a player. If a successful player puts on poor coaching sessions the youngsters will quickly pick up on that - as footballers do at all levels. You say the U23s are about to go backwards but how can you tell? The U23 squad for this year is totally different from the one we've had over the past two years - that's the natural progression of Under-23/Under-18 football. They tend to work in two-year cycles and then the players either graduate to the first team squad, move out on loan or are released. It's quite possible that the players this year in the Under-23's won't perform quite as well as last seasons - particularly during the early part of the season when they are finding their feet at a new level. The players, for the most part, with which Johnson has enjoyed such success over the past two seasons were given the foundations by Billy Barr at Under-18 level. If Billy can develop one or two of the forthcoming crop of Under-23 players into first team prospects he will have done his job successfully - just like Johnson, Kinder, and Bowyer before him.

Good appointment if true. Like Johnson, when he took over the Under-23's, has a good knowledge of the Academy, worked with the players during their formative years and has produced some decent teams at Under-18 level. Last season he was working with Johnson at a number of games - Billy and Mike Sheron shared the duties, after Dunny left, on matchday as you have to have two qualified coaches on the bench. A different character to Johnson but well qualified and a decent coach.

And a good job too as the Graham/Dack combination is the one that works.

A good winger doesn't always need pace if he is clever and astute with his passing. Waggy had lost much of his pace when he arrived at Ewood but what a player. He could pass the ball over 30, 40, 50 yards and land it on a sixpence. Downing could easily operate in a more central role and supply the likes of Graham and Dack.

I think tonight proved beyond doubt that Graham and Dack have to be the strike force. The manager got out of jail tonight with his team selection. Why we made so many changes I'll never know. The players seemed all over the place at times. The plus was the link up between Dack and Graham again. When Dack plays off Graham they look a real threat. Sad to say I thought Brereton was awful yet again. Perhaps sending the lad out on loan to get him out of the spotlight and allow up to build up some confidence might help but at the moment he is really struggling. I felt sorry for the lad as his first touch and his reading of the game were shocking. I think Downing could be a useful acquisition as he uses the ball with some intelligence and is a decent crosser of the ball. Winning is everything in cup-ties and we won - that's about all you can say apart from having enjoyed the return of the Graham-Dack combination.

Players change position all the time - one of the best teams, possibly the best team, I've ever seen in blue and white was made up of players who were switched from one position to another.

If might not in your eyes but if the manager believes it to be the correct one then its the correct one for him. At the end of the day he will stand or fall by HIS decisions as every manager does.

If the manager believes Bennett is better than Nyambe at right-back that is his decision to make. I think you would see players being picked that fans don't agree with at every club.

Wouldn't disagree with any of that. I think the manager sees Williams and Nyambe now as out and out centre backs rather than full-backs. Personally, I think Williams is OK at centre-back in the Championship but its all a huge gamble - particularly if Brereton and Gallagher don't deliver.

I agree we did great in many ways under Bob Saxton - although never really appreciated by many, myself included, at the time. Don Mackay also did a great job without delivering top flight football. At the end of the day both managers were faced with selling players to survive - look at the talent we lost from just the mid-seventies on, let alone what we lost in the sixties. I just think football has changed totally over the past few years in terms of the ridiculous amounts of money paid in fees and wages which puts us at an even greater disadvantage. Clearly, having been given money to spend and spending the way we have means that ultimately the manager will be judged on results. Rev - do you honestly think that this is a top six squad? I'll be honest I think we are mid-table. Is that good enough to keep the manager in a job - only the owners know the answer to that.

I think this accurately sums up where we are as a football club at this moment in time. Idealism has finally met reality. When Mowbray attends functions with supporters his enthusiasm for the game in general shines through and he starts to talk like a supporter - which is why he connects with some many fans. But, surely, most supporters would have looked at what we had at the end of last season and realised that without major funding - funding we were never likely to get - we would be tottering around mid to lower mid-table. I suspect that Mowbray expected to be working with a larger budget than the one he has received and you can argue, fairly, that £5 million on Gallagher is a gamble, as was Brereton. No manager could turn last season's squad into a top-six squad with just £5 million to play with. Long term, buying players from abroad and combining them with our own youngsters is likely to be the way forward but that is fraught with danger as we know from the past. The likelihood is that you continually sell your better young players to keep the club's head above the financial waterline. Financially, football is moving in a direction where any numbers of clubs are going to be left behind fighting for their very existence, let alone promotion. There is every possibility that we may become one of them irrespective of who the manager is. At the moment the owners are keeping us afloat - which is the least they can do all things considered - but the moment they decide they've had enough the choice of manager will be the least of our problems.

It could be a tough season for the Under-23's depending on what happens to the likes of Buckley, Rankin-Costello, Butterworth etc. With Tyler already out on loan and others likely to follow it will be a young team. It will take time for the younger ones to come in and adjust to a different level. I thought that we competed extremely well for about two-thirds of the game last night before Arsenal's possession football began to put us under sustained pressure. We tired over the closing period, after having put so much effort into the game, and gave away soft penalties. They were definitely penalties but really tackles that, I suspect, were caused by tiredness - both physical and mental. Stef Mols was outstanding until forced off by injury and Brad Lyons gave a powerful performance in midfield. Jack Vale ran them ragged at times until he tired over the closing stages. Charley Doyle, normally so reliable, had a night to forget.

I think he picked up an injury at Lancaster.

Mowbray confirmed it at his press conference today. Seems a very sensible decision as Bennett is respected by players and manager. Always gives 100 per cent every game and, unlike some players, never hides on the pitch when having a poor game.

I think that's why they seem to be taking it very carefully with his fitness at the moment. He didn't feature in the last pre-season game against Lancaster.

To be honest Tom I think they are still trying to build his fitness up. He's not really caught the eye in pre-season and I suspect they want to make sure that he is not going to break down again before throwing him in at the start of a first team game.

Yesterday, the failings were in attack not at the back. That in itself is a concern because last week we are awful at the back and yesterday our attacking side of the game was poor. I totally agree that we have to build from the back but we have what we have for the next four or five months. It will have to improve by working with the players on the training ground and that is the manager's responsibility. I'm not sure what other role you can give Armstrong or Rothwell other than playing in the wide positions at the moment. I suppose Rothwell could be used instead of Dack but other than that he seems more suited to operating in a wide position. In fairness, at the moment, there are no "Mowbray Out" chants to be heard and I suspect most are willing him to be successful. However, chatting to folk at the services on the way back there are certainly more questioning the decisions being made - the substitutions in the last two games have been dreadful. He appears to have the full confidence of the owners - for the moment - but like any manager results will dictate what happens next. With the window now closed the only way we can improve is by working on the training ground and looking to find a system of play that suits the players he has assembled. A move to three centre-backs and wing backs might serve us better instead of the rigid 4-2-3-1 that we seem to favour. During the first 30 minutes of the game yesterday we looked better in terms of possession but never really threatened the goal - the final ball being dreadful. When Armstrong and Rothwell continually hit their crosses against the first defender that's down to them rather than to do with the position they are playing. That could and should be improved on the training ground. I agree the buck stops with the manager. The acquisition of Brereton and Gallagher was a gamble that may well bring him down and I don't believe replacing Raya with Walton will do him any favours in the long run. I certainly don't want Mowbray potted but there is clearly work to be done with these players on the training ground to improve both attack and defence.

Goalscoring is looking a major problem at the moment. Until the first goal we totally dominated without ever really looking like we would score. I was very disappointed with Armstrong and Rothwell who looked good running with the ball but there was simply no end product. Every ball they ball into the box found the first defender. Gallagher looks mobile but very poor in the air and doesn't look much of a goal threat at the moment. Tosin and Williams looked very solid at the centre of defence and Bennett had a much better game at full-back. Johnson started OK and then went downhill pretty quickly. Really not sure why Travis was taken off. To say we had Gallagher, Graham, Brereton, Armstrong and Dack on at the end and couldn't muster a real threat on goal was hugely disappointing. I'm not convinced with Walton - really ought to have saved the second goal. Fulham are not really firing at the moment but they have quality players who will, once they get going, win more than they lose. I was encouraged by the first half but overall came away concerned that, despite the attacking players on the pitch, we didn't force their keeper to make any real saves. Certainly a lot of work to be done on the training ground to get the right blend on the pitch on matchday.

Really looking forward to this one as Craven Cottage is my favourite away ground. I think it will be a really tough game and we will need to be at our very best to come away with any sort of result. Would love a win, of course, but would be happy with a point.