He plays when Nuttall is not available. He may get more game time if Nuttall goes on loan but to be honest he's not a patch on Mansell and Mansell has struggled in the last eighteen months. Simmonds has poor work rate, too fond of the stepover - even when there is nobody near him he can't help but do a stepover or two - and offers very little. Butterworth is a far better player, scores more goals, is quicker and has a tremendous attitude in terms of work rate. He's another who will probably go out on loan in January.

He sits on the bench every week and gets a few minutes at the end of a game.

You've clearly never watched Simmonds. He is dreadful, simply dreadful and I would fully expect to see him on his way come May.

Nuttall has played exceptionally well now in the last three games after looking pretty indifferent prior to that. I believe that Mowbray had a chat and since then he has been outstanding. I suspect he's trying to get the loan move he needs in January. Hopefully, he'll come back next reason ready to challenge for a first team spot. Lyons has been very impressive since coming from Ireland in the summer. A tough tackling, box to box midfielder who looks to have the potential to make the grade. Still a lot to learn but has made rapid progress since his arrival.

You are talking far too much sense here Biz. You must try harder to get into the gloom and doom mood. I totally agree with much of what you say. Far from awful, I've really enjoyed most of the games this season and been impressed with some of the football that we are trying to play. Of course, there are players who will gradually be replaced - Mowbray said that himself last month. Most of my friends believe we are heading in the right direction with exactly the right manager at the helm and have enjoyed their football again over the last eighteen months or so. There is a positive vibe about the club - something that has been missing for a long time. I was very happy that the owners signed Mowbray up on a long term contract as it gives him the time to build the club up from the foundations. At long last the manager, players, club officials and owners are finally on the same page, along with the majority of the fanbase. Long may it continue

Why would he step aside when he has committed to the club long term? He has always said this was a long term project, which is what the owners have now bought into. Until the rebuilding is complete this is "where we are at" in terms of the players available. There aren't players in the Under-23's who look ready to be promoted - Nuttall has been excellent the last two games but indifferent prior to that whilst Travis has been in and out form wise for the Under-23's. Both will benefit from a loan period where they are playing every week. I thought yesterday was down to individual mistakes more than a collective failure of the team. For the most part we looked very comfortable until Graham went off.

Two individual errors - Raya and Bell - cost us today. Raya had a major lapse for the penalty but goalkeepers do that at times. Bell, who I thought was dreadful, lost possession for the second when he could easily have simply pumped it forward. The fact that Bell made Mahoney look half decent just about sums up his performance. I thought Reed, Evans and Graham were our best performers - which they have been on a regular basis. Whilst Brereton was in no way to blame for the defeat it was noticeable that when Graham came off we struggled to maintain possession and missed Graham closing down defenders. Having watched every minute of Brereton so far this season I must admit that I'm struggling to see how he's going to win a regular spot in the starting line-up, particularly if we bring in another striker in January. He doesn't appear overly physical and he certainly isn't quick. I hope the lad proves me wrong but I've seen any number of players brought in over the years who have failed to make an impact and at the moment Brereton is beginning to fall into that category.

Excellent news. Personally, I think he has been one of the best and most consistent performers this season.

The Brereton situation reminds me a bit of when we signed Jimmy Quinn. Quinn was an experienced and well-established first team player and we spent what was, by our standards at the time, a sizeable amount of money to sign him - indeed all our transfer money went on him if I remember correctly. He then sat on the bench until mid-December unable to force his way past Chris Thompson. Ultimately, the manager knows how he wants to set up in games and watches players in training everyday. Those that he believes can do the job he wants will get selected above those he feels still have short-comings. The fact that after twenty-one games we are in a more than comfortable position, particularly as a newly promoted club, probably justifies Mowbray's decision to keep faith with the old guard for the moment. If we have a run of poor results over the next half dozen games then I would expect changes to be made but if we continue as we have been doing then I would expect him to stick with what's working. Personally, I wanted us to build a solid foundation this season and re-establish ourselves as a Championship club. To have something solid as a club on which to build. For me that is exactly we are doing so, whilst I might be in a minority, I have no complaints about the season as a whole or Mowbray's management.

Totally agree. A lot of Graham's work defensively is often overlooked. I thought he put in a terrific shift today and worked tirelessly against a pretty impressive defence. I thought Mowbray got his subs spot on today and tried to attack and play on the front foot. The way Middlesbrough play - long ball and set pieces - going down to ten didn't really have much of an impact on them. With a touch more luck/quality in the finishing department I felt we would have come away with three points. Frustrated not to take three points but pleased with the overall performance and ultimately, a point a Middlesbrough isn't the worst result in the world. Looking at the table - 6 points off the play-offs and 12 away from the bottom three - there's not much to complain about thus far this season.

He was totally anonymous last night. Seen him a few times when he has looked good but last night nobody played up to their normal form.

Hugely disappointing performance in the Youth Cup last night. Too many players were well below their best and didn't get into the game until well into the second half. Gillingham the better team in the first half - although the penalty was a poor decision by the officials with the foul, if it was a foul, being committed just outside the area - and deserved their lead. Second goal was poor goalkeeping and defending but after that Gillingham tired and we had enough chances to have won the game. No surprise it was such a low attendance on a shocking night weather wise.

The view within the club, as far as I can tell, is that he needs to go out on loan to toughen him up and have a run of games against more experienced defenders than is found in Under-23 football. The injury to Samuel cost him a move in August but I believe they hope to loan him out in January. On tonight's showing - which apart from the goals was his best display since last season - he should have no problem in finding a club. The problem then is getting the game time he needs which is something the likes of Wharton, Platt and Hardcastle haven't managed since going out on loan.

Chaddy with all respect, yesterday showed exactly why Graham will always be the number one choice at the moment ahead of Brereton. Three goals scored by using his experience to be in the right place at the right time and a goal which he laid on for Dack - but forget the goals. Look at his contribution to the team - it was immense. He did the things that Brereton hasn't done and much of which comes with experience. Listening to Mowbray wax lyrical about the performance of Graham and watching how the other players respond to him shows why he will remain way ahead of Brereton in the pecking order. Yesterday was about as complete a display from a centre-forward that you are ever likely to see. Brereton should simply watch and learn and spend as much time with Graham as possible to learn how to play that position. Brereton is one for the future but for the present Graham remains the main man in terms of leading the line.

Excellent news. Mowbray has put the club back on a solid footing and thoroughly deserves a long term contract. Personally, I think the timing is perfect coming on the back of two defeats - no better way for the owners to show their faith in the manager and indicates that one or two bad results won't lead to wholesale changes and the instability we've had in the past.

Mowbray always said that the players who won promotion would be given a chance to prove that they could play at a higher level. At last week's meeting he indicated that one or two might be left behind as the club moved forward. I think the last two games have merely underlined that point. I don't think any of last season's squad can complain that they haven't had opportunities - and in fairness they have stepped up until the last couple of games when they seem to have hit a wall both physically and mentally. From the very outset, Mowbray has talked about a long term plan that would encompass another two or three transfer windows in order to get a squad together that would be capable of challenging at this level which seems a fair assessment. We were always going to have a bad run at some point but the points gained thus far have brought us some breathing space with regard to looking over our shoulder at lower end of the table. A mid-table finish come May would be, for me, a decent season and at the moment I see no reason why that can't be achieved with one or two additions to the squad in January.

A bad day at the office for all concerned - manager and players. We move on to the next match but today underlined the points made by Mowbray on Thursday about the squad needing to be strengthened. I'm afraid I can't join the usual BRFCS doom and gloom when I look at a league table that shows us tenth with just four defeats out of 18. We've had a pretty decent season so far for a newly promoted club and one defeat - disappointing as it was - doesn't really change that. A mid-table finish would be a decent platform on which to build - which was what most on here hoped for before a ball was kicked last August. I think today was a perfect illustration that in this League any team can beat any other team on the day. It's what makes the Championship such an interesting League.

Those top 6 clubs are signing him to add to their academy/Under-23 squads not their first team. Those clubs fills their ranks with young players who you never hear about again.

No way is he ready for the first team. He looks decent but not first team material. He will probably play with the Under-23's before long I would think.

Very similar to the creation of the Premier League and how that broke away from the Football League. People said the Football League wouldn't break up but it did. There has been talk of a Premier League second division for years and it wouldn't surprise me if that starts to rear its head again. As an organisation the Football League has been found wanting in so many areas and, to a certain extent, one can understand why some clubs have become disillusioned with it - again similar to the creation of the Premier League in 1992. In fairness, the red button is an absolute nonsense and will, ultimately, harm all clubs as fans opt to stay away - particularly on a cold, wet winter's night. It will be interesting to learn if Rovers are amongst the 15. I suspect they probably would be.

Personally, getting rid of Lambert was a huge cause of celebration for me and Coyle's appointment actually has done some good in a strange way - relegation and the revival under Mowbray has made the club stronger than at any point since Big Sam left. At long last we look like a proper club again with manager, players, administrators and owners all pulling in the same direction.

It's called trying to put the club on a sound commercial footing. On more than one occasion he has said the long term aim is to get away from an owner reliant model and obviously that means making some tough decisions which some may disagree with. Personally, I think he's the best CEO we've had since John Williams and points to a more sensible approach to running things from the owners. But, as I said, everyone will have a different opinion - it's a football club and we all view things differently as a glance at any match thread shows.

Couldn't agree more. I think Evans has been one our standout performers this season. For me he would always be an automatic choice for one of the two holding midfield positions.

I wonder how long before Big Sam gets the call to do his usual job of saving a club from relegation - surely the likes of Cardiff, Huddersfield and Fulham must be searching for his number, perhaps the Clarets too.

Totally agree. I think both season tickets and half season tickets are terrific value and competitively priced. Of course everyone will have their own views on that but for me Waggott has been a breath of fresh air at this club - again different folk have different views. In the almost 60 years I've supported the club the fanbase has never really changed. A team doing well on the pitch and fans will come and watch. A struggling team and you can't give tickets away - I know when schools were given tickets in years gone by I literally couldn't give them away when we were at the wrong end of the table. Football is a commercial business whether we like it or not. Wages, transfer fees, the continual upkeep of two training complexes and Ewood all need paying for. The owners are putting money in within the limits of FFP but money needs to come from commercial activities and football long since stopped being too particularly about where money comes from. The Rovers have been happy to take money from breweries and betting companies for years and are happy to sell alcohol on the ground so I really don't see the difference with the electronic cigarette deal. All these things are addictive as we know only too well.