Did you think Kenny's was untenable with six on the trot. I remember losing seven on the trot but we didn't change the manager - even though we ended up being relegated. If you appoint a manager and if, for the most part, he has delivered then surely you back him when things get tough. I believe he will still be here in twelve months time and, hopefully, we'll continue to be in a stronger position.

I too am dealing in tangibles and we are in a far stronger position today than when he took over at every level. In twelve months time we will have a better idea as to how he is progressing.

That's fair enough blueboy. That's your view. Others, like myself, view him differently and believe he has been very good for this club. Fortunately, at the moment it would appear he has the full support of the owners so the next couple of transfer windows will see if he can build on the work he has already done. I think the majority of supporters are behind him because they believe he is building the club on the right lines.

Personally, I'm delighted they've blocked the red button. When it was announced that games could be screened in midweek everyone said it would lower attendances and I believe it has been detrimental to attendances for those games. For me the main way to get attendances up is to get schools coming back and giving tickets to kids for free in large numbers - we have enough empty stands to use for this to be done. Capturing the next generation and building on the family orientation of the club is the way that I believe we will increase attendances in the long run. As Mattyblue said, and I agree with him, we have about 12,000 in terms of home support and it's going to be difficult to shift that without Premier League football. Let's not forget that thirty years ago - with the club in a similar position to today - the home average was under 9,000.

Couldn't agree more. I think we are very fortunate to have Mowbray as manager at this point in our history. He's not perfect - no manager is. He will make mistakes - every manager does. However, for a club in our position I believe he is a perfect fit. We need this type of manager who can oversee the whole operation and put the building blocks in place to restore the foundations which we need. As you say, it won't be easy, because of the size of the budgets of some of the clubs in the Championship - you only have to look at the income of the relegated clubs to see how much at a disadvantage we are. We can't live in the past. We are where we are and the only way we will get back to the top flight - and I remember the quarter of a century it took to get back after the 65-66 relegation - is by shrewd management, patience and a little bit of luck.

I think their semi-final against Rochdale was behind closed doors. Wouldn't be the first time that a Rovers/Burnley game has been played behind closed doors.

Disappointing night for the Under-23's. Everton looked like a top of the table side tonight although, in fairness, their goalkeeper was outstanding with a number of brilliant saves. We conceded two goals from mistakes by our players. Tyler was responsible for the first by trying to play his way out of defence and then losing the ball. Albinson should have done better with the second. Chapman had 60 minutes and was fairly anonymous - certainly looks a long way off being ready for the first team - and Davenport didn't really do much to impress. With ten players out on loan and Travis promoted to the seniors, the Under-23's haven't really many options at this point. Damien Johnson looked very frustrated on the touchline, rather like Mowbray yesterday.

In fairness, Lowe is highly qualified and I believe to be very highly regarded within coaching circles. From what I hear it was Mowbray's choice to keep Lowe with the first team. I suspect because his work ethic is very similar to Mowbray in terms of the amount of time he devotes to the club. The guy seems to spend a huge amount of time watching Under-23 games etc as well as his normal coaching duties.

Based on what has been done since he took over. At the end of the day everyone will have a different opinion about the manager but ultimately the only one that counts is that of the owners.

I suspect we will be looking at adding four, perhaps five additions to the squad who would be first team players. Building gradually seems to me to be the way for a club like Rovers to go in the long term. We are going to have to rely on our Academy to produce the players to fill the squad places and you know as well as I that we have a really promising group at the moment just under first team level. One or two of the present squad, who should be good enough, are going to have to 'up' their game - Dack included - after several very indifferent performances. At the end of the day players have to take some responsibility for what happens on the field. It's too easy to push all the blame at the manager's door. The owners will put in whatever money they feel is appropriate - which is entirely up to them at the end of the day - but they have supported Mowbray thus far with a decent budget for this level. I think that have a strong relationship with Mowbray - more so than with any other manager they have employed and thus the long term contract. I believe they will be happy to stick with him because I suspect they respect his honesty and approach to the job. That's were we differ. I believe Mowbray is the right man to spend the money to take the club forward in the right direction.

It's only a month or so ago that we gave what was probably our best display under Mowbray when he beat Hull. Since the collapse at Brentford we've looked pretty poor. The manager himself acknowledged that some players who were bought to win promotion from League One have started to struggle at Championship level and would be replaced. I suspect we will see a fairly hectic summer of transfer activity. What we need now are players who are good enough to hold down a regular starting position in the first team. A commanding centre-half needs to be top of the list followed by a centre-forward in the style of Graham. Mowbray is the first manager that the owners have given a long term contract to in recent years which would suggest that they see him as the long term option and rightly so. It's now up to the manager to spend whatever funds are available to spend wisely on rebuilding the team for a realistic challenge at the play-offs. It's going to be an important summer for the club in terms of transfers and one which will determine the future of the manager and the club.

He went over to the bench before half-time and seemed to say he would need replacing and Nyambe immediately started warming up.

King Kenny lost six in a row - that's football.

I'm happy to reserve judgement on Brereton but I have to say he looks anything but convincing in terms of being someone who can lead an attack. The way he allows himself to be bullied by defenders is not a good sign. Playing wide seems to be the best position for him at the moment and he did show one or two nice touches last night without ever really looking convincing. Hopefully the lad will come good but at the moment he doesn't have the attributes required to play in a central role, particularly in terms of the way we play as a team. Hopefully that may come in time but he has a lot to learn and I'm not sure how you make him stronger in terms of standing up to defenders who want to bully you. Heart for a fight is something you have or you haven't. Young Danny Butterworth is smaller in stature but has a much bigger heart in terms of being prepared to battle defenders who want to knock you about. Brereton is very much a work in progress but will hopefully pick up how to play the role by watching Danny Graham in training and in matches.

Personally, I'm far from reaching the point where I would want a change of manager. I think Mowbray has done a very good job thus far and has the ability to take us forward in the long term. However, as with every manager, it will come down to recruitment and results. Last summer the stated aim was maintaining Championship status and anything better being a bonus. I believe we will finish well above the relegation places but some distance from the play-offs which, for me, is a decent season after promotion. This summer we need to recruit players who will make us stronger and take us to a point where we can be serious challengers for the play-off positions. It won't be easy as there are clubs with money to spend from parachute payments. However, it can be done as other clubs have shown over the years. This is going to be a big summer in terms of recruitment and we have to get it right. On the plus side we have a number of youngsters who could fill the 'squad' positions so that the money can be targeted on players who are the 'finished article'.

Having caught up on some sleep after a weary journey back I'm still struggling to find many positives from last night. Reading set themselves up to defend in depth and in numbers and catch us on the break. They did it perfectly. Two shots in the first half and one goal. In the second they started more aggressively, then went back to defending and still had the ability to hit us on the break and score a winner. In contrast we had endless amounts of possession without ever really looking like converting it into goals. Armstrong should have played Brereton in with a better ball - although I'm doubtful Brereton would have finished it; that finish in the second half was shocking - and Armstrong should have done better on one occasion with a shot which simply wasn't hit hard enough. At the moment we have issues at both ends of the pitch. Defenders who can't defend and an attack that looks more and more toothless. The manager has now given the old guard the opportunity to cut it at this level and, sadly, several after a decent start have shown they simply lack the consistency to play at this level week in and week out. Graham, who remains our most dangerous forward, is struggling with fitness having to play too many games. Dack is also looking anything but fit and seems to drift around without much purpose. Graham and Dack were at their best when they were playing off one another - now they are miles apart on the field and so there is no link up play between the two. Whilst Brereton showed one or two nice touches he is not a centre-forward. The way he bounced off a defender when challenged was embarrassing. We have two players vying for left-back and if you put both together you still wouldn't have a decent left-back. Personally, I think we need Nyambe back in the team to allow Bennett to move into midfield as we miss his drive and energy when he's playing right-back. Above all we need an experienced, commanding centre-half who can organise the players around him - what I wouldn't give for a Matt Woods, a John McNamee, a Graham Hawkins, a Kevin Moran type defender at this point. I suspect this summer and the recruitment we do will define the manager's tenure at the club. I think Mowbray has done a more than decent job thus far but this summer we need to bring in players who can complete in this League.

Stanley played several experienced first team players in their side so it wasn't an under-23 side. Because we have a game on Wednesday we were unable to put senior squad member in the side and restricted it to the Under-23 side. All of which made it an even more impressive performance under the circumstances.

A really tough game today against a strong Stanley team. The lads did remarkably well to pull this out of the bag with virtually the last kick of the game to bring the scores level - much to the annoyance of Coleman who had a real rant at the referee and continued it long after the game had been decided on penalties. In fairness, the lads looked jaded in the second half after a tough week but a piece of magic by Danny Butterworth enabled Thompson to snatch the late, late equaliser. Albinson made the vital save from Nolan - who played in a few games for Rovers on trial a couple of years back. Hopefully the lads will get some time to recover before returning to Southport next week for another tough game against Everton.

Frustrating to lose but it was a tight game and always looked like one goal would win it. We had chances but didn't make the most of them. Bristol took a late opportunity that came their way. Travis and Reed struggled, which happens with young players from time to time. Dack was ineffective, possibly still carrying a knock. Overall, we are in a decent position considering it's our first season back - Rotherham and Wigan have found the transition far more difficult. I'm more than happy with consolidation this season and then add some quality in the summer. Personally, I think we are fortunate to have Mowbray as manager at this point in time as he slowly rebuilds the foundations of the club. The Academy and Under-23's are now progressing again and these are the building blocks on which future success can be built - together with one or two astute signings. At the end of the day, despite the result today, this season will see us finish higher than last season so progress has been made.

So sad to lose another of the sixties team so soon after Mike Harrison. So many wonderful memories they've let behind. Fred was such a powerful striker who feared nobody and who could score goals for fun. I remember being distraught when he was sold to Everton. RIP Fred.

Everton got the point they needed last night to get through. Between Rovers and Sheffield United for the other place.

Difficult conditions at Southport last night and a draw was probably a fair result. First half was fairly even with both sides having problems with the blustery conditions and a heavy and bobbly pitch. We had the better of the chances and Vale was unfortunate to have a goal ruled out for offside - which was a very tight decision. We started the second half on the front foot and took the lead after some brilliant play by young Buckley. However, as the half progressed we started to run out of steam a little as it looked as if playing two games in the space of four days had caught up with us. Nonetheless, it was a decent performance against a side who have already beaten us twice this season. Joe Rankin-Costello, Buckley and Mols had excellent matches but, once again, it was a real team performance. We now need Everton to do us a favour and take something from their last match against Sheffield whilst we need to beat Doncaster if we are to progress to the knock-out stages.

Different players. Butterworth is a player who likes to support the main striker - rather like Dack. Nuttall is more of a Danny Graham type striker. If it was understudying Dack I'd pick Butterworth everytime but if it's understudying Graham I'd favour Nuttall.

Possibly towards the end of the season if we are mid-table (which I expect) we might see one or two given the chance to see if they are ready. For me I'd have Danny Butterworth in over Brereton at the moment. In fact last night we were discussing Brereton and playing him in the under-23's but we came to the conclusion that he might struggle to get a place at the moment because of the speed at which the Under-23's play.

Terrific performance last night from all concerned - a real team performance. Down at their place earlier in the season we were hammered but last night you could see just how much we have improved over the season. Of course, going down to ten didn't help Leicester but, in fairness, we were already in the lead and looking very impressive. Tyler gets better with every game as does young Buckley in midfield. Butterworth, who didn't score, is another Speedie, constantly causing problems for the opposition with a fiery style of play. Mols looked back to his best after the injury and Joe had his best game since his long lay-off through injury. The new lad looked very comfortable when he came on as did Saadi who has really improved over the last few months. Our youth set-up certainly seems to be making real progress at the moment in terms of developing young players who look full of promise.