Parsonblue

Not signing anyone who could go straight into the team and improve it. With ten players moving out on loan and two long term injuries, it meant we would be short if we suffered injuries or suspensions - which we have.

Personally, I believe the club in general is in a much better place than it was two years ago. The development squad looks strong and offers hope for the future. At senior level, despite this awful recent run, I believe we are better than two years ago. This season we only lost one of our opening ten games, but drew too many. Since then results have been erratic - which is understandable for a club coming up - but we are on course to consolidate in terms of staying in the division although there is still work to do to ensure that. Looking at the remaining fixtures of the club's below us I don't believe we need that many more points before we can start to give some of the younger players an opportunity. At the moment we have too many players who have totally lost form - Raya, Mulgrew, Dack etc. were mainstays and now look very indifferent. My main criticisms of the manager are in two areas. Firstly I think he should have added a couple of players to the squad in January, particularly as we have ten players out on loan and two long term injuries. Secondly, like Bob Saxton, I think he has been too loyal to one or two players. Ultimately that did for Saxton and it will for Mowbray if he doesn't make changes in the summer. I believe he knows that and I believe he will make changes. Only time will tell if they are good enough but that's the same with any transfer and any manager. But in general, I believe the club as a whole is in a much better place than it was two years ago and Mowbray has had a large part to play in that. I accept some will disagree but that's football - it's a game of opinions.

The problem is that the way Dack has been playing for the last few weeks we aren't going to raise much money by selling him. Clubs seem to have worked out that if he is marked closely he struggles to make an impact on the game. Initially there was talk of getting £25 million, then £15 million, I suspect we might end up with around £10 million if we are lucky.

My best eleven would be: Friedel Newton, Hendry, England, Le Saux Douglas, Clayton, Tugay, Duff Shearer, McEvoy. I feel guilty leaving out the likes of Pickering, Ferguson, Waggy, Hole, Berg etc. We really have had some wonderful players over the years.

For me he was playing as a shield in front of their back four. Whenever we put the ball in the box or at set-pieces he dropped back and cleared everything. He certainly wasn't a creative player in terms of creating chances or playing 50 yard passes which, in fairness, Rodwell did on more than one occasion, but that wasn't his role. With two centre-backs behind him he made a formidable defensive trio. When he defended he cleared everything which is what he was asked to do.

It's called having an opinion Mercer. I still believe he is the right man for the job. He said it would be a slow, gradual build. That is what the owners have bought into and personally he should be given the opportunity to see it through. You may find him uninspiring, that's your view, others have a different view. The summer will see a number of changes to the squad and I'll judge him this time next year. Personally, I think he has done enough to deserve longer to see his proposed changes through. Coyle over Mowbray? Really? That's a serious proposition? Ultimately it doesn't matter what you or I think. It's the owners who will make the final judgement.

In fairness, Mowbray has given these players every opportunity to prove they can cut it at this level. Sadly a number of them have found it a step too far in recent weeks. Two centre-halves will be brought in and rightly so. Mulgrew and Rodwell may well be nice footballers but defenders who will put their body on the line they are not. Rotherham's centre-half didn't have the footballing skills of Mulgrew or Rodwell but he headed and kicked everything away when he had to and then went up the other end to head home two goals. I like Raya but I think it's time he was taken out of the firing line and given a rest. I thought Dack was poor today - not for the first time - and I suspect his value is dropping by the week. It will be a big summer for both Mowbray and the club.

Fortunately, the owners have a different view and like many fans have faith in him, without being blind to his faults, but believe he is exactly the right man for this club at this point in our history.

Fully agree with you about Buckley. He looks so wonderfully balanced when on the ball he almost seems to glide past opponents and, of course, can pick out a pass to set his front men going. He's one we really need to get to sign a long term contract.

The only people who have the right to ask questions of any manager are the people who employ him and play his wages. Manager's certainly don't have to justify decisions they make to supporters but our present one is very good at explaining what he does and why although he has no need to. Supporters may offer a view on a manager but suggesting that they are accountable to complete strangers for decisions they make seems rather odd.

According to the receiver - on the Blackpool Gazette site - Ian has had a long association with Blackpool and is a former season ticket holder there. The article confirms that he acted as a non-executive director at Bolton.

Personally, I'd love to see him playing just behind Graham for a game or two towards the end of the season. Danny has that yard of pace to get away from defenders and he would be great picking up Graham's knock-downs. He's young and still raw but there is a certain something about him - very much in the Speedie style in terms of aggression and involvement in games.

If you'd seen the game Stuart you wouldn't be saying that. I would, however, love to see Danny Butterworth being given a chance to play just behind Graham - that would be interesting.

A fairly comfortable win tonight against a very weak Doncaster side. Having gone three-up in no time the players started to ease up and drop the pace which allowed Doncaster to pull a goal back. The second half followed a similar pattern with the Rovers over-elaborating at times and therefore missing opportunities to finish off Doncaster. When we upped the pace again we got another two goals. Brereton grabbed a couple of goals and missed a real sitter. Personally, I thought he had a mixed night. Showed one or two neat touches but lost the ball on numerous occasions and was easily knocked off the ball. Nuttall looked the sharper of the two - and he wasn't at his best tonight. Danny Butterworth and Harry Chapman did well on the flanks and Davenport had a better game tonight. He looks very much in the Corry Evans style - sitting in front of the defence, winning the ball and then moving it forward without ever really crossing the half-way line himself. This was his best performance so far and showed a great deal of promise. Tyler and Charley Doyle were very comfortable at the back and young Carter and Thompson did well at full-back. Doncaster were very poor though - they looked to be a young side and certainly were well below the level shown by Everton over the past couple of weeks. At the end of the day you can only beat what's in front of you and tonight we did that - with more care it could easily have reached double figures.

I remember some idiot going on the pitch to attack Adam Blacklaw the Burnley 'keeper - who later joined Rovers - in a game in 65-66 and then having to be rescued by the police when he realised Blacklaw was not a man to mess with. As you say, this idiotic fringe has been with us for some time but not in the numbers we see today.

After the first 20 minutes, when Birmingham looked like they would take us apart, I thought we came back well. Same old faults in terms of individual errors for which we were punished. The manager knows the changes that need to be made and I'm sure they will happen in the summer. The total collapse of Mulgrew as a defender has been startling over the past three games and again underlines the need for a tough, experienced centre-back who can organise those around him. A draw was probably a fair result but having gone 2-1 up so late we really ought to be able to hold onto it. I thought Travis had a much better game and Smallwood put in a decent shift in midfield. Graham was a real workhorse up front and deserved his goal even if there was a deflection. It was good to end the run of defeats. I agree with arbitro about a certain element of our support who are doing the club no favours.

But clearly the owners had the good sense to keep him on - probably the best decision they have made thus far.

I would certainly give him until the end of next season unless we completely go off the rails next year, which I don't expect. I certainly don't think his position should be questioned this season even if results are indifferent between now and the end of the campaign. We are only a couple of wins away from ensuring our place for next season - I'm not even sure the likes of Ipswich and Bolton will reach 40 points and Rotherham are struggling for wins whilst grinding out draws. The target which we were told at the consultation meeting last summer was consolidation and great if it was better. I certainly think we will have achieved the former come May and personally, I've never regarded promotion this season as a realistic possibility despite promising early results.

But you can't keep sacking managers every five minutes because of a poor run of form. All clubs have poor runs. This season was about consolidating a position in the Championship. We are well on the way to having done that. If we were in the bottom three I could understand your point but we aren't. As for Kenny, in many ways that was a worse situation. We were running away with the League when we hit that poor run and then ended up snatching a play-off place on the last day when we really looked like winning the League. That's football - it's unpredictable.

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.