Parsonblue

King Kenny lost six on the trot, almost lost out on the play-offs but recovered to win the Premier League title. Bad runs can happen to any manager - main thing is not to panic.

He travelled to Leeds and took part in the pre-match warm-up which suggests he is still part of the match day squad.

Totally agree K-Hod. I think Evans has been one of our better performers this season and looks very comfortable at this level. Smallwood offers high energy whereas I think Evans is a better reader of the game. I can see why Mowbray likes them together in midfield although I think a Reed/Evans combination would offer more in terms of attacking value. It will be interesting to see the selection today as Sheffield looked very good at Ewood earlier in the season. I'd be delighted with a point today no matter how we play.

The only times the club has been successful throughout it's history is when it has been propped up with financial support - most clubs are the same. Jack wanted it to be self sufficient and couldn't make it happen. I doubt anyone can. The club is always going to need the financial support of the owners. When the Trust put the club up for sale it took several years before Venkys arrived. Nobody saw the Rovers as a club they wanted to buy and invest in. Today we are in a far worse position than when the Trust put it up for sale so I hardly think there would be a rush to buy in the unlikely event that the owners wanted to sell - and it would appear that they want to stay for the long term.

To be honest Stuart, I honestly don't believe we are in any danger of relegation. I think we have enough to keep a sufficient gap between ourselves and the bottom three. After this run of difficult fixtures, January and February provide us with a real opportunity to kick on again. Ipswich look to be in serious trouble - and Lambert is not likely to turn things around given his recent record. Reading, Rotherham and Wigan are falling far quicker than ourselves and Bolton are in a financial mess. Of course, as many have said, we have to get better at defending the final quarter of games and I'm sure that Mowbray, as a pretty decent defender himself in his playing days, will surely realise that a top class centre-half needs to be one of the first signings he needs to make. My main criticism, with regard to the club at the moment, is that we are failing to explore the foreign market in the hunt for new players. In the past we have found some outstanding players for very little money by scouring Europe. The new scouting setup is supposed to be looking at addressing this - I certainly hope so.

At the end of the day they are here for as long as they want to be and at the moment we couldn't cope without their financial support. I looked at Leeds today with a full-house paying premium prices - and that's what we have to compete with. The Championship is becoming rather like the Premier League in terms of being an uneven playing field.

Having given him a long-term contract - the only manager they have given that type of contract - the owners clearly have bought into his plan to rebuild the club slowly over a number of transfer windows. It's probably the only way that a club like the Rovers is going to make progress with the FFP rules that now exist. The manager has given the players who won promotion the opportunity to prove they are able to cope at this level. Initially some who looked OK are now beginning to struggle. Despite recent results, and couple of difficult fixtures still to come, I still believe that we have enough to retain our place in the Championship this season. However, I have no doubt that a couple of new faces will be signing in January to strengthen what we have and that will be sufficient to keep us at this level. It's then up to the manager to rebuild in the Summer. An experienced centre-back who can organise those around him would be the first signing I would be looking for. Personally, I've not lost faith in the manager because I believe he has the experience and ability to take the club forward.

Once again it comes down to players making the right decisions at the right time. Too many go into panic mode when we come under any sort of pressure. No excuse for this result. Two-one up after 90 minutes and then two goals given away in four minutes - shocking defending. Personally, I don't blame the manager or the coaching staff - it comes down to the players on the pitch doing the job they are supposed to do. A professional footballer shouldn't need telling how to see out a game for four minutes, particularly as they had withstood the pressure for most of the match. Anyone thinking we are going to get rid of Mowbray is living in cloud cuckoo land. Having signed a long term contract the owners are clearly backing him. It's now up to him to keep us afloat this season and then look at a rebuilding job in the summer. We need better than what we have and need to start by building a solid platform at the back.

That's the key point Biz, and if you to talk to people like Johnson and Dunn who do the job and have played at the highest level they also say that there is no comparison. Indeed, although it's good to win, at both Under-18 and Under-23 level that isn't really the main objective. It's about educating players and producing players who are capable of stepping up to the pressure of first team football. I think the difference is shown by looking at the experiences of Scott Wharton, Matty Platt and Lewis Hardcastle. Three players who have looked outstanding at Under-23 level but who have gone on loan to clubs in League One and League Two and can't get into the first team.

Which is exactly where most people thought we would be - a mid-table position, not with a realistic chance of chasing promotion but with more than enough to stay out of the bottom three. The first season after promotion is usually a consolidation job but it's the next couple of seasons that the manager will be judged on in terms of where we are with regard to challenging for promotion.

He's usually on the bench for the Under-23's and I think he's had the odd game for the Under-18's. To be honest he's not really had the game time to make much impression at the moment. I think this is a lad who was signed with a view to the future. If Nuttall goes out on loan he might figure more after Christmas when younger lads tend to get more time with the Under-23's with a view to next season.

I've heard there are personal issues which have impacted on the lad. I wouldn't be surprised if he is allowed to move on in January.

Of those I would think only Charley Doyle, Stefan Mols and possibly Tyler are likely to be retained.

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.