Whilst I must be a little crazy I've just lashed a tenner out to watch the game. A bit of desperation and no significant hope that there will be some entertainment and a favourable result. Whoever sits in the dugout I will always be cheering the team on. Besides, who knows what the formation will be, heavens I might even see us score from a corner, although it is more likely that the sadly passed Duke of Edinburgh would be wearing Blue and White tonight. I'm sure Tony can find him a slot in the squad, after all he might pass a medical ahead of Ayala. Jeez, now I see the line-up with the Calamity Kid coming in for Lenihan ...........

For some unknown reason I am feeling optimistic about this match. I did managed to tread in some horse droppings on a walk today and that is supposed to be lucky. As an aside how come horse riders don't have to pick it up and put it in those black bags dog-owners do? Still, I suspect they would just lob it over the nearest wall once they think they are out of sight like the dog-owners I know. I don't care that we are all naffed off with Mowbray, we need to collect a win as soon as possible otherwise we will be worrying about trips to Stanley next season. Having to watch Yarkshur TV over here on the wrong side of the Pennines I am sick of how they are bigging up Rotherham and their potential 'great escape'. Then again the idea of sending Derby down is almost as tempting as seeing Ratboy and the Blues disappear.

I can't believe how flat I feel about this game, my predictions? Dominate the possession 60-40 - Have less shots on target - Fail to score from a set-piece (as usual) - Concede from a corner. Manager pointing to some good performances and how close we are to winning whilst bemoaning his paucity of attacking talent available. So 1-0 to Cardiff, I definitely hope to be proved wrong. Hopefully the teams below us will stumble, we just have to end up with three below us come the end of the season ............ At least Shane Duffy isn't in the team

Another game where the possession stats favour Rovers, shame that the stat that matters is based on goals. I'm beginning to look below us in the table and hope results go our way. The one record that looks like being set is the poorest performance by a team that didn't lead to a change of manager .......

It's not the first or the last time a manager is thought by his players as being a 'good' bloke, England u-21s have a similar problem with Adie Boothroyd who is equally inept and equally unsackable. The loans have been a mixed bag, Douglas has been a huge disappointment to me, Harwood-Bellis and Elliott have been good, Branthwaite is no better than the lads we have out on loan, Trybull has yet to show consistency. Brereton and Gallagher have the misfortune of being shoe-horned into a system they will never shine in, I'm not convinced they are as bad as Mowbray is making them look. Ireland have the same idiotic approach at the moment, high intensity, possession football demanded by the manager without the quality or fitness levels to achieve that. Same results, players burnt out and making mistakes with opposition managers working out simple tricks to disrupt and gobble up any mistakes. Finally, how the heck can we be so inept at either defending set-pieces or fail so miserably on our own set-pieces. Thjat all smacks of either crap coaching or letting players get away with repeated errors. Either way that is a management problem.

So, does this sound familiar - Dominate the possession 69% Have just 2 shots on target (same as Wycombe) Concede from a set-piece. Same old, same old. Sod possession and focus on effectiveness. Lots of people hated Allardyce and his game plan but he worked on what delivered results, this isn't Strictl;y Come Dancing where points are awarded for style. It's about putting the bloody ball in the back of the bloody net Tony!!!!!

Do you think Gareth Ainsworth would swap spots with Mowbray? Much cooler guy and a Rovers fan.

I don't know why everyone is so negative, we have had 64% possession - isn't that how the result is decided on ........... Oh, it's something to do with scoring more goals than the opposition is it?

Tony Mowbray's preference for a particular style is the downfall at the moment. He repeatedly follows his high intensity, possession, passing structure despite the lack of quality, either in the team or the pitch (to be honest the pitch at Barnsley was just as bad) to effectively do that. Add that to the lack of physicality in the team in the midfield or attack and other managers clearly targeting that predictable approach and his inability to read the signs. The team is being burnt out by the number of games and the effort needed to follow his game plan. I am unsurprised by the collection of injuries, let's face it he is choosing to play players like Dack and Travis who are not at the races after coming back from serious injuries. The game against Watford summed it all up to me, he knew he had to play two green as grass young centre backs but chose not to change shape to add in a more defensive midfield. He was determined to play Dack come what may and has happily loaned out what few young defenders we have in the academy. That means the bench has no options to pull either CB off if injured or having a stinker. He then compounds it (as usual) by hurling attackers on as subs, the squad is lopsided through injuries, yes adding Branthwaite and Harwood-Bellis looked logical but surely he knew the risks when he added Ayala who has been out of action for months at 'Boro? He lacks the guile or the intelligence to adapt his chosen style to the players he has at his disposal. Most managers on a run as terrible as we are in would plan to secure the structure of the team and to minimise the exposure of kids in the team. Watford are a very good side, I'd suggest one of my favourites for promotion, surely Mowbray needed to be more adept at setting the team up for the challenge they faced? Games come thick and fast and we are now looking down the table at the teams below us. Barnsley are flying (helped by our gifts to them) and on a pitch equally as bad as Ewood. Branthwaite has proved to be a timebomb, poor judgement (dodged a deserved red card) and last night did what I hate, screwed up badly and then let his head drop, he dragged Harwood Bellis down at the same time. How angry am I, I don't know really, just sad. Mowbray has done wonders in rebuilding our love of the team, built some bridges between the fans and India (unfortunately we need the Venkys money at the moment and they are the paymasters) and got us out of League 1 with the addition of some favourites like Dack and Armstrong. However is stubborn clinging to a particular way of playing is continuing to damage the team. Branthwaite cost Everton £750,000 from Carlisle, they can afford to make bad decisions at that price tag, we can't. Rant over - for now ........

Typical, I turn the TV off in frustration and Elliott scores. It is still men against boys though and TM ought to look at the stats, Rovers are being outshot 2 to 1. Two young kids at CB look a good two divisions below the Watford attackers. Can't see anything but a defeat unless there is a dramatic change at half-time.

Another day, another defeat. All in a days work for a Rovers fan, give me strength.

Another half to come - it is not pleasurable being a Blue 'n White at the moment but we live in hope. Anyway maybe Mercer might have to go dry if we are lucky ......

This is a difficult one for us all to swallow given the connection between Jack Walker and the wonderful facility Rovers have at Brockhall. An initial planning permission request is a long way from an outcome but there appears to be an intention of cashing in on the assets. Venky's have invested in the Academy before so it raises a question as to whether there is now a different view of the owners. If there is a consolidation and good facilitities remain then we will breathe a sigh of relief but more clarity is needed from the club.

I started watching Rovers seriously as they slowly declined into the third division (first time around), watching a team steadily plummet until Ken Furphy arrived to give some positive direction. Like a lot of football fans I took a sort of perverse pleasure in knowing I was still supporting the Rovers when nearly everyone else had turned their back on them. I watched from the Riverside as a painfully small crowd watched us drop. At the moment it feels like I'm back at having to feel the anguish again, hoping against hope that the corner will be turned. So I will watch the Forest game, I want our team to win (I don't think the outcome will see the end of TM either way) and show a bit of quality. Managers come and go, I've seen a heck of a lot leave Ewood, always after they had arrived in a fanfare of 'this is where the change starts'. Who knows who will arrive next? The only positive is it won't be Steve Kean. At least we have a team to follow, I have mates who are Bury.

Ok, so what did we learn last night? Another team has a pitch as bad as Ewood but they have learned how to compete on it. Gallagher looks more comfortable playing in the central role. Dack (in my opinion through needing to complete his recovery) isn't contributing enough to start a game, particularly in the formation last night where the lack of numbers in midfield where Downing and Travis were playing meant we had to bypass that area and we were vulnerable on every attack. Lenihan feels he has to dive in when he shouldn't, one of the goals occurred when he chose to compete for the same ball as Branthwaite and effectively took two defenders out of the equation. Substitutions seem to be on a random basis, how many attackers can we put on to chase a game? What I learned more than anything is that we are up a blind alley and unless someone switches to reverse and finds a different way then we will only have tears and anguish. That has to start from the manager and the coaches but it needs the players to finish the job. If the communication isn't happening or there is a lack of ideas then there needs to be a change in personnel. The manager picks the team, sets them up and gives the vision, he chooses the coaches and formation. I see the management team as a single entity, that is why it's rare for a change in manager not to be reflected in a complete swap out of the whole coaching team too. My preference would be for Mowbray to galvanise the team and staff and turn this around, sadly I don't think that will happen. Grim at the moment and we are all angry.

I have no idea what team will turn up tonight, what formation, just that they will be wearing Rovers kit! Hopefully Lenihan won't be trying to act as if he is the only centre-half in the team, Branthwaite was very poor the last game but heaven knows why Lenihan wanted to go for balls he should have left to Branthwaite and drop off to cover space. He reminded me of Hendry at the back-end of his time at Ewood when he chased 40:60 balls unsuccessfully. The senior partner doesn't take over the other guys role but gets ready to cover. Rothwell may get another chance, I find him one of those players who manages to make me love and hate him, I won't abuse him but he can step from the sublime to the ridiculous in two touches of the ball. He does have the ability to tear an opposition apart but equally capable of doing that to his own team with slack passes. I can understand why Mowbray wants to play a possession game but the players need more quality and a better surface . Finally, can someone persuade the manager that Sam Gallagher is never going to shine in the tactical formation he chooses (even if he is 'not big on formations'). Gallagher either plays in a 2 up structure with Armstrong (then no place for Dack) or subs Armstrong. He may not be the greatest player we've ever had but he needs a chance to play centre-forward now and again. Anyway, as usual I will settle down with a large whisky and pray for something good to come tonight .........

Signings look sensible, Pickering is a fine left back who can play midfield and doing the business now ensured he came to Ewood rather than another club. Another loan centre back adds the depth we need there, City seem to think a lot of him too. The frequency of fixtures and the desire for intensity in the games is proving a challenge for the current squad. We desperately need some of the injuries to clear up. At least the club found some money to put into the team, lots of other clubs are struggling.

Ground out a victory, clever stuff from Holtby. Second game in a row that the substitutions had a real impact on the game. Travis played Rovers into trouble too many times for my liking, he looked like he was running on empty. Probably overplaying in the wrong parts of the pitch on a poor surface doesn't help. Sweet to see the goal coming after the blatant feigning of injury by Potts to break the game up. Luton use that as much as they can. The defence looked solid and Kaminski is a class goalie. Tight defence means that we take some of the pressure off. Still need improvements but three points is what matters.

Let's roll back time to pre-season, would anyone be calling for Mowbray to go if we said we would be 6 points off the play-offs and be the top scorers in the Championship? A lot of the antipathy relates to the disappointment following the outstanding start. The 'Boro game gave me some confidence as it was a scrap all the way through the game but we ground out a 1-0 win. I also have to say that some of the goals we have scored this season have come from some fantastic football. The problem that needs addressing is consistency, you can't say that the team don't enjoy playing for Mowbray so that removes one of the common issues 'he's lost the dressing room'. What may be an issue is the difficulty in adapting a passing game to a poor pitch at Ewood. That has yet to be shown and our failures against top half teams is also an issue. The pitch isn't Mowbray's fault but how he chooses to play on it might be. I'm still firmly in the Tony Mowbray corner, I don't see anything but downsides to getting another manager in. Plus he's managed to work well with the owners who also deserve some credit for continuing to pump in money. Shame they made so many mistakes at the start .......

Seem to remember Keeley taking pelters from Jimmy Hill for upending Lil Fucillo on a frozen pitch, I wasn't far away and he hit him so hard he ended up vertically hitting the pitch head first. Ironically given the Everton connection I also remember Keeley being absolutely bamboozled in the derby game against Liverpool when he got sent off whilst on loan which proved a godsend as he came back and signed a new contract with Rovers. Agree that Branthwaite needs to learn, we could do with another experienced CB but he's started ok for me.

Branthwaite dodged a red card (might've been yellow) and a penalty. We would have been screaming for it if it had been the other way around. As Mowbray said he is a young lad and there was no intent that I could see but the ref missed it. However to see how Warnock behaved at the end of the game was very poor. I've seen him send players out to kick an opposition player out of the game and he is an exponent of intimidating the opponents with niggly fouls and off the ball trips and pulls, he's used that successfully at every club he has been at. He is like Allardyce, effective but very ugly. My problem with him is that he is a complete hypocrite. Because of that I really enjoyed seeing him seethe and rant, he is a 'win at all costs' manager who wouldn't mind seeing half his team red carded if the result came out - even if so many got sent off that the game was abandoned (Battle of Bramall Lane - Wikipedia). Final thought was a few seconds before the incident Assombalonga took a blatant dive whilst dragging Travis' shirt off. If the referee had seen that it would have been a Rovers free kick, Assombalonga booked and no injury to Fry. Referees miss things, they are human. Not that Warnock would have complained if 'Boro had been awarded a penalty then. As for Rovers? Absolutely delighted to see they could scrap and claw their way to a victory, great football in the build up to the goal. Thought Lenihan was immense, best game so far from Douglas and Travis looked like he was almost back to his best. The subs really made an impact as well, I think Brereton is a key player for us now and Gallagher was doing what was needed. Nice cameo from Dack. The goalie problem looks answered with Kaminski, a day for defenders to come good but loved seeing Rothwell hurl himself to block a shot.

I can understand why there was a change of positions in the front three, we all knew that Pulis would have done his preparation and playing Armstrong wide with Elliott as a false 9 was worth a go but that needed to change earlier when it was clear that progress wasn't being made. Brereton has been missed, he carries the ball in a way that Gallagher can't and has much more movement. Bearing in mind how Brereton has been slaughtered by many on this forum in previous seasons it shows players can change opinions by performances, he also has youth on his side. I'm also sure that Dack would have only had a cameo role if we had been ahead but what a breath of fresh air when he came on, some very clever over the top passes which turned Wednesday around. Makes you wonder why some of the other players didn't try that. Not enough pace and zip before that, Holtby has slipped from his great early season form and Johnson is s-l-o-w and looks at full stretch too many times. Douglas is easily the biggest disappointment for me, a stand-out player at Wolves and my mates who are Leeds fans rated him highly - they were surprised that Bielsa let him go - I'm not now. Bell isn't the best left back in the world but he is more athletic and should start in the next game. Douglas always feels like he has a critical error in him all the time, his passing is average and his set-pieces (wasn't he supposed to be a specialist?) have made me wonder whether the word disappointing is adequate. I would hope we haven't committed to signing him permanently. The one saving grace is that we do have players that can pull something out of nothing - Rothwell gets me excited because he is direct when he has the ball. Frustrated Rovers Fan seems to be our normal state nowadays, probably because this squad (apart from the depth of the defence) looks like the best set of players we've had in a while. I look on with interest as to who starts the next game.

Excellent performance, several players are now beginning to shine - Brereton, Wharton, Gallagher. Really delighted to see Wharton handling the physical side well. WE need to take this performance into the next two home games, Barnsley and Millwall need to be dealt with just as effectively. TM is going to have some selection headaches now. Preston were lucky to get nil.

Nice to see a midfielder from abroad with long flowing locks passing the ball about - a poor mans Tugay perhaps?

Going well at the moment, Rovers deserve the lead. Rafferty paid the price for being wrong side.