Football fans being football fans, nowt to despair about. Not exactly when Shearer first turned out against us for Newcastle, is it!

Two different issues. After decades of watching football, can many fans ‘spot a player’, someone with something about him? I’d say yes. Does that mean they can improve them, get the best out of them, motivate them and so on? No, that’s what managers are paid for.

It’s a Sky Bet YouTube video (through their League of 72 brand), it’s never been on ‘live TV’. Nothing to do with Sky Sports. (Oh and it’s one screenshot of here, showing about three posts, so not sure why starscascade keeps resurrecting it every few days. Third time now?

So we don’t have any other right backs then, just centre halves or midfielders that can fill in, confirming Blue blood’s point?

Me neither, but what’s that got to do with the WBA situation?

Sounds like you were in one last night! I clearly don’t, my point was that BB was a big debating point because it really *mattered* if he did well or not. It was a passionate topic. Whereas this fella? Who cares. He’ll be gone in a few months, the latest in a long line of ‘remember that loanee we had? Bit crap, weren’t he?’

Exactly! So who cares if folk write him off? There will be some other mediocre loanee to take his place next season, and the one after and the…

Obviously the 99% were proved wrong. However, mitigating factors when BB was getting stick was that he had a big price tag around his neck. So high expectations, the need for what was a big, big money signing for modern day BRFC to come good. But he had time to turn it round as he was 19 to 21 years old in his poor spell and was obviously our player. Whereas this lad is nearly 24, still being farmed out on loan and looks off the standard required. No real angst about it, he’s just a loanee that thus far doesn’t look much cop. C’est la vie, we’ve had plenty of those this past decade, and I imagine many more to follow! ‘Next!’

So Pearce is that good at his job he should just be promoted? And ergo better than other potential DofF out there? How do you have such an insight into the inner workings of West Bromwich Albion?

It’s a squad game, who knew!

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2022/october/14/ticket-news--rovers-v-huddersfield-town/ £18.75 for the 147th anniversary against Huddersfield, it was £14.60 for last year’s anniversary game against Sheff Utd… that pesky inflation gets everywhere!

Careful now, you’ll be getting put on ignore by the resident statto (like me) 😁

We have won just two night matches away from home since 2012.

You could be right. This clean cut young chap would walk in to the side.

Has to be, if we were playing a settled XI and system, you could say ‘we’ll that’s his method and he just doesn’t fit into it. Whereas at the moment we are constantly chopping and changing players and set up, sending players to the U21s, then bringing them back to start first team games… apart from one senior pro.

‘But, but the High Press’…

Plenty did!

Players always, always say that in public. Even to the bitter end with Ke*n. Which is fair enough, but ultimately the manager carries the can.

Nah, cup ties are exempt. So 3-0 win over there it is.

Just shows the emperor’s new clothes world of ‘data’ that even a top forward in his day like JDT seemingly can’t see the wood for the trees. Will the ‘stats’ show Dack running and/or pressing (not that I’m seeing much of either from any of them at the minute) as much as a Dolan or a Szmodics? No, but is running like a headless chicken going to break down a well drilled defence or unlock one with a pass ‘through the lines’ (to use a modern parlance) that no other bugger in the squad would even spot? And does running about a lot mean you also have that knack of finding that little bit of space in the box? We are throwing the baby out with the bath water here…

Imagine when we first had him on loan (where I thought he did a decent enough job as 6 foot plus young centre forward in a horror season), if someone had seen into the future and said ‘he’ll come back for £5million, BUT he will play as a wide man season after season. 🤷‍♂️

We never take many to Boro and we certainly won’t this time with our away form and £31 tickets.

How does passing the ball around in a laboured fashion ‘improve the value of the squad’? Is ‘data analysis’ honestly being interpreted in such a basic way that having a ‘90% pass completion rate’ or whatever, even if it’s largely ineffectual passing in your own half, is somehow ‘increasing value’ of players?!

Well I’m sure it would be pretty obvious

Why should Ian Pearce get more of a role in recruitment, and even the DofF job?