garnersfags

Unless you said this for the whole of last season, I think this is OTT. Don't get me wrong, I don't rate him....

The main problem for me resulting from our death spiral, is that Diaz may well decide that we are not worth staying with as he looks towards the Prem. This will not help to keep him.....

Exactly, but 98% of Rovers' fans judged them after 1, 2, 3, and 4 games, and anyone saying it was too early to judge, was shot down.

Dolan and Edun have shown enough to the management to be given numerous minutes already this season. The rest of us are baffled.

Thin squad or not, the 11 that have started the last 3 games have not been able to retain or pass the ball at any stage of the 270 minutes. Just waiting for numerous posters to say how we should be grateful, because we are in the top half after 5 games.....bring it on....

It's not the player's fault, but can we please have some comment from the Edun fanclub, who along with JDT, and based on his recent performances, have seen enough to start him today. I don't agree that JDT had no choice. If JDT got all the plaudits in the 1st 4 games......?

The only 2 players who would put their foot on the ball, Dack and Morton, haven't been considered. JDT has hoped for the best, but that's our job, not the job of the messiah....

Better. Need 48 minutes of it....

This is an important point, and exactly the same thing happened last year. Yellow card challenges are not even given as a foul. Weak referreeing. That doesn't excuse our pathetic performance, however....

It seems obvious when we have been totally dominated that we add Dack into midfield and remove an attacker. I include Szmodics as an attacker, and would remove him. Our midfield would then be slightly less likely to be overrun. It's the fact that we don't look like we have a clue, whoever plays, that is the most worrying.

For the last 3 games, we haven't looked remotely like we could keep or pass the ball. Not a clue. Usually, in 90 minutes, a team would have a 10 minute spell where they have control of the game, but that has not happened in the last 3 games. We have made all 3 teams look like dangerous, talented, possession-based champions. Last season, in this game, an out of form, confidence-light Rovers dominated Sheff U for much of the game. This is difficult to watch. We were also kicked out of the game in the end. Today, we have led down before they have started kicking, but their unpenalised ugly deliberate fouling game is starting. On Wed. I was waiting for the changes to be made to alleviate Reading's dominance. That didn't happen. Today, I will expect the same, but I'm not holding my breath..... I feel like JDT is not expecting or demanding that we retain possession, or accurately pass the ball. Pitiful.

....can't remember Edun ever sending in an accurate (or any) cross. Ever!

How desperate are we to have to play Edun. He has given the ball away dangerously already. So many on here still think he's a player. We are always down to 10 men when he plays, as someone has to constantly cover for him, as Diaz had to on Sunday. Anyone but Edun. He must be bloody good in training. This is looking worrying.....

According to many on here, Dolan, Pickering, Buckley, and possibly others haven't kicked on under JDTs stewardship. I know this sounds a bit provocative, and my personal view is that all 3, and others, are playing as they have been playing since January. Averagely. I've already given my thoughts on Buckley, that he is covering and running too much for Szmodics, Dolan, and our threadbare defence to be able to perform more effectively and progressively. Our passing and ball retention in the last 2 games has been poor, and JDT, under pressure due to a heat exhausted and threadbare squad, picked the wrong side at Reading, so we lost. I hope this is short lived, as most managers would struggle to win games with so few quality defenders, so big big pressure on the management to pull a lot of very talented rabbits out of the transfer hat, who are able to hit the ground running, as if we lose Ben, we lose our source of goals and assists. My view is that our season could still go either way, and I thought the JDT love-in was premature, and have said this since Sunday evening, after seeing my 1st live 90 minutes of the season. I hope JDT is a good young manager that keeps us in the top 7 all season, but so far it's 50/50, and the transfer activity is only part of the story.... ....see above, it's just comment on what we see and feel. We all want JDT to succeed, and until that happens we'll sing our hearts out home and away, and express our ongoing, considered thoughts on here.

Pickering is just one of a number of players that are going backwards under JDT, but that observation doesn't mean there is someone in the squad who could replace him. Unless we sign a good left back, Pickering will not lose his place, as Edun is considerably worse, and maybe that is one reason for his 2 or 3 relatively complacent performances. This is something that may not improve this season, or at least not til Jan.

This is a really important point. Very few were saying this until last night. In my view Buckley is a first teamer. He needs the midfield support to allow him to pull the strings with his control and passing. At the moment, he is too busy trying to help Trav do his job, as the other midfield/forwards (and defenders, actually) are awol, for differing reasons. One short statement from our DoF, however brief and inconclusive, would take the pressure off for a few days. 4 signings that will improve our current position is a serious challenge. Crazy that what happens this week will have a massive impact on my over-winter mental health. 🤞🤔

We were poor on Sunday, in terms of ball retention, so I assumed that he would play 3 midfielders tonight, adding Morton or Dack to Trav & Buck. JDT got it badly wrong, but the lack of quality and strength in the squad is partly to blame. We only need 2 forward players away from home, as long as we retain some midfield possession, as Diaz & Hedges or Gally will gladly run onto & chase the increased number of more accurate through balls that a 3 man midfield would provide. I think it was decided that Gally didn't have the strength to play 90 min after his heat exhaustion on Sunday, and Btittain was prob in the same condition. Reading are decimated by injuries, transfer embargo, and having Ince as manager, and JDT managed to make them look like world beaters. I really fear for us on Saturday, as much of the already thin squad is showing signs of mental fatigue. Time for our manager to step up, in acutely challenging circumstances. Not easy.

I feel the same about JDT. He has had a good start, but I'll judge his progress at Xmas. Sunday was my 1st live game as I've been away, so judging by the understandable euphoria surrounding the club, I expected flowing football, and quality all over the pitch, but I was disappointed by our inability to keep the ball at any stage of the game. I know this will improve, but it reminded me that we have to keep our feet on the ground, at least until the end of the transfer window. Tonight is a big test, especially as this game really confirmed our fall from grace last season (oops, wrong thread 😬). So, optimistic, but guarded, until we start passing the ball effectively, and we need 3 more v good players to help with that. Ok, I'm off to the correct thread now, sorry....

Hopefully, this is his agent ensuring he is offered a much better deal by us....

This is the pivotal point. Is his overwhelmingly positive influence on the team not worth 4 or £5m? If we happen to go up, and it's a very, very big 'if', I really believe he would sign a new contract and stay. How can a young championship reserve who's never played a game be worth £7m but the best striker in the Championship, playing for the side top of the league, is worth less than £15m? With him, we have ambitions of top 2. Without him, we have ambitions of the play-offs. All for the sake of less than we paid for Gally. He is irreplaceable, given our current circumstances. Almost regardless of who replaces him. I really think he will do a lot of JDTs job for him, if we can only keep him.

🤣🤦‍♂️

I agree to some extent. We lacked fluency, despite some pleasing passing triangles, which meant that we just couldn't keep the ball when we were 2 nil up. This will come, though, as the players get used to JDT's philosophy, and each other. Lots of away games on the horizon, we'll know how good this squad is by September. Top result today...

I'd be ok to revisit One More Time - Daft Punk....

Good call. Pete Wylie...

Surely, when we have won, we don't need music for 10 minutes, before sweet Caroline is played. We want to hear the crowd react to the win. It was soooo loud today, until the music drowned out the BB End.