33 minutes ago, Hoochie Bloochie Mama said:

 

Good post. Understandable giddiness from the usual suspects trying to score points but there's no evidence yet that we've eradicated our two main weaknesses from the last couple of seasons  1) shipping goals for fun away from home 2) being unable to break teams down at home who come and defend deep. 

I think with the likes of Elliot out wide and not Gally (and Douglas & a firing BB on the other side)  we can be hopeful that the creativity issue at Ewood can be resolved. Hopefully we learn to defend away from home. 

I broadly agree. Beating Coventry by 4 means little if you lose to Forest by 1. However, there have been plenty of games in the past against 10 men where we’ve failed to get a result.
 

The fact that we’re consistently pumping the teams that we ‘should’ be beating is a good sign. Very intrigued to see if we can dispatch a better team in the same manner soon. Elliott may well be the difference maker.

Very impressive performance. Brereton is was unplayable. Didn’t think we’d see this level of performance from him and also pleased to see him thrive out wide.

Holbty and Elliott are showing that they’re capable of playing at a higher level. Let’s make the most of it.

Bit disappointed with Gallagher’s effort levels. In comparison to Brereton he didn’t seem to put himself about. Took his goal well so can’t fault him overall but thought he’d put more effort in.

Didn’t expect to win going into last night and there were some positives to take from the performance, particularly Holtby and Elliott.

However we yet again found ourselves having to score three goals to get anything. Watford didn’t have to do much for any of their goals and that can’t continue into the rest of the season. Armstrong being out of form certainly didn’t help. 

Its early days and the season isn’t written off but it piles the pressure on Saturday. We can’t afford to fall much further behind. Otherwise we’ll be pinning our hopes on a miraculous 5/6 game winning streak in November. We saw how hard it was to play catch up last year.

Be tough and the new recruits won’t be ready. Thankfully should be the same for Forest. A win would be massive considering the cavalry coming in next week.

2 minutes ago, matt83 said:

I’m not sure about plenty. Ultimately saying that venkys haven’t done anything wrong in the last few years is like pardoning a serial killer who hasn’t killed recently.

Theyve taken a mid table premier league club £20 million ish in debt to a mid table championship club £200 million in debt. That in my opinion will eventually lead to us being the next Bury. 

Yes we expected crumbs from this transfer window we got a slice of bread but let’s not get carried away. 

A serial killer is a touch strong. At least they had £200m to throw at it and bizarrely keep putting money in. 

I won’t go further down this road. I know I’ll get labelled an apologist for merely suggesting that they’ve done ok for the last 3 years. Let’s enjoy the moment.

16 minutes ago, Stuart said:

They backed Kean AGAINST the fans, and took away our top flight status and our pride while we watched our arch rivals take our place. We are now in nearly £200m of debt and utterly reliant on them.

The only people who are happy with Venkys are either under 25 or live at the cobbled end of the M65.

They need to take us back to PL midtable to break even and before we start talking about a clean slate.

I’m not disagreeing but there are plenty of clubs that would swap owners in a heartbeat right now. 
 

Venky’s have done plenty of damage but in the last 2-3 years they’ve haven’t done much wrong. 

4 minutes ago, 4000Holes said:

He did deliver but let’s be honest promotion from league 1 was the simple bit for a club of our stature.  We where up against the likes of Shrewsbury for heavens sake.  He did get us into mid table safety but some of his decisions have been abysmal when playing players out of position, how many right sided players did he play on the left?  
I believe now we have a squad, at least on paper that can compete, so having got his recruitment sorted, he needs to deliver, otherwise he will be on his bike and quite rightly.

Yes, a club of our stature should breeze through League 1. Btw, when do we play Sunderland this year?

Brilliant window. Look at the squad. So many “good” problems to have. The competition for places is insane and that’s before Travis and Dack come back. Elliott is a huge bonus. That move will turn heads.

I wasn’t emotionally ready for this. I was prepared for a reserve goalkeeper. 

Twitter is saying that Elliott has agreed to a loan... 

We’re trending, 

Early days, but in terms of proven quality and depth, this has to be our strongest squad since 2012. Our bench would walk into most teams.

Always best to judge at the end of the window but I had my doubts we’d do anything given the climate. Credit all round. I would have been content with Ayala, Dolan and Kaminski but the last two days have really kicked it up a notch.

11 minutes ago, Mercer said:

Well if Mowbray brings in 2 or 3, I don't think he can have any excuse whatsoever if he fails to get us promoted this season when many on here think we've had a great window.

Get us up this season or on yer bike Mowbray - you've had both enough time and backing in the transfer market. 

 

Is that a backhanded compliment that if we get 2/3 in then it’s been a good window..?

Does it not say more about the options available to NI that they select a non-match fit Corry Evans...

Also, I thought none of us wanted Evans to play for us anyway? 

The prospect of Gallagher on the wing is rather depressing. However, Dolan is very young and will need breaks. He’ll also be a great impact sub. He can’t start every game yet. Gallagher has his uses but is not a winger.

44 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Great move for player and club in the Tosin deal although i bet they are paying a right whack in wages. Be really interesting to see how he steps up, not sure he's ready for that yet but we'll see.

New pitch line for Tony and Mark now to potential signings - come and showcase yourself here and if you're lucky Fulham will sign you !

How times have changed, that's why we really need promotion or to be in the mix for it regularly at least. 

How times have changed..?

Regardless of Fulham’s stature as a club, they’re in the PL. Since when have we been able to compete for signings with a PL club?

Suggesting that if players play well for us on loan they may get a move to a PL club is hardly a new line.

Just now, Fraserkirky said:

Say we get the Norwegian Fella, I think we need a striker before we need a midfielder. Depends where Dack is playing a bit, but Chapman and Gallagher where the two attacking options yesterday.....

They were two substitutes options after Armstrong and Brereton. I don’t think we can justify another striker unless one of them goes.

Just now, West Yorks Rover said:

Poor today, 5 points off the top 2 already and only 4 games gone.

Very disappointing after the good start we've had.

Glad we’re not getting carried away after one result.

Just now, TheBigSmooth said:

Gallagher = Rubbish. Why take off two of our most imaginative players to bring on two of our least. Sometimes feels like Sunday league, games for the lads who turn up. 

Brereton and Dolan hadn’t looked like making much happen. Neither did Gallagher but it was worth trying something.

Frustrating but a fair score line. Can’t win them all by 4 goals and Cardiff spent the last 25 minutes camped in their own penalty area. Don’t think anyone did particularly badly and not sure what else the manager could have done. Take the point and move on.

48 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Give over.

He’s done remarkably well in the Championship considering ???

His glaring weaknesses... No pace, strength or notable technical ability and yet he managed to score regularly. Relied on intelligence and a poachers instinct. It’s genuinely impressive how far that has taken him.

7 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Ultimately the career that players have post Rovers is irrelevant when judging their performances here.

There could be a number of factors as to why Rhodes has struggled since he left. Maybe he was at his peak here, maybe his confidence has suffered, he was loved here, Karanka didnt seem to particularly want him at Boro and then he went at Sheffield Wednesday and got to the stage where he didnt take a penalty in the play offs.

Conversly, Josh King only really had one or two good games here and he didnt hit the ground running at Bournemouth. His injuries seemed to decrease, playing with better players and better coaches he improved. Doesnt mean that we werent right to play the 2 strikers scoring 20 goals each.

Compare Nikola Kalinic and Roque Santa Cruz, the former has had a far better career since he left Rovers than the other, but it doesnt mean that he was a better player for Rovers.

Quite right. But how a player fares after they leave Rovers can certainly indicate whether we got the most out of them and what they could have been capable of. It’s not an exact science by any means but I don’t think it’s irrelevant.

9 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Patronising praise (aka arse-covering) is the worst and weakest of all

Just trying to find a civilised middle ground without resorting to provocative comments like this.

9 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Daft arguments Arma v Rhodes they're totally different players and to be honest to get the best out of either you have to tailor your formation. We've seen with Armstrong just plonk him up front and he struggles, give him a way to run at people or cut in and he looks far more at home.

Armstrong in hos own way is a niche player given he can fill a couple of roles well in terms of attacking play.  That's why if he has another good season he'll be coveted.

Armstrong poses a threat wherever he is on the pitch. He can score goals from anywhere. He’s not as prolific as Rhodes (yet) but causes problems inside and outside the box. The threat of his pace causes issues even when he doesn’t have the ball. Armstrong can score out of nothing and if keeps this form up will be on his way soon enough. 

I don’t think anyone was surprised when Rhodes struggled in the PL simply because he doesn’t have the attributes. He’s done remarkably well in the Championship considering and we certainly got the best out of him. Hopefully he can avoid slipping down the leagues to find form. Got a lot of time for him and his record here is undoubtedly impressive.

1 minute ago, DE. said:

"Just a poacher" ? Not having that. Some brilliant goals in there. It's obviously gone downhill for him since he left Rovers, but he's hardly the first player that's happened to. He was superb for us. 

I promised not to further this discussion but here I am. 

Rhodes did very well, his goal record speaks for itself. But he had limitations that restricted how we could play and I think we needed to be more adaptable to get out this league. It’s not a criticism of Rhodes per se, it’s that we were too one dimensional and should have been more prepared to play the likes of King up front instead. We certainly got the best out of Rhodes but it was to the detriment of the wider team IMO.

I maintain that I wouldn’t swap him at his peak for Dack or Armstrong.

5 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

By the same token, Armstrong was the one who stopped us from getting into the top 6 last year. He only got 16 goals whereas if he had got 25 we might have got into the top 6. Lets not focus on the inept goalkeeper, shaky defence and lack of balance.

If a striker is scoring 20 plus goals then he is doing his job, even before you appreciate that Rhodes wasnt quite as one dimensional as people made out. The reasons we couldnt make the top 6 were Lowe and Williamson in midfield, a leaky defence, poor goalkeepers in an overweight Robinson (post blood clot) and a terrible Steele, a manager who rarely outwitted his opposition etc. Not the striker who was consistently one of the top scorers in the division.

Armstrong is a completely different player, He poses more of a threat than Rhodes does. Armstrong has pace and can score from anywhere. Rhodes is a poacher who needs a team built around him to score goals. He relies on service. If it doesn’t arrive, he offers nothing. He did phenomenally well to score as often as he did when you look at his relatively limited skill set. 

The modern striker needs to occupy defenders and pose a threat off the ball. Rhodes too often was a passenger. If we played well, he’d score. If we didn’t, it’d be like playing with 10 men. He was never a game changer. Look at how he has faired at a higher level and at other championship teams.

He wasn’t the sole reason we didn’t go up but I maintain that we would have faired better in those early years under Bowyer with a team built around King/Gestede instead.
 

This is going off topic so I’ll leave it there.

2 hours ago, Hoochie Bloochie Mama said:

That's like saying Shearer limited how we could play. The fact we had a 25 goal a season man had nothing to do with us missing out on the play-offs. That's a bizarre statement. We missed out because we conceded too many goals and drew too many games. Nowt to do with Rhodes.

I take the point and Rhodes undoubtedly did well but we had to build the team around him which stifled others. Rhodes was not THE reason we failed to get promotion but I’d argue that building the team around him limited us in the long run. He offered nothing outside the box. The modern striker needs to do more than just score these days. Comparing him to Shearer just proves my point.

That being said, Ive got a lot of time for Rhodes and fully appreciate what he did here.