Howe could come and live on the balmy Fylde coast 😉 I hope he knows that it can get a bit chilly in Newcastle and Glasgow.

I don't need a lecture from you about what is "sensible and realistic", thanks all the same. Howe will have to get back in somewhere and how many Premier League clubs would be interested in him? A decent Championship club is a highly likely route back in to management for him.

The point I was making is that Howe would be a decent candidate, but you would disregard him because he once managed Burnley. As we are stuck with Tony on the road to nowhere, we will never find out, but I don't think it would be out of the question for him to come here. If the personal reasons (at that time) were on the basis of location, then Glasgow and Newcastle wouldn't look too great either.

You talk about "pointless insults", and then decry a managerial suggestion on the grounds of it being a "dingle". Your credibility is shot to pieces when your thinking is so tribal and blinkered. I would take Cook, but a much better shout for me is Eddie Howe. Presumably, the fact he dragged a club from the relegation zone in League Two to the Premier League will cut no ice with you, because he's a dingle.

Yes, a name for failing at Celtic. I take your point about him being a "name" , but more as a decent player than a decent manager. His one promotion from this division is ancient history, (followed by immediate relegation), and he hasn't got us anywhere near the promotion pack at the end of any season. Maybe a small fry in the Championship would entertain hiring him, but no-one with a modicum of ambition. That rules out many of the clubs you mentioned. Maybe agree to disagree here. One day we might find out, but for the foreseeable future, our "journey" continues.

Have to respectfully disagree. Bowyer was hardly fighting Championship clubs off with a stick after we despatched him, and similarly I see Mowbray only attracting interest from Leagues One and Two. No-one else will buy his "On a journey" bullshit.

Agreed. We are going to be down to the diehards by the time things start getting back to normal.

Donald Trump's method of counting. "We were winning and in the top six, but now they are trying to steal it away from us". Sheffield Wednesday now up to five points.

Surely, it must be time for the relegation thread? ?

Exsctly, and someone who will have more mental toughness than the vast majority of our team. Surely time to give Ripley a call to balance the side?

Aye, we'll be hearing the same this time next season. We have now progressed to mediocrity + . Results and points wise it's the same as mediocrity, just with added goals. We still can't defend and are still mentally weak when it comes to games with any kind of pressure on them. We also have a manager who can't resist tinkering for the sake of it. Round and round it goes.

Flat track bullies. Four points from a possible 15.

This game will be a good litmus test of the team's mental strength. As we know, in recent seasons we have faltered in the big games when there is more pressure on. We need to shed the flat track bully label and lay down a marker for the rest of the season.

Like the other guy, you have interpreted my comment to literally. To clarify again, I don't think Tony is milking Rovers, (as has been the case with certain other managers). All I meant is that he is under very little pressure and, barring a very long and sustained run of poor results, he is safe with us sitting around in midtable, which on all the evidence is his ceiling. He is in the comfort zone.

A bit OTT. What I mean is that he's on a cushy number, compared to most other managers in Football. He is under very little pressure. I certainly don't think he's "evil" and he's not been a failure in that he got us straight back out of League One. However, all the evidence is that he's now reached his ceiling with us and it's highly unlikely he will take us any further, in spite of being well backed by the owners. I don't begrudge Tony his pension, but it's time he was topping it up elsewhere if we have any ambition to move forwards.

The problem with Coyle is that he was a busted flush with a managerial career in a tail spin, not that he was a former Burnley manager. Mowbray is the right manager to keep us flattering to deceive and bumbling around mid-table until he decides his pension pot will suffice.

I think Gallagher was a monumental waste of money, but if Mowbray wants to persist with him it certainly has to be in the middle. Armstrong's best position is also central. He never really looked comfortable out wide.

Exactly. We only have one centre forward who is capable of scoring regularly, and he's not going to be winning the ball in the air. That is something that was not addressed during the transfer window.

I wouldn't be so sure. My worry is that Tony's tombola will be on overdrive this season, with so many players to choose from, (when fit).

A bloke who will get Forest promoted. Meanwhile, we will continue to flatter to deceive.

If his attitude was that bad he would not entertain joining a Championship club on loan.

Fair play to Orta, A nice touch, and surely it's highly unlikely (bearing in mind age etc) that Douglas will ever play for Leeds again.

Shortly after the appointment, I told a former colleague who's a Barrow fan that I thought it was a very odd and risky appointment, (eg the Oldham debacle). Standing by my remarks.

Two anticlimaxes for the price of one ? We could still sign the Norwegian left back, as he's a free agent.

Agreed, and the one thing about Venkys is they usually hold out for a higher fee. Obviously, we want Armstrong to stay, and even if we did get offered silly money for him, it would be useless to us if we sell him at the death on deadline day.