Shame really because with him being a Burnley-born, ex-Dingle he’s going to be a distraction boos and anti-claret songs, when all the focus needs to be on getting behind our team. Pretty much guaranteed he’ll score tomorrow now too just to pour salt on the wounds.

In the last 10 years, only 3 Rovers managers have had a run of four or more consecutive defeats. Ince (6) Kean (5) Coyle (4) If Mowbray loses tomorrow though, all hope isn’t lost, Graeme Souness (5) and Mark Hughes (4) both managed the same feat and both soldiered on - Souness had lost the plot by this point but Hughes managed a 10th place finish and FA Cup Semi Final appearance in the same season. He didn’t do too badly later in his career either. Here’s hoping that Mowbray can get out of this bad run against West Brom and put this blip behind us.

It’s very much like when Nuttall was dropped for Samuel. Mowbray doesn’t seem to consider confidence as an issue.

Like a reverse Mauro Formica - only without the goals.

Reviewing a red card on the day of the game? Wonder if anyone is reviewing Smallwood’s? (Hope not)

Providing you are in the sweet spot in front of the posts but covered. But you are right though, the rub will be when the price is no longer cheap and matches the JWL.

Rothwell is the only player in this team with any vision and the ability to pick out a pass. He needs a Reed or a Travis next to him but he’s potentially a fantastic deep-lying midfield play maker. Trouble is, to exploit is you need natural width or pace and Mowbray’s teams have neither.

Wasn’t that Crewe’s entire business model at one stage? May still be.

Doesn’t change the fact he got in some stinkers.

Nice bit of research there @DE. cheers. Just goes to show how much crap Bowyer brought in!

Couldn’t agree more. In fact he looks slimmer now that in his playing days.

That’s not quite true mate. Rhodes was replaced, in effect, by Graham under Lambert. Delfouneso and Brown were just a bonus given to us by Bowyer! (Although Brown was used sparingly by Lambert, it was between Graham and Simeon Jackson for the striker slot(s)). As an aside, can you believe Brown played 37 games for us??

I think you make a good point here. However, Ferguson has to keep getting new number two because they kept getting manager jobs themselves, and also Mowbray is all about having people around him he trusts. I don’t see Venus going anywhere soon. Johnson is Damien Johnson, ex Rovers player and current U23 manager. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Johnson

But that was my point, we weren’t just a League One squad we had £10m to improve it. The L1 squad + midtable = acceptable was hypothetical. With no other changes/additions. I think we are violently agreeing here.

Achievement is all relative too. Time now, midtable will be an achievement. But relative to how games have gone and points we should have on the board, it’s below where we could have been. Its like everything though, matches, seasons, score lines. The default position when things haven’t gone well is to look at “would we have accepted that before hand?” - it’s loser talk. Would we have accepted midtable security in the first season with a League One squad? Yes, I expect we all would. Having spent £10m in the Summer? Having got off to a decent start? Having seen Dack continue to be a star performer in the Championship as he was in L1? Having been 7th in November? Possibly not. Now we look like we are in free fall with only one win in nine games and we are hoping to cling on to that midtable spot as we fly past. But it is still pretty disappointing to watch us throw away so much promise. Especially in the manner we have this last few games.

I agree, something needs to be done to get fans back - although “promotion not promotions” is probably scrawled on a post-it on Waggott’s desk. But you can’t have a credible football ground that isn’t surrounded on all four sides by stands. On that basis, the Riverside is a shithole - and a crap view with those pillars. I know I had a ST there for years. I definitely needs redevelopment - probably before it falls down. Any development of the ground has to be factored into player recruitment plans, it can’t be one or the other.

Presumably you are ruling out free kicks? To be honest goals from open play don’t immediately spring to mind when I think of Rovers recent goals.

Redevelopment of the Riverside would be the single best thing Venkys would have done for this club to date. I won’t hold my breath. Interesting that this news is leak just when Mowbray is under the most pressure though.

I’m afraid chaps it’s much simpler than that. Like most managers Mowbray has his favourites. He has put his total faith in Smallwood to the exclusion of the club’s youth players. Same thing happened to Tomlinson last season. Maybe Tony sees something of himself in Richie, they were born within 6 miles of each other, both of them started their playing careers at Boro, and both played briefly for England but below the full England team. No doubt he will see Richie as ‘an honest pro’ who has done his time and has earned his place m, who knows, but it will be very interesting to see what he does now Smallwood is suspended against West Brom.

6 points isn’t good enough. Based on your predictions that would also make it 2 wins in 15 games. We have to turn our form around quickly.

Could see Chapman in for Palmer but right now it isn’t a priority. Is he even fit? I think he was at Rovers when he last played a game of league football. This season he’s been playing a level below Stefan Mols! Edit: just checked he last played a league match in October 2017!! I expect we’ll take him because of what happened on deadline day.

So 5 defenders and no place for Bennett? To be honest, 5 defenders is what Mowbray has been doing for a while. He’d have the above but drop Rodwell for Williams and drop Brereton and Travis to make sure Evans and Smallwood could play. It’s going to be a very interesting month. Two of our best first-teamers, Dack and Reed, will be watched nervously while glaring problems like cb, lb, and both wings will need looking at. The wings will be what they will be though in my view - although he does have an opportunity if he can do a deal with Palmer’s slot.

Don’t like it but, like this...?

The problem is that Dack makes a heck of a lot of goals for this team - including winning free kicks for Mulgrew to take. We don’t have any alternative and we have no successful Plan B. That is down to recruit to an extent but also down to Mowbray’s distrust of the likes of Rothwell and Travis - until yesterday. If that’s because we don’t have good enough centre backs, then don’t play two uber-defensive midfielders to cover it up, get new centre backs. In the Summer I said that we needed to bring in players to go straight into the first XI. Mowbray decided to stick with his League One team and hope that our legendary team spirit would be enough. It hasn’t been. In January he has to change that - before it’s too late. For starters we need a brute of a CB with Championship experience. £7m would have bought a lot of those.

Love that phrasing. ?? (Still don’t agree it was a red - in isolation)