By your opinion Haaland wouldn't get into the team as he doesn't suit the style of play so its just as well we didn't sign him. Why right wing as you say we are creating chances, but we have no one to finish them. We have options there in Sigurdson, Brittain, Rankin-Costello and Hedges have all started wide right this season all ready. Its all very well having shots but how many times have you thought bloody hell their keeper had a blinder. How many saves did Woodman make on Friday night? Its all very well having 5 options up front if all 5 are having zero effect in games. Dolan had a good game Friday but when did he actually look like scoring? I would say our play up to the box is great but it usually fails when we try walking it into the back of the net

But eventually it stopped working. Whether that was us running out of steam or PNE changed tactics. What we cant do is change tactics.

As usual, you're missing the point that disagrees with the head coach's words. I know Gallagher isn't that type of player that is bleeding obvious. What Im saying is that for his stature he should be able to bully centre halves to the benefit of the team. Like wise I know we dont play anything like the tactics PNE employed but there are times when a plan B of a big centre forward who can cause mischief would be a relief. How many times have we struggled to get out of our own defensive third to get the ball clear and it comes straight back. With centre halves like Hill who can actually pass a ball up to someone who can stand up to a physical presence from a centre half can be effective. We need more options than what we've got. Even the footballing genius of Pep realises that.

Oddly I think that most of the better teams will struggle with him as he is something from the past. He will battle and fight to get the ball and give more cultured centre halves a true battle which many will not have had. Billy Whitehurst would eat most of the centre halves today Teams coming from the lower leagues wont struggle as much as there is a likely hood that those centre halves will have grown up playing the likes of Evans. Sam Gallagher could do worse than to learn a lesson or two from Evans. The size of Gallagher he should be putting himself around like Evans. It would offer a plan B which we do not have.

Not going to happen......even a lower league one will cost a lot more than our budget..... ....but in theory yes youre right

Not quite. It wasn't the only sub that changed the game. Evans coming on was the key to me. Before Evans came on Wharton had won every ball in the air after Evans came on not so. We brought a kid on who had zero effect on the game as we needed a runner. Dolan had ran himself into the ground but Trondstat and Wharton were also knackered. They also needed reinforcements.

Probably more with those that grew up in the mid to late 80s when Rovers were always two divisions above all the other Lancashire clubs but the songs about hating Burnley remained. For a moment lets enjoy the thought of at least two of them having to win to remain in the league or even apply for re-election to the league. The millennials we were in and around the same leagues

Why Szmodics rarely tracks back beyond the centre circle? I like him staying forward as it allows to spring far quicker from defence into attack but on the rare occasions he does track back he can be liability, prime example first goal conceded against Rotherham. Dack used to come into defensive positions looking for the ball, it was a major problem when defenders were looking for an outlet ball. Granted his immobility then prevented him getting quickly upfield so was one of the contributing factors of our slow forward play in the past.

I love this modern day lingo. At the end of the day it boils down to the fact we are playing with two players up front.

Whole heartedly agree and eventually patience will run out. Then they drift out of the league.

I think there is no norm from Dolan which is the frustrating part. He will do something every half dozen games or so that is why he is here not a premiership club. There are plenty of players do that. The problem is that over time people will remember the good points not the bad and they will become better players then they actually were.

But how does playing a midfielder who doesnt track back very often not leave you short. Then like the first half last Saturday playing two midfielders who didn't track back leave you short. I understand that the forward midfielder arriving from deep creates space but an intelligent 2nd forward will drop off to create space. Playing two up top literally is just cancelled out by centre halves unless they can move and draw out and create space.

I know Im being thick but whats the difference between having two playing up front and having one up front and a midfielder who rarely drops back behind the half way line, which is how we play at present?

It seems to happen when JRC plays central. He seems to like playing further forward than his position. When at full back he goes into midfield. When in midfield he drifts upfront. Thats fine if we are playing two other midfielders as when Dunn had Flitcroft and Tugay protecting. Today though we've already got Sammie playing high it leaves us wanting in the midfield especially with Tronsdtat playing so deep.

First half Saturday, JRC spent all his time playing ahead of Dolan. It was the main reason we were exposed in midfield especially Sammie so advanced as well. There was little cover for Pickering on Saturday and little for Hill once Britain was replaced.

Yes he should. Any team with internationals throughout and the forward option of Gestede, Rhodes and King should have reached the p layoffs minimum. I will defend him in that he came the club had just gone through the Kean, Berg and Appleton fiasco and so he stabilised that. People praise Mowbray for stabilising the club but Bowyer did it better IMO. I know Coyle was a disaster for the club but Mowbray still had time to prevent relegation and failed before stabilising it.

It would leave the Full backs very exposed but with Szmodics in the position he plays presently it is like playing with two central forwards any way

Byrne wasn't it? Signed by Coyle hardly played for us. Season after given the freedom of Oldham because Mowbray was scared of Oldham's right back

Only in reverse as we paid the wages not the ECB [or its equivalent]

I would never call Faz or David Mail midfielders they both wore no.6. No. 6 usually was one of the central defensive pairing. No.4 or 8 were the midfielders

I stand corrected.

Genuinely can't remember any bids only talk I can think of was Everton preparing a bid but then they signed Maulpey instead

How many times have we said we shouldn't be losing to them? Any victory should be enjoyed. How many times have weve been told by opposing mangers, we are the best team they've played when weve lost to them? Refreshing to hear praise when we've won

We only whinge when we are winning!

Agree with this. The issue is with gaping hole in our midfield because our third midfielder Szmodics is playing so high up the field then at best one of our defenders is playing midfield, usually two of them so we are outnumbered at the back. So with the two at the back overloaded mistakes will happen. Even with the world's best defender and keeper will struggle playing effectively 4-3-3 but in reality that formation is 3-2-1-4 or even at times 2-2-2-4 or even against Sunderland in the 2nd half 2-1-3-4. It would be great if we had forwards who could take chances but we haven't.