rovers11

I think it’s clear that we need a new goalkeeper and lb. They are the weak areas at the moment. I do think we’ll make an attempt to bring back Cunningham here next season as he looked very good before his injury. Thankfully Walton is not ours so we can consign him to the history books. We’ll need a couple of centre halves to come in; one to sadly replace Tosin, who is destined for a loan spell at the top level next season you would imagine, and one who can provide back up for first choice centre halves. Outs: Leutwiler, Mulgrew, Smallwood, Samuel, Hart, Chapman, (Walton), (Tosin) Keep: Graham, Downing Incoming: Two GK, Two centre halves, LB, wide striker

Dominic Samuel was my man of the match. Absolutely outstanding, especially as he hasn’t started a game since August 2018. Walton and Bell most improved players since the turn of the year. The usual star players for us were very good again today. Downing may as well be given the player of the season award now. Buckley has his best game in a Rovers shirt and Brereton is starting to look like a footballer. Strangely, we seem to be getting stronger with each new injury!

I don’t think we’ll get top 6 but what this season has shown is perhaps we have a better squad than we thought. The wheels haven’t come off despite long term injuries to key players. Dack and Lenihan would have been my two who are irreplaceable in the team - we are coping ok without Dack so far though.

That has to be our easiest game of the season so far. Hull were absolutely dire, we didn’t get out of first gear and still won 3-0 and should have had more. Armstrong is looking like some player. Pace, good on the ball, technical ability, goals, and assistants. Nyambe is up there with him as most improved in the past three months. Breo and Samuel looked good when they came on. Really pleased to see Samuel score.

What has Armstrong been having for breakfast the past 6 weeks? Looks like a totally different player.

Huff and puff. No quality. Same old.

No quality going forward and weak at the back. All too familiar,

Another atrocious set of results over Christmas and another horror show at the back. Add that to no real quality going forward. Nowhere near good enough for the top 6, unfortunately.

Please send this pathetic GK back to brighton ASAP. Bell and Bennett can find a new club too!

Good find. Illustrates the state of modern football outside of the premier league, making huge losses each year is not unique to just us.

Obviously concerning figures, mainly because it means we are at the mercy of Venkys to keep us going, but these figures are indicative of clubs in the championship who are dreaming of premier league riches. The majority of championship clubs are at the mercy of their owners to keep them afloat, that’s the story of modern football outside of the top flight. How many clubs are self sustainable?

We lack a lot of quality going forward, we need 2/3 players who are technically good and/can beat a man. We also need a striker who guarantees goals (don’t we all!). We are 3 quality players short of being genuine promotion contenders imo. That’s all very easy in theory but quality attacking players cost money in transfer fees and wages that we don’t have.

What a shocker of a performances. Buckley, my word. I’d give him a minus score for that performance.

Very drab game, much like the one on Monday night. Bell showing why a new LB needs to be on the shopping list in Jan. He does some decent things going forward but overall nowhere near up to it. No one really stood out today, but we looked solid at the back again. I don’t really buy into the “we’ve had two easy home games” because there is nothing between the top and bottom in this league, the results today show that once again. I’d certainly have taken our league position at the beginning of the season - a perfect position to make the play offs if we make a couple of good Jan additions.

Trying to look on the bright side, at least we have a ready-made replacement in Holtby to come in and play in his best position. He’s not as good as Dack but he is still a class player.

How gutting that it looks as though Dack is going to be out for the season. Football really is a cruel game. The one player we’d pick to not have a serious injury, and that player goes and gets one.

Excellent win and performance. I have no idea how this transformation has happened but we look like a squad re-born. Every single player was outstanding today - but I’d be surprised if there is a better central midfielder than Travis in this league. He mops up absolutely everything and never stops running.

Fantastic result. It wasn’t cavalier stuff but you have to be able to win games in various ways and I think we’ve won game in every way possible this week - playing woefully (Barnsley), playing excellently (Brentford), and by digging in (today). Have we finally found the magic formula that TM has been searching for all season? Dack absolutely class but we’ve come to expect that; Evans showing that he’s a very talented player when he’s motivated; and Lenihan showing why he’s so important to us, Bennett was very good when coming on.

We just about deserve to be leading. The players look so unfit though, Rothwell in particular. Stoke look woeful, relying on hoof ball.

Yet we beat the team who are beating them 5-0. Very strange division.

Excellent team selection again. Feeling confident.

It’s a funny old game. TM has a habit of pulling out a succession of victories just when he needs them. Three wins out of four now and three straight victories at home. Didn't see the game, unfortunately, but sounds like our best performance of the season so far. Our starting line up before the match looked well balanced, with players in their correct positions (aside from Downing, but I’d take him there over Bell) and that turned out to be the case on the pitch. Breathing space from the bottom 3 and small hopes of a top 6 push reignited. Personally think we’ll finish in a similar position to last season, not a lot has changed.

Delighted with the win obviously but doesn’t change the fact that we are a shambles at the moment. TM has shown a complete inability to set up a team defensively for too long now, sadly. Things have to change.

I have a bad feeling about this game. We have the feel of a club who’s manager has run out of ideas and can’t find the right formula to get consistent results and performances. Throw into the mix the new manager bounce that Barnsley will have and the struggles that we tend to have against these types of opponents at home. We desperately need Lenihan to be playing today as our record with him in the side is so much stronger than without him. Such a key player.

16 games in is a good time to evaluate and reflect - not good enough and time for a change in manager imo.