Agree any points are a bonus. However a bit more context says we have a strong squad now and they are designed to cope with absences as well as drops in form, that's the whole point. We can't throw the towel in and shrug our shoulders after every defeat every time a few of the better players are missing, that's the problem here and it's the mentality that needs erasing. Worse 11s put out every week than ours recently get results against better one's on paper.

Well at last we get to the bottom of it. Frank Magnet and Tony Steel.

I don't think, i know ? The only chance they'll ever have is to up the ante and recruit quality directors and manager with a promotion remit. Their money alone won't work surely they've twigged that by now, neither will just praying and hoping.

It's concerning because it's Venkys and HSH and friends in charge but to say there is nobody or we/they couldn't get anybody is outright nonsense. The main issue now though is with all his mates around him he has the inside of the club pretty watertight. That will take a lot of replacing or the right person who'll they'll back to worth with. That's why clubs need a structure that can absorb change and we've never had it under this lot but we had it before.

Very good observation on AJ i can go along with that iv'e thought similar that's why a Pulev fight is a tricky one. Especially when you look at what happened to Whyte. All the going to the US and the Ruiz thing was imo down to brand AJ taking over as well as wanting to rush and do a number with Wilder watching in the wings. He's making as much as he can whilst he can as is Fury but one goes wrestling whilst the other gets himself every endorsement and tv advert he can. I also think not fighting regularly is more detrimental to him than the likes of Fury as his style needs building on rather than just sharpening up. He's proved he can come in lighter and box cautiously easily going the distance but he seems to have lost that bit of edge that made him the brute he was.

Probably just giving him a few months off and saving a bit on wages and now the situation has forced the hand a bit. Obviously there are no experienced free agent defenders or keepers in the entire world anymore.

Hopefully he'll prove a catalyst to a little run of form, probably do 3 different positions in his first 3 games. Funny how they always find the money for Tony' pals though.

No i don't think he gets blasted like i already said i think he could out run any of them including Fury. Just don't think he'd land enough without taking it back to make a convincing effort at points. My view is 70/30 he gets out big manned because he doesn't carry enough zap in his punches to keep them off. Hopefully we find out iv'e a sneaking feeling that Wilder/Fury will be back on for Feb/March. I really don't think their promoters want to try and put that on without some sort of fan income. A lot of bull and kidology going on there now i reckon but that will push any AJ fight back even further. So he'll defend against Usyk because there's money in that if they can get a crowd in obviously. Got to get past another possible banana skin with Pulev first obviously.

Agree with a lot of the Hearn stuff but that's his job and it's nothing Warren hasn't done either he just doesn't have the platform anymore. Joshua is where he is on merit they all get hyped it's all Fury at the present time. Strip that back to its bare bones and despite him looking the most comfortable boxer he's steered himself very well also since he outhustled a Klitschko nearing the end. Modern era allows all this type of thing more than any other because the pool of talent is so sparse and they earn so much only fighting now and again. Joshua has done his mandatory stuff like a proper champion should no ifs buts or maybes or hype it is plain fact. However he's fortunate that most of those are old men on the wain. The fact they are the genuine mandos shows again how weak this era is and how the proper eliminators don't usually get made any more. Fury for his part has turned on the big night twice 4 years apart and pulled it off but in between he takes the piss and keeps himself with as minimal risk as is possible. The very thing he and everybody else abused Wilder for for years, yet he always seems to get a free pass for it there's always excuses. Very crafty. Sooner this little trio have concluded their business and moved on the better then the division might rebalance itself a bit. Not sure where the next real characters are going to come from though that's why it needs someone from leftfield to clean it up or pull off a few shocks. That won't be Usyk i'll happily take a bet on if he's matched with one of the big 3 next.

I'd be expecting the standard just over 1.5 points per game this month not much else. 8 points probably, average stuff.

I think if you look at last night Delboy set a pace he was never going to sustain but it worked for a few rounds. Threw Usyk off his rythmn and game plan and he was being roughed up a bit. Spent round after round complaining like a little girl, welcome to the real big boys. Once he got his range and Chisora slowed right down he coasted it but the extra weight really told early doors. That's with virtually no power in the odd shots that were catching him. Swap that for the better big lads he'll need to go on his toes imo. As for Dubois i'd just love him to come from nowhere and clean of the division like Tyson did but he's a long way from that. Might well do it though given time and the demise of one or two of the big lads after they've locked horns with each other a few times. Don't think he'll land himself in jail either.

Don't even bother biting it's selective muck raking again these theories have been blown out the water. We've pasted teams home and away and been mullered home and away. The lack of fans all over the country even in the Prem is having some affects but messageboard opinion transmitting itself onto the pitch ? Best bit of tinfoil stuff yet. Dyche must be reading the Burnley ones out in the dressing room or something that'll explain their problems.

Reason i mentioned him is he's very mobile he could dance with Usyk all night and it is a fight that theoretically could happen in the future. Hughie is with fast Eddie now remember and yes Usyk is 33 but as unified Cruiser champ he's automatic mandatory for one of AJs belts. So he'll get chance at him or whoever or fight for it if it comes vacant. Btw never believe these height things are right on the button - they're known to round it up to the nearest inch or two ( what bloke doesn't ?)

Well it now appears we have a number 2 less experienced than the last one. And not a highly rated wonderkid either That isn't really strengthening the position. Doesn't mean he might not be better but it's unlikely. It's ok though because it fits in with Mowbrays constant experiment. Namely BRFC

We should have a perfectly able reliable second choice keeper but now we just have another kid who boro wanted rid of. Nothing against him i hope he comes good he might he's only young. However it's another weak point created by the manager when he's had ample time and funds to sort it.

Aye and Boris will cancel lockdown if Rovers beat Boro !

I think he'd love to play every week if he could get away with it but in Tony's ideal world it would be Bennett for Nyambie, Evans for Trybull and Gallagher certainly for Dolan. Maybe even Bell for Elliot, got to think of the pecking order and keeping them happy.

Agreed, he's probably about 6'2" in reality and he's the athletic type many modern guys are rather than the bull elephants of the past. Iv'e no desire to watch him v Fury cat and mouse for 12 rounds with hardly a power shot thrown. Be better seeing him match his skills v the likes of Parker or even Hughie Fury but nobody will put up the dosh for fights these days. Not unless they can PPV flog it or there are main belts up for grabs.

Think we'll tighten it up in this one and it'll be a real grind of a game but ultimately we'll be caught out yet again. Rovers 0 Boro 1

Look at the early part of last season, look at the throw the towel in efforts after lockdown barring the first game. Then look at what he was saying and what some fans were buying into. It's all the same again and no amount of time or money will change it, it is what it is and it's a reflecting of the manager and coaching staff. Club as a whole probably, yes it's the hope that keeps everyone going even them. The reality is we know how it goes because that's what these methods always lead to difficult circumstances or not. Mowbray has been unfortunate with a few injuries and everyone is suffering the current climate. However he's been VERY fortunate to be allowed to keep his best players season on season, have some good youth available AND be able to keep adding to the squad. At two points he was able to spend multi million pound fees. The squad he's had available for the last 2 games has been good enough to get results that's a fact. The only real questionable one is the keeper, again down to the manager. He though despite not looking good hasn't been to blame for the defeats so the spotlight falls again on poor tactics and the same old 'regulars' making the same oid errors. And the glaring lack of nous in terms of getting back into games or turning them around. 'Oh reading are top we can't be expected to beat them if we go behind' - 'Oh we haven't won at Swansea for decades can't be expecting to get anything there' Utter bullshit mentality along with there's nothing really wrong with the tactics or defense it just isn't going our way at he min. There's everything wrong with the attitude i'd say.

It's pretty unforgivable the media don't call him out on these things when the mic is under his nose. Talk about a comfy position, i doubt he had it so easy in his beloved Boro.

A bit of stealth going on there though perhaps by TM and his best pal. Removed the man waiting in the wings to a back office job.

Ah that old chestnut. Sorry not buying it, they both beat him and wouldn't be surprised to see him out box Wilder then get iced. He doesn't carry enough umph to bother them i don't think.

Well it went pretty much as expected and fair play to Chisora for seeing it through. He was never going to maintain the pace he set but he gave Usyk some uncomfortable early rounds. Only one winner once he found his rythmn and it slowed down a bit though. Still don't think he bothers the top men i think he'd have really struggled with a Parker or Whyte last night, doesn't have power to back them up. Still it's another interesting face at least in an otherwise very bland HW outside the top 3 or 4. No way is this guy the new Holyfield though and whilst i rarely agree with Nelson he was right in saying like other good cruisers going up he'l have some success but come unstuck soon enough.

Such is the reliance on these kids now though because of Dacks absence, Rothwell on the settee and the money wasted on we know who. It's no wonder they soon fade away.