How fit is Cunningham at this point ?  How many games did he actually play for us ?

Would that just not be taking the easy option again.

7 minutes ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Or because they simply have an opinion of Nyambe that is not a cypher for their opinion of Mowbray.

Debatable

21 minutes ago, Tugay-is-God said:

It's funny that all those that worry about Mowbray coaching flair/ability out  of players, are also the ones that would never credit him for his coaching improving Armstrong/Travis/Nyambe/anyone. 

But some of his cheerleaders have now been telling us Nyambe is crap, presumably because they think Mowbray would flog him given a half decent offer.

Can't have it both ways i'm afraid.

Yet another signing for the sake of it this would be, all down to possibly making a few quid on him in a few years.

4 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Thankfully 4 of the back 5 today will not be in our first choice backline this season. Hopeless at the back.

Brereton is starting to look like a player. Probably our best player today. Dolan looks like the real deal. Get him in the starting 11. 

A little more realistic

Cruel game hope he's ok.

9 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

What's wrong with Armstrong? He looks in a right mood - and did at the end of last season too.

Seemed to have a similar look about him at the beginning of last season often coupled with playing up top on his own.

Dolan seems a good example of what is out there if you really look and take a chance. Instead we often sign players with injury probs and several year 10 grand a week contracts. As if coming into the arms of our lot is suddenly going to cure all their problems and realize their potential.

Bell has been absolute rubbish defense wise as a LB since he set foot in the place i cannot see how anyone watching regular would disagree. If he brings anything it's racing forward but i don't care about that he's there to defend and he's a shocker 75% of the time. 

A lower league player all day everyday zero improvement in over 2 years.

The usual only manage 45 decent mins per game.

They are all made into athletes now from a young age that's what academies do but sadly they don't turn all those athletes into good footballers.

Used to be the other way around the number of good on the ball players there was blowing out their arse after 25 mins in the 80's. Its gone full circle now.

I think it's pretty obvious there's always been something else in the background with the Nyambe situation.  TM has always been quick to heave him out now and again whilst others get away with it and i don't think it's just because of Bennett.

If you go back and read his comments about some of his absences i think there's been quite a few different reason given by the manager. Maybe it's just his way of getting a tune out of a young player or maybe he just plain doesn't rate him or like him. Of course in public he'll always be referred to as a great human being.

23 minutes ago, S8 & Blue said:

Mowbray was really disrespectful in the LT the other day though ?

 

“I’ve had lots of conversations with Charlie over the last couple of weeks, man to man, talking about futures,” Mowbray said, admitting his future was different to that of defensive partner Derrick Williams.

“It’s not as easy as the eye might see, lots of things in the equation. Charlie Mulgrew is a good man, a good human being.

“He’s 34 now and sometimes as a manager you have to make decisions and as if it was just about the guy then Charlie could stay here for as long as he wanted for what he’s achieved for this football club.

“In two seasons, from centre half, to score 30 goals, it’s an amazing feat and he’s been captain of the club and led from the front and has been quite amazing for this team and this football club.

“Sentiment can’t come into it because we have to keep marching forward. It’s not about individuals, or me, it’s about this club and its supporters and trying to take this team back towards the Premier League and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

 

Pissed me off this.

Ha ha that's a great example of TM now playing to the gallery obviously been made aware again what people are saying in the SM world.

Best manager we've had for that kind of thing the penny always drops eventually....

29 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Probably in a position where he could talk himself into being paid off by the club to get a bad apple out of Ewood, and then pick up a new contract in quick time. £££.

He was very good for us in his first couple of seasons (relegation season and League One season), but for two years running he's been of zero use to us, because he's not up to defending at this level, and yet still has one more year to run on his contract. That means he's been redundant for this club for 60% of his time here.

We need to get him out on loan ASAP until his contract runs down. Alternatively, it might be in everyone's best interest if he's put on furlough for his remaining time.

If only they could be put on furlough !

Agree with all of that though its reached that point and no doubt he'd got offers and doesn't fancy another loan. Solution is he bites the bullet and asks to be released on a mutual agreement.

If he wants a big settlement he should be told to find himself some suitable loan option for the next 12 months. Time this club stopped bending over backwards for anyone and everyone.

8 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Unfortunately Bennett will probably get some game time there even if Nyambe stays as I doubt we will be signing a RB as things stand...hopefully someone like JRC manages to push a stronger claim to be the backup there and EB gets phased out, but I reckon that could take until the second half of the season. TM does tire of his veterans eventually.

These are the fine lines between moving forwards or remaining where we are. We'll get away with Bennett there sometimes and that's enough for midtable. That's the mentality that needs to change but it's unlikely especially now there's no brass to bring in proper back up.

The greatest fear with Nyambe going is Bennett at right back as odd game aside filling in that's a pathetic way to go. Also given how tight finances are and the last time Mowbray signed a right back it was Caddis i'd say it's very important to keep Nyambe.

Seems the brainwashing is beginning on that one now so probably inevitable he'll leave.

He'll be after either playing or getting a pay off so he can go where he wants.

He's probably in limbo with it all like the club now is but at the heart of it he's thinking of himself so the loyalty line is a bit thin.

12 minutes ago, unsall said:

So you think championship is his level.

I do although he could prove me wrong but i think it far more likely a top championship club would be after him. Or one in the Prem near the bottom with half an eye on if they did go down he'd be in place ready to help try go back up.

He's good on the ball and has a good football brain but has never looked fit enough or sharp enough to be a player coveted by Prem clubs. Not for the money we'd want anyway but who knows.

Right now he's got to just get back to being able to cut it at midtable champ level the rest is irrelevant.

Strikers thrive on service and on confidence most of them know where the net is but they won't hit it regularly without the other 2.

Give him and his natural position and a run of games, same with Gallagher although he really needs the service of a winger so those 2 will probably not gel in the same line up.  Having said that a front 3 of Brereton right, Gallagher middle and Armstrong left could and should be a decent enough forward line if it's worked on hard enough.

10 hours ago, Ricky said:

The gaping holes in defence and goal make it even more astounding that anyone authorised TM spending £12m on two average front men. Especially when they don’t seem to fit the system that he wants to play. Madness!

They should have built from the back and it should have started in lge 1 but if not then the min we got promoted.  Now it's arse over elbow because there is not enough finance to do it properly it's mainly gap plugging.

That's the top and bottom of it all if they'd done that there might have been a good keeper already there to step in after Raya and a more established back line. There probably wouldn't have been 2 expensive misfit forwards still being shoehorned into a line up to try and get something in return.

But that's how this club and manager do things so the hope now is the front players catch fire and keep us in the goal;s because the back line will still leak them. Barring some last min rabbit out the hat deals the defence and keeper spots still aren't strong enough for anything other than keeping our heads above water, IF we are banging them in at the other end.

2 minutes ago, Hoochie Bloochie Mama said:

We pay £6k below the av Champ wage. Only average £10k a week. 

But of course we can compete ON the pitch. That's a different argument though and comes down mainly to the quality of the manager. Sheff Utd paid less wages than us when they went up but had a far better manager. 

But we don't pay everyone 10 grand per week do we that's the point. Maybe there's been a strict change in policy now but we've been paying decent players way above that it only averages out at that because we now have a lot of youngsters on way less. Plus some plodders of course and it isn't a massive squad.

So just going off these averages doesn't really tell the whole story some still feel we haven''t made the best use of the resources we have. Rather than looking at the overal averages we should perhaps look a bit closer at the better paid players and what we've been getting out of them.

I'd say we've been a very competitive club wages wise for our size of course and outside of the huge crowd clubs.

We get transfer pots of 7 then 5 million, we've been paying million pound loan fees. Signing short term older players on 20k pwk and have about a dozen on 10 to 15k pwk which is on or above the average champ wage if that graph is to be believed.

Please don't tell me we can't compete with 2 thirds of this league on the park at least.  We bloody well should be able to this seems to be replacing FFP as the go to excuse now.

Yes we aren't going to outpay a Prem sde but not many are. Plenty other good players in the world.

Maybe been handled and over protected with kid gloves a bit too much this lad but it was MOwbray himself not long ago questioning the fire in his belly. If you come into a camp and get treated like that and told nothing much is expected of you yet then you'll soon fall into a comfortable plod.

Squad sizes will have some bearing on that plus don't forget Downing, Graham, Mulgrew, Evans in our squad to name a few will be on good championship money. Then there's Sam Gallagher and Armstrong so all is not as it seems we pay more to some players than other clubs can afford. It's balanced by a lot of younger ones on a lot less i'd wager.

So looking at those names and their pay you'd expect a bit of bang for your bucks.

Sounds like he's leaving it till the last min and sounds like Rovers might leave their deal on the table till the last min.

Could leave us short hope TM doesn't counter it by offering Williams a new deal !

Rovers being played here.