I can see us finishing the season a place or two higher than last and he has them sold on his plans. This summer will all be about the pitch and a new deal for him and his buddies. Oh and maybe a few more drones and analytical staff. The one thing that might just scupper that though is the pandemic and no face to face meetings in India. Who'd be surprised if an extension isn't already signed though...

As i said to a dingle on twitter earlier who was sticking the knife in about the debt to Vs ( whilst not quite grasping the situation they are now in ). We are just a good manager away from promotion with the way their backing is now. That's not a dig at Mowbray it's just a fact, if they made the correct moves and used some of those millions in the recruitment of a suitable guy & his staff then at some point we'd go up. That's where we are at now this regime have laid some good foundations and the backing has been more sensible. It needs that next step to move us on a level before millions do start being squandered again, players leave and we go back to square one.

I'd say now more than ever before they should actually be asking what are we going to get back from this and when ? Mountains of money was going in before to pay for morally bankrupt deeds but now it's just propping up a midtable championship club. When most of that squad is fit it should be doing better than it is now. Saturday was a case in point that side was more than good enough to get something. And there was no pitch to blame, at what point do they start holding the manager and his staff accountable ?

£1.75 million with a load of add on's and sell on was probably the only way we'd get him back then. He was well thought of around the lower leagues and any less we'd have had competition. Very good signing at the time and the deal was about right because i'm not sure they wanted to let him go. Still very young and they could carry him and continue loaning him out no problem. Just highlights to me if you find a player that fits what you want and has a bit of pedigree you have to bite the bullet and go for it. Compared to the Brereton signing it looks a bargain.

When you consider the deal they got him on it's no surprise there's a big sell on.

About time they were getting some proper bang for their continued bucks instead of the slow train that never leaves the pigging sidings.

The management and coaches are just going through the motions they've told us as much. Keep plodding until told otherwise and just see where it goes. Great mentality to break into the top 6 that is no wonder half the team look on auto pilot.

No doubting his quality but there's a touch of Corry Evans about this lad. Raises his game and looks good when the rest of the team is playing well but disappears most of the rest of the time. Then again the team as a whole looks far better when we press and get in the faces. Seems a bit too frail for the cut and thrust championship sadly.

Chapman is only doing there now what he did here he's far more comfortable at that level. He's after impressing and getting a contract but once it's signed and the lure of nights on the lash back in Boro take over again i'm not sure he'll keep his current form up.

To the outside world the inner workings of the club looks a lot stronger and more stable than Bowyers time. However on the pitch there isn't much tangible difference between the 1 st team inexperienced Bowyer and the very experienced Mowbray. I don't think GB would've took us straight back up but even he has a promotion on his cv. At arguably a bigger basket case club right at that precise time. Food for thought when the chorus of 'there is nobody else' start up in regards to TM leaving the hotseat.

I agree he'll be here next season come what may but i don't think the sanctioning of Pickering has anything to do with it. It sounds like the recruitment team can bring in these types for the future if it gets signed off upstairs.

When managers have a good track record in the main then seem to go somewhere and struggle there's often more to it than meets the eye. If certain things behind the scenes here allegedly mean we aren't set up for promotion then surely it's fair to assume similar things apply to some other clubs ? Forest are a case in point. What track record does Mowbray have for getting teams batting away in the championship top 6 ? Other than a one off promotion at West Brom over a decade ago ? A West Brom with a very different starting point than us at the time i presume.

Not sure it's an actual mental block as Mowbray seems to do all he can to keep pressure off judging by the blaze' stuff he often says. Besides there should be very little pressure on a side in upper midtable. Imo it's actually a lack of pressure and drive to win that looks like it is missing. When you've got the boss constantly saying slow build, journey see where we end up etc then where is the actual goal or targets set ? This stuff without doubt filters to the players they know it's just win some lose some mentality. Shrug the shoulders, we go again, if it's not today it might be tomorrow, next week, season, year, 5 years. The manager himself says this and i've said for several years now it seems more about keeping everybody happy than promotion. Just do enough to get enough points to keep selling the slow build, give as many as you can appearances regularly and increase squad value. All happy in wages and bonuses and a pleasant training ground. I don't think the owners demand top 6 at all they're just happy signing the cheques knowing there's very little hassle these days, the value is increasing and most of the money is going where it should. A recipe for stability but not success.

After the first 15 mins Sharpe tweeted Rovers were playing one of 3 different formations. Even he couldn't put his finger on it at that point, it's genuinely bizarre the stuff we watch at times. No need for it whatsover in this league. If you are in the top 6 you can say it's justified but we never get within 6 points of it for more than a week. It's not working.

Careful with that one, last time that type of thing was mooted to be happening the managers agent got on the phone. Not only headed it off but bagged his man a new deal !

Highlights that we just aren't quite there yet at both ends, nil nil would have been fair enough. Need to be nicking games like that or a least drawing them though. Still feel though that the continued stuttering is partly down to tactics and lack of fluidity in the team. Coupled with the lack of ruthless bullishness from top to bottom you need to chase promotion. Far too happy to plod along just hoping them make a raft of changes and hope a bit more. Far more effective would be more balance in the system and get in the oppositions faces. Neither the team or manager has it in them though unless their backs are against the wall.

Bang average performance with the usual schoolboy defending and predictable disjointedness. Lack of cutting edge this season is proving costly almost as costly as the rest. We don't score first or more to the point Armstrong doesn't score then we likely lose. Manager still doesn't know his arse from his elbow with HIS squad. On we plod.

The fact they have not only guaranteed to see the club through the covid times but also sanctioning signings as well is quite a statement. Says to me they really are in it for the long run and have really bought into Mowbrays slow train sales pitch. Either that or they see a large couple of sales on the horizon to cover some of it, The hunch i have now is they are trying to built up the clubs assets as much as possible. Happy for the core VH group to cover running costs and maybe happy to tie up a bit of cash personal or otherwise on investment signings. This could be backed up by the no sales policy for anyone the manager wants to keep unless crazy figures come in. If they end up with c100 million of assets on the books that on paper at least looks better for the balance sheet. Half jusifies the 150m+ they fenced over here to keep the show on the road ( and fill up the various pigs troughs). Would certainly look more comfortable to their bankers / shareholders etc.

Must be an international fixture looming.

Point is if or when they did leave we might go that way and it would all be down to them. They've created a scenario that leaves us only their monthly money injections keeping us away from the cliff edge. Not sure credit is the right word it's more relief than anything.

The managers head will be literally spinning like a wheel with the options that are now popping up. The tombola will roll before this one and probably during the course of it. A nil nil draw with credible clean sheet will be the outcome and the point will be put in the bag.

They'll not fill the corners in for the same reason they didn't in the first place when the stadium was rebuilt. The PNE or WBA stand is the way forwards though, get it a bit smaller capacity wise but closer to the pitch and with other facilities incorporated.

Has that got anywhere past rumour stage though ?

Good post pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell.

Whatever the King % it's a handy bit of doh considering the eye watering hole there'll be in the accounts due to covid.