If you want to see genuine bile and abuse look no further than Rudy Gestede when he flopped at Villa. That was unbelievable, some of it on live tv at the end of a game as well. What we have at Rovers these days still is a split fanbase that is far too quick to blow things out of proportion and turn on each other. That's the real issue.

When you get the backing he's had it's no harder than many other clubs in this league though to be fair he's had to work hard to secure that. I do agree that any big fees spent or big wages allocated seem to be under a club policy of going on young forwards whose value has the outside chance of doubling in one good season. However i also 100% believe Mowbray had enough credit in the bank and trust off them to be able to buy a decent defender or two if he'd pushed it. The Bauer fiasco backs that up he'd lined him up then decided he'd rather go after Downing and Gallagher instead. For the Downing and Tosin cost for ONE season we could probably have gone a long way to securing Bauer on a contract. His call, flawed judgement yet again.

You were alluding to there being a policy of not investing in defenders under Venkys. I've given you 'specifics' showing otherwise and stating you don't have to spend millions. Are you in a position to know otherwise ? It was the fee banded about. Now enough with your part of the Mowbray PR double act machine with Biz. TM's defensive approach to recruitment has been lax since he's been here. until his last min panics this summer. Thank god he had a young keeper on the books who despite his rawness was as good as if not better than the other guy. Otherwise iv'e no doubt he'd have flung a fresh contract at Steele and we'd still be lumbered with him now, then again look where we ended up with that anyway !

Me too but some on here want to have their cake and eat it. It's ok to mention that when defending the manager but not when you question his other signings via channels that existed before or from the same agent as himself. My long held belief is various people have says in signings and are allowed to bring a few in each at times. Plenty evidence points to that if you know where to look No saying it's dodgy anymore just cack handed and not in the best interests of building a good team.

They pulled a masterstroke bringing in Conway with Rudy though. One made the other and vice versa in their early Rovers career. Could anyone honestly see anything like that now ? Maybe Chapman in league 1 was as close as it's got. The Dack / Graham axis just clicked by pure fortune imo. There's been naff all else in terms of creating service for various strikers on the books.

Nope I blame the manager otherwise you are entering the realm of him not making the signings or following someone else's orders. Something that whenever I allude to I get 'conspiracy" thrown my way by a select little group. One of whom adds his own weight to it on twitter yet plays whiter than white on here. Just consider for a min that you don't have to actually spend a lot you just have to know what you are doing. Dann, Duffy and a million pound loan fee for Tosin for starters. He's been found wanting in terms of defense and keeper recruitment before you start on anything else.

Build a team from the back clearly isn't this managers philosophy and that's probably been his undoing through his management career. Stack the front. pack the middle in the squad then penny pinch make do and mend converting at the back.

Exactly, the manager himself has planted the seed that he's not trying enough in the minds of fans with his comments in the press. Done so maybe to get a reaction but also to aid the process of absolving himself. Now add in a 100 mile journey, a lot of beer, the cost at this time of year and another poor effort it's no wonder one or two voiced their opinions. The man in the dugout should be taking the bullets for this one from the stands, amongst other things. No doubt there'll be a full on back track in the press this week once his PR people - who've already started on here FFP FFP FFP - get to work. Just remember not long ago good ole Tone was stealthily shifting the blame to fans but you really have to ask yourselves why HIS signings aren't doing it for him. Brereton, Johnson, Chapman all had the finger pointed at them in recent weeks for lack off graft or attitude. Why have they turned into lazy plonkers under his watch ? Or more why sign them in the first place ?

That's exactly how it escalated from what i could see on there and of course one persons outburst suddenly becomes ten other peoples gospel. If his head was in his hands as it quite probably was there could be many reasons maybe he wasn't feeling too good there's bugs going around etc. Maybe he'd felt a niggle flair up or maybe just maybe there's a possibility he was actually rather annoyed or upset with himself for not performing well. Too many presenting fans in the grounds comments amongst themselves as a howling mob of abuse towards one player when that wasn't the case. No way do they hear that chatter and name calling from the back of a stand containing nearly a thousand people. Yet again the modern drama of people getting offended on behalf of someone else who probably isn't aware of it and couldn't give a toss anyway. Booing your own player before or during a game you need a slap, booing him or them off after another abject effort is standard sometimes and in some cases perfectly justified although maybe over the top.

He also told us we'd sold the goalie to buy a striker then a short while later told us the Raya money hadn't been spent ! A man with a fork in a world of soup.

He'll need bedding in though and have to get used to our system.

No wonder crowds dwindle it seems you can't now show your displeasure at your inept thousands of pounds per week football team, players, manager without being held accountable for their feelings. Yet the fans subject to this crap but bound by loyalty regularly get reduced to tears but don't expect similar concerns for their welfare coming their way. Some might say it's all part and parcel of it all and just get on with it !

No brainwaves involved he's just giving people mins he doesn't have to answer to anyone if it backfires.

From what i remember it was very mixed with the general feeling coming across as one of disappointed to lose him but understandable for that money.

Forest ST holder tweeted me ' the only person who thought Ben was a 6 million pound player was Tony Mowbray for some reason' Think that says a lot, the reason he thought that are open to close scrutiny now. I do genuinely feel for the lad, not because he was allegedly scriking but because pf the miss management of it all that's now resulting in all the blame coming his way.

Some who have bionic eyes presumably.

He'll waste other peoples millions but he'll not waste a good brew and biccy !

This is what we are up against these days i'm afraid. If it's true and i'm not sure how anyone could see the tears from where they were sat but if so it says more about him than anything else. There must be things that go deeper. He's paid millions to be a footballer and to do a certain job in which as long as he looks like he's trying he'll get a bit of empathy. If people feel he isn't they'll let him know. Yet again i'll refer to the managers comments in the press basically telling him to pull his finger out. Now how does that come across to fans ? Too many people looking for too much drama in this there's no way the club would have him out there if he was close to some sort of breakdown. I absolutely despair at what passes for 'mental health' these days and what is just life's ups and downs. Roll with the punches, get up and fight back for gods sake !

You can't say that m bloody Mowbray was on the scrap heap when he was brought in he'd just failed to win ten on the bounce and gone from Coventry before he was sacked. On paper it was another dire, desperate appointment. No doubt the next would be but sometimes the dice just has to role although i'd prefer a Lambert scenario where he hands in his notice before May. My major concern in any change would be they'd have to sack his pals behind the scenes and start again and that's a bigger uphevel at a club likes this than just changing the guy who runs a floundering first team.

This ! Yes the bit of stick he might of got when subbed probably broke the camels back but Mowbrays handling of him has been terrible from the start. Now he's dug him out in the press in an attempt to cover his own backside and downplay the fee. He's as culpable as anyone in this certainly more so than any match attending paying pissed off supporters.

If those accounts hadn't come out FFP would hardly be getting an airing at the min but it's just now being inserted into every post by some as yet another TM defence. Yes it's there, it's real yes it can impact the near future BUT it is manageable right now, it can be navigated and more importantly it has nothing, zero, jack shit to do with the on field nonsense we've seen this season. Fact.

I think that's the way it is now it's all got too comfortable and familiar. He's never seemed much of a motivator even when he first came we slipped down with a whimper apart from the final game. Got a free pass obviously and fair enough but he's very much a timid plodding type it seems. If you have no chairman there maybe applying a little pressure and you know a finish similar to last season will be acceptable to the owners and some fans, despite what you've spent, it's no surprise he's a bit indifferent to it all. Simply though i just think he's limited in his ability and he reached that limit middle of last season. They all have a shelf life but the better ones can rebuild a bit smarter with what they get - the poorer ones take you backwards. Average guys get you treading water in a comfort zone regardless of funds or lack pf them.

Touched on before but it is a possibility that he's reached the point a while back he's not that bothered if he does get potted. Many have touched on his body language this season and to me he's been like a man old before his time. Not saying he's trying to get sacked just more of a shrug of the shoulders 'whatever' type attitude seemed to set in when they were struggling early doors and he was being called out on some of his signings and methods. Prospect of walking out on a two year contract will be galling but getting a two year payoff might be quite appealing.

The art is to blood them not throw them to the lions but Mowbray is a bit muddled with that as well. I think he's done ok with Travis but he did turn in some really good early displays which always helps. His handling ( and signing ) of Brereton has been shocking imo. As was his helping hand towards the door of Raya, Buckley again i think he's going about it a bit cack handed the lad isn't physically ready he should be out on loan first half of this season. He was giving him the BB slot of last ten mins whatever the score earlier in the season and recently has had him more involved but he's struggling. A softly softly bit by bit approach is needed with this kid at this stage i reckon, if you aren't going to loan him.