Next season will be the first he's had a proper platform to work from so we'll see what he's really all about and also if there is genuine ambition from the ownership.

Judging by the amount who say they legged it at Burnden I beg to differ ?

Probably because the majority of Bowton fans are actually alright and very similar to Rovers in a way Preston and Burnley just aren't.

Had a bit of interaction with this prize plum and his young lass of an agent back in the more hysterical Rovers / Venky era years ago and I can confirm the pair of them are egotistical self promoting gonads who didn't appear to have a clue about anything. They genuinely seemed to think he was the next Arsene Wenger despite the fact he'd never done anything but coach a few kids. The further away complete novices like him are kept away from Rovers the better go and learn somewhere else. And that has nothing to do with race and everything to do with him seeming like an apprentice Shebby Singh who could bring absolutely nothing to the table.

It is strange we don't get any trotter interlopers anymore and to spoil the fun even further Wandersways forum which nearly always had several Rovers relating/hating threads running at any one time has now been made members only to view. Can't even read their bile or their despondency anymore. Could always ring their club shop and take the piss I suppose......... Oh Wanky. .....

That's true and for all the good work he did getting rid of expensive deadwood he then began to load his own heap of turd on the club. The 10k thing was a joke really, yes it meant no signings like Graham and Mulgrew but he just signed a load of league one bog standard duff and gave them good championship standard wages. Look where most of them ended up after their luxury stint here.... He was also very reticent with youth himself given he was a specialist youth coach when all's said and done and I remember a similar situation on here where we were calling for youth to be bloodied in the final games when there was nothing to play for but he himself stuck with his favs. The view then was orders from above/agents wanting continued exposure and appearances for their clients to watching scouts. Fact that big sales started in the run up to the next season reinforced this. Oh dear .....?

All good sides are built from the back on solid foundations and having this fascination with footballing centre defenders is only useful if you are a good footballing side. Sitting back and passing it along the back four and inbetween the sitting midfielder doesn't really constitute that but even so I suppose he's more at ease with defenders who are comfortable on the ball to avoid regular cock ups with that system. One of the whole ideas of Raya when they plonked him in the side to learn on the job - after he'd wasted a season or two on the bench instead of on loan doing it - was so he got the ball out quicker and got it moving from the back. What happened to that I wonder ?

Naff all but they'll not realise it because they'll probably see that signing of cheques every month as an act of great generosity. There's an acceptance of where and what we are now which can be viewed both good and bad I suppose. One thing I will give them credit for though is holding their nerve with the Academy i'm sure there's been the odd bits of 'advice' about shutting or cutting that since they trooped up. Could well turn out to be the only saving grace of their era if they continue to treat it with importance.

Fair points although Arma was on good dough at Newcastle - £15k pwk at least or maybe more but I think the longer deal Rovers gave him made up for a bit of shortfall on that. Evans, Mulgrew, DG will be on the best part of £20k pwk now I reckon although maybe the contract extensions covered the rebalancing of their wages after the league 1 cut although maybe not that could just have been a cherry on top.

Also with Mulgrew I think it might give more licence for Mowbray to start his preferred two deep lying sitting defensive mids when Charlie boy is in to allegedly protect this fragile defender and cover the chronic lack of pace. Not what we want although I don't know the stats on that so might be wrong but i'm sure he's spoke of it in the past.

Anthony Stokes upfront ? When did this happen ? Anthony Stokes up in a bar in Edinburgh more like ! Just for a bit of balance and to highlight why some get annoyed at Mowbray despite some of the good stuff you've mentioned we also had a team that got relegated with Nyambe, Lenihen, Mulgrew and Williams often in defence.....we often still do. That needs sorting as does the keeper situation.

For me he falls into the Evans/Smallwood and co category as in if he's here he'll be a starter when fit mostly. Factor in his Scotland career as well which might come before club on occasion i'd be letting him go. I say that with heavy heart because he has been a good player for us and he does have quality but defensively there is better out there but he's too expensive, experienced and highly regarded for TM to use him as back up.

Just a rehash of the mid to late Bowyer tenure although surprisingly a few are now on the opposite side of the fence bemoaning the things they defended Gary for ? Quite how anyone can say the reaction to the run of defeats and the highlighting of continual weaknesses by the manager from almost his entire tenure is a knee jerk reaction is bewildering really. Each to their own but I suppose if you only pop on to stir the pot it makes sense, I think this summer might be one of the most divisive yet on here and that's saying something. Can't wait.......

I remember the Chelsea one watching from the safety of the riverside upper tier, 20/30 yr old skins in docs and donkey jackets chasing and thumping teens at the front. Another time also a few years later when they emptied from the DE with 10 mins to go and tried storming through the big red gates at the BBE, think it was last game of the season though might be wrong. Nice guys ! Mates dad walked us right through the skirmishes afterwards back to the car, he was a panel beater with hands like anvils so we felt quite safe ? That's why Boltons fat middle aged and scrotes so called hardmen of these days make me laugh compared to what you saw back in the day.

Probably the most balanced post I've seen about that game and tallies with another account I've always been told about it by someone who was there and a bit of a boot boy himself apparently. A few older Bolton fans I know from Chorley/Adlington area say a trip to Ewood was very ropey for them in the 70's to be fair.

Unpredictable league, unpredictable team selections = unpredictable runs of results and form. All this from a manager who's actual football style and faith in certain players is usually entirely frustratingly predictable ! Real roller coaster season but who wants to draw every week anyway ? Plenty good entertainment in spells to break up the dour stuff which just adds to the frustration I suppose. Great win ?

Agree and that's why I feel it would be a mistake giving him a long contract as he flatters to deceive. Obvious quality on the ball but there's little else he just looks like he goes through the motions and if he was a regular I think that would bite us on the arse and people would then be missing Smallwoods bite, that's how daft football is. Back up fair enough but is he worth what he'd want just to play a bit part ?

Keane, Steele, Raya, now this lad all appear very similar and have the same weaknesses it's like they've all been made in the same factory or something.

When you sign league 1 Shrewsbury's reserve to back up your own rookie keeper and they are coached by a kid who's never kept goal professionally don't be surprised when you aren't exactly strong in the goalkeeping dept

I've heard about that Blackburn End / ground takeover although some of seems very inflated so when I saw a tv clip of their goal in that game straight into the BBE I was intrigued to note it didn't appear to go up in celebration.... Maybe they'd tired themselves out chasing everyone else away ?

I said on here a while back that the reserve keeper would probably get enough appearances at the end of the season to trigger an extension. He was a Mowbray & co signing after all so it'll be interesting to see how that pans out but if so there'll be no new keepers in summer of first team pedigree. Just pray the same isn't said of Gladwin, Tonys a players man !

Give it another season though and things could look decidedly different.

If he'd spent 7 million on a first team player and he'd flopped or 10 million on Assombalonga and 30k pwk and we hadn't got near the play offs he'd be staring down the barrel right now. One thing the BB deal does is buy him time, next season, next year etc etc - double your money in time etc - only on an average wage etc. He's a wiley old dawg and now he's changing tack to the old backups line again. The fact that their might be investment but he won't invest it in the right areas and put pressure on himself and the team could be a big sticking point in our progress as I think he's confident enough in this group and his methods to sustain midtable again with very little help. That worries me but of course it could all be above his head but first and foremost at Ewood it' seems very much back to court favour with and please the owners and the money men. Fine if you're after them opening the bank vault for players but not so much if it's just self preservation. It needs them to set down a clear and realistic remit and then for him to act accordingly in the transfer market. Remember we'll be entering season 3 of this mythical 3 year plan laid down by these so called football auditors. Is it a slow build to promotion or grow a team to sell again ... ?

Leeds would've never got battered ? Bolton are windbags, hardmen in big groups bouncing around who come unstuck when confronted seen it many a time outside their multi named soulless concrete bowl. On the football side plenty blood and thunder games down the years always keen battles but apart from the whooping we gave them there under Souness most of the games that stick out v notlob seem to be defeats ! Any victory over these lot is most welcome however it comes but can see us cocking this one right up for some reason. A double over them in their relegation season would be grand though. Rovers 1 Bolton 2

They've scrapped the early bird in favour of a Waggot tax on late renewers instead