Faces on the staff these days when you go in somewhere and look at the drinks menu Frap this, Flat that etc etc etc at 2/3 nearly 4 quid a pop then ask for a pot of tea - £1.95.......

Hope your fit and about again soon, good cycling weather this ?

A rare breed now though it took Bowyers years to realise after he spent several seasons signing nice lads. Academy system drives it out of them imo, robots in place of characters, flair and mavericks. That's why I like Dack even though he's frustrating and you think what a player he could be if he ignored distractions and just lived the athletes life but then again would he be the same ? Anyway that's by the by I agree some real leaders and physical presence needed down the spine of this team although overall you can rarely fault the workrate of most of them.

I think my mam and dad used to buy Ringtones tea off a van that used to call round a few years back and yes it was good from what I remember although I wasn't the one brewing it ? Pains me to say it but yep i'd chose Yorkshire tea bags over most others if pushed, carrot cake for me though !

All tea bags are dust leaf tea is where it's at ?

I'll be eternally sore at them moving this and the Leeds fixture because it rules me out and if I don't drive down one or two others might not make the effort under their own steam, that's not unique it's just the way it is. I fully understand the money aspect of TV games and moving them that's the world we live in and whilst I don't agree with Police sometimes moving them just to accommodate away numbers again you sometimes have to live with it. This though is a load of old tripe and whatever excuse they offer to those who enquire will be no more than lip service as when it comes to boozing people go out early and get tanked anyway which probably leads to worse states they'll be in starting so early topping up the night before or drinking on empty stomachs and empty heads first thing. So no that's no excuse at all plus they've then all afternoon to hang around the area or town so again, no. So it's suits the retired/ semi retired and flexible youngsters but what about those in the middle ? They really have some nerve to moan about home numbers then keep pulling these strokes, oh the irony.

If Mulgrews actual defensive abilities were as good as his cultured left foot well he'd be in top flight but there's a reason he's here from a club like Celtic in a not very strong at all league. He struggled last time in this division so its been no surprise to me and it's clear he might be a calm head and good in the dressing room but he's no leader on the pitch, hands on hips head down far too easy. Unfortunately take him out of the team and we lose a regular supply of goals but our defence isn't nowhere near strong enough to keep picking someone because they might score a free kick. He would however look a whole lot better with a strong partner/keeper and left back around him !

That defence is a job loser, some advice he'd better heed before the start of next season as if we are struggling by October.......... Ditch the 'we'll manage' attitude and actually manage by upgrading some of the favs especially when there is a bit of money available. No amount of luxury signings who might come good in a few years or on loan from a huge club or telling fans what you think they want to hear will cover over the cracks that have been glaringly evident since we were last in the division for much longer. Wise up fella you've been in this game long enough.

Or Tony if you wheel out Conway on the wing, Bennett at right back and several other square peg round hole changes we are asking to get beat anyway !

They are all in agreement with Tony this morning yet have blatantly disagreed and taken opposite views to the one's of us saying the same things TM did last night for the past few months ? Maybe some pennies will finally drop and they'll realise majorities are very rarely wrong and there'll be MB harmony from here on in.....

This is where it will go imo they'll hang around banking on big money for him to solve a few issues i'.e keep the bank happy, keep the owners happy and their 'pals' and maybe rustle up a nice bit to play with on the team. A method we had under the later days of the trust and how a few clubs work so nothing wrong with it per se but that method doesn't apply well to this particular ownership model. I'm sure TM could do some good with it as would Bowyer probably have but as we saw with Lambert he was promised the earth then basically just got Rhodes wages to re-invest in a couple of loans. Then it was the major starting pistol for all the decent ones leaving. Dangerous territory when it comes to Venkys and their backers and partners he'd be better using that as an example and demanding he stay unless there's a bank busting bid (can't see it BD has flaws & people know it) and insisting we spend and add quality to chase the top 6. But then he's putting his head in the noose so I think he'll be toeing the line.

I've very little faith that 15 million would get reinvested in four or five good players if anything he'd get a couple of million to spread around the squad. It's great to hear what he says - which is basically a repeat of most of the stuff said on here - but once money starts coming in we know what happens, the Blackburn black hole swallows it up and his tune will likely change as the next window gets halfway through.

If tony posed as a fan and came on here posting that he'd get jumped on by a few ? He has exactly the same concerns and wants the same things as the average fan it seems, somebody put him in charge quick !

Yep think it was around that time he let one through his hands v Wolves I think or possibly Sunderland but the nerves and tension around the place then were unreal. It must be a doddle at Rovers these days compared to then and what was asked and expected of them.

We've already had that comparison lol I'd suggest it was a different pressure altogether then as we chased promotion in what might have been a do or die season. Nothing like now where the only pressure is to plod, collectively they've created this situation themselves so they need to buck up before it becomes a real crisis.

Don't worry Tony said we'll manage after he let Downing go, I don't need to replace him.

And times it's fallen apart when we've kept doing it after DG has gone off although he's moved away from that a bit recently....?

Brum 3 Rovers 1 Can see a bright start then the usual capitulation and the bad run continues I think it might take a while to shake this one off, for once an international break in the last few weeks would've come in handy. Right now a draw would be a belting result, credit to the away crowd yet again as away at Brum has seen some really poor turnouts down the years so I hope the good one gets something to cheer tomorrow, the team owe them one !

Davies allegedly put in 5 million needed at the last min once before after Anderson had run the clock down then he allegedly charged a consultant fee or something and pocketed 500k of it for himself. I think it was the day before Davies passed away, utter tosser that Anderson he playing Russian roulette with it again now hoping someone else will bale it out it seems. About time they were all brought to book !

If we play the counter attacking game we are capable of playing some good stuff on the break and scoring goals but we tend to start with two defensive mids and sit too deep passing it across the back 4 and forcing ourselves to whack it long more often than good counters because of the cronic lack of wingers and pace. It has worked well a few times but as stated we get a goal then retreat and get punished. When we play a bit more expansive and a bit further up with maybe only one DM then we look decent taking it too the opposition but often end up in a we score two you score three open type game. Defence just isn't good enough to cope with that against a lot of teams who have a decent goal scorer or two. Trick is finding the right balance not wholesale changes in tactics and personnel every week to try and negate often modest opposition. To do any of those you need a solid base of a defence and that's something he really needs to man up and address in summer otherwise it'll be rinse and repeat.

The Lambert PNE game was sold out probably about 2 weeks before and the last I think was sold out well in advance so it's fair to think we'd have took quite a few more if they were available. Just for the benefit of any over excited Knobbers looking in.........

And letting a half decent back up defender go out on loan without and replacement being brought in who would have come in very handy in the last half of the season. I understand Downing wanting to play and TM wanting to be fair but as we've seen its bitten him on the arse straight away just as predicted if he said no son we need you the lad would probably have been getting some action now after the false dawn of Rodwell/Mulgrew pairing.

We can't sign everyone all at once and we probably won't sign any but just as for about the last 4 windows i'd prioritize a good striker and good centre half to start with, it's not rocket science. Sort the key areas out first, a new back line would be nice but not possible so lets get someone who can command it at least.

Mowbray seems like he'll be a stats man so those figures are a bit damning and all we can assume is he's ignoring them or in denial. It doesn't reflect well and just a slight improvement would have seen us several points better off. Maybe all he needs to do is take them to a meeting with the owners and plonk them on the table saying this is why we need investment to improve. Then again they might turn around and say well Tony didn't you just let a defender go ? Why not play him and stick with him to see if it improved ? Oh and you did spend 7 million on a young substitute forward............

A club that wants to scrape in every penny it can alienates probably hundreds of potential matchday punters and a good few of its paid upfront ST holders every time these type of fixtures come around. All so the suits can get home early on a Saturday for a change because as the Police have confirmed there is no other reason for it.