Eustace's wage plus Derby's compo payment enables paying a better wage. Add in a thin scrape of the transfer fees received (and not spent!!!) and we should be able to pay anybody enough to be attractive. Managed decline, it's the only answer. Venky's must really hate us.

This is bang on for me, makes perfect sense and gives us the best of all worlds. Doesn't rock the boat short term, gives momentum to what comes next and we have a bright young'ish manager with name recognition should we get promoted and go to the market to buy bigger players. Interesting to read everyone's take on how managerial hires should progress though. I've clearly no experience of hiring football managers but do have plenty in other spheres. I see it this way: Competent boards monitor world football. They know who the good managers are, how they play, their philosophy, their achievements, their approach to youth development, their need to spend (or not), and most importantly who their agents are. Competent boards establish networks and have conversations with managers throughout the progress of their careers, are they happy, how's life in country X, how's the wife and family, next time you're in town drop in to see a match, I'll show you round our set up. In short competent boards know the answers before they hear the question. Pick up the phone, call the agent, we want to talk, is he interested, how much, when etc.. We shouldn't be waiting for 150 random applications from people who are out of work, they're out of work for a reason. We should be out their picking the apples not waiting until they've fallen to the ground. I guess the notion of a 'competent board' gives us the answer. Still we are where we are so Mr Mani I 100% agree with your recommendation.

I got ridiculed a couple of months back when I predicted a Rovers v Bumley play off final, but - The turds are defo going to finish outside of the auto places but stay in the top 6 and if we make it through then that Wembly match is inevitable, therefore - Whoever the new manager is he will need to be a big confident motivator. Lowey and staff are good football people but a blood and thunder match needs something extra. Allardyce/Warnock levels of fire and brimstone will be required, we don't want to wilt and fall at THAT last hurdle. Winning that game will be the sweetest moment imaginable but loosing it would be the nightmare to end all nightmares. Pick a manager with that game in mind. Choose wisely Maggot!

Man, come on, he ran hundred meter laps time after time after time. Incredible performance. Kept possession, scored, pressed like his life depended on it. I mean come on, what more do we ask for. Wish the bugger would sign a contract though!

Dolan, wow, wow, wow! What a performance. Happy that the MoM when to left back but Dokan, just wow. Round of applause. 3 points. Kenny on the bench. Good day. Very happy. Off for a Wok Star.

Parsonblue you make me feel ashamed of my earlier "I'm done" post. I couldn't help myself and watched the whole match despite what I said. You're a proper Rovers supporter and I let the side down a bit. Whilst I'm sick to my stomach of the antics of this board and ownership I'm still Rovers through and through so maybe I'm not done (quite yet at least). Hope to see you on the ground one day and I'll buy you a pint.

Well that's me done. I've supported the club for well over 60 years. I would never hear a bad word spoken about them. I've known many many of the players socially and the pre-Venky directors. I've had a family member play for the club. My family knew Jack. I played a very small part in trying to find a buyer for the club after the Kean horror show. Family season tickets as far back as I remember. I've done my bit and now I'm done. The Venky's and their people are unfathomable, nothing has ever made sense about them. Rovers are on a managed decline as evidenced by what happens every time we get anywhere near the top six. It breaks my heart but that's it for me. Good luck lads, I know a few on here, the club doesn't deserve you. Fight the good fight but it's not for me any longer. A super sad day.

I should have said 'Rovers' instincts! But no I have no other insights than this one. If I'm right though can you imagine the atmosphere at that match?!

Anothet great win, this time against Hull away. Indulge me and let me make one prediction here, beat Burnley at Ewood in January and we are nailed on guaranteed to face them at Wembley in the play-off final. You may be skeptical but my instincts are never wrong, trust me. Now that will be the Heaven or Hell day won't it.

Beck = Warnock Yuki = Keegan Cantwell = Bentley This season only ends one way - going up!

I think team selection is academic for this match. All our guys will give 100%, problem is that that's not good enough. Hands up all those who have screamed SHOOOT!! this season only to see the moment pass and fizzel out to nothingness. That for me is the only problem of late, it's not player selection, it's not effort, it's a consequence of having no striker and the others being to shit scared of taking a shot. Shoot on sight in these last two matches and we'll score a few, wimp around again on the edge of the box and we'll crash and burn and I'll have a stroke screaming at the lily livered no bollocks player responsibile. Makes sense to put Leonard in, why not he's a "striker" so should at least be prepared to smack one once in a while. JDT, please, for the love of God, just tell them to shoot on sight, no thinking, no hesitation, just welly the damn thing. No prize if you don't buy a ticket, age old footy advice, JFDI.

My thoughts/recipe: - we need a goal poacher, someone who can sniff out a tap in. Dacks injured, Brereton doesn't know how to play that role. Gallagher can't play that role. Dolan may be able to but his energy makes him useful elsewhere. Answer, play Leonard. - we often overhit crosses and corners. We NEVER have anyone on the back post. Answer, put a big guy on the back post. - we have ball winners in the midfield but we also need creatives. Answer, drop Morton and Play Wharton Jnr. - we've now learned how to press as a team. Answer, do more of it more often. - we've learned how to pass to feet and take fewer touches. Answer, do it QUICKER. - we've talked about being fearless. Answer, stop talking about and JFDI. In general, less wing play, stronger presence through midfield, get people in the box (just for a bloody change) and take your shot on at every opportunity. But what do I know, that's why I fill shelves for a living and not being a football manager.

If our target is a top 6 finish then this has to be a must win game. Get three points in the bag and then the remaining games get less stressful, we just have to match the teams results below us, they lose, we can lose, they draw, we can draw. The teams below us can't all win all the time so the points from tonights game would IMO guarantee us a top 6 finish. Don't shoot me for jinxing it but I believe a win agsinst Reading means we finish top 6. So for me, a "must win".

M62 closed with snow. Vehicles abandoned. Stokes at a much lower altitude but even so, squeaky bum time. Fingers crossed it melts.

2nd half Rovers were like a swarm of angry wasps! Loving watching them right now just loving it.

Common sense does need to prevail, but it won't. When do the footballing authorities ever show common sense? The time limit for doing transfer business is an arbitrary dreamed up hurdle. Does it really matter if someone's paperwork gets there 20 minutes late? Really? There's no competion to us trying to sign a player that someone else wants and there's no arm wrestling going on between the clubs. The selling club are keen to let him go, we are keen to employ him, no one else involved. As long as he doesn't play before registration is complete who cares. It's like all these programmes on TV where stuff has to be completed against some invented deadline to make things exciting. It's all b*llocks. I have a lot of experience with legal contracts in business. When lawyers are involved everything takes a lot of time. The slightest change in wording triggers loads of back and forth exchanges between the lawyers of both parties and it drags on and on. If the EFL raised an issue at the 11th hour it was always going to take ages to get it past the lawyers, they should have expected us to be late and made an allowance for a situation they themselves created. The outcome is obvious, our appeal will fail. The EFL will want to save face and not be held to ransom in future transfer windows. Their decision will be for their benefit not ours or the players whose immediate career comes to an abrupt halt, and for what? The moving finger writes and having write moves on. We will not be succesful, the EFL are c*nts, such is the world, move on.

Farke said "He has missed too many sessions for personal reasons, or problems with his Achilles and ankle. He has to make sure he is working so hard to find his fitness level. You cannot afford to be out for two or three weeks, train a day or two and then be available to shine on this level." Wagner said "... no secret ... he isn't part of the plans moving forward". Seems to have personal issues and is injury prone. Is this really someone we want to bring on board?

Anyone know whar rule was broken for the sending off?

Note to JDT: Less Arte more Labore next time out.

There's so much wrong with our passing out from the back tactics but number one for me is our inability to complete a pass. Giving the ball away is endemic this season, I've never seen it as bad in 60 years of supporting the Rovers. You can't play and show your qualities if you don't have the ball. What's the point of a superstar striker with no service other than the occasional long diagonal ball. Bad bad bad day.

Hope you got up first.

Coventry run in straight lines forward, every player. Zero sideways movement. Makes it easy to slip to attackers in the channels. Out of possession they sit off but between our midfield players, wait for the pass and then step forward to intercept. They've analysed us and it shows, they know what we're going to do before we do. Good side. We should be 3 down as already been said. We're not going to get anything from this game, we just need to protect our goal difference column.

We're making them look like Man City. So far behind them in quality it's embarrassing. Could be in for a right thumping.

I think JDTs thinking is that you change the player to fit the team, not the other way round. Dacky is and always will be a brilliant talent but does he fit the team as currently set up? Having chosen the strategy you have to get the supporting tactics aligned "get all the wood behind the arrow head". Team selection will be with the intention of giving the strategy the best possible chance of succeeding. As good as Dacky is I'm not sure how he fits this new way of playing. With TM it didn't matter, play was always a purposeless free for all so flair stood out and was valuable. JDT is a different beast. HE has a plan. Everything is aligned to achieve that plan, transfers, academy, team selection, the lot. There'd be nothing better than to see Dacky tearing up the pitch in our colours and scoring for fun but it ain't going to happen with our current strategy and that's not going to change. I think his time here is over. Hail fellow, well met, thanks for the memories but I think his time here is over.

The mantra of "team comes first" is code for Dack doesn't fit and isn't going to play. My money says he's off in January. Sunderland an obvious candidate. That's life. Love the guy but team does come first. We need to be serious about promotion and that means round pegs in round holes. Hell of a player and a loveable cheeky chappy but the team doesn't need those characteristics right now. We need action men full of running and aggressive pressing from front to back. Putting Dacky in the team is effectively reducing team effectiveness by 10% (1 outfield player from 10) and 10% will make the difference between promotion and also ran. That's the sporting life, thanks for the good times Dacky but times they are a changing for us all.