Criticism of Samuel on here is a bit over the top at times. He contributed his share of goals last season and showed glimpses of real talent during some games like the example above. He still has a lot to prove, but the fact he is working hard to do so is a real positive and I hope he does well next season.

Is there a Rovers player you like?

Well that was some goal...

This France team is so good. Quality all throughout the first 11. Mbappe looks unstoppable. Argentina’s squad is ridiculously poor in comparison. The weakest Argentina team that I can remember. Is Messi even on the pitch?

Interesting to see who takes the spots in the semifinals. One of the spots will be taken by one of France, Argentina, Portugal or Uruguay. All strong teams. Pre-tournament my money would be on France, but they have been so poor in their group games. Argentina and Portugal both have a chance due to Messi and Ronaldo, but I would love Uruguay to win it as they deserve it the most after their performances in the group stage. I expect the 2nd semi final spot to go to either Spain or Croatia, which is a really tough one to call. Croatia have been so impressive and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them defeat Spain in the quarterfinal. I can’t see Denmark or Russia progressing any further.

I think I know who our new scouting team is... https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/fm-2018-best-lower-league-players-to-sign

It’s probably one of the worst Argentina squads in some time. Croatia has a good team with one of the best midfields in the competition. They could go far this World Cup. Realistically they only have France and Spain as contenders for a spot in the final, and France have looked really poor so far. Australia played well against Denmark. The penalty goal was very fortunate for us, but we were by far the better team in the second half and I was disappointed we couldn’t get a winner. Arzani looks like a very promising player and Leckie was excellent.

Hard to tell from friendlies. I assume there was at least some experimentation being made with lineups, formations and tactics in those games. You would really expect them to beat Saudi and Egypt though. Not exactly great teams. Uruguay will be the real test for them.

Didn’t stay up to watch the England game, but a 2-1 win even against a team like Tunisia is surely a good sign for you guys. All of the big teams have struggled and/or dropped points so far. Belgium were dominant against Panama. Some of their attacking play was very incisive and the score could have been bigger than 3-0 if they found their shooting boots before half time. It will be interesting to see how they do against a better team. They obviously look vulnerable on the counter and could get caught out by faster players, but Courtois was absolutely world class with some of his saves and they’ll be able to rely on him to bail them out at times when things go wrong. Also, thought the ref in the Belgium game was excellent. He gave out a large number of yellows, but he got all his decisions spot on.

Looks like a decent signing. I imagine that if next season Mowbray decides to play a back 3 then it will consist of Williams, Mulgrew and Lenihan. Downing/Bauer would provide very good backup/competition in that area of the pitch.

I feel this Belgium game is going to be a high scoring one. That line up looks like it’s all out attack and I don’t think Panama has the players to handle them.

It has been very entertaining so far. Already several fantastic goals scored that could easily be contenders for goal of the tournament. I was a bit disappointed with Uruguay, they struggled to break down a very resolute Egyptian defence and their midfield was largely ineffective. If Salah was on the pitch, you feel the result would have been very different. I was surprised that Morocco lost as well. There was a lot of talk about them being the surprise package of the tournament due to their playmaker Ziyech being in the team, but they lost against the weakest team in the group. Can’t imagine them getting much off Portugal or Spain now.

I fancy a France v Brazil final to be the most likely scenario. They have a very strong team as well. Is Martinez really that bad? He won the FA Cup with a pretty mediocre Wigan side didn’t he?

Dinamo Moscow has a bit of a dark history post-revolution. It was affiliated to the Cheka/KGB during Stalin’s time and was under the thumb of his right hand man, Lavrenti Beria. Club certainly has an interesting history!

Bizarre news coming out of Spain suggest that Lopetegui is being sacked following his announcement as the new Real Madrid coach. That’s going to be Spain’s chances over if that’s the case. Don’t really get it with this guy though. Has he done anything in his career to justify getting such top jobs as Spain and Real Madrid?

Hard to look past Brazil to win the World Cup. Everything seems to be aligned for them to win it and they have tremendous depth throughout. I feel like at least one of France, Spain and Germany will falter this tournament, so wouldn’t be surprised to see either England, Uruguay or Colombia make the semis in their place. Not expecting a lot from Argentina or Portugal. Belgium easily have one of the best teams on paper and could go all the way but they will meet Brazil in the quarters I think. I’d put my money on the team winning that match going on to win the whole thing. For the rest, there are some that could definitely make the quarterfinals at the expense of the bigger teams but I doubt they could go any further.

Happy about both Graham and Conway signing new contracts with the club. Two players who clearly love the club and give it their all for the shirt. Conway came up big for the club when needed. There were several times last season when he came on the pitch and sparked life into the side. Why would he not be worth another year? He will either be a great contributor to our season once more or push others in the squad to be at their best.

I was looking through the announced squads and see there’s quite a few ex Rovers going to the World Cup. Steven N’Zonzi, Martin Olsson, Phil Jones, Mame Biram Diouf and Jamie Maclaren. Any others I’ve missed? The Zonz, Jones and Olsson have been some of my favourite players that we’ve had in the past 10 years or so. Really hope they get some game time and have a good World Cup.

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I don’t know if that’s right... he scored 8 goals and 3 assists in 19 games (all competitions) last season, which is pretty decent. I suspect quite a few of those were sub appearances as well. He’s probably not a first choice player, but strikes me as a match winner that would be useful to have in the squad.

Seeing all these League One players linked... honestly I can’t remember any of them having much impact in games against us. I’m sure they played well in games I haven’t seen, but none of the names excite me much. The only player that sticks out in my mind from all of our games is Nazon. The striker at Oldham (on loan from Wolves). He scored 2 sensational goals which he created out of nothing. Looking at his stats he has something like a 1 in 2 goalscoring record for both club and country. Surely worth a look, as I doubt Wolves will use him next season.

Tim Cahill is part of the Australia squad at 38. I’m sure he will at least get a sub appearance. Actually fancying Australia to have a decent tournament after that 4-0 friendly win against Czech Republic. Bert van Marwijk was a great appointment. Actually I was looking through the list of managers that will be at the World Cup and could recognise very few names.

Against us he looked a real player, but not sure how much else he's done all season?

I think we shouldn't underestimate the influence our experienced players like Mulgrew, Graham and Conway have on the squad and its mentality. I'd keep all of them. Surely worth another season at least.