I had a vague memory of this incident but never realised the horror the people involved must have gone through. This should resonate with older fans who have stood on packed terraces and exited grounds through inadequate exits. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/B0cJMZS3B1/Fiveboys

And on the back row next to the end is the legendary Peter White, a local journalist who had blue blood running through his veins.

It's all so frustrating. Mowbray has got most of the pieces of the jigsaw to get us into a top six position in my opinion but the main factor behind the reason we are not is him. In his nigh on four years here he hasn't come up with a way to beat teams who are prepared to sit in and defend. His current obsession seems to be a passing game but it seems teams have sussed that one and as a one trick pony there isn't a plan B. His stubbornness with playing Gallagher out wide is frankly embarrassing. It's clear to the vast majority that it isn't and won't ever work but it's like he's trying to prove a point invariably though at the expense of the team. Results are everything in this game, they determine the on and off field success and Mowbray is falling well short in his feast or famine tenure In my view he has run out of ideas, not just him but his coaching staff. He still tries to talk the talk though and some of his interviews do him no favours. We have gone from stability to stagnation under Mowbray in four years.

We were woefully inadequate all over the pitch as we really struggled to play with any tempo or control. Our passing game of earlier this season has regressed massively and we currently look like we couldn't pass water. Wednesday, as with most recent opponents had the measure of us and defended deep and in numbers content to pass it around in non threatening areas. It's almost ridiculous to say that we aren't even in January and it seems our season is over but that's how I feel. I'm worried that we are now pinning our hopes on Dack as other players are struggling for form. I don't think we'll see the best of him for some time by which time we will be anchored in mid table obscurity.

I personally would have liked to have seen a bit more defensive cover on the bench which has only one recognised defender on it. Good to see Dack in the squad and I guess the intention is to give him some time on the pitch if circumstances allow.

That is iconic and to me sums Rovers up. Seated in a working class surroundings and bloody well proud of it.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11681/12170460/joachim-andersen-fulham-defender-available-for-boxing-day-southampton-visit-after-ban-overturned The Fulham captain, Anderson has had his appeal upheld and will not be banned. I defy anybody to tell me that this isn't a clearer sending off than Lenihans at Brentford when our appeal failed. I said at the time it's crucial that the evidence supplied is really important and I understand Fulham put up a compelling case. I don't know what our evidence entailed but appealing is really a random process. Incidentally Anderson had been booked earlier as Lenihan had but a retrospective yellow card cannot be applied.

Merry Christmas to every Rovers supporter. Have a peaceful and enjoyable time. Is a nine point haul too much to ask Santa for?

I saw it Den and it was probably the most in depth crime series I have seen. It was an awful time as fear was rampant in the north. The catalogue of errors from senior policeman clearly lead to more fear and deaths. The temerity of the one who, because of his incompetence retired early, bought a villa in Spain and then sold his story to a tacky tabloid.

Is that a Tony Mowbray selfie? 😁😁😁😁

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12170236/2020-21-sky-bet-efl-season-january-fixture-schedule-on-sky-sports Rovers not included in the next tranche of live games announced by Sky. I guess we just aren't box office enough.

Mowbray must be Oliver Twist* when selecting his tactics * Cockney rhyming slang.

And we all literally had hard times with Dickens in goal........

My first memory of him was playing for Bolton. I only saw him in a Rovers shirt when he came back in the late 70's.

And the paltry number of attempts came from 69% possession.

Would you rather see Allardyce's brand of football in the middle Premier League or Mowbray's style in the middle of the Championship?

In truth I found much of our 69% possession boring today. The number of passes in the final third that were sideways and backwards was frankly pointless. Stoke had the measure of this and sat with banks of five and four and shuffled across as we moved sideways. We had a free kick in our defensive third late on and I was saying get the centre halves up and let Kaminski launch it. One of the defenders took it short and several passes later it was back in our final third. I want winning football and if playing percentages get that then I'll take it over the pointless mundane passing we saw lots of today.

Ah I get it now - it's John Byrom. It's only a few years ago I had a brew with him at the Breezeblock but he looked different that day 😁😁😁

Third time lucky Jack. From your clue is it John Bray?

I honestly don't recognise the fellow making the sale but I know Duggie. From reading subsequent posts I think it is Pickering but I didn't know up until that. I assumed Whelan because having read his book I think he says he started in business with a market stall.

Is that Dave Whelan on his first business venture?

Ayala took a knock towards the end of Wednesday's game. And we have another two and a half years of this in/out player. I don't get playing Johnson at centre half when Carter is on the bench. Whilst Carter is inexperienced at least we would have a square peg at centre half. Even putting Nyambe there would be better in my view although that would leave us short right back.

Centre half is becoming a real conundrum for Mowbray and in reality we an injury away from a disaster. Today we are likely to have Carter as back up but apart from a brief appearance as substitute he has hardly played this season. Surely when it is practical players like him should play under 23 football if only for match fitness should he be needed to play for the first team.

After several years of poor performances at Stoke we have won our last two games there but that counts for nothing today. On paper the two teams look evenly matched so it could come down to whoever the ball runs kindest for or whichever manager is the boldest. I would take a point now.

The two most recent droppings of Nyambe have been because his confidence was low (Millwall last season) and Wycombe this season when Mowbray left him out 'because his numbers were too high'. His logic was that Nyambe could get injured because he was working too hard. Contrast that to allowing Williams to play after leaving the decision to the player.