I have seen him play a few times and if you asked me for a decision right now based on that it would be a resounding no. However he is young, under contract and does have an asset in his pace so based on that and faith in the Academy coaches he has to be persevered with.

Clearly distance would be one of the overriding factors in such a decision. My comment was more of a general one that it doesn't seem to be a consideration in England as opposed to Scotland.

Middlesbrough just got the six goals today so thats fifteen in their last three games.

The referee should be available to inspect the pitch provided he is in the area otherwise a local referee would do it. As I said earlier inspecting a pitch several hours before kick off is difficult and several factors have to be considered including the forecast and more importantly the travelling supporters. Interestingly all the Scottish Premier league kick offs were delayed and all are going ahead now. Delaying a kick off is not something I can recall in the Premier League or even EFL.

His conduct on two occasions was a disgrace (particularly holding his face when he was pushed around the neck area) but then to wink at a team mate when the Sheffield player was sent off says a lot about him. I would genuinely be embarrassed if he played for us.

The match fitness will not be up to speed with not playing for two and a half weeks. Training is not a substitute for playing. It doesn't matter if they are professionals or not it's common sense that the level of match fitness suffers from not playing. Middlesbrough will have the benefit of playing today.

By the time we kick off at Middlesbrough on Wednesday it will have been two and a half weeks since we last played and the players match fitness will suffer. That's not ideal preparation for what is sure to be a really tough game.

I'm not sure if you can. If they can I'm sure the insurers would be asking what precautions they took 😉

I'm not entirely sure what the ruling is now but it definitely used to be that the police needed four hours notice of an postponed otherwise they would have to be paid. Also food will have been ordered for hospitality and the concourses, stewards and other staff will have to be paid and ticket money refunded to lots of Rovers and Portsmouth fans who won't be able to make a night game. It's turned into an expensive day for Rovers and although there are no guarantees surely covering the pitch would have given the game going ahead a better chance.

It really shows Rovers to be an amateur outfit. I have been told that the pitch wasn't covered which in itself is embarrassing.

Weather forecasting is really accurate now. If there is an early inspection and the referee deems the pitch fit at that time he should also contact the local Met Office for an update. This can then be factored into his decision. Also speak to the head groundsman and his staff. They know the pitch better than anyone.

I'm pretty sure this is today's referee inspecting Ewood. Significantly he has a ball which indicates surface water and how the ball is moving on it.

The match referee is inspecting the pitch at 11 am. By that time most Portsmouth fans will be north of Birmingham.

There just needs to be announcement even if it's just to reassure fans (particularly those travelling long distances) that there are no perceived issues.

Given the referee is southern based he should have travelled up yesterday and be staying locally. He should be available at any time during the morning to carry out an inspection or several inspections. I would even suggest that he stays at Ewood all morning and carries out regular inspections so the club can make announcements. Communication is key here and in the recent past it's an area that has been sadly neglected.

That should come as a real surprise but it doesn't. There will be non league clubs with covers on their pitches in an effort to get the game played.

Ridiculously there is no (or certainly wasn't) protocol for pitch inspections, it was left up to each club to decide what to do. As soon as the weather forecast was seen as a potential problem the dialogue should have started.

If the game is likely to be in jeopardy then surely an early inspection has to be done to prevent the 2000 Pompey fans a wasted journey. The match referee should be staying locally so getting him in shouldn't be a problem. And any updates about planned and further inspections should be put out on the various social media channels available immediately. Hopefully Rovers have taken the necessary precautions by covering the pitch so the overnight snow shouldn't be a problem. Then the covers should be kept on until 2 pm with the heavy rain predicted to abate by around 3 pm.

To be fair I saw us narrowly beat Colchester in the game at Leyland and they were unlucky not to get something from the game.

From that line up it looks like Litherland and Hilton will be on the bench tomorrow with Barrett potentially the third keeper.

Not being forced to work on Sunday's is an easier ride. Nobody has questioned the standards of Eustace - in your eagerness to defend him you are reading something into it that isn't there.

By high standards I think Trinidad Rover means that Tomasson was tougher on the players by working them on the training ground to try and get them used to how he wanted them to play. I have heard that it wasn't uncommon for the players to go two weeks without a day off such was Tomasson's desire. One of the first things Eustace did was tell the players that there would be no more Sunday training. In any workplace that would go down well. Different managers with different ideas and philosophies, that's all. I didn't read his comment as a criticism of Eustace but for some reason you have sprung to his defence.

He saw right through the shysters like Waggott and the curtain twitcher. I honestly think Eustace will go the same way after what is shaping up to be a (another) hugely disappointing transfer window.

It's a bit of a cryptic post - can you elaborate?

https://news.sky.com/story/ed-sheeran-helped-ipswich-sign-player-before-appearing-on-stage-with-taylor-swift-13258153 A nice story.