You make a very good point. With wide players as good as Saka and Martinelli it's a great tactic to employ as the both are always looking to get in behind. Several esteemed commentators have bemoaned the lack of a proper central striker at Arsenal. How many goals would one get with the chances they create?

Players get injured, I think everyone understands that but the Fleck situation is worrying. What is difficult for me to accept is that a player with a metal plate in his leg isn't considered to be too high a risk and how he passed a fitness test.

I have been told that up to this afternoon we had only sold around 1000 walk on tickets and Millwall had sold around 200. With a lot of regular season ticket holders struggling with night games tomorrow could be the lowest Ewood crowd for many a year. It will be spun as bigger than it actually is though as all season ticket holders will be included.

In this article Eustace is quoted as saying Tronstad and Hedges might be available for tomorrow. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/march/04/fleck-to-miss-the-rest-of-the-season/

The Newcastle game aside I haven't seen an improvement. There have been periods in matches were we have been decent under Eustace but overall the performances have been no better than Tomassons in my view.

Jesus wept. Callum Brittle and fighting mentioned in the same article. Talk is cheap and this is something I've heard from various Rovers players over the years, usually just before a relegation. If there was a bit more fight in some of them we wouldn't be in this position right now.

What about this tradition from Darmstadt when one of their Ultras is allowed to address the team on the pitch after the match. Can you imagine some of our darlings who are afraid of a bit of booing from a few fans.

Rovers would do well to employ the services of a hypnotist. He could hypnotise the players and staff into thinking we are playing Newcastle and it's live on the BBC. The players were well motivated for that one, showed energy and desire. I'm still struggling to correlate that performance against Newcastle with the first half at Swansea with essentially the same team. Eustace really has his work cut out for this game. Who knows which Rovers will turn up.

The changes at half time definitely improved us. I would have brought Gilsenan before Markanday as he was our best chance of a goal coming off the bench. It depends who is fit for Tuesday. I would start Tronstad, Ayari and maybe O'Riordan. If Rankin-Costello is fit I would start him too instead of Brittain. I would keep the three at the back despite us being much better with a flat back four in the second half.

So for a thirty something minute performance up against Almiron you have written him off. It was a performance which many thought he did good things too. It's a strange stance to take in my opinion.

Based on what?

Eustace has a two and a half year contract. I don't believe the idiots would want to pay him up. Anyway if we do go down it will be Tomassons fault in the eyes of the numpties

Despite a really good start to his Rovers career I have to say that yesterday McFadzean looked exactly what he is, a 38 year old centre half. Swansea exploited this and along with the dithering Hyam looked like a slow and cumbersome duo. Perhaps it's time to look at O'Riordan and Koumetio and give them an opportunity. I couldn't understand bringing Gilsenan on so late in the game. He is on fire and scoring for fun so why hold him back? Baffling. Eustace has some big decisions to make for Tuesday. I hope for his and Rovers sake he makes the right ones.

I would give that post ten likes if I could.

We watched most of the Huddersfield v Leeds match in a Swansea pub and I remarked that I thought Leeds looked lethargic, perhaps a legacy of their cup match at Chelsea on Wednesday. Jokingly I said I hoped we wouldn't be like that. Well in the first half we were worse. We were devoid of energy, drive and criminally a little passion too. Swansea had lost their previous four home games and they couldn't believe their luck in the first half to play against such a listless team. I honestly can't think of one player who, in my opinion came out of that first half with any credit. Ok we did create some chances but woeful finishing summed up the performance. In fairness Eustace made two changes at half time and suddenly we have some energy and drive primarily coming from Ayari who started to dictate the game. We created some good chances which were spurned by a combination of poor touches, a lack of pace and sometimes the old failing of just not shooting. The goal was deserved and there was a feeling amongst the supporters there that we could actually salvage some from the disaster that was the first half. Unfortunately we couldn't manage another goal and the Jekyll and Hyde nature of our performance really has started to worry me. For the first time today I have considered the possibility of relegation a serious one. Eustace simply has to get a ninety minute performance out of them as so far we have been good and bad in equal measure in every league game. He has to come up with something that ensures we are at it for the whole game. The players can't start to feel sorry for themselves and sulk. Tuesday represents a huge game in our season, undoubtedly the most important so far. As a group are they up to scrapping and fighting for a win? I really have my doubts. Our performance was summed up when I thought about who was our best player. For me Ayari was a level above and he gets it for me. And he only played half a game.

Absolute nonsense.

One really interesting aspect of this game is that the referee is Rebecca Welch. I'm certain this is the first time we have had a female referee.

Fantastic - thanks for posting it. Seeing that video and nights like Tuesday makes me realise just how much Rovers mean to us and are part of the fabric of our lives.

As good as Tuesday was it will count for nothing come 3 o'clock on Saturday. Their form over the last six games has yielded exactly the same as ours, six points but they have three defeats in that as opposed to our two. They have scored less and conceded more but significantly they have lost their last four home league matches. I guess the approach from Rovers will be similar to the Cardiff match where we keep the game tight and compact and frustrate the home players and crowd. A gradual opening up and changes to personnel and formation could be part of the game plan. The three at the back has worked well so far and is a system which suits our centre , and the wing backs and midfield players seem comfortable too. Hopefully we can nick it and it's certainty within our capability to do so.

I remember being at a protest meeting at either KGH or Blakeys and Daniel Grabko had flown in from Sweden to attend and spoke really well. If I remember correctly his forte was finance and he spoke about how to fund the club without those wretched owners. I wondered what happened as he just seemed to disappear. You are correct about Wayne Wild as WEC were taken over and he left the business.

I liked Tomasson's interviews and found them a refreshing change from the mundane stuff from Mowbray. For me it was enlightening to hear him calling out the right people for the right reasons. He was misled on more than one occasion and I personally thought he was right to have a go even if it goes against the grain for the majority of managers interviews.

Happy 37th birthday to Kyle McFadzean. He looks like he's 47 but plays like he's 27. I particularly liked the way he cleaned out the Newcastle player in front of the dug outs. No foul, ball and man taken and a Newcastle player looking like he had been hit by a juggernaut.

I think Pears was categorised by many (me included) after his nightmare performance at Wigan in the FA Cup a few seasons ago. Sometimes as supporters we judge far too early, I know I do. On the day at Wigan he was poor and was roundly criticised but in fairness to him he bided his time and once he got in took his chance. Last night was probably his best Rovers performance, perhaps the best of his career.

You've got it now.

I'll say it again for you. Michalski is now considered number three goalkeeper and was with the first team. Had both games not been on the same night Michalski would have played for the under 21's. It's not difficult to understand.