It appears that Brereton is on his way then. So this 'healthy budget' and '£10m to spend' appears to be a load of tosh. It's more like you have to sell to buy and even then will the whole amount be given to spend? Nothing will ever change under this lot.

I think that is a really good fit. His reputation won't matter to Stokies who lauded Tony Pulis after several successful seasons. With this window nearly at an end it will probably take some time to stamp his mark but I think he will.

I was hoping for something a bit closer. At the moment a night match in London is a real ball ache if you want to travel on the train. Thanks to the HS2 farce there is no longer an 11 pm train back to Manchester. It looks like a long drive then and the vagaries of our wonderful motorways.

Thomason said in an interview earlier this week that Scott would be back next week. Calf injuries are notoriously fickle and having had a few I know they can take longer than originally diagnosed. The lack of a centre half signing is a huge source of frustration for me. We have another three games in seven days next week and could feasibly without Wharton for at least two of them if not all three. Flogging Ayala and Phillips will end in tears. My belief is that we are still hanging on for Van Den Berg but we really are at the mercy of Liverpool. They are hoping for something that just might not happen and it doesn't appear we have a plan B.

Scott Wharton won't be fit for Saturday. There is an outside chance Carter will. They have known Wharton wouldn't be fit for this game and still no incoming centre half. It really looks like Ayala and Phillips again.

The draw is at 9.45 tonight on Sky and we are ball number four.

I think Liverpool fans should be more concerned with their abject form and having to play the likes of Milner, Henderson and Firminho. I'm sure Klopp would have been pleasantly pleased to see the young prodigy play at centre half to further his education.

What an enjoyable game of football that was. The Rovers players did themselves proud and I'd bet that between six players they didn't have thirty senior games between them. The tempo was excellent and unrelenting which Bradford really struggled with. Most of the passing was quick, accurate and incisive and the range of passing was really good too. Morton at centre half alongside a young man making his debut in Annesley was my stand out player but in truth there were plenty of contenders as everyone contributed. I suppose if I was being overly critical it would be that we didn't make the most out of the many chances we created and were hanging on a little too much at the end for my liking. Well done to them all and I hope they get a chance to showcase their undoubted ability against a Premier League team in the next round. It was that enjoyable tonight I forgot about the turgid transfer window this far for a couple of hours. 😁😁

Liverpool were awful tonight and after the way their two centre backs played Van Den Berg could be in the first eleven. Alexander-Armstrong had absolute Joe Cocker. The Rags will be cock-a-hoop but the majority of Premier League teams will give them much harder games.

The Rags are eclipsing Liverpool on the number of team sprints. Hard work is still one of the greatest assets in sport.

Ten days to bring in a plethora of new, quality players and to sell Brereton. My belief is that Brereton will go first because we need the money from his fee and freeing up wages. Broughton is really going to have to earn his corn. Dysfunctional doesn't do it justice.

I think three of that Liverpool team either managed Liverpool or were on the coaching staff. Roy Evans, Ronnie Moran and Doug Livermore are the three. I didn't know Ted McDougall played at Liverpool.

I've read that their owners businesses, Duty Free shops have been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. With the travel restrictions their cash flow has all but dried up.

We were promoted in his first full year in charge, in Europe in his second and won the PL soon after. It's about doing the absolute best you can with no timescales. In four years time if we are floundering around mid table in the Championship will people be saying calm down, it's a five year project.

I count our blessings that Jack Walker didn't see us as a project. I like Tomasson but I thought he had more about him than that. We are a professional football club and everything revolves around what happens on the pitch. Stagnation will set in if they are setting a multi year target. I currently see very little happening to indicate to me we are to improve on last years final position.

We bought Brittain and Szmodics for decent money but now when our need is as great as are suddenly prevaricating and waiting. Waiting until the last minute is folly for me. It's too much of a roll of the dice. We need to be decisive and if we need to free up some money for wages get rid of the likes of Butterworth.

And how long do we wait? Right now we are desperate for players as confirmed by Tomasson. He sounded as frustrated as the fans in his interview yesterday. Besides that and more importantly nobody knows how much we have to spend.

Leeds have run over 10 kilometres further than Chelsea in today's 3-0 win. And it was high intensity too. I don't like Tuchel and his antics and his team of prima donnas were well beaten today.

It's absolutely irrelevant how little business other clubs are doing. If we have a 'healthy' budget how on earth does the lack of activity affect us?

This 'blocking the pathway' nonsense is just an excuse for the abysmal lack of signings. In a couple of years time there will be another batch of kids knocking on the door. Will their pathway be blocked by the likes of Wharton and Garrett? What is blocking their pathway is bringing in kids on loan who don't appear to be any better than what we already have.

The real dilemma is whether to risk Ayala and Phillips. Personally I wouldn't risk either. I would be looking to play Louis Annesely alongside Pickering. Whenever I've seen him he has been steady but it really is a case of needs must. Sink or swim time.

The difference between the two teams yesterday was summed up by one substitution. Berge, who I think is the best player in the Championship was replaced by Brewster, a £25m player. We brought Dolan and Morton on. A freebie from Nobbers and PL loan player. I expected to lose yesterday so I shrugged my shoulders at the final whistle. I was infinitely more disappointed at Reading on Wednesday.

Broughton is going to be busy this week interviewing for the recently advertised European Head of Recruitment job of which the closing date is tomorrow. By the way this was only advertised recently so I think this precludes any signings from Europe. I feel really let down, once again by Rovers. We have ten days to bring at least four players in but I think I know how this plays out as we've seen it all before. It will be September 1at with reports of offers to players, players in the building, we've done all we can, broken faxes and every other excuse imaginable. We'll end up with some kids from PL clubs when we need players who will hit the ground running. I have to say my optimism from the Tomasson appointment is waning. Not because of him at all but we are still run by imbeciles who just can't see the potential that Tomasson has brought. Quite simply he needs backing and now.

In the first five games last season we won 2, drew 2 and lost 1.

In truth I didn't expect anything today so I'm not as flat as I was on Wednesday but there are real warning signs that losing like we have this week could become the norm. And in my view a lot of it is down to our almost non existent recruitment to strengthen the squad. And for that Broughton has to accept responsibility probably aided and abetted by that lot in another continent. We all know what we need but once again it seems that all our centre half eggs are in one basket and we are waiting for Liverpool. Well f*** them, where is the plan B or C Broughton? My biggest disappointment today was Travis with his N'Zonzi moment as he lost the ball, tried a little kick at the Sheffield player and then just stopped. Shame on him, I expect better from our captain.