Hope the fax machine doesn't break down at the last minute next summer then! I'd be triggering the extension at the very earliest opportunity in the case of BBD. If we don't, how does that square with the rule about players in the last 6 months of their contract being able to sign pre contract agreements with another Club? Plus, BBD is worth more with c18 months left on his deal than with c6 months even if he leaves in January. It doesn't stop us superceding that default position with a longer deal subsequently if one can be agreed.

Not saying that isn't the case, but if indeed we do have one, why haven't we triggered it long before now?

We've nowt to worry about then if you're correct, if he was even half as bad as you're cracking on then no-one would want him. He's a bloody good defender and that's all that matters to me. Not everyone can be Roberto Carlos in the final third.

Are you being serious?

Yes, precisely, but let's not "distort the facts" eh!

Unless you've been sent on here by your Club to try and persuade us that Souttar would be a good acquisition for BRFC my advice would be, when you're in a hole, stop digging. You're an employee of Hearts now not just a random Rovers fan discussing all things BRFC related on a m/b. Going online and accusing a fan of another Club that their opinion is "a load of bollocks" isn't the best of looks either.

Alright, everyone's being very pedantic on here today, two wins in sixteen, three in seventeen was it, the third worst run in our history? Near record 17 game "mainly" losing run if everyone is going to insist on being completely literal.

Why have you suddenly popped up on here again? Don't you work in some sort of capacity for a Scottish Club now? Was it Hearts? If so you shouldn't really be on here extolling this guy's virtues trying to persuade us the player would be a good fit here if your Club are desperate to keep him. If it's another Club you're working at, my apologies.

That's not quite right is it, he was allowed free rein to stockpile players and bring the Club to it's knees by our over indulgent owners and was only halted in his tracks by falling foul of the FFP regulations. Had those not existed, there's nothing to suggest the situation wouldn't have continued unabated.

Christ, is that the quality of crock, sorry player, Jocky has us chasing after? What's Rab C Nesbitt up to these days? He might be able to get a gig.

See, this is the nub of the issue. Mowbray isn't in the same stratosphere as certain managers we have had pre Jack like Furphy, Lee and Kendall. The most accurate comparisons are probably Saxton v Mowbray and Mackay v Mowbray. Mackay's funding was pretty limited apart from the period after Jack took over. And whilst I wasn't a particular fan of Saxton there's no doubt he had to oversee a period when we genuinely didn't have a pot to piss in, I recall a story doing the rounds in the mid 80's that consideration was being given to flogging the table in the Boardroom to raise a few quid. Without looking at their respective performances in detail I'd say off the top of my head Mowbray has delivered worse results than the penniless Saxton on a champagne budget and way way worse performance than Mackay who with relatively less backing delivered several back to back play off finishes. At the end of the day Mowbray is an extremely poor manager who has carved a lucrative career in coaching out of the back of a decent playing career. He's had barely any success anywhere he's been apart from West Brom and a heavily funded promotion campaign here and it has been more common for his managerial stints to end in disaster and the sack within a relatively short space of time. Has also been exceptionally fortunate here to survive three very disappointing seasons, a near record 17 game losing run and a Club record home defeat despite substantial backing. In summary a poor man's Saxton and a very poor man's Mackay. All that said we obviously all hope that a miracle occurs and we somehow scrape up via the playoffs this season with a hungry, talented but threadbare young squad.

What has any of the above got to do with what other Clubs are prepared to pay us for our players?

You're miles out on Nyambe and Rothwell chaddy. If that's all we've offered them then it's no wonder they haven't re-signed. 15k p.w. is probably a bit more like it for Lenihan but I'd imagine he'll want a bit more - even Downing was on £15k p.w. in his first season here.

Hi Paul, (apologies if that isn't your actual name) you didn't answer my question from last week about how much you think we'd actually get for DL RN and JR if they were sold in Jan with only 6 months left on their contracts. Would you care to enlighten us?

"Previous work?" 2 pretty poor and one very poor finish in my book. Delighted with this season however. Completely the opposite of what I expected and I've always said if we go up I don't mind who's in charge, be it Kean, Coyle or now Mowbray. No matter what happens on the pitch I'll never forgive him and Waggott for attempting to flog off part of Brockhall though.

First time I've agreed with you in a while Gav, but spot on my friend. 👍

It's a couple of (very) good games against three pretty dreadful seasons at the moment. I'll give him plenty of credit if he can maintain it for the rest of the season and deliver a finish in the play off positions.

Yup, it's a situation that really has been forced on us financially by Waggott and Mowbray's incompetence but bizarrely the smaller squad and being forced to rely more heavily on youth appears to be a situation that is working very much to our advantage at the moment. We need the manager to realise the riches he currently has in terms of our own youngsters and to leave well alone. Then we need the rub of the green with no serious injuries to key players like Kaminsky, Pickering, Nyambe, Wharton Buckley and Brereton, no major departures in Jan and possibly a couple of bodies in for a bit more cover.

Nyambe is not replaceable (with the same quality) for a few hundred grand. I think people will only realise how good he is once he has gone. Ditto Rothwell. And BB leaving on an enforced basis would be a financial disaster for the Club. The only player I think would be replaceable with similar quality at a reasonable cost is Lenihan. It would probably be easier to replace them all with a manager and CEO they want to sign for. The only hope would seem to be in the unlikely event that results and performances continue in the same vein as the last two and we get into the play offs. It would then be a gamble for the players concerned. Is it worth it to leave for a bit more money to a team that definitely isn't going to make the play offs? Then again if more than one of JR DL or RN leave or BB leaves in Jan that would probably instantly scupper any outside play off chances anyway. For me if we're still where we are now in Jan, for what it would be worth, we stick hold of them all in Jan and gamble on going up. The only decision worthy of consideration would be if someone came in with a massive offer for BB. And whilst he's had a great season so far I don't see anyone offering anywhere near the £25m you mention.

Think the commentators on I follow today said we've never lost when Wharton has started a game. ** ** I was watching from New Yotk. *cough*

Fantastic win. In my view this is the first time we've stood up to be counted in the Championship under Mowbray when we've got ourselves in a half decent position instead of bottling it. I think there's a very different feel at the moment than at any other time during his tenure thanks to the young lads who I think have enough talent and heart to avoid going into a full on Mowbray death spiral at any point. I'm never going to underestimate Mowbray's potential to cock things up by trying to be too clever and chopping and changing but right now what a refreshing change from four years plus of watching overpaid underperforming journeymen go through the motions and put a performance in every so often to keep our noses above water. Buckley absolutely superb today. Wharton not far behind. Had to dig in and really show character to get the win today. Actually looking good as opposed to getting results without playing particularly well for the first time under Mowbray I'd say.

That's exactly what I was wondering.

Surely the option is still there to sack him exactly as before but the amount of compensation payable is reduced?

Glad I said agree with Paul Mani's last "sentence" and not "paragraph" this time! 🙂

That tends to be my view as well hence why I said in my original post IF we're still where we are now relative to other Clubs in Jan. If we do our usual under Mowbray and hit a death spiral and are seven or eight points outside the play offs by mid Jan then I think the situation is completely different and I'd probably agree with you. But if everyone is still bunched up in Jan and we're still within touching distance of third you're giving up the chance of a crack at the play offs for what, £1m a player in the cases of RN DL and JR? How much do you think they'd fetch with 6 months left on their contracts?