I think we need to forget any notion that he might walk, thereby forgoing any compensation. No-one does that these days unless they've already been guilty of some sort of gross misconduct entitling their employers to terminate their contracts forthwith. If we're to get rid of him, Waggot or the owners are going to have to sack him. The former seems highly unlikely so imo the owners are going to have to give Waggot an edict from above and while they're at it I'd be telling him and Venus to pack their bags as well.

Re: Johnson, or any other rookie manager for that matter, they are never going to land a job at a decent level when things are going swimmingly well, their only realistic chance is to go in somewhere where the wheels have fallen off and establish their credentials by doing a good job in difficult circumstances.

Difficult to disagree.

So apart from the fact the defence and attack aren't good enough "we're not far off" ? Wouldn't like to see us if we were!

"Avoiding relegation" isn't acceptable and a reason for keeping him though is it? What have you seen on the pitch and what are your reasons that make you think we can turn the season round?

I'm tired of repeating myself on this, but the only surprise to me is that anyone is actually surprised at how crap we are. We've been absolutely abysmal for twelve months or so since (funnily enough) Preston away at a similar stage last year. To me it was blindingly obvious that that TM needed potting in February or March so it's no surprise whatsoever that we've been simply been served up with more of the same old s***e this season and that things appear to be deteriorating rapidly. Im sure there are other things to criticise him for but just off the top of my head: Since promotion, 3 abysmal transfer windows. Spending 7m on a young striker then never giving him a chance in his natural position. Bringing in Chapman on loan and rarely playing him, then bringing him in permanently and never giving him a chance at all. Stifling other players with any flair such as Rothwell, Palmer, Holtby. Seemingly trying to turn Travis into Lowe/Evans Mark 3. Wasting a further 5m on a guy who we'd already seen was (at the very best) a 5-10 goal a season journeyman. Shocking treatment of Nyambe whereas Bennett is a liability virtually every week yet seems unstoppable and somehow seems to have to be show horned into the side one way or another every week. Contracts handed out like sweeties almost as a reward for past service to players who should clearly have been moved on. Neglecting to strengthen at centre half then exacerbating the situation by loaning out Magloire and Wharton and Mulgrew without direct replacements when we were already desperately short of quality and numbers at centre back. Other than a dearth of centre halves we don't even have a first choice keeper to call our own as we replaced a slightly erratic but hugely talented young keeper with a big useless lump on loan who makes a sideboard look agile. Team never plays for 90 mins and rarely turns up in the first half. Needs to be replaced immediately for me, but then again I thought that in February. Can only see the situation deteriorating further the longer he stays in charge. Would anyone trust him to spend any more money were it to be made available?

"Rovers don't turn up in first half" shocker. Has he not actually been watching any of the games for the last two and a half years?

Nyambe and Holtby were our standout performers on Saturday so if TM is true to past form, one or both will be dropped. Difficult match to call, wouldn't be surprised win, lose or draw but we need to start picking up some results to keep our head above water.

We'll never get anywhere with Bennett in the side, this is a very tight League and to have any hope of succeeding you need every single player pulling their finger out and producing something worthwhile. You can't afford any passengers or players that are way below the standard required. He's the new Jason Lowe, one of the worst players you've ever seen in a Rovers shirt but seemingly mysteriously unstoppable in the manager's eyes. Mind you, I think it's obvious we'll never get anywhere with Mowbray in charge either. The comment from a poster above about him liking mid table mediocrity to keep the gravy train going resonated very strongly with me.

The keeper is absolutely useless for me. That's two home games where he's cost us the points recently, he also went down in Installments for the Forest equaliser and with Raya in nets that's two saves that are meat and drink for him and two games we win imo. Really hope we don't sign Walton permanently. Other than that with Dack and Holtby on the pitch I saw signs of hope and promise for the first time under Mowbray, our play was far more fluid and creative than normal. That was ruined by the substitutions which were progressively worse. Thought Nyambe was outstanding and showed us what we've been missing at RB. Conversely Bennett is an absolute liability wherever he plays and we're always going to struggle if he is selected to start.

Rubbish. Has never been given a chance.

I haven't seen many of the games this season but from what I've seen references to the new "passing style of play" are well wide of the mark. That would infer players are moving into imaginative positions to receive the ball and are getting it and also more importantly that there is an end product. All we do is watch static players knock the ball endlessly from side to side to each other in our own half and/or in front of the opposition. That may make the possession stats look better after the game but it's completely pointless in the final analysis. It's all extremely reminiscent of the latter days under Bowyer when in a home match against Derby I counted the defence and midfield make 40 odd passes at one point and we never even progressed out of our own half!

Ah, someone else has seen the light, welcome jim. The trouble is, we needed real quality in that position in summer to replace Graham but ended up spending £5m on Gallagher who proved he wasn't much good the last time he was here and who if anything appears to have gone even further backwards in the interim. Why would you spend big (ish) money on a striker you've already seen isn't much good? It should be a lucky escape not a signal to open the cheque book. I really don't understand it.

I think that every time Bennett pulls on the shirt. Yet he's first name on the team sheet. The likes of Graham, Evans and Bennett should be nowhere near the first eleven imo. Until the favouritism towards certain players ends and we pick our better players in their natural positions we have no hope of progression. Don't think that will ever happen under Mowbray.

The relentless March down the road to nowhere under Mowbray's confused and insipid leadership gathers pace. I've missed several games in the early part of the season for one reason or another and I haven't really been that bothered. There doesn't really seem to be much point going when we've zero prospect of challenging for promotion either automatically or via the play offs under this manager and next to no chance of improving whilst he's in charge. I reckon that if you were abducted by aliens tomorrow and returned to the same spot then years hence you'd find that nothing whatsoever had changed at Ewood Park were Mowbray still to be in charge. We'd have been lower mid table at the very best with the only variable being a relegation and promotion or two if the owners had been prepared to supply a budget which eclipsed the rest of League 1 like they did last time. It seemed obvious to me around February last season Mowbray needed to be replaced. As he wasn't, more money was squandered in summer and at best this will be another wasted season and at worst a relegation scrap in the latter stages of the campaign. If things get considerably worse it will be interesting to see if Waggott has the balls to sack the man who put him forward for his own position. Although if it was down to me I wouldn't leave that decision to him he'd be landing in a heap next to Mowbray were the manager to get the boot at any point.

Bad news. In the medium term that's another Club getting dynamic new management that will leave us floundering miles behind.

Narrow defeat, no doubt Mowbray and his apologists will try to spin it into some sort of heroic failure. The season already starting to follow the same type of pattern as last year. Few bad results followed by few decent results followed by few bad results etc etc.

Only thanks to a one man show from Harrison Reed in the second half. And we came away with a point. Not like it was 0-3 or 0-4 or something. Either way that's gone now. It's what happens tomorrow that counts.

Mowbray has been extremely disappointing with his performance during the transfer window in pre season and the early part of the season proper as well! Sadly we can't send him out on loan or to work with the kids. How is Chapman meant to be fully motivated when he has been here since January and was initially sidelined due to some feeble excuses about him not being fit enough to play even though he was fit enough to play for Boro, seven months on, is yet to be given an opportunity, and has now been consigned to the stiffs with the U23's? Disgraceful attempt by Mowbray to deflect criticism off himself by chucking yet another young player under the bus in public. He's showing himself to be a real nasty piece of work imo. That would be fine to a point f he were like Ferguson, even handed and tough with everyone but his favourites are clearly beyond any form of criticism whereas younger players are evidently fair game and expendable. The sooner Mowbray's gone the better for me. Unfortunately we'll probably lose Chapman first with him never having even been given a chance here.

Do you think so? I thought he'd put a really strong side out in the circumstances. Playing well but not taking your chances is a characteristic of sides that generally end up in trouble as has already been pointed out by jim and others this season.

Haven't we loaned him out? (Fisher)

Looking at the replay of the second, Leutwiler should have done a lot better with that. Fairly nothing shot into the middle of the goal which only curled into the corner at the last minute.

That's the problem though for the latter five if Smallwood and Evans get over-run in midfield, it's only really fair to judge them playing with the first choice midfield.

No, he doesn't at all. In fact on certain things the worse something goes and the more the criticism mounts the more he seems to dig his heels in and persist with it despite the fact it clearly doesn't work and we have better options. Bennett getting an extended run at RB being the latest example.

They were glaring long before then, every time they turned out together, but we got away with it in League one.