Hopefully Trav gets to stick a sneaky one on Madine late in the game. With Dolan, it's like we're playing with 10 - may as well give Dilan a go. Back 4 have been very good so far, against a half decent set of players at this level.

First reaction was yes, but after seeing the replay - definitely not.

Based on the fact that Pickering has kept him extremely quiet (so far), he won't be doing his own chances any good.

Thought we'd defended well - Blackpool had plenty of the ball, but didn't really threaten. That Bowler guy lost somewhere in Pickering's pocket. We look like we're growing into the game, lets hope that continues.

Lovely ball, lovely finish. Wharton played his part in that, too.

Fair point - as I said, in theory, I see the sense. He's just not had a good game for us for a long while now. But hopefully tonight is the start of a good run for him.

I will give JDT credit for making changes that it would have taken TM weeks to get around to. Buckley has been terrible for a few games now and Wharton excelled on his debut - really happy to see that change. Strange seeing Dolan start, but he must be impressing in training.

I get the theory of having Dolan up top, but I really can’t remember his last genuinely good game. Really hope Adam Wharton starts, looks the real deal. And agreed on most opinions on Markanday - surely worth a shot now?

Disregarding the nuances of the apparent ‘future option to buy’, I can’t say I know enough about Hirst to have a valid opinion. So my suggestion is let’s trust the people who get paid to know these things. Out of everything else, I’m hoping that Styles is a genuine go-er. He’s actually had a poor start to the season for them so far, but he’s undoubtedly make us stronger.

To be fair, Giles was shit for us in the games he played at LB as well.

Have to say, if there’s any possibility of Ross Barkley, he would be an immense signing for us. Top-6 Prem player, an England international not too long ago. Now that he can get away from That London and if he wants to be fairly close to Merseyside, Rovers could be a good option for him. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but I’m hoping there’s something genuine in this.

That ^ is exactly how John Williams explained it to me, along with his major worry that we would never be self sustainable under the then (Walker Trust) regime. The Trust then stopped the £3m annual payments - against Jack’s instruction/wishes and we all know what happened next. The Trust really get a big pass in all of what’s happened in the last 10/11 years but they played a huge part in our downfall.

Problem we have is that nobody (bar a pathetic bid by Nice) is making a bid. And for as long as that remains the case, we are powerless. If a suitable bid lands at the last minute on deadline day, it does leave us in a theoretically hard place. Hopefully we do receive a suitable bid in sufficient time to put our apparent contingency plan into place - whatever that may be.

I wonder if we could tempt Rhodes to come back for a season or two - he's probably a bit slower than he was, but he'll never lose that striker's instinct. I'd put money on him bagging both of those 2nd half chances that Dolan overthought on Saturday.

As much as I like him, I'm not sure we need JPvH, if the Liverpool Van arrives - leaves us with a bit of an abundance of CBs. Which is crazy considering how dire things looked in that area just a week or so ago. Even with a back 3, it means that Wharton would no longer be a starter, which would be very harsh. If BBD does go, it's imperative that we bring somebody in from an attacking perspective.

Agreed. He's clearly struggling for confidence right now, but if we go with a back 5, he'll have more freedom down the left to get forward. I feel that JDT likes him and sees him as coachable, so LB will not be a priority for us compared to other positions.

I'm genuinely amazed that anyone takes any notice of his guff. It's been long established that he's full of shit. If he had any credibility at all, he wouldn't freelance for a red top.

To be fair, we didn't spend £7m on him - even at this stage, it's still around half that amount. But we do need consider Forest's sell-on fee. Anyway, pleased with Hyam - looks an upgrade on Lenihan.

Best debut from an Academy player since probably Jones. In fact, best debut for some time full stop. Really liked the look of him and, based on yesterday's performance alone, looked streets ahead of the likes of Buckley. His forward passing between the channels both accurate and timely - he and Hedges made a big difference in that second half.

It's not - and the stats suggest that he's a genuine upgrade on Lenihan.

I remember JRC being highly regarded as an attacking midfielder at the Academy and he was on United's books before he came to us. He's found himself being played at fullback when it's clearly not a position he has much talent for. I'm sure he's trying to help and accommodate what his managers have asked of him by playing there, but I can't imagine that Pike wouldn't be several shades better, in Brittain's absence. I don't like to overly criticise our own players, as it's nothing but counter-productive, but today he was beyond awful. Honestly think I'd have done a better job there and I haven't played regular RB since my Roman Road U14 days (which were a looooonnnng time - and several stone - ago).

Whether anyone likes Big Sam or not, I don't think anybody can deny his ability to keep a club of our size and resources in the middle of the Premier League. I absolutely loved us grinding out those 1-0 wins, big Samba causing havoc in the opposition areas. Couldn't give the slightest shit for one-touch fancy football that gets us nowhere. Football is a competitive sport first, entertainment second.

Agree with this - Pickering was ok today, not particularly good or bad. I did feel that he was hesitant to get forward, but did make a goal-saving block quite early in the first half. I feel he's the go-to boo boy at the minute, even when he's not particularly bad. Also don't agree on Morton. Didn't too much, but saw a lot of the ball. Looked a lot happier alongside Wharton and I feel that they'll end up being the first choice CMs very quickly.

Fair point, I probably should have gone with 'organised and hard to beat'. We're Blackburn Rovers, we have no history or culture for playing pretty football. We won the Premier League by being as direct as you can be. We won the League Cup by being organised, hard to score against and hitting a couple of goals on the counter (and Brad being superhuman). As per our motto, we want a combination of skill and hard work. We want to see players being warriors on the pitch and showing some passion first and foremost. We can accept being beaten if we can see the effort. Pretty flowing football is way down the priority list.

I’d take Big Sam tactics (ie winning) over what we’ve seen so far this season, every single day of the week.