Great goal. Good work from Brittain at LB to start the move.

Dolan unlucky not to score, looks lively again tonight.

That's what I have in my bet for tonight - Rovers to win, Gally to score a brace. More out of hope than good judgement, but fingers crossed.

Well at least we have an end/decision date now. Even if the definition of a stakeholder seems to have evaded one or two.

I think he's probably realised that he'd be best served spending another season or two with us, in addition to having a new kid and I'd like to think that he feels that he owes us a bit as well. This wouldn't have come around had there been no movement from BBD's agent's side. Hopefully it's also a sign that we're willing to spend a bit more to keep our better players moving forward, so we don't see a repeat of Lenihan, Rothwell and Nyambe.

Ben is settled at the club, seems to like it in the area and has just had his first kid - I can see why he'd be tempted to stay. He's a big confidence player and we saw last season what can happen when he finds a bit of momentum. Would absolutely rather be with him than without him and I'm glad we're pushing the boat out to try and keep him around.

Not at all. Officially since '09, but I was around much before that. Just haven't stopped calling out what I see as daft comments, nor will I.

I agree. He has to balance trying to build a squad and develop a style of play, whilst still churning out results - all whilst using the majority of a squad he'd inherited, with very little support in the transfer windows; not an easy task at all. In the circs, I think he's doing a very solid job indeed. It's why I'm amazed to see the sporadic 'JDT out' comments on here.

It's one thing I've noticed - he has a lovely low pinged pass, which both moves us up the field quickly and plays to the smaller players' strengths. He's been a real bonus recently and has allowed TK to go and get the surgery he's been needing, without being missed.

I didn't want to be the one to make that point, but you're not wrong 😄

The 3 points is the priority, to keep us around the play off places. I'd take another performance like today if it ended with the same result, but you'd like to hope that we could play more '2nd half' than 1st, from today's game. Hopefully Dack's injury isn't serious and we can welcome Young Wharton back into the squad. I'd keep Dolan in the side based on the last couple of games; think he's performed admirably in an unfamiliar position.

Completely agree. I was going to make the point that the game plan worked well, however shit it was to watch.

3 points, clean sheet and a point off 4th. Wasn't pretty by any means, but at least we went at them in the second half. Results over performances any day of the week; let’s follow it up with another 3 in the next one.

To offer some mitigation, we’ve not paid £5m for SG. Initial fee was £2.5m-£3m, rest being add ons and performance related, much similar to BBD.

Much better this half, need to make it count.

I wouldn’t agree, we had a couple of good chances in the first half at WBA, we’ve sauntered through that first half today without really doing anything. Swansea should really be a goal or two up. We need to make changes at HT if we want to win this game.

Honestly don't get the defeatist attitude - I saw on here, before the Watford game that we'd be beaten 0-4 and once that happened, our play off hopes were long gone and we'd be lucky to avoid a relegation fight. We're within a point of the top 6 in mid Feb, with a game in hand and 2 very winnable games in front of us. O'Brien would be vital for us between now and the end of the season; absolutely no doubt about that - and could even be the catalyst to push us into genuine promotion contenders. That is what we all want, isn't it...?

Couldn’t agree more. It genuinely feels like some want us to be worse than we are. Not a mentality that I can share.

Hopefully we can build on two good results away from home and make it a good week with 3 points. Need to play on the front foot and press them off the ball. And hopefully all week we've been working on arriving in the box, to get on the end of Thomas' crosses from the right. Start positive, early goal and take the pressure off. I'll go 2-0 with another BBD goal.

The Wigan result and performance was terrible. But it doesn't take away from the fact that the subsequent 2 matches were away to teams we were widely expected to lose to (heavily, if you pay attention to the doom mongers). Came out undefeated; two very decent results. We need to follow it up with a couple of wins in our next 2 now, to really build on it.

It was a decent point, a very decent point. As was Watford just before it. You’d have thought we’d lost 6 in a row, reading some of the comments in here last night.

It’s probably worth screenshotting this, for when the decision is made public…

I don't have a dog in the fight, regarding Benson. And I've not watched him doing his job, not that I'm qualified to really pass judgement on it either way. However, a former colleague had a son coached by him at the Academy a few years now and he genuinely could not speak highly enough of him and his lads' development under him. Either way, delighted that Pears has taken his chance recently - I've always said that he's a decent GK (check my post history!) and I've been one of the few who refused to write him off after a couple of disaster performances. His resurgence has come at the right time, with TK out for a bit.

To be fair, you probably didn't see us being unbeaten from consecutive Watford and WBA away games, but here we are. Fingers crossed for 6 points in the next 2 - would see us firmly in the top 6.

Just a thought - Pears has been exclusively coached by Benson over the last few years.