davulsukur

No idea how he will line up. Might give an opportunity to Dolan start (hope he does) and maybe Pike at Right back. I could see Downing starting, Buckley too. He might use the game to get some minutes into the legs or Trav and Dack, or might think about protecting them for the stoke game, who knows. Maybe even start Pears in net.

If the game goes ahead, you can watch it for free:

Isn't he another one who suffered from injuries as well? I'd recall him but I think we'd still have to go into the market for a loan anyway. Ayala is out for a month and never stays fit, and Williams and Wharton won't play again this season.

My only issue with loaning in Kipre is that if he comes in and does well for us, he has 3 years left on his current contract so WBA will be able to sell for a good profit, likely to be out of our price range or WBA go down and he goes back as a championship regular next year. It's not a massive gripe and we should still loan him if possible, just feels like we are doing WBA a massive favour all round and only short term for ourselves. Bit like Tosin last season, we basically got him a transfer away from City with us not being in the running.

19/20 - 63pts, 66 GF, 63 GA 18/19 - 60pts, 64 GF, 69 GA Some improvement, although marginal.

Not a priority right now. Can't we only have 1 more loan in the squad? (Is that just match days?)

Its a head scratcher alright. I don't think you're far off with that, its possible that 4-3-3 doesn't suit our squad very well. I'm not sure if Dack or Armstrong will prosper too well in those positions. Armstrong has a history of poor performances from wide areas and I don't think Dack has ever been to successful as a "false 9" or whatever it is. In my opinion, if we are playing a 4-3-3, the full backs are key. Ours, Nyambe included, aren't good enough. Nyambe is superb at defending and he is great in 1 v 1 situations but he isn't the best going forward. Bell isn't particularly good at attacking or defending. Douglas was brought in because of his crossing ability but his defending is poor. So we would need serious improvement on those positions. The 3 in midfield is also a problem. I think the one in the middle needs to be a holding midfielder but one with some good distribution. I think Trybull would be a good holding mid but his distribution is limited. Downing is never a holding mid in a million years but has great distribution, so its a problem. I'd opt for Trybull as we need the support in the back line to avoid the counter, when the full backs have gone forward. The other 2 need to be able to contribute to both attack and defence whilst having the athleticism to cover a lot of ground. Box to box, if you like. Travis is a shoe in for that role and should flourish, I'd opt for Rothwell on the other side as he has a bit of pace and gets back to defend more than he gets credit for. His driving runs can cause problems for the opposition. The front 3 is another problem. Armstrong needs to play Central, as does Dack but neither can be left out. I'm not sure about Dack as a central forward, all his success has come from playing behind a striker. Brereton has one wide berth sewn up and Elliott probably should have the other being much more suited to a wide place than either Arma or Dack. Which leaves Arma central and Dack on the bench, which isn't acceptable. So with that, we need a reshuffle. Mowbray seems to see Dack as part of midfield 3, so Trybull misses out, Travis moves over and Dack comes in. --------------Kaminski Nyambe--Lenihan--Loan--Bell/Doug ----Rothwell---Travis--Dack ------Elliott-----Arma-----Brereton Travis should cover a lot of ground in front the back 4, Dack and Rothwell should be able to cause some damage, the concern is that Dack might not be as effective being a bit deeper. This formation also leaves some players without a position. Downing doesn't have much of a role, a sub for either Dack or Rothwell perhaps, same goes for Buckley. Holtby, Johnson and Trybull would all struggle for game time. Gallagher would only be used as a sub for Arma and never outwide. Who'd be a manager, eh?

Fits the bill nicely if he can play both RB and CB.

And if we pick up points at the same rate we'd have finished 10th 🤷‍♂️

Beyond laughable that the back 4 that started today kept our first clean sheet in about 6 years (that's how long it feels)

Dacky!!

Mowbray in a nutshell. Shocking but not surprising decision.

I'm not watching but how are people saying it now?

Thats reassuring.....

I can't believe Trav is fully fit. Has he even had an under 23 appearance? If he breaks down and is out for a few more months, Mowbray can get his coat and fuck right off.

What the hell is that back 4? Worst i can remember in a long time. Ayala is looking like an abysmal piece of business right now.

Bumped into a mate the other day who said he loved Rovers at the mo because we are always good value for a both teams to score or over 2.5 goals bet. I was less impressed mind you.

Haven't seen any updates on the fitness of Nyambe or Ayala but if we start the game with a back 4 of Buckley--Lenihan--Johnson--Bell Its going to be a long afternoon.

Thanks Silas 👍

Aye, looks like we share the same first name.

2020 has probably been the worst year for me both personally and professionally. I was all set for a promotion to a role I had been working towards for 2 years and then actually doing unofficially for about 10 months before the most senior bloke in the office advertised the role externally, interviewed a guy, offered him the job (which he accepted) cancelled my interview and just left me where I was. Of course, I'm still doing the same work, still unofficially, of course. And also I lost my dad earlier in the year, as well as 2 aunts. Covid has obviously impacted on daily life too and its basically been a massive drain. So, very much looking forward to waving goodbye to 2020. 2021 has to be better, right? Anyway, Happy New year to you all!

Assuming he's gone to make room for a defender in on loan

When teams are playing badly, results aren't coming etc. You often see a team that looks divided, rifts between players. Won't be any different with us. I'd wager some players still by into Mowbrays style/tactics and some don't anymore. Probably the reason why some of the players were jogging around like they were playing in a testimonial last night.

Nope but sums our owners up pretty well. Dreadful