Boro won't be near the top with that goalkeeper. Worse than Raya for misjudging crosses and lack of physical presence in the 6-yard box

Well played England. A day of proper Test cricket, hard fought and fascinating to watch. Special mention for Burns who would get 0/10 for style but 10/10 for grit, determination and concentration. England need a lead of 150 at least. They will not fancy chasing 200 or more on a pitch that will get increasingly difficult Stokes is England's best player and he asked to bat at No 6. Agree about Buttler at No 5 though - too high.

Baggies fans know their football - thousands of them. They didn't rate him.

Alot, obviously. The lad's already 21 and is so good he's yet to make an appearance for City.

Talked to a West Brom fan. The City lad is very, very raw - some potential but a liability at times and responsible for at least 10 goals Albion shipped last season. Albion fans did not want him back. Apart from signing a goalkeeper who may or may be better than the previous one, Mowbray has done nothing to address our defensive problems. And the season starts this weekend.

England are going to have to find a way of getting Smith out. The rest of their batting line-up won't fail every time and unless England can work Smith out we are going to be chasing some very big scores.

Sorry but just don't see this. Nuttall looked out of his depth in the Championship when I saw him last season, and doesn't seem to have improved in his time at Ewood.

Smith finally out. The total of 284 is far too high in those conditions. England I would say have thrown this Test away and could well lose from this point. Hope I'm wrong.

Psychologically, we could have had them on the floor at about 150 all out. Now they're heading for 270 plus and a very decent score on a not very good pitch. England, after a great start, have as usual made it very difficult for themselves. And I have no confidence whatsover in our batters making 250.

He's right though. We had them 122-8; they've now more than doubled that score. We've let them off the hook and possibly a winning position.

In 1975?

Mike Hickman - straight in the team and scored hat trick in 5-2 win over Plymouth IIRC. Check. He scored 2. Clearly not ready to play

Nope. But his non-selection says alot.

Irrelevant. The best new signings go straight in - because they're very good players. Our new boy clearly isn't in that category.

New signings normally go straight into teams because they're better than you've already got. This new lad clearly isn't better - so fans are entitled to ask why we signed him.

Crazy is signing a loan player who isn't good enough to start in a defence that leaked 60 plus goals last season. Crazy is having all summer to fix the problem and failing to do so. Crazy is starting the new season with the same defence that let us down this season. In short, this new signing solves nothing. That's crazy

Tall, fast, good athlete, good distribution by all City accounts but not the experienced, big and commanding centre half we need. And assuming Lenihan is on the right of the centre back pairing will he be able play the more difficult left side? More questions than answers and not the player we desperately want

Agree. He wasn't the best - but he wasn't the worst either. None of the mooted transfer "targets" are likely to be any better - even if we managed to secure even one of them.

Dear boy (welcome back by the way - blue tinted spec sales have plummeted in your absence). Even the most committed Rover realises we cannot field the same defence that ended last season without expecting the same inglorious results. We need new defenders desperately - good ones. And with the new season imminent, there's no sign of even one arriving.

Sid the long-serving scout is finding it hard in the digital age. He's asked for an upgrade on his company Sierra.

....and then teams work out the Rovers "system" and counteract it. Does Pep Mowbray have a plan B or C up his sleeve? Or do you let intelligent players work it out for themselves? I remember from playing days we used to change things around a bit as the game went on while the manager (who we ignored) waved his arms around uselessly from the sidelines. Professional game isn't much different.

Signing good players, playing them to their strengths in their correct positions, and making sure they are motivated and work hard are more important than "systems". Football management isn't easy, but the game is essentially simple.

Me neither. Doesn't work hard enough and lacks the basic skills to lead the forward line. He hasn't improved in his time at Ewood. Playing regularly will help him develop though and he and Blackpool could be good for each other.

Classic Mowbray, overthinking it and making a simple game more complicated than it need be. Matt Busby understood it. Send out your best players and let them get on with it. Will the Rovers players understand Pep Mowbray's latest tinkering? Highly unlikely I'd say.

Brutal, ugly Croatian paired with ruthless, tough German at centre back sounds good to me. Stereotypes are always the best