That deeper role being the right one for Buckley hasn't played out in the performances this season. I dont think he will go back to playing further forward and I am not saying he would start there We need to bring in a couple of midfielders in the summer. Loan Garrett out, have Wharton in our first team and bring in more experience there.

If those rumours are anything other than fictional then that is a big shame as Wharton is a real talent and far more promising than Garrett. He has played numerous under 21 games so time to get him in the side.

So it is just one idiot then? As expected. If we got to a play off final, I refuse to believe that it wouldn't create so much additional faith in the manager across the fan base.

Brereton definitely has to come in, that is a given. Not many other options that you would be confident coming in. Buckley will surely be out, the obvious choice is Adam Wharton but Tomasson doesn't seem to like him and will no doubt sadly go for Morton. I would just about prefer Morton to Garrett though who isn't good enough.@JoeH you say he changed the game, what did he do? He is poor on the ball, can't fault his tenacity but it actually sapped time up on a couple of occasions by charging in for tackles and the ball firing out of play. There is also the full back dilemma, Brittain did well and set up a goal but he won't be doing that on his wrong side. That being said, Rankin Costello wouldn't be a player you would want to drop. Maybe he could move into midfield? Scott Wharton could come into contention regardless of formation with Carter all over the shop the other day. Also, @J*B you'd play Dolan up front? I don't think he is very effective there, miles better wide left. Horrendous the other night but prior he has had his best form there. Pears Rankin Costello Carter Hyam Brittain Travis A Wharton Thomas Szmodics Dolan Brereton Subs: Hilton, S Wharton, Morton, Gallagher, Hedges, Pickering, Leonard Our wins have been in that formation although a back 3 might be more sensible on Sunday with Thomas out and S Wharton in.

Seems like we played an Icelandic side today. Morton, Brereton, Hedges, Garrett and both Whartons seemingly played.

I totally get why people think this way. It is not that I necessarily don't get why expectations and standards are as low as they are, more that I find it sad and the proof of what Venkys have done to us rather than me thinking that it is an unrealistically low expectation. That being said, I do think (not that you have said otherwise) that we should now expect a top 6 finish. The only teams with a really strong parachute advantage tend to be split between well run and not and many of our top 6 rivals have similar or even less than us, especially with our academy. The League 1 season did lower expectations, but for me the main thing was the covid season. It was the one of regression and interest was lessened plus nobody could have given him grief in the stadium anyway. I know this site isn't a good gauge but he was particularly criticised and a return to stadiums coinceded with an excellent first half to the season.

Because he has for the most part played at a much lower standard there this season. He struggles with taking the ball in dangerous areas nearer to his own goal without dawdling. He also is good at winning the ball high up, which playing deeper means he rarely now does. He is better further forward but we are already well stocked there and very short deeper. We needed a competent midfielder in the summer and then in the winter and Broughton and co messed up by firstly considering Buckley as a deeper midfielder, then signing Morton who isnt very good, then fucking up the O'Brien deal.

Of course, I wouldn't be calling for his head or anything silly, but I just wish we could have a semblence of ambition and expectation as was the case pre Venkys. Players and budget wise, there is no reason why we shouldnt be aiming to finish higher than Luton and Millwall this season. And it would hard to be too optimistic as part of the project going into the next season that we wouldnt again fail to get over the line regardless of the first 3/4 of the season, that is certainly not specific to JDT. Would disagree that it is particularly enjoyable to watch just because of the poor standard. I watched Sheff United v Luton earlier, terrible watching. Have these people specifically said they wouldnt accept him even if he delivered tangible success ie a play off final? If so, they are surely a minority of very odd fans who arent judging on results.

I would definitely say that Buckley has had a poor season. I think he is hindered playing deeper as much as he obviously has ability and has put in the occasional good display.

Death spinal sounds very painful. IMO, it is hypothetical bollocks that even if we made the play off final, some fans "wouldnt accept JDT." He is downplaying things for the exact same reason, and I am sure managers at other clubs do it too.

It really grates how low people think of us as a club but I totally get it because Venkys have caused us to lower expectations to such a degree that we think so low of ourselves. I totally get why Tomasson does it and why Mowbray did it, textbook manager spiel aimed at lowering expectations. But we now do it to ourselves. We are not run well and likely never will be under Venkys, any good work done on the ground floor is in spite of them and their interfering. And to be quite honest the change of structure has done nothing to alleviate those concerns, with the shambles of a January window displaying that. Tomasson hopefully will improve on last season with praise aimed specifically at him if we do. But come on, its a poor quality league. The parachute money can cause a disparity but not all of the clubs that come down are run efficiently enough to use them as a big advantage, they just end up being used to prop up inflated wage bills. You get some teams like Fulham last year and Burnley this that are a class apart but you also get teams like Watford/Norwich that may have individuals above our station but who are a bit all over the place. We are also competing with teams like Luton and Millwall who we shouldn't have inferiority complexes about. We also have the advantage of an excellent academy that granted we end up over reliant on but one that Venkys dont deserve praise merely for not destructing. Lets have a bit of expectation about us. We are in the top 6, 10 games to go, drop out and it will be a huge disappointment, not an understandable first step of a project.

I have never said that everything would fall at the managers door.

I just feel the situation is not even specific to managers. If we had 2 seasons in which we blew top 6 places and being a Championship side away from Wembley, there wouldnt be any faith in us ever getting anywhere. We could start next season well and still we would expect the worst and it would cause so much frustration. I think for everyones sake we need at least something from this season, either a trip to Wembley or a play off place. At the end of the day, we've spent the vast majority of the first 36 games in the top 6. It wouldn't be entitled to be incredibly annoyed if we don't make it. We aren't a minnow and you look at someone like Luton who are above us again, we shouldn't just contently accept finishing outside. I get why the manager like the last one bangs on about not expecting things because he wants to try and lower expectations but its quite sad how so many seem to be pre-emptively accepting not being competitive as if we are the odd team out at the top. Venkys have stripped us of any ambition and any expectation and its so sad.

My point was more about the general feeling that our fans would be forgiven for having IF on the back of last seasons collapse, we failed to get to Wembley AND fell again out of the play offs. The last 11 or 12 years have not been pleasant and it would create a feeling of hopelessness. Forget the crap about a project or a journey, its just hot air and typical manager speak. There is a great opportunity both to get to Wembley by winning at a Championship club and to get into the top 6 of a very average Championship. Do even one of those and I think Tomasson will gain a hell of a lot of credit and establish some faith and hope again, and there should be expectation to at least achieve one of those aims. Fail on both counts and it would be a huge disappointment and then we would go on to lose our main asset for free and with the shambles of a transfer window in January under the new structure, it could lead to some unrest. Its up to Tomasson now, the business end of the season.

I think it was quite unique in that the poorest season of Mowbray happened to fall in Covid times so not only did he evade any potential flak but even then, people didnt seemingly take the same interest over ifollow. He was lucky in that regards. When we came back, Mowbray happened to time a great first half of the season with a fanbase relieved to be back in stadiums. Even against Swansea I didnt personally sense much beyond the normal moans and groans of a very poor performance. There is a general malaise around the club but it seems like January onwards from last year seems to have really naturally hurt people after a decade of nothingness and the potential for a repeat would be hard to stomach.

I doubt it will manifest into anything much (or at all) in stadiums and I may be totally wrong. But it would be more generalised than specific, imagine how it would feel on the back of falling away so badly last season if we fell away this year AND spurned a chance to get to Wembley. Both inherited totally different situations, the initial remit under Mowbray was to get us back up and re-established, Tomasson surely to try and push us beyond the glass ceiling and push us on having finished 8th last season. It would be impossible to escape the feeling that it will never happen if it fell away again.

I personally think there is pressure on Tomasson from a supporter perspective in the rest of the season. Obviously last season was more dramatic a fall but we were in the top 6 and fell away. 8th would have potentially been seen as overachievement at the start, but the way we fell away caused anger and frustration. If we was to lose a chance of a place at Wembley AND fall away from the top 6, you can say project all you want but there would be so much annoyance and it would feel like neither will ever happen.

Dogs abuse? Its people commenting on individual displays which were totally lacklustre on a messageboard, just like on Saturday those people eulogising the same players. People will comment on what they see. No one has said that they should play well in every game but they are players who put themselves in a position whereby everyone watching will have opinions on what they see.

Has anyone suggested that Brereton should have been sold in January? Rothwell should have, the manager at the time wanted to, if the owners don't trust the manager then replace him, don't start interfering.

Woeful performance, have we ever lost a game all season and not embarrassed ourselves? No positives, Dolan was as bad as anyone and didn't fancy it, Szmodics looked like a player that was in and out at Peterborough, Carter was all over the place, Thomas looked like a player that Huddersfield happily let go, Pears was very shaky, Buckley was half arsed although his injury is a massive worry. Broughton and co fucking up the O'Brien deal having previously signed the useless Morton with the only alternative (bar the unfancied Wharton) being Garrett who isn't good enough either could leave a huge hole in our midfield. There is huge pressure on these next 2 games, we have been knocked down so often under Venkys, Tomasson can play things down all he wants but negative results leading to slipping down the league and losing a golden chance to get to Wembley and people will really get frustrated and it could simmer over the break. Or we can beat Reading, get to Wembley and really for once make people excited.

Yes.

If we are taking it as a given that logic has gone out of the window then we will never compare to a club like Brentford who are very logical with each decision. Fans will always be unhappy when their favourite players leave, it is irrelevant though to those making decisions.

Absoutely embarassing first half, lacking quality, fight and bottle. Couldnt take a single positive.

Dolan had that shock factor of a young signing from Preston that no one expected, a bundle of energy and tricks but that wasn't a consistent theme of his performances. It is to be expected at his age and he does seem to be maturing, in the main he does less unnecessary tricks and is starting to produce more end product, that has been an ongoing development hence why he has had spells out of the team. Especially under Tomasson but before too he often features up front which doesnt suit him and it isnt a big surprise that he has been more effective out wide. His poorest game recently I thought was v Blackpool when he regularly gave the ball away loads through over elaborating but he also scored a brilliant goal. A mixture of in the main effective performances but also goals and assists whether he plays well in general or not is exactly what he needs to do and is doing. The key now is to keep playing him wide and to get him signed up long term.

Even if there would have been such negative fan reaction, which is nonsense. You don't run a football club like that, and they dont otherwise appointing Owen Coyle would never have crossed their mind. The key is to reinvest that money, we could have been so much better off with a big chunk of £12m+ reinvested rather than the alternative of 6 months of a disinterested Rothwell and a year of Brereton.