I think he is an average Championship striker. Ive also not been his biggest fan over the years. But I think its allowing confirmation bias to overule rational thought not to be willing to say that he has been good since he returned. He is what he is, he will never be prolific nor a top Championship striker, he is a mid table one. The alternatives are dire but even if we could spent the 1-2 million on another striker, it wouldnt be the really easy task people make out to get one as useful as him. And we need at least 2 competent strikers so even if we somehow for example agreed a summer deal for McGuire, we would need another one and it wouldnt be a certainty that either/both would be as effective as Gallagher.

He certainly has been a breath of fresh air compared to who we have had up top for the rest of the season. He has looked good and has offered a threat we didnt have, 2 good finishes v QPR and Preston even if we discount the Wrexham one which seemingly doesnt fit the agenda. But his whole round game gives us something we dont have otherwise, his power, his height and his pace, plus an excellent knock down for Dolan v Stoke and a brilliant ball for Szmodics at the weekend. Even if we write off the Birmingham and Cardiff games, where he barely got a kick due to those behind him struggling to pass it 5 yards, his impact is much more positive than negative. Even if we had signed him, we needed Gallagher as you cant just have one (presumably) decent Championship striker, Gallagher is one. Nothing special.

If we had have sold him we would be favourites for relegation. He has been a big plus since he returned from injury not only with his 3 goals and 4 assists but with what else he brings. We need to get every minute we possibly can out of him whilst not allowing him to get injured. Im guessing that you couldnt bring yourself to admit that he has looked good since he came back.

Unfortunately hes not nearly Championship standard. He did need a loan but even then im not convinced by what he offers aside from running around and whether he will get there at any time. He will need more than a promising cameo in a drab draw v Cardiff to move out of that.

Neither Ayari or based on more evidence Garrett is anywhere near the required standard, so I am wary of getting ahead of myself even if he is well above that really low benchmark. Buckley has always had ability, but has struggled for various reasons for nearly 2 years, he couldnt get a game at a team about to go down. He also didnt adapt as well as expected when moved into his new deeper midfield role. That being said, even though hes obviously not close to being Adam Wharton, he does have something in there so lets hope he can take an somewhat unexpected chance and push on. His cameo was a promising one.

None of us are managers or professional players either so lets not comment on their performances either.

Drab, lifeless performance and another painful watch with a poor set of players with no idea on how to attack. Cardiff were equally terrible and when games like this tend to cost £25-30 it is little wonder that both struggle to get people into the ground. Garrett is useless, shouldnt be near the side. Chrisene and especially Ayari are examples of how we borrow the cheapest players possible and end up with dross. Szmodics looks like a player both on the brink of injury and totally fed up with the new tactics and Tronstad is a shadow of himself without Wharton. Hyam also was all over the place. Buckley was a huge improvement when he came on, McFadzean is proving to be a wise sticking plaster in the defence and Wharton was solid albeit is the polar opposite of his brother on the ball. Pears made a few fairly routine saves competently and the clean sheet against an impotent Cardiff is at least a step in the right direction there.

The social media stuff you talk about is bizarre. Lots of people excitedly sitting down to watch a game they normally seemingly wouldnt and turning it off when he was subbed off. For me, the sale of a player like Wharton isnt the issue necessarily. Hes clearly above this level already so to an extent I could even normally understand his sale, albeit IMO it was too early and it made more sense to wait at least 6 months with his fee set to rise. The biggest barrier to us being like Brentford etc is that the money vanishes. It always vanishes. We should only sell at a time when we can reinvest a bit chunk into more potential stars that can improve the team to get better results and also by filling it with potential assets.

What experience do you have as a director of football, surely only a valid counter argument to suggesting that you should take the job. Being asked to have a complete scouting knowledge of European players is one thing too, but random fans arent going to be able to recite potential DOFs. Doesnt mean they dont exist.

Its a chance for a memorable highlight of a an otherwise dire season and to get into the quarter finals of the FA Cup. It wouldnt be a good look so soon into the Eustace era if he does anything but treats that game seriously.

We cant start writing off games especially considering the fact that you could throw a blanket over the majority of Championship teams in terms of quality and how poor our squad is beyond the first 11. We just have be cautious with subbing off our better/most important players whenever we can when the game allows.

Eustace said "it offers another opportunity to someone or maybe someone playing slightly out of position." Perhaps he has realised that Garrett is not up to it but I cant think of anyone who could feasibly slot in.

Hopefully he makes a quick recovery.

To be fair, that last bit does surely imply that younger fans than yourself are inferior.

He told was it a scout that, I certainly have no recollection of him actively telling his players to leave.

That was definitely the weakness in his game, but he was really good in that team at nicking the ball high up and he was good at through balls to players into space on the counter attack. That was definitely his best spell of form and I felt he struggled last season being expected to sit deeper, in theory it made sense but (unlike Wharton) he struggled taking the ball deep as he often got caught out. His form meant that he couldnt sustain his place in the team, even when we werent as possession focused as we went on to become. I do agree that we are in need of central midfielders over number 10s, so I guess he will be seen in that role. Im just unconvinced by him there. His last year and a half in general have not seen him kick on so I am unsure that he is the answer full stop, and Id rather see him in central midfield over Garrett, but I do wonder if he would be better suited playing behind Gallagher and Szmodics and ahead of (and at times helping) 2 other midfielders in a similar syste to that team he thrived in before his form fell away like the teams did.

I think Buckley's best spell by far came playing really high up in that Mowbray counter attacking side, where he was useful in winning the ball back and playing through Brereton and Khadra often into space. That was 3 seasons ago now though. I felt like he struggled when expected to play deeper under Tomasson and often didnt start, fell out of favour to the point where we sent him to the 2nd worst team in the league for whom he still could barely get a game. His reputation definitely is increasing whilst absent because the alternatives in that position notably Garrett arent up to it or are injury prone. When he gets fit enough he is definitely worth a go in midfield because he has more talent than Garrett but I am not particularly optimistic of him excelling because hes had a long spell of not doing much and im not convinced that he is a deeper central midfielder, athough there is an obvious vacancy there next to Tronstad. Maybe considering that Eustace favours a more pragmatic style, that Buckley behind Szmodics and Gallagher could help to get back to those levels he hit a couple of years ago? But then you still have that void next to Tronstad.

Yeah thats the issue and not the owners refusing to sell for big fees in favour of letting them leave for free.

Typical Bell. Not a very good player.

Well yeah, we have signed a lot of below par players this season and subsequently have gone 10 places further down the table after a horror run, so you will tend to find people questioning the players we now have. Hardly unjust, unnecessary negativity specific to Rovers fans.

Even under Tomasson, our defensive woes were considerably weighted towards set pieces. So conceded 2 from them but none from open play doesnt necessarily signify improvment.

Its in this 2 game a week run where the lack of quality in the squad really becomes blatantly clear and hinders any chance to rotate. Pears obviously continues despite not covering himself in glory for their second and having a shaky game midweek. You would think the back 3 will continue for the forseeable, O'Riordan is the alternative with Koumetio seemingly a waste of time. Neither wing back is particularly strong defensively but only the iffy Chrisene is an alternative. The midfield is the main concern, Tronstad is a given but his form has tailed off since Wharton left. Garrett isnt good enough and Ayari is probably the only alternative with Fleck already injured and Buckley not yet fit himself. In attack, Gallagher and Szmodics are obvious picks but the worry is potentially running them into the ground, especially the former with his fitness issues. Dolan has been ineffective in the last 2 but has to play because we have absolutely no options to rotate or affect games from the bench. Sigurdsson and Moran have not been successful signings and are too soft, Leonard isnt ready and Markanday and especially Telalovic are nowhere near. I would probably reluctantly just make one change, Ayari for Fleck.

Why do you think he (as part of a caretaker duo with Lowe getting no credit) do you give him the sole credit for that win? Tomasson did training Wednesday, they were off Thursday so those 2 only did the Friday and then had a long meeting with Eustace who clearly outlined how to play hence why weve continued to do that since.

Absolutely. Fleck is seemingly a write off, JRC is both needed at right wing back and also has another injury, so we are left with a player who has been out long term after failing to get into the side who are 2nd bottom, and Garrett who is nowhere near up to it. It was our strongest position until we sold Wharton and let Travis leave. The squad is full of below par players unfortunately, quite a few have been added this season and it is little wonder we are where we are.

Gallagher has 3 goals and apparently 4 assists since his return from injury. Hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement on a new deal because contrary to what some say, he would leave a huge hole as he does when he is missing.