Garrett was the other choice in mind and would give balance, and he and Travis could get up and down so I would be happy with that. Brereton did get into goalscoring positions hence the number of taps ins he scored but I did notice that Sigurdsson also did last night a few times, including his goals and also one that went over the bar. That was a good sign, Telalovic's movement was non existent and he just removed the space for others.

Of course, and he might well prove to be more effective even in a less natural position than the alternatives. But we could have done with a natural winger we went for as well as him and would have done had it not been for the budget slashing. But he is clearly better suited central, so it might be a case of trying to work with an imbalance in the side to get them both in rather than opt for someone not as good.

Sky cant bear to miss out on tantalising Prem v Prem team clashes for the third time in the year.

Really tough game and hard to see us getting much here. They have the best midfield in the league with Pereira moving from RB to help Ndidi, Winks and Dewsbury Hall out, and they also have Mavidivi and McAteer who are really dangerous wide men and a choice of goalscorers up front. We definitely need to make sure that at the very least, Travis sits deep alongside Wharton and Wahlsted comes in too. I would strongly consider a third midfielder who could bulk us up in there and also Rankin Costello in for the unfortunate Brittain (no point moving him to LB as his strength is then cancelled out) just for an extra player to drift into midfield. We have 3 clear choices in attack but in the absence of a definite striker and with 2 of those 3 wanting to play the same role its hard to pick a side with any semblence of balance. So this is a reluctant experiment. Wahlstedt Rankin Costello Hill Hyam Pickering Tronstad Wharton Travis Moran Szmodics Sigurdsson Would be content with Leonard up top and Tronstad dropping out though if it was done with Travis sitting much deeper. (I expect the same line up and tactics as against Ipswich bar maybe Dolan for Leonard if he misses through injury)

That is a hell of a statement so early on. Brereton got 14 goals and Dack got 4 goals just in the league, 17 and 8 in all competitions so 18 (25) between them last season. To upgrade, they need more than that, and are currently on 1 league, 4 in all competitions. Big ask. That front 4 relies not only on the impossible ie Ennis being fit on a regular basis but again, it might look good on paper but there is no balance because 2 of them want to play in the same position.

Is Pochettino a brilliant manager? He did a good job at Spurs undoubtedly building them up albeit they were always nearly men even when Leicester were the team to catch, and I have never understood why to many he is amongst the elite managers.

Ultimately the uncompetitive budget cuts have left us with an incomplete squad, undoubtedly. Problem is, Moran would have been a step up from Hedges and is from the likes of Markanday, so you have to try and fit him in. But he lacks the pace to play from a wide role, he is clearly a natural central player. Szmodics is too important in terms of goals to be jumping into moving him.

The thing with Wharton is on the ball, he is our only player that can pick the ball up in deep positions without regularly losing it. Moving him either further forward or out of the side to me makes little sense. What needs to be tweaked is to get another player regularly as deep as him when we dont have the ball. Even if Wharton was a seasoned pro who had experience of picking up the right positions off the ball, he would struggle to do it alone. It could require a third midfielder but at the very least it needs Tomasson to reign in plans to have Travis so advanced, especially if we have 4 ahead. I also think Rankin Costello might be needed. Brittain has put in some good crosses but he doesnt help to link the time by drifting into midfield (something Pereira at Leicester is the best in the division at doing) like Rankin Costello, giving us an extra body. I did think that, but that has a front 3 of whom none are in their natural position. It involves putting in our main 3 attacking players at the cost of any balance even allowing for talk about fluidity etc. Leonard may be a doubt anyway, and to be honest is not himself a player that youd want regularly starting at this level. If we do stick in a third midfielder, then I would at least have Sigurdsson left and Moran right.

He definitely does have something about him. The main concern is not him as a player but the imbalance across the front line. He thrived last night as a number 10, he is slow but technically really gifted and he struggles to have that same influence from out wide, even drifting in. Problem is fitting him and Szmodics into the same side when they both play in the same position.

Sky are typically unimaginative with their selections across the board. Surely the best choice for cup competitions is teams across different leagues. Not games they already may have one once or even twice.

I personally think it seems like quite a good game to be televised. That being said, we know that Sky will naturally gravitate towards all Premier League games...

I wasnt that impressed by Tronstad at all, gave the ball away a few times and one thing I find strange is that this style was clearly in mind prior to the season, so to sign someone for that position who struggles to receive the ball in deep areas on the half turn seems a bit strange.

No, but the attendance went down specifically due to people who wanted to sit in the Blackburn End not wanting to move.

I think we are left with as many questions as answers going into the Leicester game, who have the best midfield 3 in the division and Ricardo Pereira drifting in there too. Plus real pace out wide and a natural goalscorer. Sigurdsson and Moran have to start as obviously does Szmodics, but how do you fit them in? Moran and Szmodics both want to be a number 10, neither are suited anywhere else. Up front, if Leonard isnt fit then I certainly wouldnt play Telalovic. We also should consider an extra midfielder (or even centre back) but its difficult to know how to play Sigurdsson, Moran and Szmodics as the main attacking 3 whilst retaining any balance. Sadly, I expect Pears back in goal and a continuation of the gung ho tactics without any desire to at least have Travis deeper and Leicester will be licking their lips.

I though Etete was the stand out for them. Robinson played deeper and scored from range but Etete was a very good focal point, scored an excellent goal and caused in particular Wharton all sorts of problems. Was the opposite to Telalovic.

The club is in serious jeopardy whilst those people who employ him remain. Would you agree? Targetting him is targetting a huge symptom and not the illness. What is the end game, how does targetting him lead to his departure, why would it cause the penny to drop for the owners? Even if we force him to leave due to the stress of the campaign, voluntarily from a highly paid job he is out of his depth with, then what? Do you think the overall club notably changes under the same owners? Do they suddenly appoint someone competent and who drives the club forward with them still in situ? And to clarify. I think he IS incompetent, I hate that he is here and I do wish he would go. But he is not the main problem, incredibly. My main question. What is your current stance on the owners? Youve mentioned cryptic promises and talk of improvements etc. Do you still think they can run us effectively? Has the budget slashing changed your opinion on them?

They are in one of their regular "slash the budget no matter what" moods. I very much doubt they give a shit. Had they provided a competitive budget that would potentially lead to big sales in the future if we were run properly. At a normal club, youd think the owners would already be wondering why a stand was closed after being opened in a previous round and be on the pulse. But not these clowns.

You wouldnt get much for that as a striker. As I said, massive budget slashes mid summer compounding previous refusal to sell players close to their contracts ending has left us with a shell of a squad. It cost about 10m to assemble over 4 or 5 years. Yet you still seem so loathe to criticise the owners. Even when asked questions you usually avoid it. They are the problem. Waggott stays in charge and will for as long as he wants because he is merely carrying out the owners wishes. His methods are short term focused and counter productive and he should be long gone but ultimately the biggest method of generating income at this level is player sales and our stupid owners intervene and prevent that. Waggott is a huge symptom of our problems we face, very difficult to think of any area of added value that he has brought. Why is he still comfortably in charge though?

Venkys are the problem. We clearly didnt have any money to but a lower league striker, we didnt have the money to loan in another player.

Was a desperation signing because Venkys slashed the budget mid summer to an uncompetitively low one.

Another really entertaining game after long queues getting into the ground, if only we had other stands. Moran was really good as was Sigurdsson despite his missed penalty. Markanday and Hill also impressed and Garrett put himself about and got a good goal. Full backs decent too. Telalovic looks nowhere near the required standard, not what we needed. Tronstad kept losing the ball in stupid areas, Scott Wharton is a shadow of the player from 2 seasons ago and Wahlstedt was poor for the first.

Thats definitely not my post quoted!

The main issues are off the ball which are predominantly down to tactics chosen by Tomasson. So I do qualify my poor start comment with the clarity that much of it is not directly down to him. He does need to cut down the slack passes but I have faith that he can do that.

I think Buckley cannot do what Wharton does, taking the ball in those positions. And Wharton hasnt been very good this season, and at times that includes sloppiness on the ball. But how we currently play is really not helping him off the ball, would be a thankless task for anyone to be a solitary last line of protection of 2 centre backs ahead of a mistake prone keeper. Tomasson has even said he needs to improve off the ball, but he is being naive in leaving him so exposed. He has a patreon to fill for those gullible few who opt to actually pay money to read his drivel.

It is very much self inflicted. Our current injury situation is nothing remarkable. Such are the budget cuts, our main couple of forwards are both injury prone. Aside from that, Hedges is unfortunate but is only as big a blow as it is because of the dearth of options we have in attacking positons. Beyond that, beside a youth CB, do we have other injuries? If you look at the squad, compounded by aggressive budget slashing and the inability to reinvest due to squandered potential fees due to the stubborn owners. 2 keepers, probably costing 1m between them. Main 8 defenders include 4 graduates, a loan and 3 who cost around a combined 2.8m. In midfield, 3 graduates and a freebie. Attacking midfield, a loanee, a one year permanent freebie and then 4 more costing a combined 2.7m, and then obviously Gallagher at 5m alongside a freebie, a graduate and a young punt for a nominal fee. Barely over 10m combined cost across the whole squad, the 5m signing is from 4 or 5 summers ago, since then we have spent and retained about 5 or 6 million worth of players. Imagine how screwed we would be without the academy.