Gallagher seems a weird obsessive focus of yours. We actually could do with him back ASAP. We miss him, as much as he is average.

We likely wont have a club by the time Venkys have had enough.

Depressing watch, we wasnt competitive with 11 men but a moment of unacceptable idiocy by Brittain (who had been having another shocker out wide) led to us being hammered. One thing I do not agree with is why Szmodics was kept on. Hes clearly knackered, as soon as they score a second, get him off and rested up. We were uncompetitive even with 11, couldnt keep the ball and the starting line up was massively imbalanced and we offered absolutely no threat. I dont think anyone comes out of the game with any credit. Wahlstedt made some good saves but is a typical modern day keeper, decent with his feet and agile but he was at fault for the first because he simply cant handle crosses.

Not a pleasant watch. Weve been totally dominated and have offered absolutely nothing. We keep giving the ball away. Weak goalkeeping for the goal. Brittain is not a winger, Hill has been all over the shop out of position at full back and we dont have a striker on the pitch. With our record when conceding first and nothing on the bench, it doesnt bode well.

Im guessing spending half a million on a young player in one of our "least weak" positions is at best unlikely.

Anything other than the odd person in the remaining core will not give up their main passion just to try and stop Waggott from potentially missing out on his target. Its never going to happen. Price rises coupled with the increase in moving kick offs and accessibility not just with the ridiculous number of Sky games but the fact that people can access coverage of any live game if they look hard enough, different story.

If the deal doesnt go through, it wont be down to any of them. It will be financial, thus down to Venkys.

His Rovers career so far has been strange. Had missed games through injury and he is quite clumsy at times, his general performance level has not been very high. But he offers us a goal threat, and that is a valuable thing to bring to the table. On a free, it seems a no brainer.

I saw a tweet yesterday mocking the narrative last night about Newcastle being awakened as a "sleeping giant" in this seasons Champions League. They have won nothing since the 60s, and have they really proven much with 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses in the group? They seem to be viewed as plucky underdogs but is that a fair stance? PSG were obvious group favourites but beyond that, Newcastle finished 4th in the best league in the world and have spent loads of oil money. Bruno, Joelinton, Isak, Barnes, Gordon, Botman, Tonali, Trippier, the obligation to sign Hall, its an expensively assembled side. Milan are nothing special and Dortmund are victims of poachers on a yearly basis.

I guess at least with those 2, Tronstad didnt play for a number of weeks and Wharton regularly is subbed before the end. Szmodics always seems to play 90 minutes.

We could do with freshening up but it's really difficult at the moment. Hill seems an obvious one but hopefully Brittain will not play as a winger as he is clearly out of place there. Travis is another who could come in, he still is for me a far better option than Garrett and he could stiffen up the midfield. Szmodics could do with a rest and Moran too, it massively weakens us but maybe something like the below with those 2 ready off the bench: Wahlstedt Brittain Hill Carter Pickering Travis Tronstad Wharton Markanday Ennis Sigurdsson Obviously if he has enough in the tank then Szmodics for Markanday.

2 out of 4 English sides finishing rock bottom of their Champions League group which jeopardises the Premier League being one of the countries that is allowed 5 teams in the (stupidly reformatted) competition next year. Might slightly reduce the "best league in the world" shouts from Sky et al in the short term.

Not in our model in costing money either.

I dont think he hadnt been rolling up his sleeves prior. And it seems like choosing out of personal dislike not to credit him for an impressive points tally at all, which isnt really balanced. He did really poorly the season before, then surprisingly did well the season after. But either way, my point related to our recent points hauls in the last 2 years, how they were both impressive considering the size of the squads but how the squad caught up on both and how the squad is perhaps even smaller now, so its hard to see us sustaining a play off push. And I suspect at best next summer will come around, x y and z will be sold/released/go back to their parent club, we will replace like for like and still have a small squad and likely an inferior manager to Tomasson and to be honest even Mowbray.

He wasnt at an advantage that his squad had been cut down. He created a way of playing and a tactic that saw us get an impressive points total over the course of the season. I know people are reluctant to praise Mowbray in any way but he did well considering specifically in that season, as has Tomasson since. If people cant bring themselves to give him any praise then fine but IMO thats not balanced. Point being though, the squad since the cuts prior to Mowbrays final season have left us with a thin squad that gets less and less experienced each summer ever since. Mowbray for 1 season and Tomasson for 1 and a half season so far have done well in spite of that but in the last 2 seasons, results have sadly dipped as the seasons have gone on with that small squad catching up on us. I cant help but forsee history repeating itself.

Your predictions are particularly wide of the mark to be fair.

Theres no way that anything other than maybe the odd (IMO misguided) individual is not coming to night games because of the manager. Midweek, winter, red button football. Was ever thus. Miracles is a bit much but Tomasson is certainly doing a good job all things considered. We have been ill prepared to compete for 2 and a half seasons in particular now.(well, for the whole of Venkys reign in reality) If you dont consider how drastic the dip was, and people will struggle to admit this, Mowbray did very well to finish on 69 points in his final season here, the squad had been massively cut in the summer and we could only bring in loans. It was obviously right to change and Tomasson IMO is an upgrade for sure but that last season saw an impressive points tally considering what he had to work with. Ever since, the stance seems to be try to replace who leaves, never addressing that lack of a deep and competitive squad because the owners wont allow it. Tomasson had the luxury of being able to bring in 3 buys, all players who have done well but all replacing the 3 that left, not adding to it. He also did very well to merely match that 69 points total with a similarly thin squad, and again the season saw a massive decline in the last few months with a long run without a win. We had assumed it was just a Mowbray dip, obviously it was as well, but that may just be par for the course nowadays when we are expected to compete with too thin and young a squad regardless of the manager. This season, again we have a small squad, even less experience, we are winning and losing in equal measure, very competitive in the top half, and again its hard to not forsee a similar pattern as the season wears on with signs of fatigue already plain to see. The question is what sort of job will Tomasson go to next. Many assume it will be a big club in a big league, but assuming we dont get top 6 this season, from on outsider perspective, would his job attract such a club?

It doesnt seem to lead to accurate predictions regarding who is going where. Still waiting on Alex Neil to show up.

The thing is, the benchmark for those years is so low. Tomasson is doing really well but you could argue that our club at the moment typifies the issues. We have a good manager and retain the shoots of a very promising academy and we have a small squad of players who clearly give their all with some talent in there too. But equally, we are still being strangled by those same owners. The talented manager and core of young players is not being given the help it needs to have a genuine shot at promotion. We have that leg up from the academy but due to aggressive budget slashing, they dont have the help and guidance they need from a bigger squad and more experience. It feels like we will never go past being "just shy." I have never allowed my hate of Venkys stop me from attending but equally I can understand why people have become so disenchanted.

He has previous regarding ducking out of challenges but didnt see that tonight. He also had energy to the end when others didnt. He offers a goal threat that others dont too. Wonder whether he will sign longer term as he could now feasibly sign a pre contract. Rich Sharpe said there was something in place until 2025 and his contract at CSKA ends in May and not June but I wonder if the budget slashing may impact any deal? Seems a no brainer on a free even if he hasnt always convinced, its an extra goal threat.

Are there any clubs that you dont have connections to?

Very satisfying, gritty win from a really poor quality game against perhaps the worst team to come to Ewood this season. The small squad looks to be catching up on us with fatigue evident throughout but good spirit to get over the line. Sigurdsson got the man of the match but that was a strange pick, aside from a nice finish he wasnt particularly good. I compared him to a less effective Brereton at the weekend, his general play can be quite scruffy and he is prone to losing the ball but unlike anyone bar Szmodics, he actually provides a goal threat so is certainly worth a start for that as we sorely lack it otherwise. Wahlstedt was man of the match in my opinion, made a few key saves, he had one unnecessary flap but I loved his commanding catch before full time, exactly what was needed. I also think Tronstad and Wharton continue to impress as a pairing, the former is so consistent in protecting the defence and the latter plays with one or two less touches than anyone else because he is a step ahead. The striking situation is clearly less than ideal. Ennis looked like a player understandably rusty and his repeated tendency to be caught offside broke down attacks. That said, compared to Leonard who is so lightweight, he uses his body well and brings others into play. It might be a case of using Ennis as much as is deemed possible without over exerting him and rotating with Leonard until Gallagher is back. Szmodics was really off it all game, he is desperate for a rest. Moran was really poor too. Pickering was typically steady, Carter and Brittain were both fine, Scott Wharton is such a threat from set pieces but both on the ball and on the turn he is a liability.

Not only does Johnson come across as a prick, but his managerial record isnt very good either. Currently 21st having lost his last 5 games by either a 3-0 or 4-0 scoreline.

😂 he has mentioned him numerous times in the last few weeks. He isnt imminently close to a return, he had a setback about a month ago. But yeah, big money transfer coming.

Wahlstedt Brittain Hill Carter Pickering Tronstad Wharton Moran Szmodics Sigurdsson Ennis Ennis is obviously not going to start and im not saying he was particularly useful when he came on at the weekend but id like to see him start and do 45-60 minutes. I am not comfortable with repeatedly starting Leonard as as much as there is talent there, he isnt ready to play game after game at this level. He has been anonymous in his last 2 games and over the course of the season he has missed most of his chances. I really hope we dont see Brittain out wide as he isnt effective there but I am unconvinced that Tomasson will drop any of Hill, Wharton or Carter.