https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23979413.tomasson-gives-verdict-blackburn-penalty-appeals-vs-leeds/ Tomasson not having the Garrett shout, and unsure on the 'handball.'

Another anticlimactic afternoon at Ewood, comfortable loss and 6 losses in 10 at home is really, really poor. As is the fact that weve never won from behind at Ewood under Tomasson. That being said, its directly due to the tiny squad we have lacking in quality and one that is often naive. Brittain was rubbish again being asked to play a position he simply cannot play. Leonard may aswell have not been on the pitch, understandably hooked and not ready for week in week out football at this level, not a chance. Moran was poor, Szmodics off it too (cant play well and score everytime, too reliant on him) and Sigurdsson did offer something different but not always good. Ennis nowhere near fit enough or in shape and Markanday a waste of time ever using him. Our attacking options are nowhere near good enough. Tronstad and Wharton in midfield were our best 2 players, Carter had a nightmare nearly leading to a goal, Scott Wharton causes worrying moments, Wahlstedt had a very nearly costly wobble (plus again flapping at a cross he could have caught nearly led to a goal) and Hill is obviously not a full back. Pickering was always up against it against such direct pace. Lots of focus on the ref, would have to see the main penalty appeal again but didnt look like one to me, hit his arm/hand but as he slid so we would have been raging had it been given against us.

Indeed. Not wanting to "block pathways" is the new phrase when the actual situation is we cant afford to sign anyone, lets spin it into a tactical decision.

Ive not seen much evidence of us being a trading club. At the moment we seem to be a claw back as much money as is possible club. That being said, the Wharton extra year is clearly good news. He will likely be sold (perhaps next summer) but it gives us slightly more protection for that eventuality in terms of our negotiating position. The question is, when he does go, will a big chunk be reinvested as a trading club would? Probably not.

Sigurdsson, Ennis and Travis are back available which is a boost. With Ennis, he is obviously not going to start, maybe a token sub appearance over the hapless Telalovic. Ideally we could change one or two up, I would prefer Brittain to move back into defence so the question is, Travis into midfield to make a 3 which then moves Szmodics or Sigurdsson in. I still really cant see us getting anything from a really good Leeds side. They have Summerville, Piroe, Rutter and James and then Bamford, Anthony and Gnonto off the bench, the best set of attackers in the league.

2 loans and a returning Buckley seems quite an ambitious shout. A loan was declined by Venkys after Buckley was moved on during deadline day. And we cant even be sure that the bills will be paid.

Especially amidst genuine uncertainty over whether even the bills get paid as the season goes on.

He definitely is a solid member of the squad, rather he stuck around. But certainly never at CB. I know hes done the odd 20 minutes notably at Norwich but hes never a centre back and youd never want him starting a game there. Hes our only left back so we cant afford to move him anyway.

Every time I have seen Bell for Luton he has been just like he was here. Maybe suits him playing for a team that has no interest in keeping the ball though.

A deal that makes sense, probably a very easy one to do too. Hes one of a small amount of solid Championship players we have left after the budget cuts. I dont think he has the capability to ever move a division up but hes certainly a reliable player in the Championship. Since he joined, he has been everything that Bell wasnt. He can handle the ball, technically good, reliable, reads the game well, consistent and intelligent. His obvious weakness is he is very slow, often his positioning protects him defensively but it has been known that a quick winger can run him ragged.

It was about 10 minutes at right back. There has always been an assumption that playing him more central would lead to more goals, and the stats may deceive me, but he played central last season and his goal output didnt seem to improve noticeably. Hes never been a natural goalscorer, and sometimes maybe playing on the inside of a smaller full back gave him an advantage. He is what he is. Injury prone. And a bog standard Championship striker, a powerful runner, a hard worker, a physical handful albeit not one that makes full use of his attributes, and a 1 in 4 ish goalscorer. A genuinely ambitious club would certainly ditch him. For us, compared to novices and write offs, he is still our best striker somehow. Hard to justify keeping on the big wages, but those resources saved will not be reinvested.

To be fair, even if it was pre budget cuts, and based on this assumption that he came as a back up, Ennis simply shouldnt have been signed. The very fleeting appearances he made had flickers of promise but with continued absence perhaps make him seem better than he actually is. His injury issues make him totally pointless and he certainly cant be seen as a "good one." But its very difficult to really judge Broughton. Its not as clear cut as with Waggott as to whether he is out of his depth, but like with Waggott, the problem doesnt lie here. Any DOF would struggle to work under these conditions. Its not only the budget cuts which are beyond uncompetitive. We couldnt even afford an extra loan as a body for when Buckley left. Its the fact that everyone seems to be totally in the dark as to what is happening and if and when these vague issues will ease/go away. Its the fact that Venkys occasionally stick their nose in and make random decisions which have long term ramifications, ie turning down a considerable bid for Brereton with a year left.

It didnt appear to be motivation he lacked here. Just ability.

It allows further blame to be funnelled away from the owners.

Well I suppose, but that isnt in any way on him. Thats on the owners 100%. The journey stuff is standard manager talk.

His usefulness or otherwise is definitely almost irrelevant compared to the sad stain on the club that are Venkys. Its interesting that Glen found out that the buys last season were targets from before Broughton joined. Makes it even more difficult to judge him considering this summer was shall we say mixed but under ridiculous restrictions. I suppose he seemingly did identify Tomasson.

Would it be that funny? Not convinced it would be a downgrade, surely you would want a terrible manager in if you wanted to see them suffer. Spending our last millions? He spent up to £15m but its not as if he blew it, Armstrong brought in a big sum back, and its not his fault that it wasnt invested, then the owners turned down money for Brereton that would have led to an overall profit after a considerable goal tally from the 3 combined. And then to add insult to injury, the owners then continued to slash the budget after that. The "spending our last millions" bit is on the owners. Not sure ive seen mentions of him being a great manager. The common opinion seems to be steady and solid at this level. Thankfully we upgraded but not some sort of laughing stock either.

I always think that the narrative of him complaining about location were taken out of context a bit. He regularly rambled on about his life story in general, but he was clearly happy hence why he would have probably stayed longer if possible. Obviously family means a lot to him and he has had tragedy in his personal life but he also seems genuinely obsessed about football.

He is a coaster, he often has spells where not only his form falls off a cliff but he totally downs tools, hes stroppy and lazy. They have had big stars in the past (Ronaldo and Pogba) who dominated the press and he got a bit of a free pass when he was equally as bad in terms of attitude whilst arguably contributing less. He clearly has ability but hes not a top player. There was obviously a lot of focus in the last England squad with the likes of Henderson, Phillips and Maguire selected despite form as Southgate favourites. Rashford was also very lucky especially with Sterling not included.

With Venkys only becoming less and less interested, the worry has to be though that it would lead to a further reduction in quality. I would certainly agree that he is average. Yet in the last 2 and a half seasons, average is better than any of the alternatives because they come from either the academy, loans or for a pittance. Leonard has something about him but its a massive ask to keep flogging him so young. Vale was hopeless. Ennis is a waste of time, Telalovic is a million miles away and Hirst was a waste of time too. Its probably wise to let him go, but it probably will not be a case of the potential to improve the squad. Purely more cost cutting.

It feels even more frustrating that when we have such an exciting manager and a few of the younger players seem to have kicked on, that Venkys simultaneously have doubled down on their budget cutting to the point that we arent going to be competitive over 46 games. The team under Tomasson could have been but the squad isnt. This "situation" over in India seems all very peculiar to me. Its never been explicitly explained, the owners havent had the decency to clarify and those underneath still seem in the dark trying to maintain the image of everyone working together in full understanding but with very little answers. It seems from the meeting that its almost accepted that Tomasson will leave when he can.

I think to get Sunderland into the play offs last season was a little more of an achievement than is implied. They went up through the play offs and a start of 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses prior to his arrival hardly was him riding the crest of a wave. It was an excellent achievement especially without his main striker. Sunderland are in a position where they can afford a gamble as of course Mowbray has his limitations and even if the next appointment backfires, its not as if they will get sucked in to a scrap. Their recruitment has not been the best, all done above the managers head similar to here it seems. Total focus on signing projects and dismissing more practical needs for experience amongst it, lots of misfiring young strikers signed. As you touch on, there will be clubs at this level that would benefit from appointing him. Safe pair of hands and a steady manager.

Not surprised that Mowbray has been sacked with the set up there but I do think its quite harsh. He has done a good job, to get them into the play offs last season was a good achievement. The manager has little autonomy there and they seem keen to strip away any experience and have lumbered him with loads of random signings from abroad, the majority of whom are crap. It seems to be the way forward, data obsessed analysts helping to assemble young, technical squads with lots of gambles but not much glueing it together. It does seem similar to when he left here. He is a 3 or a 4 on a dice. To get promoted you need a 5 or 6 with a team like at Rovers or Sunderland. We rolled our dice successfully but the benefits of us upgrading the manager are offset by the accompaniment of severe budget cuts. They dont seem to have owners that are so disinterested and hell bent on cost cutting but it remains to seen where they will pluck the new manager from. That being said, they are in a good position in a poor league to take a gamble and build on the foundations set by Mowbray.

Its absolutely crazy. There should be a cap, more games should be at 3pm. By all means keep 2 for super sunday, show any games that are midweek. Then maybe one on Saturday. Not the vast majority.

I dont think anyone will bid for him especially off the back of 3 months out injured when he has 6 months on his deal. And the owners wont be willing to allow him another deal if he is a high earner, they clearly only care about saving money.