He isnt fit. Im sure as soon as he is, he will play as hes still our best striker.

One player I cant figure out is Sigurdsson. In the last 2 home games we have looked more balanced after half time when he has been out wide. He isnt that quick but hes more powerful and quicker than the other options and he gives us more directness and width. He offers us a goal threat much more than the other alternatives, Moran isnt a natural when it comes to scoring and Brittain has something like 1 in 5 years. Sigurdsson has 4 for us I think already and chances do fall to him, he had our best chance today and his header was decent. There are huge question marks over him too though. He shirks tackles at times, he isnt technically that good and he can be quite cumbersome, his general performance levels havent been particularly good but he does offer a goal threat that none of the other options do. He is almost like an inferior Brereton whereby he isnt the most orthodox, his general play can be hit and miss but he does offer a goal threat. I also wonder where his long term future lies. Rich Sharpe implied a couple of months back that we had some sort of agreement to extend his contract until 2025 I think. I dont have a clue if that still stands, his deal in Russia ends in May so we could now legally approach him on a pre contract. A mixture of him not necessarily excelling and the budget cuts may have changed things, no idea.

I definitely think the football is easy on the eye and there has been a clear progression. It also helps us to get the ball into good positions within the final third. The play when we get there as you say is what lets us down, I consider a game whereby basically all of the major chances go to one team is one team outclassing the other. Its hard to put that down to Tomasson either. Hes not infallible, he seems to like Brittain as a winger for one. But ultimately a lack of investment from the owners has left him so short of options.

I hope we win at Southampton and disprove this but I feel like the weakened squad compared to previous years has removed our ability to really believe that we can bloody the noses of the best teams in the league. That is sad because I feel like its not an unreasonable expectation to at least expect to be competitive with any Championship team, especially at home, but after so long treading water and with the owners negligence hitting new highs/lows, I suppose it is to be expected. Weve played Leicester and Leeds at home and neither before or during either game did I expect us to get anything. In both games we lost by more than a goal.

They won 2 nil and had all of the key chances in the game, I would consider that to be outclassed. The overall game was not the most free flowing, in midfield we did fine, but we were outclassed where it matters and barely created anything of note. Carter was fine aside from that one moment that he was very lucky not to lead to a goal. It was the biggest of 3 situations whereby our playing out from the back caused us thankfully unpunished issues. The style has massively come on and the players clearly are more comfortable now with it having worked on it so no calls to change style, but today we had an above average number of issues with it, which can happen. The biggest issue today was the poor quality in the final third, it has been before, it is down to the owners cutting the budget and us not having much quality across the frontline.

I cant understand saying scoping out all week where to drink out on an away day then spending the victorious afternoon gloating about away fans in the home ends on an opposition team messageboard.

A striker is definitely needed but when youve got Brittain regularly on the wing and only two natural wide men (one with a long term injury) then we definitely need more. Not necessarily old fashioned wingers but some quality and pace out there.

We are not one player light though, we dont have enough players. We are really light out wide, Sigurdsson has had a mixed start, Moran is more of a central player and Markanday is not good enough. We possibly need 2 strikers but at least one. And we could do with more experience elsewhere. If we suddenly got money, it would be wreckless to just spend it on one player.

I respect your opinion enough though not assume youve lost all perspective. My main point is about a lack of quality and it was my prediction going into the game, they had a far more expensively put together attacking line plus subs and that of course was the difference. You would expect them to win and out class us and they did. I dont think we played that well though. We didnt create (aside from the half chance for Sigurdsson's header) anything really due to poor decision making/lack of quality in the final third. Brittain is simply not a winger, we lack ready made quality up front and Moran is neat and tidy and can create (not much today) but doesnt offer a goal threat. We are so reliant on Szmodics and he was not at his best today. Thats seperate to Leeds quality at the other end, we didnt do very well going forward and its a common theme due not to lack of effort but a lack of quality. They obviously scored 2 goals, there was some preventability in the build up and then both goals were well set up and superbly finished. Jitters in our back line saw Carter most obviously but also Wahlstedt and Wharton nearly hand them further chances unnecessarily.

I dont think its fair to dismiss my opinion as lacking perspective. I just have a different opinion to you. I dont think Leeds were great either. We created precious little in the way of clear cut chances and never really looked like scoring. We also caused problems of our own making defensively. The 2 midfielders again were our best players, 7 out of 10 performances. Had I come on and said the players arent trying, the manager needs sacking, we embarassed ourselves etc, thats lacking perspective. We just didnt play well, owing to a lack of quality in key areas.

I dont think we played very well. The midfielders were both good, and Hill and Brittain are both good players not playing in their natural position. Some of the others were ok, but its a loss I dont think anyone can argue with. There was some very neat and tidy approach play, we get into the final third and it leads to very little in the way of reasonable chances. And its in the immediate aftermath of another frustrating home loss.

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.