I would have Brereton in the middle just in the absence of strikers due to Broughton. At least he can score goals and it might get him more involved. Could go Dolan left and Szmodics central but I would prefer Dack over Dolan for a goal threat. It is difficult to pick a team. We lack attacking quality and are in rotten form.

Don't want Dolan up top, can't play there. Kaminski Rankin Costello Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Wharton Thomas Dack Szmodics Brereton Not ideal, but worth a go. Flip of a coin for who goes wide right.

We lost 3 key players on frees but replaced all essentially with equals for a combined £4-5m. Brereton's "purple patch" can't just be considered a fluke either, the way we played both tactically and his position was much more suited to him. I can't get my head around this analysis of every word either but how you portray it simply isnt true. Tomasson says in every single press conference that we shouldnt be where we are in the league. They are all reading off the usual script of managerial platitudes, play things down I am much happier with Tomasson and Mowbray had had his day, dont get me wrong. But night and day as has been said? Not at all. Similar seasons (potentially) with falling away mainly down to an underfunded squad negligently managed by the owners and their staff and over reliant on the academy, but not without both managers making poor decisions along the way, especially towards the end, having done brilliantly to get us so high for so long in the first place.

Booking keepers for timewasting is pointless too. Has any keeper ever been sent off for two bookings for time wasting. Independent time keeper for stoppages, add them on at the end. Like in the World Cup, obviously will lead to big numbers at least to begin with but so be it.

11 times he has played half or more. Stoke as sub, think he won man of the match after just a half. Blackpool, we all know. Boro away, was excellent and key to victory. Birmingham, scored the winner. Hull, created the winner. And against Huddersfield, Coventry, Preston and Burnley, as good as anyone in a Rovers shirt. That leaves Bristol City and Coventry, both times he struggled somewhat.

For me, the best scenario would be for us to sign an experienced centre back, let Ayala go and loan out Phillips. We need a bit of experience and Phillips seems a prime candidate for a loan. Rather than play here and there, he could go to League 1 and prove himself physically. He has had issues with cramp in most starts so it would allow him to try and develop the ability to last a full 90 minutes regularly.

I get that and I was very much of the opinion that Mowbray had outstayed his welcome whereas Tomasson is someone I very much hope remains in the job into next season. I just dont really follow the narrative of the last 2 seasons being night and day. I actually think they have been very similar in so many ways, especially the way we have dipped off so badly in both. Overall very much above average seasons but tinged with (potential) frustration. But if you read on here, last season was a disgrace yet this is a success, which even factoring in season 1 v 5 is not quite balanced.

I get that he had longer but with essentially the same team they have had very similar seasons. Only major differences are Lenihan gone, Hyam bought for over a million to replace him, Nyambe gone and Brittain bought for a million to replace him. Rothwell gone and a couple of million spent on Szmodics to replace him. The usual suspects, Kaminski/Pears, Pickering, Wharton, Ayala, Dolan, Gallagher, Buckley, Travis, Brereton, Hedges all remain. Both have had us in the top 6 basically all season and I suspect both will have seen the wheels come off at the end with a catastrophic slump in form and practically identical points hauls. We have had 4 loans this season, loans will be a constant in our "projects." This season weve not used the market as well. Both had poor January windows with a reliance on trying to borrow who we can rather than any investment. Night and day? De ja vu. Assuming we dont make the play offs, based on individual seasons, I would give them both a B or B minus. Would have been an A if we had sustained a top 6 place. That being said, still a fair haul considering the running of the club even if both had similar slumps leading to massive frustration upon early promise. Obviously Mowbray had a season or two prior of seasons very much lower than a B.

Did he struggle quite a bit after Blackpool? He did in the following game against Bristol City as did the whole team. Then his next 3 starts were Boro away when he played well, Birmingham at home when he scored the winner and then another excellent performance at Hull where his assist was brilliant. We then played Coventry and he vanished after that.

For the first couple of years Mowbray had our fans eating out of his hands (I found it bizarre) with his stories and his jumpers for goalposts routine. It was only when results worsened that people started to micro analyse every press conference to conclude that he didnt want to be here which equally was strange. He did a decent job, tried his best, probably would have stayed but moved on which was the best for all concerned.

He soon after was excellent v Hull, Birmingham and Boro. This idea that Blackpool was a flash in the pan is nonsensical.

Whats caused the second 180 spin on Waggott? From calling him a Maggot, to being in his office every week, now you want rid of him. Why, and do you feel at all regretful that you were in any way tricked by his words?

Still our top scorer lets not forget, but a lot less effective compared to last season and Tomasson has not used him as effective. An absolute joke of a decision to keep him, not learn our lessons and that will cost us short and long term. Developing assets? Having a laugh.

I just dont get this huge disparity between last season and this, to me they are so similar. Both seasons in which we maintained top 6 places for the majority of the season only to stumble badly in the last few months. This season, a run of 7 without a win when it matters, all the usual hard luck stories, late goals, missed penalties, whatever, and just a realisation that we aren't up to it. Big if but if we draw and win, we will finish on the same points with not far off the same squad, with both seasons seeing younger than average sides each week. All in all, I'd say the job Tomasson has done this season and Mowbray last season are both above average considering how shoddily the club is run above them. And of course Tomasson should stay and I get that from a stronger initial position mainly down to Mowbray, he is new to the job and has not outstayed his welcome unlike his predecessor. But there isn't the disparity between the 2 seasons. Will things change next season? Probably not. Minimal money and already an expectation of even more of a reliance on young players replacing any experience we have. And even if we are in a promising position, will anyone have any faith that we can see it through?

It shows what Venkys have done to us and that is as sad as anything. Proud that we gave Burnley a game. Lost, but gave them an even game. At home, 6 losses in a row to them, no wins in 7 seeing us replicate last year, our rivals winning a title on our ground 30 points in front of us. Imagine saying that before they turned up.

One word. Venkys.

Not sure that they are transformative, and they both cost over a million and Tomasson has said its loans and frees this summer.

Will we bring that transformative quality in with no money and generally shoddy running of the club?

Apart from when they did.

He bought 3 for 15m to be fair. One nearly recouped that on his own. We could have made a profit on another if we were run properly but even then, he scored 20 odd last season but hasnt been used the same this. Gallagher I will give you.

I cant have a strong feeling of pride when Burnley have just done the double over us, won the title at Ewood and are 30 points ahead. I take nothing from battling hard especially when we never ever looked like scoring.

Fail to win 7 games in a row on the home stretch as long as you do a good presser.

That identity has really helped us collapse when it matters again.

The Venkys reign manages to stoop to new lows. Talk about pride and progression. We have just allowed Burnley to do the double over us, go 30 points ahead and win the league at our ground. We have failed to win in the last 7 games at the business end of the season, slipping right down and almost certainly into another play off less season. Another summer of dumbing down and just filling gaps with kids will apparently lead to further progression though. Tomasson has overseen a terrible run when it matters which is being viewed totally differently to when Mowbray did it and he probably will get less points over a season.

It doesnt help us to fill the ground that the limited away allowance has led to us being cautious selling in the home ends so some Rovers fans will struggle to be able to go I suspect.