I don't see why the theory has to be that Vale is doing things that us mere plebs cannot fathom or understand. Sam Gallagher is very average but he is far better than Jack Vale. He is not prolific but he will always score close to 10 goals, sometimes from wide which is pretty underwhelming still but is incomparable to someone with 1 league goal in his career at this stage. Vale doesn't link play at all, he doesn't put himself about, if the ball comes off the ground he never ever wins headers and the ball tends to bounce off him. It often does with Gallagher but defenders would take a game against Vale over Gallagher any day. Vale even with such poor options is not the best we have. There is little onus on you for Vale getting into goalscoring positions which is half of the battle of "creating chances." The onus is not just on the players around Vale to create him chances, his movement is poor. He can't hide behind the "system" as a central striker who has not shown signs of creating chances for himself with clever movement. Dack has also scored 4 goals this season, you point to the "subtlety" of Vale's movement as a reason for that. Even if we accept Vale's movement as a big reason for the goal at Bristol City, and that amble to the side is becoming as infamous as Myles Anderson's tackle! For the other 3 goals, Vale wasn't on the pitch! I don't see where the confidence comes from that it will be addressed next window. Broughton has had 2 in which he signed Hirst as "first choice" in one and nobody in the second.

It is a must win tomorrow for me to end a poor couple of months and try and regain some form. Wigan are shocking, we are at home v bottom of the league. If things start badly on the back of recent performances and off the field woes, the crowd could easily become disgruntled. It's on the players and the manager to get a good response tomorrow.

Agreed. In the summer a conscious decision was seemingly made that Buckley would successfully transition from an attacking midfielder to a holding midfielder and with Rothwell leaving, another attacking midfielder was brought in. There was a semblance of reason to that theory but his big strengths last season were winning the ball high up and playing players in on goal, his best spell by far in a Rovers shirt was as a false 9 with Brereton and Khadra either side going beyond him, as much as that form really nosedived once the whole team dipped and we didn't have Brereton fit and scoring goals running in behind. His main assets are restricted playing so deep and he dawdles on the ball, he takes too long on the turn and lacks the awareness to avoid being pick pocketed.

I wonder if Leeds will go for a new manager. They have a decent squad and are in terrible form under an energetic but rather irritating manager that struggles to get results.

Dyche straight in with a bang at Everton with the same players. Well drilled, a threat from set pieces and a new lease of life. I wish they had stuck with Lampard.

If that's something you are clinging on to, it suggests that there hasn't been much in the first place to cling onto! You compare him to a youngster in Adam Wharton with a similar amount of game time if not less, you can point to a man of the match performance at Blackpool, a goal v Birmingham, an excellent performance away at Boro and a superb assist at Hull for starters.

Underwhelming goal record, Cardiff fans seemingly in unison that he isn't very good, and whenever I have seen Cardiff on Sky and he has played, he has been part of an impotent Cardiff attack. Granted I didn't watch the game at Cardiff earlier in the season as I was away in which he did score a very good goal. Mark Harris, Sam Gallagher and Jack Vale would be possibly the worst set of strikers in the league.

He would have been struggling had @JoeH not mentioned that!

Because my point is that it is partly his fault that he seldom has a chance of scoring a goal! Your two highlights of Vale this season in the league that you have repeated is him strolling into the channel against Bristol City and a shot he had saved at Blackpool.

It had, but I think the main thing this season is playing him further back. A more sensible choice would have been to spend the Szmodics money on a partner for Travis and have Buckley as an option further forward. That would have blocked the pathways though, unlike a loanee who plays every game and the attempted signing of arguably the best midfielder in the division last season on loan.

It was may be, not maybe. The point of entertainment was meant towards neutrals watching us by putting it on TV. I know as a supporter that it is about results, I was bored rigid after that Cardiff game but was still happy. I don't agree with your point that people would have a different perception if it was an older British manager, see how Allardyce was treated, but that is a totally separate argument. I am not calling for no televised games, just a limit per club to think of match going fans ie the most important.

Mark Harris? No thanks. Gus Williams seemingly just recommending lots of Welshmen.

Owen Coyle made over 600 appearances as a professional striker. Steve Kean played at a higher level than anyone on here! The brunt of all of your arguments seems to be attempting to use "professionals" judgements rather than giving your own opinions against mine and others. Are "so many professionals" impressed with Vale? And even taking that as a given, think of all of the professionals that have granted poor players so many games. Jason Lowe played over 200 games in the top 2 divisions before he was seemingly found out. If his movement is good, why does he never find himself in goal scoring positions? I think you also place too much stock in scoring against kids, there are a million and one historical stand outs at that level that fizzle away, it means little. Being a better finisher than some of our other 9's is hardly a benchmark, our only other one is Gallagher! And even amidst his faults, I know who I would prefer 1 on 1. I mentioned earlier that a big reason that Jack Vale has barely had a chance in the league is because of Jack Vale. He is never in good positions. I don't get how you and Joe seem to be so focused on Vale's apparently good movement. He never really gets into good positions, especially in the box.

There may be a couple of/ af few ocassions within that timeframe whereby it The majority of scheduled weekend games should be Saturday at 3pm. I have never once said that TV shouldnt show games. I have long since called for a limit to how many games that can be moved within a certain timeframe. No more than 2 games every 6 weeks perhaps? Thats along the lines of my solution that you regularly dismiss with the "its been like this for 30 years" line. We are 8th now, we are boring to watch, why do they keep putting us on against similarly boring teams like Wigan, Cardiff and Rotherham anyway?

Very few people on this board haven't been massively taken by surprise at Rankin Costello's recent return to the team. On Vale I see absolutely nothing in his game that I feel could be a really big asset with development, that is why I can't ever see him being a good player at this level. There will be occasions where players prove people wrong, I am desperate for Vale to do that but there is no point me sitting on the fence when my opinion is as it is above.

No, a goal is a goal. But in general he has offered very little goal threat and does not tally up with a striker who has supposedly good movement. It isn't by chance that our best chances fall to Brereton and Dack, they can sniff out chances. Decent link up play? You must be watching a different player to me.

Dack as it stands is out of contract in the summer, albeit with the option. Markanday I forgot. Leonard has never played a senior minute, I stopped short of listing untested graduates. Theres no point in not making such predictions in case you get any wrong and I am not arrogant enough to think that my judgement isnt flawed. I dont think that Rankin Costello could play a big part in promotion, even allowing for his unexpected and sudden rise which no one could have expected. He has never performed even nearly to the level that he has lately. I don't get why anyone would seemingly suspend their own critical faculty and place such faith in the professionals. Its a game of opinions.

The "JDT was a striker" line isn't really relevant, Mowbray was a big centre back but he was much better at finding attacking players, how someone was as a player often doesn't match up with their managerial judgement. The attacking side of our team has been pretty poor all season, hence why Tomasson wanted to sign a new forward. How you can possibly ascertain that he is a "serious threat" is beyond me. He has never scored a league goal for us and he struggled to score in the conference last season. You mention his movement but he never looks like scoring and that doesn't signify good movement, often people put a strikers woes down to not having chances created for them but part of that responsibility falls on them for getting into goalscoring positions. I barely remember him looking like scoring. Do you see anything in his game aside from this movement (which I strongly contest based on my opinion) that you like? Not quick, not strong, cant hold it up, not good in the air, what does he offer?

As it stands, our attacking players contracted into next season are Gallagher, Vale, Hedges, Dolan and Szmodics. Not many goals there and no money to reinvest.

Vale is not going to play a serious part in promotion even next season. He is crap.

1 in 5 months is an absolute shambles. I know its modern football but the fact that one team can be moved so often needs to change. Match going fans first, not armchair fans.

I have never said that no games should be moved, but there should be limits. The below post from Mattyblue highlights how much of a joke the situation is:

But it shouldnt be basically every bloody week! As long as it doesnt bother you though...

Tyler Morton?

Not to repeatedly show one team consistently to repeatedly inconvenience match going fans. Surely even you think this is too much.