roversfan99

Leonard is still an unknown, he is miles away at the moment from the standard and the jury is out with a player so raw as to whether he will go on and improve massively or struggle to ever establish himself. With Gallagher, a lot is being made of his ability to head the ball away defensively but he isn't our best striker just for that. You compare him to Leonard, he is much quicker, stronger, more powerful, better in the air and overall even when he doesn't score, and accepting that even then his all round game can frustrate, defenders would have much more of a hard time facing him than Leonard. Goals wise, he will also get more, Leonard does have better movement but is even more wasteful in front of goal.

I think if any full back is to play wide to justify dropping Moran, it will be Brittain and it again wont work. Out wide is another position we badly need to strengthen and even then, are desperately waiting for Ryan Hedges to return as if he is anything other than decent at this level.

Would you genuinely play Ennis, Telalovic or Leonard over him? Especially considering that the owners you keenly defend will as you touch on likely pocket the money and not reinvest any. We wont be banking it, the owners will. He is a bang average Championship striker, he will get you 8-10 goals a season, hes quite quick, powerful, strong, decent in the air in both boxes. A fairly well rounded player who will never threaten the top scorers chart. Offering far more than the other 3 strikers we have and probably about standard for a lower mid table side, every team below us would have him in the side. It shows the state that the owners have put us in that he has become so important, but there you go. None of the people that have justified a potential sale have gone on to say that any of the other 3 strikers are any better, because they clearly arent of the required standard, and many of those who have are deluding themselves into thinking that we would reinvest and get an upgrade. A normal club with interested owners, a totally different dilemma and one that would surely lead to a sale.

Carter has been crap this season, really poor like all the defence. He was very good last season so probably a big factor is the style. I dont think he is poor and he has ability but equally a lot to prove to justify any sense in rumours of a big money move. He But my use of the word lumbering is more specific to seeing him at right back especially in his form, another not suited to the current style. Rankin Costello was not rated by Tomasson at that same time, he had one game (was it Bristol City?) where he was woeful and he had never established himself up until then. His upturn was as surprising and sudden as it was impressive. He is now a standout player. I was wrong in thinking Rankin Costello was not up to it. Tomasson was clearly of the same mindset. I hold my hands up in being wrong but that doesnt mean I have to reserve judgement going forward and I know ill be wrong again at times, as will we all. I think Carter moreso than Brittain can thrive again if the style of play is altered. Theres a good young defender in there thats horribly out of form and being exposed.

When hes fit he does contribute. Much more than the other forwards. Assuming we get nothing to replace him or just a loan, do you still sell? And do you disagree that he is an upgrade on the other 3 strikers?

Absolutely. He is average, a normal club would likely sell and look to improve with a replacement. With us, the alternatives we have are so bad and especially with such a low fee coming in and the owners having given up totally, we would at best get another young loanee.

People who want him sold dont (in light of the likelihood of no proper replacement) answer if he is better than Ennis, Telalovic and Leonard it seems.

Is he better than the other 3, by quite a margin? Tomasson seems to quite like him, especially as an experienced head. Suppose he would say that but he plays whenever fit.

Is the we never ever learn based on letting players run their contracts down? You havent answered but do you genuinely think Gallagher is anything other than considerably better than Ennis, Telalovic and Leonard? You like with other players regularly say he is shit and not good enough despite him having proven over a number of years that he is an average Championship striker. He is never going to be prolific but he will get you close to double figures. He also is strong, powerful, quite quick and can win headers especially in his own box.

A normal club would have sold and reinvested. For us with money often vanishing, to keep him is better as a team as he merely by being average at this level is a considerable and experienced upgrade on the alternative rabble. I just hope his head hasnt been turned with us messing him around. Doesnt sound like much joined up thinking either way having done a u-turn.

Gallagher, Rankin Costello and Pears all need to start and none are probably anywhere near match fit. I doubt the weather will help in getting them up to speed with frozen pitches and the under 21 game being called off. Rankin Costello looked particularly rusty and unfit at the weekend, they targetted him when he came on and there was one instance in particular where Wallace knocked it round him and sprinted past which showed how far off he was. Still, he is a quality player and so much better than the underwhelming Brittain, or even the lumbering Carter. Gallagher was less blatantly unfit ans rusty but you could still tell. Still, he offered far more than the other 3 have in many a week. That being said, he might be gone by then in a sale that still has people deluding themselves is part of a plan to make us better and not purely slashing the budget. Pears is crap but less crap than the Swedish clown so thats a no brainer. We also need Hedges back ASAP. Moran has been a waste of time, soft, lightweight, usually ineffective and not a wide man. Picking a team will be a real head scratcher and not in a good way. Especially with Tomasson too stubborn to move away from a style that alledgedly gets the best out of our team as it drops down the table like a stone.

When will the latest minutes be published?

Does someone only count as an ITK if they specifically claim to be ITK?

Their approach was to unveil a huge warchest to have a go but the manager declined and the money vanished. Apparently...

Alan Nixon, the fountain of made up shite. Still waiting on the £50m warchest.

The owners are and always have been the problem. It would be tackling the symptoms and not the disease. Not that we have any control sadly over any of them.

Im guessing you like me went on all of the protests years ago. They made no difference then so I doubt they will now. They dont care about us. The Wrexham game will be a very low attendance, a cup game with little fanfare. It would create minimal publicity even if it was possible with significant numbers which it wont be. Not many people protested back in the Steve Kean days, some of those protestors will have lost interest and many especially of the new generation think we need Venkys. Are you attending and if so what would you be willing to/propose doing specifically? Or is it a case of can other people protest on your behalf? And what do you think it could lead to? Say a cup game is abandoned, do you think that after all these years is the straw that broke the camels back and they then look to sell?

Venkys ruined themselves, as they always do, thus damaging us. They rejected a bid with 1 year left on his deal that would have brought in a small profit and a considerable fee.

Ayari got injured? Did it look bad?

I think Pickering is well down our list of problems. His obvious weakness is his lack of pace, he reads the game well and is good on the ball. Like Hyam, he doesnt seem like much of a leader though but he is definitely better than Brittain.

Hes proven over a number of years to be an average Championship striker. Can be a useful part of a top half Championship side, has some good attributes, will never be prolific but will get 8-10 a season. Do you rate him lower than any of Leonard, Ennis or Telalovic? Surely not.

Results seem to have got progressively worse over Tomasson's tenure as the new style has bedded in. To have the worst defensive record in the entire league is unacceptable, the defensive options are not brilliant but equally have proven peviously not to be anything close to the worst set of defenders in the league. For me, the tactics are making these defenders look worse than they actually are. I always think that set pieces reflect on what goes on in training, and ours are particularly bad. Going forward, they are usually short which I can understand due to our lack of height, but they dont appear well worked at all, off the cuff and rarely leading to chances. Against is just a total shit show. The squad is not equipped to be particularly competitive at this level. But there is no justification for the defensive and set piece records being quite so bad. He clearly isnt the primary problem at the club. The owners are and always have been. But he shouldnt be exempt from criticism. There has been a lot of focus on Broughton lately, has he improved recruitment from not having a director of football? No, obviously there is a huge asterix due to the owners having become as bad as ever in recent months. Having a director of football in general only strengthens this nonsensical attitude whereby results seem to carry less importance than ever before though.

Without giving any context as to where it has come from.

I take your criticism of the current defence, but I wouldnt get too doughy eyed over previous defenders that also werent capable of pushing us on. Those full backs in particular, Nyambe I know you clearly have a soft spot for, but he was not a man to be in the trenches with and was so limited. And Bell was a bomb scare, technically crap and a free pass to a winger getting crosses in. We miss Lenihan though. This set of defenders are limited, but they arent the worst set in the division or close to. The current manager deserves to be shielded by the fact that our budget has been pathetically slashed by our inept and disinterested owners. But the tactics need a change because defenders who with protection can be effective at this level are all over the shop. By the way, people on here talk about (made up) big money rumours for Carter. He is a bit of a lump.

Who are "some fans?" Randomers at the game that you spoke to, randomers on twitter? These vague rumours dont help anything.