I have repeatedly said that Mowbray should have been sacked a while ago, is out of his depth and have criticised the squad that he has assembled. I hardly think that I have a place in the Tony Mowbray fan club. Fact of the matter is that being subject to a transfer embargo for much of the summer, being limited to only borrowing kids on loan deals when a considerable chunk of the wage bill has been cleared at the expiry of the contracts of various experienced players, and to not be guaranteed even a small proportion of any sale proceeds that Armstrong will bring in would handicap any manager, not just Mowbray. Venkys have created the prolonged crisis ever since they bought us. The fact that Mowbray is still here is again on Venkys, its not just a mere oversight.

To be fair, he did tend to play slightly ahead of the holding midfielder last season but he never seemed to get fully up to match fitness. But I agree that positional discipline isnt his strong suit hence why I don't think he suits being the most defensive midfielder. With such a young squad, you would think that we would utilise the energy and athleticism in the team and try to really press.

It is difficult to suggest that it worked fully against Leeds I would say, we never offered much of an attacking threat, Leeds clearly didnt play to their full potential and all that it really allowed us to do especially in the second half is to defend in numbers. I don't like the idea of our manager again over complicating things and repeatedly changing formations, and I also dont think that the formation suits us, especially as none of our centre backs are ball playing ones. I also do not understand your insistence on Buckley playing ahead of Rothwell "every week." Neither fully convince to the point that they guarantee their selection.

Venkys have always been the problem with any underperforming manager being merely a symptom, and that is evident this summer. Not only an embargo that has massively hindered the manager, but seemingly no scope to try and bring what we need in, even at a fraction of the cost of the outgoings. Our remaining squad is very young and needs some leadership, so the manager being restricted to only be able to bring in kids on loan will only compound that issue. It feels like the summer when Coyle was in charge and also Bowyer's last summer, one of which ended in relegation and the other ended in the stripping of all our key assets. Its not a constructive way to run a football club. So do you agree that we are in need of experience and that a loaning kids only policy will likely cause huge issues? Reach is a player that I believe you recommended earlier in the summer so I was surprised to see you suggest that he wouldn't have improved us the other day. I was rather unconvinced, he does have a screamer in his locker and he is technically decent but he is very inconsistent and there are also huge questions about his application, coming under fire for his attitude in a relegation fight last season which would be a huge red flag ahead of our battle this season, would he have the character? As it is, standards are so low that he would have probably been an important signing for us and would certainly get into our team. I get the need to raise money, for example to cut the wage bill of which a huge chunk has been cleared, but at least allow a small proportion of that saving to be reinvested into bringing in senior faces, on free transfers if necessary. Likewise, no guarantee of any funds to replace Armstrong, even if you say if you sell him, you can have 2/3/4m for a replacement and keep the rest, surely thats the way to go. The most galling thing is that almost everyone was in agreement that releasing the likes of Holtby and Evans was the correct thing to do. As it is, they would possibly both start next week if they were still here. I also am repulsed every time I see people still desperate to defend Venkys, the losses they "fund" are self inflicted.

Specifically the age, of course not. But our squad lacks leadership, character and experience. Our squad was already young and most of the remaining experience is seemingly about to be replaced by kids with presumably little if any senior experience. When a bad run comes around, where are the characters to look to to drag us out? I also dont think we have that much quality but I was specifically pointing out how young our squad will be. I know its the owners fault. Whilst its hard to be too sympathetic to a manager who under normal circumstances would have long since been sacked, and one who has left us with a very poor squad. It is the owners that I have consistently criticised this summer, I can accept trying to make a profit in the transfer market, but we have lost a big chunk of the wage budget and are about to lose Armstrong and you have to allow at least a small proportion of that budget to be reinvested, otherwise it will end in inevitable relegation, chuck in an unnecessary embargo and it looks grim. The same source that suggested that Reach would join and that Rothwell would leave this week?

We are going into the season with only 2 players aged 30 and over, neither of whom seemingly can stay fit, especially Ayala who seems unwilling to play under any pain whatsoever. We seem destined only to loan more kids. When we inevitably hit poor runs of form as all teams do, where is the leadership and experience to get us through it? No character, no backbone, trouble ahead.

No I bought the stream and watched from home.

Absolutely dismal for an hour, the 5 at the back rubbish needs to stop, none of our centre backs are good on the ball for a start, we had absolutely no threat and were constantly on the back foot. Buckley, Rothwell and Gallagher had a big impact and gave us a spark that was totally absent, Brereton was really poor for an hour but his main aim has to be to score more goals so 2 goals is very encouraging, the second was a very good technical finish which is usually not his strong suit. The main intrigue comes from players that we know less about or those yet to guarantee a first team spot. Armstrong was in third or fourth gear and Travis was off the pace but we know that they are good enough, Kaminski and Lenihan likewise. Pickering was much more encouraging today with some good passes but he wasnt overly tested defensively. Davenport again was fairly ineffective and is not very good on the ball although he puts himself about, and their left winger was a constant threat and tore Magloire apart really, him and Carter looked a little shaky, possibly not helped by the stupid formation. Dolan is too over elaborate at times with needless stepovers.

Domestic free agents cannot agree contracts with us until June, when we was in an embargo and when the better ones went elsewhere when we could not finalise deals. And Mowbray could not be expected to predict an embargo. That is on Venkys. Mowbray needs to go but people are not judging this individual situation rationally by overlooking the impact of the embargo.

I just think that as Rovers fans, it is easy to perhaps look at the situation whereby we follow every game and are emotionally involved and obviously more clued up as to the direction that we feel the club is in. A random player who has no affiliation to us would I suspect view us and a clutch of other teams around us in similar esteem, all a much of a muchness. They would probably be ignorant to slumps or peaks in form that we may have had, the main driver between any 2 clubs would be money, and beyond that, more trivial matters, things like being played in specific positions, maybe knowing players/the manager from previously, location etc. And whatever club they choose, the usual sound bites will come out, they have a good feeling, the club is ambitious and going places, I want to play for the manager, its a big club, we are going in the right direction etc. An example would be Bristol City. I remember that their form was absolutely awful after appointing Pearson. Just checked and they lost 7 (and drew 2) of their last 9, and lost 15 of their last 21, winning only 3. I am unsure if you was aware of that, the average player may not be aware of quite how bad they were under a new manager, and they finished 19th, do you think that players would join Huddersfield over both us and Bristol City, they finished 20th but rather than a prolonged poor run, they were just consistently worse? I think it is only fair to at least accept that the embargo in particular has made Mowbray's life harder. Whether he could have been more proactive post the embargo, perhaps yes, but there was a massive disadvantage in the first place in that we couldnt confirm deals past the point to which many contracts expired and indeed those players had got fixed up elsewhere. I also don't think that he is "toxic" or even that he doesn't want to be here, I think he does, I just think that he shouldnt be, and thats on the owners. I do think we will be in trouble which is more generalised than a specific run of form but that is for a number of reasons, one being the financial restrictions to the point where we could sell our best player for a big fee and not spend a penny, hence why we cannot even compete for the sorts of players that I touched on in the first 2 paragraphs. The manager is also a reason, but if Rovers offered a player 5k more than anyone else in the league, we would almost certainly get them, Mowbray or no Mowbray. We do definitely both agree on the main issue, the whole thing certainly is rotten, and its so shit to watch it unfold like this.

Of course he has had plenty of time since but no blame is being put to Venkys for allowing us to slide into another embargo in the first place. He does have excuses this summer, the embargo, the lack of guarantee that we would get any money to replace Armstrong and the extent to which the taps have been turned off all would have impacted any manager. His blame lies for what has happened prior to this summer and the current state of the squad and he shouldnt be here, I get that but it doesnt mean that he deserves the brunt of the blame for a summer of nothingness caused by those in India. I've repeatedly stated that Mowbray should go and the current squad state is down to him. But this summer, much of what has happened is not his fault, or will have massively impeded his job to improve the squad. If you genuinely think that people are specifically avoiding us and Mowbray because of the "2 wins in 17 run" then fair enough, I personally dont think that is the case at all. We have been a mid table Championship club for 3 seasons, one that we follow intently from the inside, potential signings external to that wont avoid us based on a random spell of form. The worst team in England is not mid way up the second tier. The free agent market is definitely a key one especially in these covid times and an especially congested one with so many teams needing to use it and little money across the league. I think because Mowbray shouldnt be in the job, which I agree with, the difficulties of working whilst literally unable to sign players for much of the summer are just being ignored. Many free agents that may have appealed will have already gone elsewhere (Vrancic, Woods, James, Marcondes, Pearson etc) by the time that we came out of it, or were probably already deep in discussions, ie Mpanzu who chose to stay at Luton.

The main thing that will drive most people like anyone in life is going to be money. If we offered more money than another mid table club, a selective run of form last season wont swing the decision. But there is no way that a player would say, they won 2 in 17 at one point last season, I better had go elsewhere. Equally, they could look at a few thrashings that we gave out or isolated runs of 3 and 4 wins, but again form levels out and we finished 15th, which is what they will see. I dont doubt that Mowbray shouldnt be in the job, and has had loads of time, and competitive resources. But not for the first time, our summer business has been massively impacted by Venkys. By all means try and make a profit with sales v purchases, but not to the point when it isnt competitive, and also the embargo was a huge hindrance.

His wages are speculative, I very much doubt in these times that anyone has come close to equalling his wages. He will be a squad player at West Brom.

If our sole recruitment comes from asking for kids on loan, why bother hiring a head of recruitment?

Why is it one or the other? This Rothwell rumour seems to have snowballed from random guesses about a team sheet in which he was one of a number of senior players to miss out, and Mowbray specifically said that he was injured. Rothwell doesnt even play in the same position and we have lost 11 or 12 players. I very much doubt that players reject us based on a specific run of form within a season, you could equally pick a more favourable run. They will see us as a mid table Championship team, 15th, 11th, 15th, mid table Championship. I am not convinced that players would avoid us because of Mowbray. Mowbray should be sacked but he isnt the real villain, that was all my point was. Any manager would struggle under the current circumstances, the fact that we have Mowbray just rubs salt into the wounds and leads us towards the bottom of the division sadly.

Yeah, with no Armstrong and no signings, any manager would struggle to keep what was left in the league.

Don't get me wrong, Mowbray is well out of his depth, it is his fault that the squad is as it is. But a bit of me almost feels sorry for him, again the manager has become the smokescreen before the real masters of our downfall hidden away in India. That sympathy goes soon after because if the owners cared, he wouldnt he here. There just is no plan or strategy at all, and we seem to be having a similar summer to the one in which we ended up going down. Its ok looking to make a profit in the window, to cut the wage bill etc, but you can do it competitively and constructively. Not by just turning off the taps completely. We have been reported to have offered contracts to 2 freebies, very average Championship players in Mpanzu and Reach, neither have chose us. We don't have a competitive budget even if it was just a fraction of the massive wage saving we have just made losing a dozen players, only able to beg for kids from the big clubs on loan. We cant even guarantee that a penny of the sale of our key player will be reinvested, by all means keep some to cover running costs, but not all. To think that anyone has the brass neck to defend them at any point. Everything screams that we are likely to go down. Also, any supposed ITK intel seems to be well off the mark.

If he goes, he needs replacing. The answer to a 28 goal striker does not lie within, they need help.

We lose 400k a week because of them and their incompetence, negligence and disinterest. If someone seriously hurt you on purpose and offered to pay for your medical care indefinitely, but did so ineffectively so you stayed at a rubbish hospital, would you thank them?

How do they? That cannot be a justifiable excuse. If they dont trust the manager to spend their money, get rid of the manager.

Whilst the current state of the squad is undoubtedly Mowbrays doing. It cannot be escaped that everything stems from Venkys. There is absolutely no strategy in anything they do and they are and always will be the root cause of the clubs ineffeciency and lack of direction. A theory that they are turning off the taps is purely speculative but if that was the plan, it would be a bizarre one.

I am not as against loanees as long as they are good enough and make us better. It is all well and good saying we should develop our own and I get that, indeed it doesnt have to be one or the other, but if the loanees are better players than what we have, which in many cases they will be, then they make us better so get them in. My issue with them at the moment is more the quantity (5 last season was too many and it seems that we are going down the same route, and indeed at the moment how lacking we are in experience, if ever there was a time for more kids, its not now. I also dont have a problem with being more prudent and I don't expect us to start splashing out loads of money all the time, especially as a Championship club where losses are regular. What I do have a problem with is the lack of joined up thinking, the lack of competence and the lack of care. Venkys regularly just seem to turn off the taps and drift even further away, leaving the manager at that time totally confused. 2 unnecessary embargoes so far. They aren't even trying to run the club efficiently and effectively, they cant be arsed themselves nor are they willing to delegate power, they leave incompetent managers in charge, no competent CEO, assets losing value, no guarantee of even a small % of any player sale to reinvest, no scope even to fill a reasonable level of a considerable wage reduction to bring in a couple of experienced players. Yet we still have people praising Venkys and defending them. Beggars belief.

Fair enough, appreciate differences in opinion although I do find your comments about broadening the scope of my understanding as to what an effective wide player is to be a little patronising. Nyambe for me is still better defensively than he is going forward. I felt that last season, he did start contributing from an attacking sense which he hadnt before but his crossing is obviously still really poor. I felt that he showed intelligence to appreciate that his strengths are his power and pace rather than his crossing, so he isolated full backs more and got in behind, a perfect example was his assist for Armstrong I think v Barnsley at home. To clarify, I don't think that Magloire had a shocker or a bad game necessarily but if he was in our starting 11 for a Championship game I would be nervous. Although I would with Garrett and he didn't necessarily do anything wrong. Magloire over ran the ball a couple of times surrendering possession and also made quite a few dodgy passes that he sliced. He did a few bits of decent defending too, again its a hard one to judge especially defensively as he was in a back 3 against Rodrigo who is far better than any Championship player but equally not typical of what he would face. Would you be happy if we regularly changed between the 2 formations? I personally think that, especially considering how different 3 at the back is, we should stick predominantly to one formation.. If that is 3 at the back, so be it, you can obviously make more subtle changes whilst keeping that same formation especially with the players that you use but Mowbray loves to tinker and it invariably leads to a lack of cohesion. I know that England did it to an extent at the Euros and it worked against Germany in particular but I feel that international tournaments are a little different to the regularity of 2 games a week most weeks in the Championship with less intelligent players and less depth to a squad, consistency can be king. I am not convinced that there is enough end product between the trio that you mentioned to expect them to be able to see off the lower teams within a 4-3-3 top be honest, Dolan is obviously very raw, Rothwell's end product is regularly questioned and the 3 got 13 goals between them last season. Without Armstrong and Elliott, we need attacking reinforcements.

Why are you sticking so petulantly to this theory that Harry Pickering has been written off, can you please highlight posts in which this is the case? You specifically quoted me on this yesterday to which I elaborated my comments. Last night was the first time that I and indeed the vast majority if not all of the Rovers fans watching will have seen Pickering, and ultimately, the whole purpose of this forum is to discuss Rovers to extreme detail, after every game, every transfer, every sale etc. I was keen to qualify my impressions by firstly pointing out that it was a friendly and that he was also against a very good and very quick winger of a calibre that he will not face in the Championship. I felt that it was constructive to share that my first impression was that he is not very fast at all, a potential red flag of any defender, and his positioning and body shape didnt prevent Raphinha from exploiting his pace advantage on a number of occasions, again I revert back to my comments on the standard of opposition. He also from an attacking sense struggled to get involved and on a few occasions, chose to play it safe and slow things down. I was just portraying what I saw. If I had said that Pickering is shit, that Pickering isn't up to it, that Pickering is a waste of money, that I don't rate Pickering etc, then fair enough, thats assertive and final, and of course a massive overreaction. And indeed, I have not seen any other people saying anything which makes your frustrations warranted. Also, on Brereton, the jury is very much still out and he still needs to do much more, although happy to see a considerable improvement last season.

At the end of our Championship season, he used Ward in the middle of a back 3. I think when we went down to League 1 when we did play deeper that was only because that Lenihan was injured and our only 3 centre backs were Ward, Mulgrew and Downing, all slow players. So if he did play a back 3 I suspect that Ayala could play in the middle, but it is such a complex formation that it requires continuity and it seemed that it was done last night more out of necessity due to the players remaining.