He definitely has his limitations, I dont think he is anything special and so far so good with his replacement but Nyambe seems to be judged to extreme on both sides. "Gash for 2 seasons" and not in the Wigan side because he is shit? Blatantly untrue on both counts.

We will need to clone him then as if he comes in, he will be doing so to play at centre back ie his actual position and where we are desperately short after losing our captain and also our player of the year from there.

They are both very poor at that side, at least Nyambe has the power and pace to occasionally get to the byline and pull a ball back. I have always seen the idea that Rankin Costello is good going forward as a bit of a myth. He has never shown it.

Do you still think that Rankin Costello is better than Nyambe?

No way is Brittain cheaper than Nyambe factoring in the fee paid too, which would work out at about an extra 5k over the course of the contract. One thing that I am sure of is that I would still rather he was here, for all of his obvious limitations. I have been impressed with Brittain but even as competition and as an option to be a third centre back, he would be good to have around. Should Brittain get injured, we have Rankin Costello who you have consistently suggested is better than Nyambe but is quite frankly awful.

He has been absolutely terrible on all of the numerous occasions that I have seen him play for United. So slow for a winger, never takes on his man, no end product, very poor. If the PSG interest in Rashford in general then they should snap their hand off! Out of all of those suggestions of internationals for big countries being League 1/2 quality, that is I would say the biggest exaggeration of the lot!

Just watched most of the Preston game. The standard considering both teams want a top 6 finish is abysmal. Also a reminder as to how poor Bell is and the torture of having to watch him every week.

It's because he hasn't had a pre season so isn't match fit.

A game earlier between two managers who were legendary players but who are starting to potentially come under pressure in Gerrard and Lampard. Neither has particularly impressed but Gerrard came out on top.

Seems like a very random worry. Even if those finishes happen, I doubt Newcastle with their millions would opt for a Championship manager based partially on an unsuccessful loan spell over 20 years ago. I'm sure that people will back the manager, Rovers fans are at times by some painted as a particularly impatient and negative group which has always been nonsensical. At the end of the day, if we lose a few on the bounce, a bit of frustration will simmer, that will always happen and it is unrealistic to expect otherwise because we all want the team to win but he definitely has peoples backing.

I think with the If everyone is fit, I would say that the best 18 would be Kaminski, Pears, Brittain, Pickering, Edun, Ayala, Wharton, Carter, Buckley, Travis, Morton, Hedges, Dack, Szmodics, Brereton, Gallagher, Dolan and Markanday. At the moment, only Carter isn't and that leaves the real possibility of being forced to chuck a 17 year old into an important league game. Even looking at that squad, in the main it is more than competitive but we have there an inept sub keeper, Carter, Morton and Markanday are young and unproven and Edun has question marks too. It is really important to have a strong bench even more so now with 5 subs available, you need all of the bench to be capable. Beyond that bench though is where the worry is, basically just purely kids. All that is before the likely departure of Brereton.

I said in my post assuming he recovers to close to his original self. Different level to Buckley. Was just about to share the same. Not good news for us.

Talented? Yes. But Dack was one of the best players in the league. Lets hope he still is.

Yeah I still can't see him staying, nor can we afford to keep him really. Teams will get more desperate as the window goes on. If he even stays until January, he can sign a pre-contractual agreement abroad. The sensible thing to do is to try and sell him for as much as possible and reinvest a good proportion back on another potential goalscorer. We can't let him go for free, the ones that left this summer are a different kettle of fish in that there are questions over whether anyone would have come in offering money even if they were contracted, bar Rothwell who himself attracted bids of a few million amidst a promotion push by Bournemouth. Like Armstrong, Brereton is worth lots more than Lenihan/Rothwell/Nyambe and it is a different prospect altogether. @Finlay McKenna who would? Obviously I am assuming a reasonable recovery, but easy to forget how good he is.

Even if Brereton is, he is unlikely to be here past the window. But either way, Dack is a key player if fit and Szmodics prefers to play as a number 10 so even if Dack isn't playing, why sign Szmodics and make do elsewhere?

The back 3 as a plan B to see out games has a semblance of sense but just because we could have a third centre back doesn't mean we need to play all 3. It also seems counter productive to play a formation that doesn't include a number 10 where both our best player and main summer signing play.

Mowbray was a 3 or a 4 on a dice, I don't think we would have been relegated if he stayed for a considerable period longer. Since we have come back up, we have never been in danger at all, just steadily mid table. That being said, for us to go up or even make the top 6, considering our resources, we have to roll at least a 5, most likely a 6 to overachieve. I am not sure that Tomasson is akin to Farke or even Carvalhal in that he does not have their track record at this level but that doesn't mean that he is inferior and again going back to the budget limitations etc, it can take a bit more of a "gamble" and/or a left field appointment that could in theory backfire to get us performing beyond our resources. Take Carvalhal for example, he has a track record at this level but no promotion yet even he was beyond our means, whereas teams may be wary of a manager who has never managed in England before or be unaware of his record abroad. I am not convinced that he was close to being first choice by the decision makers but lets hope that he turns out to be a masterstroke, however he ended up in the dug out. So far, so good.

I don't get the attitude of willingly accepting draws in home games, all things considered. Taking a slight loss beggars belief! We have won our first 2 games (plus the cup game) and everything seems rosy, plenty of confidence, the new manager has already left a good mark on things, no injuries that we know of and we are playing at home. I am not saying that anything but a win is catastrophic and I appreciate that it won't be easy but it is realistic to expect to have a reasonable chance of winning any home game as a side pushing for the top 6.

He is certainly living rent free in the heads of many of his biggest and often most unreasonable critics who seem unable to enjoy the Tomasson reign without endless comparisons of such detail.

The Anel rumour came initially from Scandanavian press that we wanted him and Berget.

Why laughable? When he has played for our first team prior, he hasn't been good enough. I personally am hopeful that a second successful loan spell leaves him a much better player, but can understand a level of scepticism. As good as he is, if they have insisted on that then we should walk away. What if he got injured, how would that work? He will presumably not instantly come in and he would need to play 30 of 43 games, which he may well do, but we don't want a clause to in any way conflict with the priority of picking the best team for each match.

I also think the Morton deal had long since broke before he got onto it. Calling a journalist who you have never met by a nickname as is often the case is a little peculiar.

Is Edun strong defensively? Every time he has played at left back in the Championship he has been all over the place.

Edun caught the eye last night but it was purely attacking work with Hartlepool so poor and Pickering has been solid in the first 2 games.

Because Van Den Berg was so good at this level last season, if we did get him then it presumably wouldnt be to do anything but get a good level of game time, especially with other teams interested. So even if we assume an injury to Ayala, that second permanent centre back would have Wharton and Van Den Berg to get past so I couldnt see it being a real marquee signing. I would also say that a second centre back is less urgent than another central midfielder and a striker. I dont think from what I have read that Tomasson played a 3 at Malmo.