Not sure if anyone saw Stan Collymores tweet the other day. Firstly, what do people think of the sudden clutch of random new terminology that seems to have made its way into football, unnecessary hipster nonsense, or is Stan Collymore the one stuck in the past? Also, is there any other football termonology that raises eyebrows everytime you hear it?

Because watching his team was soul destroying, culminating in a cowardly performance at home to Millwall with a place at Wembley on the line. He said the right things but actions speak louder than words, maybe he has matured and grown as a manager since but at that time, there was no sign that things were about to improve and indeed it took a change to Bowyer who himself is not a good manager otherwise we would have gone down. At the time, the only reason to keep him was blind hope because on the pitch it was grim. Regarding your team for tomorrow, not that the game matters, but I would go close to your first team if Armstrong is fit, although Rankin Costello needs to be on the right where he can cross the ball, would have him right and maybe Rothwell left.

We are underachieving, but the main underachievement for me is the state of the squad considering the resources spent. I think any manager who could get our squad into the top 6 would also be overachieving, which reflects badly on the squad built by Mowbray. I dont think Barnsley necessarily have a "top 6 squad" either and indeed are overachieving but at the same time, they do have some good players at this level and I wouldnt necessarily say that they have a worse squad on paper than us, thats just my opinion though. That is going off on a tangent though from my main point that the academy and being Category 1 status is justified solely by the number of graduates we have within the first team, and I do not want it to be downgraded. Just because my opinion is that there are no stand out assets amongst them and that they have such big roles (like with the Derby graduates) partially because of the average standard of the squad, neither of those points are in any way a criticism of the academy or an allowance for our academy to be downgraded. You may feel that some of them can and will be sold on for big money at some point, and fair enough if so.

They dont need to no, but surely doing so is more likely to increase sales if the shirt is already proven to be popular, and it also makes said end user feel engaged within the process.

Not sure that is strictly true, I remember Rovers went down the route of a vote in the mid to late 2000s for the next shirt and it went down a storm. Sadly that is proactivity that left as soon as Venkys came through the door.

Coyle? Appleton for sure too.

I have not even slightly implied that we should do anything but remain Category 1 so not sure why this is aimed at me. I dont subscribe to the idea that we have lots of quality in the team and are underachieving massively because of the manager, im not saying we couldnt or shouldnt aim higher or that the manager isnt underachieving but his main flaw is that with competitive resources and plenty of time he has assembled a rather underwhelming squad of players. Previous comments cited examples of Bellingham, Watkins etc as big money sales and in fact I pointed out that the job of the academy isnt just to bring through gems to be sold for multi millions which it isnt necessarily for a while, but to have graduates regularly in the squad and/or the team even if they arent stand out players as that is of great benefit financially. Lenihan and Nyambe came through quite a few years ago now and for me are probably the main 2 assets from the current pack but even if their contractual situations had been managed anything but negligently, they wouldnt demand huge fees or attract Premier League interest. There is a lot of repeated snobbery towards Barnsley, they are overachieving IMO based on the quality of their squad but I dont think ours is necessarily better, Barnsley have some really good players for this level in Styles, Helik, Mowatt, Woodrow, Dike etc so whilst some might make their team, certainly not all of them would. I also think very few of them would make the teams of those around Barnsley too, same with Derbys youngsters, surely its logical to suggest that youngsters will get even more chances in otherwise fairly poor squads?

If as it seems that we will be keeping Mowbray, Armstrong is likely to leave and we dont have any money, I suspect we will be favourites for relegation rather than promotion next season. But lets be thankful we arent Bury im sure the rhetoric will be next season.

Qualifying is a much of a muchness really, teams click when the tournament gets going. England regularly fly through qualifying but it means very little as long as you get there which barring occasional exceptions they all do. Holland and Italy you mention and I agree we may fancy our chances against (both have better midfields mind you) but they are outsiders too. Belgium are one of the favourites although like us they are handicapped by a poor manager. France and Portugal stand out id say and we are likely going to face on in the first knockout round.

From those players, only 2 will likely start at most, Henderson if fit and Rashford who for me shouldnt. Saka might make the squad at a push, Grealish will be a sub, Sancho will be a sub and Southgate doesnt rate Trent. Dont get me wrong we do have a few really good players and I get the natural optimism going into a major tournament but I do think a strong bias shows at times from yourself. In certain areas we are lacking and a huge question mark lies in the dugout, he keeps changing formations and his team selections very rarely have any balance to them. Tonight and v Albania we were so dull to watch, the balance of the side was all wrong and it was played at testimonial pace. Our defence will always have a mistake in it, especially with Pickford behind it, our central midfield will really struggle against better teams and we lack a threat in behind with lots of similar players wanting to do the same things. At the world cup, we snook past some inferior teams via a very fabourable draw through set piece goals, if we win our group as I would probably expect then we would likely face Portugal or France in the first knockout round.

Going to be a lucky win here. Drab performance, no pace or tempo, balance of the team is all wrong. No way should Southgates England be favourites for the Euros.

I think a key part of the academy is not just to churn out stars but also squad players. That being said, a huge reason why us and Derby have such an "impressive" amount of graduates in and around our first team is because of a lack of quality elsewhere and poor recruitment. They wouldnt get into the teams near the top of the league.

Portugal at 9/1 are seemingly not a bad bet to retain the trophy. They have Dias and Cancelo performing brilliantly at Man City, they have some real quality in midfield with Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves in midfield, and they have goals in them obviously with the admittedly aging Ronaldo but also with Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Plus they have experience that has been there and done it in Patricio, Pepe, Moutinho etc. Belgium will always be one of the favourites and tend to get the better of us but like with us a bit question mark comes in the dug out.

Is it wise to try and play possession football with such a limited set of players? I always find it strange when a manager is praised for trying to play what is perceived to be attractive and/or progressive football in spite of the players strengths and weaknesses.

Fair enough chaddy, if you dont think there is "any point" and/or anything wrong with the owners disinterest, with their lack of proactivity and their unique way of working, that all of the problems are concentrated within an underachieving manager, and that there is even the slightest of chance of anything close to the above scenario playing itself out, then fair enough. There is a humour to the extent to which you have jumped on board with some of the throwaway comments about things like the constant Middlesbrough links and the repeated mediocrity under him, ill give you that.

In all honesty, what does it matter moaning about the manager if thats the case?! Strawman argument. Its not about signing a player in May, its about planning, its not healthy to be so in the dark as to what is happening next, if the manager is going, why not get rid now and look for another? If he is staying, which obviously is not a good idea, why is everything still up in the air, why is there no idea about budget and forward planning, therefore making scouting players a thankless task, so many players out of contract, I could go on. I am blaming the owners because they have caused misery to Rovers fans ever since they sadly bought the club. And more pertinently, their negligent, backward ways continue to cause us further problems. Mowbray has certainly not got the most from his recruitment which has been poor and like his tactical errors, I repeatedly criticise him for and continue to desire a change of manager. In a fairly poor league quality wise and with a competitive budget, there is opportunity to challenge, even amidst the irritations that the owners precede over. But lets not pretend that the owners are proactive, that they are emotionally invested, and that a change of manager alone will fix all of the problems at the club, as much as it needs to be done. Indeed, it is the owners that continue to sit on their hands whilst the current manager, possibly the best they have ever hired which tells you everything considering how average he is, just potters on. Even look at this season, our recruitment in the main was done late in the day, 4 players signed on deadline day, a number of games into the season, and one signed after that. Could that have been avoided, yes of course it could. On the flip side, the team that he did play contained a 7m joker that Mowbray signed, a left back that Mowbray has repeatedly dished out new contracts to in spite of his incompetence, a centre back that he gave a new contract to who has repeatedly proven to be unreliable, 2 more midfielders likely on decent wages who spend most of the time either in the treatment room or underperforming. I think you are in denial. You think that there is a chance that Mowbray will be sacked after the final whistle of the last game of the season, a sporting director is lined up to oversee a thorough recruitment process for a quality head coach, and there are in depth scouting reports on players ready for the go ahead to accompany our current misfits who will suddenly start performing and all together put us in the play off places next season. I suspect you will be disappointed.

I have no idea why you think I am making excuses for the manager. For a good year now, I have been fairly consistent in my criticism of the manager, his tactics, his recruitment, everything really, and indeed it was you that was making/swallowing all of his excuses, injuries, (especially Dack in which you regularly claimed that we could/would have made the top 6 last year had he not got injured) covid, the pitch etc, none of which excuse him. What I am saying is that BOTH the owners and the manager have their problems. If you choose to believe that the way Venkys work, the nonsense about keeping the manager in the dark until the season ends regarding budgets etc, their continued poor choices both of appointing managers and moreso when to let managers go, their continued negligence, if that is all healthy to you, or indeed "just one of those things", then fair enough, I think its shoddy and its not good enough. Amidst this, Mowbray still is making and has made decisions that arent justified or excused by anything, Venkys incompetence included. His recruitment has been poor bar a couple of exceptions, people do overplay the budget he has but it is undoubtedly very competitive and the majority has been poured down the drain. His tactical principles are massively flawed, he continuously plays players out of position, I could go on, to make it clear, I dont think it is good enough and as per the last 12 months, I want him to be removed from his position.

In fact I would suggest that whilst our attacking talent will ensure that we get through the group comfortably I would suggest, especially with the new format, the averageness of a midfield with Rice and Phillips in it would not stand out even in the group. Croatia with Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic etc will certainly dominate in there whilst even Scotland and Czech Republic have midfielders like McGinn, McTominay and Soucek who are probably just as good as those 2. We need Henderson fit really.

Not sure if it would leave too many gaps, but Henderson (if fit) sitting with Mount and Foden slightly ahead and Sterling and Sancho either side of Kane could work for sure.

Do you think Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice have the quality against the likes of France, Belgium etc? Jordan Henderson is proven as better than them both but is an injury doubt. If that is the team, theres no real threat in behind when Kane drops off. Needs more pace, in my opinion from Sancho but Saka and Rashford are also alternatives.

Not sure he has the discipline though, nor would it be playing to his strengths. Unfortunately I think the centre of midfield is a real problem position, and one that will be part of the reason why as much as there is reason for optimism and some good players, we wont win the Euros. Struggling to look past France personally, an embarrassment of riches.

Many bookmakers have us as favourites: https://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2020/winner

I know it is my opinion, that is the purpose of a messageboard. He has been a huge bonus, and has massively exceeded expectations, for a player expected to play for the reserves. My opinion is pretty simple to understand, the fact that it can even be argued that Dolan is a better signing than 21 of the 25 players that Mowbray has himself chosen shows how bad recruitment has been.

I know that Mowbray should be sacked, I have being saying as much for quite a while and in the last few weeks you have joined me and many others in sharing that opinion, problem being that you seem to think now that all the problems are solely with Mowbray. I am not defending Mowbray in any way, I have regularly criticised his recruitment and his tactics, I am just saying that the owners were never going to sack the manager during the international break because they dont seem to care. He will almost certainly still be here next season. Last year was an unusual one because of the pandemic but it was simply down to restrictions rather than proactivity that the manager didnt need to wait until after the season had finished before flying over to beg for money/sort his budget. But Mowbray will be totally in the dark as to what his budget will be next season or even what they think about the managers future and the teams progress. It is not a healthy way to run a football club, and whilst Mowbray should have gone long ago, when he goes, some problems will still remain. I do agree to an extent with your last sentence, since Venkys took over hope is all that we have had, blind hope.

“We’re doing pretty good, Derrick is close. We hope to have him in the mix within the next week and starting to progress towards match minutes.” It does say this, so it is unclear still how close he is to fitness, it doesnt sound like he will be ready to be considered for games in anything close to a week. Either way, even if there is a semblance of bollocks again in what has come from Mowbray's mouth, I am not bothered that Williams has gone and I dont think he will be particularly missed at all.