You could say that we had "a strategy" in place when Coyle and Senior were here, merely appointing people does not indicate a successful strategy. Not that it has much relevance to my point about budgets. On the budget, of course nobody knows what it is. I think with 99% certainty we won't spend £10m this summer. I would personally be surprised if we spent half of that, pleasantly of course as we need some investment to boost a threadbare squad.

I am not convinced that they will. You have previously quoted £10m of the fee as an expectation, there is no chance of that! I was not recommending Parrott, I haven't seen him enough, I just mentioned him after seeing him score today and presuming that Spurs would like to loan him to a Championship side.

But would you agree that going into the search hoping for/calling for a proven manager and ending up potentially (although it wouldnt surprise me if there was a new favourite tomorrow) with someone with such limited experience with only success in minor countries is not what you wanted at the start?

Why is your natural instinct to merely tell people "to go to Ewood themselves" rather than divulging specifics as to what you have learnt that makes what many of us say to be totally the wrong impression?

Assuming that Venkys again decide to cash in on an asset and try and replace him with loans, then I wonder if Troy Parrott will come onto our radar as a potential loan, he has scored v Scotland and I believe he impressed at MK Dons especially in the second half of last season. Not that I think a loan is the right way to go as we need to continuously invest in assets, but the amount of managers that have gone elsewhere doesn't suggest a bumper kitty. Obafemi looks like he is a good player, shame we didn't get him.

Absolute nonsense. They do not have such a large number of fans who commit to a 23 game season ticket purely to get a ticket for games against us, as if they wouldn't be able to otherwise.

On what basis have you come to the conclusion that Gallagher can score 18-20 goals? He has never got close to such a number, even under Coyle when we was unsustainably attacking with 2 wingers and Gallagher as part of a front 2. He doesn't have a natural goalscoring instinct. Rothwell was inconsistent as was Khadra but both will leave holes that will be difficult to equally replace considering we have received nothing for either upon their departure. The key is recruitment and indeed what budget the new manager will have, but it is a huge challenge to replicate even an 8th place finish when we have half of the team departing mainly for free. I feel you and others are underestimating this. Was the same team every time during the good run. Kaminski in net, Lenihan, Van Hecke and Wharton as a back 3, Nyambe right wing back, Pickering left wing back, Travis and Rothwell in central midfield, Brereton left forward, Khadra right forward, Buckley false 9. My point was certainly not that Mowbray didn't play players out of position. It was that Buckley was a false 9 throughout our good run, it wasn't a change made following it that led to a dip in form. All assumptions, and not really relevant. My point was (again) that I was hoping for a successor to Mowbray that had a proven track record, the likes of Farke, Carvalhal, Dyche, Jokanovic and Wagner all fit this remit, they would all have been ambitious appointments IMO capable of pushing us forward. You also repeatedly called for a manager like Farke or Carvalhal with a proven track record, so what would excite you about the potential Tomasson appointment, and what has caused that change in expectation? Whoever comes in as manager will want to manage us, of course to receive a wage.

He didn't start to play players out of position, Buckley continued to play as a false 9 as he had been doing throughout the winning run. The problem was that it was a system that he persisted with for too long, especially as without Brereton we had no one running in behind. The signings had little impact but he wasn't backed, he was unlucky with Markanday who we don't know what impact he would have had, Brown was signed for the under 23s, Hedges was under used I must say but the other 2 were loans, he wasn't backed at a crucial time.

What islander200 said was right, you cannot doubt that a huge part of our team last season has departed, all for free. The counter argument to this always tends to be based on assumptions and hopes with little if any evidence. Carter has had 2 good loan spells but was shaky in the Championship in the past. Hopefully he is now capable, Phillips is a totally untested kid seemingly growing into his body but expecting either to fill a significant chunk of the void left by Van Hecke and Lenihan leaving is asking for trouble. Gallagher has hid behind this theory that he has been utilised wrongly but when he plays central he is never going to be a prolific goalscorer, plus he is lacking in so many areas. Brereton's absence will need to lead to reinvestment as there are very few goals elsewhere. We have to hope that Dack regains his form. Rothwell is a miss, I am not his biggest fan but he leaves a huge hole in our midfield and takes a dynamic out of our team that we had. Khadra was inconsistent but an upgrade on Dolan for example so a further loss.

My point was, the hope was for a proven manager to push us on upon the announcement of Mowbray's departure. Those sort of names are what we wanted so if we ended with someone much more unknown and much less proven, it would be underwhelming, surely you can understand that. We can speculate whether those names would be interested, firstly we shouldn't limit ourselves only to people who apply, getting the best man often requires being proactive and looking yourself and convincing someone to join. Broughton has been here a few days, the second interviews were done this week on the back of the first ones two weeks prior, with seemingly any choice taken away from us with better candidates going elsewhere during the long process. I very much doubt that he has had a major impact if any. Can you apply for a work permit without actively having chosen to employ a person, which can't happen until Venkys approve? There will surely be a delay, how long is purely speculation but its not ideal IF indeed he has been chosen. That wasn't aimed at you on this occasion, those sort of quotes are widespread. The manager should be allowed to decide which if any of those youngsters come into the first team. A huge influx of rookies filling gaps left by proven performers does not equate to a likely improvement in league position in my opinion. Some of them need loan spells.

Where have you read that a work permit for Tomasson would be straight forward because he has worked 2 full seasons? Hasn't Kompany and his is taking ages. I am not convinced that it is a good job hence why we seem to be fishing in the market of managers who have been working in minor leagues. It will be difficult to improve upon 8th considering the departures and of course furthermore pending any budget limitations.

Not specifically those 2, but I and many others wanted a manager with a good and relevant track record. Farke was an ambitious one and ultimately if he had that Bundesliga interest from the start, although maybe it only materialised due to our sluggishness, then fait enough, difficult to compete. The Carvalhal one seems more complex as like most humans he has gone for financial reasons, are we offering low wages? Limiting him on his staff? Could we have got him if the owners had any genuine intention, perhaps. Even beyond those 2, there are the likes of Dyche, Jokanovic and Wagner still out of work, im not sure if all (or indeed any) are realistic, Dyche is the ideal candidate but the most unlikely, but that is the calibre of manager I wanted. You've said Tomasson would be "interesting" but for me it would be underwhelming, an unknown quantity IF indeed he is the man which is far from confirmed. His CV is limited and mixed, he has a relegation on his CV and a second short and unsuccessful spell as a manager on there too. He seemingly did well at Malmo winning 2 titles on the back of a 2nd place finish before him (and they are 5th at the moment) albeit I looked into it a bit and it seems like they had much bigger resources than the competitors, something which is not comparable to the job he will have here. I also noticed that a few Malmo fans had tweeted underneath and the common consensus was that he was very reliant on individual quality winning games and they questioned his tactical flexibility, with one also saying that he is reluctant to bring through youngsters. Ultimately though, barely anyone will have genuinely followed his previous jobs especially in the Swedish League so he is very much an unknown. He (or another) may benefit simply because a manager is finally appointed after a seemingly farcically long search for one, although even if he has been selected, waiting for those bastards in India and then a work permit creates two further delays when time is of the essence. I am fed up of people saying things like "stop being negative" and "get behind him" if he is appointed, as if that is in doubt. People can critique a manager and indeed be underwhelmed by his potential appointment whilst still backing him if and when he comes in.

Because at the start we was all hoping for a Farke/Carvalhal/Dyche with a really impressive CV. He seems to have done well at Malmo and poorly before but there isnt much to judge him on. What do you think of his potential appointment? Its not a case of not giving him a chance as of course I will, I just would find IF he was appointed someone with a CV like Tomasson's to be a little underwhelming.

I dont feel in a position to comment massively on him, id find it a little underwhelming IF he is to be the end of such a long search. That being said, this tweet seemingly has tried to (from afar) critique his CV and he has been jumped on with the usual "give him a chance" and "stop being negative" bullshit that is often the counter argument to constructive points, as seen below.

Hourihane would be a really good addition on a free, or would be if we had a manager this side of Christmas. Experienced, a good passer and left footed so I could see him complimenting Travis. Drinkwater and Musonda released by Chelsea.

I genuinely don't care about how boring or otherwise a manager is, the biggest reflection of one is how their team plays, I don't pay much attention to the sideline stuff or see the need to get to stressed/excited about interviews etc. Hard to get too much of a feeling either way though as he seems to be the daily name banded about as has been the case throughout, with nothing happening. Not much to judge him on anyway.

How do you know specifically that Waggott has met Ainsworth and didnt like him?

Lots of players available on frees that will soon be snapped up I guess. Sheyi Ojo, Will Vaulks, Jonjoe Kenny and Tobias Figeuredo amongst what ive seen today. No idea if any are good enough to genuinely improve us but they will go elsewhere by the time we appoint a manager anyway.

5 subs next season again allowed. We dont even have that many!

Where from? Seems premature to me, had lots of whispers and rumours but ultimately no sign of an apppontment. Even Deila was also reportedly interviewed and seems unlikely to join.

Tough one with Ayala. All logic dictates that getting a big earner who cant stay fit off the payroll even if there was no fee is a no brainer. That said, such is the lack of options with only Wharton who is good but fairly young and Carter unproven at this level available, we might need to keep those 15 games in which we will have some experience at CB.

Did you want Deila?

"Know the playing squad" and "Knows the club" are regularly phrases banded about. Why is this automatically seen as a huge positive? Surely anyone will get to know them over time but if the approach is a fresh start then its best not to be too reliant on existing opinions too much? Any new manager should be allowed within reasonable finances be able to pick and choose his coaching staff.

If you believe the conspiracies. That was well into the second half of the season and amidst the poor form, not the catalyst.

The search goes on and on, I bet no one will be here when pre-season starts. Can't profess to be an expert on Deila but we can't afford to wait and wait and Celtic fans dont seem to be big fans. His preference ie one game he (stupidly) did it, fixed it at half time and we won the game?