If we were unable to agree contracts with all 3, that would be piss poor, no excuses. If we sold all 3, I would fear relegation, you can't just remove so much of the experience in your team like that and not face the consequences. It would show where the club is heading, and that is not up.

Coyle was a shocking manager but as per most managers at some point of their reign under Venkys, the budget he was given was not competitive. He had to sell his main 2 players in Hanley and Duffy for close to 10m, from a team to which most of its assets had already been sold mainly for cheap. He was given a pathetic 250k to reinvest and had to assemble a team of freebies and loanees. He actually made 3 or 4 useful signings amidst some dross but obviously his general incompetence meant that from the patched up squad, there was no chance that he would have it organised and fit. The same thing happened to Bowyer when the team was sold one by one and he had to sign freebies under an embargo, the same thing happened to Mowbray selling Armstrong and having to fill 12 squad places with only a cheap Lincoln left back and 4 cheap kids on loan deals, Lambert needed to sell Rhodes and only could bring in loans and cheap deals.

Mid table with current squad. 4 minutes ago. Top 6 potentially with current squad. 4 hours ago. What are your expectations, ie not your prediction, but what would be deemed a good finish? And what if anything would earn Mowbray a new deal?

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19600131.tony-mowbray-delivers-blackburn-rovers-team-news-ahead-cardiff/ Khadra was one of four loan additions, with Rovers missing out on a move for Bordeaux striker Josh Maja on deadline day who would have filled the final allocated spot. “We had every intention of using our five loans but yet we came across an issue that we couldn’t resolve at the end. That would have been another loan,” Mowbray added. I very much doubt that he would come out and say so specifically that it would have been a loan to be fair.

I think Steve Bruce (this may be outdated or simply totally wrong) has the most promotions from the Championship out of anybody.

Where do you think our current squad (not factoring in the manager) should be finishing? If we defied expectations, for example if we finished in the top 6, not that I believe that would happen for a second. Would Mowbray then warrant an extension?

Cutting budgets and losing all your assets on frees as a result. I very much doubt that if we are working under such strict caps, that these free agents who will have a pick of potential clubs would come here for the same reason that these players are leaving in the first place.

I am not convinced how the first 11 is deemed a top 6 one to be fair, many of the first 11 isn't close to being top 6 quality, Gallagher, Dolan, Buckley the obvious 3. But of course it is a squad game over 46 games, do you think the squad is a top 6 one under a good manager? Would a top 6 be your minimum expectation then, or would that be reduced once you factored in the whole squad off the back of this summer? And is there any possible way that (for example, perhaps a top 6 finish) that Mowbray could surprise you and as a result warrant a contract extension?

Waggott is to blame for a lot of things, I am not sure that contract struggles due to lack of finance are amongst those really. He said that we have offered them as much as "we can" so the restrictions come back to the bastards in India who don't seem to realise that for a few thousand each, we likely will allow most of our better players and assets to leave for free which will probably if history is to be believed lead to relegation again at some point.

Where do people expect us to finish this season for the season to be considered par for the course or even a success? And are people flexible enough in their views to have a target to which Mowbray (who sadly seems to be here for the near future) could even earn a new deal? I think firstly that it is important to acknowledge the lack of backing this summer, there wasn't a competitive budget of even a fraction of the Armstrong money and the considerable wage budget savings to replace not only Armstrong but a multitude of experienced players. We are left with an average first 11 including 4 academy graduates and a player signed last season for the under 23s, and beyond that, pitiful depth padded out by the cheapest of kids on loan deals. Perhaps it could be argued that any improvement on last seasons finish of 15th place is progression but for me, last season was so poor that it should be based upon the previous finish of 11th. If we finish in the top 10, whilst I have always felt that anything slightly under the play offs has to be deemed a disappointment in that the top 6 is so close, I would consider that to be a good season personally. That being said, a top 10 finish would not warrant a contract extension for me. It would be 4 full seasons in which Mowbray would have been somewhat a safe pair of hands, never at threat of serious relegation, but in which time he has never come close to a top 6 finish, and I suspect would be unlikely to any time soon. I am unsure if we have ever truly had a top 6 squad under him, we definitely don't this season and I would potentially suggest that we have the worst squad out of the last 4 years, similar to the first season up. A top 6 season would be an overachievement specific to this season but that is ultimately we will need at some point in order to get into the play offs, and to get some hope back which Venkys have long since extinguished. I expect a similar finish to last season however, quite possibly even slightly lower.

We weren't. Mowbray when referring to the Maja deal after the window had closed said that it would have been a loan deal.

He signed that goalscorer to be fair as well as the one last year who scored 28 goals and made the club a considerable amount to which he wasnt able to reinvest in a replacement. We also lost 2 games recently in which 2 key injuries left us uncompetitive due to the inadequacy of what we had left. Mowbray shouldn't be still in a job even acknowledging a decent start considering the cut backs and pitiful lack of reinvestment allowance in the summer due to the stagnation seen last season. We need a fresh start and we need someone to overperform in reality which is possible, see Barnsley last year and Coventry so far this year. But it is not a top 6 squad at all even considering the poor standard of league. Our first 11 is pretty much known, Kaminski, Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala, Pickering, Travis, Buckley, Rothwell, Dolan, Gallagher, Brereton. That isnt a top 6 starting 11, and it has started only 4 games this season, beyond that there is nothing. 4 loanee kids making up the numbers on cheap deals, and basically nothing else.

I want Mowbray gone too but you've "predicted" that for months with your usual level of accuracy! Sadly, 9th in the Championship is roughly the pinnacle of the last 11 years of mismanagement under our horrendous owners which is simply not good enough yet probably unlikely to change in the next 11 years.

Dolan doesn't have much end product, so I think he is at times a little overhyped, but I think whilst raw he has promising attributes and he definitely has improved and makes our best 11. Perhaps he summed himself up in the first half with a lovely bit of skill and then a very tame shot. Poveda I don't rate based on his limited appearances and he wouldn't start but I think it is only fair to say that today I thought he was bright, the ball to Brereton was very good and he was probably better than Dolan today IMO.

Good to see Man United lose today. Hopefully they will allow Solskjaer to continue the poor job that he is doing.

😂

Edun is not a loan signing so his supposed lack of interest cannot be put down to that, although I personally am not keen on the assumption that a loan signing will automatically put less effort in. Elliott is an example that you have given as proof that it is purely down to the individual, indeed all 4 loanees I suspect will struggle to ever breakthrough at their parent clubs, so they are in the shop window. I just think that all 4 are very raw and not particularly good for us at this moment in time, sadly due to our disinterested owners, such signings are deemed as necessary to pad out the squad, more useful than say 4 of our kids (ones that arent already involved in the first team) but ideally we could sign better. I thought Edun had a very mixed game though similarly to you, took too many risks at time (which to be fair many of our players were afraid to do) but often lost it in dangerous areas. He tired though and Mowbray mentioned him and Van Hecke post match as players who tired. Khadra also had tonsillitis according to Rich Sharpe as well as PIckering.

I liked his desire to run at players, in fact I felt like he was lacking in the confidence to ideally do it once or twice more, and more often than not we retained the ball once he had done so, with one particularly good pass. I am certainly not overly optimistic about his signing though to be honest, sadly I feel like our squad is really lacking with 4 loan players looking very raw and only signed because they are all that we could afford in spite of raising a big fee from the sale of Armstrong. But much better today compared to his 3 shockers v Boro, Barnsley and Huddersfield.

As if the owners give a shit, they won't care if we finish 4th, 14th or 24th.

His quotes are fine, bigging up a player. Maybe he should play more but I am not convinced that he would make a major difference, I suppose it is a bit unknown. If we had any money in the summer to replace Armstrong, then Butterworth ideally would be out on loan as intended.

Agreed on Lenihan looking uncomfortable as a left centre back, a direct result of playing 3 at the back. I do think that it was part of the problem out of inviting pressure in the second half. A big issue for us is the inability of Dolan and Gallagher to hold the ball up. We couldn't push out partly because of playing an extra defender but everytime the ball went forward, it came straight back. Gallagher I agree was poor and his general game does tend to be really poor, he doesn't win headers, he can't play with his back to goal, he keeps running offside, he just isn't very good. We also lack the composure in midfield to control the game, take the sting out of it and keep the ball. Johnson should have come on with his experience rather than Davenport who isn't very good. The defensive record is really poor, 2 clean sheets is not enough to build on, the idea of becoming a more defensively solid team as you have mentioned wont be happening soon I don't think. Disagree on Poveda too. Maybe people have made their mind up on him but I thought he was ok when he came on, tried to add a spark.

If he said how bad Butterworth was in the press then there may be an issue! I thought Poveda did ok today, one great pass, ran at his man a few times looking to be positive, a few other neat passes, won a foul, nothing groundbreaking but I saw something that simply wasn't there in his first 3 poor appearances. I suspect that people have written off Poveda now, but I thought there was something there today.

Dolan has developed 100%, but today bar a couple of weak shots I thought he was pretty poor, perhaps still not over his illness. I thought that Poveda did well when his came on, played one great ball to Brereton and made a few decent contributions I thought. I fear that his card may already be marked.

Butterworth becomes better with each game that he doesn't come on to be fair. Do you not think that Poveda did some good things, I thought he was ok when he came on and better than Dolan.

This squad is far from a top 3 or top 6 squad. It is paper thin, you look at our first 11 which is competitive and even then, you have a player signed for the under 23s a year ago after Preston let him go playing a critical role. We have 4 very raw loanees signed for a pittance making the numbers up. I accept the criticisms about today and Luton, it is not a good habit and Mowbray takes blame as I have mentioned above. But equally, we got a late winner at Forest, we stole a point from Millwall, points have been earnt and lost in similar situations. How on earth can you say that Davenport has been "Mowbrayed?" He has barely played in a Rovers shirt following Mowbray signing him because when he has, he has been poor, and he has also often been injured. He hardly had played prior to joining either. Where have you got this impression from that he is like Travis prior to having the ability and life sucked out of him by Mowbray?! What is with the obsession with everyone finding outrage in how Mowbray acts on the touchline? There is enough to discuss and potentially criticise on the pitch including Mowbray's tactics, subs, even signings without obsessing over him being "a disgrace" getting frustrated on the sidelines.