His goalscoring pedigree was at Coventry in League 1 wasnt it? And he struggled at Bolton as a winger.

I think/fear that it will be Brereton left, Gallagher right, Dolan central.

From what Mowbray said last week, it seems that a permanent replacement isn't even guaranteed. Idah is a similar one to Obafemi, he may prove to be a worthwhile calculated gamble in the absence of us being able to attract, find or indeed afford anyone more proven. I saw him a couple of times for Norwich last season and he looked fairly bright but he has 3 league goals ever, so it is a huge risk. His appearances for Ireland are not something to overly focus on really, I am not meaning to be snide but looking at the latest squad that was named, the strikers were Parrott who is again on loan in League 1 and has 2 senior goals ever, Ogbene who is not a regular at Rotherham and James Collins who is going to likely be back up to Moore at Cardiff, the standard is particularly low. I know that there were absent but even players like Maguire and Burke I have seen at Preston (the latter has left) and arent decent Championship players and Long is long since past it. He has yet to score internationally. Pre-season form is meaningless, that shouldn't affect our decisions, games whereby the result is fairly meaningless.

He would if its permanent, at the moment he is relatively untested although has shown glimpses as Pukki's back up. Playing for Ireland is not really an achievement these days!

Idah would be a similar situation to Obafemi, a young and largely unproven striker who on a permanent deal could be a decent investment, but on loan would be no good. Armstrong leaving will leave us in a terrible place as his goal record is superb but we cannot allow him to leave for free.

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/exclusive-southampton-closing-in-on-deal-for-blackburn-man-as-danny-ings-replacement/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/transfer-gossip-portsmouth-close-in-on-loan-deal-for-ps800000-former-arsenal-midfielder-who-has-been-linked-with-swansea-and-blackburn-this-summer-3331999 A rumoured loan target going to League 1.

Out of interest, was you told specifically that Reach was the in and Rothwell was the out? Do you still believe that "all you need to do is ask" Venkys even now? Just seems crazy and contrary to the last 10 years. In regards to your comments suggesting that NOBODY shares ITK information to "willy wag," I would disagree, not aimed at anyone in particular but some seem to get a power from having a supposed inside source. At the end of the day, if people say something and it doesnt materialise, it will be judged as being incorrect, whether something changed along the way and it was at one stage correct, whether it was based on assumptions and second guesses, whether it was a random social media whisper or whether it was quite simply made up. That doesnt mean that people should be discouraged from posting when they hear things, this is absolutely the place for it, but they shouldnt be above a bit of ribbing if it doesnt happen. It is such a worry that we are dealing solely in this market. I disagree with the notion shared by @RoversClitheroe that we should avoid loans, if players ae better than what we have, then it makes no sense to dismiss them. The key is to moderate usage of them, maybe a couple at most a season, and get the balance with your own assets and experience around it, which is where we will go wrong. These players may be talented but it is very much dipping our toes into unknown waters because there is no evidence of what they are like in senior football, kids football is no barometer. Roberts is the exception but he comes off the back of a string of failed loans at this level. I do remember watching that Nkounkou against Fleetwood and he was very impressive. But why would Everton loan him when he would likely be back up here?

I dont have any issues with prioritising clean sheets, but I just dont think that the Ireland comparison is in any way a valid one, just because of how different the situations are. Ireland have for the last 10 years plus had a void of any attacking flair and creativity, but plenty of workmanlike, experienced players. Being resolute and hard to beat was always going to be the only way really that they can play. With Rovers, I feel like inviting pressure is much riskier, the team is far less suited to sitting in great numbers, we lack the experience and concentration that Ireland had, neither side is technically very good but we do have alot more energy and pace in forward areas. Plus there is also the competition that both sides have faced, at international football you go from one extreme to another, half of the group will be international minnows, some of whom are full of part timers in which one goal and youve basically won, and some have a far superior group of individuals than Ireland had so the key was to play the percentages, set pieces etc and rely on organisation and experience. The Championship is far more balanced, there arent the extremes of either side. If you play 3 centre backs, they are likely to have more of the ball, and ours are all really poor on it. I dont agree with us playing from the back in general really, we should really be trying to turn teams around much quicker than we do. I also think that even if we are to play 2 centre backs, we are lacking in numbers badly. Lenihan is a given, Ayala is made of glass, we dont know when Wharton will be back fully at it, and then beyond that, big question marks on Carter who had a good loan spell but was out of his depth initially, maybe he has grown but he doesnt look good on the ball, and Magloire is even further back. I also dont think that Nyambe is better at wing back, I think his one on one defending is good and I prefer him as a full back. Unsure on Pickering without seeing him competitively. Obviously its impossible to take too many conclusions from friendlies, hence why the part in bold is a massive statement. But do you think that we have the quality and depth at centre back to play with 3, and do you think that they are suited to playing in that formation? How do you feel about constantly changing formation as Mowbray likes to do?

5 at the back doesnt seem to suit the current players, our centre backs are not comfortable on the ball, and we are already short at centre back so to play a second of 2 untested kids instead of someone like Rothwell seems illogical to me. The fixture on paper is as favourable as most will be so it seems unnecessarily negative to play such a defensive formation.

I think everyone is open minded to hearing genuine rumours with substance but often yours are just "rumours say that" or at their most specific, "someone on twitter has said." And have also avoided questions as to where the rumours have come from, if a rumour is shared, people are naturally going to want to know as much as possible about its source as to be able to ascertain how likely and believable it is. How many times has Mowbray been about to be sacked for example? Totally vague rumours are totally pointless, surely they are only useful if there is at least a bit of meat on the bones. If it is someone on twitter/facebook, copy the tweet/post, screenshot, at least mention the name. If it is some sort of super hidden source that cant be named that someone knows personally, perhaps a member of staff then at least say that and it is up to everyone to believe it or not. Much of the time, the rumours I think are just rumours already within the public domain with assumptions added to make them ITK. This isnt about J*B's rumour about FFP by the way, as there was a source there.

Swansea are in crisis, a good manager gone a week before the season and replaced by someone unproven, and so many key losses/absentees, Guehi, Woodman and Hourihane returning to their parent clubs, Ayew leaving on a free, Grimes with a knock and an unsure future, Roberts injured, Walsh a doubt and Fulton suspended. 7 of the 11 that started the play off final al out. We wont have many easier games all season from an opposition persepctive. That being said, we dont win our opening day under Venkys, usually off the back of a languid summer, this one is very much no different so I am certainly not confident. I also feel like the crowd will be (understandably) but depressingly low. Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Pickering Travis Davenport Dolan Rothwell Brereton Armstrong Subs - God knows! Gallagher, Buckley, Carter, Chapman and 3 more kids. Any chance of a signing at any point seems remote.

I doubt that he could have been possible even with a sale of Armstrong with no funds guaranteed but I am unsure why Surridge warrants such a fee, especially in a covid marketplace, never particularly impressed that much bar some moderately decent loan spells. That being said, Stoke have impressed me in this window and shown us how to act. They sold their key asset Collins early in the window to Burnley, bringing in a good replacement in Wilmot soon after, also signing Vrancic on a free and now Surridge to boost the forward line. They also will soon have Campbell back from injury, joining Doughty and Fox.

Crooke doesnt know what hes talking about but is probably echoing what the LT reported last week, which is why the embargo happened. I still revert back to asking why we signed a player for a fee in January when we are so perilously on the line of FFP regulation breaking, or are been beyond that?! Or indeed why there isnt more urgency to get Armstrong sold.

I mentioned in another thread but surely with full capacity stadiums allowed, the option to stream games from the UK will be discontinued otherwise attendances across the country will never return to normal?

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20210731/283390539901649 Saw this, but seems like it isnt for this season.

Where is this rumour from? He used to play for Barnsley but I don't think he was particularly great. Doesn't fit into the loans from Prem teams only policy.

What is the situation with walk ons, are they allowed past a certain time as Leeds games went off sale a couple of hours prior? Is there still a surcharge? Another thing that I was wondering about is potential streaming, surely that service should stop now that fans are allowed without restrictions, otherwise it will massively hinder attendances across the board?

What sort of logic is that? Obviously we dont want to sign overpriced players of any age, you can also point to overpriced younger players (Kevin Davies, Ashley Ward, Ben Brereton, Sam Gallagher) or indeed shrewd older ones (Downing, Friedel, Nelsen, Berg, Graham) so there is little pattern. The squad is crying out for experience, when we hit a tough run I really do worry. I feel like you are being purposely obtuse about my Pickering comments. My point is that I don't understand how we can go from signing players for above 500k to not being able to sign a couple of freebies within 6 months, how the landscape can change so much. If the embargo was sustainability related as per the LT, then it makes it even more perplexing, although it makes no sense either way. Also those players you listed that Bowyer signed were under another transfer embargo, hence why he could only afford to bring in absolute shite to replace all of our best players leaving.

Again, I dont have sympathy with Mowbray because at the end of the day, he is already a year into continued paid employment at a big Championship club that he does not warrant and wouldnt have under owners who cared. But Tony Mowbray is perhaps a great example of how managers tend to have a shelf life and if you are kept on too long beyond that shelf life, things get sour to the point where things get exaggerated out of control and you go from leaving with your head held high to being seen as a villain. He is at the point now where he is blamed for things out of his control and made out to be far worse than what he has actually been, understandably as we are all frustrated with how stagnant and hopeless it seems. @Mercer suggesting that the relegation was indefensible is beyond hyperbolic, typical to someone on the wind up, hence the comments about Coyle being better and boasting about having a journalists phone number. If Mowbray had left last summer, I think he would have been deemed to have done a good overall job here, nothing remarkable, but any return (not as our manager) would be warmly received. His first task was to keep us up, and I have always said that there is no use in extrapolating results (same as people doing so with the 2 in 17 stat from last season) and that he did fail that season, it was a very difficult task with a shoddy squad already in the relegation zone, he came close but not close enough. Then what followed was good (not perfect, I found the attitude from him before that Charlton game very aggravating) in getting us promoted comfortably at the first attempt, and very much stabilising us as a Championship mid table side. It became evident a while back that he had taken us as far as he could and had no idea how to push us on further, confused tactical ideas, recruitment wastage etc, no more signs of progression. As a side note, I have been surprised by the reaction in the ground v Leeds and also what I heard on the stream watching the Leeds game, various songs specifically in support of Tony Mowbray.

That is the impression that I am under, I am in the same situation as yourself, presumably in the same seat? Would also not mind clarification though myself.

That may be true in that the likes of Holtby and Evans made little financial sense to retain due to their wages v reliability. The thing is though we are still weaker without them for 2 reasons, one is at least one of them would be starting on Saturday if they was still here with the other on the bench, they have left spaces in our squad that we havent replaced. They also (along with a couple of others who maybe had less chance of playing) have stripped the squad of most of its remaining experience, we only now have Johnson really who is injured and Ayala who seems unwilling to even play with slight discomfort. I was basing my statements on the fact that we (according to the LT) were on course to fail FFP regulations this summer, something that would have been known about 6 months prior. Wages perhaps are too high/there is too much wastage, income has not been maximised, it all contributes. I am talking about the one off decision to make a reasonable outlay on a fee for a new player in January when our financial/sustainability situation was so perilous. I would ask if over 500k was a luxury that we simply couldnt afford, and if we perhaps needed to go for a freebie in the summer instead. Even if the embargo had nothing to do with sustainability, I find it baffling that we can go from spending over half a million in January, to not being able to add a couple of freebies in the summer to give us some experience which we are lacking. 100%. I do understand and agree with the idea (although its not been done successfully by Venkys at all) of signing players for cheap, improving them, sell them at a profit, then replace and continue the cycle. But you can not fill a team with such players. Experienced players are critical for guidance and know how and we've jettisoned most of ours and dont seem like we have any intention of replacing any of it. When we hit bad form this season, I don't see who will provide the experience to help to drag us back out of it.

More desperate gossip which will no doubt have zero substance to it.

My issue is with the theory that Venkys themselves are choosing projects that they want to invest in, yet suddenly 6 months later the taps are totally off. The manager should be the one tasked with making signings, if there is an aim that we make profit on younger players then he follows that and is judged on that. Obviously the manager shouldnt be Mowbray. Who do you think wanted Pickering specifically? And indeed Brereton and Gallagher? With Pickering, like anyone else I have no idea how he will be and I am not judging him as an individual. My point was that it was either a wreckless signing financed by the owners if we was not on track with FFP. Or if the LT was wrong and it had no impact on that as you suggest, then my issue is with the sudden turning off the taps 6 months later, and the general bizarre lack of consistency. I agree with the idea of signing players for cheap and selling at a profit, although Venkys have certainly not achieved that as a strategy. Are the last ones Duffy, Gestede and Cairney, all sold on the cheap due to another embargo and thus desperation for money? But you cant only sign younger projects, you need some experience and know how, not every player is about potential. Lets hope that Venkys have had enough, then there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

What are these facts that prove Mowbray to be a worse manager than Coyle? Assuming that they are based solely on their Rovers careers. Even if you take out the promotion season, Mowbray has finished 15th twice and 11th. Coyle left us in 22nd or 23rd. I presume it is based on a specific run of form extrapolated but your overall statement cannot be true. Mowbray deserves to be sacked and that is something based on his own merits. You dont need to make nonsensical comparisons based on hand picked runs of form to justify that he needs to be sacked. Meeting FFP regulations obviously encorporates everything, there are various methods to help to increase income and reduce expenses. It is not JUST wages that cause the problem. Increasing income via ticketing/advertising policies, selling assets at the correct time, not spending much on incoming transfers, having a low wage bill etc. Meeting or indeed failing to meet FFP encorporates all of that. If this is the case as per the LT that we failed FFP, we should have known that would or could be the case 6 months prior. In which case, surely dont spend over 500k on a new player! And to answer your question, the deal didnt have to be done in January, but someone cheaper, a free or a loan. If not and Phili is correct and we went into embargo due to late submission of accounts/funding methods then as I touch on below, why are we spending a reasonable fee on Crewes left back when 6 months later we cant even afford freebies? Where is the consistency and the logic? Even if there were no issues with FFP and the LT was wrong, its just bizarre how we can be spending on fees then literally unable to sign freebies within 6 months. I based my assumption we went into embargo due to issues with FFP based on an article in the Lancashire Telegraph a week or 2 ago. But whether it was down to sustainability issues, late submission of accounts or funding issues, I of course stand by my criticism of Venkys for allowing it to happen, massively hindering the manager. But even putting the embargo to one side, why are we spending 500k (the 350k will surely then be listed as a creditor so it will still be in the accounts regardless of payment date) on a player in January yet 6 months later, the goal posts are moved to the extent that we cant even sign free agents? Its just illogical from the owners, no joined up thinking. Assuming that your theory is correct regarding Venkys being willing to invest only in specific projects which take their fancy, it is little wonder that we are so screwed. What makes them qualified to do so? My doubts over this theory personally would stem from, what is exciting them so much about a left back from Crewe when 6 months later, we cant even sign up freebies because the belt has been tightened so much? But yeah, whatever the reason for the embargo, nothing them tossers in India do makes any sense. The theory of them picking projects to spend on has been mentioned before, im unconvinced personally but either way, there is never any logic to what they do. Even if it didnt cause the embargo, that Pickering deal for a reasonable fee makes no sense when we are here 6 months later we are on a loans only policy.