Doyle has played 1 league game ever. Looking at our squad, I dont think that is what we need.

Yeah he was absolutely hopeless for Huddersfield and is not fit fot purpose. We need experience but Keogh is not useful.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/19451012.middlesbrough-hoping-sign-lutons-pelly-ruddock-mpanzu/ Looks like Pelly Ruddock is going to decide on his future this week, most likely heading to Boro.

I'd take Dyche or Howe, 100%.

Just watched the first half of Derby v United, Derby have loads of trialists playing, like us they are under self inflicted limitations, Rooney seems to have had to go right through the bottom of the barrel with the likes of Sone Aluko, Phil Jagielka, Sam Baldock and Ravel Morrison with Richard Stearman as a sub. Blackpool also made a very curious signing yesterday of Richard Keogh. He was a laughing stock in the second half of last season for Huddersfield, not the signing of a club with serious intentions of staying up.

Why? Do players not get tarnished in the same way?

He definitely isn't anything other than a central striker but I am unconvinced that he can just be taught how to do what Graham did, Graham's main asset was his brain, his ability to pick up goal scoring positions which Gallagher doesn't do is instinctive and the way he held play up, giving defenders a slight nudge, getting his arse in between the player and ball. Of course Gallagher should be trained on how to hold the ball up etc as should all strikers but I think the idea of him becoming a direct replacement for Graham was always a flawed one. That is not me having a go at Gallagher because whilst I do think Graham was far more useful, Gallagher does have attributes that are better than Graham, he is not rapid but he is much quicker than Graham and quite a powerful runner for example.

I think the point is whether you retract your assumption that our recruitment would be unaffected by Harvey leaving because signings would have already been identified. Now you know what you have seen since, no signings and when we finally replaced him, comments that imply that recruitment starts only now.

Would signing an ex Burnley player still be a 100% no go area? Agreed on the wages, never in a million years can we afford them so it proves that Nixon has for the second week in a row made up a swap deal story. Next week my prediction is Liverpool will offer Origi and cash for Armstrong. Dont really get the style of play argument even if we have to fit any signings into Mowbray ball. Gray is quick and likes to run in behind so surely he would fit in? Plus he could no doubt play the wide striker rubbish. Age is a weird one. We really need some experience but I suppose that at 30 he might start to lose his pace. We definitely cannot wait for Armstrong to go before we start signing players though.

Even if it had a 1% chance of being true, it wouldnt be happening any time soon. Andre Gray is playing in the Gold Cup for Jamaica at the moment.

Presume if you are consistent, that his Burnley links will make it a no from you?

😂 is his weekly feature to dream up a hypothetical swap deal that has absolutely zero chance of happening? Gray is on massive wages so its never going to happen in a million years.

I personally dont think that we can consider Davenport or Dolan to be first 11 calibre at the moment, both are young players to have in the squad but neither has proven themselves to be players that we can rely upon week in week out. I think we need a new right winger, a new striker, a new sitting midfielder and a more attacking one to help to make up the Armstrong deficit once he leaves. We also need a new centre back with so many question marks over Ayala.

You would imagine that the back 4 and goalkeeper are the ones that will go into the season, although there is no competition for them, a particular worry considering that Ayala is made of glass. The midfield and attack are less convincing, Travis is a shoe in, Rothwell maybe, Davenport, Buckley and Butterworth unproven and Armstrong set to leave. No goals in that team aside from Armstrong either. Then that second team is frighteningly young, we need some players in ASAP.

We can have our own opinions but Whitty has said that restrictions could be re-imposed as early as in 5 weeks: https://www.lancs.live/news/uk-world-news/chris-whitty-warns-lockdown-could-21066503 So we may not be able to attend from a couple of weeks into the season. Regarding the players, even the ones that have been double vaccinated will have to isolate if they or a team mate deemed in close proximity to them gets a positive test, and positive tests are obviously so high at the moment.

Well he wouldnt leave Cardiff to come to Rovers so no but I was merely adding to the hypothetical debate to which McCarthy is the obviously better manager.

I saw a link and started watching from 75/80 minutes but turned off soon after, I only recognised Chapman. Unsure if it was predominantly a reserve team we put out or just if our very small pool of senior players had already come off.

The rules say that until August (I think) that everyone will need to isolate as they do at the moment regardless of any negative test, and that only will change if you have had both vaccines, I know that various players at the Euros had yet to be vaccinated due to the risk of side effects ahead of important games so I suspect that many Championship players wont have had both if any vaccine by then. One positive case within a squad will cause mass cases of isolation and cases per day are so high. That is before factoring in sadly inevitably lockdowns that I expect to be brought in even within 6 weeks according to Chris Whitty. I would love to agree and really do hope that I am wrong but the government have dealt with the pandemic with such negligence that I cannot see any other outcome.

10 wins, 9 draws and only 3 losses last season at Cardiff suggests that you are talking out of your arse.

You cant.

Where is this from? If so, unsure why it is behind closed doors to be honest.

Really?! But no one really has suggested that the individual is incompetent or a poor selection. The problem is that it further highlights the power of an incompetent manager whose immediate future is sadly at our football club. We are going to be surrounded by "negativity" at the moment because ultimately, the immediate future looks bleak.

It has not been a tactical move to wait for Armstrong to leave before making a move in the transfer market, our lack of proactivity in the transfer market is a given every single season, plus even then, we have spent most of the summer in a totally unavoidable transfer embargo. So we literally couldn't sign anyone. We cannot indefinitely hold on for an Armstrong windfall, the transfer saga will likely not conclude any time soon and we urgently need reinforcements. We should already have a budget, it may be miniscule as ever but we should be working with that and if indeed Armstrong does leave, we could then buy a replacement with that money (a replacement who we should already have in mind), perhaps another attacking player as adequately replacing Armstrong will be impossible, and then keep the rest of the money, partly to reinvest in the future. Holding off until Armstrong leaves is not a feasible strategy. The head of recruitment is certainly no excuse for our lack of business either. We was told when Stuart Harvey left that it would not impact us.

I totally get and share your enthusiasm as to going to Rovers games after such a lengthy spell out, I cannot wait either. I fear that is almost certainly not going to be close to a full season of attending games but that is another matter and I cannot wait to return. That said, those feelings are an irrelevance when constructively critiquing our chances for the upcoming season. I still planned much of my life around Rovers when Kean and Coyle were here, it doesn't mean that I was optimistic in those times either. Being happy to go back doesn't mean that a constructive person would totally remove the manager from their analysis. Being happy to go back doesn't mean that you need to pretend that you genuinely think that a top 6 finish is a possibility, yet don't give clear reasons why. Being happy doesn't mean that you can't criticise our inability to make signings or indeed avoid an unnecessary embargo, batting off the incompetence as it being a case of "we are where we are." And being happy to go back doesn't mean that we have to assume that it is good to have so many unproven kids all expected to come through together. Also, your team is built around a striker almost certain to go, and half of the other 10 have a year left, and there are no signings.

If I gave you a straight choice, Mowbray or McCarthy for the upcoming season. Who would you choose>