Still?

Number 10 is certainly a more suitable position compared to where he is now. I would play him there too.

The young talent we have contracted into next season are Wharton, Buckley, Dolan, Rankin Costello, Pickering, Edun and Carter. Some potentially useful players but im not sure how much excitement that crop gives me. Travis is the stand out and even he only has 18 months left and probably wouldnt generate a major fee.

Exactly plus the losses are higher than they need to due to their own negligence and ineffeciency, both personally and based on the below par people that they employ.

Are you going to divulge or is it more cryptic and meaningless speculation?

The most depressing thing is that 4 players who lets face it, none of who will come close to having Premier League suitors and indeed from that interview have no specific interest still have no interest in renewing at the shell of a club we have today under these twats. We should have sold at least some of them in the window, and I can only imagine the paltry wage offered to them all.

None of us do, but there has been no suggestion that had we not sold Armstrong, that we was over 10m over the threshold. Mowbray has mentioned the lack of budget repeatedly but always from a perspective of how our poor sorry owners have been affected by the pandemic etc. Never anything about FFP, including when he said that we could potentially sign a forward, or when Waggott discussed to the fans forum about Obafemi rejecting us and another striker having a medical and failing it. Hence why I think that an assumption that we are right on the line of FFP even now is a struggle to believe.

I never once suggested that we should "overspend." There is a difference between overspending and spending a fraction of income generated, as I suspect you know yourself having regularly championed Healey, Nisbet etc who would have cost fees.

Clarkson has not impressed when given game time in the first team, looks miles off. How was Edun @rigger

https://the72.co.uk/250944/reading-poised-for-points-deduction-in-the-championship/ Reading seemingly set for a points deduction in a league which is becoming even more uncompetitive as deductions are handed out so easily.

Had that happened, then Kean could have come in sooner and got us relegated a season earlier.

I don't think he did dictates games, he isn't that type of player. He didn't dictate the game v Swansea, they had the ball and we just repeatedly pressed their idiotic playing out from the back tactics successfully, it wasn't a game won through Rothwell controlling it. He is someone who commits players and takes them on, something which is better further forward. He has disappointed this season but is not helped playing so deep. I would have him further forward, either as one of the 2 further forward midfielders in a 3, or behind the striker.

How do you know he does? Even if he does, it doesn't suit him there. His strength is running at players and committing them in the final third. In front of the back 4, he isn't going to dictate games, he leaves gaps in front of the defence and his main strength is totally subdued.

Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Pickering Travis Johnson Khadra Rothwell Brereton Butterworth We have kept 2 consecutive clean sheets so I wouldn't change the structure of the defence to try to counteract Cardiff at home. Back 4 (and keeper) picks itself. Further forward, its about as many players in positions that suit us as possible. Brereton as a central striker is a struggle, I would put him back wide where he is better. Poveda and Dolan were particularly poor at the weekend, give Khadra a start. Rothwell isn't a central midfielder, get him running at players in the final third, Johnson can give us some physicality if he is fit enough, failing that, Edun or Davenport.

Of course, at the end of the day a manager has to be judged on results, hence the justified criticism last season, and so far in the first 8 games, ours have been good. Its unfair to criticise the season last season, yet refuse to praise him when results are good. That is not to say that he hasnt made curious decisions that I have disagreed with. The usual Gallagher wide nonsense, Clarkson playing advanced every time he comes on, Rothwell in front of the defence doesn't suit him, I think a poor Barnsley side were there for the taking with a bit more risk, Buckley wide a couple of times, even the signings in that as much as he was armed with a pitiful budget to replace an outgoing full team, I am not convinced that they have improved us or how much they will.

To be honest, he does deserve praise for the results in the first 8 games, not giving him due credit is looking at the situation with unfair bias against him. If he was sacked, I would still welcome a change of manager but would still find it crazy even in Venkys world to do so with us sat in the top 6. I don't think he is "throwing the kids under the bus" however I also think that talk of him being reinvigorated by the young teams is a stretch too. The atmosphere will always somewhat be dictated by results, was ever thus. I don't think that the results will last throughout the season because in attacking positions, we don't have the quality. With only Dolan on a free intended to play for the kids and 2 heavily sponsored loanees, Mowbray could argue that he is fighting a losing battle having made such a big profit on one of his signings, but as was always going to happen, when we need to rely on 12m worth of forwards, their lack of ability to score goals will shine through.

Speaking of Buckley though, why are his first 2 overhit passes deemed as good play, yet his third one was deemed as poor? That was my major frustration again with him on Saturday, his slight physique isnt a big concern as he does hold his own and is tenacious, but when push came to shove, his final ball from an attacking sense was found to be lacking. Like all of our attacking players at the moment, he needs to massively improve the quality and consistency of what he does in the final third.

Where is this from?

I find us boring to watch because I dont think that our attacking players are much to right home about. If we get results in spite of that then I obviously happy regardless and I also appreciate the defensive side of things in the last 2 games. I am not writing Poveda off, I have just been very unimpressed by his first 2 performances. I thought he was poor at Boro aside from his interception in the build up to the goal, he kept wanting too long on the ball, he rarely if ever took on his man and he didnt create anything. Its important to remember that the Barnsley of this season and the Barnsley of last season are 2 different animals. Im not sure that they warranted quite as much respect as you claim, it was a poor game between 2 sides with little in attack. I mentioned Buckleys ability to intercept but again in possession as an attacking player he didnt do anything. He overhit quite a few switches of play which meant that potential attacks came to nothing. Rothwell again was fairly anonymous and the current role he is being asked to do doesnt suit him. Dolan again did very little aside from one very good turn in the first half and Brereton again failed with the basics of being a striker. He cant play with his back to goal and his timing of runs is poor, he is offside too often, he isnt in the box often enough and he fluffed his lines when we needed him to score following a terrible first touch.

I personally thought that Poveda had a poor game at Boro, similar story really, never facing his man up, questionable willingness to work hard, wanting to take too long on the ball. Of course, it is very early but yesterday was not Totally agree on Brereton not being a central striker, but I actually think that the fact that he is our best attacking player says a lot. There is a lot of nothingness that at this moment we can't be confident what it will amount to. Dolan for me doesn't offer too much of substance with any regularity at this level at his age, Khadra seems a talent but one destined in the near future for small cameos, same with Butterworth, Poveda again someone with no record of impacting first team games, and Gallagher is a bit of a donkey. I think when Lambert signed those first three, the latter had gone out on loan, never to be seen again. Those last 2 in particular were horrendous, but we did also have Graham at that time, as well as Conway and Marshall as wingers. Earlier in that season, we had Delfouneso and also other dross including Koita and Barrow, but we had those same wingers and of course we had Rhodes. I would like to think that Poveda, Khadra, Dolan etc are above the pitiful benchmark of some of the aforementioned dross, but we don't have a prolific striker or the quality of attacker that we also had at those times, so you could argue either way.

Managed to catch just over an hour of another bore fest yesterday, watching us at the moment is really difficult but football is about results and to be 6th with this current squad is a minor miracle so fair play to Mowbray for that. Barnsley were equally poor and it made for a horrendous watch. Defensively we seem to be really tightened up, Ayala is a big reason for that. Lenihan was beaten too easily in the first half for the chance that Kaminski/a poor finish bailed him out with, and the full backs were fine, with Pickering settling in nicely. I would suggest that the current set of attacking players is as poor as I can remember us having however, they all allow the majority of games to pass them by without stamping their authority on them. Leeds look like that they have sent us a dud in Poveda, he was shocking not only when he had the ball but his attitude when he didn't. Dolan aside from one turn in the first half was poor again, not much of a football brain. Brereton is not a central striker as long as he has a hole in his arse, so clumsy and ungainly. And Buckley off the ball was tenacious as he tends to be but he doesn't do enough on it in the majority of games, repeatedly over hitting passes. Rothwell was anonymous too.

With 2 of those into the last year of their contracts, and one of those in particular seemingly unlikely to renew, isnt it essentially the same as having loanees?

Surely until he starts regularly impacting games, which as a more attacking midfielder includes scoring and assisting with more regularity, then the question marks will continue to remain. Kaminski, Ayala, Lenihan, Nyambe, Travis, Brereton and at a push Pickering are the 7 guarantees at the moment.

How did Johnson look?

I don't get why you repeatedly get your hopes up over very little. If he didn't get sacked after a season of obvious regression, he isn't going to 7 games later when we have had a good start.