I would agree that Barnsleys squad is perhaps on paper not a top 6 squad, and it is indeed their manager that is the main difference maker. But I also do feel like a new manager here will need to do a bit of a clear out this summer and indeed people do overrate our squad at the same time. Other managers may be able to get more out of some players we have already but I just think that most of our squad arent particularly good. We need a new manager first and foremost but also a number of new players.

No I havent been following Crewe's results, performances, highlights, nor have I watched videos highlighting random statistics that in reality mean very little. The responses from Crewe fans to the announcement provide some enthusiasm though that he is a talent, obviously we will need to hope that he is capable of making the step up as a young lad playing for a mid table League 1 side with an unremarkable defensive record. I feel like your opinions on your Woodrow scenario are filled with understandable bias when in reality, no neutral of a sane mind would suggest that he would come to Rovers, which is a galling thing to say considering he is at Barnsley. Brilliant post, nail on the head.

Maybe but to be fair its not as if at any point in his career, Rothwell has regularly been scoring/assisting and standing out. I have long held an opinion that the squad is considerably overrated by the majority. To clarify, that isnt a defence of the manager, but I regularly see it described as a top 6 squad and I dont think it is close to being one, and that is down to the manager who has spent time and money assembling it. At the end of the day, this squad even with so much time and money put into it is not getting results any better than the one we came up with. One in which the likes of Mulgrew, Smallwood, Evans, Bennett etc featured regularly and was very one dimensional. Could a new manager get something out of some of our squad that hasnt yet come out in their careers or indeed not for a while? Perhaps, but I look at the squad, only made worse by the contractual negligence with quite a few, and think it needs gutting really, the "journey" needs to be started again.

I would love Rothwell to suddenly and unexpectedly start impacting on games on a regular basis, sadly I think he is one of many players who never actually kicks on and does so. He is now 26 and has never done so so far, there is time to do so but David Bentley was a 22 year old with only one full season under his belt, so it is not a direct comparison.

To suggest that Cauley Woodrow, currently starring as the main striker for a side 17 points ahead of us, in the top 6, very much upwardly mobile with a good manager and a very impressive set of players, would join a mid table Rovers squad to replace one of our 2 key players whilst the other spends all season injured, for the reason of "the ambition of the club and being our main striker" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sadly, we have somehow got to the stage whereby a Barnsley player would almost certainly have no interest in joining us. The third player you mentioned at Sheffield Wednesday is Moses Odubajo, a squad player whose season highlight was angering his own fans when laughing following a goal went in against them earlier in the season. He has not played at Brentford for 2 seasons. And any player can look good on a highlights reel. Regarding Rankin Costello and Pickering, I will stick to my uncertainty without being armed with the knowledge you clearly have on the 2 issues. As with far too many players, Rankin Costello has shown no signs of signing a new deal, and I believe that you have equally seen nothing of Crewe to suggest that Pickering will improve our defence, as much as we hope he can, and of course not based on the desperately low benchmark of "being better than Bell." He sounds like a talented attacking full back but I have no idea if he can excel at Championship level.

I would agree, mind you I suspect that next season may be another in which promotion is not something that we come close to. Travis is the best bet there, and even he isnt a top 6 player. Not sure what role he plays either, think he is best in a midfield 2 behind a number 10, dont think he has the tactical discipline to sit on his own, nor the attacking ability to play further forward. Trybull has spent most of his loan spell injured or underwhelming when he does play, plus his contract is set to increase upon promotion, so even if we want him, that will make a deal harder to do. Davenport as you said is always injured. Rothwell is a highlights player, a couple of wonder goals, in the main, precious little contribution and often invisible. Buckley has started to come out his shell but how much can we rely on him? Not sure yet. All a bit of a mess.

I definitely agree that Rankin Costello is not in his natural position. Doesnt stop crosses coming in for a start and his positioning is suspect. He is definitely worth keeping around if we can, and perhaps moulding into the position he is going to be long term, full back or indeed winger, and the injuries are a concern too, but if there is truth in 2 players who are still not sure of a place in our best 11 are unsure whether to resign, that is a sad indictment on the club really. Why should he? Bar an occasional wonder goal he rarely contributes.

That remaining core of players is doing nothing to enthuse me. Kaminski and Travis, yep. Lenihan I would keep, but has a year left (a common theme under our incompetent establishment) so he may need to be sold if he is unwilling to renew. Pickering will be expected to play a key role, whether he can, nobody knows at the moment. Rankin Costello is soon to be out of contract and based on the admittedly flimsy source that is Lancs Live, a renewal is far from certain. Which position should he play? Id want him to stay but worry about his injuries and as a full back he lets a hell of a lot of crosses in, not a natural there. Buckley has emerged in the last week, although unconvinced he is anything other than a squad player. Rothwell, again out of contract, and doesnt do enough anyway. Brereton has a year left, and is in the main underwhelming, perhaps worth keeping around, not sure he starts games every week. Gallagher has never been particularly good, sadly we are stuck with him but not one to build around. Dolan is at best an impact sub at the moment, I dont see him as a threat really when he plays. Wharton has a long term injury like Dack. The others havent featured even in an injury cri Signings wise, Cooper is a good defender, but why would he make a sideways move? 3 squad players at Sheffield Wednesday mentioned, are they going to improve us? Reach was always a highlights player, scores a couple of screamers a season but otherwise bog standard, the other 2 are in and out. Trybull has had a couple of good games this week, but otherwise has been underwhelming and again injury prone, and on big wages seemingly, so unconvinced there. Why would Woodrow join a team on the cusp of promotion to a team so far down the table? Jephcott, I have never once seen. Ribiero in and out at Forest, would be a squad player. Sorry to seem like I am just pissing on your parade, indeed I do not have a readily made list of alternatives myself either so am no better. We are both presumably incredibly limited in the scope of players we have seen enough to suggest, surely that is the job of the "European Scouting Network" which at one point played a key part in your argument to keep Mowbray? It just feels so flat, it feels like it basically all needs gutting and starting again.

Not a clue. My point was more around the state of the squad we have already.

Never said that, just that neither has done much. Rothwell constantly flatters to deceive so not arsed, probably prudent to keep, Rankin Costello is injury prone, unsure of his best position and again hasnt nailed down a spot, best to keep him but im just saying in general if there is truth that such underwhelming players have all the power in negotiations.

If there is any truth, which I would doubt with the Lancs Live being such a flimsy source, then it is depressing to see players who have done barely anything in a Rovers shirt holding us to ransom. Have either done anything to mean they would be a huge miss?

Jordan Rhodes scored again for Sheffield Wednesday although Norwich came back to win.

I think there are similar discussions on the Rovers Analytics twitter chat but I just look at that team and the various ones underneath and fear a dog fight.

Its frightening as to the state of the squad at the moment even if we was to use the squad to plan towards next season, there is very little to go with. Goalkeeper wise, Kaminski is obviously fine, Pears is dodgy backup but not the most pressing concern. Defence is a bombshell. Lenihan needs to stay but has a year left, as with many, no sign of an extension so maybe we will have to sell? Lumbered with Ayala who we cant rely on and Wharton who will seemingly be out well into next season, and then kids beyond who may have had a few decent games at lower levels but there are still massive question marks. Full back is little better, we have a left back on loan at Crewe who garnered much excitement, will he come in and improve things dramatically? Then 2 out of contract left backs, one inconsistent and one totally awful. At right back, Nyambe seems destined to leave, Rankin Costello is also out of contract, I question if he is even a right back, there are no signs of renewal and he seems prone to injury, and then Bennett who should leave hopefully. Midfield is full of players who are out of contract at the end of the season, Rothwell, Holtby, Evans, Trybull and Johnson. Would anyone be gutted if we lost any of those in particular? All players who you could argue if they stayed fit, if they became more consistent, if this happened or that happened they would be good, but so many ifs and buts. Then you have Downing who should be allowed to leave and Davenport who like Ayala and Rankin Costello seemed to be made of glass which means we cant rely on them. So then you look at what is left, who prior to the last week had not shown real signs of competence at this level, and Travis who is perhaps a little overrated but will need to be key going forward. Its a minefield in regards to decision making and forward planning. In attack, again we need an overhaul when our sole source of goals inevitably leaves, with a huge chunk of money going elsewhere. A potential secondary source of goals and also entertainment is out for another season, and our primary creator will go back to Liverpool. I fear that the expectation will be for Gallagher and Brereton to be expected to step up, with no signs that suggest that they are capable of doing so. And Dolan, for me the question is impact sub or loan out, obvious assets but equally even a 5 yard pass comes only after 5 stepovers, so raw at this stage. And then the manager who I wouldnt be surprised to see still in a job next season. So what is there to build around?

Mowbray also prides himself on the squad we have and all of the assets. I see one really, with a year left and a big chunk of any fee going to Newcastle. The squad is horribly lacking in basically every area.

No, surely it should be the job of a supposedly revamped scouting network to come up with signings across the team, but my point is that we need a few attackers as the front 3 yesterday would struggle to get 20 between them in a season and without serious reinforcements I expect we will be very much in a dogfight next season. Nothing to look forward to with Rovers. I have no idea, I havent watched Pickering as havent the majority hence why I am skeptical as to how brilliant a signing he is.

I noticed that Crewe are 3 down to Burton, goals against seem a regular occurance. Will Pickering come in and make a difference to our defence as assumed?

In regards to the playing squad, and of course whilst acknowledging the obvious deficiencies elsewhere, especially in defence, my biggest fear is in attack. Since we got promoted, we have always had a goalscorer or 2 which has ensured that we have never really looked over our shoulder, firstly Graham and Dack and now Armstrong. I think it is imperative that assuming that Armstrong leaves, Dack is out for the long term and even Elliott goes back, we prioritise the attack with 3 new players across that forward line, as the 3 we currently have is as impotent a Championship forward line as you can wish to see. Last weekend was supoosedly the signal of a more effective Rovers without our top goalscorer and his selfish nature, but the reality is that in the 4 games that he has missed, we have scored 3 goals, 2 from the now stricken Dack and a lucky one off Gallaghers torso. If we leave the onus on the 12m duo to step up to the plate, plus a kid who we need to really weigh up if he is better served being an impact sub here or a regular out on loan elsewhere, then we will be in deep trouble. The other areas do need addressing too. Potential solutions such as Ayala, Holtby and Davenport have proved far too flimsy to count upon, making things a lot more difficult.

Its not anyones fault, Raya, Mowbray, its just incredibly unfortunate. No need to blame anyone. It does something I didnt think was possible and makes the rest of the season even more flat. The performance was not good enough and neither is 5 points from 10 games.

Absolutely horrendous. If that front 3 is the future then we need to be worried. Toothless.

We are apparently 1st in passes per defensive action, proof of our "identity." Another example of a totally worthless and meaningless stat more like.

Do you mean with a 5m budget on top of the fees for Armstrong and Nyambe? If the answer is yes, then we wont spend that much. If no, then we will make a healthy profit this window without the need to aggressively lose any ambition.

@JoeH 1. "15th can be achieved with a small budget." How have you managed to conclude that using a system where we sell all of our best players, dont spend hardly any of that money, dont have any wages of over 10k and throw any ambition to one side, that are league position would remain largely unchanged! Makes absolutely no sense. 2. With such a set up, how do you expect us to churn out 22m worth of player sales each year if we arent investing in players to begin with? 3. With such a reliance on the academy, what happens when we go through inevitable dry spells in regards to prospects breaking through? It is not a reasonable expectation to churn out a number of new graduates into the first team every single year. 4. "Forget the Premier League." What is the point if you have absolutely no ambition? Why does it have to be either wreckless spending (as if we do that!) or total cutbacks. 5. Ayala, Dack and Gallagher will all be on more than 10k and have at least 2 years left. Do we have to wait to start this plan? 6. Why is the default argument to avoid becoming Bolton or Bury? They are totally different situations, and how can you be content with the club merely surviving as if thats a badge of honour? 7. "Lord knows Brentford operate this way and have managed to grow slowly." No they dont. Toney cost 10m, they certainly do not work on a 500k transfer fee cap. They do not heavily rely on their youth set up. They are very much in the hunt for promotion, they dont pretend the Premier League doesnt exist. They place plenty of importance in their manager and scouting network, things you havent touched on. They dont play pragmatic football. Breaking even at Championship level is incredibly difficult, and can not be done by totally abandoning any notion of ambition. Selling players for a profit and then via an impressive scouting system and adept management and coaching, signing and improving replacements, maybe. What you suggest? No chance, we would go down within a couple of years. Our current method isnt working, but that is because recruitment is massively flawed and the manager isnt up to the job, nor have we had a manager good enough to really compete since these clowns took over.

Even if that is the case, im not sure the I told you so routine is warranted when he said he didnt rate the player and provoked off the back of 1 good performance. There was also stuff about him being worth 10m with Premier League clubs sniffing, maybe they will be proven in time but well off at this moment in time.

Not sure that one good performance proves your point when your opinion was that you didnt rate him! The fact that he is highly rated was clear by the fact that he has always been in the first team squad for 2 years. Didnt require supposed ITK contacts.