Very, very weak bench and not the strongest line up, A shame that none of the new signings could be on the bench. Missing a lorry load of players. Hopefully at least most of Elliott, Trybull, Douglas, Holtby, Rothwell, Pears, Williams and Rankin Costello can be in contention midweek. Maybe Downing too. Hopefully we can grind our way to a victory, Forest will be a different animal with a new manager but ultimately a home game v a team with 4 losses in 4 has to be one we expect to win. I would disagree on the best roles of Evans and Johnson. Johnson is better breaking forward, sit him in front of the back 4 and he is not very good taking the ball on the half turn, his strengths lie in the power he offers and the goal threat he gives us breaking from deep. Whereas Evans is very conservative, a lot more neat and tidy and can take the ball on the half turn and perhaps more disciplined but offers absolutely zero going forward.

"Hate" towards Bennett? Absolute bollocks. I have never seen one person question Bennett as a leader, a role model, a human being, or a representative of the club. I dont think anyone could or does show anything like "hate" towards him. It is not hate to hold the opinion that in any position, he weakens our side and has nothing to offer an ambitious Championship side on the field. That isnt hate or disrespectful, thats a fairly widely held opinion from the looks of things. We always seem to veer back towards this glass half full v glass half empty, positive v negative shite too. I dont think you need to get to know him to realise that Bennett as a personality seems to be fairly unquestionable. No one has ever doubted that. The perfect man to lead our club is an interesting conundrum really. As a person, unquestionable, but I would also argue that as a leader/captain, you also have to be able to contribute on the pitch. Sadly for Bennett, as was the case for another good professional and leader in Mulgrew before, the time came when his ability on the pitch let him down. As it is, we do have experience and leadership amidst the team, Lenihan seems a leader, Ayala, Douglas, Johnson, soon to be Downing, of course all of these can offer competence on the pitch. I believe he suffered a serious injury when at Norwich, I remembered him as being much faster for them compared to when he signed for us. Maybe the Bennett we got had matured as a person to the man we see today, but a lot of what made him the player he was had been lost. I mean that as it stands, our 2 contracted left backs, one loan and one permanent both are out of contract I am not suggesting that we will go into next season with no left backs. I am happy with the signing of Douglas, less so with the renewal of Bell, but I was just comparing the situation to in goal last season, when we had Walton on loan and Leutwiler with a year to go, both departed at the end of the season and the position needed a factory reset, which it has had. Maybe if Manning was available at such a knockdown fee, he would have perhaps been a more long term focused addition at left back. That being said, Douglas should be a shrewd short term addition.

No one has ever expected them to be at Jack Walker's standards, such a comparison is illogical and ultimately provocative. They have gone from years of being disruptively prevalent to conveniently absent. A transfer window in which weve relied on frees, loans and a couple of minimal fees is no reason to start blowing smoke up their arse.

If they are your standards, not being in administration (the 2 comparisons are totally different situations) and being thankful merely to be in business then fair enough, each to their own I suppose. Mowbray hasnt spent loads of money at all this window, he personally (plus perhaps scouting etc) deserves the praise if deemed that he has utilised his limited resources well to the benefit of the squad. Venkys havent bankrolled a summer splurge of transfers, Mowbray has just utilised the loan, free agent and European markets to improve the squad on a budget. Nor is it this brilliant deed to ultimately have gotten themselves into a position whereby a company they own is making losses that they have to supplement. I understand that but I also think that if people post things that arent right, then they shouldnt be untouchable either, as others have said im sure he understands that it is just a bit of joking around, if someone posts a rumour that repeatedly doesnt materialise, I am not sure if it is fair to start intervening as you have threatened if people have a bit of gentle ribbing that the rumour isnt correct, just out of fear that ITK titbits will dry up. Of course it is welcomed but "ITK's" shouldnt surely be treat any differently/favourably?

He is one of the signings that I would say I am most happy with. Ayala is the main one for me, the one I am most confident on but I am happy with Douglas. The injuries are of course a concern and I would have preferred Cunningham, who also has injury conerns. Also, my worry is that we are in a similar position to in net a year ago, in 12 months we havent got a left back, Douglas will be a free agent but also 32. But I am happy with his signing, I think he is a big upgrade, he also can give us good set pieces which is a bonus. I dont think pace is critical and he will be an attacking threat.

Even Mowbray wouldnt play Bennett carrying a serious injury! Wouldnt be surprised if Gallagher starts however.

Its a strange do if chaddy is called negative after a signing spree! To be fair to him, he said beforehand that he didnt want a winger and he is sticking to that opinion. Disagreed at the time and still do but fair play for not changing his opinion ?

A window in which on paper the manager has utilised fairly limited resources very capably, with 2 fees of under half a million, 3 freebies and 3 loans, and it warrants asking to welcome back the idiots owners!

Bristol City, Birmingham, ourselves, Cardiff and maybe QPR have had good windows for me. Sheffield Wednesday decent too, and Watford have done well to keep so many of their best players. Derby and Huddersfield have had particularly strange windows. Not sure on Forest, plenty of quality but also plenty of holding midfielders and far too many bodies. That being said, their last 2 of Knockaert and Hughton are very impressive. Preston a strange one. Very quiet but plenty of players with only a year on their contract.

He definitely doesnt deserve to leave amidst any bitterness or contempt for a tongue in cheek if slightly petty tweet. He has been an excellent servant for us and seemingly has been very professional when not playing. There is no reason to do anything but wish him well.

Some really good signings there. Swansea have also signed a young defender from City, are in talks with free agent Fabio Borini and have sold Joe Rodon to Spurs. Cardiff have made a couple of very good signings.

Very tough. Back 4 and keeper is easy, Kaminski, Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala and Douglas. The shape and personnel of the 6 in front is the hardest. Trybull from what I have seen is ideal to sit in front of the back 4. I think Johnson is better slightly ahead. If it is a 4-3-3: Trybull Johnson (Travis when fit) Holtby Elliott Dack Armstrong Not sure that is the best balance of front 3 but you wouldnt want to play against it. 4-2-3-1: Travis Trybull Elliott Dack Rothwell/Dolan Armstrong Better balance, but no Holtby.

He isnt in his final year: https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/2019/july/tom-trybull-signs-new-contract-with-norwich-city/ I am also unconvinced that he is coming as back up.

Happy with the signing of Elliott if he signs in that I felt that we are light in the wide areas and mentioned as such yesterday. It has come out of the blue and I hope we get it done and over the line. Ideally we could get someone like Wilson, a proven performer at this level. Obviously that was financially beyond us and we have had to go for someone who is really raw, but he has looked a real talent whenever I have seen him for Liverpool in the cups. Talk about him rotating with Dolan seems naive, he has not come to sit on our bench, we must have guaranteed to Klopp that he has come to play hence him not planning to even loan him out. I suspect that he will jump above Dolan, Brereton, Rankin Costello etc in the pecking order. I am also glad that Fisher has been let go permanently. With Pears also signing, it made no sense to cling on to him, with a year left to go letting him go is correct.

I am guessing that like with Trybull, the Elliott deal would be one you are totally against for the reasons outlined earlier, that he will block the development of our own youngsters?

His contract is up at the end of the season, when he will be 32.

Elliott would be an interesting one. Not proven by any means, but a very exciting talent whenever I have seen him. I am not of the opinion whereby you ignore opportunities to try and develop your own, there is no reason why we can't do both and I am not convinced regarding our current options over the course of a season. Obviously a third loan is not ideal but it seems that we are shaping up for a season whereby the focus is on promotion this season.

I think Bolasie has already been rubbished, linked with half of the league.

I dont get why it has to be one or the other. For a start, there are 2 wings! Having one proven performer and plenty of promising players around that all fighting for 2 places is surely a good thing? Not being totally confident in players to regularly perform at top 6 standard who have never done so to date is surely logical. It doesnt mean that they wont play or that they cant assert themselves as first team regulars if they perform. Also, why dont you have a problem with Trybull coming in and potentially pushing Buckley and Davenport further away from the first team? Wheres the consistency? Or do you not want him? By sickening, do you not mean refreshing?! All of that palava is crazy and bizarre! Transfer deadline day is turned into a massive charade as you say, reporters stood outside empty stadiums in the pissing down rain, the odious Jim White, and it all ends up covering a series of low profile loan deals and little else. I have never felt that Johnson is best suited to playing in front of the back 4. He is so often caught in possession when trying to play on the half turn, he is not the best technically. His strengths lie for me when he is allowed to go forward as he has this season, he offers a real goal threat and power as shown this season so far. I think any hopes of someone buying a constantly injured Corry Evans with 1 year left on his deal for 1m is massively optimistic! I would not be able to expect Gallagher or indeed Brereton to step up in the same way that Armstrong has done should he pick up an injury. I think we are particularly reliant on Armstrong and of course Dack to stay fit for the majority of the season to mount a genuine play off push, which is not necessarily bad because most if not all teams need to keep their star players fit to challenge. In those 2, we have 2 goalscorers that are superior to most in the league, but I also think that the supporting cast are a fairly decent gulf in class away from that, which is why I wanted one more across the sides of the front line.

If the line is just to trust Mowbray in his staff, then there is no point in the transfer thread. I was summarising my own personal opinions and in cases whereby players were unknown to me prior to the transfer window, I just wanted to explain that my opinion is based mainly on a few games early in their Rovers career which is not big enough a sample size to overly praise or criticise. Like I said, I think we could have done with a wide man with more of a track record of performing, scoring and assisting at this level. It is the same as in midfield. If a new wide man would block the progress of Dolan/Brereton/Chapman, then Trybull and indeed Downing will do likewise especially to Buckley and even to Davenport? It would be hypocritical to endorse signing Trybull who adds a body in front of Buckley and Davenport yet also endorse not signing a winger in case it reduces the game time of Dolan, Brereton and Chapman. You have to balance promise and quality for the here and now. Coming into this season, Buckley, Davenport, Chapman, Dolan, Brereton etc all came under the category of promising but in no way proven to play a key role for a team with the aspirations we have this season. If any of these youngsters impress enough they can play plenty with some of the more seasoned players, there are 2 wings and 3 central midfielders for a start. Trybull for me is a welcome addition and I would have liked one more out wide ideally.

If I was a Derby fan, with their current manager and a total lack of goal threat up front I would be a little fearful. The signings of Ibe and Kazim Richards seem quite desperate.

Uncertainty in us possibly not having enough information to be able to predict with any great certainty how these players will play out over the course of the season with limited to no knowledge of them prior, when judging our recruitment at this stage. I touched in my summary that the main 3 areas have been recruited in, you have focused on the one area I feel we have not recruited sufficiently in although I have been over the fact that from wide areas, I am not sure between Brereton, Chapman, Gallagher, Rothwell, Rankin Costello and Dolan, that there will be enough supplementary goal threat and creativity between them all in wide areas.

I think the window assuming that there are no hiccups with these late deals would be on paper certainly a very promising one. We had to factory reset the goalkeeping department, there is promise and uncertainty. Ultimately the main signing is Kaminski and he has started promisingly but has had very little to judge on so time will tell for that but happy enough so far. Pears would be a decent standard of back up although unsure how much developing he will do on our bench, but played a decent amount in the Championship last year. The Greek, literally no one knows anything about so impossible to judge, especially as he seems not to be for the first team yet. Centre back was key, Ayala was one person I suggested at the start of the window and is the most exciting signing because we know what he is about. I felt we needed 2 centre backs but Williams should be competent back up. Left back was a big priority for me and Douglas again is an upgrade on what we have so a solid addition. My main issue would be that as a loan for a 31 year old, we are just kicking the can a year on, and will have a similar situation as to what we have had with the goalkeeping position this summer. Right back wasnt a priority. Central midfield, I havent seen as much of Trybull as for example Ayala and Douglas and there is alot of assumptions that he will be a really good signing. His credentials seem solid however and I think in theory having him in front of the back 4 will allow Johnson to move ahead and do what he is strong at (breaking forward) rather than what he is weak at (taking the ball of the defence. Will be interesting to see what our main 3 is when everyone is fit. Downing at this point would be one too many I think as good as he was last year. Saying that, I think we should loan Davenport out. In central attacking positions we have the assets of 2 goalscorers. The key is getting them both in the same team to suit them both but they are obviously critical. The sooner Dack returns, the better. My main issue in terms of what we havent done is significantly improved down the sides of the attack. Dolan is a nice bonus but we have no idea how he will do over the course of a season. Brereton still doesnt offer a genuine threat, Gallagher is often shoehorned wide with negative results and Chapman is an enigma. But overall, the key signing seem to be Kaminski, Ayala and Douglas. So as long as the former maintains his early clean sheets when inevitably tested much more than he has been, and if the latter 2 stay fit and recapture form they have shown at this level before, they should really improve us.

Very strange regarding Downing, would seem like overkill to me. In Trybull, Evans, Johnson, Holtby, Rothwell, Buckley, Davenport, wouldnt an 8th, even assuming that Dack will play in the front 3 be a bit much? Maybe we should loan Davenport out?

To be fair, the window could turn into a very shrewd one, fingers crossed. Not perfect but some clever additions for sure. The main dampner of optimism for me is something that is certainly not a fault of anyone at Rovers, it is that we cant go and see them play!