We will see quite how much (if any, although the chance of 0 points id like to think is minimal) progress has been made at the end of the next 3 games. You mentioned that in your opinion that weve been better in every department. We have reached the points total of 60 that we achieved last season with 3 games to go. Last season you think back to Mulgrew creaking at CB, Smallwood a regular. And we will beat it by 0-9 points. Of course in addition to this, some of those improvements have been built on quick sand. Adarabioyo goes back, we have no senior keepers, Downings future is in the balance etc. The lack of our best player for half a season is an unquestionable blow. But how much sympathy is lost when the manager has had 12 million to spend on 2 strikers who have not even covered part of the deficit of goals that we have lost? Im really in between at the moment, swaying in my opinion. I acknowledge that a small progression will have been made this season in terms of a points haul. Weve never broken that top 6 barrier even for a few hours, and the idea of a slow build as others have pointed out is flawed. There are a number of tactical issues and curiosities that worry me, strikers on the wing, false 9s, and im just unsure about how we are going to set up going forward.

He isnt rapid and he doesnt have the subtlety or the technical ability to play wide. He was much improved today but even his assist was scuffed a little bit although it was excellent work especially in the build up. He ran down the wing soon after and played a really poor cross, the role doesnt suit him at all. The touch for Davenport was also very clever after a superb Holtby pass and he definitely made a different in his cameo but a full back wouldnt be too worried facing up to him as weve seen on many an occasion.

Has anyone said to put him into the starting 11? Genuine question as if so I have missed it and of course would disagree. Or just to consider having him within the squad following successful loan spells and in tbe absence of any other competent back up.

But ultimately the point is almost worthless as it isnt enough to prolong any realistic play off hopes. Thus not a great result.

Its not a great result in the circumstances sadly.

The 4-3-3 formation is not the route IMO that we should go down. I am not a fan of the false 9 formation, Graham isnt a false 9, and before that, v Wigan, Barnsley and even Bristol City Holtby looked really unfamiliar with that position. We have Dack to return and Holtby now, natural number 10s, we should build around them. You look at West Brom, they take off a good player, on comes another one but the system remains the same. Leeds are the same. Today I felt that we were dominated up until the last 20 minutes when it was more a case that the game was stretched and of course we had momentum from the goal, and Holtby and Rothwell changed the game. I feel like false 9s, inside forwards and box midfields is just needless over-complication. I would go back to 4231 midweek, with Armstrong as a 9, Holtby 10, Rothwell left, Rankin Costello right, Downing left back.

What do you think of our tactics at the moment? All seems a little confused to me. The false 9 and wide strikers tactics I am not convinced by, then when the subs came on it was hard to really make out a shape. That Cardiff game is the exception rather than the rule. Graham looked back to being his past his best today, Samuel out wide totally ineffective as he normally is. How do we line up on Tuesday night? We need to find a consistent way of playing tactically, that suits our team. It is not getting results either, our recent form is 10 points from 10 games I think which is not good enough.

A point more than we deserved over the course of the game against a far superior West Brom but one that not for a dreadful finish by Davenport and a needless trick by Holtby could have kept open a slim play off hope. 4 points behind and 6 teams ahead of us, its done now. Still none the wiser as to the tactical direction, so confusing to see what we are trying to do. West Brom constantly bar the last 15 minutes had total control. False 9s, wide strikers, then a strange inverted 442, any of it working? Not really. The initial front 3 were all really ineffective. Nyambe was constantly threatened by Grosicki with mixed results. Rankin Costello you can tell hasnt played much senior football, stands out somewhat. Adarabioyo quite sloppy today. Lenihan holding it together. Rothwell much, much better when he came on. Got a goal, needs more of that. Also his pass for Holtby was superb and in general was very bright. Holtby should have done better twice in the build up to his back heel cleared off the line but was so much more inventive, his ball in the build up to the Davenport was sublime. Gallagher himself was much better but again not a winger, his ball to Rothwell was not cleanly hit but effective but hit a few more straight to the defenders. His lay off again for the Davenport was excellent. Travis lost his head too. Our form since the Brentford game has been really poor and we arent good enough for the play offs.

Im not even sure about that. Not necessarily today but ive questioned his application and effort a few times in the past.

Been really poor that first half, totally outclassed. Full backs and the front 3 particularly poor.

I certainly dont blame Mowbray for the relegation. He didnt save us from it and thus failed his difficult task but hes at the back of the queue in terms of blame overall. I also think promotion and stability were the expectations in the next 2 seasons. Achieved by Mowbray both times and meeting but not particularly exceeding expectations is not a negative at all. Many managers have lost jobs for not doing so. The fact that he met those expectations means I am very fond of him and hold a positive opinion of his time in charge.

I expect us to borrow someone again.

Be very difficult to discard crap especially in this economic climate.

Absolutely. Designated/preferred seats will surely become an illogical luxury short term due to the spacing.

I dont see how there is any solution around the desire to keep your seat in the short term, assuming limited capacties. It is a strange one in terms of season tickets for this eventuality. Maybe allow people to select seats as normal but whilst capacity is limited, I dont see how people can select seats, surely it would be just go in the order that you enter the ground.

Same team youd have to say. Obviously we need 4 wins and results elsewhere so our chance is 1 in a million to sneak 6th and I dont think anyone realistically thinks it will happen. Tough game though and I cant see past an away win sadly. West Brom are a quality side. I think Rankin Costello could have a long afternoon against one of a series of quality wingers.

I must say that I find your attitude towards players who have spent time on loans to be a strange one, loan spells are a very valid development route and it doesnt suggest that the player is unwanted or not rated, often quite the opposite. Also 23 years old for a centre back is not old, hes not ready for the scrapheap. For him to have been successful playing in Leagues when he has been growing into his body against experienced pros knocking him about is good for his development. You mention Buckley, he hasnt really transitioned fully into the first team and could do with a loan. Would a loan mean that is it for him here and he is not rated? Not at all. The argument about him starting on the opening day is a strawman argument too as no one has said that. The common consensus has been, can Wharton come back and be part of the squad. Even you acknowledged that by comparing him to Derrick Williams which was a bizarre comparison. We have one contracted very competent centre back, and one injury prone and below average one who also covers left back. We have little money, of course we need to sign a main centre back to replace Adarabioyo externally, but Wharton is at least worth considering as a squad player with plenty of football now under his belt.

He did play up front quite a lot in the first half of the season and was still poor to be fair. But he definitely has played wide much of the time especially lately.

Behave. My issue is not saying that Mowbray was to blame for relegation. Venkys and Coyle are the main 2 to blame. I just think its a load of bollocks to say that a task he had, a very difficult task, which he failed to do, just, should be viewed as anything other than that, a difficult job failed, rather than praising him based on flawed and irrelevant points per game extrapolations. You cannot stretch his points tally over the season, its not accurate and it never happened. The fact of the matter is that if he got one more point, he would have succeeded at a difficult task. As he didnt, he failed. That didnt mean I wanted him out at that point, I was happy that he remained, I had seen enough to suggest that he was the man to continue and he was, but he did fail that task. He then succeeded at promotion and then stability the following season. I am not even 100% convinced that I want Mowbray to go and even if he did, I would say that hes done a good job and I would look back fondly at his time. So to suggest I dont like him is not true at all.

Again you are comparing to a 4 game period whereby a manager would have not just a quite difficult but practically impossible task to get us into the top 6. Mowbray had a difficult task but a doable one over 15 or 16 games. He came as close as is possible without succeeding but he was unsuccessful. A good, successful points haul was 1 more than he got. Extrapolating results isnt accurate. He had new manager bounce over a set of players who were probably delighted to see the back of Coyle. We had games v teams with nothing to play for. There are numerous factors in why it is not an accurate measurement. Like i said, Liverpool last season or the Arsenal invincibles, who had the better season? And would you say that he did better in that season than last season where we picked up 1.27 points per game? Footballs about league positions, not points per game in spells.a

They are totally incomparable situations. Norwich can be mathematically relegated in their next game, Mowbray took over in February and we hadnt been cut adrift. Ive never claimed he inherited an easy job, it was difficult but he failed the job he tried to do. Its that simple. You cant extrapolate results of a small part of the season, playing only certain fixtures including a few at the end v teams with nothing to play for, its not accurate. One more point and hed have done it so he will close but not close enough. Im not saying either that he did a horrendous job where there was no hope gathered from his management. But he came to do something and failed, just.

Just to go on a slight tangent. I don't agree that Mowbray did obtain a very good points return in that relegation season. It is pretty black and white, for example did Liverpool have a better points tally last season (97 points) than the Invincibles Arsenal team? (90 points) No because Arsenal in that season got the points required to win the league, and Liverpool didnt. A very good point return would have been enough to keep us up that season, how many points that would have been required in other seasons, or how many points we would have ended on were the results from that chunk of games extrapolated across 46 games, its all speculative, meaningless and irrelevant. This shouldnt be twisted into me giving Mowbray most of the blame for that season, obviously not, but he failed to do the (difficult) task he set out to do. I would argue that this season is the most difficult in terms of setting tangible expectations, therefore its much more subjective. First season, the requirement was keeping us up, which he failed. Second season, the minimum requirement was promotion, which was achieved. Third season, minimum expectation is stability, again achieved. This season, some might think one point extra is a good achievement, some might think top 6 is the minimum achievement, which I think creates much more debate.

Whatever the supposed thought process is, it hasnt worked.

Once we get into a habit of giving below par players like Bell and Samuel a new deal then it starts to increase expenditure on below par players. Sadly weve already extended Bell's deal. Even as a wing back he isnt up to it as hes never been effective going forward. He dithers and turns back basically every time. Samuel was not very good even in League 1. Cant be giving him a new deal on the back of a solitary decent performance and goal. Not up to it.

Do you think out of interest that Venkys are genuinely waiting to give Mowbray his budget until "they know what league we are in" baring in mind Mowbray is totally in the dark regarding even when he will find out what budget based on his interviews? Or do you think its more a case that we are well down Venkys list of priorities and due to their inefficient and illogical ways of working that they have not given us a second thought?