Dolan like all of the front 4 was fairly anonymous but he did put in one excellent cross that Hyam should have scored with and was probably just about the best, or moreso the least bad of the front 4, I would agree.

Hes not the player he has been at the past. Playing in the Premier League or scoring 20+ for Bristol City. Think of the various managers that have signed Jason Lowe for example. They arent always right. And managers are often not responsible for signings directly, and they are working under budget restrictions. And you often see players who have played at the level going to various clubs because its sometimes easier rather than taking a risk looking further afield. I do think Thomas Asante has something about him, he is very quick. Hes not a waste of space or anything like that, there is some logic to it. He is probably better than anything we have too. Maybe he will prove to be the best we can afford in our budget. But he isnt a natural goalscorer or the difference maker to be more ruthless that Eustace touched on in the press, unless he does something here that he never has before. Considering its not a case of waiting to borrow someone, if we do want him so much, theres no reason to drag it out. Some important games between now and February.

We have been signing loads of players under the loans/freebies/very cheap deal bracket even since the court case. As I said the other day, we havent signed a player for over £2m since 2019. We sold Armstrong and saw nothing reinvested. Covid and FFP were the excuses prior to the court case. Either way, during a number of years before and after the start of the court case, they have merely being offsetting the losses, not actively funding any sort of progression on the field. I feel like people put too much onus on the court case as if the owners will start putting money into players, even though they werent before anyway. Everyone gets themselves into a frenzy as to when the next hearing is and I dont get it. Even if it actually got heard, I dont forsee any changes.

We seem to be solid regardless of the personnel in the wide areas, they all work hard and it all comes down to the way we are setup. I dont feel like we become more solid and organised specifically when we have Hedges there as opposed to someone else. But even if you are brilliant off the ball, you have to offer something going forward to justify selection as a wide player. Buckley isnt miles away anymore, he is 3rd choice and currently in the team down only to one injury.

The court case has made them even less interested in funding us, but they hadnt been in the years before aside from merely offsetting the losses. We hadnt been reinvesting.

Shea Charles might be being recalled by Southampton which would be a big blow. Good manager but not a very good squad. Atlanta are trying to sign Latte Lath, that would be bad news for Boro.

I dont get why, apart from that he had that good game against us. Loads of baggage and seldom scores.

The reaction to Thomas Asante is a mixed bag. Even if Robins does want him back, it doesnt invalidate any opinions that others have.

He offers zilch going forward though. Even the basics break down with him. In one attack, he had Beck overlapping and in a great position, Hedges messed up a 5 yard pass and it broke down. There was once in the second half where a simple ball was played down the line to him, hes a big lad and just couldnt get hold of it and conceded possession. I dont think hes amazing off the ball either. Buckley wa still guilty of his usual frustrations. He takes a touch or 2 too many and gives away silly fouls and it just kept breaking up the game.

Gueye's 45 minutes in a friendly at Stockport could become as legendary as Myles Anderson's tackle or Brett Emerton's debut v Wolves.

Depends if Plymouth are willing to do a deal on 3 of their unwanted players in those positions.

Eustace said at the weekend he wants another left back.

Is ACD better from the bench? I actually think sometimes he has struggled to really impact games in cameos whereas from the start he actually has looked more threatening before he tires in the second half. Notably v Luton at home.

Important that we go again at the weekend, Oxford arent packed full of quality even if Rowett has given them a bit of a bounce. With the quick change around and with the starting 11 struggling before some of the subs helped to turn the game, changes based on selection could freshen us up. Hedges and Buckley need dropping and Gueye and ACD deserve a start. Pears Brittain Hyam Batth Beck Tronstad JRC ACD Cantwell Weimann Gueye

He gets so much stick because he is a striker who offers very little goalscoring threat, whatever you offer outside of that (and he does have games where the ball bounces off him etc) as a striker you will struggle to avoid criticism unless you offer a goal threat, its not something that can be easily dismissed. Thankfully he did tonight by getting a goal with his head where he does show a threat, with his feet he is very poor in front of goal. He definitely offers more as a sub than as a starter it seems. When he starts games he is often anonymous. When he comes on and we need a goal, sometimes just the chaos of a target man can lead to knock downs etc. Although tonight it wa a very skilled header. And if we are winning and he comes on, he (not always) can hold the ball up and get us up the pitch as he did at the weekend.

Does Dolan have much pace? Not that I can see. Im not convinced that Thomas Asante is the answer, thats if we even do get him which is far from certain. But he is much quicker than Dolan.

Exactly. Which is not particularly impressive anyway, and thats if you just ignore his record at Coventry. But again, my posts on Thomas Asante are mixed, weighing up positives and negatives of which I listed both. You presumably agree with the pros, ignore them, attack the cons because you cant bear to admit that its not solely positive, and say "its my first port of call." Because we needed a good midfielder, one to play while Travis is out and be immediate cover for him and Tronstad for the rest of a busy season. We instead signed a Plymouth reserve and bump Buckley up to do the role that Baker was doing, which is a big downgrade as he isnt good enough. Is your opinion on the Forshaw signing purely positive?

No, you read my posts which I try and combine positives and negatives, unless its someone like Forshaw. And you focus on the doubts only. You dismiss any bad spells, you deny any potential weaknesses, and just shoot people down who dare mention them. In your mind, he can only possibly be good. The only 2 strikers weve been linked with that I know of are Bamford and Thomas Asante. I wouldnt even entertain the former, hes injured. The latter I am mixed on. 11 or 12 goals a season would be reasonable on top of pace and pressing. But thats not his regular yearly yield so you cant just assume thats what he would get. 11 in 39 league games is his best, which is still 1 in just over 3 and a half games, so nothing special. Theres also a 7 in 33 and a 1 in 25 at this level which dont fit the narrative so youve dismissed them and assumed he scores 11 or 12 every season. His Championship record overall is 19 in 97 so 1 in 5. So based on that, he gets 9 goals if he plays a full season, which is a Gallagher ratio. Obviously, we could well sign anyone and they could become prolific, its not a linear observation. But equally, its totally baffling logic to use that about any player. It would suggest that you can sign anyone, they MIGHT suddenly start scoring loads. They might, but if theyve done it before youve got more evidence that theyll do it again.

Thomas Asante is not a target man to be fair. Hes not a natural goalscorer, although even though he is 2 to 1 this season, his 2 seasons at West Brom suggest he will get more than Gueye who is only really an occasional goal threat purely in the air. But his main asset is his pace which will hopefully stretch the play. Im not saying we should get Thomas Asante, and if theres any competition as there is for him then he will likely go elsewhere. But he would offer us some pace in which we are lacking. The question is how many goals will he get, the answer based on the last 2 and a half seasons is likely certainly more than Gueye, but not loads.

If ever you wanted an example of how limited assist stats are. A 5 yard pass leading to a 30 yarder is one. That dummy for the second isnt one.

Absolutely terrible for 55-60 minutes. Then the changes especially Gueye changes the game and aided by a referee massively working in our favour, a comfortable win against a poor side in the end. Gueye's header was very good, he clearly can attack a ball in the air if you get him the supply. Also thought some of his link play etc was very good. He missed an absolute sitter with his feet and he is clearly a really poor finisher but luckily Weimann bundled it him. He is a player with very specific strengths and is best suited as a sub but very pleased to see him get a goal and changed a game that look destined to drift. Hedges is absolutely crap, if we give him a new deal we have lost our mind. Dolan was brighter than him but still not great and Weimann also looked like a player over the hill, poor miss in the first half and very slow, but he does have a knack still of sniffing out chances and goals. Cantwell was really struggling but the subs helped to give him a lot more to work with and we saw a couple of moments of brilliance. Cozier Duberry gives us something far more dynamic and his dummy was brilliant. Buckley as expected rubbish and Tronstad wasnt at his usual levels, I dont think his midfield partner helped him. Brittain was excellent and his progression under Eustace has been very good, especially defensively but what a finish. Beck was again very good, Batth was very good and Hyam was good too. Pears made a huge mistake which could have cost us dearly but he got away with it, especially with a potential penalty waved away.

Its not even as if I have said that Thomas Asante is not good enough. I gave a mixture of positives and negatives. But he is not a natural goalscorer, he is not a particularly good finisher. I also said he is quick, he will press and he will probably be our best striker and youve dismissed that and are talking as if I have said he is a waste of space. The thing is, you are totally close minded when we sign someone and never say you are worried he doesnt have this or this isnt great etc. For example, youve picked out only the best season out of the 2 and a half hes had and dismissed the ones when he didnt do as "well." And you speak as if we should purposely sign players that have had criticism at former clubs or who have struggled, based on the minority of examples where theyve suddenly come good. Its not an exact science, but if a player has struggled at a previous club, to most people it raises alarm bells. I have always said that I will judge them in a Rovers shirt, and if I have been underwhelmed by a signing, if they have gone on to do well ie Szmodics I have praised them. But I dont see the problem in raising concerns. It doesnt have to be all positive.

@chaddyrovers looks like either Dolan or Weimann up front. Presume youll mock Eustace as much as you have done me for suggesting it in the absence of a Championship standard striker?

You keep asking me who I would sign. I keep telling you I dont know, I dont profess to know European football inside out to the point where I could recommend someone. I have seen lots of Thomas Asante though so feel like I can give an opinion on him. You also keep saying that you dont care about what other fans think. I know. But presumably others are interested in how a player has done previously. So just scroll past that bit in future if you personally dont care. My post wasnt even entirely negative by any means. He isnt a natural goalscorer though, his goal record is quite poor and his finishing is a weakness in his game. He isnt the goalscorer you keep calling for. Does he bring other things? Yes, much needed pace, he runs lots, he chases things down, and at times he has chipped in with reasonable numbers of goals. And he is more useful than our current strikers. Also, the constant thumbs down reactions are very childish. Im not sure what they bring to the messageboard as a whole.

The main question is whether he fits the bill of being the goalscorer that Eustace would like based on his media comments. He isnt a natural goalscorer so no. He brings other things, hes quick, he works hard and he has scored goals at this level but at best at a 1 in 4 ish rate. At worst, we have seen that this season. Question is whether you get someone like Thomas Asante where you know roughly what you are going to get, and its certainly not a top 6 level goalscorer, but offers more than our current dearth of options. Or if youve got the expertise, you perhaps gamble abroad, there is better value there but if you ger a mixture of bad scouting and bad luck then you get another dud like Gueye. Clearly unaware of any interest and keeping things vague. Reads like Mercer. And based off his previous track record, similar accuracy.