My point was not suggesting that Brereton should be in the team. Although some fans are capable of having opinions contrary to the manager on certain things... My point was that you showing how cheaply our front 4 was assembled is a slight doctoring of the truth in that we spent plenty of money on our attackers when you factor in the cost of Brereton aswell.

With a 7m striker unable to get into the team but sat on the bench collecting dust, im not sure that is as much of a good achievement as you make out haha.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/transfer-news/coventry-city-transfer-news-loan-15749683 And wasnt this supposed to be Nuttall rather than a winger?

Didnt get the impression from Waggotts quotes that hed been in Middlesbrough for 3 days!

I wasnt lambasting anyones opinion, i literally took the individual point that you see more on TV and disagreed with it. You see all 11 players on each team, the shape of each team in full, the off the ball movements, you see everything. Obviously you still see how good a player is on TV but all I am saying is you see more at the game.

You can see the whole pitch rather than the select area where the camera is focused. Why do managers like to scout players in person if its just as good to watch on tv?

Talented player but not what we need, a number 10 who is far less effective than Dack and I would suspect would have been sidelined similar to Palmer.

I am sure that Dack has a lot of respect for Mowbray (albeit he wouldnt say publically if he disliked him!) but you are naive if you think that sole factor would prevent a player from trying to further his career, in MOST cases. Its not just about money. Its about being ambitious and going to a bigger team. He sounded like he loved it at Gillingham but he joined Rovers because they are a bigger club and a richer club.

Going off on a tangent, you see far less watching on tv than being at the game.

To be fair, its not necessarily greed. I dont like the word greed because almost everybody would snap someones hands off if they offered them x thousands a week more. But he might go to a bigger team or to a new challenge. A lower/promoted Prem team might even take a punt on him, or a foreign team may even be interested which could suit his style of play; Livorno were linked for example and the Italian style of play may be less taxing on his body and suit him more. As far as I'm concerned, the onus is on the club and Mowbray to sort out an extension as soon as possible to protect him as an asset. Considering how quick the club was to give Williams and Smallwood new deals in the summer (as "rewards") and also Sam Hart recently, surely Rodwell deserves an extra year or 2. People also mention him oweing us for offering him a deal when no one will touch us but if we dont offer him an extension then he might not feel wanted long term. Up until now, partially due to injuries hes not been a regular either.

Reed out the squad and Assombolonga shoehorned in on the wing? No thanks!

Sadly if a Premier League club came in with a bigger contract offer, his relationship with Mowbray would almost certainly be rendered meaningless in his desire to move on in his career and it would be difficult to keep him then. Hopefully that wont happen and I havent written off him being here next season by any stretch but lets be realistic.

A player to be loaned straight back out and an academy kid? Meh.

There was still plenty of it though. The first goal is a case in point, it centred around Grahams brilliant hold up from a ball lumped forward. I would suggest that firepower of Assombolonga, Graham, Dack and Armstrong is as good as anything in the league. The problem is then the foundations on which it is built, ie maintaining the tight base we have created recently. As well as keeping all 4 happy when only 3 start! The mention of us also signing Gallagher is something which particularly makes me question the information.

Id be absolutely amazed for so many reasons: Why would Boro sell him to a team in 8th? On what planet would we afford him considering weve already spent 10m this season? Mowbray has repeatedly said he doesnt want someone on wages outside the parameters of our current wage bill. How would we afford his high wages? Why would he come here? How would he fit in short term? Dack and Graham are undroppable and critical to our team. So he either is a sub or out wide. Mowbray only plays one "attacking" wide man and at the moment Armstrong is in incredible form. He is far less effective wide anyway. Hes 26, so obviously he would outlast Graham and be here for a good few years. What does that mean for the 9m worth of forwards we bought in the summer? Armstrong is on fire playing from wide but Mowbray sees him as a striker long term. And Brereton at 7m as ever is the elephant in the room. Then theres Nuttall too. You cant play them all. Lets be clear on the quality of Assombolonga. He is a proven goalscorer over a number of years. He is far, far better than the likes of Sam Gallagher. He is a good age too, he would be a superb addition. But I dont see it happening in a million years sadly.

Has he? Again, thats my opinion above, not Mowbrays. We are taking a huge risk the longer we leave it.

Or Brereton. Our first 2 attacking subs are obviously Nuttall and Rothwell. Smallwood is good to have on the bench. Conway or Brereton to make way for me.

My point was simply not to be naive to the fact that a bigger club offering more money will most likely cause the player to want to explore that option. How that move turns out depends on each case but is irrelevant to the point im making. As @DeeCee says and something that was my point, lets not be naive, this happens everywhere. Lets hope we sign Rodwell up this week to a new deal. If he continues to impress and then a bigger club nabs him weve only ourselves to blame. Lets hope thats not the case.

I only started discussing it because I saw biz mention it. (who said he was replying to someone else to be fair) Have a bit of empathy for those who think giving 100% for a week and a half longer prior to 3 months off to try and win a very achievable league title is a big deal. You seem to have missed the point again with your "missed chances" comment. People werent so upset that we didnt win the league and thus it wasnt saying 2nd wasnt good enough. People were aggrieved that Mowbray had implied prior that it wasnt that big of a deal and picked a team sheet accordingly. People arent bringing it up randomly just to moan about something during our excellent run. I had forgotten about it until I saw someone who is defensive of Mowbray for it mention it, and I am full of praise to Mowbray for the job hes done.

I know. This is a messageboard for our opinions, not to echo the managers opinion. That being said, it is not about playing a certain way, it is about players being effective in the positions they play. Take Armstrong. He is a striker, but he is very (more?) effective from wide, his goal yesterday was a carbon copy of a number of goals last season. I have seen Gallagher play wide, and his effect on a game is massively diluted, he doesnt understand the defensive side, and he is a lot more ungainly than Armstrong. And that was in a front 3 with 5 defenders, making his defensive game less important. His skillset means it is far more important than he plays central than Armstrong. Likewise with Assombolonga, he is very much a goal poacher, move him wide and lose his effectiveness.

I am sure he does, and I agree. But if a bigger club (Prem or Championship with strong chance of promotion) comes in for any of our players, they are more likely to want to leave than stay.

Don't want either him or Gallagher to be used wide. Would prefer an actual wide man wide. Neither of the 2 would dislodge Dack and Graham, nor would they be effective wide. Assombolonga a far better player though.

Greed is a little unfair. Plus its naive to put so much emphasis on a supposed healthy relationship with a manager/club especially after 6 months. If a bigger club offers a bigger wage, as in any industry or to any person, the likelihood is that someone will move on. We have to get him tied down to a longer contract, otherwise we would only have ourselves to blame.

Especially just to bring on Anderson at half time anyway. West Ham are the same as Leicester, a cup win would turn an ok season into a memorable one. I remember the dilemma when Wigan won the cup and went down, as if the 2 are mutually exclusive! But id rather Rovers won the FA Cup and got relegated than stayed up and didnt. Easy to say after a win but i felt that Solskjaer treat the Arsenal game perfectly. He did make 2 or 3 changes but they didnt necessarily weaken them, they gave starts to Lukaku and Sanchez with Rashford and Martial both coming on later. The game on Friday night was excellent to watch with 2 of the big 6 wanting to win. Klopps team selection v Wolves was very strange for a man yet to win a trophy in England. Him and Pochettino should be all out in the cup to get a trophy.

Think thats a little unfair. Reed has fair more ability than Kane and Kane was at a far bigger club. Southampton do have the likes of Romeu, Hojberg and Ward-Prowse but its hardly Todd Kane trying to dislodge Azpilacueta and Reed could push amongst that lot following another successful loan spell, with his high energy style suiting Hassenhuttls style, a manager who seems keen to blood graduates. Even here, hes rarely played in his favourite position.