Im not sure thats entirely fair. He plays in his favoured position but playing the most long balls in the league is hardly playing to his strengths. One of those blessing in disguises whereby the second striker we currently play who scores on average every other game (and assists too) is removed?

The thing is, I dont think ive seen anyone say our league position is not good enough. Thats not what people are questioning. Have I seen people question his recruitment? Yes. His team selections? Yes. Our constant throwing away of points? Yes. Just hurling valid, constructive individual criticisms and discussion under the "yeah but we are meeting expectations in terms of our position" is totally missing the point.

I believe the comment was part of a follow up to a question about us throwing away 2 more points, nothing to do with our league position in general.

@Ewood Ace responded with the same point as I was going to make. You judge based on what people say rather than what people do. There have been no signs of us changing our style on the pitch, we still play direct, long ball, playing the percentages football. I judge on what I see on the pitch, not on soundbites in interviews which until they are carried out mean nothing. He has been accused of being overly loyal to his favourites, he Smallwood for example has had numerous poor games but he continues to be selected, rather than moving Reed central or the far more technically capable Rodwell who he signed. He has been overly loyal to Armstrong, who in the main has been poor this season. 2 more of his signings, Rothwell and Palmer who both are capable of perhaps making our team more technically proficient, have in the main been kicking their heels on the subs bench all season. Even with the personnel at his disposal, if he does genuinely want to play a more passing based style, he seems reluctant to use the players that he presumably brought in to help implement it, and there have been no signs of these changes thus far. Football is all about results anyway, there is no right and wrong way to play. But just commenting on all of this Mowbrays vision nonsense.

Nit picking a tad but wasnt too impressed with Mowbray saying maybe "thats just where we are." He was right to feel frustrated, I dont think that a constant surrendering of points is ever something that you should be accepting of or is just a growing pain. What makes you say that Brereton would suit a passing style, his first touch and technical ability are certainly not his strong suits? I dont think that a total change of tact from a long ball team to a passing team is imminent or reasonable and there are no signs that it is being gradually done. We need competition at right back now, Travis is seen as a midfielder, as is Bennett.

You keep talking about this vision but ive not seen any tangible signs that we are working towards a new playing style. We play long ball football (most in the league) and have shown no signs in terms of playing style of slowly filtering in any Please can you explain exactly what you mean by Mowbrays vision? The reason that @Gavlar Somerset Rover! presumably posted that is that Brereton is not only a player in his own right, but a player who cost such a big fee that people may argue that could have been utilised in better ways. Gallagher is unable to hold the ball up so wouldnt be adequate in terms of an alternative to Graham. If we are going to change style then we may aswell pursue with our 7m signing.

If your primary argument is that its difficult to sign players at reasonable players full stop then surely all signings and all managers are exempt from judgement when they make a signing? Just to prove that there are reasonably priced players that could have improved us in various areas where we could have done with reinforcements, here are some other Championship transfers from the summer. I have excluded some loans that I felt were unrealistic (, and I am not saying that ALL these players were necessarily attainable, or that all of them would have proved to be clever acquisitions. Prices taken from transfermarkt: RB - Moses Odubajo (Brentford, free), Jack Hunt (Bristol City, 1.5m) CB - Kyle Bartley (Swansea, 4m), Jordan Storey (PNE, 750k), Ezri Konza (Brentford, 2.5m), John Egan (Sheff Utd, 4m), Adam Webster (Bristol City, 3.6m), Tamas Kalas (Bristol City, loan), Michael Hector (Sheffield United, loan), Michael Hefele (Forest, 300k), Reece Burke (Hull, 1.5m) LB - Connor Townsend (WBA, 750k), Jay DaSilva (Bristol City, loan), Barry Douglas (Leeds, 3m), Jack Robinson (QPR, free) RW - Barrie McKay (Swansea, 500k), Florian Jozefzoon (Derby, 2.8m), Duane Holmes (Derby, 750k), Brandon Barker (PNE, loan), Said Benrahma (Brentford, 1.5m), Gwoin Edwards (Ipswich, 700k), Jack Harrison (Leeds, loan) ST - Jack Marriott (Derby, 3m), Martyn Waghorn (Derby, 5m), David McGoldrick (Sheff Utd, free), Andreas Weimann (Bristol City, 2m), Teemu Pukki (Norwich, free), Nakhi Wells (QPR, loan), Lewis Grabban (Forest, 6m), Josh Windass (Wigan, 2m) Just wanted to dispel any myths that 7m isnt a hell of a lot of money to spend at this money. No one has said that. You are exaggerating and twisting a genuine argument that we could have improved other areas or spent the money much more efficiently at this stage of the teams development to something totally ridiculous.

Surely that is a closed minded comment baring in mind our glaring deficiencies elsewhere? Why are we spending the majority of our budget on someone yet to start in the middle of December, when we are still so short in other positions.

Feel free to answer and accompany with further reasoning. I dont go as a group of 4, it wasnt me, were these people shouting their opinions or just talking amongst themselves?

It also adds weight to the argument that perhaps, at this point in our development as a team under Mowbray, that spending such a large sum on a player unable to provide competition was not a wise idea.

Do you have yes or no answers to these questions please: Do you agree that our constant tendency to throw away points from winning positions is a massive concern? Is our fragile defence something that worries you at all? Do you not at all go back on your opinion that signing competition for Nyambe is necessary? Do you agree than Graham is much more effective in our team than Brereton? I am not in my mid 30s so no that wasnt me and further still, I am not a member of the "I hate Ben Brereton society." The fee will of course cause an added sense of intrigue, pressure and added discussion, like it or loathe it. Just as Mowbray is commended further for his signing of Dack when considering his small fee. People will obviously judge if we have a 7 million striker yet to start, yet to score, as a team with weaknesses in a number of positions.

It did, in that Graham made way for him. Obviously the sub was not the main reason (forced or otherwise) for our collapse but you are naive to suggest that it had no impact on the game. Brereton didnt contribute positively. Graham was our best player pre-substitution. Uncharacteristically missing the point. Rayas idiocy was undoubtedly the trigger and the catalyst for 2 dropped points, but it was 2 nil at that time, why the total collapse? And more importantly, its far from the first time its happened! Every time it does you are closed minded, you investigate what caused it on the day, mistake or whatever, oblivious to the theme that theres on overall problem occurring, we keep throwing away points from favourable positions! It is not the sign of an efficient, fully functioning side. And youve put it down to a fluke goal, a bad ref decision, an individual error, whatever it is, and you might be right on them individual days, but totally naive to the overall issue. We are 22 games in. In that, we threw 2 points away at Ipswich, we got hammered from a winning position at Bristol City, we threw away 2 points at home to Villa, we threw 2 points away to Forest, we lost from a winning position at Swansea, we threw away 2 points against a 10 man Boro and again we threw away 2 points today. And almost topping all of these off, we were a penalty hitting the crossbar away from throwing a way a 3-0 lead from our best 80 minutes of the season. 16 points that we have thrown away, compared to 31 that we have. Is it reasonable to expect all of them to have been kept? No. But is that a worryingly high amount of points thrown away? Definitely. Is it fitness, is it psychological, is it tactical, is it a lack of quality, probably a bit of everything but it needs addressing. Brereton will continue to be a massive talking point due to his price tag, whether you like it or not. When he came on today he was poor, whereas Graham again was superb. On Graham youve backed yourself into a corner constantly writing him off and even last week contesting my claim that hes been easily one of our star performers this season. People acknowledge that hes yet to start, and we are basing it on sub appearances, but that all adds to the mystery.

Come home from a horrible, cold, rainy and windy day again pissed off at Rovers and their inability to see games out which means that I cant see any chance of a faint play off push even at this stage. Can see our season fizzling out and being over very early unless our results in the upcoming run of difficult games is particularly poor and we have to look over our shoulder. I read that we have won 4 out of 11 home games, that simply isnt good enough considering the points we have thrown away or failed to get. Yes you can point to a mistake as a turning point but its not right to brush it under the carpet because its a common theme. 2 weeks in a row we have thrown 4 points away totally needlessly and after doing all the hard work. I hope Mowbray is investigating and trying to solve why we have such a weak underbelly to throw away so many points, rather than putting it down to a specific error or decision and brushing it under the carpet, theres a deeper problem there. Graham was superb as always, Reed also very good, thought Evans was pretty neat and tidy aswell in the centre. Armstrong bar an excellent finish for the goal was poor, Dack was a bright spark and tried but not his best day, Smallwood poor again, centre backs ok, The 2 full back areas are massive weaknesses for us, Nyambe has seemingly turned back into the fragile player that broke in under Coyle, what was he doing for the second? And we have no cover for him. Bell is an absolute embarrassment of a player, needs replacing in Jan because hes never good enough, Williams is the lesser of 2 evils but down either flank we are so susceptible and often caught out. For a manager whose gained a reputation for being conservative at the club, and one who plays 2 defensive midfielders who are very limited, especially Smallwood, we concede far too many goals. Rayas mistake wasnt the first silly error hes ever made nor will it be the last. His kicking was terrible, he had the excuse of the wind today at least. The difference between Graham and Brereton is night and day. You can bang on about different types of strikers but Brereton wasnt even challenging for headers, he wasnt holding it up, his touch is awful, his positioning when the ball goes wide is poor in that he often is far too close to the wide man and not in the centre. I must say that hes still to start, but I do find the whole situation a bit bizarre, and I am basing my optimism for him on his reputation and price tag rather than anything I have seen for him. That being said, Danny Graham is a superb Championship striker, another goal and he makes the best out of rubbish service at times. @Bigdoggsteel you ask why theres so much focus on Brereton, he cost 7m so there will always be a lot of focus on him, to consider him as a scapegoat is both in-factual and laughable, considering the main conversation is about what else we could have spent with the money rather than the player himself. And all the while, Rothwell and Palmer continue to kick their heels on the sidelines!

Our second striker has 9 goals in 17 games. Safe to say that moving him isnt the solution. As pointed out today, outside of Dack, Graham and Mulgrews set pieces, we have managed only 6 league goals. Mowbray tried to downplay it but its a massive concern.

Whilst I agree with you in terms of not quite understanding why people seem to have resigned themselves to Dack leaving in January. Im not naive enough to think anyone is unsellable. If its not even possible then you wouldnt even need to mention an asking price. Look at players like Bale and Ronaldo, even they were sold eventually as everyone has a price. It will be a monumental blow for us to lose someone we are so reliant on so lets hope hes here for the forseeable future.

The signings of Reed if possible and also of a new left back are 2 reinforcements I totally forgot about but 2 I totally agree with.

I hope there isnt as much priority and resources dedicated to bringing in a striker as is being suggested. You look up front, Grahams ability is unquestioned, and we have competition in the shape of a big money younger striker with Championship experience and plenty of promise. We are well stocked with them 2, and Armstrong is 3rd choice. I wouldnt necessarily turn away another striker as its a position whereby you cant really have someone filling in, and when behind or drawing in games it can be good to have additional options, but I just look at major imbalances elsewhere first. Out wide, the likes of Rothwell, Palmer, Armstrong and Conway have all failed to nail down a wide berth, the first 3 would prefer to play centrally but id suggest that all 4 are more effective on the left rather than on the right. Bennett is more conservative and can play either side really. We need an out and out right winger, not Chapman as an impact sub, to start games and give us some width and balance. Reed can play central every week. We also need a centre back more urgently than a striker. We have 2 good first teamers for 2 roles as we do with Graham as a striker, but beyond that bar Downing (still big question marks about Championship capability) we have no natural centre backs. We are also short of cover at right back. If I had to prioritise in Jan, i would suggest the following: 1. Right winger 2. Centre back to push Mulgrew and Lenihan 3. Right back to push Nyambe 4. Additional striker cover

I find it bizarre and hypocritical that you was advocating dropping Dack (attacking talisman and consistently has scored and assisted throughout this and last season) after a couple of poor games whereas you would make Bennett undroppable regardless of form. Out wide is possibly our weakest area in terms of having players to rely upon to score and assist to contribute.

To be fair I think there are no questions now regarding the team spirit across the team. So not sure that criticism is relevant any more. Bennett shouldnt be shoehorned in solely due to his attitude and spirit. He should only play when his form and performances dictate that he is the best choice in a certain position. He has the capability to be able to do that and is an important member of the squad but hes got to merit his place. For example, to merit a place wide he needs to provide more of an attacking threat and goals/assists. That being said, so do all of our wide men.

What makes you suggest that Travis and Davenport are ready to become regular first team players any time soon? I personally dont see Rothwell becoming a central midfielder anytime soon either, his strength is running at players which needs to be done in the final third. If Reed does as expected go back then he will need replacing. The likes of Smallwood, Bennett and to a much lesser extent Evans are all very useful players to have around but if we have genuine promotion contenders then I dont see it happening with all of them as regulars in the team.

Evans and Smallwood dont deserve to be coupled together in that Evans has been a key player for us this season and has been a level or two above Smallwood, who should only be a squad player max. I would also prefer Evans in central midfield anyday over Bennett who isnt a central midfielder, Rodwell who does deserve more of a chance to be fair in central midfield and Travis at the moment should be loaned out.

I would prefer Evans in the centre of midfield to all of them personally. Hes been one of our best players this season and signing him for a couple of years is a wise move, albeit a gamble as hes never too far away from an injury. You touch on an interesting point regarding new contracts. Its all about striking a balance between stability and improvement. The likes of Raya and Lenihan signing new deals is positive in that they are young and have plenty of improvement in them. The likes of Evans and in particular Mulgrew are also crucial in terms of them being important players in their last years. It is players like Smallwood, Williams and maybe even Bennett (considering he had 2 years left) that have been given them solely as a reward that im not sure about. None are at risk of being nabbed by bigger teams and im not sure you should dish out contracts across the board to reward players, so I dont understand the urgency.

Raya Nyambe Lenihan Mulgrew Williams Reed Evans Conway Dack Rothwell Graham Subs: Leutweiler, Downing, Smallwood, Rodwell, Brereton, Palmer, Armstrong Would like to finally see Rothwell start and give us a more attacking edge with Reed in central midfield. Harsh on Downing who I do feel has to be 3rd choice at centre back over unnaturals Williams and Rodwell but Lenihan is a better player. Think its crucial we win with the games we have coming up.

Last year he thrived on the wing though, we signed him based on that form. I dont know whats happened to his game, 2 games aside hes been really, really poor and hes not getting the goals he got last season. Maybe the step up has been the problem, maybe a lack of confidence as his goals came in a particularly hot spell last year, either way Rothwell and Palmer deserve a chance before him.

As I said though, that cynical viewpoint of there being financial reasons behind Breretons lack of starts is very much held by only a minority. I personally dont buy that at all but can understand that such a theory isnt totally unfounded under these owners. You make a very valid point about needing numerous goalscorers. Thats why I keep going back to this summers recruitment. I think theres a number of reasons and circumstances as to why, but based on their lack of goal contributions thus far, I fail to see how anyone can justify their signings so far as a success. The 4 attacking players have 2 league goals between them. Do I think that they are poor players? No. Have I written any of them off? No. They arent yet poor signings, but they have yet to prove themselves to be good signings, and we are basing any judgements on what they achieved so far, at this point in time, mindful that we dont know for sure what could or could not happen in the future. I look at Palmer for example, proven as a number 10 capable of contributing towards promotion. Our best player plays there, thus Palmer has been in and out playing wide. Same with Rothwell. Brereton has yet to start and keeps being shunted wide. Armstrong I have doubts he is capable of stepping up (terrific loan signing last season so hats off for that) but even he would argue that he wants to play down the middle. I agree on having Brereton as a central striker when Graham is unavailable. I dont understand why your natural instinct is to take the very valid point that very few Mowbray signings are first team regulars as a sole argument of poor management. Mulgrews an example. A terrific signing but often played in midfield under Coyle, in a very disorganised team. Now he seems fitter than ever, happier and thriving as captain. I think you could argue that Mowbrays management here has been built on man management and the ability to get the most out of the players he inherited, even more so than a hit and miss transfer recruitment.