roversfan99

I appreciate that, but my point is that goals are the most important part in any attacking players game, and the goals alone justify his place, and show that he is having a big impact. If he has an average overall game but gets a goal, hes had a good game. Goals are not the icing on a performance cake, they are critical and the main source of judgement.

I think that, possibly with exceptions I cant think of, 3 at the back is a formation that only tends to work if its one you play religiously week after week because it is quite complex in terms of specific roles. I dont think you should randomly change to it at half time randomly for a start. Perhaps symbolic of Mowbray worrying more about the opposition than allowing his own team the freedom to really develop its own identity, something which it had in the main last season. Our wing backs were Nyambe and Bell, 2 fairly defensive full backs both having shocking games. How would that ever lend itself to making us more attacking? He will get criticism if he does things that contributes to poor performances and results, and praise if it improves us. I dont think you can use that as a defence. Against Swansea he put Dack as a striker and Brereton wide so strange example too. Also, Mowbray has said Graham wasnt injured, it was tactical. I would have kept him on, and probably brought on Palmer and Rothwell for Armstrong and Smallwood, and put Reed next to Evans. But I would have started a different team anyway.

His recent lean spell has been in the spell when he has been moving from 10 to 9 and vice versa, no continuity, and he has always looked lost as a 9. It has also been amidst a slump in the level of performances in general where our lack of attacking plan has been particularly highlighted. We have not been very creative in open play all season to be honest but we have done enough and scored a few from set pieces to grind out results. I think he deserves criticism for his form but I cant fathom how you can justify dropping your best player and primary goalscorer in the spite of any alternatives who suggest they could get the goals that dropping Dack would remove. Nothing to suggest not. People said the same about Rhodes, and he continued to get the "lucky goals" and continued to get people perplexed as to why he was so lucky to always be in the right position at the right time. I have always thought that goalscoring has somehow become underestimated in judging a player. What sort of argument is that if he had hit the post a few times people would have suggested he hasnt made the step up. We need to develop some sort of plan in terms of sustaining attacks, not just for the benefit of Dack, but also the likes of Palmer, Rothwell and Armstrong etc. You don't like the long ball stat and theres also the stat of us scoring 5 in 9 home games from open play, and weve not scored in 12 of our first halfs this season. These stats are all damning of what I forsee to be an absence of a consistent, effective, tactical strategy in terms of mounting attacks. Graham has done brilliantly this season just making anything from a constant stream of long balls, often aimless punts, and Mowbray can stand on the touchline getting frustrated but hes responsible for setting us up and the players are carrying out his game plan. If yesterday was a one off then youd say fair enough but it isnt. Under Mowbray, weve been at our best when weve played at a high tempo, the stat about us starting games suggest hes being overcautious as to the step up in quality, but its coming at a cost of us by making our attack toothless. We dont look like a team that ever works on how it sustains and creates attacks in training. We also often bypass the midfield obviously, I don't think his over-reliance and loyalty towards the likes of Bennett, Evans and in particular Smallwood does anything for us in terms of helping us to work through the lines. We never get Dack on the ball in between the lines. I do still think that our transfer recruitment was really poor in the summer, we are really short in terms of centre backs, we have no cover at right back, no quality at all at left back, we are a striker light and have no width, and a series of his signings all that dont seem fit for purpose in their respective areas that Mowbray hasnt got anything out of really so far. So we are working in spite of a very inefficient summer spending a considerable amount of money.

It is a stat perfectly highlighting our total lack of attacking plan going forward and that comes down to the manager. So even if he is frustrated watching the players are doing his gameplan, and its him that needs to sort it. You dont like the stat because it highlights Mowbrays problems at the moment in black and white. Because you never are willing to criticise him when he makes stupid decisions. I never asked why is he playing him there. I said just because he has said why he thinks its a good idea doesnt mean it is a good idea, yesterday blatantly proved it is not and he should have signed an actual centre back. Whatever the supposed reasoning behind the change, it didnt work. When Martinez took Wigan down?

Everyone has been pathetic in the last games. And will continue to be with our thoughtless long ball tactics. I would drop any other player yes, the reason I wouldnt drop Dack is because hes our best player, our top and practically only goalscorer and Mowbray needs to come up with a better way of getting the best from him. The fact that creating chances from open play is an unrealistic ambition is pretty saddening!

It wasnt because it was essentially a back 5. Either way it was never going to improve us as an attacking team. I think its pretty meaningful that he has a forward that cost 7 million on the bench, as well as 2 attacking midfielders he signed, and when lets assume Graham got injured (not seen anything to suggest that) he resorted to a defender in a bizarre changed that panned out exactly as to be expected. Yes he had to try something but to be honest its worrying that hes having to be so desperately reactive in the absence of a way of cresting attacks from the start. But the sub he did make made absolutely no sense and it proved a complete failure. The most problematic aspect was that we didnt appear to have any sort of plan regardless of what formation and set of personnel were on the pitch. And? So did I. Ive yet to see a logical explanation fot a sub that clearly didnt work. Im not even sure Graham was injured but he had 3 of his own attacking players on the bench. The sub was a total failure, lets not dress it up. Absolutely right. It was both a baffling and conservative change in equal measures. It seemed strange at the time and it didnt work.

If hes so angry about the long balls then whys he not done anything about it all season?! My "favourite stat" is that we have played the most long balls in the season. Mowbray is never "on the field" but its his job to sign the players, pick the players, coach the players, set out the game plan for the players. Thats not a valid argument otherwise managers would never be responsible. I know he intends to use Rodwell as a centre back. Im criticising that fact as a totally bizarre outlook, how about signing an actual centre back! Rodwell gave away another penalty with some embarassing defending from a goalkeepers kick out. If Graham was injured then why not bring on another attacking player. We were losing the game. Mowbray can say what he likes, im not interested in his interviews, I judge him on how the team does. Ive seen no remote signs of any passing style being worked on, on any identity throughout most of the season, bar us being a long ball team.

I disagree. We were one down and had 3 attacking players on the pitch. To remove one for a left back to play in a back 3 baffled me and others around me and it didnt work. If Graham was injured, we had 3 attacking players on the bench that Mowbray signed himself in the summer. One of whom cost 7. I personally think the fact that none were brought on at that time is pretty galling in terms of how our summer recruitment went.

Not seen one person say Mowbray needs to go. This always happens when people criticise him, others chirp up and claim that they are being unreasonable and calling for his head. If anyone is saying that, then IMO they are wrong to do so, but I havent seen anyone say it, and the fact that you "havent got the time" to show me suggests that you havent. No one wants him to fail. Everyone is frustrated at the crap that has been served up in the last few days, that over 7,000 tickets have been sold to see, that I have spent £50 on tickets and travel etc to watch embarrassing performances. Im still scratching my head as to why he made the sub. It was a stupid sub and I'd love you to explain it if you know as I havent a clue.

Goals were always the main thing last season and hes carried on this season, but we werent as reliant on long balls last season, we had more goals from other sources last season, we had far more consistency and far more of an identity once we got going, and thats why he was allowed to thrive. I dont think we are in the position where we can just remove our one chief goal threat and best player out of the side because we dont have the alternatives. Mowbrays conundrum should be how do I revert back to getting the best from him, getting an identity in general in the team, becoming less reliant on long balls and getting our flair players involved far more.

He played some of them games out of position, but he has been poor even yesterday as a 10, he is out of form but im not subscribing to it being a sudden egotistical thing on the back of a Soccer AM appearance or whatever. Everytime we play 3 at the back it doesnt work. Also, Bennett isnt a wing back and Nyambe isnt a centre back. And Bell isnt a footballer.We only have 3 centre backs and one of them is Downing. It will just be a scattergun approach, making a few personnel changes, but it is the way we play that needs looking at. Its hoofball, its aimless, its boring, regardless of who plays, regardless of what formation, and thats the worry.

So are Amarii Bell, Richie Smallwood, Derrick Williams, Ryan Nyambe all thinking theyve made it after their recent form? I think that you are potentially making a massive assumption in regards to his recent Where do our tactics come into play, most long balls in the league, the ball often thoughtleslly sailing over his head, do they not contribute to his form? Where does him being moved from a 10 to a striker and back again come into play as to his poor form? Is there no recognition that he has an excellent goal record this season again, which is the most important thing and has always been the key aspect in his hame, and no one else steps up to the plate when he doesnt score? I'm not saying his form in recent games like many others has been really poor and he has to take the blame for that. I just think peoples reasoning behind it is a case of adding 2 and 2 and getting 5.

His version of not scoring has led to him proving to be our primary goalscorer this season in the absence of anyone else bothering to contribute. I dont think we can afford to drop him, just as we couldnt afford to drop Rhodes when his form dipped or he had a bit of a dry spell, because no one else is scoring in his absence. Sheffield Wednesday are rubbish, anything less than a win is a poor result. Raya Nyambe Lenihan Mulgrew Williams Reed Evans Palmer Dack Rothwell Graham Subs: Leutwiler, Bennett, Conway, Armstrong, Brereton, Downing, Rodwell Couldnt pick a left back, both terrible, Nyambe plays in spite of his terrible recent performances due to a lack of alternatives, Downing to play even though hes not very good if Lenihan isnt fit as none of the alternatives are centre backs and he is.

Who has said he should go? No one wants him to fail. Grow up. And how is taking off a striker for a left back chasing a game? Thats the worry. A total scattergun approach. Wheres the consistency in team selections, wheres our identity, whats our plan bar lumping the ball in the air? Its just make 3 or 4 changes, but there is more than one position whereby I remain unconvinced that there is a solution to in our current imbalanced squad. No, I have not seen on person say it. He is being criticised for 2 horrendous performances and results in which his management played a huge part of. Thats not any more fickle than praising him after the Leeds game or after the Brentford game. Thats commenting on an individual game or games. I dont see that plan at all in terms of our style of play, in terms of our summer signings and how they have/havent been fit into the side, or in terms of his scattergun approach to selecting a side.

The players undoubtedly take a share of the blame for these 2 embarrassments, but the manager takes a lions share too. Why is he playing Rodwell as a centre back, something youve defended before? Because of imbalanced recruitment. Why when he is one goal down did he take off our striker and bring on a crap left back? How can you do anything but ridicule such stupidity? Why after spending close to 10 million in the summer are we still left with players like Smallwood and Bell (that Mowbray signed, who did their job in League 1) regularly playing in the Championship out of their depth? Dack was crap again but to put Soccer AM down as the protagonist for a drop in form is laughable. What is Mowbrays style of play, wheres our identity, why are we so toothless and disorganised? Last season we got promotion through consistency of team selection, we had an identity, look at Burnley when they got promoted, barely used any players, everyone knew their job. Its terrible to watch, these 2 defeats have been coming and our performances for most of the season have been horrendous to watch. Most long balls in the league, simply in the absence of any constructive attacking play. Dack out of form but no one else stepping up and scoring goals. Mowbray with no clue of his best side.

It would have been. It was expected to get promoted but we did get promoted and you have to give him credit for that otherwise its harder to take your valid points about our more recent performances at face value.

Much of your criticism is fair on this season and in particular the last 2 games but you cant discredit what we did last season.

The thing is, Mowbray has had plenty of money, 3 windows, plenty of time and surprisingly plenty of flexibility from the owners to mould his own side. He signed 7 players alone in the summer for around 10m. Even the most staunch person defending Mowbray, can you say that whatever selection will be made for Saturday will be anything other than another random assembly of players with the hope that something clicks? And can you honestly say that the squad has any real balance to it? Raya will start, our only acceptable player tonight. Nyambe had his second appalling game in a row, as bad as even when he looked so nervous breaking into the team. Do we have a feasible alternative? No. Mulgrew and Lenihan are our only decent centre backs, the latter in particular has been inconsistent and both are brittle. We have absolutely NO backup. Rodwell showed himself up as a midfielder playing in the back 4, that second goal was as bad as it gets. Should never play there again. Why has he not signed a centre back bar Downing a year ago who is not trusted? (understandably) Both left backs are absolute shite, one he signed in Bell is a joke. He will pick one on Saturday and just hope that he doesnt embarrass himself again. Thats all he can do. Central midfield, we are well stocked in terms of numbers. Evans is ok usually, Rodwell was always a big gamble, Davenport hasnt been off the injury table, Smallwood is a League 1 player, and Reed has been good but is often shoehorned out wide. Out wide, a particular source of frustration. He seems to hop between the likes of Bennett, Armstrong, Palmer, Rothwell, Conway, none of whom are doing anywhere near enough to guarantee a place, none of whom are contributing to our attack, and its as if he picks 2 out of a hat and hopes something comes off. 3 he signed, so far he has got 2 goals from all 5 of them. Dack is off the boil, although we may aswell not play him if we are just going to kick the ball in the air all the time. And up front, we have Graham who cant play all the time, and Brereton who is the luxury we simply cannot afford with the rest of the squad as lacking quality and imbalanced as it is. We dont seem to have an identity, we havent really had any plan in terms of attacking all season, the most long balls in the league, a pitiful number of goals from open play, Mowbray doesnt carry the same stigma or stereotype as Allardyce/McCarthy but the football barring one or two exceptions this season has been painful to watch. And before its misconstrued, Im not saying he should be sacked. He does need to sort things out starting Saturday though.

Embarrasing performance. Mowbray has had 2 weeks to prepare for 2 local derbies and we have been embarassed in both. He signed 7 players, none of which were centre backs. Rodwell again gave away a penalty in the most pathetic way ever, beaten by a long ball from their keeper. The sub at half time, to bring on a shocking left back for a striker at 1 down summed the manager up. Shocking. Why does he keep persisting with Smallwood. He is nowhere near good enough. Both of the left backs were as bad as anyone, Bell is an absolutely shocking player and Williams was easily beaten again as he was at Preston. Armstrong was shocking yet again, where is Rothwell? Even Palmer? Dack was shite again too although all of our attackers are not going to thrive if we have no attacking plans aside from hoofing it in the air. Brereton was rubbish too when he came on. Over 9m spent and has it improved us? The team didnt seem to have a plan, was disorganised, disinterested, didnt seem to know what it was doing, just shocking and Mowbray has to take the blame for that.

Whilst I disagree that he has done OK in his cameos wide (barring v QPR a d Rotherham when he played far more centrally) theres total disregard towards the alternatives to Brereton when Graham is unavailable. I dont think that anyone would or has doubted Grahams importance. He is the master at making the most of what has been, this season especially, a more often than not rather thoughtless process of getting the ball forward, with us playing more long balls than any other team. In 2 of the 3 examples you give, v Swansea and Preston, we undoubtedly missed Graham but we had Dack up front v Swansea and both him and Palmer centrally v Preston. It quite clearly didnt work, and hasnt worked on the other occasions we have tried to play Dack up front. It also blunts our best player in the process. Brereton came on at Bristol I admit but was totally unfit as that was his debut. Quite simply, imbalanced recruitment has left us over reliant on Graham but we have to weigh up what the best alternative is when he isnt fit, acknowledging that he wont necessarily be the same replacement. Brereton hasnt shown here bar glimmers in 2 cameos that he can play as a lone striker as he simply hasnt had a chance. He did impress and garner the reputation he had to warrant us paying the money we did playing as a lone striker. And crucially he is naturally a striker. Its ok being "not convinced" he can play there but the alternatives are far, far less capable of playing that role, and not even naturally strikers. Yes we will need to tamper with our tactics and approach regardless of who plays when Graham cant, but your theory is invalidated by its alternatives.

I dont think its something that can suddenly be introduced on a match day. But I hope we see some improvement soon as I don't feel like we are playing to our full potential in terms of some of our players in forward areas. I'm not convinced that any of the old guard (the likes of Bennett and Smallwood) will be eased out any time soon in terms of starting every week in favour of the likes of Rodwell and Rothwell to give us more technical ability in our team.

Seen absolutely no signs that this process is in anyway progressing. As others have pointed out, we are still a long ball team even when Graham is out. We have bar a couple of games this season been full of committment sure but boring to watch. Danny Graham is as important as anyone is to us at the moment.

He was a top player but he seems to be an arrogant tosser of a human being.

May I ask why you said good luck to Campbell? The man is an arrogant, self-obsessed bell end who bleats on about his brilliant CV and seems deluded enough to think that its his skin colour thats stopping him from being Man City manager. Id be amazed if he does well. Bradford have been shocking since they appointed Hopkin and he clearly isnt the man for the job. Yeah they have Payne, Akpan and also Paul Caddis

Few things: - You say why question the logic after Mowbray has explained why hes treating Brereton as he is. I and many others feel that Mowbrays explanations are illogical, its as simple as that. Not considering a striker to play as a striker due to a lack of physicality, then playing tiny midfielders there instead. Even you have said that is something you disagree with. - Your defence of Mowbray on how Brereton is used is totally hypocritical in that you believe he should be used centrally, and have asked more than once for him to be started, I encourage you to be stronger in that opinion, rather than shutting down people who actually have a more similar view to yourself than Mowbray may! It doesnt mean you dont like Mowbray. - Its natural for us to be compared to other clubs in our division. You have to get used to that and have never complained about it before. - Its easier to not take Mercer on when he says Coyle. You are providing the reaction he craves.