I thought against Blackpool in his only senior game (bar a couple of minutes at turf moor) he wasnt really tested defensively, he showed real athleticism and pace but technically struggled and his final ball was lacking. Not doubting he has something about him but we have a player who is proven as a very effective Championship right back sat on the bench collecting dust.

I think many people have also suggested to drop Ohashi too for Gueye.

I dont know. My point was not a criticism of roverandout, just me commenting on how weak we are in that position. Hall struggles to get a regular game, Davis is not the best defensively and unproven at the top level. Wont make a difference against crap sides in pointless games. Impacted us in the summer and will going forward in big games.

He might be promising but he isnt a regular at Newcastle. And Davis has only just started playing at Premier League level and has huge defensive question marks.

The fact that those 2 are even in the reckoning shows how light we are in that position The whole squad is imbalanced as we know. Totaly devoid of any left backs. We have 3 of the very best attacking midfielders but all of them need to play central to get the best of them, just off the striker. 3 into 1 doesnt go.

I think the point is not specific to one manager. The Solanke call up is fairly immaterial anyway, he probably wont play with Kane and Watkins ahead of him. Im sure we will comfortably beat both poor sides in these glorified friendlies in a very long 2 weeks before we can get back to proper football. Why is Kyle Walker back in the squad, he will be 36 by the next World Cup.

We do but there is an imbalance to those options. Most want to play as a number 10 and there is an absence of pace. You seem to think that Dolan will score 10 goals playing there, not much suggestion or evidence of that. Cantwell like many of our options is better centrally, but has the most quality. Cant see the logic in sticking him wide where we wont provide the full back with much if any protection, when he is by far our best player at the taking the ball in tight spaces, and on the assumptiom that Dolan can score loads of goals there. Dolan isnt as good as Cantwell.

Portsmouth look like out of the 3 promoted teams, they are the ones who arent up to the standard of the Championship. Yet to win and their side doesnt look on paper like one with anywhere near enough quality, with the loss of Colby Bishop an added blow. Oxford and Derby have been competitive and whilst I wouldnt rule out either being dragged in to a real scrap, they look a level up from Pompey.

Over the course of a season pending an unlikely and unexpected improvement, he wont score an impressive amount of goals. He had a particularly bad season last season which was heavily impacted by repeated injuries which have also affected his Stoke career. I think had he left on the back of any other season, the comments towards him wouldnt have been nearly as strong. Tended to score 8 or 9 so was never prolific but did chip in a bit, had other useful attributes but also frustrating parts of his game, he levels out at a bottom half Championship standard striker if he stays fit. The question for us is how much if at all the new guys are an upgrade. Theyve been available so far barring a stupid suspension for Gueye, so thats already a big plus. Gueye hasnt shown any signs of scoring us a goal yet, Ohashi has scored 4 brilliant goals but doesnt offer anything else.

I dont have too much of a grievance on the assumption that Osmajic gets a sufficient ban. There is precedent with Suarez so assuming a similar punishment is handed out then thats fine. Such a case is more complex than a usual violent conduct red card so will have to be considered more carefuklly, Preston have accepted the punishment and assuming he is punished adequately, ultimately it makes little odds whether that punishment starts now or a couple of games after. Say he misses 10 games, he still misses 10 games. Its just a coincedence that he happened to score tonight but say the punishment started immediately and he scored 2 in his first game back, its the same issue.

I think there are 2 arguments, whether he merits a place in the side and whether if he does play that he starts in the number 10 role. No one stands out on the left because we have a lack of natural wide options and you could probably argue that none of our attackers would choose their best position as starting on the left. As a number 10, you have Cantwell who is the best of those options so to include Dolan means either dropping Cantwell who is a better player or moving him on the left where his work rate chasing back isnt as good and where going forward he isnt as comfortable.

Khadra was quick whereas Dolan isnt and he also has never shown any crossing ability. He is probably better from the left cutting in or central but he isnt good enough to warrant selection over Cantwell. Nothing to do with doom and gloom, that tends to be a standard comeback when nothing else constructive can be offered up. My point was that both Szmodics and Dack had the ability to anticipate chances. Szmodics wasnt in a creative side last season but his movement and his intelligence meant that he got into great positions and his finishing was very good. I have seen no signs that Dolan shares similar traits and his goal output/threat hasnt improved since moving in the middle. Cantwell on the other hand has quality on the ball and should play centrally where he is capable of picking the ball up on the turn in tight areas and making things happen. More league goals than Gueye!

Szmodics and Dack used to regularly get chances even in poor teams like Szmodics last season because he could anticipate chances. Dolan doesnt do that, its not just about having chances put on a plate, he lacks the intelligence and movement to find goalscoring opportunities. I fail to see why you have any confidence in Dolan being able to score regularly.

Many more years of disappointment await.

Cantwell spent much of the game wide, Eustace got his tactics wrong. He doesnt track back as much as others, he isnt the quickest but you want your technical players in the centre at the heart of things. On the ball, Dolan hasnt got anywhere near the same quality. You mention him getting goals from there, none since the opening day suggests the move hasnt really done that. Hedges isnt a particularly good crosser, but even considering this stuff around the number 10. Why would you pick Dolan over Cantwell if the rest of your argument is to play around Gueye? Exactly. This idea that he cannot possibly be a right back under Eustace is totally unfounded. He is so much better when he has space in front of him. Ive mentioned Brett Emerton before, he isnt otherwise similar but Emerton also struggled when having to attack players from a position higher up. He also is a better one on one defender than Brittain.

He hasnt started scoring any more since he moved central, no goals since the opening day. Cantwell is a flair player, stick him out wide and youll maybe not get the work rate tracking back that others can offer. The difference is that Cantwell has far more quality on the ball than Dolan or indeed anyone else in the squad. Its a position where you want your most talented player in, and he is that.

I just cant see him dropping him a game before a 2 week break. He also might be wary of upsetting him. Either way, I cant see it but managers dont always make the right decisions.

The above shows why it is uninspiring. And thats why its not the front 4 that I want. I would like to see the one player we have with a bit of guile and flair and the one player we have who has any interest in taking players on. JRC has played his best football at right back.

Manager contracts are not the same as players whereby you might act a bit quicker to tie them down to retain asset value etc. No rush to give him a new deal.

Pears will play the next 8 games sadly. I have seen enough over his Rovers career to know that he costs us far more than he saves. Why would you put Dolan in the middle who flatters to deceive in favour of a player who is obviously our best technical player by some way and also is perhaps defensively not the best?

What an uninspiring front 4 that is. Our only flair and our only directness on the bench. Tronstad doesnt deserve dropping either.

Toth Rankin Costello Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Tronstad Cozier Duberry Cantwell Weimann Gueye I think that we need to bring in Toth. We know that Pears is never far from a mistake, it made sense to keep him in but he had a shocker last night and we know more mistakes will be round the corner. I would make a change now, Eustace wont. Playing Carter at RB was only ever going to work short term but him there against anyone with pace is an accident waiting to happen. We have a player with history of being a good Champipnship right back who has been hindered by use as a utility man, put him back at RB and give the defence more balance. I think Eustace will stick with the same back 4 unless Brittain is deemed fit enough. The attacking midfield positions are the most uncertain. Cozier Duberry has to start to give us directness we lack. Cantwell needs to play centrally, the question mark is the left hand side which was neglected in the summer. Weimann, Hedges, Dolan, Sigurdsson, its all much of a muchness, any of them can start, not as bothered who. I think Eustace will take Cantwell back out and restore Hedges. Up top, its time for a change. I think Eustace might agree. Not totally convinced by Gueye yet but I would hand him a start.

Probably zero. No point costing mistakes and no making saves he isnt entitled to make/arent fairly routine to earn us points. But he will lose us points over a season.

He is one player mentioned in a post about a number of players that prompted further discussion once I was asked about the comments made. Had I just come on and criticised him alone then you may have had a point. I think questioning his all round play (whilst commending him on his finishing ability) is fair. He isnt fast, he isnt strong and he struggles to contribute when he doesnt score. Had I jumped to conclusions saying hes shit/he isnt good enough then again fair enough, but I didnt. He obviously wasnt the only one to struggle tonight, basically everyone did.

Social media is full of posts desperate to paint Rovers fans as desperate to moan and reeling in seeing us lose but I actually think tonight highlighted some concerns that were already there. You cant say our start hasnt been very good but suggestions of a play off push etc seemed premature. After conceding 6 goals in 4 games, we have looked stronger in defence lately, but the 3 clean sheets have come twice in games where the opposition has had 10 men, and the third against an abject Bristol City side. We deserved praise for how we set up on those days but Pears has not been tested too often and he is never far away from a howler, over the course of the season he will cost us far more points than he earns us. We faced an attack with pace in it and our slow defence was run ragged, with Carter exposed as a centre back playing out of position, Wright tortured him. We have scored a good amount of goals but it has felt more due to being clinical with a few wonder goals rather than as a result of a well balanced attack. There is an imbalance with many of our attackers wanting to all play in central areas, Cantwell is the most talented but he was a liability when he was further wide and has to be in the middle. The lack of pace was not addressed in the summer, Cozier Duberry looks to be a bit different to the rest in that he looks to commit full backs but even he is desperate to come inside. The likes of Dolan and Hedges will always have more ineffective games than effective and Weimann whilst being a cleverer player than either doesnt have the legs compared to when he was a real consistent threat at this level. Up front we have 2 strikers signed for cheap from a relegated Belgian side and the Japanese league and we are still figuring them out. Ohashi is a mixture of brilliant composure in front of goal yet offers absolutely nothing else to the side so when he doesnt score, he may aswell not be playing. Gueye needs to prove that he can couple his physicality with a goal threat but both are still to show exactly how effective they are and how they can compliment those around them over the course of the season. There is justifiably a lot of talk about the extra character in the side especially with more experience but I found todays performance to be a strong example of what we have seen in years gone by. A midweek away game where nobody really showed up and we were comfortably dispatched, by a side with quality but one that had been in terrible form.