I agree with the 2nd paragraph completely, it seemed a daft signing at the time given our lack of cash and how we needed to invest in the defence. But at the end of the day Tony spent the money and should have played and managed him properly. This was the forest award he won in his breakout season and the stats from his last season with Forest before he signed for us, got plenty of games. He played 600 and something league mins the first 2 seasons with us to give you an idea how little he played for us vs at forest. https://www.lfe.org.uk/news/ben-brereton-crowned-lfe-championship-apprentice-of-the-year/

If you spend £7m on a lad who just played a full season for Notts Forest and won the EFL young player of the year then in my view he starts every game for at least the first 20 games of that season. If not why bother singing him when we had pressing concerns in other areas of the pitch? What I wouldn't do is bring him on for 10 mins at the end of a game (probably when losing) and then see fans start classing him as appalling because he hasn't managed to score a hat trick in what little time he gets on the pitch. You could see his confidence drain away that first season with the way Mowbray managed him. With hindsight I bet Ben wished he stayed at Forest and got another full season or two in and he may have reached the point he is at now much sooner. Thankfully in the end its worked out and its wonderful to hear the 'Diaz' chants at Ewood after he bangs another one in.

Think we will bag a win on Saturday, always back us to do well at Ewood. If Lenihan and Nyambe are back then we should see the return of a solid backline unlike the last few matches. As others have stated its a bit of a unknown in attack without Brereton and Gallagher. Mowbray brought these loaners in for a reason though so expect Dolan then anyone of Kehdra, Butterworth and Poveda in the front 3. He has stuck Buckley up top before though so wouldnt surprise me if he did that again which is a waste of his talents.

I suggest you learn to read... 18/19 Season - 677 mins on the pitch 19/20 Season - 608 mins on the pitch 20/21 Season - 2440 mins on the pitch 21/22 Season - 990 mins on the pitch (after 11 games) Don't let facts get in the way of your 'support' of the lad though.

Just a point on his first 2 seasons at Rovers, the manager barely gave him any game time and if he did then it was for the last 5 or 10 mins of a match. Whether the manager thought he wasn't ready or the Dack/Graham combo was a factor who knows. But I don't agree with people saying he was rubbish those first 2 season, he just never played anywhere near enough. In his first 2 seasons he played just over 600 mins in each one. This season he has already played just shy of 1,000 mins after 11 games. I personally feel the lad was given a hard time by the manager and a some of our fans in those first couple of years. Delighted to see him come good over the last season or so, not surprisingly when he actually starts games and builds up a bit of form and confidence.

Shows how thin the squad is when we lose anyone from the first 11. Lenihan not starting was a big miss but thought Carter did ok. Nyambe going off was a killer with Magloire having a stinker in his place. Rothwell goes off and you’re looking at a load of lightweight kids to replace him. All the subs made the team worse tonight. If you score 2 goals away you should be coming home with a point at least.

Sounds really unlikely that we are gonna get these contracts signed, the club has thrown away loads of revenue now on players like Lenihan, BB, Rothwell and Nyambe. We might get a pittance as a development fee from a tribunal for some of them but it is mainly % profit of future sales, after 50 goals or some other daft measure. I don't think any of them will go on to bigger and better things meaning we lose millions on what we could have sold them for this summer. Shambolic administration of the club, these lads should have all been sold for cash this summer if they wouldn't sign. The squad for next season could be paper thin if it isn't already!

Not at all. If you actually read the posts and stats its been a consistent message. He was lucky to survive last season, the current form is good and to enjoy the moment. It may come as a surprise to you but most fans actually enjoy winning games and picking up points.

Well it looks like Mowbray heard us and has now sorted things out at the back and we are doing well 👍 I can understand getting at the manager when we are on a terrible run and falling down the league, I am sure all fans can. But at the moment whether by luck or judgement he has got together a decent team that are getting results. It won't last but please enjoy it whilst it does otherwise why be a football fan in the first place.

I don't think he will ever get us promoted but he is a steady manager at this level. Did a quick look at the table last season as well to see the amazing form last season you mentioned. After 8 games last season we were 12th in the league with 10 points. We had lost 4 times the latest being a 2-4 at home to Reading. This season after 8 games we are in 6th with 13 points having only lost 1 game.

Well I hope you enjoyed that moment too, something tells me you probably didn’t though.

So you agree that by us being 6th we are in good form then and should enjoy the moment?

Pretty sure Mowbray doesn't set ticket prices, makes offers and budgets for player signings or signs off on players wages. That would be the owners/Waggots job.

You can spin this anyway you like, all of the sides we played bar Nottingham Forest finished above us last season (and Hull who were in League 1). Away points at Millwall, Boro and a win at Forest are great results. Beating Swansea (last season play off finalists) at home another great result, plus a great result Tuesday night after a really below par first half. The negativity on this forum is incredible at times just enjoy the form whilst it lasts!

I would be surprised if he feels under much pressure at the moment, really good start to the season against some of the better sides in the division plus a lot of positivity coming out within the playing group about team spirit which shows on the pitch etc. He should have gone during that abysmal run last season but got lucky somehow and survived. This season he hasn't got a lot wrong on the field and it all feels pretty positive again at the moment. There certainly isn't any grumblings about him on the ground on match days. Whether or not the owners decided to end his contract next summer is another thing though, guess it will depend on what sort of season we end up having. For me almost all of our problems are off field issues with the contract situation, crowds, transfers etc. which aren't down to Mowbray.

just checked and they are up now https://www.rovers.co.uk/fans/fans-forum

Yeah may well be, I have only seen 10 mins here and there of him to work him out yet. Looked decent on Tuesday night if a little greedy when he cut in from the corner and should have passed. Also looked knackered after about 10mins of coming on!

Certainly in the games at Ewood Buckley has shown an ability to nick the ball off the opposition with a high press and quickly turn it into an attack. He didn't show it as much on Tuesday as he was playing out of position wide right but when in the Dack type role looks really good at it. Watching him at Ewood the guy is clearly another level of class on the ball than the rest of our midfield but drifts out of games for periods. His forward passes generally always lead to an attacking move rather than playing it sideways (Travis/Davenport/Johnson) or running into blind alleys (Rothwell). Hopefully with more game time and experience he will become a regular 1st teamer for us. We don't really have another player like him until Dack comes back in

Darn. there goes my hope he had been potted 🙁

I agree, although my point about season ticket holder's not showing up was meant to demonstrate that if paid up ticket holders didn't even show up its unlikely that we would have many walk ons to boost the gate. I don't think the standard of football or entertainment from the team on the pitch warrants the decrease in attendance personally. I think off field stuff like ticket prices, concession stands service/pricing and the general malaise around the ownership/investment has just pushed people away.

Anybody spot the invisible man at Ewood over the weekend or last night?

I have got to say that I very rarely find going on Ewood boring, even though last nights first half was a shambles we still got there in the end and got a 2-0 win. I don't think there will be many teams in the Championship that will dominate for 90mins, although I would love it if Rovers showed up for a bit longer as you say! We have been really fortunate under Mowbray to have what feels like a great home record (at least when we were allowed on the ground) and I personally really enjoy the battles at Ewood where in most cases we come out on top.

Thought the manager got the starting 11 wrong last night but fair play for making the changes in the 2nd half to get the win. Positives We look like a real attacking threat when we turn up the gas as shown by the two goal blitz on Saturday and last night. Just need to work out how to show that for longer periods in games. The back four look really solid this season, Ayala solid and Pickering in particular has grown into the team the last few games and you can see them talking a lot and working together well. Dolan has been class the last couple of games, loads of skill and work rate. Negatives Central midfield is so weak, we have too many small technical players in a league where you need some beef and muscle. Buckley, Rothwell, Clarkson and even Travis all look powder puff against most teams we have come up against this season. Travis is worrying me, looks miles off the player he looked pre-covid in terms of work rate, skill and ability. Defensively the tracking from midfield was abysmal again last night and we were lucky one of the Hull lads bombing into the box didn't cost us a goal like on Saturday. So basically we need a massive re-think in central midfield but other than that its looking good everywhere else. We might surprise ourselves this season and make a decent go of it.

A lot of season ticket holders around me didn't turn up last night, Tuesday night against Hull isn't really one to entice the fans! It would be fairer to compare a Saturday 3pm attendance with the the last few years instead, probably still down on what it has been. Putting the price up £100 in the Riverside was an idiotic move and has probably lost a couple of thousand purely based on cost.

I would love to know what he actually does day to day, because nothing seems to be progressing off the field and he isn't caught up doing media interviews either!