Apologies for the link to this absolute rag, but here goes… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12003345/amp/Burnley-investigation-EFL-potential-match-fixing-draw-Reading.html They’ve definitely been playing a weakened side. Points deduction or fine won’t make a blind bit of difference unless it’s an enormously disproportionate one that stops them getting promoted… be much better to ban their entire squad for their next game! A cynic might think they were deliberately dropping points so they could win the league at Ewood.

Obviously lack of strikers is a big issue, but we overcame that today. We were persistent in our attacking, found a bit of quality where it mattered and managed to get the goal. Unfortunately our good work was undone at least in part by a tactical change that has been tried several times, never worked, and has led to us conceding goals on every occasion we’ve done it.

Pears JRC Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Wharton Garrett Szmodics Dack Brereton Kaminski, Ayala, Hedges, Dolan, Thomas, Phillips, Leonard

Leicester - Brittain comes on, gets run ragged, concede a goal from that flank within 5 minutes, let them back in to a game we were dominating. Quarter final - Brings on Brittain and Wharton to go 5 at the back while we are leading. Concede an equaliser within a minute, go on to lose the game. Coventry - brings Wharton on to go 5 at the back. Concede in the last minute of injury time. Preston - Brings on both, goes 5 at the back. Both look crap. Concede an equaliser in the last minute of injury time. The only time bringing Brittain on worked was against Stoke when we were 3 down and he did some attacking for 5 minutes. Can’t remember the last time Scott Wharton looked good. Unfortunately our manager, for all his good points, is also supremely arrogant and prone to making costly stubborn decisions. This repeated change did us out of the cup and more than likely the playoffs. Persisting with Morton over Wharton has cost us god knows how many points. I’m fucking furious with him tonight. Don't know why anyone is surprised with what Hedges did either. His brain seizes up and his legs take on a life of their own when he sets foot in the opposition box. If he had any composure he’d be a very good player. No blame on Hyam, just unlucky for the goal. That said I thought he was crap today (that belting late tackle aside), but he’s got a lot of good grace still. Oh, and Adam Wharton is our best player by a country mile.

Get Dack on!!

Dolan, Travis and Hyam dreadful there. Need Dack and/or Brereton on. Thomas has looked pretty good, need someone in there to get on the end of a cross.

Too narrow. No real desire to see Morton again.

I’d be tempted to start both of them.

I agree with you Chaddy in that he’s always coming deep, but it’s definitely a result of the tactics. He thrives when we are a bit more direct, he’s good at running at players and cutting in but he’s too clumsy and not technically good enough for a lot of the one and two touch pass and move stuff. All these short passes in to feet with his back to goal doesn’t suit him at all. It was even more evident on Wednesday with Brittain in behind him. Pickering always has the out ball of knocking it into the corner for Brereton to chase on to, Brittain being on his wrong foot never did that. Personally I don’t think it’s a lack of effort. It’s woeful form, not playing to his strengths, and nothing he is trying is coming off.

Thomas wide on the right makes a big difference. We had Brittain, Hedges and Brereton all drifting inside against Coventry which meant that JRC - the person you really want drifting in, was the only one providing any real width.

He’s literally punched the ball then steamed Pears into the back of the net. Ludicrous.

I think it will be a good season if we get in the playoffs. I really don’t subscribe to this idea that getting us near would be some sort of miracle, and the teams in and around them at the minute shows this. This season represents a fantastic opportunity, if we blow it I’ll be fuming.

Then we are literally in the same position as Coventry, Sunderland and PNE too. So it’s not exactly a miracle is it.

Would you swap squads with Luton or Millwall?

Not even ready to discuss the handball yet. On the rest of it… At 70 minutes the discussion around us was “I don’t like this parking the bus and time wasting with so long to go. We won’t hold out that long.” Lessons not learnt from our cup exit. Bad subs, bad game management. I don’t think we defended very well tonight generally. Certainly wasn’t one of our more solid defensive displays. Nervy performance from Hyam. Brittain had some difficult moments at the back and despite some tidy play in the first half his one footedness didn’t help him offer much approaching the final third. Hope Pickering is back on Saturday. Leaving Wharton out for as long as we have has been at least as detrimental to us as our failings in the transfer window. It’s self sabotage. He is light years ahead of all our other players. He looks after the ball so well there was no justifiable reason to take him off. I don’t care if he was knackered, his brain beats the legs of practically any opponent he comes up against in this league. If we’d replaced him with Garrett I could see the logic. Replacing him with Morton was idiotic. I’m in the minority, but I don’t think Brereton’s attitude/commitment is the problem. I think he’d just woefully out of form and nothing he tries is coming off. He’s technically a poor player anyway who gets by on pace, power, and confidence. When the confidence is lacking his shortcomings become really evident. Have to mention Dolan. I’m a fan, but tonight he was woeful. Horrible performance. Typical of Gallagher to score a cracking goal then get injured… that’ll be him for the season I reckon.

That and he likes to dribble.

He reminds me a lot of Dolan, but is a long way behind him in his development.

I’d bring Scott Wharton in at left back if Pickering doesn’t make it. He’s left footed and would be good tucking in to a three allowing JRC to go roaming.

I’ll be really worried if Pickering misses out. Shame about Dack too, best bet for a goal at the moment.

Bloody hell, they are even claiming they are in the home ends of Ewood TONIGHT. You’d think with the amount of bullshit they spout they’d be better at it. Too thick to even lie well.

Yet he seems ok with someone who backs out of challenges every single game, even those in his favour, and who prefers rolling round on the floor feigning injury to tracking back.

Even if Adam Wharton’s list of misdemeanours is exactly as described, freezing out your best midfielder for nearly 6 months seems a ridiculously harsh punishment for going home in a strop and playing computer games. Players have been back quicker after biting opponents, shoving referees and taking drugs.

The bigger the recruitment department gets the harder we seem to find it to bring in players! Joking aside Broughton needs this third window to be a bloody good one. Even if you absolve him of all blame for the O’Brien fiasco (and you can’t) his inability to bring in even a bog standard striker means he’s been a failure thus far.

LWLLLDD Hardly surprising.

Tomasson’s post match comments have pissed me off even more than I already was. I can’t recall a single time when he has come out after one of our many dreadful performances, held his hands up and acknowledged he got it wrong. This, along with the fact he seems reluctant to make glaringly necessary changes until it’s far too late, suggest a massive arrogant streak.