The red card is completely on the manager. Hyam is clearly miles off full fitness, he was labouring after about 30 minutes and needed to come off at half time. Brittain is a waste of space, I used to think Tyler Morton was the softest player I’d ever seen but Cowardly Callum makes him look like Vinnie Jones. Hill looks a lot more comfortable at full back. Wrong subs too late. Were a soft touch and were too thin on the ground squad wise, but that was absolutely woeful. Again.

First goal from a ball over the top catching them out. Second one we attacked with a bit of intent, didn’t overplay and got a shot off quickly. Abandoning the principles has served us well when going forward here.

Low bar though it was, why leave out our best 2 players from Boxing Day? I don’t understand why we haven’t made some subs yet considering this silly 5 rule. Looks as though a lot of the players aren’t on board with these tactics any more.

Whoever is playing on the left for Hull will have a field day against Markanday and Brittain.

Doesn’t deserve to be in the squad. His lack of commitment and effort is ridiculous.

An ok signing on the surface, nothing to get too excited about, if it happens. If it’s the sum total of our January business though it’s a joke. Seems a strange area to invest our limited funds in when you consider the glaring weaknesses in the squad.

This is kind of the worry. I think there is potentially a good keeper in Wahlstedt but his current form is frightening. If he continues to give goals away we risk him being ruined for Rovers, if not completely. I think he needs taking out of the firing line for a spell, and I expect he’s nervous as hell about another costly mistake - when that worry creeps in it tends to become a self fulfilling prophecy. I’d give whichever of our young lads has the most potential a go and let them concentrate on the basics.

I want a keeper in who isn’t throwing soft shots in his own goal. In the last 2 games we’ve conceded 3 goals that were tamely hit straight at the keeper. Current form is cause for panic.

Struggling for fitness, minutes and not suited to the way we play would be my assessment so far. Aside from the very concerning injury and fitness set backs we don’t get the ball in the box quickly enough for him to benefit and his touch seems way too heavy for him to get involved in the build up play.

I think we miss JRC for this reason. He’s got a bit of edge to him and has been instrumental in most of the good things we’ve done in the past 12 months.

Completely agree on him shitting out of challenges. He is also slow to track back, goes hiding, shits himself if an opponent comes within 3 feet of him, won’t take responsibility for the ball unless he’s in a clear acre of space, is prone to silly cards for pulling people back as it’s easier than tracking back. I think he’s a cowardly player who is beyond useless when the team are up against it. His lack of effort in the entirety of his last 2 appearances has disgusted me.

I suppose we will see on Friday. If Brittain starts it immediately disproves the theory above, particularly with Hill on the bench.

How about Michalski? Anyone who won’t be responsible for 3 goals in 2 games due to relatively tame shots right into their body will do for me at the moment.

Hilton Hill Carter Hyam Pickering Tronstad Wharton Garrett Gilsenan Szmodics Sigurdsson Wahlstedt, Gamble, Travis, Telalovic, Leonard, Ennis plus the three biggest and most athletic players from the U21’s regardless of position. No Moran or Brittain in the squad.

Carter and Wharton pretty much the only two starters who can hold their heads up today. Garrett too when he came on, and at least Telalovic tried putting himself about. The rest were varying levels of crap with Moran being woefully out of form and in dire need of a prolonged spell out of the side, a keeper who is costing us goals regularly, and possibly the single most gutless and cowardly player I’ve ever had the misfortune to see in a Rovers shirt at right back. JDT might well be fed up and has a right to feel aggrieved after the summer. Nobody is forcing him to be so bloody stubborn in his approach though. I’m more worried that Wharton and Carter realise the club is going nowhere and decide it’s best for their careers if they move on asap. We need some signings in January, and if that means forcing out some squad players, fine.

Unfortunately he’s just committed to Derby long term. Give me him over Cowardly Callum any day.

Brittain and Moran off at half time. Fuck it, Wahlstedt too.

Brittain very lucky to earn a recall, Moran very lucky to keep his place, Garrett very unlucky to miss out.

Ideally, but needs must.

It’s been disappointing overall. There are some genuine causes for optimism but we are massively hampered by factors beyond the control of Waggott, Broughton or JDT. Our first choice 11 is more than good enough to beat anyone on our day. I wouldn’t swap Wharton and Tronstad for another midfield pairing in the league, and Szmodics has been a revelation. There are question marks in the goalkeeping department, and I’m not sure anyone knows who our first choice is, or should be. We’ve suffered from having to patch up the defence too often and a lack of consistency there, as well as the ability to sure up with subs at the end of games has been costly. Up top it’s a bit of a mess. Dolan, Moran and Leonard have all been selected at times when they’ve been short of form due to necessity. I feel a bit sorry for Ennis and hope he can prove useful, but we needed more than a punt on a striker who has done pretty well at a level below with a worrying injury record. I’m less sympathetic to Gallagher who, despite probably being our best option to lead the line has contributed zero due to his customary massive spell out injured. You can see the direction JDT is trying to take us. Tronstad took a while to bed in, but he was always lined up as the Travis replacement. I also predicted Garrett would move above Travis in the pecking order before the end of the season, which seems to be the way we are going. It’s still a bit of a mystery what we want to do in the opposition box as all our centre forward options are very different types of player. JRC has been an enormous miss and for the last 12 months we’re a far better side when he plays, whatever position that may be. One thing that has been a little surprising and perhaps disappointing is the lack of breakthrough from the academy so far. Yes, we play several graduates every single week, but with the squad as stretched as it is the fact that the likes of Gilsenan, Gamble, Batty, Montgomery, Gamble, Duru, Bloxham etc etc are only deemed suitable to make up the numbers and play in the league cup limits us. The best signing any team made last January was Luton bringing in Marvelous Nakamba. Bucked the usual trend of getting teenagers from academies and loaned in a seasoned pro who wasn’t getting minutes in the Premier League. If we could make a couple of additions like that in January there’s still a chance of the playoffs. As well as a bit of experience we need some more athleticism. In a few games we’ve been bullied physically and's we are really poor off the ball at times. Our record in the closing stages of games shows that when our players are running on fumes we really suffer. My wish list… An athletic full back who can come on and help us see games out. An out and out centre forward (or two) who isn’t averse to being in the box. A wide player with pace. I’d happily let Gallagher and Travis go permanently to bring in those 3 loans.

Here you go mate… One different version and one omission (The BRFCS pick - Come With Me by Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page) due to not being on Spotify.

👍👍 nice one Chaddy, tried to play a bit of something for everyone

Nah, he got clattered just after Markanday came on. Took a knock to the knee. Hope it is not as bad as it looked.

It’s a real shame we are talking about goalkeeping errors and shite referees again. Up until the 80th minute it was a great day. Nice to see so many people come down and see us in the fanzone and grab a blue and white Santa hat! Music seems to have gone down well too! Unfortunately it’s a really deflating result. A big reason for that is the squad being stretched to its absolute limits. We’ve got the basis of a team that can challenge this year - including the best midfield in the league, but they need some help! From a Trust point of view we want to make that point to the owners - Promotion instantly turns Rovers from a burden to an asset, and it’s time to give it a go. For those in power at Ewood the message is about how we can work together getting crowds like today in more consistently. The more members we have, the bigger our voice, and the more we can keep doing events like today. Please consider joining up today… https://www.roverstrust.com/get-involved/join-the-trust

Last minute preparations are still ongoing for tomorrow, please do come and see us at the Fanzone tomorrow. We Are The Rovers, BRFCS & 4,000 holes, Her Game Too, Rovers Chat, Proud Rovers and Rovers SAS will all be there to meet supporters and let you know what we’re up to over the coming months. Tomorrow’s theme is Blue and White Christmas, and we have some freebies along that theme that should help you get in the festive spirit and ready for the match! If you missed your chance to complete the safe standing consultation questionnaire we will have some paper forms(!!!) you can complete. We’re also hoping to sign up some new members and our gift membership packs are also available, and BRFCS have some exclusive merch on sale. We’re also going to be joined by Me To A Tee, a Blackburn based vintage designer and sportswear retailer who will have some select items on sale and some interesting Rovers and local items to take a look at. The playlist is also in… it’s an eclectic mix spanning 1956-now. Some of the featured artists will be in the crowd and there’s several tracks with Blackburn and Rovers significance. Bit of heavy rock, some ska, electro, post punk, pure pop, hip-hop, pure nostalgia, and a few Christmas classics! Food wise there are the usual burger vans, plus stalls selling bratwursts, jacket potatoes and curries. Plenty of beer and mulled wine too! Drag a friend or family member down, it certainly beats last minute shopping!