Holtby has been brilliant, he makes such a difference. 
Evans and Johnson are passengers. Do not suit the high press game and offering nothing on the ball either. Evans can’t play in a 3 like this. 
Bell out of position on numerous occasions and he’s so uncomfortable on the ball it’s painful to watch the mis-placed passes. 
We’re not far away and that’s what makes it so frustrating. How long will it take Tony to play our best 11?

I’m not too disappointed with the line up to be fair. Dolan has been quiet the last two matches. Glad Elliott has come in, although could have been for Brereton. Just glad Gallagher isn’t starting in the front 3 personally. 
Would have preferred Douglas and Trybull instead of Bell and Evans but I understand the reasoning. 
 

Hopefully we look more like the Derby match than the Forest match. 

2 goals for Whiteman tonight...where’s Sparks!? 

                      Kaminski

Nyambe - Lenihan - Ayala - Douglas

        Holtby - Travis - Rothwell

        Elliott - Dack - Armstrong

7 of these 8 Subs: GK, Williams, JRC, Trybull, Johnson, Buckley, Dolan, Brereton

Not needed: Gallagher, Chapman, Bell, Evans

One positive to take is that when (if?) everyone is fully fit 6 of that 11 will not be starting. 

If we’ve learnt anything from the Cardiff and Forest matches, it’s that Bradley Dack is the 1st name on our team sheet. 
 

Everything else that needs to be said, has been said many times before... 

- Sam Gallagher was woeful, 2nd to everything. 
- Bradley Johnson was a ghost, too inconsistent to be a regular for me, especially when Travis is back fit. 
- Ayala was our best player. 

No positives to take, yes we had no Holtby or Rothwell but Tony has to get better performances out of them than this. 

It’s been drab so far to say the least. Dolan the worst player on the pitch in my opinion, closely pushed by Bell. The midfield 3 are too slow with the ball as others have said, nobody is driving forward with it. 
The 2 x CBs and GK look good, probably the only positives to take. 

5 hours ago, Mercer said:

Yep.

A window better than we dared hope for.

Kalinski - looks sound though early days

Stergiakis - ticks the boxes as a good no 2 ready to challenge for no 1

Pears - don't get at all, IMO, bang average and a four year contract is ridiculous

Ayala - steady but brings experience

Douglas - shrewd, hope the lad stays fit

Trybull - adds to the depth but mystified why Norwich would loan him to us if such a player

Dolan - the lad excites me, could be a gem - let's see if he maintains form

Elliott - Liverpool friend has just phoned who I rate as as a good judge of football.  Reckons Elliott will blow the opposition away and help fire us to PL 

IMO, top two is there for the taking this season.  Confidence and momentum is everything.

Providing Mowbray loses his square pegs in round holes syndrome, I think we'll walk it.

Just put £150 on Rovers for promotion at 13/2.

Good enough for you? 

 

Good man Merce! 
It’s a great bet and I make the true price ~15% and you’re getting 13.3% at 13/2 (maybe you’re shrewder than I took you for ?)
I do this professionally but tend to avoid anything too close to Rovers, however i must say I backed 3.6 for top 6 finish today which I make 16% value. It’s a bit early in the season to have too much confidence in my pricing but it’s a double interest at least. 

I’ve been involved in plenty of bickering on this site over the years, we’re always criticising and wanting the best for Rovers but it’s great on days like today when we have genuine optimism (not like that bollocks Ronaldinho stuff). A great squad, full of players we believe in, full of recruitment we believe in (I don’t want to mention the names of Kean/Appleton/Berg years).
Really looking forward to tomorrow, 2020 has been a shitter all round and we deserve this optimism after the last 8 years. See you all in the morning in the Forest chat. COYB 

Just now, jim mk2 said:

Is a 17-year-old going to be picked over Holtby, Johnson, Rothwell, Travis (when fit), the Norwich lad, and all the other experienced midfield players on the books?

I don't think so....unless Liverpool have a clause in the deal guaranteeing him game time. 

Depends if said 17 year old is good enough. Jude Bellingham was a regular in the league for Birmingham at 17.....then signed for Dortmund for £25m. I'd hazard a guess that Elliott is good enough.

Jeez, picking a starting 11 is going to be difficult!! 

Wolves fans really rated him when he got promoted with them, there was a lot of restless voices when they replaced him with Jonny and sold him to Leeds (Look how that turned out, Nuno knows what he's doing!) FYI - 5 goals and 14!! assists from left back when Wolves won the league.

Has been a bit injury prone recently but it's without a doubt a big upgrade, and I thought out of our budget. Well done all involved, the squad is really shaping up here. A win tomorrow and this place will be bouncing.

Yep, Buckley in for Holtby and keep the rest the same for me.

Edit: Ayala and Lenihan with Williams missing out. 

1 minute ago, Beanie01289 said:

Its fantastic and the model has really worked for them but i still want my club to keep its best players.

Also if the model goes  slightly wrong which at somepoint you would imagine it will have a wobble it could go badly for a while.

I agree, and if they had got promoted then maybe Watkins or Benrahma would have stayed, but realistically, if you’re producing players of that quality in the Championship they are not going to hang around, no matter what club you are.
So next best scenario, get a shit load of cash for them and reinvest it shrewdly (which they’re more often than not successful at)

3 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

No ones mocked Brentford. On the contrary, it’s been accepted that their model has been good for them.

But Watkins and Benrahma for Toney and Bannan is shit. And would’ve caused carnage if it were us.

Also, I wouldn’t bet on them finishing above us. 

It was said that “people would hate it in action here”. To which you agreed.

If it was a one off, I agree there would be complaints, however, I think fans would give the owners and scouts the benefit of the doubt in this scenario considering they’ve been here many times before and have improved on their league position / maintained top half finishes throughout: 

In forwards alone before the £50m for Watkins and Benrahma...
Andre Gray £12m 15/16 
Scott Hogan £10m 16/17 
Neal Maupay £20m 19/20

Well, that was screaming out for a player like Dack. Nobody looked like they had the quality to make the difference. 
 

- Nyambe was poor, offers little going forward (especially given Cunningham was on a yellow)

- 3 clean sheets in a row regardless of circumstances is great

- Johnson had a good game, hope he keeps this run going

- Gallagher is so frustrating. Offers nothing as a threat and gives away so many silly fouls 

- Cardiff won’t be anywhere near the top 6 this year, maybe their style of football will be effective on occasion, but they have very little quality to vary it. 

I can’t believe we’ve done nothing to threaten Cunningham since his yellow card. 

Gallagher is so frustrating. Regardless of the fact he doesn’t score, he offers nothing else either. 

Fantastic 2 hours, following up a 5-0 win with a 4-0 rout (it could have been 7)! Many were saying our opening run was difficult and we’re now sat in the playoffs after 3 games with the best GD and most goals scored in the league. 
Back to back clean sheets for Kaminski!

Holtby was superb, as someone said above, some passes looked Tugay-Esque. My MOTM.
Brereton closely follows, did everything but score and is usually the start of our hard press.

I have to say we look a really fit team and the pressure we’re putting on the opposition with the ball is a joy to watch. We look a really unit.

Enjoy your Saturday evening everyone. 

Holtby has really shown his class since the start of season. Keep him fit, with our other midfield options and who knows. 

Yeah Buckley for Holtby for me. Rest his legs and give Buckley a 15 mins in a game that’s already over 

Whether you love the guy, or get frustrated by the guy (I don’t think anyone actually hates him)...You have to give Mowbray credit for the difference in Rovers now to when he took over from Coyle (and whilst lowering our wage bill).

Serioisly though, who does Dack replace?

Brereton is having a great 20 mins. The lad is just missing a few goals. 

+40 GD by Xmas!

We are oooozing confidence! 3-0!!