More clueless defending. Several opportunities to get the ball clear, zero urgency in closing down, poor goalkeeping. Same old. Same old. The Pears praise will have quickly evaporated.

This is a very revealing thread. It combines both those acknowledging that they were perhaps to quick to judge Pears and those stating that Wahlstedt is a dud. Lesson learned.

Yep, not a terrible one. In another world and a few more favourable inches, his would have crept in and Pears would have tipped their 4th onto the post. That's just a shootout for you.

Everyone outside of Blackburn calls us Blackburn. If you don't call us Blackburn it's impossible to expect people to know who you're talking about. Name a neutral pundit. Linekar was in his underwear after Leicester City won the league. Neville spends most of his time talking about United. Carragher makes no attempt to hide his Liverpool allegiances even though he grew up an Everton supporter. Micah Richards is an open City supporter even though he's from the Midlands. You'd love it if he supported us.

Yep, the same supporters being critical of him will expect Adam Wharton to be speaking fondly of Rovers 20 years from now on TV. Or expect David Dunn to appear like a Rovers supporter if he were in studio for Rovers v Birmingham. Or probably even expect Damien Duff to come across as a Rovers supporter for Rovers v Chelsea. We can't have it both ways. You can take absolutely no issue with a born and bred Newcastle supporter being, wait for it, a Newcastle supporter.

Bit of a hard question to answer. I could list a ton of centrebacks and you could tell me no. All that being said, Harry Maguire took one of the best penalties I've ever seen in the final of the Euros. Bet you wouldn't put him on a list of penalty-takers. All down to who feels comfortable taking them. How they feel going into it. What the plans were beforehand. We're not privy to all of that, so it is pretty difficult to be critical. Had Ayari missed you probably would have said you didn't want a 20-year-old loanee taking one. I thought Newcastle took the biggest risk by having a fresh sub take one. Luck of the draw at a certain point.

A disappointing end, but an enthralling cup tie and a performance that all of the players should be proud of. Anyone being critical should go and do something else with their lives, nights like this are why you are a supporter. Every single player deserves credit. Yes, a few were better than others, but that was the definition of a team effort. Most of all, I think that performance should shut a few critics up for a bit. Several of those players have been slaughtered for being terrible signings, not good enough to wear the shirt, and a sign of a future in League One. The pressure is now on them to replicate that performance and show consistency, but many have been judged before they've even been given the chance to play.

Is he? I remain hopeful and he deserves more time to get his system in place, but so far I see a reduction in our attacking threat with little improvement defensively. If anything, he's just benefited from having a slightly fitter squad than the one that JDT was dealing with for the final 5-10 matches of his tenure.

I'd assume it was a joke.

I hope he's a great manager, but the constant use of 'you know' as a filler means that I can no longer watch his interviews. It didn't last long.

One thing that disappoints me, although I'm sure I'll get flack for it, is what a shame it is to have a manager whose native language is English, and yet he is less eloquent than our previous manager. A post-match statement full of clichés, 57 'you knows', and endless 'the boys'.

This is an idiotic response. Even for the internet.

The two kind of aren't related. Needing depth at CB didn't rule out our ability to bring in a CM. We simply didn't sign a CM (aside from Fleck) and that deserves criticism all of its own.

Because we might have multiple injuries in that position. He's one injury away from being needed in the matchday squad. It would be like asking why we would bother having 3 keepers.

Brittain's night summed up there. A second touch that's a tackle. A tackle that's a foul.

Why would we need multiple central defenders on the bench?

There's a lot of harsh criticism of players, in the case of Telalovic it is harsh criticism of a player who has barely featured for us. As supporters, we have to choose. Do we want to complain about everything? Owners, CEO, DoF, manager, and players? In which case, we'll get little sympathy and achieve nothing. Or do we want to complain about those who will all agree are at fault for the current situation? Because it isn't Telalovic. It isn't Ayari. A few need a bit of a reality check on that front.

He reminds me a bit of Craig Short.

We haven't been good. They haven't been good. This match is a good example of what riding your luck looks like. Under JDT this same performance would have seen us 2 or 3 down, we were just in that kind of a rut. We'll still likely lose. This isn't pretty.

I don't think Telelovic is nearly as bad as some make out. He will never be a star, but he could develop into a decent squad player. If he does, then he will have been a success when you consider the costs involved.

It is, without doubt, something of a bitter-sweet feeling. I was a huge JDT supporter. I thought he was a breath of fresh air post-Mowbray. The brand of football he tried to play was, when it worked, some of the best football that we have seen in a very long time. Until recently, it delivered entertainment even in losing efforts. He was honest. He was thoughtful. He brought a sense of decency back to this club that had been sorely lacking for some time. Most of all, he had ambition. His tenure will be one that I fondly remember. Many have already highlighted the cup runs and some of the fantastic performances. There were some incredible enjoyable moments. Not only that, with a bit more luck down the final stretch last season he could have delivered playoff football and potentially even promotion. With all that being said, his position had become untenable. Not only because of the very poor run of results, but also because it felt as if he had lost his commitment to the job. Once it was revealed that he'd asked to step aside last summer it is difficult to imagine how he could keep the dressing room. Good teams require buy-in and togetherness and his eagerness to leave showed that he wasn't really fully committed to this job from last summer onwards. It is easy to understand why and I don't think he deserves too much blame for that, but we can't forget that this is a well-paid position in one of the top 10 leagues in the world. As a football club, as a set of supporters, we deserve to have a manager who is fully committed to the job and who really wants to be here. JDT was not that this season. He left with the dignity that he brought to the job on a daily basis and, for the first time in a long time, I actually wish a departing manager well in his future endeavors. There is little chance that I will develop the same level of fondness for Eustace that I had for JDT, but Eustace could be an excellent appointment who proves to be more successful as a manager at Ewood. Time will tell, but it is a real shame.

I still think that we will stay up. I even think that we will stay up fairly comfortably. But things are looking bleak.

I actually think there are positives in this display from Telalovic as well. He at least shows some intent and can turn his man.

The equaliser is coming.

Just to be a bit positive, Ayari looks alright.