Eddie

For all of this talk about how he has lost the dressing room and that the players don't like him, it is maybe worth giving this a read: https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stewart-downing-interview-summer-options-16753051 Players are obviously going to say nice things, but Downing specifically mentions how he impressed them in their first meeting and how Mowbray has created a buzz around the place - all of this in an interview in which the focus is really his time at Boro, their prospects, and his return. Worth a thought.

No, just commentary and extended highlights not too long after it was all over.

What a depressing statement.

Brereton needs game time and confidence and he isn't nearly half as bad as some on here make out. That isn't me saying that he will ever justify the (potential) transfer fee or the decision to focus on that area of the squad, but you can't rush to judgment on a young player who has still yet to have a run of games where he gets to start. Just for context, for all of the Danny Graham love that there is in here (and I am not saying that it is wrong) let's take a look at his stats early in his career and his stats at Sunderland after his 5m move (now, yes, by this point he had shown that he could score goals, but it is a sign that you shouldn't judge a player based on 12 months and a handful of appearances). We should know that better than anyone, the last young English striker we did this with was Kevin Davies...

I like the approach. Giving a couple of fringe players a chance with some youth. Should be good enough to win. Protects key players in the first team. Hopefully someone impresses.

There are several key differences. Graham isn't the captain, so it doesn't put Mowbray in a situation where he has to leave his captain out every week. Graham is an attacking player, so he can be on the bench and make an appearance in virtually every match. If we are winning he will be brought on to hold the ball up and to help us see the game out, if we are losing then he will be brought on to help us find a goal. Unless there has been an injury or a sending off, you don't often bring on a central defender.

It appears that it will be.

Both players have started for other Championship sides in the past and would certainly feature for the vast majority of teams in this division. To argue that neither one would even feature for any other side in this division is ridiculous. Or, a team that had several options up front (including one that we also tried to buy last season) decided that the money could be used to strengthen other areas of their squad and that they didn't have the place in their side necessary to develop a younger player. Additionally, I'm not particularly bothered by the fact that Birmingham didn't want to sign him permanently considering the fact that they instead decided to bid significantly more for Dwight Gayle.

Impossible to take that comment seriously.

Johnson headed wide inside a minute when he should have scored. Gallagher headed wide. Johnson took too long. Dack was marginally offside in a situation where he had no need to be. On top of that we put a number of other decent crosses into the box and also had Armstrong's shot from distance that went just wide. Was it fantastic? No. was it as terrible as many are making out? No. More importantly - was it an improvement on last week? Yes.

I don't really care about shots on target when you have several good chances. If we go 5 weeks without taking a chance I will be worried, but we created 4-5 very good chances in that match.

Overall it was a much-improved performance. Fulham are quite possibly the best side in the division and 2-0 flattered them. If we play like that consistently we will finish top half and challenge for the top 6 - especially when/if the fullback play improves. After last week I was deflated. After this week I am cautiously optimistic.

Quality goal from Cairney, but should have done better at closing him done. That being said, they wouldn't go in that often.

For details - Rovers have started well. Pressed Fulham high up the pitch and limited their ability to use the ball when they've had it. Fulham just had two half chances to score, but up until then hadn't really threatened. Rovers have looked good going forward. Done well to get the ball wide and have put some good crosses into the box. Should have have scored right from kick off really, but overall a far better performance against one of the best sides in the division (so far). Even if everything falls apart in the next hour I've seen enough to know that Tosin needs to start every match and that this midfield and attacking setup will trouble sides. Bring in Nyambe and Cunningham and the team could really be good.

Having a central defender with pace...what a luxury.

Looks OK in the end.

Yep, Bennett could be out for a while. So, one way or another the fans are getting what they want.

Maybe he understand that Rovers don't want him showing their hand well before the match? I know it is crazy that supporters don't get ALL of the information that they want EXACTLY when they want it.

Normal to not start a player that's only been with the team for less than 48 hours. Normal to not include a left back on the bench. Like the midfield and attacking selection and if we slot Nyambe, Cunningham, and Lenihan into the back four I would like the team a lot. This was always going to be a difficult match, but if we can at least show a better performance I will have a bit of optimism for when the full side is out there in the coming weeks.

Or the plan is that Tosin and Lenihan are the clear first choice pairing and that we have enough cover in the existing squad. Or we are planning on signing a free agent to add additional cover.

I like them both.

Nooooo....don't use logic and reason. Reliable sources have told me that at around 14h yesterday, Mowbray spun a wheel with every player's name on it and decided to sell/loan out whoever it landed on. He also made no inquiries about players until after lunch yesterday. All in all, it was a productive afternoon.

Overall I think it is a decent window. The only concern is CB really, which puts a lot of pressure on how good Tosin is (then again, if you are highly rated by Guardiola there's no reason why he shouldn't be first choice), and the possibility that we might be able to strengthen with a free agent signing.

No, it doesn't. It may just show that Mowbray realised that Mulgrew put him in an impossible situation. Tough to drop your club captain in a position where he is unlikely to ever be subbed on.

Have you ever considered that either: - We did try for him earlier and things only got moving late in the window. or - Southampton only made him available late in the window.