We can't just have Travis and Buckley getting overrun each week. Need another body in there. And Buckley excels in dropping back and nicking the ball. When we moved to 4231 against Sheff Utd at half time and put Buckley at 10 we improved a lot.

Could be starting Saturday.... think he could play number 9

Reckon probably we go 4231 with Buckley in the 10 and with Travis alongside one of Wharton / Garrett / Morton. Then ask Buckley to drop in and help out so we don't get outnumbered like Reading and Sheff Utd.

I really didn't expect it. Thought it would be an aerial physical game and we'd lose pretty comfortably. Dack is literally the only established played out there. Really pleased we are doing so well, though it does seem that weirdly Bradford haven't been bombing it at our makeshift centrebacks.

I'm thinking it's pretty certain one of Morton, Garrett or Wharton are going to get a start alongside Buckley and Travis on Saturday I also wonder if JDT will also have a think about starting Morton at the back alongside Ayala if Phillips isn't totally fit.

Are you at the game?

I'm a bit worried about the Mercer family Christmas

TBH sounds like we are doing a bit better than I expected. Good going forward, terrible defending. But we seem to be making more of the chances. Sounds like a fun game.

Sounds like we're totally in charge

I was "abroad"

Is this on iFollow? Match Centre suggests it is (can see the "watch live" button) but I'm not sure?

Yeah, have to agree. Not sure we would have ever had a shorter and lighter front four? Or actually entire side? Things I will be looking out for.... 1) Is Annesley bad as everyone says, 2) can Dack show he can press his way into the first team, 3) how do Morton and Wharton do - probably we need to get one of them into the first team to shore up midfield, so that's an interesting battle. 4) Szmodics, Vale and Dolan have struggled in the first team - can Markanday show he's the guy who can do the "short, tenacious, quick" role with much needed added quality and goal threat. Can't believe we have no centrebacks, and no back up for Travis, yet we have Sammie, Dack, Dolan, Markanday and Vale all vying for the number 10 shirt (and none of them being that convincing in it). Totally mad.

Yes - just to support JDT as much as anything else. It's not fair leaving him hanging out to dry. To be fair to Gregg I wouldn't be suprised if he's finding players and then they don't get signed off by Venkys... But he needs to give an update.

Really agree with this... we have so many number 10s. Why did we sign someone who may be a decent prospect, or someone we can develop, but we have already at least three other players in the same bracket (Buckley, Dolan, Markanday) as well as an experienced proven player (Dack).

Ah forgot he played! Shame on me

Yeah as soon as he started playing first team games we were really in the driving seat on keeping him. No one with a brain (as he obviously has) leaves first team football to play reserve football, especially when the level of reserve football Spurs play is the same as Rovers (PL2 Div1). Even if we sign 2 CBs he is going to get a fair amount of game time over the season.

Oof. If we manage to win with that team we will be doing very well! There's a lot of "that's the worst defence I've seen in 60 years of watching Rovers" hyperbole that crops up on here. But...... surely that actually is the worst? Keeper who was utterly humilated last time he played for us, JRC who has always struggled at RB, Pratt's never played at CB, Pickering makeshift CB, Batty with one start.... I'd probably not play Vale and put Dack up top. And at least one of Gallagher or BBD needs to play so we have some physicality. And I think we need to commit more players in midfield. Something like : Kaminski JRC Pratt Pickering Edun Morton Garrett Wharton Gallagher Dack Dolan Really feels like this will be a loss. Put Wharton and Ayala in and we'd probably win, but we can't risk them, and there is nothing else.

In all the time I've followed Rovers I don't think weve ever managed to sign more than two or three players in a week.

Yeah we did but Buckley frequently dropped in to help Edun and Travis so really it was more of a three.

If you think back to last season we had Travis, Rothwell and Buckley working as a trio, all working hard in central areas. Buckley would drop back from false 9 and Travis and Rothwell covering a lot of ground centrally. We've lost Rothwell and we have dropped Buckley alongside Travis and given the other role to Sammie or Hedges who play a lot further up than Buckley did. What's happening is Buckley and Travis are spread very thin while we are overloaded up top and we really struggle to get hold of the ball. When we changed at half time against Sheff Utd to have Buckley, Trav and Edun in the middle three it was a big improvement, but I do think Rothwells ability to cover ground is sorely missed. My diagnosis is we need to get additional help in the middle who can cover the ground like Rothwell did Morton, Garrett, Wharton, Edun whoever. I do think that group though may just not be physical enough. But if we give Buckley the right support we will see him back to his best.

I don't disagree I'm just saying I want to see a reaction. We've switched from having Mowbray as the head honcho to having JDT and Broughton and to a lesser extent Remi as a package. They as a collective need to show they've got the nous. Looking at the fixture list over the next 15 games till Burnley they've got to show they can win ugly against physical experienced teams. Part of that is players, but also under resourced teams need to be well setup to grind our results with what they have. They collectively need to show that.

While today and Reading were absolutely terrible I'm at the stage that JDT is still figuring things out. His managing experience is at the most resourced team (Malmo) in the league he worked in. He's not really got the experience of handling better resourced teams. On top of that he had an incredible set of results first three games so carrying on in the same- maybe naive - vein is forgivable. That said we've had our wakeup call now, so I'm hoping to see from him, Greg and Remy a bit of a plan on how to make us competitive in games where we can't play the way that suits us. We can't just give it a go like today.

Yes to be brutal should have been a few more. Same at Reading..... Some of thats the players we have out but tactically I'm a bit worried.

While I don't think realistically we are at threat of relegation (assuming we sign a couple of players and keep/replace BBD) we are looking very mid table. A big miss I think is Rothwell, and not just for his running from deep. He also covered a lot of ground and became quite effective defensively last season. Our midfielders struggle to cover enough ground. Also I hate writing players off but I just don't see what Sammie gives us that Dolan didn't already.

Yeah, I think it will be 343 but wouldn't be that shocked if it's 4231 with Edun alongside Travis and Buckley playing 10, or 433 with Edun on the left of a three in mid.