Gueye was clearly man of the match, but when he's breaking he's so slow with the ball at his feet he's always just going to turn back at some point. To be effective he needs someone running off him and past him. Sammy would have been perfect. The problem is we now have Cantwell in that second-striker role and he too is fairly slow and has little interest in getting past Gueye. I defended Cantwell a bit on here before yesterday's game by saying he was OK but nothing special and that he gets criticism because people expect more because of his rep. But yesterday he was awful and got worse the deeper he was played. You can't be the most defensive midfielder and then be falling over trying to win free kicks when you get tackled. I thought first half we were the better side but as ever lacked a cutting edge. They only ever looked dangerous from crowding the keeper on corners and so it proved. Then at the start of the second half Cantwell, Buckley and Forshaw all decide not to lose down a man who advances about 30 yards which leads to the practically game over. Due to the inadequacies of the squad, any changes to personnel or shape just made us worse. There was to be no Alamo to the Blackburn End. We will wait and see how bad the additional injuries are, but Bristol City feels like a nailed on defeat.

They Waltzed right through the midfield there

Well that sums up the Forshaw move. Injuries, lost Baker and we’ve brought in a 5th choice midfielder.

Never overestimate Fat Frank.

I’m not sure. I think he’s a decent player in our team but his reputation has him being overrated. He hasn’t got the midfielders eye for goal that Dack had, he hasn’t got Berkovic’s vision and he hasn’t got Dunnys ability to go past a man - all players from past Rovers promotion sides. In the context of our starting 11 he’s good, but it’s not like he’s on a different planet to the rest. Not like Wharton was. Problem is i think that is what some people expected when he arrived hence the harsh criticism.

I don't know why but I have a feeling we will win this. Coventry will come and be quite cautious so the midfield won't get exposed too badly. Away at Bristol City on a big pitch on Saturday will be a very different story.

Getting difficult now. I think we will go Pears Brittain Hyam. Batth. Beck Toth Hilton ACD. Cantwell. Hedges Gueye

We've lacked firepower and attacking threat all season but a solid defence and central midfield have been the foundation to our success so far. We shot up the league courtesy of 6 wins on the bounce, with 4 of them being 1-0 where we proved difficult to break down and then pinched a goal. The problem being we now have both central midfielders out injured and our third choice has been recalled by Stoke, meaning we are relying on players who have always been deemed not good enough, or Adam Forshaw who has arrived on a free transfer after failing to get in Plymouth's team ! Our problems up front are made worse by the loss of Ohashi, who may just be industrious yet limited, but was our top scorer when he got injured and the best option we had. Throw in another key injury in Harry Pickering, and then notice we are playing our 34 year old free transfer Danny Batth 90 minutes of every game since October, and you are getting the picture. We've still been good enough recently to be competitive, but losing Tronstadt on Saturday means we are crying out for re-inforcements which will not arrive till the very end of the transfer window (if we can find the send button). However, as @ben_the_beast says above, the defence is still difficult to break down so there's always the chance of us nicking something. There's a slight chance Lewis Travis may be back which would be a big help.

Not great by Beck turning his back on the ball there.

That would be more crazy. It’s a long while since I’ve seen anyone get turned so easily in the middle of the park.

Maybe Oxford put a bid in for it?

We had Tronstadt yesterday. Be interesting to see if he’s on the bench Tuesday.

Pears Brittain. Hyam. Batth. Beck ACD. JRC Buckley Hedges Weimann Gueye

Radio Lancashire obviously didn’t tell him how bad he was in that second half.

If Pickering was fit, Beck in midfield would be an option like we did with Warnock years ago. Alas, the squad is that piss weak we haven’t got another left back.