That has to be a wind up. Rovers messed him around 2 years ago and cost him all sorts. He'll not come to Ewood.

It was a poor performance, but the only goal came from a thunderbolt free kick that no keeper would have saved. The result was the right one but another day a draw could have been salvaged. The commentator I had noted that Oxford have had a lot of injuries, but they are now all back fit and their results are showing it. Bringing on Dolan and Hedges isn't going to change a game. I liked the look of ACD when he played a few weeks ago. He was the poorest of the bunch yesterday. Even after such a day Rovers are still 5th as is the nature of the Championship. Nothing has changed, Rovers need to sign a striker and inject some pace into the team.

It's a shame that the promoted teams aren't in the same class as the Rovers, Fulham, Bolton triumvirate of 2001. If they were "heavyweights" Everton, Man U, and Spurs really would be looking over their shoulders. I saw bits of their games this week and all three of them look terrible. Man U were dogged against Arsenal but if not for a lucky bounce that led to the first goal they may have lost to rock bottom Southampton. Everton can't score, and Spurs look knackered.

Usually 1 team runs away with top spot, that's not the case this season but I do agree with @Bbrovers2288 that there are only 2 playoff spots up for grabs. A win against either Hull or Millwall would have given Rovers a nice buffer, alas it wasn't to be. January's remaining fixtures all look winnable but Bristol City away last year was a nightmare, and Rovers never seem to be able to beat PNE. I really do hope that Eustace is allowed to bring in a decent player or two.

The BBC posted this article which gives a decent overview of how sides think about replays; BBC: scrap FA Cup replays? The FA Cup seems to me that it still favours match going fans (kick off times aside) due to the knockout format and the chance to play a team who fans may not usually see often, if at all. That needs to be curated. The big boys notably want "less games", whilst lower league teams need the revenue. Not too long ago if a lower league team got a top tier side at home they'd ask to switch grounds so that they'd get the larger gate receipt revenue. Why did that stop? Replays aren't coming back so I'd propose scrapping extra time too. My other idea is that the 3rd round (at least) be seeded with the lower seed given the home tie (or option to?), potentially increasing the chances for a cup upset. The draw would still happen as it does now but the first ball out isn't necessarily the home team. So, if the draw was Wolves first then Rovers, Rovers would automatically get the home game as they are the lower team.

The signs have been there for years. Ultimately, the combination of poor owners and the impossible task of replacing Alex Ferguson has caused their current mess. The players haven't given up, they aren't good enough and as most of them were signed seemingly without any thought toward a defined style of play the current hodgepodge look lost. ten Hag did his best work when he played counter attacking football so signed players who fit that style. However, he didn't look like he was confident enough in his convictions to stick with it due to it not being "the Manchester United Way". Amorim is the opposite. He likes 3-4-3 and is sticking to it. Fair play to him for that stance, but he doesn't have the players to do it so unless he gets 3 or 4 transfer windows to completely change personnel he will struggle. I'd laugh for a week if they went down but I don't think it will happen. Thanks to Southampton's Russell Martin experiment they are going back down. Leicester look doomed as well leaving 1 spot left. Are Man U worse than Wolves, Ipswich, or Everton? They are 1 point below West Ham though, who look awful every time I see them.

A point was a fair result. Leeds had possession but no chances. Rovers had neither but throttled Leeds. The first half was a neutral affair. I think that Pears touched it more than any other Rovers player but he either booted it out of play or tried to find Ohashi who was beaten every time by their 6'4" central defenders. Rovers had moments in the second half but only a fine save from Pears at the end kept the point. It was glaring to me that signings are needed as the squad is a bit threadbare. Rovers are still top 6, and 2 draws against teams higher in the table are creditable results but it's now 4 games without a win. As others have said a win on Saturday would do all sorts of good.

The BBC put together a puff piece for Rooney yesterday; BBC: Hard luck Rooney He needs to hang up professional management and instead run a team in the Cheshire league so he can golf and go out whenever he likes.

I watched the first 25 minutes of Man U-Newcastle yesterday. Zirkzee and Hojlund are the pick of really bad players in a team of really bad players, and that is saying something when Eriksen and Casemiro, both way past their prime, started in central midfield. It will never not be good to see though. Man U and their fans lorded it over the football world for 20+ years. Adding in the easily unlikable Ratcliffe makes their demise and utter shambles funnier to see. It's Liverpool away for them next. ten Hag managed to bag a couple of boreless draws against them when the going got tough for him. I can't see Amorim being able to do the same, especially if he keeps to his stated 3-4-3 formation. Liverpool's fans will expect their team to put Man U to the sword, and the way they are currently playing they should run riot.

I watched that game and agree with your assessment. Liverpool couldn't get into Forest's 18 yard box, then Hudson-Odoi came on and caused havoc. Murilllo and the Serbian (I think?) at the back are being linked with all the big clubs. I've not seem that much of Forest but they have an ability to get Gibbs-White on the ball a lot. He has surprised me. He never shirks in receiving the ball and keeps motoring.

Liverpool scored 6 and missed a good few more. If they'd have finished with 8 or 9 I wouldn't have been surprised. As a non-Spurs fan keep Ange in the job. They are always worth watching. Spurs being "underachievers" is not true. They have been the same team in all my years of watching football. One any given day they can beat anyone, yet on any given day they can get beat off anyone. Man U are the gift that keeps on giving. They are woeful, and their current ownership face is a billionaire asset stripper who is spinning a yarn that he rode in on his white horse to return his hometown team to glory. A pal of mine told me an unsubstantiated claim that rather than Ratcliffe wanting to buy the club outright the Glazers let him in to do what made him his money; namely making the operation as lean as possible so they can get maximum value when they sell in a couple of years. Even if Amorim turns out to be a Klopp/Guardiola amalgamation he'll need years and a complete squad clean out to be successful. Grealish was an almost ever present in City's triple winning season. Guardiola seemingly decides on a whim who he likes and doesn't, and if a player is not on his list there is nothing they can do to get back in favour. Grealish is currently there. I do agree that his game has been stifled by Guardiola. Although he now has the trophies and bank balance that he wouldn't have had if he'd have stayed at Villa.

In another era I'd agree with you, but the game is now different. It's no orthodoxy to have wide forwards play on the opposite flank. I don't think Salah would have scored anywhere near the goals he has if he played on the left. As to Tronstad. He's been outstanding. Teams never get the jump on Rovers because he is always where he needs to be.

Today's result won't help O'Neill. Losing the game off a last minute corner to a fellow struggler. I heard yesterday that Lemina was stripped of the captaincy after the West Ham game for trying to fight his own team's assistant manager. After today's game Ait-Nouri had to be restrained from going after Ipswich players. All is not good it seems.

Rovers were much better than Luton today. The second goal before half time was crucial, and once the Luton lad was sent off it was game over. 2 more assists for Gueye. How did he miss that chance? ACD should play every week. He's better than Hedges and Dolan. Eustace is doing a good job, Venkys need to sign him some players in January to build on the good start. Nobody on here has any faith that they will though, which is a complete shame.

I'm happy with that. Qualification is a must for me. I plan on going to as many games as financially possible in 2026. How would it work? I agree that Andorra, San Marino and others should have more to do to get into a "final" qualification group.