There's been the odd tried and tested signing like Whittingham and Caddis which didn't really work out, and he's inherited a very experienced group. I suspect the answer is that he is told the way to get cash from the owners is to do so with re-sale value in mind and also the best way to impress the owners and win their 'trust' is to deliver a few massive increases like Dack will be.

I expected much more of this sort of thing with the Venky ownership.

We've been the victims of high points totals the last 2 years. Firstly in going down with 51 points - a very high total - and secondly in securing an unprecedented 96 points and still only finishing 2nd. 9 out of 10 seasons and we'd have survived and won the league title at a canter with those totals. Bolton on the other hand have had the luxury of low requirements - when they went down in 2016 the requirement for survival was a mere 41 points, when they were promoted the following season they only needed 83 points to secure 2nd place above Scunthorpe, and when they survived on the final day last season they did so with only 43 points with Burton and Barnsley going down on 41. Using those two examples we'd be safe already, but again I feel we are going to need more than we've got to secure survival with Rotherham and Reading both picking points up.

Speaking of 'plastic' what is the term for a fanbase that takes almost as many fans to an away game as it does to most home games?

Normally you would expect all their problems with finances to work against them and see the players effectively down tools but as we saw with them last season and the season before when they survived and won promotion that doesn't always seem to be the case. The fact they are still in with a chance at this stage given they've only won something like 2 games in 5 months says it all about this league.

Last time he relied on former owner Eddie Davies to come up with the money to stave off administration. Now he's passed away they're probably out of knights in shining armour coming to the rescue as the next round of bills and wages need paying for.

Some people argue that the poor atmosphere is either a myth or a result of numbers in the ground, but I think it is down to a lack of creativity and ideas by those on matchday. Travelling around the country to various other grounds you see the efforts clubs go to in order to try and generate an atmosphere. The atmosphere and noise levels at Ewood are non-existent. Still, they'll be happy because they'll have 7000 PNE fans filling the coffers for a day. Well worth knocking a few off the home gate.

It comes down to Graham, Dack or Reed for me at this stage, though the latter two have been patchy now for a few months.

That's one way of looking at it. The other is to say they've got a squad and structure they can't afford and never could, and by not paying for it they've equipped themselves unfairly. E.g. Christian Doidge who was 'loaned' with an agreement to buy but it was obvious they could never afford him. If they'd have recruited within budget they'd have a far weaker squad and would likely be relegated already.

Maybe, but do you not think that it is unfair on Reading/Rotherham/Millwall and maybe even us if things carry on at this rate? Most clubs have their houses in order and pay their staff and bills. Why is it fair that Bolton could yet survive and someone else get relegated when everyone else pays their debts and wages and Bolton don't yet keep getting away with it?

They deserve to go down and it would be a travesty if Rotherham or Reading went down at their expense. It must surely be getting to a stage where they can't even complete their fixtures. If you can't pay players or staff, can't run a training ground and can't collect direct debits then the mechanics of hosting league fixtures must be tough.

Gary Bowyer appointed Bradford manager initially until the end of the season with Andy Todd as his assistant. They look like certainties for relegation but I wish him well and hope he pulls off the escape. He's certainly on his way to cementing a reputation as a crisis club firefighter.

The unforced chopping and changing is really starting to get on my nerves. I can only presume the reason Mowbray is so eager to chop and change systems, formations and personnel so frequently is either because he thinks he's being clever, doesn't have a clue what our best is or is trying to keep everyone happy by giving everyone game time and time in different positions. I don't believe for one minute it is doing us any good to keep changing. I'm a firm believer that unless you've an unbelievably strong squad at this level then the way to success is by developing a fit, well drilled first XI with decent back-up to step in when needed, but with a clear idea of your strengths and strongest XI. We keep claiming to be following Sheffield United's blueprint (a hell of a lot to do this summer if we're going to copy them) and yet Sheffield United appear to me to have recruited with a clear system in mind, have a set way of playing and stick to it regardless of the opposition. Sometimes it doesn't work and they get beat but they're doing alright out of it. Actually the majority of sides to get out of this league do so with a clear defined way of playing and keep changes to a minimum. When Burnley did it they never changed their team except on the rare occasions they picked up injuries. It's a confused mess and I don't think the manager or squad are good enough to keep chopping and changing 3 times a game, we just end up disjointed and confused.

Absolutely unforgivable that Mowbray went to Reading and left Dack, Graham and Reed on the bench whilst starting Conway, Smallwood and Brereton. If there were 2 games to go all out to win it was Reading and Rotherham - two weak sides shot at on confidence, two glorious chances to get wins on the board rather than tough fixtures v Middlesbrough and Bristol City. If we'd have won those two but lost all the rest heavily we'd at least be on 50 points and would have kept them at arms length. Our appalling defeats to those sides - let us not forget the embarrassment of those - 1 win since November Reading and no wins in 2019 Rotherham - has meant that not only have we missed good chances to win games - but we've also allowed those clubs to put points on the board and get within a surmountable distance of us with 11 games to go. To turn up at one with that team and to rest Graham/Dack - that is the sort of thing that is leading me to have serious doubts about this manager. Allardyce always knew which games you had to win when struggling. You beat the teams below you and if you are going to prioritize fixtures you prioritize those against weaker sides ahead of those against top 6 sides. We arguably lost the Reading game through arrogantly resting key players.

We said last night that was an excellent example of good game management by Rotherham. They'd been on the rails up to that point, used the 'injury' to stop the game for 4 minutes, took our momentum away and they recovered from that point on to win the game. We don't seem to have that nous of how to cope with pressure and play dirty on occasions to get where we need to be.

There was talk when Coyle got the job that Irvine and Kelly had been consulted on the appointment and the club announced that they would be staying on afterwards. They then conveniently got jobs elsewhere to create vacancies for Coyles pals to fill.

If there's any substance to the multi year build claim that Mowbray keeps pushing then you don't do it by offloading your only decent player. Its one step forward two steps back. We are of course too reliant on Dack to create which causes problems when he's out of form or a marked man. None of our other midfielders have contributed anywhere near a sufficient amount of goals or opportunities.

Yep. Phase one of preparing fans for the departure of the star man is to suggest it may be a sacrifice worth making to generate substantial funds to reinvest (Rhodes and Lambert episode). Phase two is for the 'contract talks' to stall. This will then enable the club to portray Dack as a villain for not signing up to a longer term deal (see the Marshall and Duffy episodes) and to convince fans the problem is the player and he has to go for the good of the club. Phase three is for the player's performances to deteriorate and so convince people that he's no loss if he does go. Phase four is for him to be sold to a Championship rival and for 90% of the cash to disappear into the black hole whilst we moan about a lack of affordable replacements. Seen it all before.

The way it should work is the manager/head coach comes in and appoints his own coaching team. Mowbray didn't do that when he first arrived, and in the 2 years since has only appointed his trusted sidekick Venus to the coaching staff. I have my suspicions that Mowbray was instructed from above to appoint his staff from within the club, which is a recipe for disaster.

Unacceptable. IF the manager told them and they didn't listen then that suggests he has lost the dressing room. The manager is responsible for the team and the results. If the players aren't good enough it is a failure of recruitment, for which the manager is responsible.

I too am getting tired of this 'chance to prove themselves' concept - that we have basically awarded an entire Championship season to a group of players who might not be good enough just to give them a chance to see if they can do it. The club is more important than any player and the manager should be recruiting to put the club in the best position possible, not to allow certain players a chance to prove themselves. Who are these people who Mowbray wanted to give a season to see if they could do it? Mulgrew, Lenihan, Evans, Conway, Graham, Bennett, Williams - all very experienced Championship players who were regulars in our relegation season including under this manager. The only players who are playing regularly for us who haven't done at this level before are Dack and Armstrong and I'd say they are of the least concern at this moment in time as they have shown they are able to do it at this level. Who else? Smallwood had has opportunity in the Championship at yesterdays opposition - Rotherham - who got rid of him despite being one of the worst sides in Championship history. Harrison Reed - clearly good enough for this league in a multitude of positions but it now seems is being ostracized - I suspect because either he's not happy with being shunted out wide every week or because Mowbray knows he won't be here next season. I can't see who else is new to this league who is being afforded time to prove themselves. It's a nonsense. Even if it was true - the manager has blown the 'opportunity' concept out of the water by awarding all the players multi-year contracts BEFORE the season began - which suggests he believed they were good enough before the season began. I'm afraid I don't accept that our defensive woes are simply a result of not having enough players and it will all be solved as soon as we sign a few replacements. I think it is a result of poor coaching and I think whoever we have in the team we will leak goals because of the way we play and the way we set up. We're a confused mess and it certainly doesn't help matters when we're chopping and changing formations, positions and systems 2-3 times a game every game. It confuses me at times what we are doing and playing so i expect the players are probably in a similar position. Awful game management, but this has been the problem now for well over a year and nothing has really changed except it seems confidence has now been shot to pieces. I've no faith whatsoever that the owners will make enough money available to overhaul the squad and bring in the 7+ decent players needed. They'll talk the talk about making money available but it rarely materialises except for vanity projects like a 'star' striker. This run of results is dreadful. Even on the rare occasions we've got into a good position like yesterday at 1-1 or last week at 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to go we've immediately collapsed upon the opposition applying minimal pressure. I don't accept we are safe yet, and I don't accept the next 11 games are irrelevant dead rubbers for the manager to experiment and go through the motions. THESE ARE REAL COMPETITIVE CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES THAT THOUSANDS WILL BE PAYING MONEY TO WATCH AND EVERYONE - INCLUDING THE MANAGER - IS UNDER REVIEW - WE'VE 3 DERBY GAMES AT HOME AND IF WE APPROACH THOSE AS WE HAVE PERFORMED RECENTLY AND THE KNIVES WILL BE OUT. NO MANAGER SHOULD BE IMMUNE FROM THE SACK AND IF THIS RUN CONTINUES THROUGH MARCH AND APRIL THEN THERE SHOULD BE SERIOUS ALARM BELLS RINGING SOMEWHERE. Unfortunately thanks to our mental owners and the structure they have put in place I don't think the manager is really judged on results and so expecting a conventional chain of events to unfold here is unlikely.

Smart recruitment at Leeds over a few seasons. Not a mega budget just sensible investment and exploitation of the European market. Some baffling managerial decisions and instability but get the right one and the results come immediately. Shows 'stability' isn't necessarily all it is cracked up to be.

Big family day out. Will be almost as many as they get at home.

If Stanley are dishing out free tickets to kids in Langho then it makes it even more unacceptable that Rovers aren't tapping into Hyndburn. I could - almost - forgive the neglect of Hyndburn if it was some sort of gentlemanly agreement to avoid other clubs areas (even though its ridiculous) but not if Stanley are doing stuff in Langho. Keep the Bbe upper open permanently and give the tickets away in Hyndburn and South Ribble too!

I heard that they were - from the Stoke game onwards - opening the Bbe Upper for free tickets for schools and clubs. Don't know if its permanent or just for the last few games of the season. I think it's a good idea, fill it up, make the Bbe fill up a bit.