1 hour ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Not a chance, ask Andy Cole.

That story (obviously assuming it's true) paints him in worse light than anything he's done at Rovers in my view. 

There are plenty on here who don't even consider David Dunn (or any post-95 player other than Tugay) to be in the legend category, so putting Mowbray in that group is clearly a bit silly. 

That said, for his faults, he's never been remotely as bad as some have made out. There are obviously better managers out there, but I look around at the other clubs in the league and think how many of their managers are obvious upgrades on Mowbray? Perhaps a handful at most in my view, arguably fewer. Ironically there would've been a few more a month or so ago, but this seems like the season where the managers with the most impressive Championship CVs all want to blot their copy book at the same time. 

I think this mainly goes to show that there is no guarantee for success at this level, and so much of it is about getting the right man at the right time. I thought at the back end of last season that Mowbray's time was up, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see how he's building up some more credit in the bank this time out. Still very premature to discuss him staying on after this year, but if he were to leave with us finishing just outside the play offs, I think eventually both Mowbray & his time here would be remembered pretty fondly. 

1 minute ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, agreed. Johsnson could play there, but he had a stroll in the park against Peterborough , so its not a barometer 

Agree, I wouldn't especially mind Johnson there if we're playing at home or against a team we should dominate - if we're playing three at the back then you need someone there who can play a bit as well as defend. 

I worry about Steven Fletcher though. With some pace around him too it's definitely a tougher prospect than it was against Peterborough. 

4 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Team for me (lets matchup 3 at the back) : 

  -------------Kaminski

-----Lenihan---Johnson----Wharton

Nyambe----Travis----Rothwell-----Pickering

-----------------Buckley

-----------Dolan--------BBD

Wrote it out and it's the same team that finished against Peterborough. 

A fully fit Ayala and JRC in that team would be very formidable I think. JRC has got his detractors but his delivery is excellent and he has a great engine to get up and down the right when he's not injured. Having someone who can cross in that role will make a big difference. Ayala is one of the best defenders in the Championship of the last 10 years.

 

As much as he let everyone down vs Fulham, I liked what I saw in Van Hecke until that point, so I'd have him there in front of Johnson. Other than that, that's the team I'd go for with Khadra to come on from the bench. 

13 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

If you think it's bad here, have a read of this. Waterford sacked their manager,because according to him, he wouldn't play the chairmans son. The manager used to play for QPR, Mark Bircham. This club is a basket case. I think they sack managers more than Watford. 

https://www.otbsports.com/sport/bircham-refusal-to-play-owners-son-led-to-sack-at-waterford-1282162?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2-gsMYyWDKxVxFOV7KSoX8MGEfAPIW_XG3fIW9-BN7Gcvg9w0PbicIqSg#Echobox=1637868683-2

A player who was inexplicably considered an absolute worldbeater on Championship Manager 01-02 is I remember correctly!

7 minutes ago, 47er said:

I do assume money is the issue and the club can't or won't offer the going rate. I've no proof of course before anyone asks.

Going off what Mowbray's said in the press about our and the their agents valuations being apart, I'd guess that's the main issue for at least one or two. I'd guess for the likes of Brereton (and by the sounds of things, Lenihan) it may more be about career progression, but then again I suppose pay and playing at a higher level are pretty closely linked. 

5 minutes ago, PotterLog said:

That’s about the size of it.. Allen suspended, Powell injured, don’t think Thompson or Clucas will be fit. Our wing back Tymon may have to fill in, which he’s done before to reasonably good effect to be fair. Crossing fingers but if you’ve got any steel and guile in there you’ll play through us piss easy.

We have both when it suits us, but as you might have already gathered, we don't show it every week!

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Oh I agree, be it attitude, a bit of nous, it’s that little 1% that separates a huge chunk of similarly talented players, some reach the PL, some get to 27 and have never been higher than mid table in the second division. 

Can't remember who it was, but I'm sure somebody on here a while back posted that we as fans never give the ability to be consistent enough credit as a talent in its own right. Definitely applies to conversations about Rothwell.

10 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Didn't realise they were missing a few. Huge if we can get a win here mentally 

Neither did I, but I had a quick scan on their forum and they're really struggling in midfield. They have Vrancic and Sawyers, so they have decent quality there, but you wouldn't describe either of them as ball winners. After that it seems as though they have literally nobody. Didn't realise how unpopular Joe Allen is over there, but there are plenty saying that he'll be missed just as someone to fill a shirt.

Having said all that they were still bang unlucky not to get something from Bristol City away, so they've obviously still got the players to be dangerous, but if I were Rothwell I'd be licking my lips at this game. 

1 hour ago, Ulrich said:

Why does everyone automatically assume money is the issue? Whilst most football players are money grabbers, they are also people.
Nyambe and Rothwell have both been treated poorly at times, being dropped etc. Perhaps they want to go elsewhere because of the way they perceive thay have been handled by management. Emotional beasts would be an apt way to describe a large number of players these days.

Agree completely that other issues will also be a part of the equation. Having said that I would be absolutely astonished if either of those players leave because they think they've been treated poorly at Rovers. Both start the overwhelming majority of games, and have done for ages. Granted it took Rothwell a bit of time to get to that point, but it would be very strange if he didn't sign a contract for a lack of game time two years ago. Similarly with Nyambe, over the last four years or so the only games that he missed when fit were a handful when Bennett played there a couple of seasons back, and a handful where JRC started when we wanted a more attacking right back. 

There might be other things behind the scenes of course - but I really don't think either have been treated especially badly. 

4 hours ago, Miker said:

The question is how much extra are these players actually looking for? Some may be asking for £1mil+/year extra, in which case can we afford that in our wage budget?

Our wage to turnover ratio was 189% a couple seasons ago, I don’t know what it is now but adding several million to wages wouldn’t help keep things under control.

Yes, I think it's really difficult to say the manger/club should be doing this or that on Player X without knowing more about the player's demands. Maybe Rothwell always planned on doing at Rovers what he did at Oxford and moving on a bosman for better terms? Maybe he'll still end up signing back on?

The fact that this has happened to so many players over the last year or two means that it's fair to say the club are doing a poor job of protecting our assets, but it's hard to be more specific than that on individual cases, and to be fair to the club we've got evidence all around us that FFP is regrettably something that we need to be very conscious of. 

Ordinarily I'd see an away point here as a very good one, but it seems as though it's a very good time to play the Potters with their absentees. 

Big opportunity of our midfield three of Travis, Rothwell and Buckley to dominate the game with their lack of a proper holding midfielder. Powell missing is a bonus too.

Going for an optimistic 1-3 Rovers. 

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Speaking of Freeman is he doing anything these days ? I never hear him mentioned. Did we dodge a bullet ?

Went to Sheffield United in the Prem and barely played. Hard to tell if that's his fault or theirs. At Forest this season on loan but I haven't really noticed his form to be honest.

1 hour ago, Blue blood said:

Tin hat on but I am not sure where Dack fits in either of our formations. Last night would he have been one of the 2 up front. And in the 4-3-3 would he be a false 9 and would that work? Bit of a concern as to where he fits, talented though he is. Bit like the Ronaldo United situation on a lesser scale imo. 

I guess yesterday he could've been in the Buckley position, but I agree that we're asking him to play a different role than the one he previously thrived in. 

I'm fairly relaxed about him for this season, purely because I think we'll mainly be relying upon him for a goal off the bench to begin with. Beyond that (assuming he can get himself fit and firing) it'll be a bigger question.

16 minutes ago, Wood26 said:

With Dack, Gallagher and JRC to come back I don’t think we need to add to the squad in January, unless it’s a opportunity for the future or replace an out going player.

Agree that there's not an obvious hole that needs filling. Any decent form from Dack will be a huge bonus though, one which we can't really rely upon.

That said, with Poveda's injury I'd say we're arguably an attacking option short, and seeing as we were looking for one on deadline day I'd hope that's a position we're looking at in January.

4 minutes ago, J*B said:

Ratings are up on the homepage - https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/football/match/717019/blackburn-peterborough

I’ve gone with high scores for Nyambe, Wharton, Rothwell and Brereton.

Given the kicking that he got for his performance vs Bristol, good to see Nyambe looking much better today. 

I didn't really get the sense that any of the chances we conceded were down to the defence, rather we lost the ball further up the pitch and they broke on us a bit too easily. 

I think we were more than slightly fortunate to keep a clean sheet, but we spanked them 4-0 in second gear so it'd be churlish to dwell too much on that.

Wharton, Pickering, Lenihan and Rothwell all excellent. Kick on against Stoke at the weekend and we could finish the day in level third!

Will be interesting to see if Pickering looks more dangerous as a wing back than he has done so far with four at the back.

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i feel sorry for davenport,gets dropped for no reason

Feel for him too. Hasn't always really taken his chance when in the team, but he was good at Sheffield United. 

10 minutes ago, BigBar said:

I want to see Rothwell back in the side tonight..we need the creativity and ability to unlock a defence.

Me too - and I'd be amazed if be doesn't. Ideally I'd like to see him alongside Davenport, who I still think we could see plenty from if he gets a decent run. 

1 hour ago, superniko said:

Looking at our remaining fixtures this calendar year, I'd be extremely disappointed if we're not sat in the Top 6 on New Years Day:

Peterborough (H) - 22nd in the league

Stoke (A) - 4th in the league

Preston (H) - 16th in the league

Bournemouth (A) - 2nd in the league

Birmingham (H) - 15th in the league

Hull (A) - 21st in the league

Barnsley (H) - 23rd in the league

7 games left before New Year and we play 3 of the bottom 4 (3 worst teams in the division excluding Derbys point deduction) and only 2 teams ahead of us. We will be favourites in 5 of those 7 matches and need to show it.

A minimum of 13 points hopefully, and that should set the 2nd half of the season up nicely!

 

However, I do recall a similar feeling last Xmas though when we only got 1 point from Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield and Birmingham (all below us), and worse still, the Christmas before, we were 1 point outside the playoffs and had the ticket offer on the Wigan game, Dack picked up his injury and we subsequently picked up 2 points from Wigan (H), Birmingham (H), Huddersfield (A) and Forest (A) and in the space of 8 days we went from 8th to 13th in the league.....so I'm not holding on to too much hope!

We've been here before, like you say, but we should be looking at those home fixtures (with Hull away included) and really be licking our lips. A real opportunity to plant ourselves in the top six and put some distance between us and the rest of the chasing pack.

Whether we will actually manage this however...

2 hours ago, frosty said:

So this is the first Championship game against Peterborough since one of many low points we've had since our PL relegation, the home defeat against them in 12/13. 0-3 down at HT and a good few chancers wearing the shirt - thankfully the odious Orr and Murphy were hauled off at half time and, if I remember correctly, neither were seen again thank god.

2-0 Rovers after being 0-0 at HT.

Some pretty undiplomatic language from Appleton at the end of that game as I recall! Without naming names, basically said that a handful of players weren't bothered and had downed tools. 

I'm not arguing that he would've been a success (that Millwall quarter final is still etched in my memory!) but an interesting bit of alternative history over our recent past would've been to see what Appleton could've done with the opportunity to rebuild that Bowyer was ultimately given. 

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

I think saying Duffy played a certain way under Hughton does him a disservice. He is starting this season under Potter who really tries to play football . He has actually surprised me this season 

I'll give you that - I wasn't especially looking to have a go at Duffy as the player he is now, but in his first prem season he still struck me as an excellent ball winner, but one who was clumsy on the ball and lacked a bit of game awareness like he was here. I think Brighton's system as it was then did a good job of making the most of his strengths whilst not exposing his weaknesses too much, and I can see Lenihan doing okay at that level in a similar system. 

2 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I agree, who could you see him playing for in the current PL ? The only way I can see him moving to a PL team would be if he was prepared to be second fiddle most of the time. Like Kipre probably was last season at West Brom

I can see him doing okay (wouldn't put it any stronger than that) at a team like the Dingles, who defend pretty deep and make sure their full backs and midfield are protecting the centre halves pretty much at all times. I think if Duffy (admittedly a different type of defender) can succeed when he played in that sort of system under Hughton, Lenihan could cope too. 

Thing is though there aren't many teams who play in that sort of style in the prem at present, and those that do still tend to have better defenders than Lenihan on their books. As much as he's vital to Rovers, I really can't see him getting a chance at that level. 

1 hour ago, longsiders1882 said:

Sadly for you that isn't how it finished - it was also a great game, Palace have an excellent attack, luck for us they can't defend quite as well. Still bottom three though and a few results really didn't go how we would hope (Norwich, Watford, Villa) and we have what I'd imagine will be a rejuvinated Spurs up next Sunday. The relegation battle continues - as it likely will most of the season.

Curious to know what your expectations are this year in terms of beating the drop? Sounds like a couple of pretty good performances in the last handful of games, and a point away at Chelsea which showed the signs of a team ready to beat the drop. At the same time, still in the bottom three, smallish squad, vultures circling over a couple of key players and you'd expect a couple of the teams down there with you to improve over the season (Newcastle at least will spend a few quid). My money would be on Dyche just seeing you over the line, but not as confident as I would've been in previous years.