riverholmes

Strikes me as mostly a PR exercise, possibly, for the consumption of fans and for the owners. Hopefully, other defenders step up and Phillips can be 'forgotten' as he quietly learn his trade in the U23s. We need to be focusing on developing our U23 crop, either for first team duty or for potential transfer fees, not hyping a 16 year old centre back.

I feel that players like Pears, Magloire and Davenport desperately need games with the U23s, rather than going away to training camps or get togethers with the first team squad, if that's where they are. They're fringe players that will, most likely, not play much but if and when they're called upon, it would help to have some confidence and game time to rely on, albeit, at U23 level. Edit: Just seen Roversfan99's post below, which explains why they didn't feature in the U23s. Burns, McBride and Cirino, who did play for the U23s, must be disappointed that they didn't get selected for that reserve team friendly. I just hope that the decision not to send them on loan doesn't damage their confidence and development.

We paid quite big for a second full back (albeit, one who can supposedly play in midfield) but failed to bolster central midfield with a physically dominant player. I see this as a bigger failure than not signing a striker, given that Gallagher and Brereton would be, I believe, adequate strikers, if actually played centrally and supported. Our current midfield is physically diminutive and weak and the more physical players of them, Travis and Johnson, certainly needed support given their injury, form and disciplinary records. However, the biggest worry should be that Kaminski, Nyambe, Rothwell, Brereton, Lenihan and others are running down their contracts. If the club can't sign them on, at least one or two should have been sold this transfer window, as their values will diminish rapidly. We may have missed our chance to cash in on a player like Rothwell who could have been replaced with a signing. I also share the concern that no U23 player was given a loan opportunity - assuming that there would've been interest. I suspect, the problem is that Mowbray doesn't have a clear idea of his team or pecking order and has therefore gone for safety first of keeping them all.

Chapman has gone on loan to Burton until January. I suppose, but for a desperate injury or relegation situation where Rovers need to overhaul the team or, perhaps, the advent of a new manager, mid-season, we have seen the last of him. If he does well, Burton or another club will extend it until the end of the season when his contract ends. It is hard to make sense of why Mowbray chose to exercise the one year extension in Chapman's deal. He obviously doesn't rate him much, given that he's preferring 19/20 year old Premier League loans and, there seems minimal chance of recouping any sort of transfer fee. He'll walk on a free next year, with Rovers having expended on more wages and other fees. If he's exceptional for a few months, there's, I suppose, a small possibility of a January transfer fee but that seems a remote possibility. Chapman's injury record isn't great and he was inconsistent, even during a really good loan spell, overall, at Shrewsbury where he scored 7 in 23, playing in a No.10 role and scoring some spectacular efforts. However, it looked as if Mowbray was prepared to give him a final chance at the club, invested in the contract extension, giving Chapman a chance to make some promising sub appearances as a winger and suddenly, he's out the door. Edit: A great signing for Burton, if he stays fit. With Lenihan, Carter and now Chapman, they pick well from Rovers for loan signings.

The signing of two short but tricky wingers, in Poveda and Khadra, to add to Dolan and Chapman, surely, must mean that Mowbray plans to play with wingers (or a winger) in a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 or, even, 4-4-2. If we continue to see Brereton and Gallagher on the flanks, the signings will make no sense. If this is not the end to the protracted striker-out-wide experiment, I'm not sure there's the slightest of hopes for Rovers with Mowbray.

According to Imps fans on a messageboard, Tayo Edun is in the last year of his contract at Lincoln City and is one of their better players. Apparently, he's an attack minded left back whose weakness is the defensive side of his game - though, it has improved. I'm surprised about this signing to spend this much money on two left backs, if it goes through. It reminds me of us spending money on goalies, Pears and Stergiakis, whilst bringing in loans and veteran freebies for more crucial areas. Sure, we need another left back, but the allocation of resources doesn't seem proportionate to the need - unless Mowbray is acknowledging that Pickering isn't performing to what he wants.

You need a capable back-up for every position if you have any aspirations. Whilst, I don't advocate bringing in a specialist LB just as a back-up, it would have made sense to sign a left footed centre back on loan, who can also deputise at LB. Alternately, if Cirino is being prepared for the role, then he should be on the bench and getting sub opportunities to ready him. If Pickering was injured against Boro, we may have had Magloire at left back.

Sorry, I forgot Pickering completely, so, yes, we brought one in. However, we let go Bell, Douglas and Thompson. In the reserve game last week, there was no left footed defender available for full back, as Annesley was on international duty and Cirino not playing, so Pike was at left back. Unless the new Brighton defender can play LB, it looks like JRC or Cirino might be the back up left back. I wouldn't be against Cirino being back up but don't see JRC as an effective LB. It's just an example of the lack of coherence and longer-term planning and not the most significant. It's visible everywhere - the situation with Harry Chapman is another case. We saw it last year, too, when players that had no future at the club were sitting on the bench and getting meaningless cameo appearances.

If Rovers sign a forward, it's more likely Gallagher will return to the wing. It might be better to hope we don't sign one. Either way, I have lost interest in new signings given that they'll be thrown unto our shapeless and inconsistent bag of spuds team line-ups. Which, itself, is part of an ad hoc club strategy that involves reacting rather than planning. Rovers let go three LBs in the summer and none brought in - unless the Brighton defender can play there. Even Elliot, despite his assists and goals, struggled to lift the team out of the mire. That said, I'm hopeful about the Brighton defender. It's not much to go on but that club seem to be associated with good CBs. (Well, they seem to do ok when at Brighton.)

Comfortable wins, mostly, for Premiership sides in the League Cup. West Brom one of teams to "throw" their game by playing a weakened side against Arsenal. The gap between the top and the rest seems greater than ever.

Mowbray speaking before the WBA game: “If we lose a [Sam] Gallagher or a [Ben] Brereton Diaz, we’ll be playing the [Jack] Vales and the [Connor] McBrides. Whilst it might be an opportunity for young kids, it’s not ideal for winning games in the Championship." Mowbray fails to acknowledge that he has been playing a 19 year old midfielder as his centre forward nor mentions Harry Chapman, who has signed up on a one year extension, possibly on higher wages, off the back of a promising loan spell in League 1 and is due to leave on a free next year. Most importantly for me, is that he dismisses Connor McBride in the same breath as Jack Vale. McBride finished third top scorer in the Premier League U23 league last year, behind Liam Delap and Cole Palmer who are both involved in Man City's squad this year. Palmer came off the bench against Norwich at the weekend and Guardiola has recently stated that striker Delap will remain with the squad and not go on loan this season. McBride's tally was aided by six penalties, admittedly, but he was also playing in a Rovers side that was effective but overall, was not technically as good as other sides who are predominantly Premier League outfits. Moreover, he would often play in a wide or deeper role. This is not to say that McBride should walk into the team, nor that he wouldn't benefit from a loan spell. However, I wonder if Mowbray will waste and damage young talent that this club financially cannot afford. When Chapman, Brereton, Rothwell, Nyambe et al leave on free transfers in summer 2022, in the worst case but plausible scenario, or, perhaps, leave on reduced transfer fees, in January, and we're still a bottom half/quarter Championship club, we will likely need players like McBride, in some capacity, and with some experience gained from matches.

I'm really fearing for the team this season, after three games in which we've conceded so many chances and, in two of those games, been dominated. We have some capable individuals that might ensure we stay up but I see us finishing lower than 15th this year. The formation being used by the management is irrational and self-defeating. That would be bad enough but to add to that, there is also a lack of defensive desire and discipline in the team. Consider the Rovers player that attempted to block the volleyed first West Brom goal. I think it may have been Rothwell but I'm not sure. The player appears to shrink in fear even before getting into a position where he might block the shot. It's something that would barely be acceptable in playground football. I don't see the loan additions strengthening us. I see them as adding greater confusion to Mowbray's thinking and leading to more alterations to the line-up, reducing continuity and organisation yet further. A case in point is that, regardless of the fact Clarkson did quite well, Harry Chapman has been looking exceptionally motivated and also on form in substitute appearances. If Dolan was dropped, he had to start. From memory, we tend to struggle against Boro and Luton and I think we'll get a maximum of 1 point from those two and we'll soon find ourselves in a more realistic league position. Edit: Forgot the Forest game that we won. A couple of set-pieces did it for us, so, perhaps, that is also another positive in our favour, with Pickering, in particular, weighing in with some assists that way this year to avoid the relegation mire.

It seems pretty clear who's going up this season. Fulham, Bournemouth and WBA all 2-0 up. I think two of those three are going to run away with the league. I don't think, individually, we're that far behind WBA. However, we just don't have a team. The mismanagement is so poor, we realistically have to expect very little. Consider, Chapman did very well coming off the bench in the last game but he has been, apparently, fallen behind the new loanee in the pecking order.

Looks as if Klopp sees him as a midfielder, rather than a forward. I tend to agree. His brightest moments for us were often from deep, playing through balls. I have a feeling he'll have a break out season for Liverpool and get ahead of Curtis Jones in the team. It will look rather embarrassing for us that we had two Premiership standard creators/scorers, in Armstrong and Elliot, should they both do well, and we still finished 15th in the Championship, last year.

I just wanted to highlight this moment, seconds before the Forest player cuts in and scored in the last match. Brereton, as the 'right forward' in the team, has got back to defend and spots the opposition wing threat in the box. He points this out to Carter, whilst holding his position. Meanwhile, Buckley (I think) has got back to the 'D' and lets a Forest midfielder drift past him into the box. The result is that the defence get outnumbered as the shot comes in. Ultimately, because it was a shot, rather than a cross, the overload in the box doesn't contribute to the goal, which is a good long range strike. Buckely, clearly, has made an individual mistake to not track the runner, if it is him, but Brereton holding his position as the defence gets outnumbered is more than an individual issue. It's a question of the defensive role of the wide forwards in the team. At this moment, he seems to believe his role is to provide a counter-attack outlet by not marking in the box and, instead, to screen the edge of the box. In other words, he's thinking like a striker or a No.10. It's possible that Mowbray wants this to play a high risk/reward game. Having attackers stay forward has the benefit of occupying defenders and enabling a counter-attack. However, it means that the three central midfielders need to play a much more disciplined role in protecting the defence. Otherwise, we get outnumbered time and again, especially, at full back. It's a relatively simple tactical issue that still hasn't been resolved despite weekly cases of being exposed.

As the Millwall manager said after the last game, Rovers have some good individuals at this level. Our wage bill must be pretty high, comparatively. By implication, he doubted whether we have a good team and, at the moment, I feel we are getting results despite Mowbray's counter-productive line-ups. Carter RB was a good call, I must say.

I will believe it when I see it. I'm still convinced that Carter will be at right back in a 4-3-3. We stand a better chance with that formation. With a 5-2-2-1, Forest will overwhelm Travis & Rothwell with numbers. It only takes a forward to drop off and for them to beat the press to outnumber us in the middle. If Rovers want to play with wing backs, they need to go with a genuine 3-5-2, that is, with three midfielders in the middle and two strikers.

To be fair to Douglas and Bell, they had Gallagher or Brereton supporting them defensively, most of the time. In other words, they were horrendously under-protected. It was the same for Nyambe at right back, and we conceded a lot of goals down that right side but Nyambe was able to pull of heroics, at times, which Bell and Douglas were not capable of. It is surprising that Douglas was preferred ahead of Bell last season. It's picking between two weak players but Bell had pace and his run at the end of the season suggested he could be useful - for a mid to lower league team. There's the possibility that the call-up to Jamaica's national team has had the confidence boosting effect the Chile call up apparently had on Brereton. If Luton keep him in the team, I can imagine Bell having a good season. He'll, at least, likely have a better season than Douglas. I do wonder whether Rovers made a mistake in letting both Bell and Thompson go. I think Bell was offered a contract late on but not sure about Thompson. We're short in the LB spot with, perhaps, Rankin-Costello, Cirino and Garrett the likely options after Pickering. I don't think JRC is suited for that role but he has been put there before. Alternately, perhaps, Mowbray feels that Cirino might be ready to be a back-up. Edit: I see that Douglas is playing in Poland now with Lech Poznan. And they're top of the league. So maybe, I'll be wrong about Bell having the better season, albeit in, possibly, a different style of play.

Surprised to see Corry Evans has walked into Sunderland as their club captain. He's injured his hamstring and is out until September, apparently.

0-0 in the U23s game versus Everton, approaching half-time. Teams are: Eastham, Cirino, Phillips, Annesley, Saadi, Nolan, Haddow, Garrett, Burns, Vale, McBride. Subs: Dowling, Brennan, Weston, Durrant, A. Wharton Tyrer, John, Anderson, Astley, Welch, Butterfield, Hughes, Whittaker, Dobbin, Price, McAllister. Subs: Barrett, Cannon, Garcia, Mills, Warrington

You're right, pace was an issue and confusion as to what position best suited him. i believe that he made his debut for Rovers on the right of midfield, having been prolific as a forward for the U21s. Finally, at Preston, I think he settled into a central midfield role - though, could be wrong. Had he played in Italy or Spain, he'd probably have been given a No.10 role. Given his talent, he should really have had more Scotland appearances - though, early in his career, there were complaints about his work-rate and desire, so perhaps, that played a role. But, he certainly had a good career at Preston NE, after a stop-start career before then.

I didn't realise that Paul Gallagher had retired and is now a first team coach at Preston. I thought that he'd be a Scotland international regular for years, when he first broke through at Rovers, but, earned only the one cap. Meanwhile, central defender/left back, Jay McEveley got three caps.

Didn't see the game but being dominated by a side who finished mid-table last year sounds worrying. It looks like we returned to the "tried and tested" 4-3-3, with our tallest attackers, Gallagher and Brereton playing wide?

Yes, and Mowbray peaked, as a manager, at West Bromwich Albion, seemingly, when he won the Championship and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2007/08. He assembled a really good team with Zoltan Gera, Jon Greening, Robert Koren and James Morrison in midfield, with Chris Brunt supporting and strikers like Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller. That season, from a glance at the records, Mowbray's management team reinvested brilliantly, having sold star names such as Diomansy Kamara, Nathan Ellington and Jason Koumas. At the time and, even, once in the Premier League, his team received rave reviews for the style of play.

I'm not such a big fan of Souness - though we did emerge out of the mire with him. He deserves a lot of credit for promotion, the Worthington Cup and high league finish but he was extremely fortunate to inherit Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen in the team. I would suggest that he was also fortunate to inherit a well-run club, led by John Williams, though, on the pitch it was in disarray (Lee Carsley top scorer, I seem to remember). To my mind, Souness was able to manage the young players but often failed with experienced players, as we saw we his numerous bust ups. He liked to tap into the old boys network when signing players and whilst very successful with Tugay and Friedel, he failed miserably with others, such as Amoruso, Sukur, Unsal, Ferguson and the £6/7 million signing of Ciccio Grabbi, with his Serie B/C goal record and history of Ledderhose disease (see this link, in Italian) was beyond negligent. He got found out tactically and embarked on bizarre choices such as Dominic Matteo left midfield and Dino Baggio, the renowned Italian defensive midfielder, as a forward. Just as with the incredible luck Rovers had when Birmingham actually paid to take Dwight Yorke off us, Newcastle coming in for Souness was a huge relief for many fans. But for the goals of Jon Stead, signed in February 2004, we probably would've been relegated in 2003/04. Things got so bad that we had Jonathan Douglas on the left of midfield, with Andresen, Tugay and Flitcroft alongside him, as Souness went ultra-defensive to protect the failing defence, that included Amoruso and Gresko. He should be remembered for some of his major achievements but I consider him an impressive figure for young players to be motivated by but weak in just about every other area.