Time to gather my thoughts…firstly, there was a plan and I can accept it. It was to unsettle their giant defenders with quick accurate passing through the lines….the manager was BADLY let down in the first half. Buckley, Travis and JRC were horrific. People know I’m Buckley’s biggest fan but his head is somewhere else at the moment and that is the third game in a row that he’s been woeful. I felt sorry for Dack, Dolan and even Szmodics who were never even allowed to get into the game so bad was the passing around them. Ayala, Phillips, Pickering and Hedges came out with lots of credit. Morton (my MOM) and Adam Wharton were very good. The latter completely controlling the game for spells. He’s a special player in the making. Kaminski at fault for the goal and the ref blew up twice for free kicks on the edge of the box which ran for us and we scored. Just wasn’t our day.

BELIEVE brother! The law of attraction in full flow! 🙌🏽

Hahah Phillips….absolutely no idea where that came from!

Tell ya what would be nice today, a trio of signings paraded to the fans at half time!! Hyam, Caulker and Ash Phillips confirmed on a 5yr deal! 🙌🏽

You win the internet today sir! Nail. On. Head.

Who said the idea was that we’ll ‘gradually build up a team youngsters to adult stars’? I certainly didn’t!

So is Markanday and so is Dack considering he hasn’t played for two years!

I can’t call the team today…too many different options available. I think Dack and Morton deserve a start, but that will likely depend on how fit Hedges is to start and whether or not he’s willing to drop Buckley (who I think has started the season badly). Will BBD be available? I think so…has Markanday done enough? Will Phillips or Carter start? Pickering or Edun? My team, if I were picking…. kaminski Brittain Carter Ayala Edun Trav Morton Hedges Dack BBD Gally

I think 3 more is fine 6 in total and the mooted positions all filled. CBx2, RB, CM, AM and a forward. Sure there are people on here who want a new lb or a striker. I would like another CM. But it’s what the manager wants that matters 👍🏼

I meant, 4x what he was offered at Rovers (assumed new contract was between £12-15k) But, the point I was making was that he, and DL went for the money. There was no keeping them.

No, he’s not quite ready in my opinion. But there’s a player in there. In any case, we’re talking about replacing players. I think we’ll do that with signings and promotion of youth. FWIW - I think Garrett can evolve to be as good as Travis and A.Wharton & Phillips will genuinely be in our top 5 best players within 18 months. So the future is bright 👍🏼

Potentially more. He was offered quadruple what he was on at Rovers.

Spent the week in London… 50 bags of sand (grand) mi owld china!

Exactly - DL on £10k more at Boro, JR on 50 bags and Nyambe is so good, he sat on a 4yr contract offer too long, GB & JDT withdrew it and he ended up on a one year deal and less money in Wigans ressie’s - tragic. All held out for the dollar. So far, none are pulling up any trees. We’ll move on, like we always do 👍🏼

6 signings in total, yeah? Plus another 1 or 2 if BBD goes and promotion of the likes of Phillips, Carter, Adam Wharton, Garrett and Vale into the first team set up? Numbers seem right to me…🤷🏽‍♂️

I reckon it’s 3 assuming everything is as it is now…So 6 in total. If / when BBD goes, we’ll need more

Sharpe doesn’t know anything until he’s told mate. Let’s see 👍🏼

Things can change pal. Money talks…let’s see! fwiw - I thought Bowler was least likely of that group to sign.

JPvH, SVDB, Styles & Bowler 🤞🏽 Then we replace BBD with another two forwards if he’s sold…🙌🏽

Comprehensively beaten by a better team. These guys had several £20m players and a huge budget and it really showed today. Need players, fast!

Hmm…I think the budget will stretch to another £8m in fees mate, so we could squeeze Svdb, JPvH, Styles and Bowler in without selling BBD. If they wanted to spend less they could do a free agent CM and maybe Berget as the forward? The further money on the likes of Birmancevic and Healey (or Bowler if we’d gone for Berget initially) would surely only be sanctioned if / when BBD is sold?

Minimum 4 signings needed for me. 2x cb’s, a cm and a forward. If / When we sell BBD I think we need another 2 forwards to cover his loss. Svdb - CB loan JPvH - CB Perm £4m Styles - CM/LWB Perm £1m Bowler - Forward Perm £3m In event of BBD sale… Birmencevic - Forward Perm £6m Rhys Healey - Forward Perm £3m

Can’t keep wheeling the same players out every match when you’re playing 3 in 7 days. This is however why we need more forwards.

I don’t think anyone has been dropped. Looks like squad rotation. Hedges and Gallagher rested…also looks to me like we’ve decided to hound these lot to death! Szmodics, Dolan, BBD and Vale will literally run all day! Hopefully we can get a foothold in the game and steer clear of injuries.

Of course he’s replaceable, everyone is. The question is, can we find one or two to take up the mantle? Losing BBD is inevitable now imo. The only thing that will prevent it is if Venkys dig in. Losing him will be a blow but this is why we have a manager and DoF team. They will have a plan, it’s not difficult to say “well if we get £15m for Ben, how much can we have?”. JDT intimated that he’d had those conversations with Venkys and GB when he’d first been appointed. We have to trust the process and hope that they get whatever they ask for from Venkys. I reckon they will! 😊