Tyrone Shoelaces

When your answer to defensive problems is to play six at the back you can have four flair players down the other end but it's never going to look great.

According to my paper the player involved in the case of Bassini being banned for borrowing against future transfer income was our own Danny Graham.

I found out a long while ago that attention to the " minute details " is the difference between success and failure in any walk of life

My prediction of our league position at the end of this season last autumn was around 6th from bottom. However that was based on the usual Chicken Chokers financing of transfers and before we blew the best part of £ 10 million on two young strikers.

April the 1st was a few weeks ago.

I agree that " Changes are needed players wise ". What worries me is his past record which is hardly glowing in this respect. He appears to need to sign 5 players to get 1 good enough to actually hold down a place in the team.

I thought they did want him. If they've got players better than Reed good luck to them.

Could be Reed will go on loan to Norwich if they go up.

One centre half could and did mark the pair of them !

Wasn't Ray Wilkins captaining Chelsea at a similar age ?

Nobody at Rovers has had a bigger career in my opinion. Only Mulgrew could come near. He was a terrific little player in his heyday.

Typical of the hierarchy at Rovers to have a diamond under their noses and not make the most of his talents. I'd be gutted if he leaves.

A couple of decent signings and giving some of these kids some game time and we could be. Stay with the usual suspects and it'll be another slog.

It's like playing with any other player. You need to know what they're going to do in any given situation. That way each player knows his responsibilities. I recall Raya coming flying out of goal when Bennett was playing at right back and trying to deal with a long ball up the middle. Raya arriving put Bennett in two minds so instead of putting into row Z he dithered and ended up losing the ball to an opposition striker who luckily for us put the ball wide of an empty net ! If Raya stays at home the chances are that wouldn't have happened.

Very worrying comments from Mowbray.

Johnno's worked a minor miracle there. If anybody needs a pay rise he does !

Yeah, Cole and Jansen were a really good partnership. They brought the best out in each other. Cole and Yorke ended up vying with each other to see who could run the least in a game.

That's not really an answer to my question is it ?

When has he ever looked like he deserves a chance to lead the attack ?

He peaked at Rovers and he managed to peak Andy Cole at the same time !

I liked Andy a lot. He was a very under rated striker. When you can match the likes of Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves in the goal scoring charts that tells you all need to know. He was lethal in the penalty area, very calm and measured in his finishing. He never belted it when he could pass it into goal. A perfect foil for Big Fred.

What car does he drive ? That'll be a clue.

Speaking from the lofty position of someone who actually saw both of them play in their prime - Fred had a fantastic shot in both feet and he was also a very good header of the ball. He was very nimble for a big man with good close control, he could go past players on either side with clever ball skills as well as sheer strength. On the down side he had off days when he wasn't as effective for whatever reason. I think some players in those days didn't take the game as seriously as they do today. You could earn as much if you had a decent job in industry in those days. Also you've got to remember that Fred had Andy McEvoy playing along side him and Bryan Douglas providing the ammunition from midfield and two top class wingers putting over a stream of crosses. People forget that when we sold him to Everton he went for a record fee between two English clubs. He was that good. Alan wasn't as nimble as Fred, he could run past people and sometimes run through people but he wasn't noted for his dribbling skills. He was strong and aggressive at all times. He had a terrific right foot shot but his left foot wasn't a strong point. He was one of the best crossers of a ball off that right foot I've ever seen. For someone who wasn't as tall as Fred he was just as good a header of the ball. Where Alan has it over Fred is he never went missing in a game. You knew that we might be under the cosh and he hadn't had much of the ball for ages but just give him one good ball and he would make something of it. Ability wise there isn't a lot to chose between the two, it's the mental toughness side of Shearers game that would lead me to say, much as I loved Fred, Shearer would be my No 1 choice as a striker for Rovers. I've often wondered how many goals Alan would have got in the forward line that Fred played in !

Yeah, Rotherham have been there and done it before. That always helps in a crisis. I'm just glad we weren't in a relegation battle with them.

I saw Grabbi get three goals at least for the First Team.