Tyrone Shoelaces

On the PR aspect of the club Mowbray has been excellent right from the start. He's a great figurehead who speaks with real authority.

Not long ago I used look at our bench and shake my head. It was poor beyond belief. Now we have real strength and ability to come on and change the game if need be. We have at least half a dozen that are knocking on the door for a game.

Yeah the way he held up the ball for the third goal was great. He let the supporting players get beyond him and then played a perfect ball out wide to get the attack going.

We were always told - " When we have the ball make the pitch as big as you can ". Basic football tactics really.

Rovers 3 - Hull 0. City 5 - Dingles 0 and no shots on goal. Does it get any better ?

I thought they'd killed Saddam Hussein ?

He'll improve the team if he can stay fit, The big question is can he stay fit ?

I remember listening to a manager talking about Paul Lake who used to play for 'City. " Bobby Moore with added pace " was his verdict ! Praise indeed there but we never got to see him much because he was always injured. Another similar case - when Trevor Francis signed for Forest for a British record fee a journalist asked Bill Shankly why Liverpool hadn't shown any interest in him. Shanks said " Look at his style of play, all those rapid stops and starts, he'll be injured for some of the time every season ". Shankly was right about Francis, he spent a lot of his career on the treatment table. I like Chapman, he's a breath of fresh air and a throwback to when every team had a quick winger on one wing. Like somebody else said " He gets you on your feet ". I just look at his record at the clubs he's been at in a short career and he's been injured a lot of the time. Not the injuries were you're out for a week or two but the injuries that end your season. Anyway if we have signed him - All the best son and I hope you prove me wrong.

Yeah you're right he wasn't comparable to a footballer that night.

My view - Off the pitch Mowbray has done a fantastic job, on the pitch he's done an OK job but not great.

Bennett started out on the left against Newcastle and looked like a fish riding a bike.

Like a moth to a flame.

Modern managers don't like wingers and don't trust them. Alf Ramsey started it all. I was reading Peter Thompson's Obituary the other day. I've seen him run Rovers ragged down the wing for Liverpool and he only got a handful of caps.

Everybody has a choice about warming up. There's no point dashing on if you're going to come off limping later on.

Yes, very true. Nobody shone that day.

The impression I got was he was lacking in the " football brain " aspect of the game. I mentioned a while back when he came on at Oldham almost the first thing he did was get the ball out wide left deep in our half. The right back was at least 6 yards away and ready for him but Chapman Just kicked the ball past him and set off in a foot race. He may be quick but he couldn't win that race and he got slid into touch. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the first time he got injured he hadn't warmed up properly and the second time was when he played his comeback reserve game on a freezing cold night. Not smart.

Mm, a really fit Chapman would be great, he's a special talent. Would 'Boro be letting him go if he was fit though ? I'm just concerned he's the sort of player that will be permanently hampered by a succession of muscle injuries. I'd have preferred a loan until Summer. I hope it wasn't a large fee.

Is Chapman coming on loan or have we signed him on a deal ?

Me too.

I agree, we got Samba, Nzonzi and Givet from low level foreign football clubs.

He can vie with Brereton to be the best finisher in training.

We'll find out tomorrow.

I think he blew a bit hot and cold to be honest. When he was good he was very good but on a bad day he could be very ordinary.

Yes that Wigan game was awful. we had nothing. What summed it for me was when we got a free kick out wide with about a minute to go to full time. Pedersen gets set to take it, everybody crowds into the penalty box, the ball has to go into the mixer, he puts the ball into row " H " straight out of play ! Bloody unbelievable !

Gladwin and Davenport are back in training apparently so there's plenty of room for him on the treatment table.