We were by far the better team on the night. Everyone else has said it but January screwed us over. No quality up top, no cutting edge and done by a world class goal out of nothing. The ref could have easily sent Cork off and how the lino didn't see that handball at the end by Barnes.

Perfect comparison. He just oozes quality. Considering this is against Burnley and not Blackpool, it's by far his best performance. I can't belive just how good he is.

No Mola please 😂

There was an interview with Wharton the other day and part of it mentioned him playing in a deeper role. At one point he laughed about enjoying it because it meant he didn't have to run as much as its not one of the main pressing roles in the team. Hopefully it means his stamina will be up to it tonight, though personally I'd love to see him a little higher up the pitch as he's by far our most creative player.

I'd keep Szmodics up top centrally and bring Garrett in for Morton. I'd definitely have Leonard on the bench though with the intention of him playing a good amount of the second half. Only other option I see is playing a 4231 with Szmodics up top and Dack in the number 10 position. However I'd be pained to see us move away from 433 against Burnley. I think they will dominate the midfield if we've only got 2 players in there.

I agree if the bids were touching at that 25 million mark it would really force the club to begin considering the offers. I'd still be pained to see us accept. Personally though, given the amount of first team action he's seen thus far, I don't think it's realistic that clubs will offer that amount. I think they will try some cheeky bids of around 8 million which would represent a relatively low risk gamble for Premier League teams.

Can ask for you to add a bit of meat to the bones Chaddy. What kind of money would it take for you to think we should contemplate selling Wharton?

Next year he can help fire us to promotion. Do that and perform well in the prem and he's fetching 50 million. No part of selling him at this stage in his career makes sense.

Fully agree with this. You can say it was a slip and unlucky but it's only because he's too tight and trying to get to the ball first. It's basic defending. If a player has their back to goal, especially in that position on the pitch its pretty safe. Just press him back down the field. By trying to steal the ball you've got to get around the man and are risking being rolled. It's utterly incompetent defending. Hedges brain fart moment shouldn't have cost us. It was stupid but it didn't leave the team out of position. Wharton did. It's hard to articulate just how much he's regressed this season. He's become an absolute liability. One of the worst players in our squad.

We didn't deserve that. Preston didn't deserve that. There's always a slice of luck in football and luck has deserted us recently. But if you want the clearest example of you make your own luck, that football can ever offer, step forward Ryan Hedges.

Toothless. Dolan and Travis having shockers.

It's like no side wants to get in the playoffs. Results going well for us again. A Reading equaliser now would be beautiful. 3 points today would be absolutely huge.

Diaz dropped. No Leonard on the bench. Like the fact it's a 433. Should hopefully dominate the ball. Goals are a worry. Someone needs to stand up and be counted here.

I think long term Dolans best position would be as a number 10. He's suffered a little because of his versatility. At times he's played quite well as a false 9, but at other times such as against Coventry he's been absolutely hopeless. When he has the ball at his feet though it sticks to him like glue, he's so agile he can go either way and has energy to burn so is great at pressing. His main weakness is obvious, in that he's so short (though this does give him his agility). His other big weakness is that he's pretty slow at full speed. If he's wide it's easy for a defender to back off and nullify him. If played as a 10 he'd need to improve his decision making and final ball. But his talent in possession and being able to go either way would create a lot of space for players to make runs. Play him centrally and he has the potential to be a bit like Illias Chair for QPR who I think is a great player, though he'd have a way to go to reach that level, whilst also having both Dack and Szmodics to oust. I wouldn't mind trying Szmodics wide left, Dolan as a 10 with Leonard up top as we've little other option.

Agreed, he's still just a kid. Scott Wharton, although a lot taller was pretty lean at Adams age. He was all limbs and has really filled out. I don't think Adam necessarily needs to bulk up. He'll grow into his body naturally. He'd not long turned 18 at the start of the season. There is a reason players on average start breaking into the first team aged around 20/21. Adam is only in there because he's unbelievably talented. The physical side will come with age.

I think Brereton is still putting a shift in. Although he's leaving I think he has really enjoyed his time at Rovers and would love to sign off with a fairytale promotion. I just think he's been found out. He doesn't thrive in a more technical system. He's all direct running, hustle and bustle. Even last year when he was on fire there were a good number of goals which bounced in off his shin etc. We exclusively became a counter attacking side last season and now we're not. It's shown Brereton up for the multiple weaknesses in his game. If nothings been officially signed he should be very worried. In a hypothetical situation that he hasn't signed (i think he has btw) and we have an opportunity to extend his contract, we should be very, very careful. I'd be happy for him to be one of our higher earners. But I wouldn't not be happy for us to offer him the rumoured 30k p/w we were rumoured to be offering a couple of months back. He's a good bloke who had a fairytale season and story. He's a good championship player in the correct system. No way on earth is he ready, and nor do I ever think he will be ready to make the step up to different leagues.

He's on a 5 year contract. We're under zero pressure to sell. I also see JDT singled him out for praise after the Coventry game and commented on his improvement in training. I think any perceived friction between them has been smoothed over. If we don't go up this year he's primed for a major role next season. There is absolutely no way on earth I'd endorse us even considering selling him. There have been players I've loved having at the club over the last 5 years, but we've not had a player who is an absolute pleasure to watch based on talent alone. I'm looking forward to watching him grow in a Rovers shirt. A bit of smart recruitment and Wharton coming to the fore and I fully expect us to be towards the top end of the table next year.

One other thing nobody has mentioned. Its common practise for teams to put a man on the goalkeeper. But every corner they had they had about 4 players surrounding Pears and wrestling our lot back onto the goal line with little intention of getting to the ball. Each set piece there were about 4 or 5 fouls committed. The ref would have a little word before it was taken and then do nothing. He was weak as piss.

I guarantee you, had the referee had some kind of competence about him we would all be saying how we battled like warriors and saw the game out without Coventry ever really testing Pears.

Fucking stupid fucking game. Weak fucking ref. Staring at his feet as soon as he'd allowed it. It was fucking obvious. Every player put their hand up. That shitty fucking ref is going to cost us the playoffs. Cheating fucks. Shit city.

There's definitely talent there. He's just physically weak, both in terms of strength and endurance. I'd wager he needs to improve his knowledge of what to do during certain in game situations as well. I think he's worth keeping hold of, but he really needs to focus on those two aspects. Extra time in the gym after training and really listening to what is being asked of him on the pitch. Maybe an acceptance that he's not going to be in the first team any time soon and just focusing on increasing his weak areas little by little. If he does that, then given his ability, he could be in the first team squad midway through next season. But it's going to be a slow process.

Expectation is a funny thing and comes in different forms. We've shown ourselves to be pretty poor at handling it when facing a team which on paper, we are favorites. Our remaining games are of huge importance but it brings a different type of pressure. When put into a scrap with a team that is perceived to be our equal or we are the underdogs, I expect us to fair better. I think we're capable of stepping up to a fight, but poor at taking the initiative against a defensive team. The phrase X amount of cup finals doesn't really translate unless both sides are going for the victory. So I firmly disagree with those saying the playoffs are gone. I don't know if we'll make it, but I'm looking forward to this run of games.

Which basket case club are we talking about here. Chelsea or Everton? 😂

I love this. Totally aligned to my thinking. JDT said our performance against Huddersfield was the best of the season yet he switches formation the very next game. 100% bring Kaminski back in. And an interesting idea on Garrett. I'm unsure but see the logic. Adding more steal releases Travis to play box to box which is when he flourishes and makes up for Whartons lack of legs, who given his ability is the major difference maker for us. He's the only one in the team who is truly creative. Personally I've not seen enough of Garretts ability on the ball to know whether it would work but it's certainly worth a go. As for Leonard, whether he's completely ready or not remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, he offers more than Gallagher and you should always play your best players. He has to start for me. I get the feeling that JDT is slightly reluctant due to the stage of the season we're at, and he's choosing experience over youth. He was far happier to chuck players in earlier on. The experienced players are performing woefully though and need get used to sitting on the bench.

Looking at his cv he obviously has a strong background in youth football and a modest amount of experience in senior recruitment. Reading between the lines it strikes me that our transfer strategy will reflect his skill set, where we're going to weight our recruitment heavily towards young players.