I think it’s time to put the fishing rod away, but under the right management we clearly have the facilities and resources to mount a Play Off push, at least. The manager himself has stated that we should be challenging this season. At some point the current water treading under Mowbray will start to falter, and we will regress. I think last week’s cup exit extinguished any hope of a little excitement during the remainder of the season. A cup run could at least have generated a little interest. It is clearly time for change.

With regards to the 80's, our current circumstances are totally different. Yes, we were poor back then, but we were owned and well run by people who were competent, in touch and who cared about the club. What's more, they often had the club punching above it's weight in the league table, something which we are currently incapable of. As we will discover once fans are allowed to attend again, for most people, coming to terms with the current predicament will mean doing something else on a Saturday afternoon.

Come on guys, have a bit of faith. 12th place is still up for grabs, and Tony can still increase the value of the squad.

......because I believe that Hughton is a better manager than Mowbray and will sort it out. He has achieved the first objective of getting Forest out of the relegation zone.

I would wager that Forest will be ahead of us this time next season. Boro already ahead of us, (and we could've had Warnock and are capable of attracting similar). Stoke already ahead of us. The problems at Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland are more about off field issues. The problem is that if we don't twist within the next six months, it's almost certain that we will either continue to stagnate or go backwards. We badly need a spark to regenerate interest in the club. Without a change the matchday crowds are likely to be very poor when spectators are allowed to return.

It will be of him sat hunched on the bench, picking his ear.

Agreed, but Brum's current slump is more alarming than ours, and they also have big injury problems. I just think this is the type of game we will continue to win, thus leading to the believers declaring, "We are only 'X' number of points from the Play Offs .Trust in Tony".

I sniff a win for the flat track bullies.

Ainsworth would be my top choice. Performed miracles at Wycombe and his heart would obviously be in it. Has earned his chance at a bigger club.

Howe could come and live on the balmy Fylde coast 😉 I hope he knows that it can get a bit chilly in Newcastle and Glasgow.

I don't need a lecture from you about what is "sensible and realistic", thanks all the same. Howe will have to get back in somewhere and how many Premier League clubs would be interested in him? A decent Championship club is a highly likely route back in to management for him.

The point I was making is that Howe would be a decent candidate, but you would disregard him because he once managed Burnley. As we are stuck with Tony on the road to nowhere, we will never find out, but I don't think it would be out of the question for him to come here. If the personal reasons (at that time) were on the basis of location, then Glasgow and Newcastle wouldn't look too great either.

You talk about "pointless insults", and then decry a managerial suggestion on the grounds of it being a "dingle". Your credibility is shot to pieces when your thinking is so tribal and blinkered. I would take Cook, but a much better shout for me is Eddie Howe. Presumably, the fact he dragged a club from the relegation zone in League Two to the Premier League will cut no ice with you, because he's a dingle.

Yes, a name for failing at Celtic. I take your point about him being a "name" , but more as a decent player than a decent manager. His one promotion from this division is ancient history, (followed by immediate relegation), and he hasn't got us anywhere near the promotion pack at the end of any season. Maybe a small fry in the Championship would entertain hiring him, but no-one with a modicum of ambition. That rules out many of the clubs you mentioned. Maybe agree to disagree here. One day we might find out, but for the foreseeable future, our "journey" continues.

Have to respectfully disagree. Bowyer was hardly fighting Championship clubs off with a stick after we despatched him, and similarly I see Mowbray only attracting interest from Leagues One and Two. No-one else will buy his "On a journey" bullshit.

Agreed. We are going to be down to the diehards by the time things start getting back to normal.

Donald Trump's method of counting. "We were winning and in the top six, but now they are trying to steal it away from us". Sheffield Wednesday now up to five points.

Surely, it must be time for the relegation thread? ?

Exsctly, and someone who will have more mental toughness than the vast majority of our team. Surely time to give Ripley a call to balance the side?

Aye, we'll be hearing the same this time next season. We have now progressed to mediocrity + . Results and points wise it's the same as mediocrity, just with added goals. We still can't defend and are still mentally weak when it comes to games with any kind of pressure on them. We also have a manager who can't resist tinkering for the sake of it. Round and round it goes.

Flat track bullies. Four points from a possible 15.

This game will be a good litmus test of the team's mental strength. As we know, in recent seasons we have faltered in the big games when there is more pressure on. We need to shed the flat track bully label and lay down a marker for the rest of the season.

Like the other guy, you have interpreted my comment to literally. To clarify again, I don't think Tony is milking Rovers, (as has been the case with certain other managers). All I meant is that he is under very little pressure and, barring a very long and sustained run of poor results, he is safe with us sitting around in midtable, which on all the evidence is his ceiling. He is in the comfort zone.

A bit OTT. What I mean is that he's on a cushy number, compared to most other managers in Football. He is under very little pressure. I certainly don't think he's "evil" and he's not been a failure in that he got us straight back out of League One. However, all the evidence is that he's now reached his ceiling with us and it's highly unlikely he will take us any further, in spite of being well backed by the owners. I don't begrudge Tony his pension, but it's time he was topping it up elsewhere if we have any ambition to move forwards.

The problem with Coyle is that he was a busted flush with a managerial career in a tail spin, not that he was a former Burnley manager. Mowbray is the right manager to keep us flattering to deceive and bumbling around mid-table until he decides his pension pot will suffice.