Hull looking much more purposeful

No Ewood Park walk on for Harry today. Medical probably a big one...

Possession advantage 61-39.

Rovers were stunningly good in that half. Let's keep it going because Hull are so dangerous if we let up.

Fabulous performance by Rovers. Never expected this against Hull.

No Nyambe on the bench

Anderson wasn't inherited but otherwise brilliant work. Letting Jack O'Connell go stands out as crazy. Salgado was treated shabbily

He will be enormously tested by Hull's pace and tackling from the front today. My main reservation is Hull commit so many forward, Evans will slow down the counter-attacking.

There are too many people in Blackburn who are only happy when they are moaning or angry. Mowbray is doing a very decent job at Rovers. He has turned the club around in all the ways traditional fans value - players bonding and enjoying their game - team spirit - ridiculously unlucky relegation after picking up a wreckage, promotion and a better first season back than everyone expected if we are being honest Yes he had financial backing in League One but it was nothing remotely like the difference Guardiola or Mourinho worked wih compared with Dyche either relatively or absolutely. Stoke, West Brom and Swansea have come down with parachute payments out of all proportion to the budgets of most of the Championship but only one of them is in the play-offs. And in the lucky dip that is the transfer market, his record is certainly no worse than average and I would say looking promising.

Is that the equivalent of The Onion or Newsthump? Brighton in the Championship?

After we signed our Portuguese lot...

Surely, a loan with a call option is ideal.

All our money comes from Pune. So if they say "I will give you £7m if you buy me a young British forward on low wages with low risk and high potential sales value", you cannot say I'd prefer a bag of smarties please.

Agreed on most of your points. Brereton I keep arguing is a one-off. I really hope he comes good but that potential £7m was for a young marquee signing who wasn't going to blow the wage structure, not anything else.... We will know after Saturday's game whether we are good enough to kick on into play-off contention. Record against the top 6 so far is W2 D3 L4 but the losses include the Leeds and Sheff U away farces. Only two games (derby away and Sheff U home have seen us out classed) and I'd argue we were at least competitive in the other 7 games even though we only won 2. Hull the only club showing genuine promotion form- if they have another ten games like the last ten they will be close to an automatic promotion slot.

Forget about Boro dropping back, Mikel is one heck of a player.

Yes you are right. If they keep hold of Bowen, bring back Irvine and and have Pugh (and a rumoured two other signings), Hull are going to be very strong.

Hull side which drew at Villa but now 10 unbeaten in the league. Irvine appears to be injured. 1Marshall 17Kane 5Burke 4de Wijs Substituted by McKenzie 23Kingsley 20Bowen Substituted by Lichaj 22Henriksen 6Stewart 14Grosicki 7Evandro Substituted by Batty 29Martin

Newly promoted from C1. So a bit like us in that respect- otherwise nothing like the history and stature of Rovers. As for Rudy, he'd have to double in height to connect with some of the crosses we fling over.

You have got to put a premium on pace against this current Hull side.

Noticed you have been very very quiet which I took to be a reflection that nothing of note was stirring.

They took that number to Villa. Remember they had won 7 on the bounce and are 8 unbeaten. How many would we take to Hull in similar circumstances?

Hull could bring 2,000 with them

Fab preview. OK, last season's home FA Cup tie probably the worst game of the season. This season Rovers v Hull promises to be the best game this season. Why? Hull are very exciting now with flying wingers and forwards, brilliant overlaps and diagonal passing winning the ball by pressing high up, snapping into tackles on the halfway line. Hull like to get 5 forward really quickly when attacking and Polish winger Kamil Growicki is lethal down their left. At the time of writing, Hull top scorer Jerrod Bowen may be a Leicester player before Saturday replaced by Marc Pugh from Bournemouth who had his medical today. They had won 7 on the trot until they went to Villa Park and were 2-0 up early on there also but ended up fortunate to get the 2-2 draw. What happened? Villa out Hulled them. Handed out some industrial grade tackling and went forward at pace exploiting the gaps Hull inevitably leave as they pour forward. This is not a game for either Smallwood or Evans who are too slow physically and mentally for what Hull will throw at them. Thankfully both Nyambe and Bennett are quick at right back so we have defensive cover there. I'd look for Reed playing centrally and Armstrong on from the start to hurtle into the spaces in the Hull defence. Mowbray picks a team with pace and we can win this. If he goes conservative, we could easily lose by 3,4 or more.

Will be great to get him fit. Still only 19/20 and was probably seen as the main signing in the summer until Armstrong. Seemed to have made a huge impression at Burton last season in the Championship.

Both especially the way Hull play.