Tier 4 introduced in London and the South East bans all inessential travel. No mention whether football teams can move about.

Need to make the most of this- could be the last game for sometime if Johnson stops all sport with Tier 4. Having 4 games off because of Covid is not good in that respect.

Gallagher carrying on his poor form. Rothwell too deep Holtby not sparkling Douglas and Trybull playing much better than previously and Johnson OK in his new role. Where was Lenihan when they scored? I thought Kaminsky could have come for the cross. Too much being asked of Elliott. Game is there for the winning if Mowbray gets it right at half time. I would bring on Dolan for Gallagher.

Don't know what to make of this line-up. Not confident.

In Stoke? Even though it is close they are probably over-nighting there.

That is why we have the biggest squad of players with first team experience and quality in the league. Problem as you rightly highlight, we are stripped bare at the back. Will young Pike get a chance or is it all going Captain Mainwaring?

Sorry I laughed when I saw this. The number of times I am asked for evidence then it upsets people because I have had to paste and copy the relevant bit from behind a paywall so it doesn't look good on a mobile. Yes of course, read things with a pinch of salt but I am glad that positive message is the most recent official word on Nyambe (at a time he was being dropped) so it is the fans worrying negative thoughts and not the other way round. Ryan has just had his 23rd birthday and has made 130 league and 17 Cup appearances for Rovers first team. He has never scored yet has doubled his career assists already this season.

How many of Lenihan's 7 missed games were due to suspension?

Agree with this and I would go JRC at left back. Dolan and Gallagher on the bench as well.

This is great news. Harvey is on a season loan with no break clause. https://readliverpoolfc.com/2020/12/18/mowbray-harvey-elliott-blackburn-loan-liverpool/?utm_medium=onesignal&utm_source=push_notifications&utm_campaign=web_push

Lenihan formed a decent partnership with Williams. Ayala is a better defender than Del so hopefully his experience will calm Darragh down a bit and they become a rock. The problem they have is that disasters keep happening around them so they are getting a lot more exposure than a promotion-winning Championship pairing should be doing. The positive which should help them is Kaminsky almost creating a back 3 with the central defenders at times plus being a very good keeper.

It is January so not many players move but central defender and left back are critical requirements- very happy to take loans. A huge amount hangs on the next four games. In my opinion: Be in the mix and let's see the level of ambition if any in Pune. Be where we are and forget it.

I saw him on the score sheet so assumed he was doing ok.

So you make up a big number then moan about it.

Arma showed his class against Rotherham. A real team performance at a time everyone else was falling apart. He had three on target powerful shots blocked or saved across the 90 minutes, dropped deep to help out then laid on Elliott's goal before right place right time at the death. Worth noting with the winner he had to react instantly and get it between two blocking Rotherham defenders- it wasn't the automatic gimme he made it look. Toney is good but not that good. Could easily be a one season wonder.

If we are still in contact with the top teams as January 1 comes round, we have to be bold and recruit cover at left back and central defence. At the very least Magliore has to come back from Hartlepool. Carter has zero pace. Hopefully Luke Brennan gets moved to a more serious level of football than Fylde.

Apparently Williams has a long term injury. Months out.

Late 34 and out of contract at Boro who weren't renewing. Many players in that position go from £33k per week to nothing. If he is on about £5k a week now which I believe was the offer he rejected in the summer, it is a nice end of career bonus. Putting things in context of how very few outfield players are still going at Downing's age- https://sportmob.com/en/article/872969-oldest-premier-league-players-in-2020

I am not wasting my time. But it was reported several times that Downing was offered much reduced terms for this season which was the reason why he walked away from us. Of course he'd want another £750k a year but given he loves the game and is keeping himself fit, the difference between £250k and nothing when all he has is 30 years of nothing to look forward to (relatively speaking) meant the lower sum won out.

Raising a glass. Sooner or later we will beat a club above us. Prefer it to be sooner at Stoke. They too have their best player out long term but our's is only a few weeks away from being back. Not seen much of Stoke but Campbell was looking one hell of a player. Otherwise another tough Championship side with no particular traits looking either outstanding or particularly weak. I hope Mowbray rotates Johnson and Douglas out after last night. Holtby and Rothwell have to start- I like the idea of Rothwell further forward in place of Gallagher. Fingers crossed Armstrong has a mature performance which includes "assist" in his repertoire. As in every game we need a front foot start. Only Preston have seen us stay on the front foot for 90 minutes- was that a one off or can we do it again?

Woke up feeling traumatised for some reason. Then remembered Rotherham. Odd feeling being a Rovers supporter and having a guilt complex about a win. Hope we are not using our pay backs for games we shouldn't have lost all at once. Armstrong with a much more mature performance rewarded with an assist and goal. Despite joining in the general shittery at times, Nyambe confirming he is going to be a fabulous player. If I were Klopp, I'd keep Elliott at Ewood who will learn far more about the real game of football than ever he will at Liverpool. However, Liverpool are now one injury away from being certain to recall him. Trybull and Downing offered more when they came on than I expected and I would love to have seen more than 5 minutes of Dolan. Rotherham looked genuinely scared of him whereas Gallagher was easy meat for them- one of their own type whom they knew exactly what to do with. In fact, Gallagher looked like he had regressed horribly- the closer Mowbray asks him to play to the touchline the worse he becomes. Rothwell clearly has been told we must retain possession given the number of times a promising situation was halted by a backwards or sideways pass from him. There was probably a rationale of giving Buckley the start against Rotherham asking to prove himself against giants who give no quarter and can play a bit. But if we wanted to blood a relative youngster and be more certain of the 3 points, Davenport should have started. Johnson looks closer to career end than Downing does and needs more cotton wool than Mowbray is giving him. Which brings me to the crux. This squad undoubtedly has the capability of winning promotion, Douglas/Bell not withstanding. Sadly, Mowbray has the capability of not enabling them to do it.

Words fail me. Wow! Take the 3 points and move on to the next Tony Tombola show. Keeping it positive, Elliott and Nyambe deserve all the praise being given them and Arma looked embarrassed to be doing the Angel of the North...

This is a tough one. They are big quick physical and not afraid to put a foot in. Johnson not enjoying being on the receiving end of the physical stuff.

Took the words from my mouth but the dingles will probably be OK if they have good fortune avoiding injuries. They are totally screwed if Tarkowski and Wood get crocked. We have been keeping up a high quality of play so we should have too much for the Millers tonight. If they score early, I fear we will struggle though.

He was on that in 2019/20 but was offered a fraction of that number for this season. Hence the non-renewal this season until he came back to us.