I don't get why they would announce that Davis is staying specifically until 2023. Surely he still remains caretaker, Beale rejected them so they carry on looking to get someone in ASAP.

Why would they suddenly start listening?

If you genuinely would prefer a bench of Pears, Mola, Phillips, Travis, A.Wharton, Dolan and Vale with Dack left out should we potentially need a goal, then I can't help but thinking that again you are just saying what you expect Tomasson to do and are agreeing with it. You are either offside or not, and he was.

Skeptical of the article, feels like a potentially big assumption. If there is any truth in it then it is to the detriment of the team if a good player is not being considered to due to a personal issue with the manager.

No I agree, we are all happy that he is gone but sometimes things are said out of hatred that simply arent true.

He played 29, 29, 31, 38 and 31 times, and had quite a few muscle injuries in that time.

Regarding Travis, if whats and maybes. What did happen is as I said, he got a chance, did well and was consistently stuck with as a regular from there. Wharton had numerous loan spells which seemed to really help to develop him as a man, came back much better for it and became a regular. You look at Phillips, he wouldn't have played anywhere near as much as he had if it wasn't for the injuries earlier in the season, we had no alternative. Garrett wouldn't have played had Travis been available, much of it is circumstantial and timing. I don't think that anyone suggested that he invented it, and there is an element of truth in us needing to be more reliant on it now due to the lack of money, applying to both Mowbray and Tomasson. But Mowbray did bring players through, and although it is fashionable now to criticise him wherever possible, creating alternative situations where youngsters dont break through under him to discredit him seems needless to me.

Szmodics seemed closer to the front 2 rather than the midfield 2, but Hedges could play as that number 10 I guess, I did consider that. Dack would also fit that role.

Absolute nonsense. Travis broke through under him and remained consistently in the side, contrary to expectations of reinstating Smallwood when he returned from a ban. Buckley broke through and was persisted with, becoming a regular. Nyambe only broke through properly under Mowbray, and consistently played throughout his tenure. Wharton broke through under him and became a regular. Throw in Lenihan and half of his team was through the academy. There are also other examples of players including Dolan, (signed as an under 23 player) Rankin Costello, Carter and Butterworth.

Be a difficult team selection, unsure if Ayala is going to be fit but he would come in for Carter if he is. Szmodics pulled up just before going off plus he struggled on the ball the other night. Pickering coming back in may allow for more balance. Kaminski Hyam Ayala Wharton Brittain Morton Wharton Pickering Hedges Gallagher Brereton Subs: Pears, Carter, Travis, Garrett, Szmodics, Dack, Markanday With Carter in for Ayala if necessary.

Although to be fair, genuine thanks to him following the headline save that Kaminski made at the weekend.

Why would that mean that he has integrity? If he had gone, he would be moving up a division.

Has he fallen on his feet with that squad? They have quite a few of a squad that stagnated in League 1 for years, they have Corry Evans as captain and even their attacking players are ones with at best mixed careers who have flattered to deceive or loanees who are very young and raw. You do know that you are allowed to admit when blatant errors in officiating have gone in our favour? They won't revoke the win if you do. The first was a foul, I didn't think it was at first as I thought that Hedges got the ball but he didn't. The second was a clear offside, even for you your justification is a stretch. We got a massive, massive helping hand from the officials, had VAR been in place then it would have almost certainly overturned both decisions to correct them. As it is, it isn't in place and we won so happy days, but I don't get why you would pretend. In the second half we struggled to keep the ball and kept giving it back to Sunderland, allowing them to sustain pressure but they lacked a goal threat due to Simms and Stewart being out. Can Dack fit this style, as an excellent player at this level, yes he can. Hopefully back in the squad at the weekend, he would have been a better sub than Vale or Dolan. For all of his flaws here, bringing youth through was something he did well.

Would be a very strange appointment. A decent start in a very even Championship but enough to become the leading candidate for a job at a Premier League regular? Not for me.

Another thing from last night, why again have they started with goal music? Very tacky and counter productive to any atmosphere.

I suppose the best barometer (with the league table not being fair game due to different games played) is points per game, so 1.69 points per game. That is 77/78 points over a season, doesn't mean anything really but a good start results wise.

Brilliant to see us at the top of the league at any point, even if it is because we have played more games than most. Was an excellent result from an average performance in which Sunderland dominated big chunks but lacked their injured strikers and we benefitted from massive refereeing mistakes which we will take every day of the week. We made lots of stupid errors on the ball in the first half and struggled to manage the game in the second half but here was lots of determination and guts to get us over the line, aided by the referee and 2 bits of quality. Kaminski made another great save and the stand out defender again was Hyam, not amazing on the ball and nearly cost us in the first half but reads the game very well and when we struggled to manage the game in the second half, inviting on pressure, he was the main man in the defensive wall stopping them. Wharton has not been at his best this season and made one or two mistakes again but he is a good defender. Carter is an upgrade on Phillips at the moment but not a Championship regular standard, clumsy on the ball and sometimes a little rash. Brittain is not a left sider and Hedges is not a wing back and they contributed in making us a little disjointed simply by being out of position, as much as both are very competent players at this level. Hedges has loads going for him, superb skill to win the free kick and the ball in was excellent, and his shot at the end was so close to being goal of the season, but he was caught out a few times defensively because he is not a wing back. Brittain is a good player but he kept coming inside, the problem is that we don't have any adequate alternatives to him and Pickering really. Morton again impressed me, Garrett was tenacious and let no one down although wasn't man of the match which was awarded to him IMO because it was his debut rather than being stand out. Brereton was man of the match, he ran himself into the ground to the point that I was worried about a potential injury, superb goal too. Gallagher was not particularly effective nor were the subs Vale and Dolan, and the fact that we were still solely reliant on Brereton on the counter attack tells you how they did. The Dack and Szmodics situations naturally overlap because of their position, Szmodics runs round all day and really grafts, once he did really well to force Even if we were a really intense pressing side which we aren't, just running off the ball and trying your best isn't enough to become a good player, Elliott Bennett ran all day but he was shit, on the ball is at least as important (probably moreso) and the jury is still out on Szmodics in that regard. He has had occasional quality in a Rovers shirt (his 2 goals were well taken and his assist v Rotherham was excellent) but often he struggles to get on the ball and when he does, his decisions can be wrong or his technical ability can let him down. Yesterday he once did well to get to the byline in the first half and nearly forced an own goal but he also hit a shot nowhere near the target and chose to wrongly cross to Brereton (who did remarkably well to avoid a goal kick concession) in the second half, improvement is needed there to start every game. So a mixed bag from him. I stand by the fact that Dack would offer more than any other sub last night, assuming he doesn't start. The social media stuff with his wife is not ideal but it's a woman made "famous" by reality TV and trying to promote a new show getting attention, the people sucking up to/arguing with her on there really do puzzle me, why you would spend your time doing that I have no idea. Lots of talk on here and elsewhere about the dislike of Mowbray and the potential booing and negative reaction, as expected it never materialised aside from one or two jovial "Mowbray, whats the score" chants.

Another team picked out of a hat it seems, lets hope it works. No Dack in the squad with Vale and Dolan as the attacking subs is a joke.

But we scored only two, and one of those chances fell to Brittain who isn't someone who scores goals and indeed failed to put away a very presentable opportunity. The squad is not balanced well to play 532 and it would put into further question the money spent on Szmodics if we played a formation that didn't include a position for him. I think if you put Dack in as a 10 then it changes everything and that was my suggestion for tonight, A number 10 behind 2 strikers also opens up the possibility of a few other of our attacking players that also IMO don't suit a 532 to be involved. My point was more that if you went with Travis/Garrett as well as Wharton and Morton in front of a back 5, that to me is too defensive and is very reliant on mainly Brereton but the front 2 to score with no other goal threats in the team.

Not untrue, just one opinion against another. I felt that he didn't particularly play well even in the first 3 games and didn't look particularly comfortable playing in a deeper position. I am yet to be convinced that such a transition is to his benefit.

Seems like Gerrard is deservedly getting sacked at Villa. Has done a poor job with vast resources, I wonder if this will bring the "he will replace Klopp when he leaves" media campaign to a halt?

I would counteract the point about a younger team by highlighting a lack of experience. Dack is not even 30 but he can add some knowhow to a young and naive group. He is also only a year or two older than Szmodics who has signed under Tomasson and was a player lauded for his experience so that doesnt tally up.

I agree with the idea of consistency in formation and think that constantly changing formation leads to inconsistency but for me a 352 doesnt really suit our squad long term as much as it worked in the first half at the weekend. Firstly the current set up and the players we have dont assemble much of an attacking threat, our wing backs are quite conservative and none of our central midfielders are goalscorers. It also is imbalanced in relation to our squad as we are then totally reliant on 2 forwards with Hirst and Vale not up to covering adequately and a host of attacking midfielders/wingers not really fitting in, sidelining Dack, Szmodics, Dolan, Hedges and Markanday. My suggestion for tomorrow was just a slight tweak, replacing Travis with Dack. Him behind the 2 forwards (not as a false 9) would be a threat and would give us more creativity against a Sunderland side lacking strikers. Wharton and Morton have 0 career goals between them and neither are particularly attacking. Brittain hasnt scored more than 2 in any season and hasnt scored for a few years and Pickering is hardly known for his goalscoring.

I think we need more in attack than just 2 strikers. Wharton, Morton and Garrett in front of a back 5 in a home game v a side with no strikers would be negative.

Yes. Point being that when he potentially could have made a difference and Tomasson was justifably criticised for not bringing him on earlier, nothing. Assuming teams are reluctant to get close to his wage and any deal would take lots of compromise in January, he would be possibly best advised to sit on it, try and break back in and earn another year on the same wage, or failing that have the freedom of the market in the summer.