I think a 4-2-3-1 could potentially get our best 2 players in central positions which would be really good. We could then have Elliott on one side, Brereton/Rothwell/Rankin Costello on the other and then 2 from Johnson, Trybull, Holtby and when he returns Travis to sit.

The thing is that Armstrong had just begun scoring but even then, across his absence overall we have not consistently picked up a competitive number of points. When you compare him to the players who might be most at risk ie Holtby, Rothwell and Brereton. None of them are or have ever impacting/impacted games like Dack did for us consistently. When you take Armstrong out of this team there is very little goal threat. The new style of play I think should suit Dack too, he is technically very good and he naturally presses. If teams back off to prevent Armstrong having space then Dack is better than anyone in the increased spaces that will arise. The only real doubt is the injury but there is no reason at this moment to expect him to be the player he was before once he is back up and running again.

Dropping the mandatory testing was always going to cause major problems, presumably it was a financial decision to remove it.

I suspect that there seems to be again that feeling of stagnation, they have dropped from their level from previous seasons. For them, that lack of investment from the owner isnt going to be a problem that changes anytime soon. Everything is relative, issues above the manager doesnt mean that the manager cannot be questioned. When we had Venkys at their destructive worst, it still was correct to be desperate to want Kean out. Man United arent fully functional above Solskjaer but it doesnt change the fact that he is doing a poor job. Therefore I dont necessarily agree with the mindset of "what do they expect" as a general rule. Not sure whether Neil as a specific example is a manager who should be sacked, but I dont think should there be a feeling of stagnation or regression that they should just accept where they are and repress any ambition to go one step further. To allow 4 key players to have 8 months left on their contracts seems a bit strange to me.

The biggest talking point was that there were quite a few claimed that they would have chosen Rovers, but in that position 99% of people (without a vested interest in either club) would choose the Premier League opportunity. I wonder if the seemingly left field signing of Branislav Ivanovic changed things for Kipre.

Thats a hell of an if. But yeah I think that would be acceptable. I still dont think that teams would be interested at 7m+ after a season of a wide forward getting 10 goals, but if he contributed those numbers after his first 2 years, the difference would be massive in terms of improvement.

Im just basing on what my friend is regularly saying, had a quick look online and he certainly isnt alone: https://www.pne-online.net/forum/index.php?threads/is-it-time.3431751/

Well by that token, neither is Armstrong. In his Rovers career, Dack has scored and produced consistently and with regularity, as has Armstrong in 2020, both to a level that considerably outweighs the importance and the consistency of the other players I mentioned. Assuming that there are no mitigating circumstances, it is Armstrong, Dack and 9 others. Obviously if either had a prolonged bad spell of form, then maybe that might change.

It will be interesting to see if he even has a long term future at Liverpool. Rhian Brewster was seen as the next big thing and excelled at Championship level yet the standard required to become even a Liverpool squad man is so high that they were happy to sell him for big money to another Premier League club.

He will need to start scoring quite a few goals before that price tag becomes in any danger of being value for money or indeed a potential long term source of profit. His improvement is very promising and his goal again on Saturday was great to see but he will need to start adding a new dimension to his game by getting goals and anticipating chances before he can really kick on.

This correlation drawn between a crudely calculated position of where we are in the "finance league" is flawed because its nowhere near as simple as that. I do think that we slighty underestimate the resources that Mowbray has had purely because we havent sold off players to fund signings like most other teams have, so our net spend will compare very favourably to most. Our wage bill will presumably have also really gone up and should be shown in accounts yet to be submitted, since we have had added Johnson, Holtby, Gallagher, Downing, Ayala, Kaminski and the 3 loanees amongst others, there are some serious salary additions since the last published accounts in June 2019. Then there is time, Mowbray had had more time than anyone in the league bar recently promoted Wycombe and Gareth Ainsworth. Some of the clubs with obviously bigger resources have had key sales and relegation hangovers to deal with. Proof that judging the manager isnt just dependant on resources can be seen at Preston where their fans have started to really turn far more than we have at Alex Neil and they have had far less money than us. Our top scorer was a player they couldnt afford and we have since signed 2 forwards for much more than that. But Preston have had a few years around the play offs, Neil has had plenty of time and are PNE fans deluded for thinking that they have the right to want a change? No. Im also unconvinced by this assertion that our squad is top 6 worthy until it proves it. That has to be the target and we are already fighting against a deficit.

With Dack though once he is fit, he has to be in the team, him and Armstrong are the 2 main attacking players. Holtby, an improved Brereton and Rothwell all have their strengths but in terms of consistent performances and output, Dack is in a league of his own compared to them 3. If Dack does not fit into the side within the current formation, we might need to tweak it to get him in. Having Dack and Armstrong together should massively reduce the current over reliance on the latter. I would also have Travis in there, as well as Ayala at CB over Williams.

It plays a part in the analysis of whether he is a good signing but in regards to his performances in the first couple of years, no. I would be critical of a player who looked that out of place whether he was from the academy or a freebie. He just looked lost irrespective of the price tag.

Great news. The sooner hs is back in the team the stronger we will be.

Surely if he thinks that promotion is the aim and that the manager isnt capable of said aim then it is logical to want his removal?

To be fair, the main difference facing Vardy is that it was in a friendly. Had he faced Vardy in a competitive game I suspect it would have been a different story.

No, it isnt about having a "stick" to beat the manager with, but if we was to judge at this point then Brereton still would very much come under the unsuccessful signing category and for a ghastly fee too. Obviously one thing that Brereton has done this season is start to show glimmers of promise and potential that he could prove to be an asset which prior to this season did not seem to be the case at all. Of course he will need to step up a couple more levels further before the fee and justifying that fee becomes a genuine conversation. I suspect that I am not on my own in feeling especially pleased when he scored even compared to anyone else though. Overall, I still think that Mowbrays transfer record is a mixed bag. 2 main success stories in Dack and Armstrong and 2 main expensive question marks. Then beneath that, quite a few shorter term successes, some cheaper failures, and quite a few in the middle who flatter to deceive. It isnt a case of one big stick to beat the manager for amidst an otherwise successful history, it is mixed, good, bad and indifferent all included.

Very happy tonight, was a critical game that we had to win so to do so is very satisfying. Everything changed with Armstrong coming back, we are overly reliant on him and in the first half he was so frustrating with his end product and decision making but he is the one player who gets the goals with such regularity and is such a threat. Brereton did very well, I have always been critical and rightly so about his numbers and I was made up to see him score, I feel happier when he scores than anyone else I think, and it was a brilliant finish. He also did some very good work for the second to break and set up Elliott who bar a few very good touches was quite quiet but that pass was superb. Johnson was brilliant in the middle, Rothwell was much better too and gave us something different. Buckley the least effective of the 3 but tidy enough and much better than his last performance when he had a shocker, maybe a bit of a blessing with Evans as much as we dont want an injury because Evans cannot play that role. I thought that Wharton did well, he differs from Magloire/Grayson/Carter etc who all looked massively out of their depth when they played, maybe it is the loan spells but Wharton looked comfortable and nearly scored at the other end, although on the ball he is really poor. Lenihan has had a couple of much needed good performances this week. Both full backs were fairly impressive although were both caught out when Kane hit the post. Kaminski was a welcome return, the opposite of Pears who did look so lost coming for crosses, he also made a couple of very good saves although poor for the penalty which I am surprised to see so much complaining about the award of. We have had a crap start to the season and are already playing catch up, and I am not convinced that we are suddenly going to go on a brilliant run as soon as we come back but today was very pleasing and good to see.

Very worried that we are risking Armstrong when his hamstring cannot be totally right. Says a lot about a 5m striker that he cannot be trusted even if it means rushing back Armstrong. Its a must win game though so hopefully we can get it against a poor QPR side with a manager who focuses more on "playing the right way" than results.

Definitely wouldnt play Johnson in the holding role, for me it highlights his weaknesses on the ball (as it did for the Forest winner) and he is incapable of taking the ball on the half turn. Would play him in one of the 2 more advanced midfield roles if we are to continue with the 433 for this weekend, he gives us a goal threat which we need. Your comments on Trybull I totally agree with, has given the ball away a few times and looked quite ponderous. We might have to resort to Evans in front of the back 4 who did well when he came on in a much more familiar role. Not sure at left back. Rankin Costello isnt comfortable there but Bell is consistently poor so a flip of a coin there really. Rothwells absence has been overhyped but I wouldnt mind him coming in from the left, Elliott right and either of the 12m forwards, equally impotent really. Wharton in for Williams. It is a tough selection for a critical game.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2020/november/injury-update-tom-trybull--derrick-williams/ Bell and Johnson potentially back this weekend, not sure they will make much difference really.

I disagree that goalscoring is all about service, obviously it plays a part but poor strikers dont get into goalscoring positions. I think we need the wider 2 (assuming we continue to play this formation which im not sure is wise) to start scoring goals because we are reliant solely on Armstrong. Brereton is the perfect example of a player who is always on his heels rather than anticipating bits and pieces around the penalty box and it is so infuriating. You mention hold up play though quite rightly as some of Gallaghers last night was appalling.

Down to 17th as it stands.

Spot on. We are also always *insert reason here* away from putting together a run of wins too.

Is there any striker for any of the other 23 sides in the division that anyone wouldnt swap for Gallagher or Brereton out of interest? I cant think of any.