Hes also scored more goals than all but Toney, so it seems to have had some success. Considering our next highest scorer has 14 less goals, I think its safe to say that out of various problems within our team, Armstrong is right at the bottom. Massive overreaction. Trybull shouldnt have played but hes miles better than any of them.

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Absolute bollocks.

We will lose Armstrong who along with Nyambe and Lenihan will have a year left on their contract. Rothwell isnt worth worrying about and lets not get prematurely excited about Crewes left back.

Absolute shit yet again. Absolutely no threat offered whatsoever. Literally nothing came off for Elliott, very poor. Rothwell invisible as always. Brereton our only threat but a timid one. Armstrong made some clever runs playing in a different postcode to his teammates and got more and more frustrated as time went on. Dack is too deep and looks rusty. Dolan a bright spark with zero end product. There was no need for Evans and Trybull, the former is as limited as a player can be, the latter rubbish. Bell is as bad technically as you can wish to see, constant poor passes and Douglas put the only good ball in all game in his 6 minutes compared to Bells 84. Lenihan and Nyambe were good, Harwood Bellis ok too. Kaminski has an erratic side. Mowbray out.

I think people forget quite how bad Bell is when he doesnt play for a bit. Literally no aspect about his game bar being quite fast is of any use. Going forward totally inept and not much use stopping crosses coming in.

When will Harry Chapman postcards be available in the club shop?

Shit team again, what can be achieved bringing Bell back in? Trybull over Travis? Dack on the bench?

As a side note, I am not displeased that Williams is on his way out. I feel that he summarises what is wrong, hes so unreliable, constantly injured, and ultimately isnt that great barring his once a season run of a few games next to Lenihan. Whenever he doesnt play with Lenihan, he is crap.

The numbers arent down solely to form, obviously disinterest will intensify with the season having already spiralled into nothingness, but it is no coincidence that the numbers are far lower when the game is midweek, when it is on the red button. I also dont understand what can be gained from watching solely in hope that the commentators have changed their rhetoric! They are club employees who will continue to toe the line, watching in hope of a change of tact is just needless torture. There are numerous factors as to why numbers are so low. I know I am one of a minority having bought a season ticket, those numbers are lower than they could have been due to poor pricing and too much time lapsed before getting them on sale. You throw in the pandemic to peoples finances, playing in front of empty stadiums making games feel like going through the motions, numerous people potentially watching via one link (in the same household) and of course dodgy streams and there are so many factors. The fear would have to be how Waggott etc has handled things leading forward in regards to getting fans back once they are allowed. I also am unconvinced that I will be given priority regarding being one of the supporters who purchased a season ticket this season if and when attendances are capped next season, although that may not be a problem anyway.

My point is more that if you was to ask who is best suited to forming a solid Championship central defence, Harwood Bellis and Branthwaite or Magloire and Carter, I would say neither. I did think that, and yet again under Mowbray, we DID need defensive reinforcements in this most recent transfer window. You could maybe argue the merits of keeping Carter and Magloire over signing the 2 that we did but even then, I think it was correct for them to be loaned out to lesser leagues and get regular football elsewhere, as Wharton did. My problem is not that we signed the 2 that we did over keeping the 2 kids we had, neither of those options would have not been sufficient. It is that again we failed to sign a ready made option. I mentioned going back in for Kipre but he was made out to be a greedy, selfish traitor. I also thought that Brentford did well getting Winston Reid on loan. Going into next season, I would not be content going into the season with only Lenihan, with Ayala constantly crocked, Wharton set to miss part of the season and then Magloire and Carter even assumed that the rest of their 6 month loan is successful. I feel we need at least one who will be able to play regularly.

Do you think we could genuinely challenge for promotion with Carter and Magloire involved regularly? The latter spent half of this season in non league. It would be another failed chance to fix the defence. Thats a very unfair strict barometer to suggest that if they arent ready by 22 then they never will be. But my reservations are more around their quality at this stage, Wharton played 80 odd games before getting involved properly in our first team. Both Magloire and Carter were taken to the cleaners by very average Championship strikers in Atdhe Nuhiu and James Collins in their last games at this level and both looked well off. It sounds like both have had a couple of good performances but that in isolation doesnt change much in regards to their ability to play for us where we supposedly aim to be. Magloire spent half a season in non league, it sounds like having initially been on the bench he has been needed in the Scottish Premier League and had a couple of games which is good to see, same with Carter at the bottom of League 1. Hopefully they will continue to impress but even if they have a full half season of success, I would not be content with them being expected to solve our defensive issues. Maybe have one as a squad player but I would prefer them to have a full season out on loan again and really prove themselves as the gap back is a big one. Elliott is a player of talent that we wouldnt ordanarily be able to have. Branthwaite and Harwood Bellis are poor signings.

No, we need at least one more senior centre back, if not two. Ayala is a waste of space and Wharton will be injured into next season based on the reports when it happened. We cant just expect 2 kids to fill the void.

There was a game or two in which Ayala was fit again but benched in favour of Wharton in fairness.

Wharton was actually handled fine as far as I can see. He seemingly massively improved out on loan, came back and won a place in the team before his unfortunate injury, which happened in a game where he was selected above Ayala.

Carter and Magloire are not ready to become a Championship partnership anytime soon. Both looked nowhere near during their very limited games, it sounds like they have done well in other leagues on loan and regular game time will do them good but we need a more ready made central defender alongside Lenihan. Maybe there is scope for one of them to be 4th/5th choice but they are very early into their apprenticeships elsewhere.

Would Mark Hughes be mentioned at all had he not had the previous affiliation (15 years ago) that he does with the club?

Unfortunately Gallagher isnt suitable as a target man and Bell isnt suitable on a football pitch. Rothwell in a midfield 2 wouldnt be a risk worth taking considering how unproductive he is anyway. Would go for Armstrong with Dack off, Brereton to the left, Douglas at left back and im unsure next to Travis. Evans beside him has been a successful duo but Johnson can provide perhaps a better all round game.

I definitely think that there are huge warning signs ahead of next season, especially if Mowbray continues in charge. I felt prior to this season, that this season was important as it could be potentially be the end of the current teams cycle, and I stand by that. We are unhealthily reliant on the goalscoring of Armstrong, with a year on his contract and with it not being in his best interests to sign another, we will I suspect have to sell with a huge chunk of the fee going to Newcastle. Elliott will be going back, the bonus is Dack who will be fit and have a full pre season. Brereton will have only a year left, and we are saddled with the ineffective Gallagher. Dolan is a kid who I am not convinced is ready to be really impacting games much yet but a prospect, and Rankin Costello needs a new deal but hasnt ever found a true identity in our first team. The curious case of Chapman will I suspect leave him released. In midfield, again a mess, Travis has a couple of years left I think, Davenport who is constantly injured and Rothwell who has never proved himself both will have a year left. Then there is a big bunch, Johnson, Holtby, Evans, Downing and Bennett, the first 2 maybe can earn a deal at a push, the latter 3 have to be released. Trybull will be no loss In defence, we have only 2 defenders of any worth, and both will have a year left assuming the extension on Nyambes deal is in our favour, so for them its either renew or we have to sell them. We are lumbered with Ayala for 2 more years, and Wharton also from the sound of it when he picked up the injury will miss a chunk of next season. Douglas will go back, Bell and Williams should be released and the 2 kids on loan wont be missed, and a lot of stock is placed on the hope that Pickering can make the step up, but all across the board, it seems like a mass overhaul is needed. I think we will pick up at least 5-10 points which will get us over the line over the course of 14 games, its not a big ask even for a team in our predicament.

I think solely based on judging the squad Mowbray has assembled against other squads without judging managers, that it is not in the top 6 squads, and that some of our players are overrated. I do think that it is underachieving down in 15th however under Mowbray, based on his baffling tactics etc. O'Neill, no, the other 4 are top managers at this level who get more than the sum of a teams parts at this level, so for sure, they would have us competing.

Its in no way a sign of any confidence in the manager. But with us on 40 points, and with Wednesday having had 6 points deducted, we still have an 11 point buffer over 22nd placed Rotherham. I suspect that it might be less than 50 points needed to secure survival this season so even with a couple more wins from 14 games, or even one win and a handful of draws, I suspect we could struggle over the line.

I do agree that the defensive side of thing has been neglected, my point was more that the attacking side of things looks equally poor at the moment. Our only good CB signing under Mowbray has been Adarabioyo who was a loanee, its just been neglected. Right back, a very talented right back has been handled shockingly and also we have never had a competent backup like you said should he be injured or need a rest. Left back, most of the time we have played for me as bad a left back that I have seen playing regularly at this level in Bell, 2 last ditch loanees havent helped really and there is a lot of excitement about a player based on random stats by self claimed analysts but I will wait to judge once I have seen him myself, I am skeptical that a player who we was happy to continue to allow playing for Crewe who themselves have conceded plenty will be an instant upgrade but time will tell. For some reason, you have been very single minded on the Dack issue, but you havent acknowledged that playing him in numerous positions that he isnt best in (all of his success has been as a number 10) will not be aiding his cause, deep in the midfield, the false 9 nonsense and bizarrely wide left. Elliott has gone off form which has coincided with the managers meddling, going from being consistently played wide right to sometimes central in a 3 and even as a false 9 again. Players cannot be expected to maintain the same level of performance if the shape and their individual roles are constantly tinkered with. The Gallagher wide thing has never made sense either. I think there is a misconception about our attacking ability based on the 4 games I mentioned in which we convincingly won, scoring more than 50% of those 16 goals against 10 men. I also feel that we are unhealthily reliant on Armstrong and when he inevitably leaves in the summer, it is a major concern looking down the table. I watched some of the Villa game and I would say that they are a good example of a manager who offers his players consistency and familiarity, playing the same way meaning that even with Grealish and Cash injured and Barkley and Luiz on the bench, other players came in and slotted in knowing clearly what their jobs are. With Mowbray as manager the players dont know how they will be playing from one match to the next.

You mention the defence but I actually think it is a bit of a misconception that our problems are concentrated at the back. We have only scored more than 1 league goal in 3 of the last 16 games, for a manager who claims to want to play expansive football, we are sorely lacking in attack and are critically reliant on one player to repeatedly and single handedly score the goals and since that avenue has slightly dried up we have looked impotent. Our goal tally may well be improved (not 100%) but that is disproportionately swollen by 4 wins in which we scored 16 goals against teams most of which went down to 10 men, with 9 of aforementioned goals coming in such circumstances. Mowbray repeatedly changes formation and plays attacking players out of position which are not characteristics that will lead to goals. There is the obvious Gallagher out wide bullshit, our best player Dack has also been used bizarrely since his return with the manager unsure on how to use him, playing him as a false 9, a midfielder deeper in a midfield 3 or even wide left amidst constant rotation. He was essentially at right back today! The false 9 bollocks has also been thrust upon Holtby in the past and Elliott more recently, a player who had been thriving wide right and since he has been used at times as a false 9 or in central midfield he has struggled to maintain the consistency of performances. Even Rothwell is occasionally moved about. Players dont get into the box either, I am unsure whether the blame around that lies in the tactics or indeed with the players that Mowbray has assembled. Armstrong has run into the channels and put in a few dangerous crosses lately including one today in the first half and there is never a sign of anyone anticipating these chances. Unfortunately it wouldnt make the slightest bit of difference.

Even then, it was a brave, battling and disciplined performance but it was mitigating circumstances in that we had 10 men. To be fair, I am not necessarily of the opinion that the players have down tools or arent playing for Mowbray even now, so that doesnt surprise me. For me, its an imbalanced and overrated squad of players built with resources, plenty of time and with no restrictions by one solitary manager, further hindered by a supposed philosophy built on a flawed theory, and a total lack of plan which leads to players out of position and not in a way that will get the best out of them.

The first half was a non event until the red card on the stroke of half time from a counter attack.