Yeah, but only on what you would think and hope is one of the few times in the season when Armstrong wasnt on the pitch due to having the luxury of giving him a bit of a rest. Throw Dack into the mix who also is naturally a central player and it seems unlikely that Elliott will get much chance down the middle. I think that it is more that Mowbray seems to see Gallagher as more of a wide player in the 3, which in my opinion is a very strange experiment, that he put Elliott in more of a free role. But with Armstrong especially and also Dack, I dont see much scope for playing Elliott centrally. Elliott is a wide player anyway so it makes little sense that we could have made any promises regarding where he will play.

At least the contracts are on the agenda but having "began" the process doesnt really instill any confidence, ultimately they have either signed or they havent. Dack has been "in talks" for well over a year. Hopefully we get some good news on contracts soon.

Seems a very random assumption to make that we have told Liverpool that he will play centrally. Assuming that Armstrong is fit, that will not be happening. Elliott looks at home cutting in from the right. Mowbray seems very keen to persist with Gallagher as a wide man which is an experiment that only he sees any value in.

There is no need to make any changes unless enforced. I am not a fan of making changes to try and be too clever to focus on the shape of the opposition especially on the back of a comfortable win. @neophox why would we randomly take Lenihan out?

Our own fans seem desperate to paint the whole fan base as a blood thirsty mob and I just cant get my head around it.

Bit of a worry that there could be a couple missing after Saturday. Would be a huge blow.

On the first paragraph, fair enough and fair play. I have also tried to make my points (my main one being that until thw results are top 6 worthy, the tactics and style will only ever be promising rather than fully justified) as balanced as possible so I dont want it to seem like I am saying that Mowbray is doing a terrible job etc. I dont know if anyone has suggested that we should have been really defensive sitting back at Watford but that would also imply that we are just going all out attack and that there is no in between. Again I thought that the balance of the midfield was wrong. I also thought that we again were too vulnerable on transition, something that needs to be tweaked if we are to continue this style of play. My personal opinion again goes back to my point in the first paragraph, that there is not a major flaw or problem with the style. It is simply that negative results will cause frustration and indeed I dont think that the current implementation of it, including certain personnel/tactical points that we have touched on and certain weaknesses that will require tweaking makes it quite as efficient as it could be. I dont doubt that people hold extreme opinions, on both sides, and of course I dont agree with or endorse them as I mentioned with the relegation predictions. On diving I tend to find that some people are morally repulsed and genuinely dont want to see even our players do it. It depends how you define "abuse." 2 people chatting saying that they dont rate a player (regardless of how exactly they put it) is for me certainly not abuse. Nor is reactionary moans and groans that you tend to hear when a chance is missed, an unnecessary backward pass is made or even a referee decision goes against us, thats all part of having thousands of people in a ground desperate to see their team win. What were the people doing? The thing about people "having it in" for Brereton is that based on his first 2 years a lot of people simply wont rate him because in those years he has not been good enough. Of course when he does do well as he did yesterday then people need to look past their opinion on the player overall and praise where praise is due, and likewise if a player they rate has a poor game. I also dont get how you can think that anyone who pays money and invests time watching Rovers would genuinely be impacted anything other than negatively by a player performing poorly. Cant be having that.

Is there a wrath of the fans to get at the moment? He said that he doesnt use social media and he wont come on here. With no fans in the ground there wont be any vocal disgruntlement regardless.

Blackburn Rovers Played 7 Points 11* *excluding deflected goals from Joe Lolley. Hard luck story.

I feel there is an element of revionism in regards to blaming too much on injuries or moreso the timing of transfers. That is one of the downfalls of not doing the deals until later in the window, I dont doubt that the signings have the potential to improve us. I just am uncomfortable in regards to just being too blaze and blaming everything on unavailability. We can only judge on what we see and both performances and the results were poor. As long as unavailability is acknowledged which I have done so, I feel I am within my rights in questioning and criticising tactical errors that I have repeatedly not liked seeing. Out of interest, Gallagher wide, Chapman as a 10, Johnson sitting as the deepest midfielder and Evans further on, do you agree with any of these tactical choices or disagree? I am also IMO within my rights to question our performance in certain types of fixtures which I will come on to. I dont specifically remember these quotes (obviously not saying they dont exist) but I personally have never said "no chance of top 6" and certainly that we "will be closer to relegation than promotion" and indeed whoever said these things especially the latter example I agree are guilty of hyperbole. I have also not downplayed the hammerings, in all 3 match threads including this my post match analysis was full of individual and collective positives. My point amidst it all is until (and if) this hope, potential, promise and excitement manifests into consistent top 6 standard results, that is all it is. Regarding the issues you deem as unfair that have perhaps lagged over from previous seasons, you have to accept that until we get results that show that we have overcome these things, that they can and will be brought up. Our ability to really batter teams when in the ascendency has often been questioned in the past. That IS something we seem to have changed, any notion that teams neednt worry about getting battered by us if we are on it has been shot down. I have seen plenty of justified praise for this development. Conversely, our home record has been ok since promotion but perhaps littered with a few too many draws and at times a failure to break teams down. Cardiff and Forest were 2 further failures of this historical issue. The developing style and the new signings MIGHT in time overcome this but at this moment they havent so the question mark will always be there. Another issue is not enough points against top 6 sides. Obviously we dont know yet who those will be, but the relegated sides are amidst the favourites, we competed with both but lost. No use to us and something hopefully we again can adjust soon. People can only judge on what has happened, a forum cant be expected to just totally withhold judgement on anything until a specific point in the season, judgement is continious.

Reading make a perfect challenge for us. A side really in form and well above us who we need to make ground on, yet also a side who will allow us to try and break them down. Win and it is a sign of progression, fail to and it adds further concern. Lets hop we get a win which will be very welcome. And give me frustrated managers slagging us off being bitter after weve taken 3 points over victorious ones praising our style after winning by 2 clear goals any day!

Equally, Forest were desperately unlucky not to score minutes prior to Lolley's goal when Ameobi hit the post. Coventry were desperately unlucky to hit the post just before we got a penalty and man advantage which would have changed the game totally. Johnson was lucky to get a huge deflection for one of his goals at Derby. We were lucky that our first goal v Wycombe came from a potentially dubious penalty award. If you choose to have the mentality of, we might have lost even if Mowbray had used alternative tactics/selections, without considering the alternative side of that argument when things go well/we get bits of luck ourself, then that is your choice. Ultimately, such a blameless mentality and lack of responsibility only creates a biased viewpoint whereby the manager is praised for what he has done correctly (as he was yesterday, we were very good) and then totally absolved of any responsibility when things dont go well. The current way of playing has collected 1.43 points per game so far this season. Last season we collected 1.37 points per game. It is yielding a minimal increase in terms of results and points accumulation so far that is still a fair bit off that needed to make the top 6. My point has never been that we should not play this way, that the current style isnt showing promise and signs of excitement or that anything is disatrously wrong, only that it can only be fully justified and fawned over when it gets us into the top 6 which I dont think is controversial or unfair.

By recurring, I meant that many teams use a similar blueprint that Forest and Cardiff used (and has seemingly been frowned and looked down upon) for away games, in terms of being hard to beat, well organised and looking to score via a set piece or counter attack. Whilst it is obviously an added concern that a problem we have faced last season seemingly has not been resolved, the criticism/concern surrounds the games we have faced in that regard from this season.

Johnson sat deep played a number of poor passes as he often does, the last of which led to the winner. Evans playing further forward led to him being the player who took the ball forward in one of our only attacks in the first half, he shit himself and wasted it. Hes a defensive midfielder. Johnson is one who can get goals. Gallagher out wide and Chapman as a number 10 led to nothing being created in the second half. If you want to absolve Mowbray of any responsibility in spite of these then fair enough. Presumably you will also downplay yesterdays win on the fact that we ran riot against 10 men? Thought not. Both Holtby AND Rothwell played against Cardiff. Yes they are well organised but we struggled against that sort of team in general and that needs to improve, its a little inaccurate to put the lack of creativity down to 2 missing players who played in the game prior when we were equally impotent. The current way of playing has promise, excitement and potential. I dont advocate changing it. It will only be totally justified once it starts yielding the results to get us into the top 6.

Ah so not the most definitive source then. He makes it up as he goes along. With contracts, it is a case of either being signed or not, little in between as we saw with Hoilett signing in 24 hours! Hopefully we have a few extensions to be signed soon.

It all seems to be a bit non urgent and and low priority at the moment, I have certainly not seen anything close to suggesting that we are in contract talks with all of those! Where did you read that? I hope you are right on Armstrong and am not getting deep into why i think it wont be "easy" to do. Rothwell was one I missed, again possibly not one I would necessarily prioritise because hes yet to really establish himself but might be wise to add a year or 2 onto his deal. Williams seemed happy to try and find a new club in the summer for family reasons so maybe that will be impossible.

Does anyone have any major worries about the contractual situation? Look at the side yesterday, 3 loanees, Holtby, Johnson, Rankin Costello and Williams all out of contract at the end of the season. Armstrong and Lenihan all out of contract at the end of next season. And of course Nyambe at the end of this season and the end of next season. I would give Holtby a new deal, Johnson and probably Williams I would hold off for now perhaps. Rankin Costello makes sense to sign up, should be cheapish and easy to do. Nyambe I would certainly try but am unconvinced that he would sadly. Armstrong and Dack by all means try and pull out all the stops but I cant see why they would commit too early. Lenihan there may be more chance of.

I acknowledged that it made things more difficult without numerous players, undoubtedly. A problem all managers will face at some point. That being said, both Holtby and Rothwell were available in the home game prior when we were equally impotent, Rothwell in particular had one of his best games for the club v Forest by not being involved yet being painted as a potential saviour! The issue regarding breaking down teams is a recurring one that we will need to overcome to reach the top 6. Going away from home and grinding out draws and wins is a very common and successful method. The side that played was full of regulars during Mowbrays tenure. Kaminski and Ayala were big summer signings. Lenihan has been critical to Mowbrays teams throughout his time here. Nyambe is in most peoples first 11. Bell has sadly been trusted by Mowbray playing most games since he signed. Bradley Johnson had won the leagues player of the month after the previous game. Corry Evans has been involved whenever he has been fit during his time here. The front 3 had nailed down places in the starting 11. Buckley has been in the vast majority of squads since the start of last season, heavily involved and often waxed lyrical over. Gallagher was a 5m man on the bench. Enough there to not be able to absolve the manager of responsibility should we lose to a team at home on 0 points? Certainly. The key to me was the tactical errors as I mentioned earlier. Cant see any merit in Johnson sitting, Evans ahead of him, Gallagher wide and Chapman as a number 10. Did Mowbray use the senior squad he had available in the best and most efficient way? Absolutely not for me. Im not in the business of putting the successess down to Mowbray and the failures down to mitigating circumstances, or indeed vice versa. Coventry went down to 10 men very early on, I could write off the last 75 minutes. Or I could write off the Forest loss due to unavailability. But no, praise and happiness warranted yesterday, and frustration and criticism warranted for the Forest game. Weve played 2 promoted and 2 relegated teams, I could focus solely on playing 2 easier teams with less resources, or 2 potentially harder teams with more resources. But no, I will factor in both sides.

Youd drop Armstrong, put Dack on the right and put Elliott central?!

I didnt criticise Mowbray for not including Trybull and Douglas, and I did acknowledge that the absentees made the situation much more difficult. But all managers have some games where they have major unavailability. Mowbray made numerous tactical mistakes with the players at his disposal. Johnson in front of his defence has always been a liability, Evans has always got a nose bleed over the half way line and Gallagher has never been a winger since he had a hole in his arse. I did mention that we keep beating the weaker teams but not in the flippant way that you implied. I have referenced that we have battered them in a way we havent done to teams for a long, long time and it is very exciting. Us at our best and/or v the worst teams in the league has been leading to brilliant watches for a Rovers fan. You mention Reading but it is not them at "their best" that is impressive to date, it is the consistency of our results. We are a little bit all or nothing at the moment, only winning when we wallop teams. Im excited about many aspects of our team at the moment, I just will only be totally satisfied when we start picking up top 6 level results consistently.

That pass on 1 minute 40 seconds I remember thinking wow when he did it yesterday. A shame that Gallagher has the first touch of Jason Roberts because it was absolutely perfect.

I dont get why the experiment would be to play him centrally, that is where Armstrong and when fit Dack want to play. Elliott looks good coming in from the right.

This is a big game. Reading have very much made themselves a team to beat at the top of the table and we could do with 3 points to put a bit of a marker down against a better side and also to make up some ground both on Reading and the top 6. Same side unless Kaminski is injured and Pears to come in if so with the Greek on the bench. Ayala if fit on the bench over Bell.

I dont think you can give the manager a free pass just because we had a lot of players unavailable. That will happen to every manager during the season, and out of those players, 4 were new signings considered unavailable (2 not registered and 2 not selected by Mowbray) so surely they also increase the absentee list for the 4 games prior if thats the case? Not for me, just a drawback of signing them so late. The 11 players plus the first sub Gallagher are all consistently in the first team squad so it wasnt quite bare bones by any means, and tactical errors by the manager (Gallagher widre, Chapman as a 10, Johnson sitting, Evans further forward) all majorly contributed to the poor result. In the Cardiff game we created very little. The Gallagher miss was poor but it wasnt as clear cut as a tap in and indeed if the managers 5m purchase misses a sitter, he doesnt get a free pass from judgement!

I dont think that Sparks was implying that the Rovers crowd are particularly demanding in comparison to other teams to the extent that playing behind closed doors benefits us, thats the difference. Brereton has after 18 personal dismal months been treated well by the Rovers fan base, in that I can not remember a player for whom there has been such a specific and unifed desperation for him to get a goal. Ultimately if his improvements are solely on the back of playing with less pressure in empty stadiums then in the long term then they are fairly useless if he reverts back to what he wss like before when crowds return. Suggesting so at this case is not only again reverting back to the incorrect suggestion that the Rovers crowd are horrible to play in front of, but also a disservice to the player himself. I know that you are being purposely patronising and antogonistic by claiming additional knowledge to any posters with an opposite viewpoint but we clearly didnt "obliterate" Watford, before considering the laughable giant killing narrative. We lost by 2 clear goals and that is all that matters. We were competitive and we certainly had chances but so did Watford who could have had 5 or 6 aswell. To view it as some sort of freak giant killing is not only totally illogical but also ignores numerous issues with that performance that led to us getting 0 points similar to v Bournemouth (although IMO we werent overly dangerous in conparison v Bournemouth with 2 shots on goal) in showing a real naivety and weakness in transition, and a struggle to turn possession into clear cut chances or if we did, a lack of ruthlessness. There are plenty of exciting elements to our play at the moment especially in 3 thrashings handed out to 3 of the 4 worst sides in the league so far but ultimately only until the point in which we are picking up points consistenly enough to be in the top 6 will this admittedly exciting way of playing be really proved in terms of effectiveness. Im also not denying that there could be more to come, new signings bedding in, Dack and Travis returning, and hopefully the flaws in our game ironed out, maybe that consistency can come soon. You could perhaps categorize the first 7 games into 3 categories, playing the weakest in the league in which we have won all 3 and absolutely battered them in an almost unprecedented way for us, decent organised teams coming to Ewood and us being unable to come close to breaking them down, and 2 games v top end teams in which we have perhaps slightly naively have gone toe to toe wih them and leaving ourselves overly exposed, leading to defeat. Also, never take any stock in an opposition manager praising us, thats my advice. A manager who has won and played against a decent team playing an easy on the eye style will always be full of praise, whereas a team who has ground out a 1 nil win against you in a professional and organised way will always be met with resentment and bitterness. Take Big Sams Bolton or us under Hughes getting under Wengers skin back in the day because he was bitter that he couldnt beat us "lesser lights" so resorted to dismissing our style. Good to hear such praise, although Colin Murray was full of praise that we signed Harvey Barnes which is news to me!