We need to perfect one formation and play it consistently so everyone knows their roles and that players can be changed but they know their role within that system. Would you agree that Mowbrays decision to go to a 433 with a false 9 post lockdown potentially cost us a shot at the play offs?

A thrilling game showcasing the best and worst of us. And ultimately goals and performances from individuals typically after when we needed them, but aided by a system that suits them. Frighteningly feeble at the back. Start off with the absolutely hapless goalkeeper. The sooner he goes the better. Nyambe I dont think was at his absolute best. Nor Lenihan. Carter looked a little better but obviously not ideal to concede 3 v a shocking side om debut. Rankin Costello looks like he has something but hes not a left back or indeed a full back as we saw for their third goal even though the primary fault went to Travis. We need an overhaul (again) back there, left back, at least one centre back and a keeper and some bollocks, will we get it in this economic climate with this manager? I doubt it. Travis wasnt at his best, at fault for a goal and sloppy on occasion. Johnson was ok, not the best on the ball but gavd us a bit of experience. Beyond that, amidst a formation that suited the players, much more promise. Armstrong is undoubtedly the main one, he and Dack are the 2 first names on the teamsheet in those areas. Beyond that, Holtby is the next one youd go to. That role off the right suited him, constantly between the lines. Rothwell has picked up again, we needed more of this far more often but deserved his goal and assist. Chapman with a superb cameo showing what WINGERS can do, wonderful assist and the play to go on a run to set up Nyambe (until Gallagher blocked him) was sublime. Give him a start midweek. Buckley was ok too but should have gone for goal, Vale quiet but could have had a dream debut. Rankin Costello a big option further forward. We dont need to keep hold of Samuel and Graham. And now to the 12m duo. Brereton much better, a performance similar to the Bolton one. Got a goal early, bright and involved although second half his end product was wrong a few times, couple of poor finishes and picked the wrong ball initially and then mishit the second one ruining a counter attack. Gallagher spent far too much time wide, Mowbray insisted no doubt. Then when hes between the sticks he scores a very good header. Never have him wide, but great to get a goal. So we need some bloody consistency tactically and we need some reliability and solidity in net and in defence. I doubt we will get either.

Do we even need one totally different away from home? I think it should be consistent regardless.

I think you are passing the buck. And Brentford have played 4-3-3 for most of the season. Mowbray loves to overcomplicate. If you think we should flit in and out with strikers on the touch lines and false 9s being used and them not used and no consistency, then you are crazy. Stick to one formation that suits the team and they know what they are doing.

We need to stick to a formation and perfect it. Brentford, Leeds, Forest, West Brom are all consistent. Mowbray has blown this season trying a stupid formation that didnt work. End of.

Much better. Very good to watch but equally so frustrating that its now our season is over. Mowbrays desperation to try that stupid formation with a false 9 has cost us being in with a chance. Play a formation that suits the team, stick to it and perfect it. On Tuesday we had strikers on the touchlines. Today theyve both been between the lines of the penalty box and theyve both bloody scored! Brereton has been so much better. Shame that for the second season running a 7m strikers goal comes when the season is mathematically over. I see more there than Gallagher but clutching at straws. Holtby has been very impressive as has Rothwell.

If the youngsters are furloughed whilst Smallwood and Sam Hart have contracts, thats beyond belief. Well it isnt actually,

The fact that our formation is so unclear at this stage shows the confusion and lack of progress that Mowbray has made tactically in the last few months. No one knows what they are doing. For me, the main youngsters that should be played should have been the ones for whom are closest and most likely to be first team contenders in their natural position. For example, Rankin Costello should have started the last 2 games wide left. Downing is still in the squad so presuming that he might be knocking around next year. So stick him at left back. If not, put Thompson in. Chapman wide right. We have no competent wingers who have established themselves, put them 2 there and see what they can do in 2 starts. Likewise, Davenport has impressed in cameos, why on earth has Johnson been picked over him? What can be learnt there?

Whether fans though a new signing was a good one or not at the time doesnt excuse the manager if the player doesnt work out. The manager is judged on whether the player is a success or in those 2 cases, 2 really expensive failures.

Why is Davenport not playing? Makes absolutely no sense at all. Should have played Rankin Costello in a natural position too. Good to see Carter playing though. If Brereton is playing out wide then he may as well have been left on the bench. Hopefully the end of Samuels Rovers career. And Graham although he leaves behind some good memories and good service.

Bargain!

I am saying what I think should happen, not providing a prediction of what Mowbray will do. If that is the case, then I would suggest that Bennett is odds on favourite to start the season there. I dont want strikers plodding down the wing.

I dont care to be honest. I dont see what it has to do with my point that it makes sense to spend more on the manager rather than getting one on the cheap, ie a quality manager will be more beneficial than a slight increase to a transfer budget. I am not saying that we should or could have appointed Bielsa. I am also not saying that teams should spend 6m on managers from now on. You was insistent both when appointed and at the start of this season that he would be gone shortly, that it was the wrong appointment and that Heckingbottam should have been given more time! To discredit Bielsa would be silly considering that hes got a club that in the 5 seasons prior to his arrival had finished 15th, 15th, 13th, 7th and most recently 13th, got them into the play offs in the first season and up with 2 games to spare as almost certainly Champions in the second year. Theyve got what they paid for and that 12m is a drop in the ocean and a brilliant decision by them, lets be honest.

If Rankin Costello is to be around the starting line up ahead of the new season, it should be in his actual position which Mowbray himself said is out wide. We dont have any competent wingers so stick him there tomorrow and Tuesday/Wednesday.

Leeds is an extreme example, my point about people paying a manager a decent amount is a general one. Imagine though if you say that Bielsa's salary for the last 2 years has been the same as the fees for Brereton and Gallagher over that period! Hes taken a side in mid table with poor managers and revolutionsed them. Even players like Dallas, Klich, Alioski, the transformation has been remarkable.

Bielsa has been an absolutely incredible appointment. Fair play to Leeds for having the ambition to get such a calibre of manager. I always find it strange when people turn their noses up at paying a manager a decent amount. He is arguably the most important person of all, it makes sense to pay a bit extra for a manager even if it means clipping a bit off the budget to sign players.

Evans and Johnson dont have the legs between them. Travis definitely does need refining on the ball but its not a major weakness either, his pass success rate is 84.5% which is only bettered interestingly by Jacob Davenport, who has made 7 sub appearances.

Not much, weve been playing this stupid false 9 and wide strikers nonsense recently. And stop being pedantic, you are keen to quote supposed transfer fees and wage figures when it suits. Im sure the deal was reported at around 3m.

One game and never repeated post lockdown. No one said either has to take his exact role. But is it unrealistic to expect 12m worth of forwards to at least partially make up the chunk of goals that we are lacking post Dack injury? Is it heck and you know it. Thats untrue, and a stretch youve made yourself. From one extreme to another. And considering that after spending net 9m that we have no goalkeeper but 2 forwards neither of who have contributed anything really, we would have been better off had none of those 3 transactions taken place. Which no matter how much its dismissed or underplayed, should have at least instigated some sort of progress or improvement had it been spent reasonably.

A bit of an ask with the money pissed up the wall on 2 non contributing strikers and amidst a pandemic. Davenport has I dont think ever started a game for us and Rankin Costello only 5, 4 of which were out of position. Not sure we can bank on them yet although they need time. Also think we would be sued should we manage to sucker someone into buying Brereton, or indeed Mulgrew or Bennett. Samuel and Graham need to be cut away too.

If he tried he failed to get one. No use to us.

Suspect that Armsteong wide might be here to stay. In a "false 9 and 2 wide strikers" formation which he seems keen to adopt neither Armstrong or Dack can play in their natural positions. At least the fact that Dack has missed half a season (in which we werent in the top 6 prior to or of course following) gives him a clean slate seemingly, ignoring the inability of his 12m strike duo to help bridge the gap.

He did very well to get us promoted at the first attempt. That was 2 seasons ago now. Nobody wants him out based on that. Last season we solidified. Now the question is, can we progress? Can we push on? 60 points last year, 60 points now with nothing to play for. Need half a team going into next season. Neither big money signing has shown any signs of being a success. Seem to be in a tactical muddle. You can understand the doubts! And I dont think hes played up front since lockdown. False 9s and Armstrong back stuck out wide. Has it worked? 10 points in the last 11 say maybe not.

You could say about Armstrong that he is pretty limited as a forward, his goal return is good but to become a real top end striker he needs to boost his numbers, possibly by scoring more typical strikers goals. I think both are strong contenders but out of the 2 I would say that Travis has been more consistent.

The delays in the summer etc I have been most critical of Venkys. I know that they are dismal owners and I am not saying that they make it easy. But the theory about not signing defenders seems a little far-fetched if fairly possible in terms of our idiot owners are only convinced to make a big signing in an attacking position. Surely Mowbray could come out and say, the owners prefer to spend big on attacking players, if that was the case? And even IF that conspiracy is true, he didnt have to spend that money specifically on 2 really poor attackers who have not contributed. If you refuse to judge the manager on his recruitment due to Venkys (before then defending his recruitment further down) then fair enough but appreciate that others will without proof that Venkys are literally invested enough/involved enough to have such a strong impact. We have only signed 4 players for big fees in Venkys tenure that I can remember, 1 defender and 3 strikers. I suspect that it may just be circumstance (academy graduates Hanley, Lenihan and Nyambe, Duffy a success signed cheap, regulars like Spurr, Kilgallon, Baptiste, Mulgrew and Williams all signed cheap) rather than the disinterested owners poking their nose in too much that has led to imbalanced recruitment. You go back to the years prior to Mowbray but due to the quick turnaround in players, it is not overly relevant. You mentioned on his thread about how he inherited Lowe, Brown and Greer, all 3 were about to go out of contract so they were easy to move on. Much of the deadwood was out of contract, he had a core of experienced heads of use and of course this batch (Lenihan, Raya, Nyambe and the one he deserves most credit for, Travis) of academy graduates to build around. He also signed a catalyst in Dack, and a few other shrewd additions. His work post relegation to get us back up was very impressive and universally appreciated and praised. The argument is based around his ability to now push on from the work he has already done which, especially with promotion I appreciate and thus would look back fondly on him. His short term signings have post promotion been eye catching, notably 3 of them, Adarabioyo, Reed and Downing. The first 2 wont be here, the third may, but possibly is on the wane. The longer term recruitment notably the 12m spent, which is something you are happy to not judge him harshly on, ensures that going into our third season, bar the very impressive Armstrong deal being made permanent, have we progressed in terms of our squad? Not really for me. Your issues with Venkys I wholeheartedly understand and agree, but I feel that many of the criticisms that others have flagged up, you have dismissed for reasons whereby the validity of people may differ on. You wont judge him on his recruitment because of theories regarding Venkys involvement. You wont fully judge this seasons final finishing because of the pandemic. You wont judge his tactical choices because of the pandemic and because its a hard job in a competitive league. And of course the injury situation, which is fair to an extent because it would hinder anyone, but a counterargument would be that his expensive signings should have at least partially bridged that shortfall and that impact, and they havent come close.