I think the excitement understandably came from the manner and scoreline of those wins, there were specific small periods in which we scored 3 in quick succession. There doesnt seem to be an in between at the moment, in neither of the last 2 games did we even threaten the goal. Ultimately, a start of 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses is decidedly average.

Its crazy, there seems to have been a shift in recent years within the whole culture of football whereby there is a certain type of football that seems to be considered acceptable and mandatory, passing it out from the back etc and if anyone shifts from that, regardless of results, they are treat with scorn. The result has almost become of secondary importance. Another aspect is that the skill of goalscoring seems to have fallen down in the ranking of importance for attacking players. Being a consistent, prolific goalscorer doesnt do it for some people anymore.

I do worry as to whether Mowbray even knows his best team and what it will settle down as, in spite of some exciting transfer business. I think that the back 4 and keeper picks itself, id like to think that Mowbray sees that Douglas is an upgrade on Bell, that Lenihan and Ayala are our best 2 centre backs, and that Nyambe needs to play and Rankin Costello as a full back is nothing more than cover. I think there is a lot of excitement especially in attacking areas that we have plenty of options but I have serious misgivings as to how many are of any substance and indeed how to build around those. I suspect that we are going to have to pick 3 central midfielders due to the abundance of players that we have in there, especially with Downing to come. But I am unsure as to which 3 are the best trio. In attack though, for all of the numbers, I am not sure which ones are going to make meaningful contributions. Armstrong is an obvious one but for the second game in a row today, he looked completely helpless, isolated, frustrated and fed up. We need Dack to come back in as soon as possible, and seemingly will have to guarantee Harvey Elliott a key role, a player of raw talent but one we cannot be sure if he himself will be a threat. Gallagher is poor and continuously stuck out wide, Brereton is mainly a waste of space, Dolan is so raw, Rothwell flatters to deceive, Rankin Costello doesnt really have the attributes to stand out, Chapman looks a bit of a busted flush, we only really have 2 forwards to play centrally. The 2 obvious ones that have to play are Dack and Armstrong, and then Elliott I am sure will have a big role. But how do you fit them 3 in to the same team to get the best out of them? If we keep the 3 in midfield, you probably need to go with a false 9, Armstrong from the left and Elliott from the right. The team at the moment seems to lack any sort of real substance in attack.

Absolutely horrendous watch and performance as per the Cardiff game but we couldnt even cling on to a clean sheet. I get that we had plenty of players unavailable but Mowbray got his tactics wrong again. Firstly, I mentioned earlier that Johnson cannot play on the half turn, his passing is not good enough and he is not a sitter, whereas Evans gets a nose bleed if given any license to attack. Them 2 were played the wrong way around. Also, the Gallagher on the wing shite again was bizarre. If he is to come on, of which we had little alternative due to only having 2 strikers in the squad, then either put Gallagher up front WITH Armstrong, or if you definitely want only one, Armstrong was getting little of the ball so move him out wide, get Gallagher down the middle rather than out wide which he clearly cannot do but only Mowbray thinks he can. Then he brought on a winger, and put him as a number 10 and then left Gallagher wide! Absolutely bizarre and costly. Buckley had a chance to make a real push for a place today and it couldnt have gone any worse for him, he was absolutely awful, didnt get involved and some terrible passing. I was always wary about the hype that Dolan got after a couple of promising performances, apparently that was being miserable but I felt that even then he seemed so raw and has been really poor in these last 2 games, even doing stupid tricks in the wrong areas. He is so young, so raw and we cant be relying on him to play every week. Take him out the side for now and hopefully he can learn and impact from the bench. Brereton was again absolutely awful too, we cling onto performances when he does little bits of neat play amidst offering zero goal threat, he has reverted back to looking out of place being on a football pitch. Lenihan and especially Ayala are not the most cultured defenders but I do feel that we are solid there for the most part, they do the basics well, Ayala looks a very good signing. I thought the full backs both had very mixed games, neither offered a genuine attacking threat, both run forward stop and turn back, Nyambe made a couple of defensive slips as did Bell with sloppy passes. Alot of snobbery towards Hughton and their style but I felt that Forest edged the game really, they had the decent chances and got very lucky with the goal but were desperately unlucky minutes earlier when Ameobi hit the post. Mowbray needs to be brave with his team selection v Watford. Buckley has missed his chance and Dolan and Brereton have been really poor in the last 2 games. Bell is constantly sloppy and obviously the midfield balance is not right. I would like to see Douglas, Trybull, Elliott, Rothwell and Holtby start if they are all available. He has said post match that "it was a team thrown together" and regarding the internationals, "how are you supposed to put a football team together thats well coached and structured." He is making excuses there. For a start, Hughton managed it, and Mowbray surely has had time to build a structure that doesnt require loads of work each game to be structured and organised, its not as if the new players all started, it was a set of players that have featured regularly so it shouldnt have a feel of being thrown together.

Very, very weak bench and not the strongest line up, A shame that none of the new signings could be on the bench. Missing a lorry load of players. Hopefully at least most of Elliott, Trybull, Douglas, Holtby, Rothwell, Pears, Williams and Rankin Costello can be in contention midweek. Maybe Downing too. Hopefully we can grind our way to a victory, Forest will be a different animal with a new manager but ultimately a home game v a team with 4 losses in 4 has to be one we expect to win. I would disagree on the best roles of Evans and Johnson. Johnson is better breaking forward, sit him in front of the back 4 and he is not very good taking the ball on the half turn, his strengths lie in the power he offers and the goal threat he gives us breaking from deep. Whereas Evans is very conservative, a lot more neat and tidy and can take the ball on the half turn and perhaps more disciplined but offers absolutely zero going forward.

"Hate" towards Bennett? Absolute bollocks. I have never seen one person question Bennett as a leader, a role model, a human being, or a representative of the club. I dont think anyone could or does show anything like "hate" towards him. It is not hate to hold the opinion that in any position, he weakens our side and has nothing to offer an ambitious Championship side on the field. That isnt hate or disrespectful, thats a fairly widely held opinion from the looks of things. We always seem to veer back towards this glass half full v glass half empty, positive v negative shite too. I dont think you need to get to know him to realise that Bennett as a personality seems to be fairly unquestionable. No one has ever doubted that. The perfect man to lead our club is an interesting conundrum really. As a person, unquestionable, but I would also argue that as a leader/captain, you also have to be able to contribute on the pitch. Sadly for Bennett, as was the case for another good professional and leader in Mulgrew before, the time came when his ability on the pitch let him down. As it is, we do have experience and leadership amidst the team, Lenihan seems a leader, Ayala, Douglas, Johnson, soon to be Downing, of course all of these can offer competence on the pitch. I believe he suffered a serious injury when at Norwich, I remembered him as being much faster for them compared to when he signed for us. Maybe the Bennett we got had matured as a person to the man we see today, but a lot of what made him the player he was had been lost. I mean that as it stands, our 2 contracted left backs, one loan and one permanent both are out of contract I am not suggesting that we will go into next season with no left backs. I am happy with the signing of Douglas, less so with the renewal of Bell, but I was just comparing the situation to in goal last season, when we had Walton on loan and Leutwiler with a year to go, both departed at the end of the season and the position needed a factory reset, which it has had. Maybe if Manning was available at such a knockdown fee, he would have perhaps been a more long term focused addition at left back. That being said, Douglas should be a shrewd short term addition.

No one has ever expected them to be at Jack Walker's standards, such a comparison is illogical and ultimately provocative. They have gone from years of being disruptively prevalent to conveniently absent. A transfer window in which weve relied on frees, loans and a couple of minimal fees is no reason to start blowing smoke up their arse.

If they are your standards, not being in administration (the 2 comparisons are totally different situations) and being thankful merely to be in business then fair enough, each to their own I suppose. Mowbray hasnt spent loads of money at all this window, he personally (plus perhaps scouting etc) deserves the praise if deemed that he has utilised his limited resources well to the benefit of the squad. Venkys havent bankrolled a summer splurge of transfers, Mowbray has just utilised the loan, free agent and European markets to improve the squad on a budget. Nor is it this brilliant deed to ultimately have gotten themselves into a position whereby a company they own is making losses that they have to supplement. I understand that but I also think that if people post things that arent right, then they shouldnt be untouchable either, as others have said im sure he understands that it is just a bit of joking around, if someone posts a rumour that repeatedly doesnt materialise, I am not sure if it is fair to start intervening as you have threatened if people have a bit of gentle ribbing that the rumour isnt correct, just out of fear that ITK titbits will dry up. Of course it is welcomed but "ITK's" shouldnt surely be treat any differently/favourably?

He is one of the signings that I would say I am most happy with. Ayala is the main one for me, the one I am most confident on but I am happy with Douglas. The injuries are of course a concern and I would have preferred Cunningham, who also has injury conerns. Also, my worry is that we are in a similar position to in net a year ago, in 12 months we havent got a left back, Douglas will be a free agent but also 32. But I am happy with his signing, I think he is a big upgrade, he also can give us good set pieces which is a bonus. I dont think pace is critical and he will be an attacking threat.

Even Mowbray wouldnt play Bennett carrying a serious injury! Wouldnt be surprised if Gallagher starts however.

Its a strange do if chaddy is called negative after a signing spree! To be fair to him, he said beforehand that he didnt want a winger and he is sticking to that opinion. Disagreed at the time and still do but fair play for not changing his opinion ?

A window in which on paper the manager has utilised fairly limited resources very capably, with 2 fees of under half a million, 3 freebies and 3 loans, and it warrants asking to welcome back the idiots owners!

Bristol City, Birmingham, ourselves, Cardiff and maybe QPR have had good windows for me. Sheffield Wednesday decent too, and Watford have done well to keep so many of their best players. Derby and Huddersfield have had particularly strange windows. Not sure on Forest, plenty of quality but also plenty of holding midfielders and far too many bodies. That being said, their last 2 of Knockaert and Hughton are very impressive. Preston a strange one. Very quiet but plenty of players with only a year on their contract.

He definitely doesnt deserve to leave amidst any bitterness or contempt for a tongue in cheek if slightly petty tweet. He has been an excellent servant for us and seemingly has been very professional when not playing. There is no reason to do anything but wish him well.

Some really good signings there. Swansea have also signed a young defender from City, are in talks with free agent Fabio Borini and have sold Joe Rodon to Spurs. Cardiff have made a couple of very good signings.

Very tough. Back 4 and keeper is easy, Kaminski, Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala and Douglas. The shape and personnel of the 6 in front is the hardest. Trybull from what I have seen is ideal to sit in front of the back 4. I think Johnson is better slightly ahead. If it is a 4-3-3: Trybull Johnson (Travis when fit) Holtby Elliott Dack Armstrong Not sure that is the best balance of front 3 but you wouldnt want to play against it. 4-2-3-1: Travis Trybull Elliott Dack Rothwell/Dolan Armstrong Better balance, but no Holtby.

He isnt in his final year: https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/2019/july/tom-trybull-signs-new-contract-with-norwich-city/ I am also unconvinced that he is coming as back up.

Happy with the signing of Elliott if he signs in that I felt that we are light in the wide areas and mentioned as such yesterday. It has come out of the blue and I hope we get it done and over the line. Ideally we could get someone like Wilson, a proven performer at this level. Obviously that was financially beyond us and we have had to go for someone who is really raw, but he has looked a real talent whenever I have seen him for Liverpool in the cups. Talk about him rotating with Dolan seems naive, he has not come to sit on our bench, we must have guaranteed to Klopp that he has come to play hence him not planning to even loan him out. I suspect that he will jump above Dolan, Brereton, Rankin Costello etc in the pecking order. I am also glad that Fisher has been let go permanently. With Pears also signing, it made no sense to cling on to him, with a year left to go letting him go is correct.

I am guessing that like with Trybull, the Elliott deal would be one you are totally against for the reasons outlined earlier, that he will block the development of our own youngsters?

His contract is up at the end of the season, when he will be 32.

Elliott would be an interesting one. Not proven by any means, but a very exciting talent whenever I have seen him. I am not of the opinion whereby you ignore opportunities to try and develop your own, there is no reason why we can't do both and I am not convinced regarding our current options over the course of a season. Obviously a third loan is not ideal but it seems that we are shaping up for a season whereby the focus is on promotion this season.

I think Bolasie has already been rubbished, linked with half of the league.

I dont get why it has to be one or the other. For a start, there are 2 wings! Having one proven performer and plenty of promising players around that all fighting for 2 places is surely a good thing? Not being totally confident in players to regularly perform at top 6 standard who have never done so to date is surely logical. It doesnt mean that they wont play or that they cant assert themselves as first team regulars if they perform. Also, why dont you have a problem with Trybull coming in and potentially pushing Buckley and Davenport further away from the first team? Wheres the consistency? Or do you not want him? By sickening, do you not mean refreshing?! All of that palava is crazy and bizarre! Transfer deadline day is turned into a massive charade as you say, reporters stood outside empty stadiums in the pissing down rain, the odious Jim White, and it all ends up covering a series of low profile loan deals and little else. I have never felt that Johnson is best suited to playing in front of the back 4. He is so often caught in possession when trying to play on the half turn, he is not the best technically. His strengths lie for me when he is allowed to go forward as he has this season, he offers a real goal threat and power as shown this season so far. I think any hopes of someone buying a constantly injured Corry Evans with 1 year left on his deal for 1m is massively optimistic! I would not be able to expect Gallagher or indeed Brereton to step up in the same way that Armstrong has done should he pick up an injury. I think we are particularly reliant on Armstrong and of course Dack to stay fit for the majority of the season to mount a genuine play off push, which is not necessarily bad because most if not all teams need to keep their star players fit to challenge. In those 2, we have 2 goalscorers that are superior to most in the league, but I also think that the supporting cast are a fairly decent gulf in class away from that, which is why I wanted one more across the sides of the front line.

If the line is just to trust Mowbray in his staff, then there is no point in the transfer thread. I was summarising my own personal opinions and in cases whereby players were unknown to me prior to the transfer window, I just wanted to explain that my opinion is based mainly on a few games early in their Rovers career which is not big enough a sample size to overly praise or criticise. Like I said, I think we could have done with a wide man with more of a track record of performing, scoring and assisting at this level. It is the same as in midfield. If a new wide man would block the progress of Dolan/Brereton/Chapman, then Trybull and indeed Downing will do likewise especially to Buckley and even to Davenport? It would be hypocritical to endorse signing Trybull who adds a body in front of Buckley and Davenport yet also endorse not signing a winger in case it reduces the game time of Dolan, Brereton and Chapman. You have to balance promise and quality for the here and now. Coming into this season, Buckley, Davenport, Chapman, Dolan, Brereton etc all came under the category of promising but in no way proven to play a key role for a team with the aspirations we have this season. If any of these youngsters impress enough they can play plenty with some of the more seasoned players, there are 2 wings and 3 central midfielders for a start. Trybull for me is a welcome addition and I would have liked one more out wide ideally.

If I was a Derby fan, with their current manager and a total lack of goal threat up front I would be a little fearful. The signings of Ibe and Kazim Richards seem quite desperate.