Think Nyambe is the better choice at RB.

A game we very much need to and should be winning, irrespective of signs of life following the appointment of Cowley. Walton Nyambe Adarabioyo Williams Downing Travis Johnson Holtby Dack Rothwell Armstrong Subs: Leutwiler, Bennett, Hart, Chapman, Graham, Evans, Gallagher Big 2 conundrums are left back and up front id suggest. Bell cannot play, Downing is a slightly risky choice at LB (with Nyambe a more defensive choice on the other side) but for me the least risky choice available. Armstrong I would let have a go up front to add to a couple of recent goals. Samuel I dont want near the squad either. I do expect to see Downing and Armstrong wide, Gallagher up top, Bell left back and Holtby and Rothwell kicking their heels on the bench.

I have never been overly impressed by Rashford, I dont think hes that good. But he certainly isnt on form and there would be no justification for playing him over Sancho considering how well he is doing at Dortmund, goals and assists all the time. Rice is a bog standard player for me, good to be in the squad, not one to build around. Jordan Henderson is a regular and is the captain of superb Liverpool side. He is far better than Rice, and as I said you dont need both. It was more just a comment on Mourinho, I wasnt saying he should be manager but I am not convinced that Southgate is capable of organising these defenders. Thoughts on his continued selection of the woeful Michael Keane and repeatedly going back to Delph?

Rashford, as @K-Hod touched on is so overrated. Been absolute crap for United, I've never been that impressed with him his numbers have never been particularly impressive whereas Sancho continues to impress for Dortmund and gets goals and assists. Deserved to start although had a poor game. Henderson is far better than Rice, Champions League winning captain and a constant in an unreal Liverpool side, if its on club form hes one of the first names on the team sheet. Rice is decidely average however, and you dont need him AND Henderson. The latters passing was poor yesterday but he was at least making himself available and showing some leadership and some bollocks, Rice hid all game, never making angles. Winks should play for me. Trippier was woeful all last season as he even admitted himself, I think the move to Atletico seems to be a good one for him but enough to jump him ahead of the top class Alexander-Arnold? Not in a million years. Chilwell should start ahead of Rose, another of Southgates favourites. And how Keane even makes the squad is a joke, one of Southgates favourites but absolute dog shit. Same with Delph, only missed out through injury. Would be really interesting to see how a Mourinho type would do with England for a tournament. His ability to organise and drill a team, with the players in attack always capable of nicking goals.

Why Rice, Keane, Rose and Trippier were playing, I have no idea. Everything wrong from Southgate.

I know, look at my comments in the style of play thread about Burnley. I totally endorse teams playing a style to suit their players, their resources, not playing what is fashionable or deemed attractive. But its hypocritical to approve Ainsworth doing it and criticising Hughton. Whose Brighton team got promoted banging in plenty of goals anyway. Disagree on Johnson, such a gamble. Especially this notion of custom assembling backroom staff around him with further former players or other people. A manager should pick his own assistant where possible.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11830591/burnley8217s-style-of-play-is-now-unique-among-premier-league-teams Found this to be a very good article, albeit such a shame that its our rivals getting the praise. Theres an obsession with playing it out from the back, we are the perfect example of a side who it doesnt suit, who seemingly dont understand how to do it and seem to be trying solely because its popular. We dont have the players and ultimately this season has been incredibly boring and led to few goals and few goalscoring chances. Burnley have 2 strikers, they have wide players like the talented Dwight McNeil and they consistently overachieve and have a consistent, set style. Dyche sadly is a superb manager and the sooner a bigger club realises that, Sadly amidst the snobbery in the game I cant see that happening at the moment. Clubs would rather get a more exotic choice, a Marco Silva or a Quique Sanches Flores and ultimately flatter to deceive but trick people into thinking its better to watch. He would be a superb choice for Everton.

Out of interest chaddy, Ainsworths Wycombe dont have a reputation for attractive football by any means. Why doesnt this bother you, but all you can talk about regarding Hughton is a supposed boring style? Chris Hughtons last season as a Championship manager saw his side score 74 goals anyway, and youve repeatedly defending the "style" of football Mowbrays Rovers have played, which almost every single other person finds to be boring, so suppose it is all subjective!

Absolutely disastrous news, the player I would argue if we picked someone who would cause the most damage by being injured, its him. A monumental blow that will cost us a few places in mid table IMO. I would go as far as saying that you could argue that only 2 of our players are of top 6 quality, Cunningham and Dack. Bell has had more than enough chances, hes the worst left back I have seen in a Rovers shirt, and has that fatal mix of lack of ability, and also cowardice and a half arsed demeanour. He shouldnt be considered even now. We have 3 options, all scraping the bottom of the barrel. Downing at LB, albeit we then lose him as a midfield option and of course its a risk baring in mind he has minimal experience there. Sam Hart, but he looked out of his depth last time he played for us and im not sure half a season at Southend proves anything really. And Williams with Tosin and Lenihan at CB, which means Williams plays in a position he is crap in.

I dont know enough about Barnsleys plans going forward to comment specifically but I do think that too much importance is placed on stability nowadays. Managers often plead for more time but they only warrant that time if they have proven to some extent that they are progressing. They also tend to have a shelf life at a club, so too much "stability" invariably leads to stagnation and then decline. There are various clubs and examples of clubs who have decided to make what at the time seemed risky or unfair decisions on managers that paid off. Watford have made numerous managerial changes and got success out of that system, at a higher level so have Chelsea (managers with short lifespans at the club, as soon as success dims they are ruthlessly removed and in the main successfully replaced) and a good example is at Southampton. Nigel Adkins was doing a solid enough job, there was media outcry when they took on Pochettino from Espanyol, but it proved to be successfully proactive. Mowbray is an example of this. Overall, albeit with fairly ample resources, he has taken us from being a very disjointed bottom 3 Championship club, via a relegation and promotion, to a lower mid table club that seems very stable and settled. At the moment, I feel almost certain that we wont be dragged into danger, but I also dont think he has the capability to push us with the required consistency towards the top 6 where he wants us to be. A change would split those who see the same situation as steady and stagnant.

No but objectively, did we have any good chances aside from the goals? If the answer is no, how can you justify being hard done by? Grahams half chance was the only other decent chance I can recall. As I have said, if that is the blueprint for a good performance then the standards are piss poor. Both games were like watching paint dry.

Would have to disagree, Williams is a shit left back but Bell is just an absolute disgrace of a footballer. As bad a left back as I can remember seeing.

Do you have a picture of this quote? Absolutely disastrous if so.

Another worry is seemingly a level of delusion within the group. The captain seems to be echoing the managers assertions that we played well v Luton and Forest and deserved more from them. We were shocking in both and I only remember one clear cut chance aside from the 2 goals scored.

Amidst various problems with that team, no Holtby at all?

The goal apart, we didnt create a clear cut chance as far as I can remember. It was a horrid watch, and those I spoke to agreed. Matter of opinion, but did we have a chance aside from the goal that was a decent chance? Same story, different game. Surely if you were happy up until yesterday, it is a bit of an overreaction on the base of one game?

But the passing is remedial and in no way threatening, other teams that are well organised see Lenihan, Williams and co passing it side to side and think yeah, have it there, because it never leads to anything progressive or penetrative. Having more passes than last season isnt a badge of honour if we are even less threatening, and there is nothing to be applauded about having more passes if they are totally pointless. I think that if we repeatedly have struggled to create clear cut chances in EVERY game this season then the new style of football isnt working. You suggested the other day that it had garnered improvement that you had seen v Luton and Forest, for me we were shite in both games, stodgy, slow, lethargic, totally blunt, even worse than last season. I also do think that the striker has a responsibility in terms of the amount of chances we have, chance creation isnt just a burden of the players behind him. Some have that knack of being able to anticipate and sniff out where the ball will fall. Rhodes was a master of it, regardless of the levels of service. Likewise Graham last season, many of his goals were scruffy, I think all inside the box, but he got 15 or 16. He looks leggy in his limited time this season but look v Luton, when players had the ball Gallagher I felt went hiding in the box, and when he had the ball near goal twice he instantly tried to pass on all responsibility and gave the ball away trying to pass the buck. Graham came on, the first thing he did was peeled off his man and got a shot on target. He soon after peeled round again and it took a last ditch block to prevent him. Gallagher does not have that knack of knowing where the ball will fall. Regarding changes, 1 or 2 isnt the problem, of course you cant rely solely on 11 players, but no one knowing our best team isnt healthy. Preston and Forest make subtle changes amidst an overhaul consistent system, when they change personnel it doesnt change the overall make up of the team, look at PNE, Johnson or Browne, Potts or Harrop, Barkhuizen or Maguire, it doesnt really make much difference. Our squad has some talented players in it but it is incredibly imbalanced. We are horribly light in defence, we have plenty of midfielders but all of them want to play centrally, and absolutely no cutting edge. Mowbray also seems reluctant to include more than one "flair" player on a regular basis, rather than embracing a potential strength, and trying to fit Dack, Rothwell and Holtby all in the same team. How do you know about the wages we spend on our manager compared to other teams? Surely we could offer more than Charlton. The manager is the most important person, makes no sense to penny pinch on him and spend 12m on 2 shit strikers!

There is some shite in this league chaddy, its competitive because there isnt THAT much quality in it. You dont have to do Sky Sports marketing campaign for them haha.

The way we are playing has been a topic of great debate on here for 2 reasons, both of which you have defending Mowbray about after every single game, claiming progression has been made on both scores. I have personally criticised the style of play, for me its a lot of slow, laborious passing in our own half, and often followed by a direct pass anyway. We have had more of the ball but have been less effective in attack. I have also said that boring football is withstandable if its effective but it hasnt been which is the main issue. So I would be interested to know the following questions: - Do you still stand by your assertions that our style of football has been effective? My opinion mirrors some in the style of football thread, its horrible to watch, its not done in an effective or clear way, and its resulted in very few goals and just as worryingly, very few shots on target or clear chances. - Do you still think that Mowbray is right to repeatedly change his team? I dont think Mowbray knows his best team, and I think consistency in team selection is critical in terms of getting consistency in results. I thought you didnt go yesterday, did you manage to watch the game? That was my question to be fair, I was investigating whether the change of heart was as a result of a singular result. I just dont want us to fall into a trap when we do replace Mowbray of going straight for the same names, I'd rather we pushed for someone a bit more ambitious. I dont think he is under any pressure at all. I think delving into who would pick the new manager, whether the owners are considering a change etc is all sadly all naive and premature. I suspect hes got a cushy job under his mate Waggott for the forseeable and of course any managerial change would be more to push on and progress to where we expect to be, we arent in crisis or anything, so I think sadly nothing will change and we will continue to stagnate.

To be fair, you defended all of these decisions and have done up until today. Fair play for having the flexibility to change your mind but of course people will question what has suddenly proved the catalyst.

I know, but before the game you was suggesting that you have seen improvements in our style of play and its effectiveness with each game, and rejecting suggestions that our football is drab and boring. You also said a couple of days ago that you felt that top 6 was realistic and that we had a chance. Can you see how a sudden defiance that a managerial change is the way to go is a little confusing as to the quick change of heart. Albeit I do agree with you. My reservations have been simmering for a bit. Lee Bowyer is working with peanuts and whilst Charlton are above us his job security is dependant on the mood of an incredibly volatile owner. (Ours more scream dormant and disenterested at the moment) He nearly was let go in the summer. He would have better job security and more money to work with here. Id rather we at least tried for someone like that, an appointment with ambition, before going for one of Adkins, Karanka, Rowett etc. I do think that Mowbray has blown 12m on 2 total duds but I doubt Venkys care enough to question such specific issues. I dont think Mowbray is under any pressure in that I think Venkys are idiots and Waggott is his mate.

I think its a little naive to suggest that last paragraph. He wont be going anywhere. And Waggott knew him prior to joining so he certainly wont be pushing for his departure.

Fair post. You did for a couple of days say you want Mowbray out following the win(!) V Oldham then revert back to defending him to all and sundry, out of interest why has it changed suddenly again? Regarding your choices, one thing I would insist is that who Ainsworth supports has to be considered irrelevant. A football club shouldnt allow sentiment to play a part in recruiting a manager, once the novelty wears off it makes not one iota of a difference and indeed can cause clubs to make silly appointments. Whether that be who the manager supports or used to play for. United fell into the trap of appointing Solskjaer, there was initial positivity but quickly hes proved incompetent. We was told how perfect Woodgate was for the Boro job, the novelty of who he is soon wears off. You may point to Wilder but hes doing so wel not becuase he supports Sheffield United but because hes a superb, proactive manager who had success in the past and has implemented a very consistent system where his players know their roles to a tee. This isnt all aimed at you btw this is a general point. What we have to remember is that unlike a lot of the time, a new manager wouldnt be taking over a club in crisis fighting for its life. Just one swimming in mediocrity, one thats become stagnant and needs someone who can make it greater than the sum of its parts. Hughton has to be the stand out candidate if we could push the boat out for him, his record speaks for itself. Aside from him, Id love us to push for Lee Bowyer if he could be persuaded. Getting every last drop out of his players at Charlton. Ainsworth, solely for his actual ability and the job hes doing at Wycombe, would also be a good appointment. They are perhaps the main 3. A few of the other unemployed managers that you mention, Adkins, Karanka and Rowett, would all be steady if slightly uninspiring choices, to be considered if the above 3 turned us down. Moyes has been out a while, and Pearson I am not sure. Johnson would be an IMO unnecessary gamble and Coleman is a bit shit, we dont have Gareth Bale. Sadly, Mowbray is going nowhere. Venkys are the idiots that are continiously the elephant in the room and Waggott is Mowbrays mate.

For me it has to be time for a change of manager over the international break. Mowbray has done well for us but he clearly isnt capable of taking us any further, thank him and send him on his way. Ideal replacement would be Hughton if we could get him, otherwise Lee Bowyer who is doing a superb job at an unstable and seemingly penniless Charlton. I would hope that he would be attainable, if neither of them are, the likes of Nigel Adkins and Aitor Karanka have proven track records at this level. We unsurprisingly havent got rid of that habit of collapsing in away games. The defence today from 15 minutes inwas the same one as last year, Bennett, Lenihan, Williams and Bell all repeatedly made stupid mistakes throughout last season, and theres very little beneath that. I think some were fooled because of the removal of a past it captain, the signing of a slightly less erratic (but nonetheless still unconvincing) and the loan signing of a very Mowbray cannot seem to settle on a best team, or make an expensively assembled attack even able to create decent opportunities. There is a constant change in his teams, with him having an obsession of wanting to be able to change from game to game as if it wont in any way hinder the potential to strive for consistency. Some of our more talented players are given few or no chances of starting, whereas some of Mowbrays favourites seem sure fire picks most weeks regardless of performance. The result of Mowbrays meddling is an inability to go on a consistent run of results, and him having no idea what his best team is. Its hard not to glance over to Preston, a squad cheaply assembled compared to us, but with a manager getting more out of them players than the sum of their parts. They had a favourable home match today, they won comfortably, no sweat, next game.

Need to be picking up a win today really on the back of a very poor week so far.