Craig Conway has signed a short term deal at Salford.

Mixed team. Really pleased to see Rothwell start, and the lummox Gallagher dropped. Holtby should be starting however, and Johnson should have been picked over Evans.

In Rhodes' first season he got 27/28 goals and our team was shit. Tough question, but would have to plump for Rhodes. Cannot argue with that goal record. Superb. Graham is a great striker but not quite the same goal threat, never hitting 20.

Would it have made us score more goals? It was having crap like Lowe, Williamson, Chris Taylor, Steele, Spurr etc behind that which was the issue. Rhodes was a master every season he was here at sniffing out chances. Even when he had shite service, he still got goals. The opposite of Gallagher for whom the ability to sniff out goalscoring opportunities is alien to him.

King would have needed to score more than the 20 goals Rhodes guaranteed to do that. No one knows whether he would have, but at the time it would have been brainless to drop a 20 goal striker. He was not part of the reason why we underachieved.

At that time, the pair were performing to excellent, consistent levels, banging in the goals, doing their job as well as any strikeforce in the league, sadly the manager and the 9 behind were not at the same level. Couldnt give a shit what they are doing now, it doesnt change how well they were doing then.

Where the 3 players now is totally irrelevant. The only question you ask is, at that time, was the strikeforce of Rhodes and Gestede consistently scoring a level of goals as high as anyone in the division? As the answer is yes, the decision was correct to leave them to do that, and it was the failings of the manager and the rest of the side that cost us.

He has played half of his games central and been equally ineffective there.

If they hated a manager who had them in 7th then Woodgates gonna have to win a fair few matches now the novelty of a former player has worn off.

Woodgate always seemed a sentimental choice to me. Ultimately whilst patience may last a little longer initially due to him being an ex player, he is doing considerably worse than Pulis was with largely the same squad, and deserves to start coming under serious pressure if these terrible results continue.

Dont understand all this nonsense about him getting used to a new style. So is everyone else, seeing as Mowbray claims to have started it this season. That being said, I dont see a strong identity especially in an attacking sense anyway. There has to be big pressure on him. All 5m that we spent on transfer budget went on him, as well as high wages. Hes 24, hes got over 2 full seasons worth of Championship experience including one You look at the 3 teams that went up last season and they all had a 20 plus goal striker. I didnt want Gallagher in the first place and from what Ive seen so fae this season he will struggle to get to double figures. Im not saying that Mowbray picks the correct team and tactics to provide a consistent supply line but a striker that never gets chances suggests issues with his movement and anticipation. He needs to improve and start scoring ASAP for us to achieve our objectives as many of our other signings have proved shrewd additions.

Goals is the most important thing though. If your striker is scoring 20 goals a season hes doing very well. End of.

Then you are underestimating the value of goals! Goals are the main thing you want from your striker.

Where they are now is totally irrelevant. At that time Rhodes was scoring 20 goals a season. He was doing exactly what youd want.

Its bizarre that looking back at a side that failed to get into the top 6, that people instantly question the one part of the side that made us so expectant in the first place due to its consistent goals. Our strike force was as productive as any in the division. It was faults amidst the 9 behind them, not with one of the 20 goal strikers that caused us to underachieve. Not the one who repeatedly kept scoring presumably. Agreed, the thing with Dack that guarantees him a place though is the numbers. I agree that he was really poor but even in that poor performance he played a superb pass for the goal. He also has 3 recent goals. It shouldnt be him OR Holtby.

Seem to remember him also getting one at home to Forest.

Rhodes consistently scored a goal every other game, thats what you want from your strikers. Them 2 were doing their job and then some.

Theres no way that Rhodes and Gestede could have been broken up, we had a 40 goal a season strikeforce. Dack cant be dropped, like Rhodes he is a guaranteed goal scorer.

Cunningham certainly doest deserve dropping.

Gallagher has played numerous times up front including at the weekend v Luton and looked exactly the same. Not up to standard. Your logic of dropping Armstrong following a good game makes absolutely no sense either. Also, he would argue that he prefers to play up front but thats a seperate argument. And @chaddyrovers until we start actually creating good chances, something we have failed to consistently this season, and scoring more goals then ultimately it is impossible to suggest that our current tactic is working as it should attacking.

Makes no sense to drop him though when he does have that good game. Especially when Gallagher is in your team despite repeated insipid performances including again last night.

Very harsh to drop Downing.

I know that you cant name the exact same team 46 times but you should know your best team. We are totally lacking in consistency and our season seems likely to descend into mediocrity unless we can get it. Rich Sharpe correctly mentioned the back end of last season and the success of the front 4 of Graham, Dack, Rothwell left, Armstrong right. Times its been used this season? Never. Baffling. You keep mentioning our style of play and its effectiveness but we have scored barely any goals. We create very few clear cut chances, we very rarely make the goalkeeper do any serious work, and we dont score enough goals so how on earth can it be considered effective? Hes maybe flirting with the idea of playing more attacking football but he then leaves Holtby and Rothwell on the bench and has Gallagher plodding away down the wing. Senseless.

We are having the ball more but to absolutely no effect whatsoever. We continiously create minimal amounts of clear cut chances, so I dont understand how people can be excited and impressed. The football is boring, slow, monotonous, rarely getting people off their seats. Mowbray is still miles away from stumbling across his best team, and any sort of consistency

Walton Bennett Lenihan Williams Cunningham Travis Downing Holtby Dack Rothwell Armstrong Subs: Leutwiler, Adarabioyo, Nyambe, Evans, Johnson, Chapman, Graham Not quite sure thats where I would play Holtby or Armstrong ideally, but for me thats our best bet.