Playing Dack in a midfield 3 would nullify his threat. Thats before you mention the state of that back 5.

If the plan is to rely on untested kids to transform a diabolical defence whilst we have 12m tied up in substitute strikers then that would be insane. Magloire cant head a ball, Platt couldnt get a game for Stanley and Wharton apparently didnt impress at Bury.

The fact that Mowbray has suggested that the defence isnt much of a priority is astounding. If its true itll cost him his job at some point down the line. 69 goals!

He would have been a brilliant signing, if it was in any way possible.

But that has been his best season to date! That is the most potential hes ever shown, he went to Birmingham and was muchvworse. The team he was in always gave him a strike partner, and it was a team where we had natural wingers, a younger Conway, Marshall and sadly as you mention Feeney. Hes definitely an upgrade on Brereton of course, I definitely think its incredibly difficult to argue that its not "big money" for someone who hasnt really proven much. My main point is the way we have utilised our resources whereby weve spent a pittance on our terrible defence and 12m on our 2nd and 3rd choice strikers. If we fix the defence aswell then fair enough!

I am not convinced that either do have said potential, especially the dearer one, but we can only hope now.

It is for 2 strikers with 25 total Championship goals between them prior to that, neither of which get into our starting 11.

Wheres that from?

Full back is critical, the defence needs an overhaul rather than a solitary addition. Going into the season with Bennett and Bell at full back (which youd suspect we will) will lead to goals being conceded, there no two ways about it. He was often disinterested when he played for us in his first season, lazy and stroppy. And he was crap, he didnt score after November. A couple of social media videos of him running up and down hills doesnt convince me hes anything but below the standard we need.

Plenty of talk about new formations that involve Dack moving back is crazy, hes not the type of player to dictate play, he has to be around the 18 yard box. And hes our best player so he has to be built around. We have one competent centre back, so playing 3 there would just put additional demands on recruitment. He says on here (this is 2 months old) "I've got no defence...defenders are coming." Lets just hope hes true to his word because its of criticial importance, we wont get out of the bottom half with the same set of defenders. He barely signed any defenders at West Brom, he left Coventry regretting his inability to sign a big centre back and here hes only signed Bell, Downing and Sam Hart so hes not improved our defence. Just signing one centre back I dont feel will be enough at all, we need a revamp. Our full backs arent up to it either.

To be fair, ambitions/aims/expectations of top 6 this season would be pretty much pie in the sky unless the manager fixes a defence that was, apart from the 3 teams that went down, only better than QPRs. You dont tend to trouble the top half with a bottom 6 quality defence. I think even you have touched on that if Mowbray doesnt fix the defence you wont be happy with him. Most of the people criticising the Gallagher deal are doing so because our resources should be prioritised in terms of fixing the defence. Gallagher would come into a position whereby we already have our player of the season and someone who cost 7m and is supposed to come good this season, and he wasnt that good last time, so hes a luxury we cannot afford without first fixing the defence. Its understandable why people are so anxious that it will remain unfixed because it has been neglected for so long. Everything depends on the rest of the window. If he fixes the defence, we may have a chance. If he doesnt, then presumably pressure will intensify if it continues to be our achilles heel when aspiring to be higher in the league as per his own expectations. Lets hope its the former. Everyone wants the defence fixed.

The further you push him back, the less able he is to get the goals and assists he has. His game is geared around being in and around the box, hes a second striker more than an attacking midfielder and hes a natural poacher around the box, scoring so many tap ins and close range goals. Ultimately, two of the main things that held him back were an incredibly rigid and direct style of play, and also the use of limited players around him, picked for defensive reasons. Rothwell seemed to link up much better with him for example than having a Bennett, Conway or Reed wide. Moving him further back would be crazy. He is our best player, and he is best suited to a 10 role off a striker. The team should be built around him.

Firstly, absolutely no need for the moanfest comment. I'd rule out the 4-4-2 straight away as it doesnt allow our best player to fit in. Ultimately with the squad we have, I think that 4-2-3-1 best suits the personnel, however it doesn't have to be as rigid and unimaginative as it was last season. We need to ensure that the central midfielders are trusted enough (and perform well enough) to play through the midfield rather than constantly direct, and we need to have more scope for flair and pace in the wide areas, no more Bennett there, Rothwell a regular and Armstrong played on the right rather than the left, where he seems so much more effective. Chapman right amongst it to. The striker needs to be played off, even Graham who is underrated technically, rather than going for the easy percentage based long ball because it requires less brain cells. Of course, these patterns of play need working on in training until they become second nature. I would go: New GK New RB/Nyambe Lenihan New CB New LB Travis Johnson Armstrong Dack Rothwell Graham With Chapman and Davenport very much on the coat tails of that side, and the likes of Bennett, Smallwood and Mulgrew nowhere near it. As much as the historical failures with 3 at the back put me off, the main thing in terms of going forward would be the additional recruitment needed, we only have one competent centre back, and the 2 full backs we have are not fit to play as wing backs as neither can cross a ball. I also think we are much better when we play at a high tempo with our pressing, and I think the addition of Johnson as well as hopefully more of a part for players like Rothwell, Chapman, Davenport and Travis (only came into the team mid way through) can really help that.

Is that true? Last year we couldnt agree on a fee, as per Bowyers comments in the press.

The injury happened in October, you couldnt possbly justify such a stance at that time, the delay seemed the only realistic option especially considering how crap our number 2 keeper is.

Even with Lenihan in the team (who himself can be very rash) our defence was crap last season. One area that is constantly neglected and one you have missed too is full back. Amarii Bell isnt a Championship quality full back, never mind one for a team going for the top 6, reluctant to drive forward, cant cross but crucially so flimsy in preventing crosses coming in. Nyambe is much better defensively but suffers quite regular dips in form, and Bennett will no doubt continue to be shoehorned in and regularly come up short. We need 2 full backs. I dont see any suggestion that Evans and Smallwood will actually be moved on either, but I'd prefer Evans to Butterfield. Derby fans would drive Butterfield up here themselves, he wouldnt be a good addition.

Theres a lot of assumption there, his motive for wanting the move could be anything, a desire to play with the goalkeeping coach to improve him (both Spanish), belief that Brentford are more likely to get promoted (spending big on Jansson potentially too), could be a wage rise, could have grown sick and tired of being singled out in the media when the whole defence is shit, could be anything. Your second to last paragraph is the key however, fully agree. Just hope we start the necessary defensive overhaul soon.

Yeah last season he purposely ramped up the competitiveness of pre-season after complaining that we were under-prepared for our League 1 campaign leading to a really poor start. Surprised the quality of our opponent seems to have gone down again, but Mowbray mentioned wanting to play on the ball more.

We dont spend money on our defence, we neglect it. No chance hed come here anyway.

Would have been open minded to signing Charlie Adam before Johnson signed, as it is it would be bloating a part of the team we are already well stocked in, Dont want an Adam Johnson midfield partnership under any circumstances either!

You think we could have a good chance of promotion with them 2 at full back? Our full back positions have been continuously neglected throughout the Venkys era really, and I fear this will remain the case at the end of the summer. The LT did an article on our right backs in recent years, https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/17664143.what-we-can-learn-from-the-stats-around-rovers-right-back/ and you see some of the shite thats played there, similar story with left back. Present day, Nyambe has a lot more defensive nous than Bell and far more room for growth, but is prone to a poor run of form, and our only competition is a player who is only filling there ineffectively in Bennett, who has to be frustratingly shoehorned in. Bell is horrendous at preventing crosses and stops and checks back rather than bursting forward and getting crosses in. His only competition is a very average centre back who is awful in his supposed primary position of left back. We need to fix these positions. Sadly I don't think Chapman will be near the starting 11 either, not sure Mowbray trusts him and wouldnt be shocked to see him loaned out. Bennett will be in, by hook or by crook. I like the look of the midfield, Travis, Davenport, Armstrong, Chapman, Dack and Rothwell complimented by the older heads of Johnson, Downing and Evans. (Sadly Bennett and Smallwood too) Obviously Raya will need replacing, Darlow would be a good choice, but the defence still requires the overhaul it needed at the beginning of the summer, not just one addition.

I find this argument really bizarre, that season he is being "unfairly judged" on was actually the best season of his career, his other seasons have been rattling around Southampton nowhere near the team, in a goalless loan spell at MK Dons or at Birmingham where he scored 6 goals in over 30 games. When he was here he scored the vast majority of goals under the manager who was supposed to be so much of a handicap to him. Coyle made Gallagher basically the main man with Graham or Emnes alongside him, 2 wingers, at the cost of any defensive stability, but it was certainly not a hindrance to him, as it was comfortably the best spell of his career. Mowbray started playing him wide of Graham when we moved to a back 3 towards the back end of that season, and the goals dried up somewhat. For me, as others have touched on, it would be a really lazy signing in terms of overpaying for a bog standard former player, and a reckless purchase with money needed to overhaul a woeful defence. I would however be happy with Darlow coming in.

Just have to hope that you are right in saying that it isnt gospel based on the levels of neglect that would show towards the defence.