Evans compliments Travis really well. Buckley has rarely played in that position, but when he has he has failed to exert himself as he has in all but one game in more advanced areas. Im sure that he will improve in time as hes very young but I am unconvinced that long term he will play so deep.

But from what you have seen, would you have Buckley in the central midfield of a Championship side? Over say Corry Evans? Loans arent good for every player but it depends on various factors, the likelihood of gametime, the position and the likely destination, if they can play regularly in League 1 then its a good indicator, the further down, the less meaningful it is. I think he looks like more of an attacking midfielder, any doubts over physicality increase ten fold if you push him back and he seems more of a progressive player rather than someone to dictate from deep. Sadly for him, we have Dack and Holtby ahead of him, and of course players like Brereton and Gallagher wanting to play central due to an inability to play out wide. Surely rather than drip feeding minutes here and there, unlike with Rankin Costello, there isnt a natural opening within our squad for him to potentially establish himself. He could learn to impose himself on games if he went out on loan despite his physical disadvantages.

The reason that I describe talk of him being a "special talent" as hyperbolic is not not even based on the fact that it is hearsay at this moment in time. It is because it is a quote seemingly based around his performances in training and playing against fellow kids. We can only judge on what we see ourselves in the first team. What I have seen personally is a player with an obvious ability to pick the ball up on the turn, a tidy player who wants to run at players, but one who as of yet has only managed to impress me personally on one occasion away at Charlton. I will be reserving any talk of him being a special talent until he has shown it at first team level where it matters. Maybe the staff do see him eventually as becoming "an 8" as I dont profess to being ITK. Considering the glimpses of the strengths he has, and also his obvious physical limitations, I would be surprised to see him there any time soon. He played as a central midfielder in his cameos last year and also when we went to 3 at the back (v Milwall??) this year and looked a little lost. Obviously he has played much of his game wide where again he couldnt get involved. Based on what I have seen from him and the alternatives in the position he has impressed most in, I personally would loan him out to a League 1 side and should he stand out there, then bring him back and go from tbrre.

As I said, theres not much weight held by U23 performances and supposed whispers from how much players are rated. To describe him as "top drawer" is hyperbolic at this point. To get into his natural position he has a few players to get past to get any game time. It makes sense for him out of all of our youngsters to go out, considering that his lack of physicality has made him stand out as slightly out of his depth on a few occasions. With Rankin Costello, we dont have many wide players so there is scope for him to break in. And theres his versatility although I would be reluctant to making him into a second Elliott Bennett. With Carter, again we are short of centre backs.

Who is they? As in believing that he is the "real deal."

Its mainly about being able to afford them. If you are signing a set of loans like that, the combined loan fees and wages will be above our budget, plus also very much a sunk cost at the end of the season unless they take you up, so its high risk. I think a more reasonable strategy is to sign a couple of loans only.

Fair enough. I personally think that it is counter productive to be signing quite so many loan players and am unconvinced that we could quite attract the calibre of loan players (notably Abraham, Snodgrass, El Ghazi and Mings) that made such a difference to Villa and also afford them. The main reason to loan players is economical but I am in doubt that the combined loan fees and wages of those players would exceed our budget. There is also the issue of replacing those players once they have left. Ultimately I appreciate that if they get you promoted then its well worth it but if you get too many and you dont go up then youve spent considerable loan fees and still have the same 5 or 6 gaps in your squad.

To be fair, performances at U23 dont really mean anything initially, and applying any talent at senior level is a totally different ball game and until that is done, then there is no evidence of anything. I suppose U23 performances are a step up from supposed whispers coming from internally regarding how highly players are rated. There is definitely some talent there but I cant see him establishing himself as anything like a regular in our side with the options available in the position he would like to play. I think its best if he is loaned out, and if he starts really standing out in League 1, then perhaps a different matter altogether. He is up against it at the moment with Dack, Holtby etc.

Some thoroughly entertaining and laughable logic on display here. The chance of Joe Hart either being willing or affordable enough to come here is remote so its a non starter for me. It all seems to have come from a rumour from Alan Nixon a year ago, that was predictably totally dismissed by Mowbray, yet for some reason the name has never gone away, possibly because of who he is.

My point is that, from what I have seen and also read about Raya, he HAS progressed as a goalkeeper. Goalkeepers make errors, it is how many that defines their performances. Raya made plenty here, he has made some this year but seemingly far fewer, has let in far fewer goals and has received plaudits. He has improved. Therefore it IS fair to question the role of a goalkeeping coach who has very questionable credentials and hasnt seen any real improvements with the goalkeepers. The decision to sell a mistake prone, young goalkeeper, loan an inferior goalkeeper who makes MORE mistakes and then spend the Raya money (and a bit more) on a striker to play out wide was all a big mistake. Either sell Raya and get a better goalkeeper, or keep him. We will see how much Brighton rate Walton, not through soundbites (when do managers say "I am loaning him out because he is crap") but through what happens to him next year. if he is really pushing Ryan, I will be flabbergasted. I suspect that he will either be fobbed off elsewhere again or he will stagnate in the background.

Snodgrass, Grabban and Onomah werent there when they got promoted. As you say, its very short term based so its all or nothing. The difference was with Villa that they could afford the very best possible loanees, notably Abraham and Mings who we would not be able to afford or attract in my opinion. I am not convinced that we could get a player to make that sort of difference, and would be much more comfortable getting one or two loans, which even know has caused us problems re replacements, because its not as risky longer term, and then if its all we can afford, a couple of freebies.

Absolutely. Signing 5 or 6 loans all at once is not getting that strategy spot on though, it was the quantity that worried me. That being said, im keen not to feed the narrative of us being a tiny fish in a big pond. We have spent 12m on 2 strikers that have yet to fire.

I havent overlooked Rayas mistakes. I didnt see the Stoke game but from all accounts he made a bad error. I also recall one he did v Hull in a 5-1 win and he was responsible for giving us a penalty (which possibly was unfair) but still showed he has that rashness. My point was from the games I have seen from him, he looks better than he did. I never felt totally confident with him in goal here, I dont think he progressed much and he was very error prone especially last year. I feel that some over rate him. BUT I have seen him a few times for Brentford who are often on TV and he seems much more assured. Is getting more plaudits, is conceded far fewer goals and seemingly making less mistakes. I still think hes probably a goalkeeper who may always have that element of fear instilled in the fans of the team he plays for but he seems to have improved far more this season. In comparison, Walton has made a number of mistakes into double figures and is a big reason why we have again conceded into the 60s, despite an upgrade at CB. He is worse than Raya and youve been quite complimentary of him until very recently, constantly echoing (with implied knowledge) that Brighton really rate him. Its no good withholding judgement because Mowbray also had other targets, you judge him on what he did do, he sold a young but flawed goalkeeper to fund a striker to play out of position, and plugged the hole that it left with a inferior loanee. The main point I am making is that, with a highly rated goalkeeping coach that has since been poached as well as a manager who can set up a defence, it seems that Raya has really progressed as a goalkeeper more so than he did here. The errors are still there but not as common and he is conceding less and getting more praise.

All keepers make mistakes. Im not Rayas biggest fan although I dont get any pleasure out of it when he does now. But hes got plenty of plaudits this season and conceded far less than Walton so people are understandably looking at a superior goalkeeping coachs potential impact. Saw Raya play v PNE last week and he was very impressive. Would you agree that the decision to sell Raya, buy Gallagher and loan Walton, all of which are connected, has been a really poor one? Hes conceded farMowbray has mentioned 5-6 loans in his interview today. I suspect considering the financial climate that loans will top the bill. Of course Venkys are holding us back again with their

On the ball, Travis isnt perfect and definitely needs improvement but hes certainly competent on the ball as this shows.

No absolutely, I totally agree as long as its a couple of real bits of otherwise unobtainable quality to supplement a squad and give them that last push over the line. Not 5 or 6 as that leads to further problems. The Watford was a unique example due to the joint ownership with Udinese, I think it was a loophole in the rules that has since been closed, and many of them players were transferred permanently at the end of it. For ourselves, especially considering the financial situation, I am all for us getting one or two bits of real quality to add onto what we have, in areas that we are lacking. Not 5 or 6 though.

Just because Mowbray does something doesnt mean it is right or that the person in question is competent. Why would Mowbray keep Bennett as captain? Why would Mowbray sign Gladwin, Hart, Gallagher, Brereton etc? People are right to question the goalkeeping coach considering his standard and more so the lack of progress by the goalkeepers during that time. Raya made quite a few mistakes last season, no matter whether you like that he made a solitary error last weekend, he has conceded far less goals and has impressed and got many plaudits working under a new coach. Meanwhile, Walton has been poor this season especially towards the end of it, hardly signalling progress under Benson. Seems like we can expect another loaned goalkeeper next season. Highlighting further the idiocy of sacrificing Raya to get a striker to play on the wing!

I think we might have a bit of an underwhelming summer ahead, Mowbray mentions loans here, and I think having had Adarabioyo and Reed (although Palmer and Walton were both unsuccessful) and looking elsewhere at Ben White, Rhian Brewster etc, it is obvious that there is a merit of loaning quality at a club like ours. The worry is the numbers of which Mowbray talks about: "if we are to end up with a team that it is really competitive then we will probably end up with 5 or 6 loans" There is no way that having half a team on loan is constructive, its going back to Coyles season, you cant even have more than 5 loans in a matchday squad.

Rudy seemed naturally good at heading the ball and as @Mattyblue correctly says, we had a really effective winger at that time which is something that Mowbray is against the idea of. Its no coincedence that Gallagher got his first headed goal (I think, if not one of) of the season with a winger whipping in a cross. As it is, we know that Chapman will rarely if ever be seen again regardless until at a push the last game of next season. There is no responsibility taken by the manager (or direct questioning from any journalists) to the part Mowbray himself has played in Gallaghers lack of goals. To me, Gallagher will never be a regular goalscorer, he lacks that knack of anticipating chances like Rhodes did, like Dack does and body willing like Graham does. But even if Mowbray whinges at the player for not getting in the box from out wide, he has to accept that hes massively reducing the probability of Gallagher or indeed any striker getting on the end of things when played out wide. His goals this season came on Saturday from a wingers cross, v Swansea when up front, v Preston when up front, v Stoke when up front and v Sheffield Wednesday from central and at 4 nil up v 10 men. Its so damning of the manager that he still plays him wide. He should be back up to Armstrong and never played wide under any circumstance. Regarding Bamford, whether we could have afforded his wages I am unconvinced of, but if problems are 25 goals in 65 games including 16 this season playing a critical role in Leeds winning the league then give me those problems any day. Im not sure about these supposed whispers from coaches but he seems to be much more comfortable further forward. I just dont see how hes getting past Dack, Holtby, Rothwell, Armstrong, even Rankin Costello, Chapman and Brereton in those attacking areas. You mention Rothwell but again he isnt one to control a game and its not as if hes a young lad either. Hes someone who runs at players deep in their half. The false 9 seemed to be dropped with positive results on Saturday. If we revert back to it and start playing midfielders as our main striker and our strikers wide then it wont be good results that follows.

A bit injury prone is putting it mildly! I think theyve ruined his career.

A question im sure youd ask others, how many times have you seen him play, and what are his strengths and weaknesses? A player released by St Mirren hardly gets people excited! Etheridge stands out from the above list, a goalkeeper who has always impressed me at Cardiff but for some reason is second choice at the moment.

Klich was on the scrapheap until Bielsa came in. The perfect example of a player that he has transformed into a top Championship player.

I think the definition of "split" needs establishing. There is plenty of support out there, as there is plenty of criticism and skepticism, the very definition of split. Look in different places, and you will get differences in the split, but ultimately a split fanbase is fair. The questions are about his ability to push us forward, therefore that would never see people chanting for the manager to go. Thinks would really have to dovetail for anything like that to happen.

Hes far too lightweight to play in CM, plus seems more comfortable further forward. Is he the type to sit and pass? Seems more of a dribbler on the half turn. Hes well down the line to play as a number 10.

Is he going to get game time? Dack, Holtby, Brereton etc ahead of him centrally. Coming from the wider areas where he isnt really comfortable anyway, Rothwell, Holtby, Rankin Costello, Chapman all ahead of him.