So to clarify, you think Graham in the starting 11 is a weaker point than Bell, Raya, Nyambe or Bennett?

But we could have spent that 7m differently in the summer, never mind January. Think Mowbrays words will prove to be hollow ones when he no doubt signs a striker in the summer who will jump ahead of the goalless Brereton in the queue in a season we are allowed to judge him in.

He definitely does not have a poor touch, in fact ive seen him numerous times pluck a ball out of the air and stop it dead. Also, Alex Neil said after he came here that he had done so choosing us over Preston so thats not true either. I dont think hes offered enough and I think hed be better placed on the right rather than the left as he can use his pace to go on the outside. His decision making is a major downfall. God knows what Mowbray sees to seperate him and Rothwell defensively either.

Dont believe that McGeogh has been a regular there. Aswell as Aribo and Hanley if possible I would like to see us look at Reece James currently on loan at Wigan from Chelsea if it was realistic especially after how loaning Palmer went. Top player. And maybe Bidwell whose contract is expiring at left back.

The same Hanley that won player of the season the last time he was here? And was second in a similar award at Norwich last season behind James Maddison? Would be a massive upgrade. Joe Aribo would be a superb signing but I doubt it would be realistic with much bigger teams sniffing around.

Isnt that like saying theres no point suggesting team selections or transfers as weve no control over that either?

The primary difference is that Rothwell is a player competing for a wide birth where our wide men have been collectively ineffective in the main. Rochina was competing with players in central areas who in particular following the signing of Gestede were consistently contributing goals. Theres no way you could justify playing Rochina over a 20 goal striker, in Rhodes and then both Rhodes and Gestede, something that also did for Josh King, now the best out of the 4 but ultimately that was the (perhaps only) part of our team that functioned well.

Wasnt good enough in League 1.

Dont think this bodes well for yesterday being the start of a new and exciting dawn...

If Dack goes this summer, the adjective would not be "interesting" more "terrifying." All conjecture I realise on your part.

Think you are re writting history somewhat on Rochina. Rothwell definitely has somewhat of a valid reason to feel aggrieved, considering that all season effectively weve struggled to be effective from wide positions. Whilst the likes of Lowe and Williamson (Feeney was never a regular for a prolonged spell) playing was really problematic in terms of us pushing on, that was a seperate caused through poor/lack of recruitment in a different position and over loyalty. When Gestede and Rhodes were here, even Josh King who has gone on to have the best career of the lot couldnt be aggrieved not to play such was the numbers that pair were contributing. Beforehand, Rochina often flattered to deceive when he did play and Dunn and even at times Kazim Richards proved more effective partners to Rhodes.

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What a performance, well done to all, best of the season. The whole display was full of energy, full of drive and full of quality too. Rothwell was absolutely terrific, but frustrated by his 2 misses but his take and finish for his goal was absolutely top drawer and he was superb all night. The difference was night and day between Dack, Travis and Reed v Evans, Smallwood and Bennett. Today we had more energy, tenacity and far more in terms of technical ability and enterprise. Reed was outstanding, Dack back close to his best and Travis bar one shocking pass was superb too. I still think Conway should not be given a new deal but he was terrific too and as a front 6 they pinned Derby back to make our back 5 very easy. Lenihan was colossal at the back and better on the ball. Raya had one dodgy moment but he barely did anything in general such was our display. Williams fine, full backs our weakest area with Bell for me our lowest scoring player and even then he wasnt bad.

Would certainly agree that it was not the hardest job, but he deserves credit for doing it still. Signing Dack was a catalyst and even though its fair to suggest that the vast majority if not every other team wouldnt be able to have afforded him, it was still a superb signing. He also clearly harnessed the team spirit last season, and made a couple of other signings that really helped notably Armstrong on loan and Downing too. To say we did it despite him is totally unfair, he played as big a part as any in not the greatest achievement in sporting history or anything remarkable, but still a successful season and good achievement. Also, getting 96 points over a season, thats not luck! Totally agree with your analysis on where we are now, its become stagnant.

Our 11 game run is far more than a blip in form, we had a very good run of form in January which was only 4 games. This has been approximately a quarter of a season. The trajectory of our season alone means the manager has to be under pressure. I think throughout the season those who have defended Mowbray have done so from the position of claiming that safety alone proves progress is being made. If you want to look at it as black and white as that, we are currently on 47 points and are apparently progressing within the parameters of a plan as we should be having invested well over 10m since Mowbray took over. In a season when Coyle managed more than half and we were coming off the back of 2 summers of having our best players sold, and spending 250k on Derrick Williams one year and being under embargo the year before, we got 51 points. I understand position is more important than points but thats based on every other team, and it would be pretty galling if Mowbray was unable to surpass that previous points total that saw us go down.

I think you have your dates mixed up, following the win v Pompey we played Wigan away and drew nil nil, followed by a dissapointing draw v Fleetwood and 6 wins on the bounce. I think Mowbrays time is up like you but its totally unfair to suggest we went up "despite" Mowbray you have to be prepared to give him credit even if it was a minimum requirement you have to still do it. And its not lucky either as others have suggested.

I agree now that Mulgrew is a poor defender but I wouldnt have last season, you could argue that maybe it was the poor standard that was making him look better and im sure theres an element of truth in that but I recall a number of games where he stood up to high balls and headed them away. My own hypothesis is that simply Mulgrews body is no longer capable of Championship centre back responsibilities, he seems (worse than ever) unable to get a clear run without an injury and when he does play he looks particularly lethargic. I think you are being very kind to suggest that Lenihan is a good technical footballer, forgetting the often skewed diagonals he often miscues much simpler passes straight out of play, quite a few times on Saturday alone he sliced not particularly difficult passes out of play under little pressure. That being said, there are plenty of assets that you touch on that Lenihan does have, even though I think his competence/ability has been exaggerated somewhat by manager and supporters are like simply because he is unique in being a defender that actually enjoys defending. He can often be rash and I stand by questioning him technically but he is powerful, has a bit of speed, is brave and will put his head on everything, a skillset far more in tune with a centre back than a central midfielder. When he broke through as a midfielder he didnt stand out and that was competing with crap like Lowe and Akpan. Lenihans main asset for me is his aeriel ability, athleticism alone doesnt make a good midfielder (see Bennett, Elliott) and his bravery is best at the heart of our defence.

Ultimately, if Mowbray had a similar budget to Coyle did, ie not a pot to piss in (not saying Coyle is anything but a dreadful manager who did a dreadful job) then expectations would have been much lower. No matter how anyone tries to downplay it, a 10m kitty is a lot of money at this level. As you said, it is unacceptable to not (quite considerably) improve a side at this level, especially one thats just been promoted. Look for example at Sheffield United, they bought Egan, Norwood and McGoldrick, a huge improvement right down the spine. For a similar amount, we signed a striker yet to score.

Whilst I agree that Mowbrays time is up its totally unfair to discredit what he achieved last season. Even though we had the resources he deserves credit for actually getting a promotion and its nothing to do with luck at all, you dont finish 9 points clear of 3rd on 96 points through luck.

Theres no way that Lenihan is a central midfielder. All of his attributes point to being a centre back, indeed he didnt look much cop when he broke through in midfield and indeed he seemed not much difference to the crap (Lowe, Akpan etc) that we already had in there. His ability on the ball leaves a lot to be desired even from centre back, on Saturday alone he kicked the ball straight out of play numerous times. He does however bring a bravery, an aeriel ability and also a bit of athleticism and whilst I think he is a tad overrated by fans and Mowbray alike because he is our only old fashioned centre back, there is something to work with there With Mulgrew, last year he was outstanding from centre back and not only his set pieces. As it does with anyone age seems to have really caught up with him badly this season, hes riddled with injuries even worse by before and he looks so well off the pace. We definitely need a couple of centre backs in the summer, definitely agree with you on that.

Yes it is especially when its impossible to suggest that the recruitment has improved us based on last season. 10m coupled with a very competitive wage budget and it belittles those whose main argument is that Mowbray deserves the summer to fix the problems, when history suggests he is incapable of doing that. The summer cannot be defended, to sign a striker for such a sum who has 0 goals is indefensible regardless as to the stage of his development hes at, Armstrong did have a superb January but it was the exception in an otherwise dissapointing season, and he signed players like Rothwell and now Chapman who he has no trust in regardless of how much his favourites let him down. And Rodwell has been misused to cover up defensive negligence, or try to anyway. Its not just Preston, there are teams like Hull, Bristol City. You look at teams like Sheffield United, they spent probably summer but massively improved their starting 11 with it, what wed give for an Egan, Norwood and McGoldrick. Theres no point signing younger players if you never play them anyway.

So if anything Mowbray is accumulated points at a slower rate after spending well over 10m over 4 windows.

We need 4 points from the last 6 to match the side Coyle had in terms of points accumulated.

Scored a lovely curler into the top corner away at Wigan.

I dont have a clue how. He was absolutely shocking in the first half of the season, no goals and very few assists as he played very ineffectively out wide (very limited striker Marcus Antonsson was far better than him on the other side) before he moved into central midfield for a bit and was impressive v Shrewsbury but ultimately the effectiveness of his partnership with Smallwood waned and he moved to right back to cover the (if I recall correctly) injured Nyambe, with Evans proving more effective in central midfield following that change. I get that he was full of passion, effort etc, but work rate wasnt a problem throughout the whole team, so that doesnt mean he stands out. Dack and Mulgrew were far, far better than Bennett, not to mention a few others.