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.

.

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.

Goals cant flatter a player, They are black and white and you cant discredit their importance, indeed the numbers of him and Graham become more impressive compared to the pathetic numbers of everyone else.

Raya Nyambe Lenihan Rodwell Williams Reed Travis Chapman Dack Rothwell Graham Subs: Leutweiler, Davenport, Conway, Nuttall, Butterworth, Armstrong, Evans Armstrong in next to Graham if Dack is unavailable, with Brereton on the bench.

An absolutely depressing and dispiriting performance against a Stoke side not in great form either but one playing almost within itself knowing we were never going to score in a month of Sundays. Not going to get into the Dack conspiracies, lying, pissed up etc, for me all I saw yesterday was we need Dack far more than we ever realised, Graham was playing in a different postcode to the rest of the team. To play a midfield trio with a combined goal tally of one was never going to work, was predictably ineffective against a much better 3 on their side of Allen, Etebo and Bojan, and summed up our lethargic, slow, monotonous, predictable and mind numbingly boring display. Bennett is the new Jason Lowe, and fans seem to be realising that. Rather than take Bennett off, the manager will always opt to simply take someone off in a different position and move Bennett there. His crossing was even worse than the general standard of crossing across the team and thats saying something. The worst player had to be Bell however, he really is a terrible defender, his lack of willingness to close Ince down was really poor but weve seen it time and time again with him. His reluctance to ever drive forward with the ball is so infuriating too. Raya deserves credit for 2 superb saves and deserved man of the match although I though he was poor for the goal. Not sure how Lenihan got man of the match, kept kicking the ball out of play. Age has caught up with Mulgrew, a mistake and an injury a further sign that a new deal was a poor choice. Nyambe was again all at sea too. Rothwell to be honest did little substantial but was the only player in a Rovers shirt who had any sort of urgency, any sort of motivation to make something happen, although he didnt really manage to. Armstrong again seemed to play within himself bar one good shot, Not one aspect of the side doesnt require reinforcements, a horrible indictment on Mowbrays recruitment. Need a new keeper really, Mowbray signed Leutweiler. Need new full backs on both sides, Mowbray signed Bell which hasnt worked. Mowbray signed Downing (before loaning him out) and a midfielder who he sees as a centre back, again, hasnt resolved our weak underbelly. He's signed plenty of midfielders but we are none the wiser on our best partnership in the middle, plus a lorry load of "wide forwards" leaving us woefully inept from wide positions, the crossing is a joke. And up front, despite signing Brereton, Armstrong Nuttall and the injured Samuel, only Graham is a reasonable option. Yesterday was right up there with our frequent gutless performances this season. We had no idea what we were doing, and no real desire or urgency to create something, there was no grandstand finish. We wouldnt have scored if we were still playing now.

This is a common mindset ive seen and its in line with what Mowbray has said but its totally illogical. Of course there is a long term aspect to some of the "experimenting" and with little risk of relegation thats something that can only be welcomed. But as long as the experimenting is done rationally and constructively, it is also of benefit in the short term. Because what we are doing at the moment isnt working. Mowbray keeps talking about players that know the league but these players have been playing during the last 10 games when weve been so out of our depth. Why would sticking to the old guard give us a better chance of getting that win we need to get to 50 points? Why have you fallen into the trap of thinking that changing the team is likely to result in a dip in results, which is barely possible? I wouldnt advocate throwing in half of the academy team wrecklessly, my suggested changes are incremental and in areas where we could improve. For example, out wide, Mowbray seems to like to play a wide forward one side and a defensive winger the other. The likes of Bennett, Conway and an out of position Reed have contributed precious little going forward and making the supposed extra provision to play them has done nothing to stem the crosses raining in and the goals going in at the other end. Armstrong should play right where it can simplify his game if anywhere but Mowbray has fallen for a myth that he offers something defensively and ultimately he has been very inconsistent attacking too. Weve got 2 alternatives who give us pace, flair, and could put us on the front foot from the start especially at home where we have a laughable 6 first half goals in 19 games. Theyd also open up room for Dack. I would also try Rodwell in his natural role, him and Travis could provide that front 4 (Graham up top) with a springboard to attack and Rodwell could both improve on what weve had in there recently (last week Bennett, Smallwood and even to a lesser extent Evans prior) and potentially earn a new deal as a midfielder. I dont think the formation is necessarily in requirement of a change but if Mowbray plans on doing so then he should make the change now. It makes no sense to share Mowbrays assertion that our best bet short term is to stick with the same players that have been in such pitiful form over a long period now. We have a clutch of players, Bennett, Conway, Smallwood, Williams etc who neither are good enough to warrant a start at the moment nor are going to help us in the future.

Chapman made only 1 league start, in which he was superb, came off after an hour and was dropped again and injured his hamstring as a sub. He could play an hour surely after numerous 90 minutes for the reserves. Alternatively, a cameo off the bench. Ultimately, the main reason he wont is because Mowbray wants to play those who "know the league" even though theyve spearheaded a woefully inept run.

Your theory implying we need a win to get to 50 points before experimenting falls down on a key area. The side hes picking, all of his regulars are not at the moment winning or even drawing football matches. Experimenting is not something that will allow us to blood players but is likely to hinder results as that hypothesis suggests. Changing players, bringing in players like Rothwell, Chapman, Rodwell in midfield these arent total novices nor are they massive risks to utilise, the likes of Bennett, Conway, Smallwood etc are not going to push us forward nor are they doing anything to stop the rot at the moment. Changing the team is not solely to blood them for the future, its to change a losing formula now.