But I think Smallwood is as guilty as anyone of giving up possession. The soldier and artist analogy I get to an extent but even if you are one, you need to be a bit of the other. For example, Smallwood is a soldier but he needs to at least be competent on the ball and in possession, same with Lenihan. No good if you win the ball back and give it straight back again. Conversely, our artists need to do at least their fair share of hard work. I dont think the side was more cautious than normal, I just feel that he got his tactics totally wrong, something he as good as admitted with changes that made us improve. Also, no idea why Smallwood is on set piece duty. He is shocking at them.

The problem is, spoiling only gets you so far, you need to then keep the ball otherwise you are in a cycle of attacks for the opposition. Agreed on the 3 you mention at the bottom. I think all 3 were equally poor, Palmer seems to be getting the brunt of the criticism but they were all poor.

Bell did well in the last half hour but to be honest its a flip of a coin decision. Not much in it. Evans has had a far better season than Smallwood. You keep saying he cant play x and he cant play y but he has played 90 minutes quite a few times. His fitness is seemingly a bit better than we give him credit for, hes always been slow but it doesnt stop him being effective. He was excellent when he came on again. Ask Dack who he wants to play with and I bet I can guess the answer. Lets play Graham rather than picking someone solely based on the logic of Swansea apparently causing Stoke problems in a game you didnt see and one in which they failed to score. Brereton should be next in line with Armstrong not taking his chance.

2 questions: I know you wrote off Graham for a lot of last season, but surely you now appreciate that he has to be first choice at the moment? His hold up is a crucial out ball and we look lost without him. You were staunchly in defence of giving Conway a new deal. Surely you think that maybe that was a mistake? Hes never a Championship player nowadays.

Very poor performance, especially the first 60 minutes. Wave after wave of attack, we stole a point which is a bonus. The lack of control in central midfield was startling and it needs changing in there. Smallwood is no more than a squad player for me and if we have signed 3 central midfielders and none can threaten his place, we have a problem. Evans has dipped slightly but was better than Smallwood for me. When we are under the cosh we seem unable to get our foot on it and manage the game. Mowbray got his team selection and tactics totally wrong, theres no dressing that up. He shouldnt have picked Conway but I was at least impressed that he realised that and didnt wait to change it. Raya was at times embarrassing. Some of his handling, decision making and kicking would have been hilarious had I not been a Rovers fan. Graham my man of the match, he has to start every game he is fit at the moment. Some terrific hold up and should have an assist but from a rare sitter by Dack. Armstrong doesnt look like a Championship striker by any means. Dack was not in the game at all, and Palmer likewise. Nyambe was decent, but offered nothing again going forward. Bell was as shaky as anyone up until the last half hour when he was much improved. Williams was fine, Lenihan is really poor on the ball but you cant fault his committment. Mulgrew, Reed, Rothwell, Bennett and Graham should come in for Bell, Smallwood, Palmer, Conway and Armstrong I think at Stoke. Derby were poor too, they ran out of ideas and a better side would have scored a hatful tonight.

The whole team has chaddy. We are lucky not to be 3 or 4 down.

Because you are obsessed in singling Palmer out. Dack and Armstrong have been equally ineffective, and the whole team have been poor.

Horrrendous performance and Ive no idea how we are still level. Massive worry how unable we are to even remotely stop a team with any sort of momentum. Wave after wave without any of our players unable to get hold of the ball, with our players at times aiding them in their attacks with stupid mistakes. We need to be able to control and manage games far better. We are also so worryingly reliant on 33 year old Danny Graham. Armstrong doesnt look like a striker. No wonder we look at sixes and sevens at times with that clown behind them. Some of Rayas goalkeeping has been laughable. Mowbray got his selection wrong but at least he tried to change it up early. For me Conway has essentially retired himself. Armstrong and Dack may as well have not come out and Palmer hasnt been much better.

Williams is never a centre back, @chaddyrovers says he has played there before and I know he did in a 3 at Bristol City but when played in a central 2 last season he really struggled I felt, when we had a bit of a wobble around the time of the Plymouth defeat. That said, I dont think that Downing is going to be good enough at this level either, so I appreciate that its a tough choice, in an area where we really needed to strengthen in the summer. Understand what you are saying in terms of hypocrisy but Conway isnt a competent Championship winger. Hes been chosen to protect his full back but Rothwell has shown his ability to graft and also unlike Conway, who should never be starting games at this level anymore, he can also add something going forward. I think Palmer and Dack are superior set piece takers too. Based on my personal expectations, I wouldnt say that the team is performing ABOVE expectations. Based on the results and the fixtures so far, we are about on par.

Worrying side. Mulgrew a huge blow and playing Williams out of position seems a strange choice, as does Conway over Rothwell. That said, im not convinced that the Derby line up is as bas as it could have been.

Agree totally. Think they are underrated as silly as that sounds. I also think Mulgrews defensive capabilities are somewhat underappreciated due to his style. I think with Graham, his brilliant partnership with Dack is something that we lack when one is not in the team. They show how intelligent they are at times when they play together. The younger Armstrong and Brereton should watch and learn. That said, Armstrong himself linked very well with them last season coming from wide positions and exploiting space.

Wouldnt say fickle. Dont think they have ever been totally enamoured with the owner. David Healy is still their record signing and after 3 seasons in the top half with a well built talented squad I can understand why after selling 2 key players and spending a pittance in return, that their fans are frustrated at a time when they could have pushed on towards the Prem.

It says "I have to assume its Mowbrays call" quite the opposite of saying its someone elses call. 100% agree. Graham should have the shirt for the time being. He doesnt fit the mantra of a vibrant attacking team, nor does Mulgrew, but the pair not only bring experience but unparalled quality in their positions. Grahams hold up and knock downs are the perfect platform for Dack in particular to thrive off. For me, our 2 most underrated players are our 2 most experienced.

Oh god. Replacement bus it is!

Travel arrangements?

Bennett surely wont play as a 10 again though with Dack back. Im sure player unavailability was part of the thinking v Brentford. We need to allow Dack and co to try and prey on mistakes from Derby overplaying at the back.

Its important for us to go there looking to press and attack. They like to play it out at times naively from the back and with players like Keogh they can often be caught in dangerous areas.

Hopefully there are times where we dont need Evans, Smallwood and Bennett in the same team and Reeds natural instinct to get box to box will be encouraged rather than reigned in. The aforementioned quote is surely referring to when he played a big part in the goal, after recycling a set play then bringing it forward before laying it to Mulgrew.

Whilst Im sure that the tactical change was reactive following Villas change, I think @Stuart is more critical of HOW we went about countering that move.

Im sure they are but my point is more that it bugs me, as understandable as it is, when supporters criticise referees by suggesting or implying that they are biased whilst turning a blind eye to incorrect decisions that go in our favour. I think maybe interviewing them afterwards has been done on occasion before and I take on board your communication point but if we got abad decision against us for example, I dont think that the referee coming out after and admitting his mistake would be of any consolation.

Agreed. Two things I remember reading as a common theme when looking through the opinions of Forest fans is that he throws himself to the ground a little too much, and that he is totally ineffective from a wide position. Both of which I felt were prevalent in his cameo yesterday. It screamed of bringing him on because of who he is, rather than bringing on someone best suited to play the role that Brereton was brought on to do. If we needed someone to play a wide role, in the absence of a winger, surely Palmer and Rothwell were much better suited.

The key is to get people back. Would have made sense to have a freeze, on prices that have gone up since the aforementioned John Williams pricing strategies anyway, with the sole focus on getting people back. If a price increase is necessary at some point, surely next year would be better. Its rare that optimism is so high as it was in the summer following a promotion.

Lets cut out the conspiracy nonsense, the ref was against us and for the opponent rubbish. Grealish used his body well and Reed barged into him clumsily. The ref didnt have a soft spot for Grealish. As for the other 2 main decisions, both us and Villa got a decision in the penalty non-award and the 'offisde' goal that went for/against us. He didnt have an impact bar a slight flick at the start of the melee following superb work my Mulgrew, leading to the goal. Im sure he will in time but not yesterday and not playing in that position. Youve basically agreed on Dack, he did try and make things happen, he always does, but it usually wasnt coming off for him, attempts at nutmegs and dribbles not quite coming off. He was still influential but not to the same success as usual, apart from the crucial goal. He was never man of the match.

Whilst I partially agree that essentially the key factor in improving the atmosphere is in the number of fans to begin with. I think you need to direct at least some if not all of your ire towards Waggott and his decision to significantly increase season ticket prices at a time when supporter happiness and interaction is at a high under the current ownership.

The thing is, you're posting in the Aston Villa individual match thread. I have not seen anyone say it is a terrible result, a bad performance or anything like that. I have seen people comment both positively and negatively on aspects of the team performance, on individual performance, on refereeing decisions, on team selection and on substitutions, which is exactly what I would expect. It isnt the "how have Rovers done in the last 12 months" thread otherwise I have no doubt that there would be universal positivity. So many people seem insistent on creating an atmosphere on here whereby because the club is clearly on an upward trajectory, that every bit of criticism, no matter if it is warranted or not, should be met with hostility. Expressing disappointment in a last minute equaliser doesnt have to then be manipulated into unhappiness at the overall current situation of the club, or towards the managers future, or anything like that. Posts like this just take peoples opinions over individual, isolated incidents and take them out of context to make people seem unreasonable. Go onto a Man City messageboard, a Barcelona one, whatever, when they drop points or when certain players under perform, they will also criticise that. Again, doesnt mean they think the clubs gone to wrack and ruin. Please can you quote the "absolute load of tripe" that you have seen that is the reason that many members have been driven away from the messageboard.