FL72 talking points: Blackburn's Jordan Rhodes has Premier League qualities

In his latest column, Peter Beagrie looks at Jordan Rhodes' future, Middlesbrough v Ipswich, Ian Holloway's sacking and Peterborough.

Rhodes is Premier League quality

There is always going to be speculation surrounding proven goalscorers as they are the match/trophy winners and Jordan Rhodes fits into that bracket. Blackburn signed him for £8m, and 66 goals in 131 appearances represents unbelievable value for money, whatever division you are in.

Rhodes is a player with an aptitude for knowing where the net is, and an attitude that endears him to his managers, fellow players and fans alike. He is also quite unassuming, bordering on introverted when compared with some of the modern day 'me, me, me' energy-sapping players that managers have to deal with.

Jordan can play the selfless lone role in front of a fluid five midfield, or as a partner in a pair with equal success. He has taken each step up with the minimum of fuss, plundering goals aplenty, including on the international stage.

The nitpickers in the football fraternity say he lacks that explosive yard of pace to step up to the Premier League - something I don't agree with. His intelligence, movement and spacial awareness are all excellent and enough to compensate for not being able to beat Usain Bolt to the telephone should the big guns call, as they did in the summer, with Hull having two bids turned down, which prompted Rhodes to pen a deal until 2019.

Premier League hopefuls Derby, Middlesbrough and Norwich are big admirers of Rhodes and could speculate to hopefully accumulate enough points to guarantee a £100m bonanza, but would have to pay in excess of the £11m that Fulham paid for Ross McCormack for an initial loan followed by a permanent signing.

Gary Bowyer will not want to sell Rhodes. He has scored in Rovers' back-to-back victories to give them a very slim, nay wafer-thin, chance of the play-offs. Rhodes will not rock the boat - it is not in his nature. He will continue to give his all for their cause with the minimum of fuss and let everyone else get excited and deal with the rumours.

Whatever the scenario, Rhodes is a fantastic role model, a manager's dream and a defender's nightmare and I back him to continue to score whatever shirt he wears and whatever division he plays in.

Finally, a well done to Bowyer, who has navigated choppy waters, produced a top-10 team and quietened and managed the owners' expectations - no mean feat for the two-time caretaker.

Pressure on Boro and Ipswich

Middlesbrough and Ipswich meet on Saturday live on Sky Sports 1 HD, with both needing a big boost for the Championship's final furlongs.

Recent form suggests the pressure of a notoriously competitive division, where it is as much a war of attrition and mental strength as technique and skill, are affecting performances and decision making.

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Boro will, and are, feeling the burden of extra expectancy that comes with a bigger budget, squad and more recent occupancy of a Premier League place.

They are defensively not as solid of late and have failed to score in two of their last three defeats, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Recent rumours and links to Rhodes tell us Aitor Karanka is not happy with the goals-to-chances conversion rate of his current crop of strikers. That was particularly apparent against Leeds when they had 21 shots, 12 on target, but lost 1-0 to their Yorkshire rivals.

Ipswich, on the other hand, are feeling the pressure of a different nature. It’s the pressure from within put on themselves, knowing on their day they can get a result against anybody but suffering more than most with injuries and a smaller squad than some of their promotion rivals.

At the start of the season, looking at the various squads on show, I felt a top-10 position would have been a very solid season for Mick McCarthy’s men, but thanks to his knowledge and know-how, as well as their team spirit, organisation and fitness levels - and Daryl Murphy's 22 goals - they find themselves just five points from the summit.

Ipswich, Bournemouth and Brentford are fantastic stories this season and all will be looking to have a fairytale ending, but the final 10 fixtures will frighten players, managers and fans to death.

Many of the top-eight teams meet each other in high-stake games. Three of Boro's next four fixtures are against Ipswich (7th), Derby (2nd) and Bournemouth (1st) and there is no respite for Town either as they play Boro (4th), Watford (3rd) and Bournemouth (1st) in three of their next four.

With the top-four teams level, a one-point gap between top and fifth, and five points between top and seventh, it is the closest table for years and promises excitement, trials, tribulations, agony and ecstasy in equal measure over these final 10 furlongs.

It won't be for the faint hearted but we are guaranteed drama and we can watch it unfold, starting with Boro against Ipswich this Saturday.

Harris looking to restore Lions' pride

With Millwall eight points adrift of safety - nine if you take their goal difference into account - and on a current run of six without a win, Ian Holloway was relieved of his duties this week.

After backing Ian significantly in the January transfer window, when the Lions boss brought in eight new players and let nine go, chairman John Berylson called time on Holloway’s tenure, no doubt reluctantly, but blatantly aware their league position and relationship with the fans was only going to become more desperate and divisive.

Many people thought Holloway and Millwall were a perfect fit and that rather than divide or polarise the opinion of the club’s fans, he would galvanise them with his passion and his humour, sadly that hasn’t been the case.

I believe the gap is now too big to bridge for a squad devoid of confidence, lacking goals and leaking them with an alarming rate, and the 0-0 draw with Fulham and defeat to Rotherham sealed their fate.

In a division packed with former Premier League teams, bigger budgets and better players, it is no disgrace to go down, but Millwall fans will have expected more resilience, spirit and organisation than their side has shown, particularly after a promising start.

If confidence were available in the shops you could charge what you wanted and it would still fly off the shelves, but it is in short supply at the New Den, as we saw when Norwich’s first goal went in recently.

Neil Harris, former playing legend, is the man of choice to restore that missing ingredient and if not secure survival then restore some pride and finish on a high, making enough of an impression in the meantime to convince the owners he is the long-term candidate for the permenant post or making sure his work is rewarding by the owners insisting the new man include him in his management team.

Harris has written a few goalscoring scripts in his time for Millwall but now he is auditioning for the leading role in the modern day version of The Great Escape. I, for one, wish him luck, a true professional and great guy to boot.

Posh trio face tests

Posh owner Darragh MacAnthony saved himself a serious migraine this week when he decided to let his new management team keep the reins for the time being at least. MacAnthony had planned to sift through over 200 hopeful applications that had landed in his inbox.

The three amigos who have overseen three unbeaten games against Bradford, Sheffield United and Leyton Orient, are former youth team coach Dave Robertson, ex-Posh midfielder Grant McCann and current player, enjoying his latest of several spells with the Cambridgeshire club, Aaron McLean.

These three know the club but more importantly know the players and have witnessed what has already come to pass this season. This puts them in a position of power as forewarned is forearmed and sometimes it is just a case of fine-tuning, not extensive overhaul, that makes a huge difference.

Seven points from nine against quality opposition have seen United climb from 15th to eighth and level on points with sixth-placed Doncaster and seventh-placed Barnsley, who are also benefitting from a fresh face and voice.

There are lots of quality squads above them and they play five of the top 10 in their run in, starting with Doncaster at home on Saturday. A win would set them up for a tough away fixture against form team Preston, unbeaten in seven, then 10th-placed Chesterfield. That is a hat-trick of games that could shape their season before they then face Swindon and Barnsley.

With these fixtures, a play-off place would surely guarantee Peterborough’s young management trio a shot at the full-time job at one of the league’s best run clubs.