I dont understand the anti-Yates stance taken by some.
He's only 22 and 'one of our own', which should be enough in some people's books but apparently not.
Remember, last season he had a knee operation; was behind on his fitness and then thrown in, probably too early, because many others werent 'fit'. Not our Ryan, he played on. He then put his face in front of everything and got a busted nose that would have put several players out for a few weeks. But not our Ryan, he put on a plastic mask and played on, continuing to put his face where it hurts. Commitment; and an ability to recover from niggles only matched by Matty Cash last season.
He can only get better (and seems to be doing so).
He can only get fitter and more confident.
The bottom line is, we need Yates and his physicality in midfield at the moment.
On paper, Fred and Colback are interchangeable, as is Ryan and Sow. On the basis Sow is 50% injured each season, then we will need Ryan for at least 20-25 games unless we get a stella signing (see what I did there?). Im not against improving the team, but until that better player is signed, get behind what we have.