[Archived] Rovers 0 Spurs 1

[Biddy]

What a bloody awful display.

Also, is it my imagination or does Robbie Keane always score against us, no matter how rubbish his form is. Feels like that anyway.

Very dissapointed today, especially after the fantastic display at Fulham and the other results today pretty much going our way.

[skip24]

I was very disappointed with the scoreline as it didn't reflect the effort the lads put in, i couldn't fault their enthusiasm. Our final ball let us down in the final third and our movement was a but sluggish making it easier for the spurs defenders to pick up the lads up front. Brad was immense as usual and had no chance with the goal. We didn't deserve to lose to a team that under performed against liverpool in midweek. I watched the game on tv and i was bloody annoyed with Niall Quinn ripping our side to bits, he aint a quality commentator is he? some of the things he were saying were a load of ######

[Bobby G]

Thought both sides were poor,a draw would have been fair,but they nicked it.We lacked the bit of cutting edge quality with both our final ball and in the final third.Reid didnt run at them enough,Emerton didnt as much as last week either.

I thought Tugay,Todd and Neill were all great.

Undeserved defeat,we are in trouble.We had the chance to put some space between us and the other lower end teams.

Im very disappointed.

[adopted scouser]

Collectively this is the most inept squad/team I can remember in the 40 odd years of following Rovers. Not a creative idea between them. If we stay up it will only be because the likes of WBA are even worse. While I am at it NJ is the worst professional footballer I have ever had the displeasure of watching - crap he wouldn't get in my Sunday League Pub team. I have nothing positive to say but I feel sorry for Huges and the pile of dog poo that he has inherited. But thanks for the Early Xmas pantomime leading up to the Spurs goal. A girls team could have done better.

You're talking bullocks. Spurs were lucky to win given that after a very nervous first half Rovers dominated after the break, and nearly tucked one away.

Thommo had a bad game, but by far the worst player in blue and white was NEJ. Our telly's splattered with chicken and gravy from yours truly screaming at that tousled haired tosser.

Unbelievable second half that we couldn't convert with 75% of posession, that's footy for you I suppose.

Still turning the corner under Hughes, and congrats to Brad, Gally, the irrepressible Dickov, the transformed Todd, and Reid, Fergie, Neill, Short Emerton.

Bothroyd, jury's stillout, Tugay - no chilli on mine mate, and bloody Johanssen. Back to Scandinavia and stick to what you're good at, making cuckoo clocks and lego.

Edited December 4, 2004 by adopted scouser

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

WILL THE REAL BLACKBURN ROVERS PLEASE STAND UP!!??

Our team were virtually anonymous against a poor Spuds side,its back to square one we go.

And you wonder why our home crowds have gone through the floor?.........

[Rovermatt]

What a bloody awful display.

Also, is it my imagination or does Robbie Keane always score against us, no matter how rubbish his form is. Feels like that anyway.

Very dissapointed today, especially after the fantastic display at Fulham and the other results today pretty much going our way.

Terrible, terrible, terrible. No edge, no invention=no chance. How we didn't capitalise on last week's roaring display is beyond me.

As for Tottenham's goal, was I the only one would could see it coming as soon as Ferguson handed it to them a plate?

Pants.

[philipl]

The good news- the bottom three all lost so we are still one point above the relegation places. Lucas Neill looks to be getting back to his best and Friedel was solid.

The bad news- there is no other good news.

Before I went out to watch the game, I looked at the two line-ups and was very apprehensive. That Rovers line-up including subs cost a little over £20m and the Spurs line-up including subs cost in excess of £60m. With a decent Manager, the more expensive players will on average win out and that is what happened this afternoon.

About ten minutes from the end, the camera focussed on Mark Hughes and the look of exasperation showed he knew there was nothing more he could do with the players available to him.

A few bubbles of hope got popped tonight.

Bothroyd was abysmal.

When Tugay was replaced by Thompson all the rhythm went out of the side- I fear my memories of Thompson's inability to pass at Premiership quality came back to haunt me.

First half Gallagher was way below Prem quality.

Dickov faded from the moment he got booked- until then he was doing a first class job as a pest.

Whatever NEJ is, he is not an overlapping full back.

Sorry guys, Todd played to the top of his ability today but he is not good enough. The first half apology of a volley and him and Tugay's non-tackling of Brown for their goal....

Well, another huge game next week. I rather suspect Rovers and Palace will be battling it out for 17th/18th at the season end. At least we will have the more expensive squad at Palace.

[broadsword]

Lucas Neill was absolutely brilliant tonight. Always in on the attacks and did really well defensively too.

I thought he was rubbish going forward, his attacking passing was very poor and always narraw. Reid had loads of space on the right, but Lucas always passed the ball centre.

He was solid defensivly though.

Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?!

He's a defendaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Lucas Neill was pretty good tonight I thought, he seems to really have grasped the nettle again.

It wasn't all a disaster, we didn't look a relegation team, but at the same time we looked toothless up front. The goal we conceded was pretty bad as well from our point of view, but Brown did take it forward well.

But we need to be more assured in our final ball, Tottenham were cutting it out far too easy.

It seems to have been a case of Fulham making us look good, rather than us suddenly being great.

[Bobby G]

Todd was decent.He can do a job at this level,he is no Nesta but thats not what we bought.I thought he did alright today.

I agree with everything else.We need a quality striker.

We need a good defender and a good left back probably too.

Our bench was useless,no one other than Thommo and Bothroyd who could make a difference.Why have Flitcroft on the bench?We couldve have De Pedro or MGP.We are AT HOME!

[joey_big_nose]

lets not do the whole rollercoaster thing where when we win we are fantastic ands we lose we are abysmal....

Today the game was extremely even, both sides lacked quality in the final third and the final pass. Spurs had strikers who are a class well above ours but apart from that there was absolutely nothing between the two sides. When we conceded Tottenham stuck nearly everyone behind the ball and the only eay we were going to score was through a set piece and we are awful at those. We do need a bit of space behind a defence to get on top (think of all our goals against Birmingham) but so do most sides these days.

My message to Mark would be- Dont change anything drasticaly, we are obviously improving. Rome was not built in a day.

Ferguson was well under par today, but still a decent performance. Niell was excellent, Tugay was good, Emerton and Reid were average but no worse than that. I thought Todd and Short were good, friedel decent, Gallagher good in parts. Dickov was excellent as usual. Thompson, Bothroyd and Johansson were all disappointing- the only real chage I would want is Gray to make a reappearence at left back. Defensively Nissa is great but so many times we needed that overlap which just wouldnt happen.

If Hughes panics like some on here I will think much the less of him.

[soupdragon]

Oh dear. Absolutely no positives to take out of todays performance. Despite all the possession (especially in the second half), I don't recall one shot of any note other than Gally's at the beginning of the second half. Spurs may be crap, but they loked a darn sight more threatening when they had the ball. Rovers on the other hand had no creativity whatsoever. No-one seemed to have an idea what their role was, or to anticipate what their team mates might do - Neill and Reid played like complete strangers down the right wing.

I don't know what Mickey Gray has done to be relegated from the squad but there is no way NEJ should be ahead of him - he is not a professional footballer - he never seems to know what to do when he has the ball, other than to get his body in the wrong position and then hoof it to the opposition.

From having had a chance to create a real buzz of positivity and look forward to Christmas, we now go the dump at Selhurst with more pressure back on our shoulders.

[Paul]

Well then.......we didn't play badly just lacked any sort of creativity. Rovers were up against a Spurs side with fewer attacking ambitions than a herd of manicly depressed lemmings in cold turkey.............and we still couldn't score or even begin to create a decent chance, Gally's one shot accepted.

God that was boring.

[RoyRover]

Sorry guys, Todd played to the top of his ability today but he is not good enough.

Todd was played very well tonight. He kept Jermaine Defoe quiet, which is quite an achievement. He made some fine interceptions and tackles and looked composed in defence. NEJ was poor, but he isn't a left back.

It was a disappointing result, because Spurs are a team that we should definately be beating at home. We have been playing well and Spurs have been on a poor run and we should have capitalised on it. We didn't play that badly, just not with the same tempo from our previous games. Spurs looked like more of a threat up front than we did and we just weren't able to break them down. This was a real chance to move up the table and further away from trouble and it is disappointing that we didn' take advantage of it.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Since the start of last season we have achieved the grand total of just 6 wins in 30 home games(all comps) !!!!

JHC!

Edited December 4, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[mjs]

NEJ's a very good centre back, as he has proved time and again.

When was that then?

[Robertson]

Why am I getting excited for the boxing day game?

Another opportunity for my newcastle mates to laugh at how poo we are......

Roll on the 26th!!!!!!

NEJ out, Gray in

[adopted scouser]

NEJ out, Gray in

Absobloodylutely

[chris]

not much to take out the game other then

I remember why I can't stand seeing Nissa at left back, he's slow and just shocking actually

Todd was brilliant, really impressed by that performance

thought we lacked the quality upfront that Spurs had and that was the difference,obviously

so to conclude, probably pick up against Palace but BRING BACK GRAY

[waggy]

NEJ out, Gray in

Absobloodylutely

i'd be very suprised if gray plays again for us.did anyone notice everyone off our throw ins went backwards,not the display we needed after the fulham game,happen the players should have been kept away from the the tv's the hunger was not there today.todd and short did well and we had our only shot on target after them two combined in the penalty area in the 1st half.the midfield huffed and puffed but tommo's arrival just made things worse.

i thought the substitutions were made too early,the matteo one at the end was a mystrey.all in all it was the result we as roverites should expect,the gate was up today which is good news

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Some 2,000 up on the Brum game,will they return after that Waggy??......nice one Rovers

Edited December 4, 2004 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[millionpints]

We learned a few things today (if we didn't already know them):

1 Every player giving 100% for 90 minutes (as I thought they did today) is not enough- if the opposition matches your commitment but plays better quality football they will win

2 We don't have the quality in terms of creation- despite our possession we created few chances- Spurs looked much more likely to score from the 1st minute

3 We need to but a defender in the transfer window

4 Spurs aren't quite as bad as we thought

probably stating the obvious but hey..

[frosty]

Poor performance

Friedel- 8

Neill- 6

Todd - 9

Short- 7

Johannson- 6

Emerton- 6

Ferguson- 7

Tugay- 7

Reid- 7

Dickov- 6

Gallagher- 6

Subs:

Matteo- 7

Bothroyd- 6

Thompson- 7

[waggy]

forgot to mention junior got TIM SHERWOOD'S autograph today he was on the concourse in the jw lower before the game,he looks like he has kept himself in trim.he was the pundit on sky

[Paul]

He was complimentary about Rovers as a club and the current team on Radio Rovers

[American]

Neill- 6

Thompson- 7