[Archived] Rovers 0 Chelsea 1

[Ozz]

Get Emerton off for a few weeks before I get on the pitch and drag him myself, I only want him to provide 2-3 actual dangerous crosses a match but he is incapable of that he is causing me major stress and I feel like hurting him

[Ozz]

Rover6 we played 4-1-4-1 , but practically it was 2-1-2-1 with Neill Matteo Emerton Thomson not actually playing at all.

[Rovermatt]

Was in a really good mood until I read the comments on this thread by those posting during the game......

        ............G...U...Y...S      Y...O...U...      K...N...O...W...

                  F...L...E...U...R...K...      A...L...L...

                A...B...O...U...T      F...O...O...T...B...A...L...L.............

STOP POSTING. 'NUFF SAID.

Aye that's right.

So we can pass, we can score, we've got loads of creativity and Matteo is a world beater.

'Fleurk' all indeed...

Edited February 3, 2005 by Rovermatt

[rover6]

On a positive note, I think Hughes got the 4-5-1 formation right, I wasn't keen, but it did seem to stifle Chelsea.

How would you know? At half time you didn't even realise what formation Rovers were playing

Are we playing with five in midfield or is Pedersen playing as a striker?

Against Colchester there seemed to be conflicting reports on where Pedersen was playing. However, people who were at this match suggest that MGP was playing as a left winger and that is how I know, Mr Confrontational.

[stuwilky]

As you werent at the match and dint know the formation at half time, presumably werent watching it on the TV - how on earth do you knopw that anything was stifled?

[rover6]

5live

[T4E]

I thought we played really well and was encouraged by the game as a whole. The goal was a disappointing one to lose to as it was really quite avoidable. I guess when you play against players of that standard you have to expect something special.

Defensively we look very good (except for Brad, who I thought looked nervous and has done for a while). Midfield wise we look equally good, Pedersen gets into good positions, Emerton is a reformed character, and Savage looked more of a threat in the first half than Ferguson did in 18 months. Thompson wasn't good but then he was never going to get the space he thrives on in a 5 man midfield. Not sure what Mokoena's best position is?

I think Dickov needs a rest. He was a pain in the ass to Terry et al last night, but he really didn't offer a lot. I think Johnson would be worth giving a run of games, and to be honest I'd be tempted to go back to Stead starting and seeing if he can kick start this season at the same sort of time (and even the same fixture) as he did at Boro away last season.

Overall we did alright, there's no shame in last nights result or performance.

[CAPT KAYOS]

A very good performance in the main tonight but hardly the unmitigated triumph that tash is hailing it as.

The bottom line is that Chelsea played particularly poorly yet we came away empty handed from a game we should have picked up at least a point from. How crucial will that be at the end of the season?

As already mentioned by most, Savage Mokoena and Nelsen were excellent. Also thought Todd and MGP played very well.

On the downside the majority were let down by three shocking indidual performances.

Neill probably surpassed Bothroyd's Bolton display to earn the "worst ever premiership performance from a Rovers player" award. If you're picked at right back is it really too much to ask that as a bare minimum you'll at least station yourself in that position requiring the opposition to get round you to cause any damage?

Emerton was his usual completely anonymous self. I am starting to get ticked off with these two ripping off the fans and the club with their substandard performances week after week, month after month. Why on earth aren't they dropped in an attempt to give them a much needed kick up the jacksi?

Thompson was similarly awful and to me hasn't performed to anything like an acceptable standard since returning from injury. On recent evidence he can no longer cut it at this level.

Up front I can not understand the adulation for Dickov. I thought he was quite poor tonight. No end of niggling, plenty of giving away unnecessary fouls, plenty of playing for fouls, plenty of getting caught needlessly offside, and an unnecessary yellow card. No sign of him scoring, making the keeper work, or bringing his teammates into play. Not good enough at this level yet apparently still our main hope.

So whilst we seem to have potentially struck gold with Nelsen in defence and Mokoena in front of the back that's now 180 minutes of Ewood Premiership action without a goal.

Can we score enough to keep us up? Only time will tell.

Looks like we are still on the same thinking Revidge -just think I would have been a bit more critical

Hasta you beat me to it - I was saying exactly the same last night re the QPR and Everton matches.

Sorry folks but if people are happy for Dickov to continue being an arsehole and not scoring then don't start to weep when we are relegated. Its the one thing that really irks me about him, good player but definitely not enough for what we need - not on his own anyway.

Emerton -Ozzie J hits it on the head for me - except I would get him sold -personally he offers buggerall in way of being effective for us

Neill - not worth talking about - just combine it with Emerton what I said at the start of season about my worries on the rh side.

Thompson - hope people realise now what I have been saying for ages, and agree with USA B - he can't cut it now at this level.

Friedal - Time to give Enckleman a chance - looked to me that he boobed with the goal from the BB End - this as confirmed by others on here .

Positives - Nelsen and Moekwena - Nelsen as others have highlighted was immense , and contrary to what I have said before does have a fair bit of pace and we need to keep him at the back. Moekwena - still gives me the heebies but had a decent game last night , his distribution must pick up as he gives the ball away to much.

MGP - Started off like an house on fire - but died in teh 2nd hald - but yet again why oh why do we keep swapping him and Emerton over - does absolutely nothing for our game.

Cannot argue the work rate of last night or the commitment by about 7 of the players last night but we still carried - Thompson, Neill, Emerton and Matteo. Some of the challenges may have been a little hard, but it was refreshing to see a game of football with a bit of contact. Think alot of people have got into the way of thinkig that any challenge is now a foul.

Chelsea IMO let us play how they wanted us to and contained us as we never really threatened them goalwise and only had 2 shots on target with the penalty.

Came off feeling annoyed and disappointed last night, because we could and probably should have got something out of the game - but yet again our attacking presence and ability is downright awful and not even upto Champioship standard.

Dress it up how you want, but unless we start to show some composure, understanding and desire to go for goal we are going to be staring relegation directly in the face - I have said it before and will re-iterate - most teams that get relegated do so because of their inability to score and turn chances into goals - sound familiar?

[rover6]

Savage looked more of a threat in the first half than Ferguson did in 18 months. Thompson wasn't good but then he was never going to get the space he thrives on in a 5 man midfield. Not sure what Mokoena's best position is?

It'll be interesting to see who Hughes opts for in centre midfield against Boro. Savage likes getting forward, so I wonder if playing him alongside Tommo would be too attack minded.

BTW: The commentators on the radio were saying that Tommo stormed down the tunnel on being subbed - did that really happen?

[LDRover]

Pleased with the performance although it's becoming a little predictable with Rovers huffing and puffing but never blowing the house down.

Maybe we should have got a point but is no-one of the opinion that Chelsea did just enough to win and if we had scored (the penalty) they'd have just upped it and got another? We may have competed and put them off their stride but the sustained passing and keep ball came from Chelsea, mainly because players of higher quality can play at a higher tempo. When their players exerted the same amount of pressure on our players we tended to just knock the ball long and lose possession whereas Chelsea would maintain some kind of continuity.

That said, there's a lot to be happy about going into the Boro game and if we repeat that performance against the teams around us safety will be assured sooner rather than later.

Oh and just to add to what others have said before me on this thread, Ryan Nelsen was outstanding, and whisper it....MGP wasn't bad either.

[jim mk2]

Amid the euphoria at a battling performance and losing "only" 1-0 to Chelsea, we have lost another home game and are still in the relegation mire.

The game was yet another example of Rovers shooting themselves in the foot, giving away a soft early goal to the Premiership's best team (Friedel at fault yet again) and missing a penalty.

Just like the Bolton match, the last period of the game was awful with aimless long balls forward to no one in particular.

A bad night.

[stuwilky]

Savage looked more of a threat in the first half than Ferguson did in 18 months. Thompson wasn't good but then he was never going to get the space he thrives on in a 5 man midfield. Not sure what Mokoena's best position is?

It'll be interesting to see who Hughes opts for in centre midfield against Boro. Savage likes getting forward, so I wonder if playing him alongside Tommo would be too attack minded.

BTW: The commentators on the radio were saying that Tommo stormed down the tunnel on being subbed - did that really happen?

He took his time getting off the pitch and did disappear, not convinced he stormed but maybe Manchester Blue could see better from his perch....

He knew he had played badly.

[Roaming Rover]

Thought we played well last night and contrary to some reports thought we played some good football.

Tommo was very poor and his distribution was awful.

Emerton poor but sometimes didn't have any options available with just dickov upfront.

Dickov got stuck in and made things happen, but getting caught offside from a goal kick two or three times was ridiculous and annoying.

Thought the two new lads were outstanding and Mokoena passing was pretty good considering Chelsea harried us as much as we did them, in midfield.

Matteo played pretty well for me, OK so he shouldn't be allowed outside our half and his constant big hits down the touchline drive everyone mad, but he put in some good challenges.

As for the lack of attacking options we had two or three good chances against a team who have not conceded in how ever many games.

We definitely need a striker, left back, right back and possibly centre Midfield players in the summer, but should be more than OK with what we have got

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

A generally hard-working committed display by Rovers was let down by bouts of sloppy passing (Thompson and Emerton), inept defending (Lucas), diabolical finishing (Savage's skied shot over the bar from ten yards out), poor goalkeeping (Brad) and a lack of composure in front of goal (Pederson)

We went to sleep for Chelsea's goal. Lucas Neill was out of position, Andy Todd allowed Robben to turn him inside out like a glove and Brad was either not concentrating properly or alternatively is in decline.

Hughes should consider dropping David Thompson until he can learn how to pass a football and not stumble over it when presented with a perfect opportunity to counter-attack.

Brett Emerton should be told that when in posession of the ball in the box, it's a good idea to try and find a team mate.

MGP should be given the advice that when a team mate is in space and better placed to score than himself, he shouldn't selfishly blaze the ball over the bar. If I remember rightly, he did the same thing against Man Utd.

Other than that, no complaints with the effort put in by the players.

Chelsea's style of play

In many ways the current Chelsea team reminds me of the 1991 Arsenal title winning side under George Graham.

The Gunners back then were built on a solid defensive platform - setting their stall out in each game not to concede a goal. They weren't always pretty to watch. The flair was mainly confined to Anders Limpar on the left hand side.

Chelsea are a similar team - efficient and effective rather than purveyors of the beautiful game.

Robben and Duff provide the flair. Other than those two, Chelsea are not free flowing or particularly attractive to watch.

The type of football that Arsenal played last season during their unbeaten Premiership run was more pleasing on the eye.

With Chelsea, instead of elegant attacking football, the philosophy is to grind out as many 1-0 wins as possible. This was Chelsea's eighth consecutive clean sheet and they have won 8 games this season by a 1-0 margin.

The emphasis is very much on preventing goals rather than scoring them. It was ironic that back in September Mourinho accused Spurs of "parking a team bus in front of the goal"

That's exactly what Chelsea have been doing for much of this season.

Chelsea look as if they will beat the record of Liverpool, set in 1978-79, of 16 goals conceded in the top flight.

(The difference being that Liverpool dominated teams home and away and scored 85 League goals in 78-79, a figure which Chelsea won't get close to.)

The media often tell us that Chelsea play a 4-3-3 formation.

This is not the case whenever I've seen Chelsea. Robben and Duff play as wide midfielders leaving just Drogba or Gudjohnsen up front on their own. It's more of a 4-5-1 formation rather than 4-3-3.

Tiago and Makelele sit just in front of the back four. Chelsea flood the midfield and use six defensive players in their side to frustrate the opposition.

They rely heavily, as we saw last night, on the pace of Robben on the counter-attack.

In other games that I've seen, Chelsea have resorted to thumping the ball forward for Drogba to chase. The other main goal threat is to tee things up for Lampard to have a long-range shot.

I have held the opinion that Jose Mourinho is extremely arrogant for quite a while.

I've held the same opinion too. In media interviews the Portugese manager comes across as surly, arrogant and lacking in humility.

He's been compared with Brian Clough. But whereas Cloughie was a showman and a great character, Mourinho is merely cocky and arrogant. He favours a defensive negative brand of football which brought him success at Porto and which sadly looks like bringing him the same results at Stamford Bridge.

Moourinho has got them well-organised, disciplined and difficult to beat. But it's not a fluent style of football to tickle the taste buds.

It's almost certain they'll win the title this season. Hopefully they won't win the lot.

It would be a triumph of ruthless efficiency over style and beauty.

[Al]

You cannot be offside from a goal kick. (Consult rules). However he was caught offside from Freidel's clearances and free kicks which are a different matter.

God we need a decent striker!

[Roaming Rover]

I'm knackered and hangover and just want to be in bed, so Goal Kick or clearance from the goalie in his area is just about the same difference at the moment, even if rule 7 sub section 6.23 states differently.

I really can not be bothered to consult the rules every time I post

Anyway, either way it is poor from Dickov.................

[Scotty]

However, Robben was then fed on the left and he ran at Neill, turned him inside out, and hit a low, hard shot across Friedel into the net.

It was Todd he turned inside out, not Neill.

Oops! That'll teach me to post before I've seen the highlights on tv.

[Tango]

It's worth considering just how much our team from last night cost in comparison with Chelsea's.

Freidel - Free

Neill - £2mil.

Todd - £650,000

Nelson - Free

Matteo - Free

Emerton - £2.25mil.

Mokoena - £300,000

Savage - £3.1mil.

Thompson - £2.5mil.

Morten Gamst Pedersen - £1.5mil.

Dickov - £150,000

That's a grand total of £12.45mil. equivalent to about 1 Arjen Robben.

[herbergeehh]

However, Robben was then fed on the left and he ran at Neill, turned him inside out, and hit a low, hard shot across Friedel into the net.

It was Todd he turned inside out, not Neill.

Oops! That'll teach me to post before I've seen the highlights on tv.

Don't beat yourself up about it, Scotty, they do after all look similar from a distance..

[HugeChin]

It's worth considering just how much our team from last night cost in comparison with Chelsea's.

Freidel - Free

Neill - £2mil.

Todd - £650,000

Nelson - Free

Matteo - Free

Emerton - £2.25mil.

Mokoena - £300,000

Savage - £3.1mil.

Thompson - £2.5mil.

Morten Gamst Pedersen - £1.5mil.

Dickov - £150,000

That's a grand total of £12.45mil. equivalent to about 1 Arjen Robben.

I think I would rather have one Arjen Robben to be honest

[philipl]

London Evening Standard report says Rovers tested Chelsea more than any other side this season.

[trueblue]

Did anyone else notice? (sorry can't be arsed reading through all the pages on this thread) that last night after about 75 mins, Chelsea were playing 6 across the back?

That's something I've not seen them do this season (in the Chelsea matches I've witnessed)

[bazza]

.

Up front little Dickov created mayhem against two top defenders, with a little support or a fellow front man we would have faired much better.

As for the tactics, well moaners around me moaned, I could see what Hughes was playing at but could not get my head around the lack of a target man on the bench. Chelsea were seriously wobbling and showed that when narked they dont like it.

There was a target man on the bench but he wasn't used.

AMORUSO

If he had come on up front for the last 10 to 15 minutes I reckon we may have got something out of the game.

But I'm pleased with overall performance especially MGP,Mokoena,Todd and my MOM, Ryan Nelsen.

Brad got beaten by a shot from their left for the umpteenth time. This is one of his weak points and should be worked on to improve.

[Laurence]

From the Evening Standard article:

"Just as Roman Abramovich has more money than Jack Walker, it's fair to say that Mourinho possesses considerably greater charisma than Kenny Dalglish. "

cheeky b***ards!!

[mhead]

The hangover is just clearing and its Thursday lunchtime!

Isn't the reality that we made 2 mistakes last night -Brads awful attempt at a save and Dichov's penalty.The rest was all about us not being quite good enough to beat one of Europe's(hence the World) best sides - assembled at 5 to 8 times the cost and wages of our 95 team.

When you then add THOMMO'S display to end all displays which was a bit like when some Rovers manager played Faz at left-back!!

We did brilliantly cos we have no attack force and no central midfield.Tugay should have been on from 20 mins and Amo up front for the last 15 mins.And Thommo walking straight off explains why we should have encouraged Everton to buy him.

But the feeling is great.."We can hold our own and God I'm looking forward to Feb 20th!!"