Anti-rovers Setiment

[waggy]

no its biased in our favour,not alf thornton style but biased

[RovertheHill]

Got into work this morning and all the other footy fans asked if I was disappointed about Saturday. The answer is no, but I am disappointed about Sunday's paper and the media talk since then. Totally over the top but what can you do. Martin Tyler and Andy Gray were pretty fair if you watch the Sky coverage - it seems to have been blown up since then. There were 6 dodgy Rovers tackles and four recieved bookings. The other two (Thommo's second and Savage's first attempt) should have received yellow cards. Other than that, there was the collision which I firmly believe was an accident. The hysteria has been amazing. Especially since this is the same appallingly behaved Arsenal team who are well-known for their petulance, diving and bullying antics.

The only good thing to come of this is the fact that this will almost certainly generate a siege mentality and hopefully an excellent response from the team on Wednesday.

On a side note, I hope all those that accused those of us who didn't go to Cardiff of not being real fans will be there on Wednesday - we need to give the lads a top reception

[DaveyB]

It was a reminder that reputations tend to be founded in fact. Facts like the 28 fouls Blackburn committed on Saturday.

Wonder if the 26 fouls committed by both of the Uniteds yesterday is worthy of comment in todays press - or do those extra 2 make all the difference!!

Edited April 18, 2005 by DaveyB

[Mattyblue]

Well, well, well, finally the gloves are off from the media hacks that have been looking for a chance to totally discredit Blackburn Rovers since that day in Liverpool ten years ago.

I have been closely monitoring the media for many years now and many of their attacks have been veiled, albeit thinly. To be accepted by the media you have to be a member of the 'magic circle', (i.e a London club or a big metropolitan club (Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle) as Patrick Collins helpfully pointed out in the Mail on Sunday or get big crowds. The history of the club or the background behind why a club like Rovers get smaller crowds than a Man Utd seems not to matter.

The fact that around TWENTY PER CENT of our borough woke up in the dead of night and paid an average of £40 does not matter, the fact that our players are not in the same class of Arsenal's therefore requiring appropriate tactics does not matter. Newcastle played the only way they can, and got well and truly thrashed, while a 1-0 scoreline probably best suited our game, tells its own story.

Of course, as an earlier post stated, I am sure thuggery' will not be promoted at all in the upcoming 'Battle of the Buffet 2' or is it 3? Yawn. The double standards would be laughable if the public had not been taken in by red top hacks.

While watching the game yesterday, I noticed many 'cynical' fouls by both sets of teams, Nicky Butt in particular, but these were obviously 'mistimed' or 'over eager'. We are a blacklisted club, commentators, pundits, journalists, managers and officials have been taken in by the media hype and are on the 'Blackburn Rovers are bad for the game' bandwagon.

One comment by the chosen one in early February after being well and truly outplayed by a resilient Rovers started all this, carried on by Nigel Worthington who showed just how easy it is to be carried away by media hype.

Now every tackle is being monitored, though I did not see one tackle being two footed, off the ground or malicious, but just committed play from a team giving it all and who I felt immensely proud of, Steven Reid's chase and tackle springing to mind. 17thousand others felt the same as they got applauded and cheered off the pitch.

Do we want to go back to the Hodgson, Kidd or late Souness eras where many of you on this board and at Ewood were sick and tired and largely apathetic of a club and team that seemed to be going through the motions, I feel more strongly for our team under Hughes than I have for years.

I just hope Rovers fans hold their nerve at this time and don't get taken in by media spin that want to discredit and humiliate our great club, if everybody else outside Blackburn Rovers, think we are the new Millwall/Wimbeldon so be it, it will just make me get behind the lads that bit more on Wednesday night.

ps European Super league? I would be waving them off at the airport, we could finally get our game back and I think REAL football fans not Neutral from the Home Counties would say the same and would have loved a Rovers/Newcastle cup final.

[eddiewac]

Well said!

Ah well the media might be against us, but on the way back to the coach I heard a few Arsenal fans saying, "God! 3-0 down and they are still singing!"

Edited April 18, 2005 by eddiewac

[americanrover]

Click Me

[Roaming Rover]

What made me laugh was Motson in yesterdays game praised the ref for not booking a player too early and ruining the game, yet in our game the ref didn't book Rovers players soon enough

Ah well looking through the papers and Brian Woolnough, who normally talks rubbish actually talks some sense

He asks if we were thugs or if the English game has gone soft, he says why should teams like Blackburn and Bolton allow the big clubs to humiliated.

[RovertheHill]

Seasons Opta stats here

Basically - team with most fouls is not Rovers, it's Villa. Top 3 fouling players are Davies (Bolton), Cahill (Everton), Brown (Spurs)

We are not very good at scoring as we all know. However, we are 12th in terms of shots, which suggests not as defensive or clogging as we are made out to be (interestingly enough above Newcastle who have Shearer, Kluivert, Dyer, Robert... and who are thought of as an attacking team). In terms of successful passes we are 9th.

Still, why let this get in the way of a good old witchhunt...

[RoyRover]

The worst came from Paul Dickov, on Philippe Senderos.

The above come from the Times match report, which was pretty fair, apart from the above statement. There were far worse tackles made on Saturday.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Ah well looking through the papers and Brian Woolnough, who normally talks rubbish actually talks some sense

He asks if we were thugs or if the English game has gone soft, he says why should teams like Blackburn and Bolton allow the big clubs to humiliated.

Well done to Woolnough - as you say he usually talks sh*te - when Shearer got tfd to Newcastle he threatened to take solicitors action against me for a letter I wrote to him.

With regard to the media, I couldn't give a monkeys. More recently it has been Bolton, now it's out turn. As has been posted it will bind us together and make us stronger. In fact we should adopt the Millwall anthem from now on and starting against Palace.

NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON'T CARE.

[Ewood Spark]

After reading a couple of reports this morning (Guardian and Independent) it looks as though the anti-Rovers bandwagon has morphed into a juggernaut! I really do think Rovers should consider banning a few of these nationals from the press-box, after all what harm could it do, we very rarely recieve positive press anyway. That a family club, which is run by good honest people, can be savaged by hacks the way it has for the last couple of days, is scandalous. So ban them from the press box and let them pay for their seats like the rest of us...they offer us nothing ....lets give them nothing in return.......but not before Wednesday! Wednesday gives us the opportunity to vent our frustrations on the press scum...after all we know where they are sitting. Lets give them an uncomfortable evening.....I suggest a sustained chant of 'Scum scum..' or 'You don't know what yor writing...' whilst gesticulating in their general direction. Probably wont achieve anything but will make me feel a bit better!

[Tris]

Even the Borneo Bulletin is having a pop!!

Borneo Bulletin online

[James No. 7]

There were some good defences of Rovers at the start of the F365 mailbox, but a whole ocean of anti-Rovers rubbish followed.

One person suggested a whole season's suspension for Todd!

Come now, even if intentional, it is only worth one match at most.

[14May1995]

Even the Borneo Bulletin is having a pop!!

Borneo Bulletin online

Trust you!

Ah well. There's no such thing as "bad" PR!

[clitheroe_claret]

Good stuff from Borneo

Is it little wonder about all the criticism heaped on you lot.

The semis are, after the final itself, the showpiece games.

What did the viewing millions get - one team wanting to play football and win the other setting out to stop them by fair means or foul. Usually the latter.

Look at the 10 outfield players EVERY SINGLE ONE, bar pedersen is of the same mould so what is the outcome, just what we got.

It would have been more productive to have had a go, footballing wise, and got hammered than to earn the despise of the nation which appears to be the result.

todd needs sorting out again, a spell with Stan at Gillingham should do the trick.

[broadsword]

Look at the 10 outfield players EVERY SINGLE ONE, bar pedersen is of the same mould so what is the outcome, just what we got.

It would have been more productive to have had a go, footballing wise, and got hammered than to earn the despise of the nation which appears to be the result.

You really are a lemon, aren't you?

"EVERY SINGLE ONE" (apart from one - ooops)

"More productive to have ... got hammered" (yep, would do morale the world of good as we strive for the points to take us to safety. Sounds liek Suicide Squad mentality that)

Plonker!

[James No. 7]

It would have been more productive to have had a go, footballing wise, and got hammered than to earn the despise of the nation which appears to be the result.

Play with tactics that would see us with more of a chance of losing?

No thanks.

Losing might be acceptable at Burnley, but we at Blackburn have dignity and pride, and do not swallow defeat very well, unlike your lot who tolerate losing.

[Rovermatt]

I was reading the match report in an abandoned Mail on the train this morning. As you would expect from such a poisonous rag, the general sentiment was outrage. W@nkers.

[philipl]

Now its 48 hours since the disappointment, the media have moved on and so should we.

Yes it was disappointing to face the over the top nonsense from the press when we committed two more fouls than Newcastle and the Mancs in the "show case" humiliation of Sunday.

Even a couple of dingles found a moments diversion from the joy of drawing at home with Brighton in front of 6,000 fewer than there were Rovers 200 miles away in Cardiff.

But it is all going to be forgotten about except for the good things which came out of our semi-final. There were no video nasties to go into a Vinnie Jones compilation and in all probability there will be far worse going on in the "dream" final Fleet Street is having a collective orgasm over.

Hypocritical double standards- yes

Do we care- yes, we are proud of our team

But in the big picture, as a club and a body of supporters, we are going to come back stronger and more determined than ever.

[Simon Says]

It would have been more productive to have had a go, footballing wise, and got hammered

This coming from the supporter of a club who managed a total of 3 shots against us in 180 minutes of football.

[den]

Time FA hit Todd

"While the television recording of the incident may not be conclusive, it should not stop them from throwing the book at the Blackburn captain."

"The fact it will be difficult for the FA to prove Todd acted with malicious intent should not stop them from punishing him."

"He is not a newcomer to this kind of unacceptable behaviour. His roughhouse reputation began to take root after a fight with coach Phil Brown during his time at Bolton and his brief stay at Charlton ended after a bust-up with goalkeeper Dean Kiely.

Todd's record for this kind of thing is puzzling considering his father, Colin, could actually play the game. That may be beyond Todd junior but, even so, if he wanted to curb his aggressive behaviour he could do worse than follow the example of Patrick Vieira."

Incredible quotes from Thisislondon

[SamDingle]

After reading a couple of reports this morning (Guardian and Independent) it looks as though the anti-Rovers bandwagon has morphed into a juggernaut! I really do think Rovers should consider banning a few of these nationals from the press-box, after all what harm could it do, we very rarely recieve positive press anyway. That a family club, which is run by good honest people, can be savaged by hacks the way it has for the last couple of days, is scandalous. So ban them from the press box and let them pay for their seats like the rest of us...they offer us nothing ....lets give them nothing in return.......but not before Wednesday! Wednesday gives us the opportunity to vent our frustrations on the press scum...after all we know where they are sitting. Lets give them an uncomfortable evening.....I suggest a sustained chant of 'Scum scum..' or 'You don't know what yor writing...' whilst gesticulating in their general direction. Probably wont achieve anything but will make me feel a bit better!

Sensitive little darlings aren't we?

[rosie]

The Standard always write crap about us. Ooh, those nasty hard northern thugs - fancy going out to try and stop the ballet dancing, lager drinking, southern nambypamby boys team from winning. How dare they!

It really does just go to show that we still aren't forgiven for having the audacity to a: enter and take part on the big stage or b: win the league!

Never mind - they can whinge and bitch all they like - they clearly didn't have a lot else better to do on Sunday. They're not going to be able to think up original headlines over the coming weeks like "Slackburn" which has probably upset their story telling applecarts as well.

Edited April 18, 2005 by rosie

[philipl]

Obviously Paula Ratcliffe had spotted an Evening standard reporter lying in his usual position in the gutter around about 17 miles into the Marathon.

[broadsword]

What the Standard said the day after we beat Spurs in Cardiff was amusing.

They jumped right out of their prams!