[Archived] Rovers 0 - 0 spurs match review

[Seggie]

5. Blackburn Police couldn't direct Dingle to a banana, never mind traffic around ewood.

341572[/snapback]

Quality

[RevidgeBlue]

The game ended as a spectacle when Neill was sent off after 77 mins.

Up until then I thought we played extremely well, infinitely better than against Fulham. However I also thought it was heartbreaking to see us completely dominate possession against a very good side and fail to capitalise because we had nothing up front. A bit of quality up there and we'd have won comfortably.

As for the sending off, watching the game live at full speed I thought the first yellow was extremely harsh, the second tackle a bit overenthusiastic and a marginal yellow, but that overall commonsense should have prevailed.

Savage's yellow was a complete joke, he made a perfect tackle and took the ball as clean as a whistle. Despite that he earned his his third yellow in three games, when maybe only the one at West Ham was justified. Certainly in his case and with the team overall we seem to be suffering from a severe case of "give a dog a bad name" ( Didn't spot the alleged headbutt if true Todd deserves any censure going)

Overall the game highlighted just how good we could be with some quality up front and the need for quality cover at right back and centre back given our disciplinary indiscretions.

[modes98]

Having listened in the pub on a hand held radio to talk sport, you would have thought lucas neill had done a roy keane on davids. The description of what seemed to be a normal late challange in todays game and worth a yellow, was turned into something that Lucas could have faced a life ban for on talk sport. Not to mention the fact they said we were "kicking lumps out of robinson" which there was no mention from on MOTD. I have to say i was for once very impressed with the fair look from MOTD but disgusted at the totally anti-rovers sentiment shown on the radio.

I thought i wouldn't see lucas turn out against villa but now i am relieved to find out i will. Hope he plays well now! Struggling to find a replacement centre back for todd worth the name is mokoena has a bad a time as vs Western Hammers! Wouldn't be against Jay being given a go at CB or LB! Also now looking for a right back for 1 game, could we see a youngster vs bolton or a shift around with a CB playing at RB? either way lucas needs to take a leaf out of savage's book and control himself better when he is on a yellow! and our captain needs to pull his act together quickly!

[sausagemandog]

Did you all notice that in the last 2 mins after wasting time with a short corner, Lily was going to have another short corner with Nelsen, a bit of banter with the BBE and Savage tells Nelsen to get in the middle the fans want a proper corner!!!!!!! So he overhits the corner, why oh why doesnt he leave all the dead balls to Pedersen.

[PABBY]

Take a look at the highlights Rev and you'll see that Savage's and (both) Neill's bookings were correct calls by the referee. In each instance the Rovers player was miles from actually touching the ball.

[evukovic]

I awoke at 5am to watch the game and through bleary eyes and hazy mind watched Rovers absolutely dominate the match. It was a pretty scrappy affair with not much in the way of quality play being shown, aside from Tugay (again MOM) and Pedersen, who tore it up on the wing. Overall they played well, Kuqi had countless chances but is severely lacking in quality. He's essentially a six foot version of Dickov without the moaning.

Savage played well, as did Emerton and Nelsen was a rock in defence as usual. Tottenham had one shot in the first half, which proved to be their only chance for the match. Second half started and the ref was buggering things right up. Two clear penalty shouts, one where Kuqi was being groped, manhandled and gangraped in the box, all for nowt. Another couple of lacklustre shots on target by Rovers, but constant pressure and finally some flowing attacking football. And then the red mist set in. Todd (luckily wasn't caught by the refs, but the camera caught him) headbutts that pie-munching git Andy Reid and Neill clatters into Davids for a second yellow and is sent off. Still, even with ten men, Rovers still looked the more likely to score and really should have won the match. If only Bellers was fit. In the end 0 - 0 and to be honest, a disappointing result. I came into this match thinking they had a good shout for the three points and they showed they were up for it. A little too up for it by the end of the match. Always thought Spuds were overrated. 1 point gained or 2 points lost. You decide. I for one think we should have won this, but do take heart from the number of chances created, sadly the finish isn't there. C'mon Rovers, one more striker please.

[LeChuck]

Savage's yellow was a complete joke, he made a perfect tackle and took the ball as clean as a whistle.

341575[/snapback]

You might want to watch that on TV again Rev.

Nowhere near the ball and went clean through him, you won't see a more obvious yellow.

[RevidgeBlue]

You might want to watch that on TV again Rev.

Nowhere near the ball and went clean through him, you won't see a more obvious yellow.

341582[/snapback]

Fair do's, I was actually sat next to two Tottenham fans working in the Edgworth area and at the time they said they couldn't understand those decisions either.

Unless they were frightened of me

[LeChuck]

From afar I thought he'd got the ball, it was just one of those where the player had passed it a split second before Savage came in. It was only on the close-up that you could see what had happened.

[West Aussie]

Having got up to watch the match in the wee hours, I personally thought it was a very poor match lacking any real quality. The point emphasised numerous times by the match commentators, the only exception being MGP.

On the subject of discipline it's about time if it's not been done already for Hughesy to get a grip on our wayward tackling, knowing our already poor disciplinary record. You can't go in diving and sliding with two feet like a sunday pub team (sorry to any sunday players!)

Neil fully deserved to go no question, who in my opinion has been putting in some quality performances of late.

Todd what can you say, will get a ban absolutely stupid.

When you look at the match as a whole I can't remember two goalkeepers having as little to do for a long time, and both sides inability to keep hold of the ball made the game IMO a scrappy affair.

Having said all that I'll shoot it all in the foot by stating before the match I would have been happy with a point as I thought we would have been beaten.

Last but not least can somebody please take a decent corner, how many went straight over everyone and out of play.

[Blueboy Downunder]

when lucas and sav made them tackles, they immediately complained of protested innocense....in true fact neither of them had any right to. i thought that we could and probably should have won the game and i just wanted to see a little more composure in all areas of the pitch from us. having tugay sat in the middle and directing the traffic makes us a totally different team.

on to lucas neill....up until his sending off i thought he was playing ok and having a decent game. however, this sending off must tell hughesy and his staff that they need to get lucas into theiur office at brockhall and have serious words with him. i believe it is one thing to have a discipline problem, but another thing altogether to be totally stupid about it...if that all makes sense. already on a yellow card, and he decides to go right through the back of edgar davids...thus nearly breaking his legs in the process.

Andy todd....well if my eyes did not deceive me then he too will be suspended after headbutting andy reid and he certainly would deserve a suspension.....team captain is not leading by example and to be fair he has not done so far this season. I am that angry with these blokes right now that i am struggling to think of what to type.

[tsnuf]

Before the game, I was worried because I thought Tottenham would be too good for us... After the game I feel like we were robbed of the 3 points. So I guess a draw leaves me content, but nothing more.

Friedel - 8 - Didn't have to do much, but did pluck several balls out of the air with authority.

Neill - 6 - Solid game until the sending off... Still not sure if it was a second yellow or a straight red.

Todd - 6 - Stupid for the headbutt. As soon as I saw the replay I knew it had to be Todd.

Nelsen - 8 - Only one uneasy moment but he dealt with it well, one great last ditch interception.

Matteo - 7 - I can't wait till Gresko is ready to play. Matteo is very solid, but is useless at supporting Pedersen.

Emerton - 8 - Surprised me, he was much better today - although he is a bit of a pansy for a big guy.

Savage - 7 - Decent game, deserved his booking, had one great free kick then a bunch of bad ones.

Reid - 6 - Invisible. Starting to really want a new central mid, as he did nothing really. Didn't even play well as a right back.

Tugay - 8 - Pulled some sweet tricks and seems to be the only player who can create something. A bit slow on the ball though.

Pedersen - 8 - Was excellent today, created most of our chances (and that was with Matteo in support!). Dead balls were poor though.

Kuqi - 6 - Woeful finishing. Could have won us the game. However he does seem comfortable in a 4-5-1.

Johnson and Mokoena didn't have a chance to impress (thankfully neither did Defoe). I am encouraged by the fact that we created decent chances - hopefully Kuqi will find his feet and stick a few away soon.

[John]

We create chances but this is just the same as last season, we need more up front.

With or without Bellamy.

[Paul]

Well I'm surprised by many of the reactions on here. As far as I can see only a couple of posts are from fans who were at Ewood last night. That is not to criticise you but it does point up the difference between radio commentary, TV viewing and being at the game.

Very much agree with the points made by Revidge. I haven't seen MOTM but on the Savage, Neill and Todd incidents from our seat at the front of the FS - Savage didn't seem to be a booking, Neill's first tackle looked to be perfectly OK, the second was always going to be a booking given Gallagher's attitude on the night and Davids collapsing like a house of cards. Todd's "elbow" or "head butt" - don't know as I was watching the ball on the opposite side of the pitch. The general view around me was Todd elbowed him.

As for the game itself? I can't agree with many of the less positive posts. Rovers played really well for the entire game. WE pressed a supposedly very good Spurs side for the whole 90 minutes, dominated poessesion and prevented them from playing at all. Spurs didn't manage a corner, though it has to be said they had the attacking ambitions of a giant sloth - or did we simply present too great a threat?

The game was fast flowing, Rovers passed the ball well, worked hard for each other, frequently played nice quick tempo triangular passes to get out of trouble, constantly looked to attack and were solid at the back. We were odds on throughout the game to win, and at no time did I feel there was any danger of losing. The players also looked very strong towards the end of the match, which considering their effort, says a lot for their improved fitness. In other games we would have conceded a sloppy goal, as on Saturday, never a danger tonight. Clearly Spurs wanted to play on the break and they didn't get many breaks. If this is the brave, new Tottenham Hotspur I keep reading about, which has Spurs fans dreaming of Europe - wake up and smell the coffee lads, you ain't going anywhere as Rovers will be ahead of you.

Penalties - Emerton's was never a shout and he should have made more effort to get the ball. Kugi? clearly fouled but just outside the box at the point of contact, inside by the time he hit the ground.

One interesting aspect of Neill's sending-off is a few months ago we would have dropped back, defended in a total panic and probably lost. Last night we continued to attack and push Spurs all the way. Being a man down only showed in glimpses and was quickly compensated for by the whole team.

I left Ewood knowing we should have won but in no way disappointed by this, thoroughly entertained for the whole 90 minutes, delighted with MY team's performance and feeling this was the game in which Hughes' influence really shone through for the first time.....and the crowd were superb, noisy boisterous. Compare that with the Tottenham crowd, 4000 was excellent, who were left with nothing to cheer.

Less than positives? (As I refuse to be negative after this game). Well truth be told Kugi should have had a goal and despite his hard work I'm doubtful he can fulfill the lone striker role. Savage, he really is irritating me now. At set pieces he uses his personality to dominate MGP when MGP is clearly the better at both corners and free kicks. Three times in the second half he pushed MGP away and then delivered truely crap balls. Come on Morten stand up for yourself. The only other question I have is how many clear cut chances did we create? Plenty of half-chances but nothing really threatening to Spurs.

Loved the new Rovervision thing at half-time.

This morning I'm just so pleased to be a Rover. Anyone who didn't go to Ewood last night missed a great evening's entertainment. 10/10 to Mark Hughes, this is what we need - along with a striker and another creative midfielder I will be telling every stay-away what a good night they missed.

Edited August 25, 2005 by Paul

[waggy]

after seeing the lucas and todd incident on ssn,i ask do we feed our players on raw meat

[Guest Kamy100]

Like Paul very surprised by some of the negative comments about the performance. In my opinion this was a far better performance than Saturday's. We totally dominated a very good Spurs side, who it appears thought that they would still win even by resting their best 2 players (Carrick and Defoe). Rovers passed the ball really well, and also pressed Spurs for the entire 90 minutes. The football was imaginative and all it lacked was a quality finisher. Kuqi tries hard and no one can fault is commitment but I am afraid his first touch is just not up to it, now maybe it is just nerves but I lost count of the times his touch let him down, having said that he did get himself into good scoring positions but just lacked the composure to finish things off.

Still very upbeat after last night's performance. If we can carry on playing like this then we are in for a good season.

[Bobby G]

The problem is that we lack a quality finisher.

[Tango]

Football365 has given us a fairly decent write-up - link

Edited August 25, 2005 by Tango

[waggy]

my ratings

friedal -6 untroubled

niell - 5 solid display,disciplane let him down again

todd -6 solid but trouble looming

admiral-8 missed a sitter,the only blight by our leader

matteo- 7 is this the same player we had last season

toogs-7 junior walked out with him before the game,the ginger minger wished him happy birthday.

emerton-8 will the real brett emerton stand up PLEASE

lily-6 leave the set pieces to mgp

ried-6 steady

mgp-7 improves every game

kuqi-5 not premier league but what a HEART.

[Cheshireblue]

I sometimes wonder if I watch the same games as some of the rest of you.

Tugay and MGP were both excellent last night. Emerton also had a good game, and overall the work rate of the team was first class. Every ball from Spurs was under pressure, and that meant we got a lot of possession back, and cheaply. Kuqi lead the line well. Worked incredibly hard and ran his blood to water. That said, he has a touch like a fish and all the finesses of Ashley Ward. With Bellamy or Dickov playing last night, we may well have nicked a goal.

There was some great passing, particularly down the right. Tugay, Emerton and Neill have really started to develop an understanding and their link up play is excellent.

Largely untroubled at the back. Nelson and Todd look a good pairing, but Nelson had a complete nightmare in posession. He looked nervous, tetchy and thoroughly uncomposed. He was great putting challenges in and winning the ball in the air, but on the ground, his passing and clearing was appalling.

Reid gave Todd three good kicks before they started rubbing their heads together. No clear head butt by Todd, but massive drama from Reid. Todd was substituted due to an injury that he opicked up whilst Reid was kicking him.

No excuse for Lucas. Terrible challenge and cost us any chance of winning the game. It looked bad at the time and looks even worse on the replays. Could easily have been straight redded for it.

On the whole a good performance, which just further highlighted our lack of quality in front of goal. We need Bellamy or Dickov to be fit because Kuqi isn't going to be the answer.

[Eddie]

Well at least Neill will only be suspended for one match. Even that is a shame though as he is having a good start to the season. I'm pleased both with the performance and the result.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Let's get this straight...last night was in no way a dirty performance by Rovers who dominated Spuds for long periods but we must improve our disciplinary record as it is undoing all the good work we have seen so far by the team,please take note Sparky.

Competative and committed is how I would sum up the lads in blue 'n' white and it was heartening to see.Even when we were down to 10 they never stopped going forward looking for the winning goal....come on Bellamy we REALLY need you to be fit son! Kuqi tries but has no real quality.

Quite frankly I though it was nothing more than arrogance by Spurs to rest their key player's and it nearly backfired, Rovers have proved they will be no pushover at Ewood this season.

Like many others I came off Ewood in no way Disappointed by the result,matters are looking a damn sight better than last season.If Spuds are Championsleague quality then i'll show my fat arse!.

Excellent following from Spurs and a much better turnout by our fans....onward's and upward's!!

Edited August 25, 2005 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[den]

I too thought it was an excellent performance. The only comments fron Jol that I've read, show him to be doing a Mourinho - fudging the issue that spurs were an inferior team to rovers.

Have to take issue with Paul. Emerton was clearly pulled back by his shirt, that was a penalty. Kuqi was still being fouled as he went into the area, another penalty.

[Alan75]

I sometimes wonder if I watch the same games as some of the rest of you.

341644[/snapback]

By the indicated times on some of the posts, comments on the game are based on radio commentry and pundit comment. Or are based on TV edited highlights.

And before someone bites back, my comments are not intended as critism of those who werent fortunate enough to be at Ewood. It just reiterates a comment made earlier by Paul.

it does point up the difference between radio commentary, TV viewing and being at the game.

For my view of the game CLICK HERE

[RoyRover]

I watched the highlights on Football First last night and I thought we looked good. Pedersen is really starting to shine and he played some fantastic balls into the box. Kuqi should have scored from one of them and that is the type of chance that a top forward would have scored. Emerton also should have had a penalty, because he was definately pulled back. There seemed to be a lot more people at the game yesterday, what was the attendance?