Rovers Vs Man Utd. 1st Leg

[thenodrog]

You see players effing and blinding at refs every week, never getting booked.

Do the refs only hear it from players they want to hear it from?

Did Bellamy say more than just swearing at the ref, what terrible words could he have used?    Cheat !  or maybe  Biased !

373738[/snapback]

I'm sure that you dont need me to explain the difference between Bellamy saying for example 'Oh for fcku's sake that was not a frkein foul Ref he collided with his own frekin man' and him saying 'Oh for fcku's sake that was not a frkein foul Ref, he fell over his own frekin man .........you cheating blind (ooops auto sensors napped me but it rhymes with Mike Hunt)'

Or do you Aggy? Cos thats the difference.

Edited January 12, 2006 by thenodrog

[Nayef]

I roared with a mixture of amusement and frustration as Kuqi, with a clear sight of goal, thumped the ball straight ahead of him and out of play-absolutely awful.

373635[/snapback]

I had to laugh too. The guy is rapidly proving to be incompetent at this level.

[AggyBlue]

Like cherry picking.

The ref doesn't book all for it.

[Ozz]

When's the draw for the next round?

[waggy]

the day after the night before,the result is still the same.it is pretty obvious to most off us shefki ain't premiership quality but at the moment we have to suffer as well as bellamy.the gate last night was right,i did a guesstimate of 25k during the 1st half,pretty easy really 7,100 in darren end-5,500 in b/burn end,4,500 in riverside and 7,000 in jw

[Ozz]

Wondering what effect the result and performance from the last night will have on sales of tickets for the second leg?

[Fife Rover]

Totally agree!

373652[/snapback]

My sentiments exactly!. Kuqui was awful, and Dickov should have been on from the start. I cant understand why Sparky did not get Kuqui off after about the first half hour when it was blatantly obvious to everyone with half an eye that the big guy was having a stinker.

Also, in hindsight, we would have been better to start with Reid instead of Tugay, and maybe Zura instead of Todd. Bentley and MGP both played well in the first half, but competeley faded out in the second. Emmo should have come on sooner, perhaps on the left wing inplace of MPG and move Bentley up front to support Dickov with Bellamy out wide right but still acting as a striker/winger?

[stuwilky]

Wondering what effect the result and performance from the last night will have on sales of tickets for the second leg?

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I said going in last night, that as long as we didnt get beaten we would take a good following to Mancland. I stand by that. Perhaps not 9000, but certainly 6k

[thenodrog]

My sentiments exactly!. Kuqui was awful, and Dickov should have been on from the start. I cant understand why Sparky did not get Kuqui off after about the first half hour when it was blatantly obvious to everyone with half an eye that the big guy was having a stinker.

Also, in hindsight, we would have been better to start with Reid instead of Tugay, and maybe Zura instead of Todd. Bentley and MGP both played well in the first half, but competeley faded out in the second. Emmo should have come on sooner, perhaps on the left wing inplace of MPG and move Bentley up front to support Dickov with Bellamy out wide right but still acting as a striker/winger?

373747[/snapback]

Hindsight? You should know that a tonne of hindsights not worth an ounce of foresight in football Fife.

But even with the benefit of both you must acknowledge that

1. the first goal was down to Kuqi winning the ball in the air and flicking onto MGP. Kuqi is like Frank Bruno imo....OK in the first part of the game but his bulk means that he soon tires..... and then he is worse than useless.

2. Andy Todd was awarded MoM!

Dont let predjudice impede judgement.

[Ste B]

I think it's restriction of trade.

It would be under the Unfair Contracts Act.

373737[/snapback]

Its also @#/?, as didn't he play 10 minutes against Newcastle at home this season before limping off ?

[LDRover]

Although 1-1 isn't an ideal score to take out of the home leg, you have to be pleased we're still in the tie after such a dire second half.

Although something inside me says we can't possibly play as badly again at OT as we did in that second half tonight.

And I'm not sure United can do any better. The disappointing thing is conceding an away goal.

373673[/snapback]

Good summation Simon.

There's no doubt we can and will do better in the 2nd leg whereas I'm not so sure that they can.

Before the game I'd have taken 0-0, and while 1-1 isn't as good we're still well in there with a chance. Let's not forget Chelsea drew the first leg at home with United last year before winning at OT, no reason why we can't do the same.

Have faith everyone, we're only one good performance away from a return to Cardiff.

[greggyk]

We were hardly 'dire' in the second half. Defending is part of the game too you know and we did that well. Infact, we stoped the 2nd best team in England to no real chances and we actually happened to have the best chance in the 2nd half ourselves.

Im very happy with the result as obviously we could have played better, but in my mind, not playing brilliantly against a top side and coming away with a draw, can only be a good thing!

[Fife Rover]

I'm sure that you dont need me to explain the difference between Bellamy saying for example 'Oh for fcku's sake that was not a frkein foul Ref he collided with his own frekin man'  and him saying   'Oh for fcku's sake that was not a frkein foul Ref, he fell over his own frekin man .........you cheating blind (ooops auto sensors napped me but it rhymes with Mike Hunt)'  

Or do you Aggy?  Cos thats the difference.

373741[/snapback]

How times have changed! The one and only time that I was booked in my 20 year fotballing career was for admonishing my team mates with " Come on lads for F****s sake" as we lined up for the 11th time to kick-off after conceding a goal. I was booked for "Using industrial language in contravention of rule ??? (Violent and abusive language)"

Edited January 12, 2006 by Fife Rover

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Gotta wonder whether psychologically this result may help us. At 1-1 we basically start level pegging - as I would be surprised if either team is capable of keeping a clean sheet over 120 minutes in the 2nd leg.

If we had been taking a 2-1 lead - the inclination of the Rovers players would have been to sit back. United would have been at us from the start - with 60k+ behind them. It is very difficult for a team that is in the back foot to suddenly change their approach to the game.

At 1-1 I don't think United will go at us with the same venom - which hopefully will help us to get a foot-hold in the game as we did in the league.

The 2nd leg will be played as much in the head - as on the pitch - hopefully a draining derby and match against Liverpool will help even the odds.

[Fife Rover]

Hindsight?  You should know that a tonne of hindsights not worth an ounce of foresight in football Fife. 

But even with the benefit of both you must acknowledge that

1. the first goal was down to Kuqi winning the ball in the air and flicking onto MGP.  Kuqi is like Frank Bruno imo....OK in the first part of the game but his bulk means that he soon tires..... and then he is worse than useless. 

2.  Andy Todd was awarded MoM! 

Dont let predjudice impede judgement.

373749[/snapback]

What predjudice? I was merely stating my opinion that we might have done better with Dickov on from the start, and that it was obvious after the first half hour or so that Kuqui was not up to it on this occasion so why wait so long to sub him?

Secondly I was NOT in any way having a go at Todd but merely posing the hypothetical question that could we have done better in the creative sense building up from defence to attack with Zura in place of Todd.

Also given that Tugay was having one of his more anomymous games should Reid have been brought on sooner?

[trawdenblue]

Its also ######, as didn't he play 10 minutes against Newcastle at home this season before limping off ?

373754[/snapback]

You're right Ste, Bellamy did play against Newcastle at Ewood; a full match though.

He limped off against West Brom.

[Nayef]

You know you're an Admin or a Mod when:

1. You write the word "bolloc.ks" and it appears clearly on your post

2. Someone quotes you and that word is then hashed out

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

United dominated the match tactically and physically.

Rovers will be happy with a draw and will have to play much better at Old Trafford.

373632[/snapback]

Utd certainly did dominate possession,they physically gave as much as they took last night.

For me the difference in class was quite marked,the speed and trickery of Saha was a joy to watch and as for Ronaldo!....its the first time this season I have seen an opposition player simply waltz past 1,2, nay 3 of our players like they weren't there!!

They kept Bellars shackled all night as as for Kuqi the less said the better

Overall,Rovers did well on the night to hold out but they will be a hard nut to crack at OT.

[cn174]

Whilst in the second half Man U were better than us, it wasn't like the Man U of old - at no point was I really scared they run away with it and score two or three goals. They are, afterall, now fighting with the rest of us just to win the Carling Cup

Edited January 12, 2006 by cn174

[JAL]

How good was our defence ?

I thought Rovers were very good at defending against an all out United attack, early impressions were that Micheal Gray was getting the run around in the first half by Ronaldo but he stuck to his task and came through the second half with great credit.

What ever happened to Kuqi after that second half miss when he just went from average to as bad as you can get. Good to see three decent subs coming on which shows how far Rovers have come in just over twelve months.

Lets be positive six games unbeaten lets make it seven on saturday.

[1864roverite]

A an afternoon after view from the JW Upper

great game

great Rovers performance

Jim if manure dominated that first half I was at the wigan game. You clown, they didnt dominate the first half WE DID and should really have been 3-1 up its as simple as that.

The crowd from my view was that there were never 6500 empty seats. The most sparesly populated part of the stadium was the family stand and a few seats behind us.

My view on the second leg is that Rovers should stick with the same game plan. They only have themselves to fear.

Rovers can now put this game away for a couple of weeks, its Bolton next. Get a win in that one and were rocking clear of any relegation battle. Newcastle away next up is a difficult one, especially with Bellamy suspended. But is that a blessing in disguise ?

My view is that Rovers are under NO pressure whatsoever at mnure. united will never play defensively so Rovers can play on the counter.

Come Rovers supporters get behind them at mankland and lets see the smile wiped off the arse that is fergie

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Utd certainly did dominate possession,they physically gave as much as they took last night.

For me the difference in class was quite marked,the speed and trickery of Saha was a joy to watch and as for Ronaldo!....its the first time this season I have seen an opposition player simply waltz past 1,2, nay 3 of our players like they weren't there!!

They kept Bellars shackled all night as as for Kuqi the less said the better

Overall,Rovers did well on the night to hold out but they will be a hard nut to crack at OT.

373800[/snapback]

Gotta disagree with your summation - Ronaldo was yet again the show pony that he has often been labled. I thought Gray did a good job on him - and considering the number of time Ronaldo attempted to get past him, I think Grays success rate was very good. Also - whenever he got past a player when did it actually lead to anything ?

I thought Saha excellent in the first half - but faded badly in the second. Over the whole match I thought Bellers caused them as many problems as Saha caused us.

On the night United showed why they are a shadow of the team they used to be. They had the vast majority of possession but created limited chances. In fact we probably created the better chances on the night.

I am sorry - but I didn't see the gulf in class that you mention.

What is amazing is the relative costs of the two teams that were on the pitch last night. United's team must be in excess of £100m - Rovers probably around £11m

[Hughesy]

United did not dominate – they had a lot of possession but lacked creativity in the middle of the park - United missed the Scholes of ‘old’.

Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs & Saha are all class and all very dangerous. They had plenty of the ball but we had the better chances. If only Savage scored after 30 seconds!!

Rovers have absolutely nothing to fear at OT in 2 weeks time. I think that even if it goes to extra time we have a great chance, because we won’t tire as quickly as them after they have faced Liverpool on the Sunday before.

Any ideas how ticket sales are going for the away leg??

[USABlue]

Saw the highlights only, I must say how I wish we had a top class striker to partner Bellers. Not taking anything away from Kuqi but the chance that Bellamy created for him had goal written all over it.

Brilliant how Bellamy drew all three players, Kuqi's run was smart and the pass was spot on but his touch and resulting shot let him down.

Sav, so close, Bentley good chance but wrong side of him. No one will like this but again I found Friedal a bit wanting on their goal. Perhaps it's just me but I thought he could have done better. Great goal by MGP. Looking forward to the next leg, hoping we all keep fit, Burton take 'em to extra time and Liverpool give 'em a humdinger of a game.

Last word, Smith went for Sav and should have gone, also I am pretty sure Rooney punched Sav in the face. Had it been the opposite way around I would bet everything in my wallet Sav, or any other Rovers player, would have walked. Let's put em out at their place. Sweet.

Edited January 12, 2006 by USABlue

[USABlue]

routine slaughtering by next day's papaers

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And what picture is all over the back pages????Smiths lunge?? NO, Rooney smacking Savage??? NO. Sav's headlock?? OF COURSE