[Archived] Mancs V Rovers Carling Cup Second Leg

[OJRovers]

I hate Man Utd, I hate Ferguson, I hate Van Horseyface and I hate Graham Poll.

I might consider writing a letter to Keith Hackett at Ref's HQ and complain about Graham Poll's vision being blurred tonight due to the Moan Utd scarf he had round his neck!

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Spot on there partner

I still harp on about Ashby at Ewood

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That Berg decision was possibley the most important and worst decision ever in the PL since it began. Closely followed by that penalty we didnt get when the keeper tripped Ashley Ward at charlton (i think) few games before we went down.

Hughsie got it spot on saying 'Poll thought 61,000 people came to see him.'

He is wise.

[SuperStella]

Walker vs Glazer

Passion vs Plastic

Stock Market vs 3 Day Market

Every Week v Two Day Trips a Year

People vs The Machine

Hot Dogs vs Pies

BRFC Everytime

[Paul]

The Rovers were fantastic last night and don't take anything away from them. To have got close to 60% of the posession and for Alan Green to say on the World service:

"Only the very top teams come to Old Trafford and force United to defend deep the whole game and Blackburn did that."

OK we know Kuqi's control is terrible and time and again the ball pinged off him onto a waiting Manc but even he started making damaging contributions to Utd rather than to us. The rest of the team was just magnificent even though Gray made TWO mistakes (gifting it to start Rooney off then bobbling it to RvN) in the first goal but Richardson's pass to Reid for our goal evened up the mistakes.

No criticism of Tugay for the second- he was slammed in the centre of his back in as clear a foul as Graham Poll was ever nobbled not to see (ditto the pen on Zura which RvN tapped ball to hand as clearly as there ever was a ball to hand- Ferdinand was also ball to hand but the ball travelled three times as far to reach his hand and was much more debatable). Savage was blatantly assaulted by RvN at the corner at the end of the first half- another body check to the centre of the back and a deliberate kick to the head as he went over him.

Only one word of praise for United- Saha was absolutely magnificent and if you watch him in slomo, he waited, watched and scored that winner absolutely deliberately. There is a clear difference opinion between those who were at the game and those who watched it on TV- it was probably the best piece of skill for a goal we'll see all season.

Brad Friedel is the greatest. Unbelievable string of saves.

But in the end, there is only one word:

CHEATED   

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Have to agree with much of that except that I had a totally different perspective of Saha's goal at the match. I haven't seen, nor do I really want to see, any TV replays but Tugs looked to try and twist and turn past three United players as they crowded him more and more. After he lost the ball he appeared to clutch his head and then touch it several times. looking at his hand as if checking for blood. As for Saha, who I thought was fantastic all night, his goal was the most outrageous piece of good luck you'll see all season. We were sat directly behind the goal and my view was this; a totally mis-hit volley somehow balloned and swung to sneak in at the post.

As you say philip the different perspective's from the live and TV game are very interesting.

Is there a new tactic developing amongst forward players? If close to a defender in the box flick the ball at his hand/arm and keep running at him to force the ball to be trapped against his body?

Clearly a lot of people are calling certain players, yes Hughes would have played a different side with Bellamy and Dickov fit, but this morning I simply remain very, very proud of my team. Our progress in the last 12 months is nothing short of remarkable, Hughes is doing a great job. If you can go to OT with no fear, force United to finish playing 5-3-2 it's about as much as can be expected in 12 months. A year ago we might have lost 5 or 6-1.

I think a new striker is highly unlikely before the summer. The real talent is available then, it's just expensive cast-offs now. JW has made the transfer policy clear and Sparky understands the need to make the money count. A rushed decision now will cause longer-term problems though it might be a short-term solution.

[vyeo]

i'll not talk about the referee or debatable incidents for everyone has pretty much covered it.

however, i'd like to point out another incident as yet unmentioned that i thought kuqi cost us an equaliser. about 5 minutes after saha scored, the ball was switched over to kuqi, who took it down extremely well. at that point, rio ferdinand was the ONLY defender left, and bentley was completely free, for a good 10 yards radius at least. watching on the tv, it seemed like kuqi thought about the pass, hesistated, then inexplicably decided to dribble at goal himself and eventually got crowded out by a recovering neville and ferdinand. foolish and selfish decision i thought, when a pass to bentley would surely surely have meant an equaliser for us, or at the very least a clean shot at goal.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

i'll not talk about the referee or debatable incidents for everyone has pretty much covered it.

however, i'd like to point out another incident as yet unmentioned that i thought kuqi cost us an equaliser. about 5 minutes after saha scored, the ball was switched over to kuqi, who took it down extremely well. at that point, rio ferdinand was the ONLY defender left, and bentley was completely free, for a good 10 yards radius at least. watching on the tv, it seemed like kuqi thought about the pass, hesistated, then inexplicably decided to dribble at goal himself and eventually got crowded out by a recovering neville and ferdinand. foolish and selfish decision i thought, when a pass to bentley would surely surely have meant an equaliser for us, or at the very least a clean shot at goal.

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I think we are assuming that Kuqi could pass that far with the required accuracy - or that he even saw the pass. Must admit, as I was watching the incident I was shouting at him to pass and then watched in dismpay as he went down a blind alley.

[thenodrog]

toogs clearly fouled for the 2nd but a fantastic strike from saha.

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His goal at Ewood was quality but please dont give him credit for that shot it was obvious to all that it was a skewed mis-kick that got lucky waggy.

AS for Kuqi? He needs resting more than Bellamy does! He is a 70 min sub that can ruffle feathers and change the emphasis of a game. His fitness is suspect for sure, like Frank Bruno his muscle bound physique means that he soon tires. He should be our 4th choice striker. The fans will eventually rail against him and his confidence will descend into oblivion if he is overplayed at this level. We will have a place for him in the squad I'm sure but as above and at Div 1 level salary.

Quite simply Rio had the easiest game that he will get all season last night.

Edited January 26, 2006 by thenodrog

[Nelsta]

The comment that made me laugh was "It's difficult for any team to beat rovers esp an understrength united" So i take it with us having our only 2 strikers and captain out constitutes for a full strenght team?.Well i cant moan i was listening to scumchester radio

[ihtd]

I am really gutted about last night, it left me in a foul mood, which still hasn't subsided. I am most upset at the way that referees, favour a big club. I have always wondered what the refs are scared of.

Who ever called me paranoid yesterday for saying that the ref would be a biased as the football league would want a big club in the final, well i am not saying i am right, but i did have a point in the end.

I am not going to critise the boys, they did well but wihtout a quality striker, we were made to pay. Well done though lads, i thought Emerton & Sergio Peter came on a bit too late, especially Sergio.

I got a bad feeling about Sat now, the lads will be tired and down, and without a striker again, we may have no chance.

[thenodrog]

I got a bad feeling about Sat now, the lads will be tired and down, and without a striker again, we may have no chance.

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I've had a bad feeling about going out of 2 cups in a week since Dickov's injury.

[SAS]

i think we all had a good day out, we cant say we expected to win, we always get dodgy decisions when we go OT, but that penalty for them was ludacris, his hands were by his body in front of him, he couldnt have moved them.

some cock tried robbing me on the tram too

[AggyBlue]

What struck me was the way the manc fans and players celebrated after last nights game, you'd have thought they'd won the champions league.

Was this the same club that used to shun this competition.

How the mighty have fallen

[Boz]

Great performance by our team in keeping possession and driving them back for them to defend deep. However with our passing game comes the risk of a sloppy pass or being caught on the ball, especially on such a poor surface, that at the end of the day cost us with the two goals conceeded.

Interesting to hear how important the Man Ure supporters felt the Carling Cup is to them. How things change. We have improved significantly and United are nowhere near the side they were. That's why with a fit Dickov and Bellamy I feel the result may have been different.

Bradley was awesome, good performances by Reid, Savage, Nelson, Zurab, Neil, Bentley, I was disappointed for MGP but has he set the bar too high in his other performances. I'd not wish to criticise Shefki as his effort can never be doubted, how bad actually is Bellamy's hammy? Is the slightest twinge in his head more than than his hamstring?

What effect would 1 quality striker (McCarthey?) have upon this current team, surely it would take us onto the next level. Although with our attendance's and finances is it wise?

Anyway, onwards and upwards, a result on Saturday and then lets really stick it up them next Wednesday!

[RoyRover]

How can anybody care enough to sit and grade each player?

Kuqi is clearly not good enough, but it's not as if we needed that showing tonight to confirm that. Also, Kuqi is kidding nobody, Hughes too will realise he's not good enough, and will move him on when he's done his bit (This summer I would imagine).

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I'm not sure if Hughes does realise that Kuqi isn't up to it. As you say, we didn't need last nights game to see how bad he really is, we knew this a long time ago. As such, you'd think that Hughes would have had been looking for another striker, because it seems that the injury to Dickov has made Hughes move for one and not the realisation that Kuqi is crap. It also makes you wonder why Jansen wasn't given a game. Surely he isn't as bad as Kuqi. We have been getting a lot of praise recently about how well we are doing in the league, that we are a good bet to get into Europe and that we have a good squad. We have been doing well in the league, but I don't agree with the other things, when Kuqi is the only striker fit.

I was very disappointed last night. We had a real chance to get to the final. Apart from Bellamy, we had a full strength team out, against a United team with a second string midfield and we still couldn't create much. Friedal was excellent, as was the defence. The seconfd goal should have been avoided, with Tugay getting caught in possession. Pedersen was anonimous as usual and Bentley showed some nice touches and skill when he got the ball which was very rare. After the Khizinashvili penalty was given, we should have been given one for Ferdinand's hand ball. Reid's goal was a good strike and he should do it more often.

Any word on Bellamy? Will he be back for Saturday? It's becoming a joke, the way that he is always injuried. We need him playing all the time, not just one or two games, then his hamstrings get tight and sits out a couple of games. If this is going to be a regular thing, then the need for a striker is more urgent.

[Rover4ever]

Seeing the handball again, after it strikes Zurabs arm Ruud barges in and touches the ball himself with his hand , wonder what that would mean if it was a normal referee, not Poll.

If you try to catch his lips after he gives the penalty, he seems to be telling Neill and Nelsen

"I dont care son, this is Old Trafford, and I just cant let a small town team beat them here. Sir Alex & the media will never forgive me for that"

[Ozz]

Saha frightened me every time he got the ball, looked dangerous all night. I thought Fletcher had a realy good match for them, stopped the wide movements before they started.

Rovers fans were superb all night. Pity we cant do that week in week out.

Gutted, and the kebab shop was shut by the time I got back to Chorley too.

[Fife Rover]

All three goals from individual errors.  Just a shame that we made two of them (actually Micky made two for the first one).

Although for me Bentley had his best game in a Rovers shirt, if ever there was an example of why we need a new striker than tonight's game was it.  Kuqi could have played for another 6 weeks and he wouldn't have done a thing.  I can't fault his work-rate or the crucial goals he's scored but he simply isn't good enough to cut it in games such as this against quality opposition.  United were there for the taking tonight and a little more cutting edge up front could have seen us at least take the game to extra time.

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Completely agree with all you say TR, but IMO Gray made amends for his mistake as far as possible by having a very good game after the errors.

Also, regarding the "penalty that never was" am I the only one that noticed on the TV replays that RVN used his hand to push the ball aginst Zura's upper arm, which resulted in the ref seeing it as a penalty? I have the whole match recorded on DVD and have looked at it several times. Total travesty, and Rovers should take this up with the FA, not that it can change anything now, but combined with evidence of the definite handball by Ferdinand in the area later which he dismissed as "no penalty" I would argue there is evidence of clear bias in favour of MU.

[T4E]

Disappointing to lose to 2 very avoidable goals. Gray was unlucky with the first, but took a risk that he shouldn't have done. Make no bones about the second - Tugay wasn't fouled, he was caught ###### about in front of his own defence and we paid the price for it.

We played well considering the complete lack of strikers, we should've started with Emerton on the right and Peter on the left with MGP and Kuqi in the middle, and played to Kuqi's strengths (ie cross the ###### thing!).

Thought tactically Hughes got it wrong. Saturday is very significant now, we deserve to make it to a cup final and should continue to give the cup competitions our utmost respeect.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

URGENT APPEAL:

Wanted: removal of the imposter who flies on the pitch masquerading as a footballer

The imposter pictured above has caused serious damage to the beautiful game and is likely to do so again if he's not swiftly removed the next time he fraudulently ventures onto the pitch.

Anyone who spots this man, believed to be a Finn, with an Eastern European appearance and a prominent Roman nose, is advised to call 08701 113232 and leave a message for Mr Hughes - urging him to eject the imposter from the pitch.

Three elementary schoolboy errors, in particular, from Messrs Gray, Tugay and Kuqi have cost us a place in the Carling Cup final next month. After about seven minutes, Michael Gray made a horrendous pass in his own half, gifting the ball to United who went on to score. Five minutes into the second half, Tugay dwelt on the ball for far too long in his own half. I think it was a foul on him by Fletcher and I was annoyed by the ref's decision, but it was still poor play by Tugay to try to hold onto the ball as he did in that position.

The third appalling mistake came just minutes after Saha's goal, from the man himself Mr Kuqi. What can one say about this individual ? He's plainly not good enough at the highest level and is an embarrassment in the blue and white shirt. He had the ball in a great postition, with Bentley to the right of him in acres of space, umarked in the box. Kuqi only needed to find Bentley with a simple pass for what would have been an excellent opportunity for Bentley to score. Kuqi, however, decided to make a complete pigs ear of things instead.

As Revidge said (on another thread): "I'm still struggling to recall a performance as bad as Kuqi's last night when he failed to win the ball, hold the ball up or retain possession once."

I'm hugely disappointed with the result, more so than when Rovers lost to United at the same stage of the competition, in the semi-final of 2003. But as soon as I saw the line-up, with Belllamy missing and with Kuqi and Bentley up front, I feared the worse and so it proved.

I can't fault most of the team for effort though. I feel particularly sorry for Brad who didn't deserve to be on the losing side. The difference was that United had £60 million of talent up front in Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and Saha, while Rovers had two players who cost nothing - Kuqi and Bentley. The difference was palpably obvious last night.

I hope that the board/the trustees can somehow raid the piggy bank (if I'm allowed to say that now - Halifax Building Society have banned them) - to raise some pennies for a new quality striker that we desperately need.

Some of Graham Poll's decisions were crazy and I agree with Mark Hughes that Poll seems to enjoy the "celebrity status" a bit too much. This is a ref with his own agent who has had a national newspaper column and likes to appear on chat shows. He should concentrate a little less on publicity and a bit more on getting the decisions on the pitch right.

"We were all getting frustrated with the referee," said Hughes. "It is unfortunate these days, there are only so many Premiership referees and possibly some of them enjoy the celebrity status they have and I think tonight Mr Poll thought 61,000 people had come to see him."

[pleasure]

really proud rovers fan today. couldnt fault any of the players (including gray and tugay, mistakes happen and they've both been superb this season).

for the 1st time in years, we have a team that'll sweat blood for blackburn rovers.

their fitness and desire is immeasurable.

fans were brilliant, lets have more of that kind of vocal support, particularly at home!!!

one last thing, how many crates of carling is graham poll gonna rec've for giving the big club a helping hand?

[Fife Rover]

Are you pulling my leg ?

Ask him if he remembers his save at Port Vale when we won the 3rd Division.

Ah memories "some people are on the pitch..." we all were

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I too have vivid memories of that match at Port Vale. Fantastic atmosphere; just like a home game for Rovers. I dont know how many Roveres fans went but I remember the coach I was in stuggling to get near the ground for traffic and ending up in a car park about a mile from the ground.

[yawnsie]

To be fair to Kuqi just after the Saha goal, Bentley seemed to me to run past Ferdinand and offside! If he had checked his run, I'm sure Kuqi would have tried to pick him out.

I don't think the Tugay thing was a foul. Poll was inconsistent as ever but even so he had let a few challenges like that go past in the first half. When you see the replay you can see that Toogs could very easily have played it back to Nelsen but decided to do the hokey-cokey instead - he'd tried the same thing a few times in the first half and been pretty lucky to have gotten away with it, I thought.

[Fife Rover]

Maybe we are now learning why we got Bellamy on the cheap. It seems that there's barely been a week since August that he hasn't "pulled up in training" or had to come off. Rovers look an entirely different outfit with his superb link-up play and dragging around of opposition defenders. I just hope the physios at Ewood can get to the bottom of his constant niggling hamstring problems. A fit Bellamy playing 90 minutes week in- week out could be the difference between Rovers finishing in the top six or  ending up mid-table.

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Remember Dunnies hamstring injuries? The "big club" are claiming to have cured him completely by an operation on his back! Perhaps Rovers should politely ask for further details?

[Rover4ever]

Also, regarding the "penalty that never was" am I the only one that noticed on the TV replays that RVN used his hand to push the ball aginst Zura's upper arm, which resulted in the ref seeing it as a penalty?

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No you are not

i mentioned it 2 posts earlier!

anyways, nothing will come of any complaint whatsoever, because the referee "saw the incident" and decided that Man Utd deserve the fair end of the stick every time.

I am just waiting for the FA to charge Savage ......

[FourLaneBlue]

It wasn't a foul on Tugay, he was easily dispossesed after fannying about. Fletcher brushed him aside and if we are giving fouls for that then we won't be far from having football as a non-contact sport. Was disappointed with Tugay on that occasion as, before turning back, there were options free for him to pass to. Khizanishvilli was nearby but unfortunately Toogs wasn't looking to play it simple on that occasion and it cost us. Tugay just lay there afterwards sprawled like a tramp on a park bench while Flecther ran off with the ball.

Over than that though, Tugay was one of our best players. Without any sort of pace up front though it limits his options. Maybe shoving Reid up front to hassle the defenders may have been an option as a Pedersen/Bentley front two is way too lightweight.

Overall though that is four semi finals in five seasons. A record to be proud of especially as the three we lost were to Man U and Arsenal. Something to show just how successful this club continues to be.

Kuqi was bad (and yes embarrasing to watch at times) but some of the criticism is a bit over the top. It wasn't as if he was well supported up there and the balls he received weren't great. Our delivery up to the front was poor last night. Think the Kuqi monster is getting it (a bit) too harsh.

Having said that...man, we need a new striker ASAP!

Edited January 26, 2006 by FourLaneBlue

[Fife Rover]

I have never really rated Dickov but boy don't you miss him when he's not there.

I am thinking wouldn't this have been an opportunity for Mr Jansen if he had been still with us.

We need one striker but who?

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Perhaps Big Sam will loan him back to us if we ask nicely?