[Archived] Chelsea (carling Cup)

[Tris]

Still think that Andy Taylor should've been making his debut for Rovers yesterday. McEveley has had his chance and has proven that whilst attacking-wise he has potential, defensively he is pretty rubbish.

Erm, when did you last see them play?!

McEveley put in a solid performance defensively last night, made some great tackles on Robben especially in the second half.

[Al]

Sorry Tris but I can't agree with you. Robben had him on a butty. My heart was in my mouth every time he had the ball. Beat him every time and too easily too. McEverley is not and never will be Premiership quality.

[Tris]

Sorry Tris but I can't agree with you. Robben had him on a butty. My heart was in my mouth every time he had the ball. Beat him every time and too easily too. McEverley is not and never will be Premiership quality.

Thought he was shaky to start with but got better as the game went on. Admittedly I had a better view in the second half as was in JW Upper towards the Darwen End, and from what I could see there were more positive signs than negative ones.

Robben certainly didn't beat him every time - McEveley put in some outstanding tackles.

[Presty On Tour]

im happy with that, just a shame two minor injuries

i can see your view but it's a bit gutting going out in the first round!

the 2 injuries are to 2 players who should of been rested imo, give some more of the youth a run out.

at least now we can focus on more imortant issues.

[92er]

Thought he was shaky to start with but got better as the game went on. Admittedly I had a better view in the second half as was in JW Upper towards the Darwen End, and from what I could see there were more positive signs than negative ones.

Robben certainly didn't beat him every time - McEveley put in some outstanding tackles.

Yes he did improve but I always had the feeling that he could be beaten as he was at times during the second half.

Was he still upfield when Chelsea broke for their first goal?

People who had seen him in the Reserves before the Liverpool game a couple of years ago said he was playing badly and were surprised he had been recalled. Last season he went on loan to Ipswich but must have broken down again as he said on Radio Lancs he had not played much last season.

I still don't see him as a prmiership full back.

[pleasure]

England or not, I can't stand JT

i agree with you. he's turned into a jumped-up 'prima dona.'

an example of this occured in the 2nd half of last nights game.

a riversider had a brief joke with ashley cole, cole was laughing and putting his thumb up. terry proceeded to berate the linesman and steward and said :

"you should be fooking gettin him kicked out!" cole shook his head at terry to show there was no offence.

'working-class hero' ? my arse!

on the game itself- i may be being harsh on jay, considering his inj and lack of 1st team games (a few round me were getting seduced by him cutting out a few routine cross- passes) ,but i didnt think he looked up to it. his contract expires this summer aswell.

i thought we shaded the 1st half, but looked jiggered in the 2nd. henchoz, bentley (in CM role) and peter were terrific.

[tchocky]

Draw for the Carling Cup fourth round:

Notts County v Wycombe

Tottenham v Port Vale

Birmingham v Liverpool

Chelsea v Aston Villa

Watford v Newcastle

Chesterfield v Charlton

Southend v Man Utd

Everton v Arsenal

[thenodrog]

Game of 2 halves for McEverly. Scared rabbit in headlights for the first and then having Robben in his arse pocket for the second.

Despite and against my earlier judgements Bentley is really maturing into a big player for us. A bit more robust in the tackle and he'll be a real player.

Peter needs blooding and should replace Pederson more often and far sooner. Provided a significant threat when he came on.

Gallagher hasn't got enough to offer to be considered and worst of all when he does make an appearence he seems uninterested and lazy.

[OhmiBRFC]

Had a couple of hours on the motorway to mull the game over - not over bothered about going out of this cup this season, but that's on the assumption that we return to winning ways against Basel and Feyenoord, so that next time we play on a Wednesday (in 7 weeks time) the result really doesn't matter - because we'll be in the hat for a more important knock out competition.

I'm guessing 90% of the crowd felt the same way, because that atmosphere was bizarre!!

Shame about the two injuries and I hope they're not serious. Shame Henchoz is soooo slow.

Good (if unexpected) to watch a left hand side of McEveley and Peter - some signs of promise against top class opposition. Maybe Jay listened to his "Rythm of the Blues" on Radio Rovers pre-match from a few years ago, some touches and tackles were certainly reminiscent of when he first burst on to the scene.

Mokoena makes me nervous when he's on the ball but it was encouraging to see a midfield without Tugay and Savage function ok - again against world class opponents.

Onwards and upwards - with a welcome break for the players between the Villa (A) and Man Utd (H) games - especially as the draw would have lumped us with playing Villa twice in 4 days.

walkin home couldnt feel the dissapointment in the air like you normally can after a defeat

[rover6]

Thought he was shaky to start with but got better as the game went on. Admittedly I had a better view in the second half as was in JW Upper towards the Darwen End, and from what I could see there were more positive signs than negative ones.

Robben certainly didn't beat him every time - McEveley put in some outstanding tackles.

I just think McEveley lacks the agility to be a decent left back. When Hughes gave him a chance when he first arrived, he was shown up when players ran at him and I believe he had the same problem in the Champ with Ipswich and Gillingham - decent on the ball and positive but when a decent winger/right back run at him, he's all at sea. You can see why he prefers playing CB. Maybe he'll take confidence from a good second-half against Chelsea but I'd like Hughes to move on. Either look for a new left back or one of the other guys at the club.

[den]

Despite and against my earlier judgements Bentley is really maturing into a big player for us. A bit more robust in the tackle and he'll be a real player.

He's becoming our best player.

He's got more confidence in himself, he's starting to pick out the right pass [that was his biggest weakness - used to do well then play totally the wrong ball] and he has a purpose now that he's finding his best position, which is out on the right. Although to be fair, he did well centre mid, last night.

[Ozz]

Some of my thoughts on last night.

McEvelley-I thought his performance got better as the game went on, probably as his confidence grew after a long spell out of the first team. Henchoz-not lost any of his pace. Not gained any either.

I also enjoyed the battle that raged through the second half between Benni and Jason versus Terry and Boogerloos. Good hard but fair battling.

I have to say I thought Chelsea were awesome at the back, they took several waves of pressure without ever creaking, with Makalele in front of the back four was superb. We needed to get behind the full backs and get Terry and his mate facing their own goal but the two wide lads never managed that. For this I credit the Chelsea players though. Emerton looked more dangerous on Sunday at full back than he did as a winger last night.

Also impressed with the Chelsea support, they brought as many up on a wet wednesday as they did for the league match. Bit quiet though, but in fairness the majority of the game was played in a pre-season friendly atmosphere. The lack of conviction from the home support probably carried over to the players.

PIE WATCH

The meat and potatoe plan was scuppered on discovering I had only brough £1.88 out with me and was 22p shy of the asking price. Blessing in disguise?

[only2garners]

Sorry Tris but I can't agree with you. Robben had him on a butty. My heart was in my mouth every time he had the ball. Beat him every time and too easily too. McEverley is not and never will be Premiership quality.

I thought McEveley had a reasonable game. Yes he was beaten by Robben a few times in the first half (not every time and not easily) but are we saying that Neil or Gray would have done significantly better? He's not perfect but he's still comfortably ahead of Gray in my opinion who could be reiled uponn to make a few silly defensive mistakes and whose distribution is particularly poor. He's not for a regular place in the team but he can do a job if needed (like when Lucas is suspended as he will be before the season's out).

[Hughesy]

Game of 2 halves for McEverly. Scared rabbit in headlights for the first and then having Robben in his arse pocket for the second.

Despite and against my earlier judgements Bentley is really maturing into a big player for us. A bit more robust in the tackle and he'll be a real player.

Peter needs blooding and should replace Pederson more often and far sooner. Provided a significant threat when he came on.

Gallagher hasn't got enough to offer to be considered and worst of all when he does make an appearence he seems uninterested and lazy.

Agree 100% there! McEveley got better as the game went on and after half time, robben didnt make too many runs at Jay as he realised he was struggling to get passed him. Considering it was his 1st game and against one of the best wingers in the league, i think McEveley did well and id like to see him given more opportunites.

Same goes for Peter - He injected pace and belief into our team and he looked like he was willing to take his man on. If he is given the room to develop then i think he can be a top quality winger.

[RoverInWigan]

i thought our best player last night was brett emerton and whictout him in last night chelsea couldve had a lot more chances

[Exiled_Rover]

Just so you know, McEveley is a centreback, and he did alright last night, all things considered.

As for the game, well it was all too easy for Chelski. Of course the referee didn't help - what with Cole not being sent off and then handling the football for their first goal. Typical big club bias. Still, we were never going to score against that back line, much too organised and talented for the likes of us.

[Ray-Von]

I could be wrong here, but walking past the Darwen End before the game, the majority of Chelsea fans seemed to be local day-trippers out to see their new team for the first time. Hearing kids with local accents in Chelsea shirts walking to the ground is disappointing, but not surprising.

There were only a couple of coaches parked up behind the away end.

[USABlue]

On the Injuries – Pedersen expected to be fine for Sunday,

Oh Buggar

[Hughesy]

I felt that last night we held back abit from getting stuck in, maybe a little put off by the bully boy tag we would get again from Mourinho. Instead they were the dirty team.

Did anyone see Ashley cole kick out at Jason Roberts?! Very Naughty! He also got wound up by the lower blackburn end.

[FourLaneBlue]

The meat and potatoe plan

"potatoe"? What are you - Dan Quayle?

[leon]

I was playing last night, and when I got the bar after and saw the result, I just wasn't really bothered.

[edit: not playing for rovers :-) 8 a-side in Bristol!]

I was happier that Crewe had got level with the Red Scum (shame how that turned out)!

I'm more concerned that by losing 2 in a row, it's the beginnings of a losing habit. A draw is a minimum at the weekend. (Although I think we'll win).

Edited October 26, 2006 by leon

[eddiemd]

I tohught it was a good game last night, enjoyed it even though I was sat in row 4 of the Blackburn end in the pouring rain (but what other weather would you expect in Blackburn on an October Night ). Can't wait till we play West Ham on Sunday, the best chance we will have all season to get our selves back to winning ways before the visit of Basel

[Al]

I thought McEveley had a reasonable game. Yes he was beaten by Robben a few times in the first half (not every time and not easily) but are we saying that Neil or Gray would have done significantly better? He's not perfect but he's still comfortably ahead of Gray in my opinion who could be reiled uponn to make a few silly defensive mistakes and whose distribution is particularly poor. He's not for a regular place in the team but he can do a job if needed (like when Lucas is suspended as he will be before the season's out).

Gray probably and Neill definitely. Robben switched from left to right because he knew he had the beating of him. The lad tries hard but he is just not good enough for the Premiership. Maybe you watched a different game from me.

[only2garners]

Gray probably and Neill definitely. Robben switched from left to right because he knew he had the beating of him. The lad tries hard but he is just not good enough for the Premiership. Maybe you watched a different game from me.

Clearly I must have, although other comments above on Jay's performance are probably nearer my view than yours. I wouldn't have him in my first choice team but I'd be fairly relaxed about him being on the bench if needed. He would certainly be ahead of Gray in my opinion, but then I at 53 might be ahead of him as well...

[1864roverite]

Well a Leyland point of view sees nothing but positives from last nights game, even though we lost. In that I wont even contrive to mention the awful weather.

Firstly, a crowd of nearly 15000 was a pleasant surprise, well done to thos e who wwent and despite the result Rovers more than held their own with a vastly expensive and experienced Chelsea reserve team.

My personal view of the match is simple, Rovers had to rest certain players. Tugay was out of the squad, Savage injured and no need to run the risk of anything serious. Very surprised to see both Emeton and Neill play the full game but Emerton played the type of football he has done recently, my MOTM.

Nice to see Henchoz get a game, although clearly short of match practice, his inclusion shows its the end for Todd in his Blackburn career. He looked comfortable with Zurab. McEveley, clearly inexperienced against Robben first half, came out of his shell and had a fine second half.

I think Bentley can do a job in the middle, he has the skill and the artistry to develop alongside Tugay. MGP faded in and out again and was unlucky not to score with a 40 yard free kick, after that though he did little else. he should have gone off earlier to be replaced by Peter. the Axe was solid as usual but gave quite a few balls away putting us in trouble.

Very surprised that both Nonda and McCarthey started. Last night was ideal to play Roberts and Jeffers to give them a full 90 minutes. Roberts got quite a size of the second half due to Nonda injury and Jeffer got all of 4 minutes ! A wasted opportunity for rest and match fitness.

I would like tomention the young lad Peter. He did more in 45 minutes than MGP has done in 6 games. he can run, he can pass, he can shoot and his crossing is fantastic. I would like this lad to get a decent run in the side if he is allowed to be developed. certainly one for the future who could blossom under Hughes and co.

At the match, I saw Gally, he was not included due to illness (allegedly). He expects to be fit for the weekend. A thoroughly bloody nice lad.

The sight of Chelsea benches value amazed me, a cool 57 million worth of players sat on their arses watching the game. Behind them, hiding in the warm boxes a further 50million pounds !

As stated Rovers coped well enough and I am glad we didnt get punished too much.

Not mentioning tactics or formations, jsut glad to be concentrating on Europe, the League and the FA Cup