[Archived] Blackburn Rovers 2 - 0. Fulham Fc

[AggyBlue]

At least we've got a game were there won't be any big club bias from the ref

See, even I can be wrong, only trouble is, they aren't a big team.

Perhaps they're all just anti Rovers.

Very comfortable win, even though both our goals were a bit scabby.

My MOM was Bently, he was excellent.

[LeChuck]

See, even I can be wrong, only trouble is, they aren't a big team.

Perhaps they're all just anti Rovers.

How pathetic.

Gray handled the ball and McCarthy was susiciously offside (although I have only seen it once).

Edited December 3, 2006 by LeChuck

[AggyBlue]

How pathetic.

Gray handled the ball and McCarthy was susiciously offside (although I have only seen it once).

It's an satirical comment Chucky, aimed at posters of similar conspiracy theories in other threads.

Thanks for your opinion though.

If I'd been fishing for that, I'd have been well pleased

[LeChuck]

Oops, I do apologise. Sorry.

[stuwilky]

We normally see 7000 of the bar codes but as it stands they have sold just less than 2000 tickets for the game.

When was the last time they brought that big of a following?

[Alan75]

Boxing Day 2004

[frosty]

Rog of the rovers, we won after you did the preview again. Do it every week!

Edited December 3, 2006 by frosty

[thenodrog]

Welcome to Ewood Park home of the new Wimbledon. Unfortunately it is plain to see that the dingles ...not that they have any room to comment........ are spot on in re-naming our Theatre of Dreams 'Deadwood Park'.

anyway

It's strange to start with a comment on the officials but Bennet and his assistants (on their inept performance the term linesman really is dead and buried) are comfortably the worst 3 officials that we have had all season. I hesitate to suggest bias but the evidence on display yesterday suggests as much. He could hardly wait to book Savage and I had real fears that Sav would end up with another yellow for having blond hair or similar. Also a stream of mystefying decisions followed with every one going against us is out of order. If a ref is having a 'bad un' then bad decisions should be equal. He appeared to suggest on a few occasions that our players dived when in truth and as most of the Prem managers will concur we rarely resort to such tactics.

Fulham were absolutely awful and I suggest that Coleman spends 10 minutes today handwriting a sincere full page apology to each and every one of their travelling fans.

As needed the rest has done us good and by rights we should have won by at least 4.

It's obvious that Pederson needs resting as now his confidence appears to have been affected by his poor form. His first touch and general demeanour have hand in hand sunk to a very low ebb. Peter is an obvious replacement but he hardly set the game on fire when he came on and I think that it was his cub scout defending in the wall when he turned his back on the ball that resulted in Brad's only moment of alarm in the whole game.

But a necessary boost in confidence and 3 very welcome points. Very necessary too as the mood in the camp both on the pitch and in the stands would have been suicidal if we had lost and descended into the bottom 3.

[blue phil]

Up front the Benni and Nonda show clicked and both snaffled good goal scorers goals. Both looked hungry and up for it despite the cold weather.

A massive over exageration . Don't forget we were playing perhaps the worst prem team I've seen in years (only Man City last year can really compare) .

Nonda only scored due to a defender inexplicably standing a couple of yards behind his fellow defenders and playing him onside , and a keeper , also inexplicably , standing near his far post .

McCarthy's goal was a fluky deflection .

McCarthy is still far better than Nonda but neither have shown IMO anything worthy of serious praise .

[Fife Rover]

Wow I must get new glasses. From the little I saw I thought our norwegian wonderboy did OK. Nothing spectacular of course, but I think our fans have come to expect too much. Obviously Hughes agrees with me, otherwise he would be starting Peter every game.

I have to agree with you there Tchocky. MGP does get a fair bit of undeserved stick on here from some people. Ok, he DOES fade in and out of the game occasionally; but equally you could say that he does provide the occasional goal, and even more assists, to say nothing of his movement both on and off the ball that serves to occupy the opposition defenders and create space or chances for his team mates. And he does this a lot more often than he is given credit for by some on here. It is the same with Gray and until this season was always the same with Emmo. To some people these players just cannot please and never will be able to. It is nothing more or less than pure bias against the player they have a down on, and they are quite incapable of looking dispassionately and objectively at the players performance. I say to these people now: please remove the blinkers and look critically but fairly at these players and don't allow your previous bias to enter into it. Judge them on what you see in front of you at the time and not on previous set ideas. Also please make allowances for the view you get of the play at the time. Perhaps reserve judgment until you have the chance to see an incident that annoys you from a different angle or distance. Then, and only then, make your mind up.

[Scotty]

I thought our strikers looked a lot sharper than they have for a while yesterday and McCarthy in particular played well. Pedersen, on the other hand, was woeful and I was amazed he wasn't subbed long before the end.

Thought Bentley, Emerton and Neill also played particularly well. Bentley was my man of the match and showed that he can play the Tugay role in central midfield - albeit against limited opposition.

I also thought Savage deserved his booking. He lunged in from behind with a 'scissor' tackle that could have been dangerous. The ref made a number of annoying decisions but he got all the major calls right.

Overall it was an important win against a very poor team. We didn't play brilliantly but did enough and should have won by more.

[RevidgeBlue]

A massive over exageration . Don't forget we were playing perhaps the worst prem team I've seen in years (only Man City last year can really compare) .

Nonda only scored due to a defender inexplicably standing a couple of yards behind his fellow defenders and playing him onside , and a keeper , also inexplicably , standing near his far post .

McCarthy's goal was a fluky deflection .

McCarthy is still far better than Nonda but neither have shown IMO anything worthy of serious praise .

A bit harsh that, I've been as critical as anyone about the front two recently but thought they were both much improved yesterday. Nonda's goal was an exceptional piece of skill, one of the best I've seen, every time I see the replay I still can't work out how he got it in.

The question is, it's no good doing it once, can they both keep it up?

Elsewhere, it was also an excellent performance all over the pitch with just about everyone right on top of their games, MGP excluded. I also thought Bentley was fairly anonymous in the centre. We looked enthusiastic and like we wanted it when we had the ball which hasn't generally been the case this season.

If the crowd was indeed 16,700 and something (it looked far less) then that was actually quite a good turn out considering the time of year, the form we've been in, the following of about 100 from Fulham and the fact the corresponding fixture drew a lower crowd back in sunny August on the opening home game of last year.

All in all a very satisfactory day's work (vital in view of the fact Sheff Utd won again) but two absolutely crucial fixtures to be successfully negotiated next before we can start feeling too pleased with ourselves.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I have to agree with you there Tchocky. MGP does get a fair bit of undeserved stick on here from some people. Ok, he DOES fade in and out of the game occasionally; but equally you could say that he does provide the occasional goal, and even more assists, to say nothing of his movement both on and off the ball that serves to occupy the opposition defenders and create space or chances for his team mates. And he does this a lot more often than he is given credit for by some on here. It is the same with Gray and until this season was always the same with Emmo. To some people these players just cannot please and never will be able to. It is nothing more or less than pure bias against the player they have a down on, and they are quite incapable of looking dispassionately and objectively at the players performance. I say to these people now: please remove the blinkers and look critically but fairly at these players and don't allow your previous bias to enter into it. Judge them on what you see in front of you at the time and not on previous set ideas. Also please make allowances for the view you get of the play at the time. Perhaps reserve judgment until you have the chance to see an incident that annoys you from a different angle or distance. Then, and only then, make your mind up.

What about that sitter he missed Fife, showboating again , he tried to make a simple tap in look difficult by trying to shuffle volley it and completely missed the ball. If that had have gone in it would have been 3-0 , game over, and a chance to give Peter and Derbyshire some serious game time but no he just played for himself.

I don't want any player wearing the blue and white to fail but he's really doing my head in, without doubt the most infuriating player we've had since Dwight Yorke. The left wing position is a real problem at the moment, I'd like to see us bring in a leftsided striker in January , I've run out of patience with MGP. We need a player who can run at people and get round the outside regularly, not once a game.

[Neil Weaver]

A few random thoughts.

Was in the ground fairly early yesterday - Todd, Matteo, and McEvely all appeared and jogged round the pitch a few times and did a bit of warming up (along with one of the coaching staff). Doesn't do the blood pressure any good, seeing Matteo in kit as though he's going to play. What was all that about, anyone any ideas?

MGP - he puts in a fair shift and wins a lot of headers, even though attacking-wise he's nothing like as effective as last year. Yes, Peter might offer more going forward but from what I've seen he does very little defensively. Maybe that's part of the reason why MGP continues to start.

Ref (Bennett) - shocker.

Nonda - I thought his goal was entirely deliberate, think he was aware where the goalie was. So fair play (sorry jp10) for that, but he's this year's Kuqi. Has the occasional flash of ability but for the most part displays similar control and first touch as the flying Finn.

Gray - continuing the decent form he's shown of late.

Fulham were very poor, we didn't play any better than in the games against Bolton and Man Utd.

About 150 from Fulham I was told by a steward. The family stand (BE Upper) looked much fuller than usual, was there a family/schools promotion? I actually thought the home crowd looked OK and looking at the Spurs attendance, the home support wasn't much different.

[blue phil]

A bit harsh that, I've been as critical as anyone about the front two recently but thought they were both much improved yesterday. Nonda's goal was an exceptional piece of skill, one of the best I've seen, every time I see the replay I still can't work out how he got it in.

The question is, it's no good doing it once, can they both keep it up?

Elsewhere, it was also an excellent performance all over the pitch with just about everyone right on top of their games, MGP excluded. I also thought Bentley was fairly anonymous in the centre. We looked enthusiastic and like we wanted it when we had the ball which hasn't generally been the case this season.

Well maybe it's me then Rev and my interest in the game in general is waning , but I thought it was a very ordinary game between one very ordinary team and one godawful team . Excellence and enthusiastic aren't words I'd use to describe anything about the performance .

A decent striker would have had a hatful of goals yesterday .

Oh ..and the ref's performance didn't help ; it was abysmal . It's no wonder we have players cheating and diving when there's refs around who are so easily conned as this clown .

[Shevchenko]

I also thought Savage deserved his booking. He lunged in from behind with a 'scissor' tackle that could have been dangerous. The ref made a number of annoying decisions but he got all the major calls right.

Not strickly true as Benni was 3-4 meters offside as he ran through before he scored the second. The goal shouldn't have stood.

Edited December 3, 2006 by Shevchenko

[tonygreenbank]

I dont know if this is genuine or not but there was a comment round us in the Riverside that the sponsors Bet360 who have links in Norway insist that MGP plays in every game bar serious injury. I must say I like gamst as he offers so many options but even I can see that he is not playing with any confidence. He was very poor in the first half but was much better in the second no doubt having had an earbashing from Hughesy. Has anyone else heard of this connection with our sponsors? If he does have damaged ribs then it does seem odd that he is playing .

[RoyRover]

Does anyone have any links to the goals from yesterday's game on youtube or anything? I'd really like to see Nonda's goal and decide if it was pure skill or just good fortune.

[thenodrog]

I dont know if this is genuine or not but there was a comment round us in the Riverside that the sponsors Bet360 who have links in Norway insist that MGP plays in every game bar serious injury.

I can't see that. If Hughes hands were that tied MGP's broken rib had given him a great excuse to rest him.

[LDRover]

Rovers were poor, Fulham even more so but contrast this feeling to the feeling after the Bowton game where we'd played arguably our best football since last year's Spurs game and like then, got nowt.

Be thankful that we got the three points, sod the performance. That'll get better as and when our position in the table gets healthier.

[DanLad]

Fulham were poor, but you've still got to beat sides like them.

Subs should have come on earlier IMO. Give 'em a decent run out. Peter on for 10 mins before he touched the ball, I think, and he only came on after 80 mins!

Foul on MGP not given, Savage lunges in to rescue the situation and gets booked. If the first foul was given Robbie wouldn't have needed to lunge in. (Although probably didn't need to lunge in anyway...)

Bentley excellent even though kicked black and blue. He's not some fancy dan with good touches and no heart. Ref should have given him more protection.

Boa Morte anonymous. Usually a thorn in our sides. One of the dirtiest players I've ever seen (dives, flicks elbows, two footed challenges) but the press make out he's a skillful, cultured player! In any event he might as well have not played yesterday. Have his legs gone? I heard Fulham were happy to listen to offers on him and I thought that was daft as he was one of their big players, but having seen him (not seen him?) Saturday I can see why they would take bids!

Ref - Clueless AGAIN.

[herbergeehh]

Just watched the highlights now, weren't able to watch the game due to being at work. Nice goal by Nonda, and especially the attack ending with Emerton passing to the goalkeeper looked very good. I'm glad to see Bentley allegedly coping with the central midfield role, he's got all the attacking qualities to fit in there.

Which gives another question, is the right midfield spot covered sufficiently? Obviously we'll need to sign midfielders in January, but maybe the right wing is the place to strengthen instead?

Dan: I think it's interesting you're using the expression "fancy dan"

[LeChuck]

Which gives another question, is the right midfield spot covered sufficiently? Obviously we'll need to sign midfielders in January, but maybe the right wing is the place to strengthen instead?

We have Bentley, Reid, Emerton and Gallagher all capable of playing out there, as well as Pedersen and Peter if needs be. I can't see how Hughes would justify a right sided midfielder unless he sold one of the aforementioned players.

[Eddie]

Boa Morte anonymous. Usually a thorn in our sides. One of the dirtiest players I've ever seen (dives, flicks elbows, two footed challenges) but the press make out he's a skillful, cultured player! In any event he might as well have not played yesterday. Have his legs gone? I heard Fulham were happy to listen to offers on him and I thought that was daft as he was one of their big players, but having seen him (not seen him?) Saturday I can see why they would take bids!

If you had watched him against Arsenal only a few days earlier then you would have had very different thoughts. He was very impressive.

[speeeeeeedie]

Don't you love this messageboard?

Bentley was my man of the match and showed that he can play the Tugay role in central midfield - albeit against limited opposition.

I also thought Bentley was fairly anonymous in the centre.

For the record I agree with Scotty; Bentley played very well - albeit aganist a poor Fulham. The rest did well including the much maligned MGP. I thought he did a decent job apart from missing a sitter (as did McCarthy).

I dont know if this is genuine or not but there was a comment round us in the Riverside that the sponsors Bet360 who have links in Norway insist that MGP plays in every game bar serious injury.

This comment probably came from someone who read it on here. It's just a convenient conspiracy theory. Pure tripe. He plays every game "bar serious injury" because he is by far our best left winger, Sergio Peter is not up to it and never will be.