[Archived] Uefa Cup First Round Draw

[Fife Rover]

You had the pleasure of seeing our worst game in a few years. I doubt we will be that bad in 2 weeks so be ready for the storm

In a few years????!!!!! That was the worst performance from any Rovers team as a whole that I can remember, and that goes back to the first season proper after WW2. And if anyone can quote me an equal or even worse performance since then, I would be very interested to hear it. :ph34r:

PS: I am not having a go at you Modes; just letting off a bit of steam before I explode.

[Fife Rover]

Where the **** did that s***e come from?! Jesus, that was bewildering and worrying in equal measure. The palyers who have enjoyed deserved praise over the last 2 years should be totally embarassed by that. I certainly didn't see it coming and I doubt anybody else did.

I reckon the tie is as good as over, even a Conference side can make it almost impossible for a Premiership side to score.

As McCarthy clearly cant be mithered at the moment I dont see us penetrating an 11 man defence.

If I was MH I would make every player that took part in that debacle sit down and watch it 100 times in quick succession and no meals or sleep in between showings, with buckets of icy cold water thown over any who show signs of going to sleep. And if he needs anybody to do the water slinging; I'm his man!! :ph34r:

OOOHHH!!! I am angry

[Ronin]

<------- See avatar!

Granted a bad result, and a very bad performance. This game should serve as a very sharp kick up the bum! Yes we were on a good run (and tbh I'd rather we lost that run in Europe than in the league), and maybe we became a bit complacent which could explain why we didn't play as well as we can. Although within the last few games, you could kind of see it coming as we definitely haven't been playing well but still grinding out/hanging on for results.

But 2-0 is salvagable, and we are at home. Hopefully Nelsen and Samba are back together for the return leg. See how Benni plays at the weekend and Pederson too, and if they put in the same effort (or lack of) and carry on with the same form then maybe a spell on the bench is in the offing. Get players out there that are willing to put the work in.

Hopefully it's just one very bad game and nothing more. We'll see come Sunday I guess!

[BrianPotter]

To be fair Brian this thread is for the Larissa match only and on that performance then hell should break loose. However I don't think many people are saying we've got fundemental problems in general except for the Benni issue which already had a long thread regardless of last night. I'm pretty sure most people are still quite happy with Rovers-Life at the moment.

Good point, the thread does refer to the Larissa game only and I agree that our performance was woeful!

It just appears as though some are almost waiting for something like this so they can have a good moan

[Ricky]

Well that was rubbish!!!

Im in Kos now drinking lots of free beer to soften the blow of the match. The players didnt even have the balls to come over and applaud the fans, disfgraceful if you ask me. The game was as poor a performance as Ive seen in some time. The only good thing was catching up with some good friends and meeting some MB members i hadnt met before

[modes98]

The players didnt even have the balls to come over and applaud the fans, disfgraceful if you ask me.

That is disgraceful, Hughes should have told them to, even if they felt upset at their performance.

Glad i didn't go now ricky, however the future uefa trips fund may now go on beer instead

[Jan]

I went. It was bad. I was cold sitting in the wind. Santa was at least as bad as Benni. The midfield were poor, the defence were panicked. The pitch was a field. BUt met some people from the messageboard I've never met before!

I had 5 1/2 hours sleep, due to travel, in 48 hours. Met the Setanta commentators and cameramen on the flight back. They said:

We were awful;

The pitch was rubbish;

They didn't have anywhere to sit;

We'll win at home;

But they were most impressed by us as a group of players, officials and fans. We were open, friendly and accommodating.

Have to say- next time I hire a car. Getting in to a hotel at 4am and having to get up at 6.30 for a bus allegedly at 7.45 that turns up at nearly 9 isn't my idea of fun!!

But I went to the Davis Cup today. Hoorah for Andy and Tim!!! Now I'm going to bed to sleep at least 12 hours.

Well, soon.

[Blakey]

As per usual members of this board talking rubbish. i thought we played really well! after several ouzos anything would look good even Ste b looked fit! Athens is an absolute toilet its up there with Burnley on a sunday afternoon. Cant wait to get home currelnty in Frankfurt airport.

[den]

I think the pitch was critical last night. It stopped Rovers from controlling the pace of the game, we usually pass the ball around the back and up the wings to Ped/Bents but this wasn't possible. This made us lose our shape and in the end play very badly.

Their team on the other hand are obviously used to playing on bumpy surfaces so looked far superior to us. I think down at Ewood on a good pitch we have the skill to win (at least) 2-0.

Agree that the pitch was a big factor in the performance. If anyone didn't see the game, it was literally like playing in a meadow. The grass was long [and I mean long], but not only that, it was different lengths - as if it hadn't been cut for weeks. Impossible to play a high tempo game on that. That evened things up.

[roversmum]

Good tactics by Larissa, possibly? Bring on the micro-climate of Ewood Park

[Hasta]

Agree that the pitch was a big factor in the performance. If anyone didn't see the game, it was literally like playing in a meadow. The grass was long [and I mean long], but not only that, it was different lengths - as if it hadn't been cut for weeks. Impossible to play a high tempo game on that. That evened things up.

As I said earlier, if we'd gone down 2-0 and put up a fight then we could say it evened it up. On the day we looked outclassed. Pitch had nothing to do with it.

[thenodrog]

As I said earlier, if we'd gone down 2-0 and put up a fight then we could say it evened it up. On the day we looked outclassed. Pitch had nothing to do with it.

The pitch definitely HAS a lot to do with it. Our lot nowadays never see crappy pitches never mind play on them do they? We take great pride in the fact that the groundstaff at Brockhall instead have exactly replicated the Ewood playing surface half a dozen times over don't we? So maybe we should keep a couple flexible enough to replicate away venues. Our scouts should as soon as the venue was changed have inspected the pitch and given orders to replicate it as closely as possible in size and condition to allow the players to train on it first for a few days before travelling.

As for the team and mgment we probably were a taj over confident and certainly displayed european naivety. All dodgy away legs and especially on crappy pitches should be viewed as a definite 4-5-1 1st half tactic.

[Fife Rover]

Agree that the pitch was a big factor in the performance. If anyone didn't see the game, it was literally like playing in a meadow. The grass was long [and I mean long], but not only that, it was different lengths - as if it hadn't been cut for weeks. Impossible to play a high tempo game on that. That evened things up.

Just how long is dramatically illustrated in the full screen shot of the ball with a Rovers foot on it waiting for a kick-off. This shot shows at least a third of the ball submerged in the grass. I kid you not; check it out if you can't believe me. I couldn't either. How the ****** the authorities could accept that as a pitch fit to play a first class football match on I will never know. Surely it had to be against the regs.

Also (now I've calmed down a bit since Thursday) I believe that the reason Emmo's intended pass-back to Brad was so woefully short, is the fact that the ball simply slowed down and held up in the long grass, and the Larissa player was first to get to it, and with Brad caught in no-man's land it was a fairly easy task to square the ball in to the danger area where the Rovers defenders were scrambling to try and recover the situation. Having said that it was still poor defending given that Brad was stranded about 18 yards out, others should have got back quicker and covered both posts on the line.

[yorkblues]

that the pitch was a big factor in the performance

same for both teams

got back last night very very very poor but thats life , waste and money

[MCMC1875]

Any clown should know from an early age never to attempt a backpass on a dodgy pitch.

[yorkblues]

Any clown should know from an early age never to attempt a backpass on a dodgy pitch.

you had better tell bert then

oh and thanks for the warm beer in volos ste b

[london-rover]

got back yesterday night.

athens was a complete @#/? hole not what i expected at all.

as for the game we just didnt turn up players were all shocking cant pick out one good performance

worse game seen us play in some time.

[Ozz]

Finally felt up to searching for the goals on Tube today, two absolute shockers. The first one got a big deflection but Brad was too far off his line. How many goals have we conceded like that in Europe, one at home to Lyon, one away in Ankara and I'm sure there are many more-flukey long range punts that fly in the top corner. The second was truly mind-blowing. Emerton had a brain crisis or summat, really bizarre back pass and even then we still could have stopped them scoring. I did not see the match, but every report says it could have 6 so the two points I make are perhaps a little churlish it would seem.

I also found this on Tube, maybe Mr Monster is in this lot?

I could see us still winning the tie, the experience the team got last season from several tight spots may be enough to squeek through. The Leverkusen game at home should have taught them something. And I trust MH will have pointed out the error of their ways by then

[Bazzanotsogreat]

got back yesterday night.

athens was a complete @#/? hole not what i expected at all.

as for the game we just didnt turn up players were all shocking cant pick out one good performance

worse game seen us play in some time.

????

Realy ive been three times and thourght that without doubt its one of the nicest cities in europe (along with rome, seville and milan) that ive visited. what area did you stop in?

[Eddie]

Have to say I've never liked Athens. Third world Europe. It has some great areas, but generally the place is a dump.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Have to say I've never liked Athens. Third world Europe. It has some great areas, but generally the place is a dump.

Hardly eddie, much of paris is a shitehole, the same as London. If your in to history and culture then you like athens- if you dont then it wont be your cup of tea.

[92er]

In a few years????!!!!! That was the worst performance from any Rovers team as a whole that I can remember, and that goes back to the first season proper after WW2. And if anyone can quote me an equal or even worse performance since then, I would be very interested to hear it. :ph34r:

PS: I am not having a go at you Modes; just letting off a bit of steam before I explode.

I didn't see the match but I did read your comments. I don't go back quite as far as you but I did get to wondering as to whether it was worse than the following "performances":

Approx 1964 FA cup loss away to Oxford-then 4th Division.

Loss to Workington Town at home-0-5?

Home loss to Swindon in FA cup-0-4.

Early 70's home loss in the 1st round against Crewe-who I think were bottom of the 4th Division.

There have been some real stinkers over the years.

[92er]

I heard the commentary on Radio Lancs and I thought Richard Dinnis made a few good points.

When Savage plays in midfield, the wingers have to do a lot more defending to cover him, so they have less scope to attack, whilst at the same time the full backs do not seem to be taking up any of the slack in an attacking sense, so there is less creativity.

I think that Mokoena-or Zurab?-in midfield would strengthen the defence, as well as improve the midfield as we saw last season.We also saw last season the central defence was more dodgy before Samba arrived and before Mokoena played in midfield.

RD said- as somebody has already mentioned-the crosses in the practice session were woeful, and not just those from the wingers.

[Eddie]

When Savage plays in midfield, the wingers have to do a lot more defending to cover him, so they have less scope to attack, whilst at the same time the full backs do not seem to be taking up any of the slack in an attacking sense, so there is less creativity.

I think that Mokoena-or Zurab?-in midfield would strengthen the defence, as well as improve the midfield as we saw last season.We also saw last season the central defence was more dodgy before Samba arrived and before Mokoena played in midfield.

That makes no sense; when a player who works the hardest on the team plays the wingers have to cover more? I understand that having Mokoena sit back in front of the back four would mean they might have to cover a little less, but not much. Savage is in my opinion our best central midfielder. To drop him would be a very strange move. I'll go back to the fact that we need another central midfielder. I think we can over analyse this particular performance, it was just a bad day at the office, although we do have long-term problems in central midfield.

[Whyoy]

That makes no sense; when a player who works the hardest on the team plays the wingers have to cover more? I understand that having Mokoena sit back in front of the back four would mean they might have to cover a little less, but not much. Savage is in my opinion our best central midfielder. To drop him would be a very strange move. I'll go back to the fact that we need another central midfielder. I think we can over analyse this particular performance, it was just a bad day at the office, although we do have long-term problems in central midfield.

The advantage of having a three man midfield and only one wide man is that you could take advantage of Savage's energy and play him as the front man in that midfield. His all action running style isn't suited to a midfield holding role. With Mokoena as the anchor midfield play with either Dunn or Tugay as the playmaker and then Savage as the one who disrupts the opposition before they have time to make effective use of their possession, the game on Thursday would not have been half as disastrous as it turned out to be.