Brum Preview

[brfcs5359]

We were excellent from start to finish last night. We sit up near the Darwen End and we should have 5 up at half time easily. I think we excelled in both halves.

It was nice to see Dunny coming inside as well as on the left, Bentley roaming too and with Mokoena and Tugay sat really deep we at last have some link up play to the forwards. Loads of nice triangles and plenty of good possession leading to a bucketful of chances. That line up and formation should have played against Larissa away on that pitch with Nelsen, Warnock, Samba and Benni in.

Last night was good, very good (against a hapless Birmingham reserve side it has to be said). Lets hope the Portsmouth/Larissa performances don't come along to often again.

[gazsimm]

good win against brummy reserves,even better gate,only roberts injured which is a blessing in disguise

u really do come out with some bull you don't you, how can you say Roberts injury is a good thing for us, he's a good player to have on the bench and his a very good back up for santa and benni. Was you calling him towards the back end of last season, when he was one of our best players then.

[Flopsy]

no Waggy usually calls for the under 18's to get a run out

[AggyBlue]

Let's not get carried away, Big Club were very poor and gave us acres and acres of space to play in.

What I liked was that we closed the gap between the midfield and attack, allowing us to pass the ball forward instead of just hoofing it from the back.

In fact I thought we were very Asenalesque for periods.

[ewoodblue]

u really do come out with some bull you don't you, how can you say Roberts injury is a good thing for us, he's a good player to have on the bench and his a very good back up for santa and benni. Was you calling him towards the back end of last season, when he was one of our best players then.

Would anybody dare say the same about good old Benni,would they hell as like.

Give me Roberts anytime over that idle so,and so."I'll play when it suits me"attitude"

How long do we have to wait for a clap ,clap,Benni McCarthy,clap clap.

If Benni hasn't got his mind on laying for Rovers,then let him go,and let players like Roberts get on with wanting to play for us.

[Ozz]

I thoroughly enjoyed myself last night and was top value for money at £10.00. Thank you Rovers.

Overall, we never looked like anything other than the winners, even after a truly bizarre pair of misses from Roberts and Derbyshire. After the Derbyshire miss, it was a case of `Its not gonna be our night` for me. However, Birmingham were just not interested and once Roberts came off it was only a matter or time. Poor Jason, I wondered if he really was injured whilst spaffing the ball tamely wide as it looked more like embarrassment than physical pain as he lay on the grass for 5 minutes.

On the basis of last night, I would take the rumoured £3.5 million for the lad, his running was poor, his bravery was questionable and his finishing was awful. He and Derbs played far too far apart. Once RSC came on we looked a much better side, more so once Tugay had the nerve to go over the half way line. Thought he took the micheal last night Toogs!

Finally, David Dunn. How peed off must have the Brum fans and better still Bernard Cribbins been after watching Dunnies power, skill and drive in a MOM display. He so wanted to score last night!

[philipl]

If Benni hasn't got his mind on laying for Rovers,then let him go,and let players like Roberts get on with wanting to play for us.

Benni wanting to lay for Rovers- the mind boggles!

There is another post just above saying we should flog Roberts because he's useless and a general misperception that Roberts lay on the grass with a torn thigh muscle because he was embarassed.... or is that the laying you want Benni to do?

Anyway, there is a wince-inducing picture on the official site of Samba, Kingson and the post.

[waggy]

u really do come out with some bull you don't you, how can you say Roberts injury is a good thing for us, he's a good player to have on the bench and his a very good back up for santa and benni. Was you calling him towards the back end of last season, when he was one of our best players then.

jason is not and will not ever be better than a squad player,never rated him,got slagged off last year when i said he was scoring goals against teams already on the beach,the blessing in disguise was that i was fearing it would be samba,brad,cruz or bentley who would get injured

[b12_simon]

I couldn't make the game last night so sent my ticket to my dad. Just had a chat with him. He's echoed the majority of opinion on here: Rovers played well, great goal from Bentley, Big Club reserves were poor and a damned fun night despite the cold.

Shame I missed it (but 2nd prize: seeing Alabama 3 was great) but great to have 3 goals and I've a good chance of talking my dad into a few games this season.

[Hughesy]

Id rather see Derbyshire given subs appearances that roberts, as i feel he can do more coming off a bench, so its a blessing in that way. Roberts needs games to be scoring, he cant come off a bench and make a massive impact usually.

Last night was good, although abit cold. Bburn End was in good voice in the 2nd half considering the poor attendance, although Brums contribution to that gate was pathetic.

Olsson looked very good and was always willing to take his man on when attacking, he also seemed quite strong on the ball.

Samba - Top class again! He should be our next captain without a doubt!

Bentley - Did well in the 2nd half when running inside more.

Dunn - Played well, but did let abit of showboating spoil his game, except for that megs!

Others did well but nothing outstanding, after all they were a reserve team we were playing. It could and should of been 5-0+

[gazsimm]

jason is not and will not ever be better than a squad player,never rated him,got slagged off last year when i said he was scoring goals against teams already on the beach,the blessing in disguise was that i was fearing it would be samba,brad,cruz or bentley who would get injured

So were Chelsea on the beach in the semi final of the FA Cup last season then. i don't think so

[frosty]

Good performance, even if Birmingham were feeble!

Best players were Dunn and Samba.

[JAL]

So were Chelsea on the beach in the semi final of the FA Cup last season then. i don't think so

Waggy's assessment of Roberts is spot on for me, and if Benni cant be bothered to then Hughes needs to look for a couple of strikers come January if Rovers are to progress, but without investment will that be possible.

That miss from Roberts summed him up, injured or totally embarassed i'll pick the latter after being centre of goal and missing the nets by at least five yards probably more, just not good enough unless the goalie is going to do a Scot Carson and throw the ball in the net for him .

[bob fleming]

Best players were Dunn and Samba.

and Bentley who for me, personally, as far as I'm concerned was Man of the Match.

[yellowsubmarine]

Not sure if it's only me, but for once, im happy MGP is rested.

[Neil Weaver]

Since nobody's mentioned Bert yet and I was in the same camp as Capt K - what happened to Bert till last season - thought he too was very good last night, especially the first half. Perhaps helped by nobody from Brum trying to mark him, but he was bombing forward lots, happy to come off the wing too. OK, didn't have a great deal of defending to do, but very impressive especially for someone who I thought would be rested cos seems to have played every game for the past year and most of the summer.

[gumboots]

[quote name='AggyBlue' date='Sep 27 2007, 11:31 ' post='549655'

In fact I thought we were very Asenalesque for periods.

I said to one of my pupils who couldn't go last night that i thought we looked like Arsenal, not necessarily in the skills but in the fluidity of formation. There was a lot more movement and nobody seemed to have a very clearly defined position which makes the players very hard to mark. My only panic was that they might get a fluke goal totally against the run of play and get it in the last few mins after we'd wasted so many chances giving us no chance to come back. Luckily it didn't happen - life's not easy for us pessimists!

[ewoodblue]

Benni wanting to lay for Rovers- the mind boggles!

There is another post just above saying we should flog Roberts because he's useless and a general misperception that Roberts lay on the grass with a torn thigh muscle because he was embarassed.... or is that the laying you want Benni to do?

Anyway, there is a wince-inducing picture on the official site of Samba, Kingson and the post.

Back to the school teacher rubbish,are we Hillipe.

I won't dignify your patronising attitude with a worthy response.

[1864roverite]

23 shots Rovers fabricated last night with 3 goals for out of those shots.

I am pleased as punch we got through as I predicted et then an exit by penalty shoot out !

As we reached 45 minutes I looked at the chances we had created and missed and got the deja vu feeling tha brum would have one shot and take the game 1-0, it had it written all over it.

Enter the second half and a sweet shot from Bents found its way home, followed by Matty D's penalty and a fine diving header from Roque to put the top hat on a great performance.

I thought to a man Rovers dominated although I have concern at the amount of glaring chances we blew.

Roberts alone should have had a first half hat trick and when he missed the one on one and went down injured I couldnt do anything apart from laugh. 3.5 million pound striker misses sitter and gets himself injured ! FFS he should have been in the bath when he missed that chance !

Numerous other chances went begging which in the Premier League game next Sunday we MUST take as we will see a different brum team taking the pitch.

Another concern for me was Tugay. I was not at all impressed by him. A far superior player there was not skill wise but he really flattered to deceive and should have run that game far better than he did. I was slightly concerned about the runs of Bert and Olssen not being rewaqrded with final passes. Both players ran miles further than anyone else but the final pass always seemed to go inside instead of finding the space on the wings.

good game for Dunny and gutted for him that he didnt score, he certainly deserved his MOTM award.

Now then, finally, for me there will be 8 hot and 8 cold balls in the box on Saturday afternoon. I cant see arse v chelsea or liverpoo v everton. What i can see is a Rovers v Bolton showdown at Ewood Park, or better still Rovers v donkey seasiders.

bring it on Stelling

[thenodrog]

and Bentley who for me, personally, as far as I'm concerned was Man of the Match.

Now I know its childish but how good would it have been if Sparky had put Sav on for the last two minutes with strict instructions to him not to touch the ball at any cost and for the others not to give it him.... before awarding him the Peter Jackson MoM award.

[Fife Rover]

Sky sports news have just announced that their keeper was released from hospital last night and went home with the team. He does have concussion but is ok. So that is good news

Yes, thanks for that cn174. I am very glad to hear it; always worrying to think of someone getting a massive blow on the head, and a relief to find out that they are OK.

[ewoodblue]

Yes, thanks for that cn174. I am very glad to hear it; always worrying to think of someone getting a massive blow on the head, and a relief to find out that they are OK.

I'm glad you think that Fife,because with them sentiments ,it makes statesments such as , "Roberts being injured is a good thing.",look a really stupid thing to say.Especially when aimed at a player in a Rovers shirt.

[Eddie]

Well, I think the big difference is that the keeper could have been seriously hurt. It's obviously unfortunate that Roberts picked up an injury and I am not one of those who thinks that it is good for the team, but it wasn't anything serious and there isn't any fear for him in the long-term. I don't expect Birmingham fans to be concerned for Roberts today, but I hope that at least one or two Chelsea fans were relieved to here that Samba was ok a few weeks ago. It all has to do with the severity of the injury. Missing a game of football is nothing when compared to the possibility that a player may actually be in trouble.

[colin]

And finally, should we all save ourselves a lot of time and just give the imperious Chris Samba MOM for the rest of the season now?

Why not, he is immense. Just imagine him tapping Rooney on the shoulder just before KO & saying "I'm marking you today sonny boy, so just behave yourself"

I love Chris Samba

[ewoodblue]

Well, I think the big difference is that the keeper could have been seriously hurt. It's obviously unfortunate that Roberts picked up an injury and I am not one of those who thinks that it is good for the team, but it wasn't anything serious and there isn't any fear for him in the long-term. I don't expect Birmingham fans to be concerned for Roberts today, but I hope that at least one or two Chelsea fans were relieved to here that Samba was ok a few weeks ago. It all has to do with the severity of the injury. Missing a game of football is nothing when compared to the possibility that a player may actually be in trouble.

Wel,actually Eddie,I think it's more to do with the fact that some people on here have nothing better to do than taking every oppurtunity to fault find every little detail in peoples messages.

I wish Roberts a speedy recovery,as I do any Rovers player.

The idiot I mentioned earlier is on ignore.