[Archived] Paul's Progress

[LDRover]

Just to clear up, when I said 'current situation' regarding Rovers I actually meant the feeling of indifference that a lot of fans have towards the management. That's not just evident on here it's the same at Ewood on matchdays too.

BTW, well done Keith Andrews today, thanks for rescuing my weekend.

[LeChuck]

Rovers have played most of this game (WBA) with 10 men - yet are still the better team

West Brom had 65% possession, how can you say we were the better team?

[1864roverite]

Disagree completely. They are our close rivals.

Come on Gordon, do you seriously expect us to accept that just because the mentioned teams are rivals we shouldnt expect to beat them ?

I can always undeerstand your objective point of view but that comment is ridiculous.

I love everything to do with BRFC and I expect to beat the above teams, when we dont and with the quality we have it hurts.

failure to beat the above mentioned teams could result in catastrophe for BRFC

[imy9]

We currently have/had:

Grella

Dunn

Emerton

Reid

RSC

Ooijer

missing with injuries, that is SIX players who arguably start for Rovers missing from the squad, RSC is our most important player and Dunn is probably our most creative player. A club like Rovers cannot afford to have that many players out, I really hope Emerton's injury is not long term and that Grella remains fit as it could be a desperate situation leading up to christmas.

It must be frustrating for PI as he has said a number of times he wants to select a settled team and he cannot. I would be interested to see how many different teams he has chosen this season based on injuries incurred, I cannot recall an unchanged side thus far (I may be wrong)

Sunderland at home on November 15th looks a massive 6 pointer to me and a game we simply have to get 3 points from.

[Ninjathunder]

I hate to type this, but if I was a betting man, I'd have a few quid on a bottom three finish.

If there's one thing that gets my goat is anything starting with the words "if I was a betting man...." Put some money on then, seeing it's such a dead cert - it will ease the pain of relegation!! If you're not prepared to then it's obviously not such a clear cut case, is it?

[1864roverite]

Imy I think you should look a little bit further into the problems heading our way.

Next fixtures

chelsea h

sunderland h

pompy a

spurs a

liverpool h

wigan a

stoke h

sunderland a

city h

Out of that little lot what can we expect with our current defensive lapses, our ever mounting injury lsit, our inability to compose ourselves when taking the lead, playing at least 3 six pointers out of the list of games, being incapable of of keeping clean sheets ?

As it stands Rovers will be lucky to take 9 points out of the 9 games. in fact, I would go as far to say that if we FAIL o take 9 points then we are in serious relegation trouble.

Despite my views on the current management I am willing to wait and see what happens until after the City game because if we havent reached 21 points by then, then I am going to resign myself to relegation because that is what will befall us.

I cant see us taking any points away from home

We wont get a point versus Chelsea or Liverpool

I cant see Hughes coming to Ewood and losing

Bentley will probably get a hattrick at WHL

Adams will get his first Pompy win

Keane and sunderland to do the double over us

whislt Stoke will throw the ball into our area every chance they get and score at will

Pie eaters and peskey will slip one over us

It just looks so bad, a bit like Englands efforts to win this $1m dollar a man cricket match

[John]

Not liking the look of those fixtures coming up!!!

[RevidgeBlue]

I hate to type this, but if I was a betting man, I'd have a few quid on a bottom three finish.

How much would you like?

Well those of us following the game in the chat room now know that PhilipL says he has information that a. Ince in in conflict with everyone around him - or words to that effect, and b. that RSC is as good as out of the club.

[RevidgeBlue]

Having seen the manner of the performances against Boro and Villa, I actually think the signs are encouraging - the style of play Ince is trying to introduce seems to be coming together gradually.

And I wasn't there today but a point away from home with ten men seems another step in the right direction on the face of it.

I guess it depends on whether you were opposed to Ince's appointment from the outset and whether you are determined to construe everything that happens in a negative light.

After Chelsea, I think we'll do pretty well from the fixtures 1864 highlights.

[1864roverite]

Rev

If you can bottle what you are taking, I will buy some NOW.

Its ok playing pretty triangular passing football, what isnt alright is the lack of an end product.

I will gladly take you for a pint if we take 9 or more points form those games I mentioned.

[47er]

We currently have/had:

Grella

Dunn

Emerton

Reid

RSC

Ooijer

missing with injuries, that is SIX players who arguably start for Rovers missing from the squad, RSC is our most important player and Dunn is probably our most creative player. A club like Rovers cannot afford to have that many players out, I really hope Emerton's injury is not long term and that Grella remains fit as it could be a desperate situation leading up to christmas.

It must be frustrating for PI as he has said a number of times he wants to select a settled team and he cannot. I would be interested to see how many different teams he has chosen this season based on injuries incurred, I cannot recall an unchanged side thus far (I may be wrong)

Sunderland at home on November 15th looks a massive 6 pointer to me and a game we simply have to get 3 points from.

On the injury front,Ince can't be blamed for Dunn's injury,he was targetted by Hull and kicked off the park. This isn't his"normal" injury. Also Reid--he's been injured for years. It does look though that Grella,his biggest signing,came to us with injuries. Santa Cruz is having the sort of season he used to have before he came here.

[stuwilky]

I will gladly take you for a pint if we take 9 or more points form those games I mentioned.

9 points from the 9 matches above.

I#ll tell you what wazza, Ill see you in the Leyland gates if that offer is open! I'll miserably buy you a pint if we dont.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

...and had the biggest transfer budget since 2001/2.

Which he did not blow.

So if it was ever as big as you thought it was and if the club did not need it to survive [which I still doubt with the home gates we are getting] the vast majority will still be available. He has now had time to assess the squad and he'll know where to use it.

[American]

...and had the biggest transfer budget since 2001/2.

You must be on the board then to know that....

[alexanders]

Which he did not blow.

If this is the case it might be a very smart move. I can imagine that Paul Ince wants to check out and assess his problems before starting the shopping.

[brfcs5359]

Making predictions is silly. Football is a funny old game.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

6/10........must do better(we hope).

My main worry is that Rovers are becoming that boring mid-table side that nobody gaves a damn about, I'm starting to perceive a lot of apathy surrounding the club at the moment both on and off the field,previous we have always punched above our weight but never failed to give a good show against the BIG clubs......that spirit seems to be lacking these days,there is no 'buzz' around the place on matchday anymore.I feel this is certainly a crossroads on all fronts for the club and no mistake,I pray the 'too good to go down' brigade are right for all our sake's.

We took a lower league rookie manager on so we'll have to make our bed and lay on it as the saying goes.....I wish Paul all the best and hope he is a success but I'm still firmly in the unsure camp and thats my honest opinion having seen matters to date.

[Parsonblue]

Having seen the manner of the performances against Boro and Villa, I actually think the signs are encouraging - the style of play Ince is trying to introduce seems to be coming together gradually.

And I wasn't there today but a point away from home with ten men seems another step in the right direction on the face of it.

I guess it depends on whether you were opposed to Ince's appointment from the outset and whether you are determined to construe everything that happens in a negative light.

After Chelsea, I think we'll do pretty well from the fixtures 1864 highlights.

The problem Rev is that when we play well we do not convert that into points. A last gasp goal against Boro' to salvage a point and the same yesterday. Personally, I think the football that Ince is trying to play is very attractive but at the end of the day the only thing that counts is results. I thought our performance against West Brom highlighted several areas of concern for me.

In defence I'm not convinced about Simpson at right-back. I thought he was poor on Wednesday and again today. Samba struggles to read the game at times and he and Nelsen just don't seem to be able to keep a lid on things at the back. If West Brom had been better up front they would have won yesterday's game with ease.

Our midfield looked poor yesterday. Grella was back to how he performed at West Ham - off the pace and poor passing.

In attack we just haven't got sufficient class without Roque. We are struggling to create chances and when we do we fail to take them.

At the moment Ince is enduring a difficult time and I suspect things will get worse before they get better. I really do believe that we are going to be involved in a relegation battle - simply because the clubs in the bottom half are much of a muchness. There is nobody who is going to be cut adrift and therefore eight or nine teams are going to be looking over their shoulder every week.

Hopefully, when we get some of our injured players back Ince will be able to field a settled team - although I'm not convinced that he knows what his best starting eleven is at the moment.

I don't consider my assessment of the situation to be anti-Ince - far from it. He is a young, inexperienced manager - in Premiership terms - who is on a steep learning curve. If he keeps us in the Premiership then I, for one, will regard his first season as as success.

[DingleBaiter]

From today's Observer. File under 'careful what you wish for'........

• Sam Allardyce says he wants to be back in football in January: 'That's the time when chairmen often start to panic and make changes.'

If there's one thing that gets my goat is anything starting with the words "if I was a betting man...." Put some money on then, seeing it's such a dead cert - it will ease the pain of relegation!! If you're not prepared to then it's obviously not such a clear cut case, is it?

Agreed. Is it not time some of these lily-livered, pinko, yellow-bellied wusses had the courage of their convictions instead of hiding behind loose talk on here, be it whether they were gambling men or alluding to 'I'm not telling you 'insider' stories that justify my 'confirmation bias' against PI's tenure' etc. All this tripe about 'for the good of Paul Ince' & 'best interests of club at heart' is self-justifying tripe; it's what's not being said that's arguably more damaging. So come on Philip, indulge us with your insider knowledge - your posts are always worth reading, so how much worse can your 'insider knowledge' be than strawmen arguments?

The thing that worries me most about Ince is there doesn't seem that overall control that Hughes exuded; he's doing a lot right, but other stuff wrong. I don't believe it's anything like as bad as some make out, but I AM concerned about several things.....

Consistency - of team selection, of results, of formation, of tactics.

Comedy defending / clearing our lines (lack of).

Cutting edge (lack of).

Contingency for no Roque (either through injury or transfer or lack of form)

[briansol]

The problem Rev is that when we play well we do not convert that into points. A last gasp goal against Boro' to salvage a point and the same yesterday. Personally, I think the football that Ince is trying to play is very attractive but at the end of the day the only thing that counts is results.

Maybe it's just me, but for me results is not the only thing that matters. People say that last season was a success even if our cup form was a disaster. We ended up on 7th in the league, with underwhelming football most of the season. Even when we won it was rarely deserved. Our only attacking options were Roque and Bentley. Already this season it's been much more fun than last and I really don't care if we end up on 8th or 13th as long as we're continuing to play this kind of football. We might also have a cup run to spice up things as well!

[Parsonblue]

Maybe it's just me, but for me results is not the only thing that matters. People say that last season was a success even if our cup form was a disaster. We ended up on 7th in the league, with underwhelming football most of the season. Even when we won it was rarely deserved. Our only attacking options were Roque and Bentley. Already this season it's been much more fun than last and I really don't care if we end up on 8th or 13th as long as we're continuing to play this kind of football. We might also have a cup run to spice up things as well!

Ultimately, results are all that matter. If we play good football all season and get relegated it could put the whole future of the club in question. I was around in 65-66 when we slipped out of the top flight almost by default and struggled for the next quarter of a century! At the end of the day the manager has to find the right balance between the quality of football and results.

[thenodrog]

From today's Observer. File under 'careful what you wish for'........

• Sam Allardyce says he wants to be back in football in January: 'That's the time when chairmen often start to panic and make changes.'

If we are in the relegation mix in Jan then without doubt he is the 2nd best equipped manager to rescue us. The other obviously being water under the bridge and at Man City.

[thenodrog]

"thenodrog' date='Nov 1 2008, 19:31 ' post='688146']

Disagree completely. They are our close rivals."

Come on Gordon, do you seriously expect us to accept that just because the mentioned teams are rivals we shouldnt expect to beat them ?

I can always undeerstand your objective point of view but that comment is ridiculous.

I love everything to do with BRFC and I expect to beat the above teams, when we dont and with the quality we have it hurts.

failure to beat the above mentioned teams could result in catastrophe for BRFC

The fact that we don't beat them illustrates two things 1864

1. The competativeness of the Prem.

and much more relevent

2. Our squad is simply NOT as good as you think it is.

[John]

Agree with the comment that we are not as good as some people believe.

Looking back on last season, I was slightly shocked that we finished so high up the table (considering the players we had). I remember an interview in the LET when Hughes pretty much said that it was almost impossible to get some of our players playing consistently well, as they did not have the ability to do so.

This only goes to reinforce what a good manager Hughes was for us. The type of reaction we are now seeing from some fans should not be a surprise. We have overachieved for a few seasons now and it is not that easy to do in this highly competitive league. We had it going good - teams would fear playing us, there was a real feeling of pride following the team, excitement at the next gem who would be brought in the transfer window.

However, things move on sadly, and we must be prepared to give Ince a fair chance to succeed. There could be some testing times ahead, but you only need to read our managers comments, to see that it is going to be a long, hard season.

[den]

Already this season it's been much more fun than last and I really don't care if we end up on 8th or 13th as long as we're continuing to play this kind of football. We might also have a cup run to spice up things as well!

Much more fun? There's definately a danger on here, that people are convincing themselves that the football is more entertaining than it was under Hughes. Many of the home games under Hughes were admittedly, not very entertaining. It wasn't as bad as this though, was it? We could give every team a game under Hughes, that's not the case now. People saying we were lucky finishing 7th, - how ridiculous is that? You finish where you deserve to finish. Also people are saying that we were going downhill fast under Hughes, - if that was the case, how did we maintain a 7th place finish? Surely we would have slid down the league, wouldn't we, because we were never much higher than that at any time during the season?

As for us maybe having a cup run, two seasons ago we took Chelsea to the limit in a cup semi final, but we're much better now aren't we?