[Archived] Vs. Portsmouth Preview

[Guest Kamy100]

All season our defensive problems stem from the midfield not tracking runs which exposes the defence. The third goal today illustrates it really well. Diop firstly storms through midfield without so much as a challenge and then to compound it the no one from the midfield tracks Davis's run and he ends up scoring. Really annoying that such basic things aren't be done right,.

[pksrover]

What the hell is Warnock playing at on the 1st and 3rd Goal? He doesn't even try to close down Johnson for the 1st goal and for the 3rd goal he's nowhere near being in his left back position, giving Papa Dioup a free run at goal. He was totally out of position for the 2nd goal as well, but that wasn't conceded on his side anyway.

Unlucky again...where's Souey's good old Lady Luck ey?

Come on you blues, keep on trying and we'll get there in the end!

[Hughesy]

GUTTED! TIME TO GO!

[JAL]

All season our defensive problems stem from the midfield not tracking runs which exposes the defence. The third goal today illustrates it really well. Diop firstly storms through midfield without so much as a challenge and then to compound it the no one from the midfield tracks Davis's run and he ends up scoring. Really annoying that such basic things aren't be done right,.

Its otherwise known as a lack of pace to be able to outrun your opponent we dont have enough players capable of this though Samba and Nelsen are really beginning to worry me.

[bazza]

Derbyshire's second goal was OK but the ref blew because Ooijer impeded the keeper.

Compare that to Man Utd's goal at Ewood when Vidic assaulted Brown.

It's time the TV looked into favours to the top teams compared to no favours to the rest by the refs.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

That third goal is the most disgusting piece of defending I can recall from us. I'm absolutely appalled, if Ince is still in the job by tomorrow evening then something at the club is wrong.

Firstly, the attacking midfield dynamo that is Papa Bouba-Diop runs half of the pitch only to be stopped by a good Robinson save...then Davis comes pretty much unchallenged through the centre to get the rebound. Absolutely horrific stuff.

Yeah it was bad. Who was it who hesitated then tried to whack it clear? Ooijer?

[RevidgeBlue]

Yeah it was bad. Who was it who hesitated then tried to whack it clear? Ooijer?

Just seen it on TV now. My thoughts..............

Ooijer had two chances to clear it but failed and it looked as if Samba wasn't expecting him to cock up thereby leaving Davies with an unchallenged run on goal. Harsh to blame MGP.

I thought the second goal was also primarily down to Ooijer, it looked as if he got caught out of position up near the half way line letting Defoe in and leaving Samba to try to come across and cover. He got sold by a Defoe dummy - 2-0.

First goal was primarily down to MGP and Warnock leaving our left side totally exposed and allowing the cross to come in unchallenged. Samba might have done slightly more to put Crouch off.

Roque really should have buried his first half chance.

[FourLaneBlue]

The level of bickering on this site is appalling these days. It's a forum for discussion about the club we love, not somewhere where people get castigated for different views. I was also in the "back Ince" camp until a couple of weeks ago and now think we need to get shot. I've changed my opinion, and if it makes you feel better that you realised he was rubbish before me then well done. It's really nothing to get agitated about! You don't see people having discussions like this in the pub do you - it's just easier to act like a faceless cretin on the internet.

I agree with this totally and I do not like it myself. Bickering is fine about stuff like politics or immigration or whatever but the sole reason we all come onto this board is because we all love Blackburn Rovers Football Club...in fact even the opposition fans who come on here secretly like us...they would not want us to not exist that is for sure.

For so many fans to be bickering about Rovers is not a healthy situation.

Ince was a divisive appointment and he needed to impress to quell the discontent following his appointment. Whether that discontent was valid or not was utterly irrelevant...the only important fact is that it WAS there so had to be dealt with. Ince has spectacularly failed and we cannot go on like this. Divided we fall. To be honest at this point I think the vast majority fans will rally around almost ANY manager that replaces Ince. Let´s face it guys...we are thoroughly desperate.

Any chance we can stop this who was right first and who took longest to realise we were in big trouble etc? It is in the past now and we have more than enough on our plate as it is without bickering.

Ince out for so many reasons I can not bothered listing them all. Plus...do it on Tuesday morning so he cannot badmouth us on the Inside Sport interview tomorrow. I might be being unfair to Ince to suggest so but right now and after the articles that have appeared from his pals at The Mirror I do not trust the media at all with what we have to do.

It is not nice to want someone to be sacked. However...the club DESERVES BETTER.

Let us stop this macho muscle-flexing crap about who is the better fan because they knew Ince was no good first or they keep saying "get behind the team" even when we are in the deep doo.

We all need to pull together then shout for team and the new manager who is, surely, inevitable now....

Keep the Faith...but get us a manager worthy of our club!

[RevidgeBlue]

Ince was a divisive appointment

There was a core of support opposed to his appointment before the off (who have never let up since) but opposition to Allardyce was far more widespread than even that at the time.

I'd like to think Wally w'it Brolly was interviewed more out of politeness than being a serious candidate but I would have thought the opposition to him would have been equally fierce.

[joey_big_nose]

Our players are under-performing because Ince doesn't know how to organise the team and play to our strengths. He's stubborn to change his gameplan, which is why teams just walk through us in every game. We don't need someone that naive and pig-headed in charge of our club. He's had his chance to play good football here, and it hasn't worked.

It's too late for Ince. The moment Bentley was sold he should have been straight on for a replacement. We waited, and waited, and nothing happened. We were too busy hearing that Keith Andrews and Robbie Fowler were joining our ranks!! Yeah, we tried for Pennant, but that was a last minute deal which shows Ince never thought any of this through.

The first part - I'm not sure that is exactly true. Ince has experimented a lot - played 442, 451, 4231, brought a lot of youngters in. His problem has not beign able to make us create enough decent chances, and also allowing the oposition too many by the defence being weak. That simple stuff.

However, I do see what you mean with his desire to "play good football" though. The time for that has passed, yet he seems to want to stick to it. Not a wise move with Dunn and Grella injured, or in any case where we are in the table.

The second part - failing in the transfer market - yes that is true. I was dubious at first, I wanted to see what he could make with what he inherited and the few guys he added,but as all of our players from last year are performing substantially worse (in the case of Cruz and Emerton) or the same (McCarthy, Derbs, Pedersen, Mokoena (all pretty bad like 07/08) then he should have got more people in who would respond to him. Robinson has been decent but the others have been average (Andrews,Simpson), injured (Grella) or uttely pointless excercises in PR sepukku (Fowler).

Time up for Ince. I genuinely think JW could act after the Man Utd game. he will want to give a change the transfer window to make his mark.

[FourLaneBlue]

When asked if he would like the Man Utd job when Fergie finally goes Martin O'Neill said 'No Thanks...... but I'd like to be the one to follow Alex Fergusons successor'.

Sums up the Allardyce scenario imo. Hughes was a tough act to follow but following Ince would be the football equivalent of falling off a log.

Spot on theno...this situation is perfect for any successor.

On a private note please stop posting stuff I agree with as I am more used to arguing with you than saying "spot on"!

[FourLaneBlue]

There was a core of support opposed to his appointment before the off (who have never let up since) but opposition to Allardyce was far more widespread than even that at the time.

True enough I think BFS would have been similarly divisive. It is in the past now though...whoever comes in will not be so divisive now as we are in the brown stuff.

As for the fans against him from the off...again that does not so much matter as what happened since...Ince has singularly failed to convince anyone that he was the right appointment and now pretty much everyone believes he was the wrong choice. I do not think he had an easy job at all on his hands following a success such as Hughes...but whatever the various expectations from all of us were he has failed to meet even the lowest of them.

[RevidgeBlue]

True enough I think BFS would have been similarly divisive. It is in the past now though...whoever comes in will not be so divisive now as we are in the brown stuff.

Devils advocate mode though:

What happens if Ince was sacked tomorrow and the new guy comes in and results don't improve to any great extent.

Do we sack him as well after ten or twelve games? (Which I'd be tempted to do if there was any chance at all of getting out of it) Or do we stick with him and say "It doesn't matter if he takes us down?"

Because we could do that now with Ince and save some money if the worst happened .

[FourLaneBlue]

It was a must win game for Ince. He lost.

We have just had three must-win games in a row and Ince has lost them all.

[FourLaneBlue]

Do we sack him as well after ten or twelve games? (Which I'd be tempted to do if there was any chance at all of getting out of it) Or do we stick with him and say "It doesn't matter if he takes us down?"

We would have do whatever was best for the club at the time. We might well mess up and get the second wrong guy but that is better than cowardly sticking by the first wrong appointment and apathetically watching slide down a league.

Because we could do that now with Ince and save some money if the worst happened .

Why? Ince has to be sacked whatever as he is not good enough.

Are you suggesting we should let Ince relegate us and then sack him just in case we mess up our one chance of redemption and have to pay out again?

We have one chance to save this season...we need the right man in charge. It is not Ince and you CANNOT - other than utilizing great quantities of blind hope -make a good case for it to be so.

In 19988/99 we messed up with our appointment when we sacked a manager. In 2004/2005 we got it spot on and saved what was a club going down.

We have to get it right this time and not totally mess up like we did in the summer.

[RevidgeBlue]

We have just had three must-win games in a row and Ince has lost them all.

Yep, can't argue with that. I object to unfounded criticism of Ince on the basis of his coaching courses, suits, interviews, spitting and eyebrows.

However a manager is ultimately judged on results and time must surely be running a little short in that respect.

[RevidgeBlue]

We would have do whatever was best for the club at the time. We might well mess up and get the second wrong guy but that is better than cowardly sticking by the first wrong appointment and apathetically watching slide down a league.

Fair comment. That would normally be exactly my reaction as well.

I just have a strange gut feeling that Ince might be the best person for us long term though.

If he can get through the next month or so.

[FourLaneBlue]

Sack Scolari. He's made Chelsea worse because they've lost home games this season. Mourinho and Grant didn't. Sack him now!!!!

Your analogy is comparing someone who won the World Cup as manager with someone who last season won the Johnstone´s Paint Trophy.

I think that displays just how much your opinion should be adhered to.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Fair comment. That would normally be exactly my reaction as well.

I just have a strange gut feeling that Ince might be the best person for us long term though.

If he can get through the next month or so.

Unfortunately a one step back to take two steps forward is a scenario that Rovers can ill afford, either in football or financial terms.

I fear Rovers have to bite the bullet and do the decent thing for all concerned. Ince need to learn the lessons from this season and take a step back and manage in the Championship but not with Rovers. It would be better in the long run and more importantly, the short term, if the parting of the ways is done sooner rather later.

I did not watch the game, but by the sounds of it the match was no different than previous tucker served up.

[thenodrog]

And as you've finally managed to find out, giving that wassock a chance was extremely anti-rovers. As some of us could see from the day of the press conference onwards.

and before Jan ......

[thenodrog]

Spot on theno...this situation is perfect for any successor.

On a private note please stop posting stuff I agree with as I am more used to arguing with you than saying "spot on"!

Sorry FLB. Unfortunately the shennanigins at the club over the past 12 months are making it all too easy.

[CrazyIvan]

And as you've finally managed to find out, giving that wassock a chance was extremely anti-rovers. As some of us could see from the day of the press conference onwards.

Quite frankly that's a load of rubbish. Not supporting the manager because of your personal feelings towards him isn't pro-Rovers, giving him a chance to prove himself and maybe improve Rovers is. The fact he hasn't done that doesn't matter one jot, we may think it wasn't the greatest choice by the board but to write him off because you don't like him is like not employing someone for a job because he wears after-shave you don't like. IE not in the interests of the club/your company and all because of your personal preference.

[gillibrand]

Fair comment. That would normally be exactly my reaction as well.

I just have a strange gut feeling that Ince might be the best person for us long term though.

If he can get through the next month or so.

With strange gut feelings like that you should visit your doctor, or are you just being a little mischievous?

[thenodrog]

Quite frankly that's a load of rubbish. Not supporting the manager because of your personal feelings towards him isn't pro-Rovers, giving him a chance to prove himself and maybe improve Rovers is. The fact he hasn't done that doesn't matter one jot, we may think it wasn't the greatest choice by the board but to write him off because you don't like him is like not employing someone for a job because he wears after-shave you don't like. IE not in the interests of the club/your company and all because of your personal preference.

I think you should direct the same post to the Anti BFS brigade. Apparently being a big fella with large jowls is a sure fire indication of his ability as a footbal manager.

[gillibrand]

Quite frankly that's a load of rubbish. Not supporting the manager because of your personal feelings towards him isn't pro-Rovers, giving him a chance to prove himself and maybe improve Rovers is. The fact he hasn't done that doesn't matter one jot, we may think it wasn't the greatest choice by the board but to write him off because you don't like him is like not employing someone for a job because he wears after-shave you don't like. IE not in the interests of the club/your company and all because of your personal preference.

And from that reasoning I take it you were not one of the anti Big Sam idiots? You beat me to it Theno!