[Archived] Blackburn V. Stoke City

[thenodrog]

Funny really...Friedel has a good game and Robinson starts to get a lot of flack.

Freidel nearly always has a good game eddie and yesterday some of Robinsons decisions to stay or go for crosses was reminiscent of the worst excesses of Mimms and Butcher.

[den]

Freidel nearly always has a good game eddie and yesterday Robinsons decisions to stay or go for crosses was reminiscent of the worst excesses of Mimms and Butcher.

I remarked to Baz, that Robbo didn't look happy with the crosses coming in. The one he ran under, where the ball must have been 4 ft above his head - does anyone remember Brad ever doing that?

[Eddie]

Freidel nearly always has a good game eddie and yesterday Robinsons decisions to stay or go for crosses was reminiscent of the worst excesses of Mimms and Butcher.

So you haven't watched much Friedel this season? He's continued to struggle with free-kicks, which he was always terrible at dealing with. Also, one or two more errors have crept in.

Friedel is still a top keeper, but I think Robinson has been up there with the best in the league so far this season. Robinson will still be a good keeper when Friedel is counting his money in Ohio.

[tony gale's mic]

Friedel is still a top keeper, but I think Robinson has been up there with the best in the league so far this season. Robinson will still be a good keeper when Friedel is counting his money in Ohio.

He certainly hasn't been one of the best. Even in the first game against Everton he looked dodgy, and although he's not been terrible since then, he's been average at best with too many mistakes. Even most recently a better keeper would've stopped that Alonso shot when we played Liverpool, he just dived over it.

[Eddie]

"Looked dodgy"? How many times has looked dodgy translated into goals against? I can't remember him making many errors or even small errors in the lead-up to goals. On top of that, the fact that his back four has been a complete and utter shambles for the entire season has probably not helped him be totally sure of what he needs to be doing. He's made the saves when asked to and that is his job. He struggles a bit with crosses, but if the back four can actually start to try and defend then we could hopefully see them build up some understanding and limit any danger that could come from that slight weakness.

If Robinson were Friedel (as in, Friedel still playing for Rovers but performing exactly like Robinson), then he would be praised for his leadership, consistent performances and being one of only two or three players who have kept their cool and heads throughout the tough times. Fact is he isn't Friedel and is an Ince signing so unless he saves a few penalties a game and scores a goal he'll still have critics on here.

Friedel was a fantastic goalkeeper for us, but he actually isn't a particularly technically impressive player. His reaction times and saves put him on a different level, but he will always struggle with his positioning and distribution. Many Rovers fans overlooked those short-comings (with many not even noticing them) because he very rarely let us down and was a great player for us, let's see if some of you can do the same for Robinson if he continues to play well.

[tony gale's mic]

"Looked dodgy"? How many times has looked dodgy translated into goals against? I can't remember him making many errors or even small errors in the lead-up to goals. On top of that, the fact that his back four has been a complete and utter shambles for the entire season has probably not helped him be totally sure of what he needs to be doing. He's made the saves when asked to and that is his job. He struggles a bit with crosses, but if the back four can actually start to try and defend then we could hopefully see them build up some understanding and limit any danger that could come from that slight weakness.

If Robinson were Friedel (as in, Friedel still playing for Rovers but performing exactly like Robinson), then he would be praised for his leadership, consistent performances and being one of only two or three players who have kept their cool and heads throughout the tough times. Fact is he isn't Friedel and is an Ince signing so unless he saves a few penalties a game and scores a goal he'll still have critics on here.

Friedel was a fantastic goalkeeper for us, but he actually isn't a particularly technically impressive player. His reaction times and saves put him on a different level, but he will always struggle with his positioning and distribution. Many Rovers fans overlooked those short-comings (with many not even noticing them) because he very rarely let us down and was a great player for us, let's see if some of you can do the same for Robinson if he continues to play well.

Everton, Sunderland, Liverpool to name three examples. I agree the back four haven't helped, but this is a two-way thing. He's not an awful keeper granted and judging him after Friedel is a little harsh, but he is certainly not one of the best keepers in the league. And comparing him to Friedel is just foolish - his weaknesses were only in comparison to his strengths in other areas. He was brilliant on crosses, fantastic shot stopper, reflexes etc and very, very rarely made any mistakes. The Birmingham one was such a shocker. And distribution for me is a relatively minor concern when it comes to judging a keeper.

Robinson - Good shot stopper on the whole but quite error prone means he's overall an average keeper. I thought he was a bit of a lazy signing - Ince sees Friedel is on his way out for whatever reason, finds the nearest out of favour keeper he can find in Robinson so snaps him up. Holding off the Friedel transfer for a couple of weeks to look for better options from abroad wouldve been a better option. Yes £3 million wasnt a lot of money but keepers don't cost a great deal, and we could definitely have got a better keeper for that money. Still we've gone on enough about how bad Ince's signings were, and it definitely wasnt his worst signing.

[thenodrog]

Yes £3 million wasnt a lot of money but keepers don't cost a great deal, and we could definitely have got a better keeper for that money.

Wait til you read what City are supposedly offering for Bouffon.

Eddie Robinson is better than Freidel at kicking and thats that.

Furthermore Sam Allardyce is not planning for the next 10 years or even 10 months, he's just planning until May.

[Jan]

Ignore list? I don't need any such facility to ignore some 'members' on here.

......... Prob more down to the fact that when I could get the board to work last week there was too much stuff to wade through. So JW still wanted to keep the pratt? :!: After seeing his countenance at Wigan under that cap I'm gobsmacked.

Back to yesterdays match.........

What the hell was going on with numerous examples of two players jumping for the same ball in the air? Can they not shout to each other ffs or has Ince's tenure left them that dumbstruck? I must say I've not seen such things happen so frequently in one match.

Have you the answer to that as well John?

Simple answer- The defenders almost always did shout (I heard three or four shouts from where I was sitting). The midfielder in question didn't believe them (twice Andrews once Pedersen). Dunn nearly jumped for one but heard the shout and ran out of the way.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Back to yesterdays match.........

What the hell was going on with numerous examples of two players jumping for the same ball in the air? Can they not shout to each other ffs or has Ince's tenure left them that dumbstruck? I must say I've not seen such things happen so frequently in one match.

Have you the answer to that as well John?

Was a bit of concern but was hoping it was a case of players taking responability and dealing with things rarther than leaving things to others.Trying to impress the boss and nerves. A few positive results and sensible coaching should help to solve it.

[Stuart]

For me it was just a renewed enthusiasm. We were closing down quickly and getting to most second balls. We need to sustain this now and turn this into a good run. I wasn't concerned yesterday at any point during the match. First time in a long time I've really enjoyed a match from start to finish. But as Sam himself said, all of our games won't seem so easy but it's a good start.

Cue Sunderland preview thread...

[RevidgeBlue]

Cue Sunderland preview thread...

All of a sudden, due to the management changes at both clubs, it's suddenly become a heavyweight clash between the Division's two form sides!

[1864roverite]

I wonder if Sbragia is really happy being a number 2 and will come to Ewood no matter whaat ?

Can imagine Sam doing what he has to do to take him from Sunderland to Ewood Park.

In any case it is intriguing, a number 2 not wanting to upset his boss to be ????

[RevidgeBlue]

I wonder if Sbragia is really happy being a number 2 and will come to Ewood no matter whaat ?

Can imagine Sam doing what he has to do to take him from Sunderland to Ewood Park.

In any case it is intriguing, a number 2 not wanting to upset his boss to be ????

Difficult to imagine Sbragia not wanting the Sunderland job if there was any chance of it.

By the same token if he isn't going to get it, he'll still want a win to boost his own personal CV should he need to find a job elsewhere.

[Rovermatt]

I was away all weekend but my brother kept me abreast of all the developments in the game. Brilliant result for Rovers and a great way for Sam to start his reign. We're still in the sh!tter but 3 points from safety with 20 games to play certainly makes survival possible. With this in mind, one can only wonder how results would have gone had the board been more decisive and given Ince the boot before our position become so desperate.

[gilstarwood]

just like to say the build up before the game was ace all rovers fans pulling together what a superb start 4 big bad sam excellent performance from the team the atmos in the ground was quailty the blackburn end were on top note full credit to the fraiser eagle stand we were in full voice keep it up, gt harwood blues

[philipl]

Sky Sports performance of the week. Friedel and Nelsen get in the team of the week as well.

[roversnick]

Sky Sports performance of the week. Friedel and Nelsen get in the team of the week as well.

how i miss brad ...

[ABBEY]

how i miss brad ...

BLOODY NORA!!! HES GONE DEAL WITH IT FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!

I GOT OVER MY DIVORCE QUICKER THAN THIS....

[roversmum]

Hush, Abbey. You'll get Den started about Bentley again next

[ABBEY]

well ,its like a stuck record.

[den]

Merry Christmas.

[BuckyRover]

BLOODY NORA!!! HES GONE DEAL WITH IT FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!

I GOT OVER MY DIVORCE QUICKER THAN THIS....

I was going to say something similar.

Along the lines of "they all love the colour of money, Brad just pretended he was different for longer than most"

[philipl]

Oh crikey,

I just typed that as a conditioned reflex.

I saw Brad and Ryan's pictures on the "team sheet" and clean forgot Brad is no longer with us!

[SouthAussieRover]

Just done something totally out of character......................put £25 on Rovers to win on Saturday. That betfair thingy is very complicated, it doesn't seem to want to accept all the bet and I'm hardly going to break the bank!! I may just go to the bookies another time

What did you get?

I predicted a 3-0 win and got $65 for my $5.

I've kept the betting slip as a memento of Big Sam's first match in charge.

[Paul]

For a £25 stake I won £21.61. TBH didn't really understand Betfair, instead of taking just one bet it took four and then gave me average odds spread over those bets. Apparently the site waits for someone else to match the bet, so it's not really bettng with betfair but betting against another punter? Seems a bit odd to me and can't see how betfair make any money?