[Archived] Blyth Spartans Vs Blackburn Rovers

[speeeeeeedie]

We won, we're through, let's get ready for Fulham. There's no point in moaning about a bad win.

Rovers looked like they were playing in a trail match; each player was individually playing for a contract. It was every man for themselves. After the game Allardyce said that it gave him a chance to look at players he's not had a chance to see in a game situation. This, to me, explained the wholly disjointed performace I watched. They were playing for places and as such concentrated on trying to make themselves look good. Yet on their showing not many of them will get a look in. Roberts did look a class above when he came on, if he could shoot he'd be playing for Real Madrid.

I see JAL has been uncorked for the new year, alas it's the same tired old taste.

[JAL]

It was a shocker. Even a defensive midfielder should be able to link up in attacks against such weak opposition.

I blame the last two managers for neglecting the youth system which is one of the worst in the county. Whole development /scouting network needs a complete overhaul. NO new young players coming through look like premiership quality. No long term development being done (Whose been at Rovers sinc they were 11?)and if they are not good enough ship them out- start with the youth coaches and scouts..

Your saying what i'm thinking Prof, this is one of the reasons why i'm having a go at Williams and the board for allowing this to have developed.

And its something thats been debated before for several years now yet we still come back to it.

[thenodrog]

Agree that Derbyshire looked poor last night but he wasn't the only one. Got the impression Allardyce was putting a lot of the 2nd string players on trial last night to show their worth against lower opposition. Worrying though that our 2nd string can only just get past a team like Blyth and shows that we need to reinforce quickly particularly in midfield.

Shows to me that we are paying too much and could replace the lower orders much cheaper.

[JAL]

We won, we're through, let's get ready for Fulham. There's no point in moaning about a bad win.

Rovers looked like they were playing in a trail match; each player was individually playing for a contract. It was every man for themselves. After the game Allardyce said that it gave him a chance to look at players he's not had a chance to see in a game situation. This, to me, explained the wholly disjointed performace I watched. They were playing for places and as such concentrated on trying to make themselves look good. Yet on their showing not many of them will get a look in. Roberts did look a class above when he came on, if he could shoot he'd be playing for Real Madrid.

I see JAL has been uncorked for the new year, alas it's the same tired old taste.

You got to shout out the negatives in order to weed them out alas there were too many on view last night which you imply speeedie, still searching for that winning formula.

Lets play WERES DUNNY

[Fife Rover]

I was there too. Seem to remember Arrod had a good big C.H. called Proctor. Can't remember who played for Utd, but their goalie was the big dark haired one with big sideburns. I think Willie Morgan played, though.

Paddy Crerand was definitely one of the Mancs that night too.

[gazsimm]

You got to shout out the negatives in order to weed them out alas there were too many on view last night which you imply speeedie, still searching for that winning formula.

Lets play WERES DUNNY

we are missing Dunny Jal and you know we are!!!!

[islander200]

best thing about this game was the result,expect the same team at blunderland bfs has no respect for the fa cup

We are in a relegation battle so the cup should not be a priority.

[philipl]

Sam's post match radio interview is here.

JAL, have you ever made a positive comment immediately after a match?

Fortunately Sunderland are in a relegation battle too so I would imagine the 4th round sides will be well-matched.

[JAL]

we are missing Dunny Jal and you know we are!!!!

Why ? his body cant cope and he has little pace. Dunny is missing again not Rovers are missing him, its just the sack of poo in reserve that kind of distorts the reality of the situation.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

With a fully fit Grella and Dunn we should have a good centre midfield. Much to JALs disgust.

[JAL]

Sam's post match radio interview is here.

JAL, have you ever made a positive comment immediately after a match?

Fortunately Sunderland are in a relegation battle too so I would imagine the 4th round sides will be well-matched.

Hold on philipl, we are next to the bottom of the league positives! positives! heading on a downward curve i'm fine tooth combing for positives and so far have found very little. Always enjoy watching a mixture of youngsters and seniors against lower opposition always seems more entertaining but last night simply wasnt.

Interesting Sam says we were always in control until the final ten minutes - sound familiar.

[JAL]

With a fully fit Grella and Dunn we should have a good centre midfield. Much to JALs disgust.

It might work but for how long ........twenty minutes, 45mins maybe a full 90, i'm not holding out for much more are you?

[T4E]

With a fully fit Grella and Dunn we should have a good centre midfield. Much to JALs disgust.

Yeah - and apart from the shooting President Kennedy really enjoyed his trip to Dallas.

Pointless statement - it's not worth talking about, we'll never get those two playing together for long enough for it to make a difference.

[AggyBlue]

Re Derbs - I have never, ever seen a player jump up for so many headers and not make contact with the ball. Amazing.

[Ozz]

I was bit like watching the away leg at Trelleborgs last night, bar we won this time.

[grizfoot]

If there's one positive to take from last night it's that we know that some of our reserve players aren't good enough. I know both Grella and Vogel probably aren't 100% match fit but they should have totally bossed the game and they simply didn't, Vogel didn't show anything to suggest that he should be picked ahead of Andrews which people have been demanding on here. We all already know that Mokoena is and never will be a Premiership footballer, he looked incredibly shakey and just about coped last night. Dissapointed with Derbyshire expected him to impress having given a starting role in his best position, still think he's a decent player just seems to have lost abit of confidence maybe after the City game having known he probably costs us the three points.

I'm sure Big Sam will be thinking he definately needs more signings to strengthen the squad.

[benlloninho]

This was a really frustrating game to watch.

That is all.

[Pugg]

It was a shocker. Even a defensive midfielder should be able to link up in attacks against such weak opposition.

I wasn't saying anything about how they performed. I was saying that it wasn't meant to be a negative tactic (in response to DaveyB saying we were negative even before kick off), ie playing two defensive midfielders. In my view deciding to play Vogel and Grella together wasn't about tactics, but other factors. I think you may have missed my point.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A win is a win I suppose but for me it was a damning and rather sad indictment of the lack of quality and strength in depth of our squad.

Certain players looked like they couldn't be bothered and thats after being told by the manager places were up for grabs with a chance to impress.....WTF! where was the effort?

I WOULD give Carlos more time and I think he's worth it.

***ALL CREDIT TO BLYTH AND WELL DONE TO THEM.***

[DeadlyDirk]

I was bit like watching the away leg at Trelleborgs last night, bar we won this time.

Why did you have to bring that game up!

I think that's still the only time they have ever qualified for europe and we lost to them, they've probably never beaten anyone else!

[1864roverite]

Andrews - Did okay, nothing special, but full of running again.

Well, before I start he did do something special. He missed a sitter from 7.2 yards out, missing the target by at least 35 feet (up and over the bar) when it was easier to hit the netting. In that one single moment he proved he cannot hack it at the LOWEST levels.

The travelling Leyland Branch set off from good old Chorley in good spirits, the boys reunited from our last European adventure as we headed Northbound in comfort. After a whistlestop chicken curry, chips and rice (Capt Mike indulged in Steak and Ale Pie) we continued through the frozen and barren lands of the A66 heading towards the footballing capital of the World, that hot bed of world class football, the one and only BARCODE LAND. Temperatures ranges from 1 deg to MINUS 8 as we reached Blyth at around 7pm, finding a nice parking space just down from the away end. Fans and locals very welcoming, no grief, no hassle, old bill content to let us roam without problems.

The game. The first half wasnt anything other than a dour, thrill less affair, the highlights being Sir Matty Derbyshire's overhead, offside own goal effort and the performance of Grella as he strives to get match fit. Players such as treacy and Judge failed to impress, carlos tried but for me there was far too many stray balls and not enough impetus. The defence wasnt troubled at all during the first 45 mins.

H/T 0-0

The second half didnt get any better. Highlights being Carlos's wonder goal which was superbly caught on camera by yours truly and the two efforts put blindingly wide by unmarked Blyth players when it was far easier to hit the target. Treacy, Judge and Derbyshire all failed to impress, the team got ragged as we took off Grella to be replaced by the clearly not impressive Andrews and Rovers struggled in general. Only Roberts came out with any credit for the second half. i am not going to comment on young Bunny as he appears to be one for the future, calm and clear headed.

F/t 0-1 and Rovers FA Cup adventure rolls on to the Stadium of Light later this month.

So what do we make of it ? I am not impressed at all that on a cold and freezing night the players just couldnt be ar$ed to give the fans a clap. Throughout the game we dispelled the myth that Blyth was an atmosphere akin to St James, the songs that were introduced took the mind off the frozen toes, runny noses and cold tootsies.

I cant be concerned too much with the scoreline, it was never ever going to be a walkover and at least we have a clean sheet and progress.

What did shock me was the manner at which some players just strolled around the pitch and didnt try. It was truly awful to see professionals who play at the highest level being dragged down the football league depths and playing like the Sunday morning ale headed players we see on Duxbury Park.

I pick out the following.

the Axe - rubbish

Treacy - didnt impress one single bit, spent more time on the floor than heskey.

Judge - didnt do anything worthwhile remembering.

Simpson and olsson - just didnt get forward enough.

GRELLA - MOTM

Vogel - was he playing ?

Carlos - for those who aint seen the goal, its wondrous

Derbyshire - awful

Andrews ? I know I have been critical but please please please, the miss from him is indefensible, truly shocking and he put the shytehawks in more danger than the goal.

Little old Blyth made some serious dosh out of their cup run, how good it is to see that the money will be re-invested into their clubhouse facilities. Good luck to them in the future.

Funniest moment, seeing the cardboard cut outs of des Lynham being banded around the Home end (oh yes as well as Andrews effort at goal !!).

BTW temperature reached MINUS 13 on the way home.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Grella terrible??

He never gave the ball away, dropped off, always available, talked well and organised, Rovers bossed the game whilst he was in midfield, as soon as Andrews came on we lost midfield, personally, I thought along with Bunn who looked useful and comfortable in all he did and perhaps Zurab, Grella was a big plus factor in the team and my man of the match until he went off!!

Gotta say that I agree - thought Grella showed a lot of what we have been missing. Maybe not eye-catching, but knitted together the midfield.

Bit surprised at some of the stick given to Rovers - IF we had taken our chances it would have been a far more respectible score line. We dominated virtually all of the match - very often it looking like a defence versus attack training match - which I think was most of the problem - nearly all modern premiership players (except the very best) need space to work in - we continually faced 10 men behind the ball - and it was difficult to break them down, especially with a bobbly pitch that didn't exactly aid a passing game.

Lets also give a little credit to Blyth Spartans - they kept going in a way that I never imagined - and showed great heart and defensive ability throughout. I bet a few of them are aching today though :-)

[DeadlyDirk]

Grella terrible??

He never gave the ball away, dropped off, always available, talked well and organised, Rovers bossed the game whilst he was in midfield, as soon as Andrews came on we lost midfield, personally, I thought along with Bunn who looked useful and comfortable in all he did and perhaps Zurab, Grella was a big plus factor in the team and my man of the match until he went off!!

I hold my hands up, I was half cut watching it and not giving it 100% attention, saw some of the 'highlights' today and think I was stupidly confusing Grella with Vogel! I standy that Vogel was terrible.

As I said though, all in all it wasn't a great performance but there are plenty of positives, we now have a nearly fully fit rested squad and are through to the next round, still unbeaten under BFS and another clean sheet.

[RevidgeBlue]

Sunderland next.

Anyone give a flying about tcup this season?

What was the score again?

Yes, me, with us struggling in the League, the FA Cup is the only competition left this season we can win, or at least have a bit of success in with a heroic run to the latter stages.

I'm not having any of this "The FA Cup is irrelevant this season" nonsense. Our performances in the FA Cup are not going to have an adverse bearing on our relegation scrap for one second. However if we were to have a good run, it could provide us with the sort of boost and impetus that kept us up when we won the Worthy Cup in our first season back up.

Tris had it right by saying we treated the competition with disrespect last night. I would go further and say we treated it with downright contempt. Four or five changes might have been reasonable, ELEVEN changes and barely any strength on the bench was taking the proverbial.

I didn't like it when Souness did it, I didn't like it when Hughes did it last season against Coventry when we got tubbed, and I'm certainly not going to start liking it now. I supported us for the best part of twenty years when we had no earthly chance of winning any of the Cups, now that we do have a fighting chance, for the life of me I can't understand why we wouldn't give EVERY Cup tie our very best shot.

[tony gale's mic]

Yes, me, with us struggling in the League, the FA Cup is the only competition left this season we can win, or at least have a bit of success in with a heroic run to the latter stages.

I'm not having any of this "The FA Cup is irrelevant this season" nonsense. Our performances in the FA Cup are not going to have an adverse bearing on our relegation scrap for one second. However if we were to have a good run, it could provide us with the sort of boost and impetus that kept us up when we won the Worthy Cup in our first season back up.

Tris had it right by saying we treated the competition with disrespect last night. I would go further and say we treated it with downright contempt. Four or five changes might have been reasonable, ELEVEN changes and barely any strength on the bench was taking the proverbial.

I didn't like it when Souness did it, I didn't like it when Hughes did it last season against Coventry when we got tubbed, and I'm certainly not going to start liking it now. I supported us for the best part of twenty years when we had no earthly chance of winning any of the Cups, now that we do have a fighting chance, for the life of me I can't understand why we wouldn't give EVERY Cup tie our very best shot.

And what if we played key players last night and they got injured? Bear in mind injuries in a game like last night's were always FAR more likely, with the opposition looking to scrap as much as they can, the quality/timing of tackles being poor and the pitch being the way it was. Then people would quite rightly have said Sam was irresponsible for risking our key players in a fixture like this one with the relegation fight we have on our hands.

I agree to a point about the bench strength but it's hardly that big an issue. The side Sam put out last night should have won comfortably, and had they performed anywhere near the levels to which they should have done then there's no way you would have made such an issue here. The fault was much more with the players, I'd say Sam's biggest error was putting two small men up front and then trying to hoof the ball up to them. That didn't make sense.