[Archived] Blackburn Vs. Everton (preview)

[Eddie]

His hand was forced with the Mokoena substitution because Tugay was already in the midfield, it would have been suicidal to put Dunn alongside him against Everton's midfield. There are plenty of posts (and I think even a devoted topic) about how useless Tugay and Dunn are together at the best of times, nevermind against a team that packs the centre of the park with players.

Then why did he bring Tugay on for Grella and not bring on Dunn or Mokoena then? Either way, he cocked it up.

[RibbleValleyRover]

I said I would have taken a point before the game based on how well Everton are doing in terms of league position and performances but after watching the game I am disappointed that we didn't go for all three points. That Everton side could have been beaten last night.

There was too much long ball stuff in my view, everytime the defense or midfield got the ball they hoofed it up to Roberts or Roque. This style of passing made us predictable and easy to defend against.

When Roberts got through one on one with the keeper I just looked away as I knew he was going to miss it. I just wished it was Roque in that position…

I though the back four looked very solid and restricted Everton to few chances. Brown also had a decent game IMO, came for crosses well and made that superb save against Pienaar.

In midfield only Diouf stood out for me, he tried to take the man on and got us some freekicks in decent areas. Its still early days with Diouf but I think if we can get out of trouble and get some real confidence in the side then he will become more influential in games.

Roque I thought worked really hard with little service, his hold up play and passing accuracy was superb. You just feel if we can get him some decent service he will put the ball into the back of the net.

In regards to the formation I thought it worked in the first half pretty well, but when we changed formation to a 4-4-2 Everton looked stronger and had more chances to open us up. This long ball stuff is worrying though, if it’s the only way of us getting goalscoring chances then its going to be tough to stay up IMO.

I would also look to include Benni more in games even though it’s debatable if he can play with Roque and vice versa. He is a natural finisher and is more likely to score goals than Roberts.

[allrovertheworld]

This was what got me most depressed. When Givet was injured Allardyce was faced with the chance to slot Warnock back into left-back (which he was going to have to do) and change the side round (by bringing on either Dunn or McCarthy) and instead he chose to give up any chance of a win and bring on Mokoena. A manager can prepare his team during the week, but his only chance to really influence a game during the running is through his substitutions, so far I can only think of Allardyce's substitutions as having lost us points.

Do you not understand that it was an enforced change? Why on earth would Sam change his tatics because a player goes off injured?

[Eddie]

Grella was a forced change, but that doesn't mean he is forced to bring on Tugay; or is there something in the contracts I don't know about? He could have quite easily brought on Dunn or Mokoena for Grella. Equally, against the Everton team we were up against, I think a midfield of Andrews, Dunn, Tugay and Diouf would have been as effective as Tugay, Mokoena, Andrews and Diouf.

[USABlue]

That was one of the most painful football matches to watch I have seen for a long time. Play like that much more and we are doomed, just looked at the upcoming games and if we don't take three points from Fulham we are in big trouble. I'm getting nervier by the game and I am not liking this hoofball we seem to be playing, we aren't even good at it.

[modes98]

We are far too negative. This is Allardyce football.

Rubbish. We just haven't got the central midfield to be able to support the forwards/wingers. Dunn is the only one capable and he isn't fit for half the season. Manager after manager have refused to take a chance on young midfield players and we are paying the price now.

[JAL]

Rubbish. We just haven't got the central midfield to be able to support the forwards/wingers. Dunn is the only one capable and he isn't fit for half the season. Manager after manager have refused to take a chance on young midfield players and we are paying the price now.

Totally agree modes98, Eddie is way off the mark, you can only do what you can do with what you've got and then the opposition have to be slack and allow you to run a mock, Everton were never going to allow that .

[Presty On Tour]

The bottom line is that it's another point towards survival. Even if it was a 4-4 roller coaster, we would still have a point.

The performance doesn't really bother me, the game really needed a goal but at 0-0 both teams looked content with a draw.

We could have won it if Warnock's free kick was a little lower or if Jase decided to take tips of his own one on one video. I don't think anyone has said but Mokoena had a great chance with a header from about 6 yards in the center of the goals.

Everton had few chances but I thought Brown and the defense were very good.

One last point on the substitutes, if we had thrown on Benni and Dunn there we may have pulled 3 points out of the hat or we could have got sucker punched and ended up with nothing. It was a gamble I thought Sam should of taken as we were at home but he made it clear that he wanted to keep the point safe by bringing on the Axe.

The injury to Brown late in the game was clearly a worry. Luckily Everton didn't hit the target to test him but surely we should of subbed him if he wasn't 100% If they had scored late on due to the injury with a fit keeper on the bench, it would have been a disaster.

[Fraserkirky]

Thought Warnock was immense in the first half, we looked so much stronger with the 4 monster's at the back and a runner like warnock in midfield. Andrews was also good in the first half, but looked like I would, playing out there in the second half!

The formation in the first have was excellent and i liked playing three up top with them all rotating positions. Not sure what McCarthy's done wrong, best finisher at the club and not even a look in when we are desperate for a goal. Givet going off really hurt us. Top player ! Get him signed now.

Think we all expected Roberts to miss that chance.

Fulham away, we need three points desperately. Can't believe Hull and Stoke both won yesterday, that was a hoof in the nuts.

Still think it's gonna be West Brom and 2 of Newcastle,Boro,Pompey and Hull.

Another thing everyone complaining about the stlye of football last night, we all knew this is BS way and that we were never gonna play pretty football. We don't have the midfield to play nice football unfortunatly.

[Jonnolad]

Sometimes football matches make the head swim with emotions-delight, ecstasy, despair, surprise and relief . They can make you question the whole meaning of your life, such is the force created by a rollicking roller-coaster tidal wave of excitement that The Beautiful Game can sometimes bring.

However, last night was not such an occasion. My head did swim briefly, but that was with the pain caused by sitting in a plastic seat 100 foot up in the sub zero East Lancs winter air, surrounded by a teenage girl on one side who appeared to be trying to set a world record for the amount of text messages sent during a football match and a bloke on he other with a strong London accent confusing the hell out of me by talking about Rovers long and glorious past.

So the game came and went, I was reminded by Keith Andrews of how Robbie Savage used to play for us, briefly; I never even took my hands out of my pocket in anticipation of celebration when Roberts approached the Everton goal with only the keeper to beat, and I shrugged unsurprisingly when I saw the full time scores from all our rivals matches showed that they had all won.

PIE WATCH

So cold was I last night, I bit the bullet (almost literally) and bought a "pie" at half time.

Now I know what a Chicken Balti is, and I know what a pie is, but I'm not sure how those words ended up together on the wrapper of a pie I bought last night, as there was a large incongruity being exhibited there. Note to manufacturer-putting ten sugars and an OXO in a Chicken pie does not a Balti make.

Final Score Rovers 0 Stewards 0.

Cracking review - one of the best I've ever read in fact

[Jonnolad]

Thought Warnock was immense in the first half, we looked so much stronger with the 4 monster's at the back and a runner like warnock in midfield. Andrews was also good in the first half, but looked like I would, playing out there in the second half!

I think we can safely say that Keith is never going to be starting wide right - once he was there when we went to 4-4-2 he seemed to completely lose the plot, bless.

[Iceman]

Roberts needs to sort himself out. He works hard, but yet again a one on one chance and he stuffs it up. It was a difficult one, but its moments like that miss that might define our season.

[BRFC1995]

Under Ince we got 14 points from 17 games - 0.83 a game. So far under Allardyce we have 13 from 10 - 1.3 per game. A similar return from tha last 11 games would give us another 14 points - 41 in total. Probably just enough but no room for error.

13pts from 17 inces proud record of failure

[wellesbourne]

Yeah looking on those bet comparison sites the bookies are backing us for 14th place (with Portsmouth, Hull, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Stoke then West brom in that order below us.. given the run ins I dont think its that far fetched and hell they make their money getting these odds close to correct).. guess I would be happy with that given the position we have been in all season... The worst odds on us I can find are 10/3 for relegation, thats pretty much 3 to 1 which is still a decent margin especially considering we are in the bottom 3 now.

The bookies never have to sit through what we have to week in week out. Good job there are some other very ppor sides this year. The 5/1 safety met on Betfair - which i am on - will be scant consolation when we are carrying the coffing back around Bamber Bridge.

[RevidgeBlue]

If we are still 5/1 on Betfair I'd have thought there's some profit to be made there, as we'll surely be lower than that at some point before the end of the season and it can be laid off at a profit.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

That was one of the most painful football matches to watch I have seen for a long time. Play like that much more and we are doomed, just looked at the upcoming games and if we don't take three points from Fulham we are in big trouble. I'm getting nervier by the game and I am not liking this hoofball we seem to be playing, we aren't even good at it.

Agreed.An Everton side who were there for the taking and we put in an attacking performance with about as much effect as someone trying to knock a rusty nail in with their nob......so frustrating AND painful to watch!

Lets not bullshyte ourselves here,this team needs to put a winning run of results together to get out of this mess(we simply CANT rely on others to mess up) and do performances like last night honestly inspire confidence in our ability to do just that?...go on be honest with yourself.

Why do we have probably our only creative(debatable at best) midfield player on the bench when all and sundry know how literally talentless we are in that position?.No guile,no drive,no creativity from our engine room could well be our downfall this sorry season.

All's I can say is its going to be so,so close come the seasons end,shyte or bust!

[Exiled_Rover]

Dunn and Tugay are our creative midfielders, however one's a crock and the other is 90. It's an issue that's needed fixing for a long time, but you can't blame the manager for how he's handling the situation at present. It's not his fault we're where we are.

[rover6]

I just hope that Allardyce is adopting these tactics out of necessity.

However, based on his record, I believe that these are his tactics of choice.

Diouf is Allardyce's wet dream. Has some technical skill, is physical, aggressive and will squirm around for free kicks. However, he is nothing special and it is a very sad reflection of our team that he is showing up as one of our best performers.

[Paul]

OK Paul, anyone..If Everton had put their full first team out, would we have won?

dave like one or two others I'm not quite following you on this one. If, as I think, you're suggesting my assessment of Moyes and Everton is wrong I can only say I've seen all the games with them at Ewood since Moyes took over. In that time they've failed, in my view, to produce a decent performance or to show any creative instincts. I don't watch much football other than what I see at Ewood. I vaguely watch MOTD as I snooze on the Saturday night sofa but that's about it, and usually only if I think there's a decent chance the Rovers will feature. So perhaps I'm not in a good positon to judge Everton, though I'd argue if they turn up with same approach 7 or 8 times running it can't be coincidence that Blackburn gets treated to all their poor or injury wracked performances? Either that or the thought of a trip to Ewood terrifies half the squad!!!!

As for putting out the full team, I just don't know. Wasn't this their full team? I've no idea who was missing because other than Howard, Neville and Cahill I couldn't readily name an Everton player.I have heard they played a number of games recently without a recognised striker because of injuries. I think Everton are best summed up the fact I was not even aware Jo was on the pitch until he was subbed. This is a player I've heard radio commentators say is enjoying a new lease of life in his loan spell from City. He was anonymous.

The other side of your point, should we have been more adventurous and taken the game to them? Well I agree with you except for my original observation if Everton had gone 1-0 we would have lost. Therefore I agree with Sam's tactics of keeping the point we started the game with. This was a bonus point.

Several people have suggested this was a terrble game. Not sure I'd agree with that view. Ewood was freezing last night, I was cold and tired - in fact at 7.30 I had to force myself away from a warm fire to go to the ground. Under those circumstances I usually find poor games drag on and on but I found myself enjoying the match. It wasn't great football by any stretch, we could haved won and only when Saha came on did I start to worry Everton might nick it.

[dave birch]

Paul, the point I was trying to make, (not very well it seems) was that this was a game we should have gone all out to win.

Agree entirely that Everton play a dire sort of game (most of the times I've seen them), but with their main creative player out along with several others, it was an ideal time to get the 3 points.

[LeChuck]

I've no idea who was missing because other than Howard, Neville and Cahill I couldn't readily name an Everton player.

You hardly sound qualified to be making a sound judgement on Everton and Moyes, Paul - that's probably why so many people are disagreeing with you. If you can't even put Arteta (one of the Premiership's finest attacking midfielders) in that list then your knowledge of them must be pretty dire. Yakubu has been towards the top end of the Premiership goalscoring charts for the last four or five years as well.

[Brfcrule1]

am really hacked off after this I think the best thing we can do is sell roberts to some championship side and cut our losses as I feel chances like that will define our season I am surprised has he never heard of lifting the ball over the keeper and have to say had that been any of our other strikers Benni,Rocky, even Derbs & Gally would have stuck that one away lets hope this doesn't come back to haunt us.

[joey_big_nose]

am really hacked off after this I think the best thing we can do is sell roberts to some championship side and cut our losses as I feel chances like that will define our season I am surprised has he never heard of lifting the ball over the keeper and have to say had that been any of our other strikers Benni,Rocky, even Derbs & Gally would have stuck that one away lets hope this doesn't come back to haunt us.

Problem is none of our other strikes apart from possibly Cruz would create that chance. None of them have the pace or the power.

[Hughesy]

How can people criticise our tactics? We are 18th, they are 6th. Yet they played as much, if not more long ball than us. They just lumped it up to Jo and Cahill hoping they would win a header, which they never managed mainly thanks to Samba.

Cant believe Nelsen got MOM, when Samba was clearly our Rock, not him!!!

As for Everton 1st teamers out. They had Yakubu who has been out for months, and Arteta. We had Reid, Dunn, Pedersen

You have to ask yourselves. Would you rather we took 1 point or None.

[Fife Rover]

It was awful Fife.

No Den it was not awful. What it actually was, was a match between two teams that each for different reasons saw it as a "must not lose" match. This does not augur well for pretty football, but rather it produces a "do or die" battling type of match which it certainly was. But to describe it "awful" or "dire" is just plain wrong. It was a real cliff-hanger and it left my nerves in a state that they have not been in for a very long time. It was just as though I was taking part myself with me playing every position in the Rovers team at once. I was willing them to get to every tackle and 2nd ball. I tell you it did not do my nervous disposition any good at all.