[Archived] Stoke City Preview 18th April

[JAL]

Cos I'm trying to tell the people how the game went today. Your match comments have been very helpful haven't they!

Was todays game really any different from the other games den.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Whatever happens you need to take a really long hard look at all levels of the club in the summer.

The team needs seven or eight new players.

The manager may not be the answer.

The board need to get their fingers out or pay for their complacency.

C'mon Nicko, you were quick to lift the veil on the shenanigans during the Ince regime - what's the scoop now? It's clear some of the senior players aren't doing it for Sam.

[RovertheHill]

The bottom line is this. I watched Darlington beat Rochdale on TV today and our midfield pairing of Mokoena and Andrews would not have stood out if they had played in that game. In fact, they would have blended right in. I ask all of you this - if you were Nelson or Samba or Givet or Ooijer would you pass it to one of those two or would you lump it up into the channels or to the striker? Especially when you've been spoilt in the past because you've been able to play it to Tugay or Bentley. I bloody well know what I'd do, regardless of what the manager had told me. It's a depressing thought that they are probably paid more in a month than most people are paid in a year for being shockingly mediocre.

[Guest Vinjay606]

If there is massive discord between senior management and players publicly revealing it probably wouldn't do much good at this stage. Most likely would only make things worse.

The board are in a comfort zone and the fans are letting them lie in it. It even needed the owners to get involved in sacking Ince.

[RevidgeBlue]

We are running on plan C at the moment. Plan A is to pick 2 strikers from 3 fit players, Plan B Pick 2 from 2, Plan C play the only fit striker we have. And apart from letting the weak Derbyshire go to bring in Diouff on the right that is not Allardyces fault. The club is skint and injuries TO KEY PLAYERS have hammered us.

As for the result today that was simply down to Paul Ince from beyond the grave.

You can't blame today. or last week, or our steadily deteriorating form on Ince Gordon.

I thought last week would surely have been the low point of the season, but today was no better.

Not one opening created, nor one shot on target today. Against Stoke FFS.

The problem at the moment imo, as I pointed out after the Spurs game, is that our players don't seem particularly suited to playing this "percentage football" dross that Sam seems to favour.

We have two players who can play wide, MGP and Diouf, so why not try and use them and get the ball in from wide areas instead of constantly hoofing the ball long in the air towards a centre back or a forward who needs the ball played to feet.

It isn't working. End of.

God knows where we'd have been without that outrageously lucky three points against Spurs. I like Sam as a personality but his method of play sucks big time and is sending us sleepwalking towards relegation with barely a whimper.

I honestly feel he needs to sit down with the senior players and between them thrash out a style of play they can manage, preferably one which involves them passing the ball to each other occasionally, and creating the odd chance through good play, not a lucky bounce.

[Tom]

This board isn't going to be a nice place to be for quite a while I imagine.

I know at present it's crap and we may well be lucky to survive but people denouncing their faith so to speak is ridiculous, all we can do from the side is get fully behind them all the way now.

Even if we go down I'll still be proud to be a Rover.

Not long to go why don't we get behind them as the boys did today and we may be able to roar them on to safety starting next Sunday?

Whats there to lose?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

What do you think we are going to do on Sunday then TCO, boo them onto the pitch?

The fans ARE doing their upmost for the team and club but are not seeing a return from the players....not a good situation at all.

Lets just pray we get a responce thats deserving of our support against Wigan.....there should be a decent crowd in attendance.

[chris]

I broke my metatarsel a month ago and I'm still three weeks off playing (still won player of the season mind)

So I don't see Roberts back anytime soon, not only that my legs getting weak and losing fitness

Sadly I think we will have to rely on possibility the most famous sick note in the world 3.2 million Santa Cruz

Can see why he was so cheap

I really notiiced how bad Andrews was today, poor player

[Tom]

Good point Garners, I'm just trying not to get too downbeat even if it does look bleak right now.

I just want this season over one way or another it's been a nightmare, one week we look safe enough then we're right back in the mire.

I normally hate it when the seasons over but this one can't come soon enough.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

And I couldn't agree more with you there TCO.....this is one to truly forget.

[Eddie]

Whatever happens you need to take a really long hard look at all levels of the club in the summer.

The team needs seven or eight new players.

The manager may not be the answer.

The board need to get their fingers out or pay for their complacency.

You may not know this or may not be able to divulge the information if you do, but do you know if there is any sort of clause in Allardyce's contract and also is the board getting very worried about this situation or do they just view the club as a lame duck regardless of the division or the threat of relegation?

[John]

Just got back, feeling pretty gone after numerous beers/whiskeys. Thought the team worked hard but there was a lack of quality against an average team.

I was sitting near the front and the players looked a bit shell-shocked as they came off. Gamst did not look too chuffed with the fans reaction. Diouf had a right go at Andrews after they scored.

Too drunk to post much more at this stage but we are right up against it.....

[RevidgeBlue]

The other thing that annoyed me about today was that Sam came on the radio after the game and apparently said something like he would have been "delighted" with a 0-0 but it wasn't to be.

That just isn't good enough in our position. We need wins and if a 0-0 is the extent of your ambitions, then the other side scores, you're knackered.

One further thing worried me. Phil Brown was interviewed and said confidently: "We have the character and ability to get out of this."

The interviewer asked Sam if he was mentally prepared for it going right down to the wire, and he said "I hope the players are ready for it."

"Hope?"

[sambo]

I made sure I gave the players a bit of stick, I am sure MGP saw me gesturing at him for his absolutely horrendous performance. Big Sam shouldn't be going to Stoke and playing for a draw, that is criminal and his lack of striking options at the end was horrific. Most fans are fuming that I've spoken too, can't believe a lot at the top clapped them off.

Robinson 5 Not much to do, could have saved the goal perhaps?

Ooijer 7 Didn't do a lot wrong

Nelsen 7 Solid

Samba 7 Was good til he went up front.

Givet 7 Solid

Andrews 4 This guy is pathetic, I used to stick up for him but you can give him stick now to your heart's content.

Mokoena 4 Can't pass. Joke.

Pedersen 4 Can't cross, made a horrendous pass during one attack when we could have scored.

McCarthy 5 Left on his own, no support.

Diouf 7 Thank god for some effort.

Villenueva - Why hoof it to a five footer? Stupidity.

Dunn - Didn't have time to influence the game.

Big Sam 0/10....pathetic tactics. Clueless when they scored. Samba is a defender, we are relying too much on him for corners and thrown ins and therefore creating nothing!

[Blue n White Rover]

Rubbish performance.

Great atmosphere, I was disappointed by the Stoke fans after all the hype they got. We kept them quiet all through out. What an earth Keith Andrews was playing at I will never know. Get rid of the god damn ball!!

He cost us the point. We seriously need to do something in the summer, we need quality all throughout the team. Defence is looking good, it's just the midfield that is letting us down.

Villanueva put in a decent shift when he came on but nothing special.

The worrying thing is that most members on here think we can win our next 3 home games, but I don't think they know we've won 4 all season, so what an earth gives them the impression we're going to win 3 on the trot I will never know.

This is how I see it panning out for Rovers:

Wigan - Draw

City - Win

Pompey - Draw

Chelsea - Lose

WBA - Win

That leaves us on 42 points. Which hopefully should see us safe. Boro' have Liverpool and United in their next 2 fixtures, providing they lose both of them we need to creat a gap between us and them, currently it is 3 points, so hopefully, after they've played them 2 we'll have a 7 point cushion on them, with 3 to play. It's just that final relegation spot. It's between Newcastle, Rovers, Sunderland and Hull.

Just another quick note. I thought Ryan Nelsen was absoloutly magnificent today. He deserves special praise because he won everything in the air and put in some great tackles. Didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

Squeeky squeeky squeeky bum time now!!

[DanLad]

Just got back, feeling pretty gone after numerous beers/whiskeys. Thought the team worked hard but there was a lack of quality against an average team.

I was sitting near the front and the players looked a bit shell-shocked as they came off. Gamst did not look too chuffed with the fans reaction. Diouf had a right go at Andrews after they scored.

Too drunk to post much more at this stage but we are right up against it.....

Lack of quality. Lack of cutting edge.

Disappointed. They were average and so were we.

MGP needs to get angry. He plays far better when he's got some fire in his belly.

Andrews misplaced pass lead to them breaking down the left and, as a result, the goal.

[Eddie]

The other thing that annoyed me about today was that Sam came on the radio after the game and apparently said something like he would have been "delighted" with a 0-0 but it wasn't to be.

That just isn't good enough in our position. We need wins and if a 0-0 is the extent of your ambitions, then the other side scores, you're knackered.

One further thing worried me. Phil Brown was interviewed and said confidently: "We have the character and ability to get out of this."

The interviewer asked Sam if he was mentally prepared for it going right down to the wire, and he said "I hope the players are ready for it."

"Hope?"

He clearly thinks this is all a bit beneath him.

[LDRover]

After the Spurs game I didn't think we could get any worse, I was wrong. After the Liverpool game I thought we couldn't play any worse...wrong again!!

That's now 270 consecutive minutes of pure bilge served up with no sign of an end to it. Yes, there are injuries and we are woefully short on strikers BUT Allardyce has given little cause for optimism with the tactics he has employed, particularly in the last 7 or 8 games.

There are lots of reasons why the club finds itself where it is right now, one cannot ignore the Ince debacle, the lack of investment over a number of years and the current list of injuries, however, Allardyce has to shoulder a lot of the blame too. The football is negative, one dimensional and inflexible and the players we do have at our disposal can obviously not fit in with the 'style' of play such as it is.

Although it looks bleak we may well, by some miracle, still stay up this season - but it'll be more luck than judgement if we do. The old saying is that one would rather be lucky than good, IMO Allardyce isn't good I just hope he's lucky.

[Billinge End Blue]

Didn't see the match at the Britannia or on dodgy sat tv but as iamarover has sagaciously noted - " The bells of doom toll solemnly "; he also had a few choice words about Keith Andrews and his contribution that I daren't relay here...

Anyway, what was anyone doing thinking positively prior to this game - We are the Rovers and we will always do things the hard way...

[roversmum]

So, so disappointed. It was great seeing all the fans boarding the coaches, all up for the match. The team could not have wished for better support, who cheered them from their coach when they arrived at Stoke and sang throughout the match.

I knew we were doomed when I saw Mokoena on the field. I shall be amazed if Stoke still want to buy him after that performance. However. Stoke bullied and shoved their way through the first half, a kick here, a push there, most of it unseen by the ref and I think that instead of standing up to it as they used to, and giving as good as they got the lads tried to avoid it in the second half which obviously did not help matters. I would like to have seen Grella on instead of Moko, he seemed okay and did well in the Reserve match so why not?

Misery compounded by fans in seats in front of the disabled area, standing and refusing point blank to sit down because others were standing in front of them - thanks guys. In the second half we were joined by several other fans who stood behind us and decided to have a crafty smoke. Thanks again, lads There were also a couple of youngish lads behind the area who helped my education - I had no idea that the "F" word could be used in so many ways. Pity it was just about the only word they knew.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

[nicko]

C'mon Nicko, you were quick to lift the veil on the shenanigans during the Ince regime - what's the scoop now? It's clear some of the senior players aren't doing it for Sam.

I don't think it's a case of senior players not playing for the manager. Some of them are just not good enough.

The defence was pretty good today. Robinson had one of his better days until the goal, Ooijer was a credit, Samba stood his ground, Nelsen was very good, Givet just a bit flat-footed for the goal.

The midfield is dreadful. Andrews out wide was a mystery, Mokoena just cannot play, Warnock is not a midfielder, Pedersen is soft.

Diouf makes a good cheerleader but also a flatterer.

McCarthy is a liability. How any pro can let himself get unfit DURING a season is beyond me.

Dunny is unfit by his own admission, Tugay is probably not a fan of this 'style' of play.

The only dissent I have heard is from the Roque camp.

Got a good story about his future in the People tomorrow.

Funny...suddenly it seems good news that there might be a buyer for a player who was a hero a year ago.

Time for a massive change, no matter whether you stay up or not.

[cn174]

Villanueva put in a decent shift when he came on but nothing special.

Might've been better had we not continued to hoof balls up to him.

I think I could deal with the whole long ball/set piece tactics IF we were any bloody good at them!! But we hoof the ball up to our small strikers, and if we do happen to get a flick on there's nobody there. We are diabolical at corners and our long throw ins are just predictable. And it obviously isn't working - if it was maybe we'd have a shot on goal now and then!

[roversmum]

Don't think anyone would argue with you there, Nicko.

[sambo]

Lets say we go down on the final day.... what will you do? I'll probably get all emotional, but I can sense a tirade at the players. I always fear our fans don't voice their discontent enough, the players need to know when we're let down. Btw Pedersen is a disgrace, I hope the fans let him know.

[Blue n White Rover]

I don't think it's a case of senior players not playing for the manager. Some of them are just not good enough.

The defence was pretty good today. Robinson had one of his better days until the goal, Ooijer was a credit, Samba stood his ground, Nelsen was very good, Givet just a bit flat-footed for the goal.

The midfield is dreadful. Andrews out wide was a mystery, Mokoena just cannot play, Warnock is not a midfielder, Pedersen is soft.

The only dissent I have heard is from the Roque camp.

Got a good story about his future in the People tomorrow.

Funny...suddenly it seems good news that there might be a buyer for a player who was a hero a year ago.

Time for a massive change, no matter whether you stay up or not.

Spot on.

There is a contract clause in Roque's contract, so does that mean we do not have to accept anything under £18million?

If no one comes in for him with £18million will Rovers keep him or is he definately going this season?

It's easy to point at our midfield, but which players are we going to buy, we won't be able to find another Tugay, I don't know of a cheap and decent Left Winger. So money MUST be spent.