[Archived] Blackburn Rovers V Portsmouth

[RevidgeBlue]

What was wrong with Samba's disallowed goal?

Riley blew the second the corner came over but I didn't think there was too much wrong?

I've only seen it once in real-time. Looked like James knocked it over towards Pedersen before Samba crashed into him.

I thought it was a foul in real time but watching the replays, wasn't so sure.

Looked like James bottled out of the challenge to me.

[67splitscreen]

Yes today was all about gaining more points, but we could not have had an easier 3 points, Pompey where totally useless. not sure why they bothered to turn up.

Amputation is needed. To many in the comfort zone.

On todays performance. Crouch, your having a laugh, have a look in Nelson's back pocket.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A big thank you to Sam and this team for turning around what was becoming a nightmare of a season.Sam has climbed that mountain left by Ince and planted the famous blue 'n' white flag on its summit.....mission accomplished!

Well done again to the fans today

[1864roverite]

no one has mentioned it so far so here goes.

Anyone who watched the game think that the introduction of Pennant gave them a different edge ?

He clearly still has pace to burn.

He can beat players with ease.

He is FREE yes FREE to his next club.

Go get him Sam and sign Givet on as well.

[Billy Castell]

Anyone fancy doing a banner in French saying 'We want you to stay Givet'?

Oh, and I don't think Pennant has been playing that well for Portsmouth. I may be wrong though, and he may also stop being a big time Charlie and ask for reasonable wages.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Good shout Roverite,I wouldn't say no to Pennant in our side either.

[riverside returns]

If you saw pennant warming up at half time at the darwen end, he found it incredibly hard to hit a ball in the right direction, all fancy flicks and turns but no real end product. How many crosses did he make to his own team mates?

[DE.]

What was wrong with Samba's disallowed goal?

Riley blew the second the corner came over but I didn't think there was too much wrong?

Apparently MGP was impeding James. Haven't seen it again so I'm not sure as to the validity of that.

[RovertheHill]

Portsmouth have the players to be a lot better than they clearly have been - very disappointing today. Good

Highlight for me today was the second half when Portsmouth gave Tugay loads of space. When will teams learn - the old maestro dictated the play. We mixed it up a lot better today - some good football as well as long balls to Samba.

Very happy tonight - can actually watch match choice and MOTD!

[Iceman]

What was the attendance like? 25000+? Or just under that?

[1864roverite]

Just under 25000.

24,300 and odd with a paltry effort from Pompy.

[1864roverite]

Can't recall. I'd gues it was 23k-24k. Pompey's following was awful (just as well for them) considering the ticket prices were only £20 or so? Think they charge £35 whenever we go down there!

Thrilled with the win! Thoguht Tugay should have been awarded MotM. Don't forget it's still a possibility that by some freak of nature we lose our last two fixtures and other teams win theirs. I'm not saying it's likely to happen but never say never (apart from No Nay Never).

yes Hull would have to leather Man u without conceding AND win at Bolton.

Boro would have to win 3 and score at least 8 goals without conceding and hope Rovers hip a shedful and lose to Chelsea and WBA.

Barcodes would have to win all 3 and even if they did Boro couldnt catch us !

Sunderland need 2 wins and have chelsea to play last game.

So you can see the potential mathematics and all that....it will NEVER happen ina million years NOT even to our beloved BRFC who we know, always do the easythings the hard way.

[Hannah]

Liking the flags today but was the N suppose to be back to front???

[joey_big_nose]

no one has mentioned it so far so here goes.

Anyone who watched the game think that the introduction of Pennant gave them a different edge ?

He clearly still has pace to burn.

He can beat players with ease.

He is FREE yes FREE to his next club.

Go get him Sam and sign Givet on as well.

I think Pennat is a good player but he is a absolute knob jockey. I don't think he will sign for anyone for less than 60k a week and there is no way we can justify that sort of cash on someone like him, even if he is free.

Diouff is doing a great job on the right in a 442 - esepcailly considering nominally he is supposed to be a forward. Works his socks off, decent delivery, tracks back, dangerous in the box, a couple of tricks, physical. I think the Senegalese will be our first choice right winger next year. 2m was a bargain for him, I can see him getting a lot better for us. A superior player to Pennant imo.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Don't forget it's still a possibility that by some freak of nature we lose our last two fixtures and other teams win theirs. I'm not saying it's likely to happen but never say never (apart from No Nay Never).

Sleep well tonight El Tombro!

[Stuart]

Liking the flags today but was the N suppose to be back to front???

I think it is. I remember there being lots of backward N's in the promotional wording for the Pompey game - when they were advertising 'Friends of Season Ticket Holders for £10'.

Is it something to do with Portsmouth being owned by that Gaydamak bloke?

[bobsterbrfc]

i imagine it's supposed to be a 'soviet bloc' / siege mentality style font...

[Tango]

Just got back. Thought we were bloody brilliant today and played like a team that didn't look as though it had the threat of relegation hanging over them. It was only at 2-0 when we it seemed as if the team was unsure about whether to go for a third or stick with what we had that a few cracks appeared, but on the whole the team were excellent. Givet and Nelsen were immense at the back, but Givet in particular - he was unbeatable, a world class display I thought and my MOTM. Tugay pulled the strings in midfield, backed up by the industrious Grella (even if his final ball is lacking somewhat) and Diouf and Pedersen did a good job of nulifying their full backs and supporting the front two. The only disappointing performance was from Warnock, who gave the ball away countless times and failed to get good crosses in when he had the opportunity. Still, a mild criticism on what was a great result and very, very welcome 3 points!

Oh, one other thing, thought Riley was abysmal on most of the decisions for either side, though both the penalties looked clear cut. I did like Utaka's impression of Diana Ross, very impressive.

[Hannah]

i imagine it's supposed to be a 'soviet bloc' / siege mentality style font...

Oh well, it was totally lost on me! Just thought it was a printing mistake!!! The noise sticks have the N thje right way around!

[Iceman]

Oh well, it was totally lost on me! Just thought it was a printing mistake!!! The noise sticks have the N thje right way around!

Shouldnt really bother you Hannah, because we WON! Yippeee lol and we staying up! Yippeee again!

[Hannah]

Shouldnt really bother you Hannah, because we WON! Yippeee lol and we staying up! Yippeee again!

You forget I'm a teacher and I am forever correcting the children's work! It's like the Arsenal shirts in Europe this week when the names don't begin with a capital letter!!

But that aside you are right - woooo hoooo!!!! We won!!!!!

[Stuart]

You forget I'm a teacher and I am forever correcting the children's work! It's like the Arsenal shirts in Europe this week when the names don't begin with a capital letter!!

You must have been really upset with Betnley and Satna Cruz then!

[philipl]

Far far easier win than the 2-0 scoreline suggests.

Samba is no forward in his movement but wow can he hold the ball well on the ground. Benni and Diouf showed fantastic touches, Tugay was the midfield master and Nelsen excelled at the back. What a great day (good to meet several MB members as well) and how good to feel a buzzing atmosphere throughout Ewood. Pompey were comprehensively outplayed although they did put by far the best move of the afternoon when the ball was eventually crossed/shot just wide and Hreidarson arriving late (like he had done for every challenge all afternoon) collided with the post. From very early on, Crouch started dropping deep and that was effectively that as far as a challenge from them was concerned- did they have as much as one shot on target?

All tremendous stuff so sorry to mention some negatives.

1) The game was played without a referee- no bad thing given the poor standard of reffing this season. Unfortunately we were Rileyed instead- a putrid mucous green excescance frequently interupting what fluidity there was by giving random decisions in Pompey's favour. OK as blatant a deliberate penalty area handball was awarded but Riley evened things up when Keith Andrews right buttock took the sting of a Pompey shot to conceed as ludicrous a penalty as can have been awarded this season. Utaka at least had the decency to chip the thing into the Family Members area.

2) Grella- not good enough, sorry

3) Warnock- one man competition for worst pass under least amount of pressure won gold, silver, bronze, highly commended and an aspidistra. Well done stephen!

4) Diouf has lost all pace he used to have. Very peculiar for a 28 year old but understandable if he is 34 as some have El Hajed that his birth certificate is not exactly pukkah.

N back to front is pronounced like a hard "i" in Russian. Now if the club had handed out free Blackburis....

[ABBEY]

riley knob

ROVERS PROUD OF THEM AGAIN TODAY....................

TUGAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ONE MORE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blue blood]

Well two home games on the bounce that I've been to and won - I could get used to this!

I thought up until our first goal it was pretty dire to be honest, and the only thing worse than the play - from both teams - was the blasted portsmouth "musical" support. I'm all for chanting and atmosphere but the drum and bell were just plain annoying from about the 5th minute onwards and rarely stopped.

After the goal - which came from out of the blue, we hadn't had many good moves, rovers dominated and there was only one team going to win. We placed some nice football at times, we played some very effective long balls, and the grit and determination was there for all to see. We deserved our second, and although portsmouth came back strongly towards the end, rovers deservedly held on.

The biggest difference for me was TEAM SPIRIT.

From the hugging and celebrating of the players at the end (and their performance on the pitch) it's clear that they enjoy playing together and for each other. The likes of Robbo, Nelsen, Diouf and the rest - including the legend that is Tugs - celebrations showed that they have a real pride in playing for the club. The team spirit so evidently missing at the JJB a mere 5 months ago was clear for all to see.

What really heartened me was that this was seen in Givet, who was celebrating like he'd won the cup. He seems really settled here and his delight in playing for the team was evident. Added to which he was simply awsome again. We must, must, must sign him up. Sheer quality. How he didn't get man of the match I don't know.

Actually I do, Benni running and tracking back was a rare but encouraging sight. And penalty aside he had a pretty decent game. In fact pretty much all the rovers team did.

I thought Andrews looked a bit suspect at right back - not his preferred position - but as we got on top of the game his vulnerability seemed to fade.

Grella I can't make up my mind on. Tidy would be the best way to describe him. Not sure he's £4m worth of talent but he seems decent enough and can pass the ball better than all bar Tugs who were available for the cm berth.

Samba - not a striker but an immense effort up front. Clearly knackered by 70 mins he kept going. Credit to him for sticking at his difficult job (causing problems) and doing so well at it.

A couple of other observations. Firstly I was really suprised by the penalty. Didn't have a great view from the Darwin End, but when the ball hit Andrews I didn't think "will this be a pen" and fully expected play to continue. Seemed a poor decision imo.

Secondly as others have commented - Tugs at the end seemed to be saying farewell. Seems a tad premature to me, but perhaps he realises he may only run out on the ewood turf one more time (hopefully 2 for a testimonial) and wants to say savour every last moment of his rovers career. Hope this is the case.

All in all job done. I'm no statto but the odds against us going down must be now something like a trillion to one. Job done, let's see how high we can climb and take a huge sigh of relief. Big Sam's blue and white army!