[Archived] End Of Season Review

[Drummer Boy]

Most improved player - Paul Robinson. From looking a shadow of his former self when he arrived, we now have a man rediscovered, ten years younger than his predecessor, every prospect of being as accomplished and likely to resume his international career.

Most disappointing player - Roque Santa Cruz. We expected so much after last season's exploits, but he failed to turn up for most of the season and I doubt he was particularly keen to get fit

High point - Wigan at home, especially when Robinson made those two saves in front of the BBE - the moment player and fans bonded and we could see the fight in our team

Low point - Wigan away. I suppose it helped determine what had become apparent to all about the manager at the time

Best piece of business - getting £15m for David Bentley. He was always good but not that good - if he were Arsenal would have kept him

Worst piece of business - Not selling Roque in January (hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?)

Newcomer of the year - Sam Allardyce. It hasn't been pretty but a job had to be done with a cruel injury list and I believe he is determined to show there is more to him than the direct approach. With the talent available to him, next season will be his opportunity to do just that.

Outstanding contribution - a certain Turk, anyone?

New cult hero - El Hadji Diouf. The man bristles attitude, a fierce desire to win and a clear tendency for unorthodoxy

Overall player of the season - Warnock. Is there a better left-back qualified to play for England at the moment? I think not

Least disappointing departure - Mokoena. A liability from day one and not one of Sparky's most inspired pieces of business

Most disappointing departure - Roque Santa Cruz. Very much a case of what could have been, I'm afraid as he is a superb player

Player most like to see that's realistic - Jonathan Greening. Less injury prone than some of our incumbents and at the heart of everything WBA did well

Player least like to see that's realistic - Joey Barton. A psycho jailbird who even took time to square up to his own team mates at Ewood - a thoroughly unpleasant individual of limited value to any team environment that requires players to be representatives of the club and role models in the community

Missing in action - Reid and Dunn. These joint winners would trip over a blade of grass and be off for a month

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - Chris Samba & Benni McCarthy.

[grizfoot]

Most improved player - Agree with Robinson he's been improving game-on-game and has been in world-class form towards the end of the season. Also got to say I've been impressed by how strongly Nelsen finished the season also, looked a shadow of his form self earlier in the season but has been better than ever towards the end of the season.

Most disappointing player - Simpson, shockingly bad player.

High point - Got to be Big Sam's first game and the home win against Stoke for me. Just to see us pick up three points after a torrid run was brilliant.

Low point - Shipping in five at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup.

Best piece of business - Givet on loan, a gem of a find from Big Sam.

Worst piece of business - Grella, not seen nearly enough to represent the price tag. Hopefully he'll improve for a full pre-season under his belt.

Overall player of the season - Samba for me. Without his input upfront it may well have been a more nervy end to the season.

Least disappointing departure - Got to agree with you on this one, Mokoena.

Most disappointing departure - Bentley, never found a suitable replacement therefore we missed his creativity and goals this season undoubtly.

[Shabani]

LEAST DISAPPOINTING DEPARTURE - RAY MATHIAS AND PAUL INCE

Sorry its in capitals, surprised no-ones put it yet!!!!

[rog of the rovers]

Most improved player - Over the season, Robinson

Most disappointing player - Based on the hype, Carlos Villanueva. (Fowler must get a mention too)

High point - Ooijers last mnute winner against Spurs

Low point - Wigan away

Best piece of business - £15m for David Bentley

Worst piece of business - Danny Simpson on loan

Newcomer of the year - Sam Allardyce

Outstanding contribution - Ryan Nelsen's 2nd half form

New cult hero - Givet/Diouf

Overall player of the season - 1st half - Warnock. 2nd half - Nelsen/Samba. Overall - Probably just Warnock.

Least disappointing departure - Bruno Berner

Most disappointing departure - Brad/Tugay. Both right moves at the right time, but brings to end the 00s era

Player most like to see that's realistic - Darren Bent

Player least like to see that's realistic - Kevin Nolan

Missing in action - Reid and Villanueva

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - Ryan Nelsen

Give the guy a break he's doing ok - Keith Andrews

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Most improved player - Robinson, got better as the team did. Clearly thrives on confidence, Allardyce did him the world of good.

Most disappointing player - Ollsson. did well initially then faded really badly. His performance at Spurs was one of the very worst ive ever seen in a Rovers shirt

High point - Tottenham at home. Thoroughly undeserved victory and was, for me the real turning point. Out of the bottom three and never really looked back.

Low point - Wigan away. Glad we lost as we got rid of Ince but the performance on the day was shocking.

Best piece of business - Givet. no question. Brilliant purchase. Diouf/Robinson/Andrews also shrewd moves (Two Ince signings btw)

Worst piece of business - Danny Simpson. looked promising for a few games under Ince but eventually got found lacking in virtually every possible area.

Newcomer of the year - Andrews. Would have been Givet, but gone for Andrews mainly because of the abuse he recieved when he arrived. He performed admirably and his a very useful squad player.

Outstanding contribution - Allardyce. Cant speak highly enough of the job he's done. Forget how we played, he got us safe. He saved the club £60m.

New cult hero - Robinson. England's number one hopefully. I dont think we could have got a better keeper after Friedel and thats saying something.

Overall player of the season - Warnock. No question. Attitude, determination and quality. His versatility helped us on several occasions. A future captain if he stays at Ewood.

Least disappointing departure - Simpson. I know he was on loan but id completely forgotten about him until i saw him partake in a lap of honour at Old Trafford. Didnt get a sniff under Sam thankfully.

Oh and Ince. kinda goes without saying.

Most disappointing departure - Roque Santa Cruz. Pity. Blighted by injuries and compounded his desire to play elsewhere. A real shame that a player of such skill had to end his career here in such a way.

Player most like to see that's realistic - Gunnarsson (Coventry), Tuncay, Ryan Taylor, Sturridge

Player least like to see that's realistic - Any Newcaslte forward/Middlesbrough defender/West Brom player.

Missing in action - Dunn. Its getting beyond a joke.

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Robinson, Pedersen, Givet, Diouf.

Mentions should go to the Axe for saving our season in 05 and Oojier who has provided decent defensive cover for 3 years. Always nice to point out that the dutch internation captain played for Rovers even though nobody knew who he was. Tugs goes without saying.

Overall:

A season that had been coming. It was inevitible that after having had 3 decent seasons we were going to have a poor one. Ince's naivity was rectified by Sam and im confident of a midtable finish next season. Expect to see most of the starting 11 remain, although Warnock/McCarthy/Samba will have their suitors.

[Guest benmaxwell]

Most improved player - Keith Andrews. Stepped up to the Premier League capably. Stood in when we were having a injury nightmare and scored some very important goals.

Most disappointing player - Roque Santa Cruz. Big headed, unprofessional, lying, self absorbed let-down.

High point - A close one between the Pompey home win that secured our safety and the man-love between Robbo and Gamst after Robinson's double save at Wigan.

Low point - Manu away. The manner in which the United team calmly put 5 past us really hit home just how 2D Ince's squads were. At that point, i decided Ince wasn't right for us.

Best piece of business - Gael Givet, nuff said.

Worst piece of business - Not selling Roque and paying out 4 million for Grella. We weren't to know that Roque would be injured most of the season. Neither did we know about the injury problems Grella would have. Although a carefull look at his past shows he has had injury problems. We can't afford to be wasting £4 million in this manner.

Newcomer of the year - Has to be Big Sam. Without him we would be relegated now.

Outstanding contribution - Big Sam and Tugay it has to be.

New cult hero - Big Sam. Hand that man a pie!

Overall player of the season - Samba or Warnock. Both have played out of position in games, but shown they can do a job there.

Least disappointing departure - Ince. Nuff said...

Most disappointing departure - Bentley. He shouldn't have left, and we/he would have done allot better had he stayed.

Player most like to see that's realistic - Chris Brunt or Dzeko. Was the stand alone best player on the pitch the day before yesteday and would make it into our team every day if he keeps that form. Dzeko's goalscoring record for Wolfsburg speaks for itself. 34 goals in 60 games. Get shot of Roque and sign him up!

Player least like to see that's realistic - Joey Barton, Alan Smith and Nicky Butt. Barton needs to be locked up. Smith needs to retire from football and Nicky Butt needs to be reminded he is a footballer and not a trainspotter. Standing around watching the world go by on the football pitch isn't the answer...

Missing in action - Reid, Dunn and Roque. Reid needs to be able to impress in pre-season or we should get rid. Dunn needs to have his fitness evaluated. We can't have another unreliable season like the last. I'm thinking Roque has been fit for a couple of weeks now, and doesn't want to damage his chances of his big move in a few weeks. The guy is a disgrace.

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - Keith Andrews, Robinson, Samba and Gael Givet.

Failed at the last hurdle - Gamst, the guy needs to sort it out... I hope we don't reward him for this poor form with a new deal.

[champions1995]

Most improved player - Has to be Robinson. His handling has dramatically improved and his confidence has returned.

Most disappointing player - Danny Simpson arrived with great expectation from Man United, but was a real flop

High point - Hull 1-2 Rovers - Has to be for me, as it was the first time I had seen Rovers win this season (other than Macclesfield in pre-season). It was also a massive win for Rovers, as we ended a run of no win in 4, and dragged Hull right in the mire. With Boro beating Liverpool on the Saturday, and Stoke drawing at Villa on the Sunday, it made the three points even more important.

Low point - Wigan away. It was one of those days I really did feel that we were out of our depth and heading to the Championship.

Best piece of business - Has to be Givet, he has done really well for us and helped recover a dreadful defensive record.

Worst piece of business - Grella has never been fit and I haven't been impressed when he has played.

Overall player of the season - Warnock has shown his versatility in midfield this season and I have been impressed with him.

Least disappointing departure - Mokoena just isn't Premier League quality

Most disappointing departure - Earlier in the season, I would have to say Friedel as I weren't too sure of Robbo, but as Robinson's form has dramatically improved, I would have to go for Bentley. Emerton was good on the right before he got injured, but we have had no-one on the right hand side since.

[den]

According to Jeff Winter, it was an injustice that Rovers stayed up. We should have finished second from bottom.

Injustice league.

[Rovers_4_life]

High point for me has to be Fulham away, great comeback and an incredible atmosphere in the away end. Wigan at home not far behind!

Several candidates for the low point, fortunately i wasn't at the Wigan game but Spurs away was pretty bad.

Givet and Robinson apart, all the signings made aren't good enough, some just laughable (Fowler).

[1864roverite]

Most Improved - Robinson.

Most disappointing - RSC.

High point - Fulham away.

Low point - failing to win versus Bolton (h+a), Sunderland and Boro.

Best peice of business - Bentley selling himself for £15m PLUS.

Worst business - employing Ince and co.

Newcomer - Sam Allardyce.

Outstanding service - TUGAY.

Cult hero - Warnock.

Will to win at all costs - Samba, Warnock and Nelson PLUS Robinson. He even outsaved Brad Friedel at times.

Player of season - Warnock.

[tashor]

Samba.

Villanueva.

[chocky]

Low.....Ince apponted manager

High....Ince sacked as manager

[mellison24]

Most improved player - Robbo. He's come round lately. Now we can sing 'England's No 1' with confidence!

Most disappointing player - Roque Santa Cruz. Big-mouthed P***

High point - Warnock's last minute tackle on Andy Johnson to stop him putting Fulham 2-0 up at Craven Cottage (The moment I thought we were staying up).

Low point - Wigan away. Ouch...

Best piece of business - getting £15m for David Bentley. It's probably why we have ANY money THIS summer lol.

Worst piece of business - Not selling Roque in January

Newcomer of the year - Sam Allardyce and all the other new backroom guys.

Outstanding contribution - Tugay

New cult hero - Givet. Unique in being a modest frenchman. Oh, and he's feckin CLASS!!!

Overall player of the season - Warnock. ENGLAND'S LEFT BACK!!!

Least disappointing departure - Mokoena (hopefully Treacy will follow him). Also glad to see the back of Paul I***

Most disappointing departure - Tugay, Ooijer (age got a-hold on 2 very good players here, such a shame)

Player most like to see that's realistic - Darren Bent, Modeste M'bami, Matias Fernandez

Player least like to see that's realistic - Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan.

Missing in action - Emerton has been a MASSIVE loss. If he (along with Reid and Dunn) were fit, we'd have been fine this year.

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - Chris Samba, Warnock and Tugay!

[andyroversmad]

Low.....Ince apponted manager

High....Ince sacked as manager

Well said

[roversmum]

According to Jeff Winter, it was an injustice that Rovers stayed up. We should have finished second from bottom.

Injustice league.

I've had words with him

[Drummer Boy]

I've had words with him

That's him back in his box, then!!

Personally, I didn't understand the basis of the article - but I am a bit slow

[Hughesy]

Low Point: Wigan Away

High Point: Big Sam taking charge and the Stoke 3-0 win

Best Business: Givet & Diouf

Worst Business: Not sacking Ince sooner

Most Improved: Robbo

One to Watch: Doran

Player of Year: Samba

2nd best player of Year: Warnock

[sambo]

Low Point: Wigan Away

High Point: The Big 3 at the end.

Best Business: Givet

Worst Business: Paul Ince

Most Improved: Robbo, Andrews

One to Watch: Doran, players returning from injury

Player of Year: Warnock/Samba

[RibbleValleyRover]

Low Point: Wigan Away

High Point: Fulham Away

Best Business: Hiring Allardyce

Worst Business: Hiring Ince

Most Improved: Robbo

Most Disappointing: RSC

Player of Year: Samba by a mile.

[Lurid Coat]

Most improved player - Paul Robinson

Most disappointing player - Roque Santa Cruz

High point - Staying in the Premier League after Ince had done his best to destroy the club.

Low point - Ince's tenure as manager, his PR skills, watching a team completely stripped of confidence and will to fight, culminating in the loss at Wigan

Best piece of business - Hiring Big Sam

Worst piece of business - Hiring Paul Ince

Newcomer of the year - Sam Allardyce

Outstanding contribution - Tugay

New cult hero - Gael Givet

Overall player of the season - Christopher Samba

Least disappointing departure - Mokoena

Player most like to see that's realistic - M'bami, Mbia

Player least like to see that's realistic - Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Nicky Butt, Andy van der Meyde

[American]

That's him back in his box, then!!

Personally, I didn't understand the basis of the article - but I am a bit slow

I think the point is looking at decisions that were wrong and "changed" the final score. I can think of Everton away as the first example where we got a good call.

Oh wait, the big blue stick figure kept Andre onside.....

[T4E]

Oh wait, the big blue stick figure kept Andre onside.....

In case anyone is wondering -

http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=662587

[tchocky]

High - What Sam has achieved. Only lost to the "big 4" plus Man City and Villa in the league. Quite impressive. W9 D9 L8 I think it is.

[Mafioso]

Most improved player - ROBINSON, finding the form that made him an England regular. WARNOCK his versatility,determination and goals this season have made him a more complete player

Most disappointing player - ROBINSON scared me everytime he came out to make a catch at the start of the season, but that of course changed, only one goal from PEDERSEN in a whole season, similar reason plus his attitude goes for SANTA CRUZ

High point - NEWCASTLE (H) a great performance, sentimentally the best game as i was in the BBE and being from Malta I rarely ever have the chance to watch a game live.

Low point - FULHAM (A) CANCELLED Again my personal reasons. Whoever travelled from Blackburn down to london and felt dissappointed dont dispare ! I travelled from Malta and waited 2 years to get the chance to watch a game again and it was cancelled an hour prior to kick off, that hurts !

Best piece of business - I think apart from Grella's fee, INCE'S SIGNINGS were all good buisness. Fowler was on a 3 month contract, Simpson etc were on loan, Robbo for just 3.5 mill, and the rest like Andrews, Julio, Bunn were on very small fees if Im not mistaken. So we're not really stuck with any players we're dying to get rid of, just a couple that need to prove themselves. GIVET was also class.

Worst piece of business - GRELLA'S transfer commanded quite a hefty fee, so in terms of buisness, that could be the worst. That and not selling MCCARTHY for 9 million if the rumours were true, I love the guy but we arent going to be getting anywhere near that ammount for him.

Newcomer of the year - ROBINSON again for me. Closely followed by ANDREWS.

Outstanding contribution - TUGAY, NELSON, and special praise should go to JASON BROWN, he has always come in when needed and has always impressed.

New cult hero - Pardon my English but I'm not 100% sure what this means so I'll PASS

Overall player of the season - 1, WARNOCK 2, SAMBA 3, BENNI+ROBERTS partnership (if that counts)

Least disappointing departure - FOWLER, SIMPSON, and BENTLEY dont get me wrong, fantastic player, but his attitude towards the end and the aftermath of his transfer (dropped by 2 coaches, overlooked by England, being played at RB, and finally being transfer listed) makes me happy he left

Most disappointing departure - BRAD FRIEDEL, a legend. BRETT EMERTON to injury

Player most like to see that's realistic - ISHMAEL MILLER looks ok, WHEATER maybe, I'll let same work his magic.

Player least like to see that's realistic - BARTON would be an awful signing, I dont understand how he keeps getting chances to play

Missing in action - DUNN, one of my fav Rovers players, sad that he is rarely ever around, and of course EMERTON.

Rallied to the cause when the going got tough - WARNOCK and also VILLANUEVA in my opinion, when brought on when we are losing he always wants the ball always runs at players, trying to create something.