[Archived] Pre-season

[des]

remember folks its only pre season, however the lack of a midfield without pace, power and skill is a worry, come big Sam, find us some

[roversmum]

Ped's free kicks do mostly hit the target, it's just that there's always a goalkeeper there...

I only saw one of his corners not get past the first defender last night, and that WAS a shocking one!

[braddock]

I wish pedsy would take corners like he used to

you'd think with the newer, taller team this would benefit us more now than it used to

and it used to benefit us a lot more than the ones he's been taking the last few years

[Al]

I wish pedsy would take corners like he used to

you'd think with the newer, taller team this would benefit us more now than it used to

and it used to benefit us a lot more than the ones he's been taking the last few years

I'm not sure why everybody on this site knocks Pederson all the time. To me he was one of the best players on the pitch last night. He played a slightly different role than he usually does. He played much more of a left sided central midfielder and was much more in the game.

The new youngsters all looked to have something but they all looked to me to still be promising youngsters with still a lot to learn. You wouldn't want more than one or possibly two of them together in a Premier League game at the present time.

I just hope that Kalinic is a little more mature or we may struggle until some of the more experienced players are fit to play. A central midfield of Nzonzi and Andrews scares the daylights out of me.

[joey_big_nose]

That wasn't hard to do considering our lack of creative players in the team. Just because he was statistically our most creative player doesn't mean he is up to the job or that his performances are of an acceptable level. Clearly if you have watched him for the past few seasons he has been in a serious decline.

The sooner we get rid the better.

I don't understand this. He was no worse for us last season than anyone in our squad apart from Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Diouf and Robinson. He was mediocre. But then so were most and some were downright terrible.

If we were selling him to crete funds to buy someone better I would be for it. But I'm not sure who we could buy with the 3million or so (at best?) we would get if we actively put him on the market.

Unless Sam has someone in mind I would like to see what the big man can achieve with the Norweigen this year. Pedersen strikes me as an Allardyce sort of player.

[unluckymorton]

I don't understand this. He was no worse for us last season than anyone in our squad apart from Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Diouf and Robinson. He was mediocre. But then so were most and some were downright terrible.

If we were selling him to crete funds to buy someone better I would be for it. But I'm not sure who we could buy with the 3million or so (at best?) we would get if we actively put him on the market.

Unless Sam has someone in mind I would like to see what the big man can achieve with the Norweigen this year. Pedersen strikes me as an Allardyce sort of player.

So RVR wants to get rid of MGP, what I'd like to know is who the hell do we replace him with once he's sold?

RVR needs a reality check. MGP does a good job for Rovers, I'd rather he was playing for us than against us. He had a decent game against Hibs, just as the rest of the lads did.

[RibbleValleyRover]

So RVR wants to get rid of MGP, what I'd like to know is who the hell do we replace him with once he's sold?

Not my job. If Sam decides to sell him then he will need to find a replacement or promote one of our existing players to the role.

RVR needs a reality check. MGP does a good job for Rovers, I'd rather he was playing for us than against us. He had a decent game against Hibs, just as the rest of the lads did.

I call it how i see it and accept others may view it differently. He is a shadow of the player he once was and not just in terms of scoring goals...

I see a player who has declined over the past few seasons and on the whole I have been frustrated with his performances in particular when it comes to his service to the forwards. I've lost count the number of times over the past few seasons i've seen him get in the perfect position and he's made a right mess of it.

"RVR needs a reality check". i'd argue that some who continue to praise Pedersen and think he is doing a decent enough job should be the ones who need a reality check.

[unluckymorton]

Not my job. If Sam decides to sell him then he will need to find a replacement or promote one of our existing players to the role. It's not Sam who's saying the sooner we get rid the better.

I call it how i see it and accept others may view it differently. He is a shadow of the player he once was and not just in terms of scoring goals...

I see a player who has declined over the past few seasons and on the whole I have been frustrated with his performances in particular when it comes to his service to the forwards. I've lost count the number of times over the past few seasons i've seen him get in the perfect position and he's made a right mess of it.

"RVR needs a reality check". i'd argue that some who continue to praise Pedersen and think he is doing a decent enough job should be the ones who need a reality check. With 8 days left before the season starts how do we sell and replace a decent winger?

In no way am I saying MGP is a top class winger, nor is he as effective as he was a few seasons back but he is better than a lot of our competitors have got. I appreciate that we all see it differently and we all have different opinions, life would be boring otherwise. I just don't agree with comments like getting rid when it would be near impossible to replace a player with somebody better.

I was not impressed by Treacy in the few appearances he made, and I'm not aware of anyone better on our books, otherwise surely we'd have seen them in pre season? Possibly Diouf on the left and Gally on the right or vice versa?

[den]

I'm not sure why everybody on this site knocks Pederson all the time. To me he was one of the best players on the pitch last night. He played a slightly different role than he usually does. He played much more of a left sided central midfielder and was much more in the game.

and that's where he needs to play Al. It's from those kind of positions that Ped got his goals earlier in his career. When he's out wide and deep he's nowhere near as big a goal threat as he can be. It's whether we can play that way and yet still give the left back some cover, that's the question.

[Kelbo]

and that's where he needs to play Al. It's from those kind of positions that Ped got his goals earlier in his career. When he's out wide and deep he's nowhere near as big a goal threat as he can be. It's whether we can play that way and yet still give the left back some cover, that's the question.

#

Both Majiball and I have been trying to tell everyone this for weeks and we were laughed at!!

If you are involved in football, you can see things that perhaps others cant, this is not trying to be clever, far from it, but Pederson can strike a ball with either foot, has a great engine, closes down well and can pass, he just hasnt got the accelleration of a class wide player, so you play him inside and as was seen the other night, its a much better role for him!!

[incecticide]

statistically our most creative player

The sooner we get rid the better.

So to clarify, you want us to get rid of the man who is statistically our most creative player...

You don't feel that trying to get his confidence back would be a better idea? A confident, in form Pedersen is a £15m player and you want to risk someone else picking him up for £3m... Whereas I and others appreciate the effort he puts in and the fact that despite his poor form he's never gone hiding. Throw in the fact he never gets injured and I think you have a lot more reasons to keep him than get rid - as did Hughes, Ince and Allardyce.

[RibbleValleyRover]

So to clarify, you want us to get rid of the man who is statistically our most creative player...

You don't feel that trying to get his confidence back would be a better idea? A confident, in form Pedersen is a £15m player and you want to risk someone else picking him up for £3m... Whereas I and others appreciate the effort he puts in and the fact that despite his poor form he's never gone hiding. Throw in the fact he never gets injured and I think you have a lot more reasons to keep him than get rid - as did Hughes, Ince and Allardyce.

Perhaps we should take this over to the Pedersen thread if you want to continue to debate about Pedersen and whether or not he is worth keeping? I think you will find i am not the only one who thinks Pedersen should be offloaded as he is a shadow of the player he once was.

Like i said 7 assists in 38 games last season wasn't hard to achieve considering the appalling midfield and lack of creativity we had. You watch the guy in matches and his crossing is absolutely awful, his corners 9 times out of 10 can't clear the first man. He may have had 1 decent pre-season game against Hibs, doesn't mean that he is going to get back to what he was 3 years ago.

I just don’t rate him, just as some people don’t rate Andrews, Samba, Grella and other players in the squad. His workrate is decent but he is a winger, I want to see him attack more and provide a better service to the forwards. When we lost Bentley I thought he would step up and look like the Pedersen of old but he clearly didn’t.

If he proves me wrong and has a great season fair enough, I don’t think that will happen though.

[incecticide]

I think you will find i am not the only one who thinks Pedersen should be offloaded as he is a shadow of the player he once was.

and its quite clear that i'm not the only one who thinks otherwise

Like i said 7 assists in 38 games last season wasn't hard to achieve considering the appalling midfield and lack of creativity we had. You watch the guy in matches and his crossing is absolutely awful, his corners 9 times out of 10 can't clear the first man.

Nobody's do! It's been a problem at Ewood for years. His general crossing is NOT awful - that I just plain disagree with. I'm not saying 7 assists is amazing, I'm saying its the best we have - therefore getting rid would weaken the side.

I just don’t rate him

If he proves me wrong and has a great season fair enough, I don’t think that will happen though.

That's fair enough.

[alexanders]

greetings from thassos, greece!

do anyone know if sky or some other tv-stations are showing the game tomorrow?

was hoping i could catch it on telly in a pub down here.

[mhead]

Alexanders....wear your shirt.I Should be on the Island by 3pm on Saturday.

but back for Citeh!

[thenodrog]

seems all is not well at ewood at the moment

Hoping against hope with all your fingers and toes tightly crossed I presume waggy?

[tonyoz]

#

Both Majiball and I have been trying to tell everyone this for weeks and we were laughed at!!

If you are involved in football, you can see things that perhaps others cant, this is not trying to be clever, far from it, but Pederson can strike a ball with either foot, has a great engine, closes down well and can pass, he just hasnt got the accelleration of a class wide player, so you play him inside and as was seen the other night, its a much better role for him!!

He may have several admirable qualities but passing accurately is not one of them. This is why he is so frustrating to watch. Here are last season's stats from the Daily Telegraph:

Player............Passes..........% successful

Pedersen.... 872... 54

Warnock .... 1395... 69

Nelsen........ 1048... 71

Andrews..... 960... 74

Samba........ 864... 69

Diouf......... 779... 72

Grella........ 664... 72

Emerton..... 611... 76

McCarthy... 435... 69

Roberts..... 381... 78

Givet......... 334... 69

Dunn......... 299... 69

Olsson........ 150... 73

Reid........... 146... 77

Zurab......... 106... 79

In my opinion, we will have to look elsewhere to address our lack of creativity in midfield.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...Statistics.html

Apologies for the poor formatting!

[tonyoz]

#

Both Majiball and I have been trying to tell everyone this for weeks and we were laughed at!!

If you are involved in football, you can see things that perhaps others cant, this is not trying to be clever, far from it, but Pederson can strike a ball with either foot, has a great engine, closes down well and can pass, he just hasnt got the accelleration of a class wide player, so you play him inside and as was seen the other night, its a much better role for him!!

Oh yes, he did have more shots than anyone else (40) but only 14 of them were on target........ and only one went in the net!

[EwoodGlory]

ROVERS: Robinson, Jones, Samba, Nelsen ©, Olsson; Diouf, Warnock, Gallagher, van Heerden; Di Santo, McCarthy.

Subs: Roberts, Brown, Khizanishvili, Hoilett, Flynn, Lowe, Blackman, Marshall, Doran.

Is Jones supposed to be Jacobson?

[brfcshabba]

Is Jones supposed to be Jacobson?

No Jacobsen is on international duty

[budha]

Phil Jones

[Hughesy]

Will be interesting to see how Van Herden does now that he has a chance with MGP on international duty.

I also think Di Santo & Benni will be quality together.

No NZonzi??

[cn174]

Will be interesting to see how Van Herden does now that he has a chance with MGP on international duty.

I also think Di Santo & Benni will be quality together.

No NZonzi??

I wouldn't panic, he did say that the team vs Dundee wouldn't be same team as vs Hibs.

[Bobby G]

Gallagher in central midfield. Lets see how that works out.

[MarkBRFC]

Gallagher in central midfield. Lets see how that works out.

It might work today, not a chance in it working in the Premier League though.