[Archived] League Cup - Gillingham Away 25/08/09

[Stonesrick]

Zurab gave away the pen!

[beerwins]

It was kalinic who laid it on for dunny too.

[patrickvalery]

Good ball from Kalinic.

David 'never look fit even after coming in early for pre season training' Dunn took it well.

Quite a brave header from Hoilett.

Defensive shambles for MGP's goal. But they all count.

Fairly harsh penalty. But if you put in a half hearted challenge you ask for it.

[rovers1995]

Good ball from Kalinic.

David 'never look fit even after coming in early for pre season training' Dunn took it well.

Quite a brave header from Hoilett.

Defensive shambles for MGP's goal. But they all count.

Fairly harsh penalty. But if you put in a half hearted challenge you ask for it.

Yes I can reply. Warnock was there he was on the bench, there's photographic prove on the Sun website

[Kai]

Back from the game.

First half we were pretty awful except for the goal we scored. Didn't see any Gillingham player touch the ball, so assume it was Kalinic who assisted. From that point on, it was pretty even with maybe Gillingham just edging it as we didn't really step up from the early impetus that the goal gave us. We were lucky that Gillingham didn't equalise when number 30 had a great chance - free header and put it wide. It looked like he was heading it across goal for an onrushing player to stick it in. Besides that, chances were quite few and far between. Hoilett had a good attempt on goal from about 25 yards that narrowly missed the far post. Givet impressed me with his authority and assertiveness. It was pretty obvious that Gillingham were aiming for their big number 30 and to an extent it worked. However, besides their one chance, Brown had precious little to do.

I don't wish to slate Kalinic but from an honest point of view, he was pretty bad. He got knocked over and pushed around quite easily but in his defence he always tried making runs and getting himself into position. He got booked for a dive although from where I was sitting, I wasn't sure it was that obvious what had happened.

Second half we were like a changed team. We got our foot on the ball more and our asserted our authority after an electric opening which saw Hoilett's diving head putting us 2-0 up. I thought the substitution of Roberts on for Kalinic was a good move as the tables were suddenly turned on the Gillingham defence who'd had it easy for the first 45 mins as Roberts' strength and pace caused them problems. Indeed it was Roberts that had a hand in Hoilett's goal. From that point on there was only one team in it as it looked like Gillingham had forgotten to come out of the dressing room. They didn't touch the ball for the first 10 mins of the 2nd half and they got a very soft penalty. I didn't exactly see what happened it looked to me that Olsson went in for a challenge and a Gillingham player went over but that was all. Pedersen scored directly from a corner pretty quickly afterwards to restore our advantage. We ever looked in any trouble as Gillingham were pretty shocking throughout. Roberts was our best player in the 2nd half by a country mile.

Dunn was ok in the first half and then seemed to fall apart in the 2nd half. He was giving the ball away all over the place shortly before he was subbed for Elrio (van Heerden). Elrio did the sum total of almost nothing. N'Zonzi won 95% of headers in the middle of the park and played short simple passes without being ground breaking. Reid was solid enough until he went off but it was a bit disappointing that he seemed to tweak something - he knew it himself immediately as soon as he did it. It was a 50/50 challenge and he immediately signalled to the bench to get subbed once it happened (Andrews dropped into rightback). Super Keef did.... almost nothing that I really noticed. I though Hoilett was quite good though, always full of running and sticking out wide giving options. I thought Pedersen was good enough, solid on the ball, didn't give much away and always available when needed. His set pieces seemed to have come back as his very early attempt on goal from an early freekick in the first half was well saved from the Gillingham goalkeeper that was heading of the top corner. His goal from the corner gave him confidence and he even tried a first time volley from a crossfield ball that was unluckily deflected wide from the defender. It would've been a net buster!

I didn't actually know that Grella had come on in the 2nd half until about 15 minutes through the 2nd half. Considering that we were so much superior with time on the ball, Grella didn't impress me that much at all. He did try spraying a fair few balls around but quite a few went astray.

The system that we played was more of a one up top sort of affair with it being fluid in midfield and attack, so at times it was 4-5-1 and then maybe a 4-3-3.

Overall it was a decent enough performance - we did what was needed but we were lucky that Gillingham were truly awful.

[Big Fat Sam]

Must admit feeling lazy and can't be bothered to read the whole thread.

but I was wondering does anyone know the West ham line-up tonight?

EDIT: are there any highlights anywhere?

[JAL]

Zurab gave away the pen!

Zurab is a bloody liability nowadays, I sincerley hope the club can offload the Georgian before the months end and bring in a proven quality central defender to replace him.

His time is up.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Must admit feeling lazy and can't be bothered to read the whole thread.

but I was wondering does anyone know the West ham line-up tonight?

Hatton, Mayweather, Sugar Ray, Lesnar, Diouf and Frodo.

[broadsword]

Looked like Olsson to me on the footage.

They don't look much like each other, I'm fairly sure Zura is innocent.

[brian_gallagher85]

Must admit feeling lazy and can't be bothered to read the whole thread.

but I was wondering does anyone know the West ham line-up tonight?

Do you want the names of the 200 subs they used in extra time too?

[spencey7]

Keith Andrews captains Blackburn Rovers.

Words fail me.

[JAL]

Back from the game.

First half we were pretty awful except for the goal we scored. Didn't see any Gillingham player touch the ball, so assume it was Kalinic who assisted. From that point on, it was pretty even with maybe Gillingham just edging it as we didn't really step up from the early impetus that the goal gave us. We were lucky that Gillingham didn't equalise when number 30 had a great chance - free header and put it wide. It looked like he was heading it across goal for an onrushing player to stick it in. Besides that, chances were quite few and far between. Hoilett had a good attempt on goal from about 25 yards that narrowly missed the far post. Givet impressed me with his authority and assertiveness. It was pretty obvious that Gillingham were aiming for their big number 30 and to an extent it worked. However, besides their one chance, Brown had precious little to do.

I don't wish to slate Kalinic but from an honest point of view, he was pretty bad. He got knocked over and pushed around quite easily but in his defence he always tried making runs and getting himself into position. He got booked for a dive although from where I was sitting, I wasn't sure it was that obvious what had happened.

Second half we were like a changed team. We got our foot on the ball more and our asserted our authority after an electric opening which saw Hoilett's diving head putting us 2-0 up. I thought the substitution of Roberts on for Kalinic was a good move as the tables were suddenly turned on the Gillingham defence who'd had it easy for the first 45 mins as Roberts' strength and pace caused them problems. Indeed it was Roberts that had a hand in Hoilett's goal. From that point on there was only one team in it as it looked like Gillingham had forgotten to come out of the dressing room. They didn't touch the ball for the first 10 mins of the 2nd half and they got a very soft penalty. I didn't exactly see what happened it looked to me that Olsson went in for a challenge and a Gillingham player went over but that was all. Pedersen scored directly from a corner pretty quickly afterwards to restore our advantage. We ever looked in any trouble as Gillingham were pretty shocking throughout. Roberts was our best player in the 2nd half by a country mile.

Dunn was ok in the first half and then seemed to fall apart in the 2nd half. He was giving the ball away all over the place shortly before he was subbed for Elrio (van Heerden). Elrio did the sum total of almost nothing. N'Zonzi won 95% of headers in the middle of the park and played short simple passes without being ground breaking. Reid was solid enough until he went off but it was a bit disappointing that he seemed to tweak something - he knew it himself immediately as soon as he did it. It was a 50/50 challenge and he immediately signalled to the bench to get subbed once it happened (Andrews dropped into rightback). Super Keef did.... almost nothing that I really noticed. I though Hoilett was quite good though, always full of running and sticking out wide giving options. I thought Pedersen was good enough, solid on the ball, didn't give much away and always available when needed. His set pieces seemed to have come back as his very early attempt on goal from an early freekick in the first half was well saved from the Gillingham goalkeeper that was heading of the top corner. His goal from the corner gave him confidence and he even tried a first time volley from a crossfield ball that was unluckily deflected wide from the defender. It would've been a net buster!

I didn't actually know that Grella had come on in the 2nd half until about 15 minutes through the 2nd half. Considering that we were so much superior with time on the ball, Grella didn't impress me that much at all. He did try spraying a fair few balls around but quite a few went astray.

The system that we played was more of a one up top sort of affair with it being fluid in midfield and attack, so at times it was 4-5-1 and then maybe a 4-3-3.

Overall it was a decent enough performance - we did what was needed but we were lucky that Gillingham were truly awful.

Thank you Kai, you paint an astonishingly accurate picture of events or performances of Rovers players that has been consistent of them for all the playing careers whilst they've been at Ewood so far.

Much appreciated Kai we've still some offloading of players still to do.

[Tom]

Keith Andrews captains Blackburn Rovers.

Words fail me.

Rovers win 3-1 with Andrews as captain, good job skipper

[Exiled_Rover]

But what does that make the others

Depends which ones you're talking about. Several are classy Premier League players, several are average Premier League players and a few are lower league journeymen.

[Big Fat Sam]

Never known the BBC to be so interested in an individual Rovers player before. Maybe they're getting their own back on Sam.

The lads been getting a slatting on talkpooh too.

It was Shearer's reaction on match of the day that annoyed me most, hopefully the lad doesn't speak english. He could be helped with his finishing and I'm sure they'll work on it in training. He's got every chance he gets himself free in the area, I even remember some of Henry's early finishing. Lets hope he comes good.

Scott Minto on SSN said Roberts was the best player on the pitch in the second half when he came on.

I saw that tonight and when the second went in, and remember he's watching the game, he took about 5 minutes to figure out who had scored.

Paying attention where you Scott???

[Kelbo]

The lads been getting a slatting on talkpooh too.

It was Shearer's reaction on match of the day that annoyed me most, hopefully the lad doesn't speak english. He could be helped with his finishing and I'm sure they'll work on it in training. He's got every chance he gets himself free in the area, I even remember some of Henry's early finishing. Lets hope he comes good.

I saw that tonight and when the second went in, and remember he's watching the game, he took about 5 minutes to figure out who had scored.

Paying attention where you Scott???

[joey_big_nose]

I was at the game also and I would say I saw things a little differently from Kai.

We were the better team all game, but only really dominated the last 20 minutes. Quite often, especially in the first half, we found very little rhythm despite the early goal and we looked vulnerable on the counter attack, especially in the full back positions. We did hoof it quite a lot it has to be said.

Incidentally we played the currently very trendy 4231 formation with Kalanic then Roberts the spearhead of it. Kalanic couldn't handle the lone role that well, but Roberts was excellent.

Second half we got the ball down and passed it much better, far more attacking movement.

We never really looked in much danger of losing, but it was not a stellar performance either. To look at the players individually:

The Ugly

Keith - For obvious aesthetic reasons but he was servicable if pretty average

Zurab- Again, servicable, despite the penalty.

Brown - Did his job fine

Pedersen - Scored from a corner, good supply of the ball. Didn't do anything wrong, but not really impressive.

N'zonzi - Good, very physical, not a great user of the ball. However he does give others a lot of room to perform which is vital. A find if paired with a more passing type of player.

Elrio - When he came on looked poor but by the last 20 mins he was having a lot of joy. Seems to be able to distribute the ball well and be quite imaginative. However he is tiny and doesn't seem to have pace like Hoilett which is going to make things difficult for him.

The Bad

Kalanic- Sad to say this but he was very poor against Gills. The Dunn goal was at the other end of the pitch and a lot of close movement so I missed the lay off, but if he did do that it was his only real contribution in the game. Couldn't physically compete, although to be fair he was quite isolated.

Reid- Stuck at right back which has always been a poor position for him. Couldn't hold the line that well and consistently beaten in the air. Then got injured.... As its nearly two hours since the end of the match sam may already have melted him down and be on the phone to Pritt Stick.

Olsson - did get better in the second half when he could get forward more, but defensively so vulnerable in the air and poor positional sense. If he is going to make it as a player it is going to be on the wing, not at full back.

The Good

Dunn - Best player apart from Givet, I thought he was excellent in the first half. Not sure what Kai is on about. Did look completely knackered when he came off though. Will make some sort of appearence against Wham.

Roberts - Held the ball up well and caused their defence all sorts of problems, mainly because he was much bigger than they were. Good pace, decent crossing except for one abject effort. Will start on Sat.

Grella - Again a big disagreement with Kai. THe Aussie completely transformed our game, getting us to pass and put his foot on the ball a bit. Some lovely crossfield efforts and a bit of imagination. Admittedly Gills didn't close him down - and this is where he has struggled in the past - but it was very encouraging.

Hoilett - Started off poor but improved as the game went on. Has pace but not as electric as I thought he would be. A bit tricky, and a drifter. Could possibly start a coupleof prem games at some point in the not too distant future.

Givet - Immense. Will be captain surely? Very commanding.

In Conclusion

Looks to me as if Kalanic will be dropped. Grella needs to start next game alongside N'Zonzi, and Dunn needs to be found a role somewhere. Hoilett to get more sub appearences.

All in all the main thing is that Dunn and Grella performed well and can try to add a bit of quality to the centre.

[Big Fat Sam]

Cheers Joey.

How accurate was Grella's passing if I can ask?

What formation did we play?

[Presty On Tour]

Highlights:

We won and are through to the next round

Dunny done well in the 1st half, scored in his first game back and didn't get injured before he was subbed.

Grella didn't get injured

MGP and Hoilett scored and played well from reports

Negatives:

Reid picked up another injury

Jason Brown is not good enough imo

[Balwer]

Highlights:

We won and are through to the next round

Dunny done well in the 1st half, scored in his first game back and didn't get injured before he was subbed.

Grella didn't get injured

MGP and Hoilett scored and played well from reports

Negatives:

Reid picked up another injury

Jason Brown is not good enough imo

I would have preferred Fielding in goals to be honest.

Bring Bunn back in January, promote Fielding to 3 and get rid of Brown for 1m if possible.

[joey_big_nose]

Cheers Joey.

How accurate was Grella's passing if I can ask?

What formation did we play?

Grella's passing was good, more accurate than anyone elses. Also played some longer balls well. If I was to criticise it would be that sometimes it was clever without really achieving anything - quick 1-2s which didn't advance the ball any further up the pitch etc.

Nzonzi could be his saviour as the massive French lad will take the defensive pressure off him which is good as, from last season anyway, he is too slow to deal with midfielders breaking through the middle.

[ebenrocks]

Just got back from the game. Great level of support for a league cup game.

Givet is SO good. I seriously think he's one of the best players to wear a rovers shirt in recent years. Commanding, level headed, never got himself into situations he cant get out of... I know its only Gillingham, but actually, they brought the game to us at the end of the 1st half, and Givet was brilliant.

Pedersen, despite his Beckham job was terrible i thought. Gave away the ball all the bloody time and fell over at the slightest breeze.

As usual Andrews was a load of testies, why is he still playing for us? i'd genuinely rather field 10 men and a claranet. Couldnt even do a job against a League 1 team, which is where he should still be playing.

wont go through the rest coz they ranged from average to good but we deserved the win off the majority of the performance tonight.

[spencey7]

As usual Andrews was a load of testies, why is he still playing for us?

You mean captain Keith Andrews?

(Sorry, I'm just really, really, REALLY struggling to get my head around a League Two journeyman being given our armband.)

[American]

I forgot how terrible Reid is at right back....

Bringing on Roberts definitely changed the match around.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I think Sam reads this messageboard and just intended to irritate you Spence.