[Archived] Rovers V Aston Vanilla

[Neil Weaver]

There is no way that any player can have a single complaint if they are standing with their arm above their head, as an extension of their body area. If he was protecting his face then fair enough, but remember we have seen a Penalty against Rovers when Lucash Neill protected his face with his hands.

Too right Modes, and if memory serves there have been quite a few against us where the defender has his arms by his sides let alone at head height - Givet last year, and Lucash v Villa a couple of years ago come to mind. As a certain South African cricket captain said recently, what goes around comes around. So I reckon we're due another penalty or two for handball soon.

[Hughesy]

Diouf 4 - worked hArd but ususal, no skill can't pass, can't beat a man doesn't score. Pointless player.

Emerton 6 - automatic starter . No brainer, get rid of the useless Spit.

I just dont get it!

Diouf was quality again, he put several good balls into the box too

[waggy]

did not see the game only 2 mins on scratch of the day,great win,the manager made the right changes and we won because of it,bit confused about the type of football played though

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

did not see the game only 2 mins on scratch of the day,great win,the manager made the right changes and we won because of it,bit confused about the type of football played though

Waggy returns for the Burnley game!

[RibbleValleyRover]

Good to see that some members now see that its time to bench Pedersen for a game or more. Hopefully it would give him the kick up the backside he quite frankly needs.

Diouf looked decent enough on the left wing, perhaps try him there for a game or two and put Hoilett or Emerton on the right? Hoilett deserves a run in the team after some decent performances, and Emerton (who i would like to see in the centre personally) seemed to link up very well with Jacobsen against Villa.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Or to cover up all that bling he bought from Peter Jackson the Jeweler?

class rebel ... although may be lost on some people.

Well what can we say - well done boys excellent performance never knew they had it in them (especially after the comatose start appeared to have run over from Everton)- can't remember the last time we won with 10 men.

Anyway, not sure I'm in agreement with viewpoint that Sam's tactics stifled the Vanilla's ,more of it being a sheer determination and fight from our boys and what appeared a very off colour opposition (and one of our players - more to that later) but is that is from Sam then I'm all for it. As for being true to his word re dropping of players, not quite as dramatic as he led people to believe - the ones he made where what everybody knew he should and where quite obvious - Andrews and Roberts - although we know Roberts cannot play that role anyway so its not that big of decision. Jacobsen had to come in ( could he the best free tfr - how good is he!) Nelsen also due to injury to funky so not exactly a master tactical decision.

As for the ref the less said the better - absolute tosh! could have cost us the game, ironically though gave us the benefit for the penalty.

The penalty - had to be given , as they say sometimes you get them and some times you don't and the ref owed us that for the amount of fouls he missed/fail to give us - although I would have been anoyed if it was against us.

Grella - the ones dissing him are more than likely the ones that didn't go - had his best game yet . Yes he got 2 yellows both rightly deserved, however the first was a necessity or we could have seen Vanilla scoring again.

Di Santo- got better as the game wore on - adds the advantage of being able to challenge for headers - not sure he won that many but was a constant menace and never gave up , although bar the chance that led to the penalty never really looked like scoring.Think he would be an excellent foil for McCarthy (or Kalinic for that matter.

Hoofball - none worse that what Vanilla played (and there's me in the preview saying they have normally always played good football through the years) - its part of the game , unfortunately for Sam its stereotyped to him if you believe everything the media says.

Chimneybob - wtf - gloves - I detest out players wearing gloves in winter nevermind on balmy days - was it for the throw in's (or as rebel states )... whatever we won more from his throwins that the useless Pedersen.

Pedersen - need we say anything, I'm also losing patience with him.

Nelsen - Still think he is our weaklink at the back but got better as the game went on also

Dunn - class should easily have been mom - still worried if he gets injured though - too much reliance on him for my liking.

N'zonzi - another gem in the making? just needs to add a bit more attacking nous to his game but otherwise looks like Sam has unearthed something here.

Diouf - yet again worked hard - can cross a ball but another that adds the creative dimension to our game - not a big fan of his but certainly need him in our line up

Robinson - getting more assured and composed in every game - great save at the end.

Samba - as usual looked is cumbersome self at times but again rose to the occasion with his assured finish for the goal and his determination to get forward and get the game going. Now back to the above and the off colour player of ours above - very risque for the this board considering some of the more sensitive posters so you can take what you want from but it was the subject of an instant quip on Saturday so please take it for the context it arose and is given for - when Samba was clattered and his injured /groggy appearance straight after - ' you could see the colour draining from his face' 'he looks a bit off colour' were the comments that were mentioned, and it was innocent but then it dawned on a few and the addage that you could see somebody saying it on on TV/Radio ' the White Samba.

Now I love the classic Adidas 'Samba' range of trainers and it just occurred to me at the time that we could indeed have our very own classic with this guy should he remain with us

Our very own classic

Big Sam - as mentioned , not with the viewpoint that his tactics won the game - but if it was his influence that spurred the guys on then fair do's - didn't agree with the substitutions either - except for seeing the appearance of Bert and would still prefer us to start with the x2 up front and Dunn back in the middle - but hey its working ( at home) and he is the manager and a wins a win.

So a job well done considering we where playing against 12 (again).

[T4E]

I just dont get it!

Diouf was quality again, he put several good balls into the box too

Agreed, thought Diouf was very good although he started slowly.

[BiggusLaddus]

Sorry to drag it back to this again, but the only possible argument I could see against the penalty was that the ref may have given a free kick for the high foot. That said, he shouldn't have done as Di Santo's feet were nowhere near Dunne until well after he'd played the ball. It wasn't as if Dunne was trying to head clear and Di Santo kicked it off his head.

For the hand ball bit, correct me if I'm wrong here (there is often a good chance) but I always thought that hand ball was hand ball whether it was deliberate or not and if it was deliberate then it was accompanied by a yellow card. The only reason a referee should not give a free kick or penalty is if the offending player genuinely could not do anything to prevent the ball hitting his arm. I don't think holding your arms above your head as you run towards someone who is attempting an overhead kick qualifies for that.

[CrazyIvan]

Sorry to drag it back to this again, but the only possible argument I could see against the penalty was that the ref may have given a free kick for the high foot. That said, he shouldn't have done as Di Santo's feet were nowhere near Dunne until well after he'd played the ball. It wasn't as if Dunne was trying to head clear and Di Santo kicked it off his head.

For the hand ball bit, correct me if I'm wrong here (there is often a good chance) but I always thought that hand ball was hand ball whether it was deliberate or not and if it was deliberate then it was accompanied by a yellow card. The only reason a referee should not give a free kick or penalty is if the offending player genuinely could not do anything to prevent the ball hitting his arm. I don't think holding your arms above your head as you run towards someone who is attempting an overhead kick qualifies for that.

That's what I thought. It was a definite penalty, not least because the ref thought so!

[DE.]

Not sure why "Grella's first yellow was neccassary" is being used as an excuse for his sending off. Yes, it was, but nobody's denying that. The fact is a player of his experience should not be diving into such reckless tackles whilst on a yellow card. The consequences of that could have been a disaster, and it's lucky for him that the rest of the team continued to work very hard to secure a victory. Had our heads dropped or Villa used the extra man to their advantage and gone on to win I doubt people would be so accepting of such a stupid tackle.

[modes98]

What's your name? I want to see it!

Christian Rowley

Too right Modes, and if memory serves there have been quite a few against us where the defender has his arms by his sides let alone at head height - Givet last year, and Lucash v Villa a couple of years ago come to mind.

Exactly. I seem to remember one where Ooijer had his arms clamped to his side and the ref still gave it.

About time the ref actually spotted one for us.

[USRoverME]

hrm, A Dunne handball in the box stopping a shot from going into the net.

Not at all a replay of Andrews shot in the opening game of the season just before hafltime, but very similar in many respects.

What a poor way for us to conceed the opener though.

[unluckymorton]

did not see the game only 2 mins on scratch of the day,great win,the manager made the right changes and we won because of it,bit confused about the type of football played though

You can't comment on the type of football played if all you saw was MOTD, there was some good football out there on Saturday.

As for the right changes, a substitution should have been bade before the sending off that would have sealed the game. Samba off as he was injured, Benni on to help the great Di Santo Emerton in at right back for Diouf. Job done. Saying that, just because I thought that, it doesn't make it right! It worked out well in the end.

I've got to say though what a great job done by Big Sam and the lads.

[DE.]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2656384/Blackburn-2-Aston-Villa-1.html

not sure if this has already been posted but a decent write-up from The Sun and some excellent comments from Dunn!

[Ricky]

Think the Sunday Mirror reporter probably didnt even go to the game, he gave Di Santo 6 and Delph a 7 ??????

Thought Di Santo was excellent, he put a lot of pressure on the Villa Defence for Sambas goal as well.

[Hughesy]

Ha ha Warnocks view

I thought the penalty decision was harsh," Warnock said. "It was tough on Dunny. You use your arms for momentum to move yourself forward and Dunny has done that. He's certainly not gone intentionally to handle the ball. He is covering his face more than anything.

Since when was his face above his head?!?!

[den]

For the hand ball bit, correct me if I'm wrong here (there is often a good chance) but I always thought that hand ball was hand ball whether it was deliberate or not and if it was deliberate then it was accompanied by a yellow card.

Well.........

I think the rules state that the use of the hands is not allowed [or something near to that].

TBH, I've always argued that handball should be deliberate before a free kick is given. The ball hitting the hand, when the player has no chance of moving it away, shouldn't be punished - that's undisputedly fair.

Then we have the situations where from a corner kick, a defender will jump for the ball with his hand raised above his head. Although he doesn't intend to handle the ball, without exception the referee will give a penalty if the ball does hit the hand. So, that demonstrates that any player has the duty to try to avoid handling the ball - in other words, keep his hands out of the way - either by his side or behind his back.

Dunne didn't do that. He brought his hands into play, as does John Terry when he spreads himself in front of a player shooting at the Chelsea goal. He should be penalised when he does that.

Ha ha Warnocks view

I thought the penalty decision was harsh," Warnock said. "It was tough on Dunny. You use your arms for momentum to move yourself forward and Dunny has done that. He's certainly not gone intentionally to handle the ball. He is covering his face more than anything.

Since when was his face above his head?!?!

There's nothing worse than a footballer treating the fans as imbaciles. The fans aren't stupid.

[Fife Rover]

Sorry to drag it back to this again, but the only possible argument I could see against the penalty was that the ref may have given a free kick for the high foot. That said, he shouldn't have done as Di Santo's feet were nowhere near Dunne until well after he'd played the ball. It wasn't as if Dunne was trying to head clear and Di Santo kicked it off his head.

For the hand ball bit, correct me if I'm wrong here (there is often a good chance) but I always thought that hand ball was hand ball whether it was deliberate or not and if it was deliberate then it was accompanied by a yellow card. The only reason a referee should not give a free kick or penalty is if the offending player genuinely could not do anything to prevent the ball hitting his arm. I don't think holding your arms above your head as you run towards someone who is attempting an overhead kick qualifies for that.

I know what you are getting at Big Lad, but having looked at the incident several times in V.Slow motion from a Footy First clip, it clearly shows that as the ball was leaving Di Santo's foot and Dunne had his left arm raised above his head, both players had their feet well up, but Dunne's foot was several inches higher than Di Santo's right through the sequence and at no time did Di Santo's foot come up even as high as Dunne's. So to try and use "foot raised too high" as an excuse for not giving the penalty, and a free kick to Villa instead iis absolutely untrue and ludicrous.

Talk about clutching at straws!!

[LeChuck]

Surprised there is so much debate about the penalty, it seems pretty nailed on to me. Handball is all about intent, what other intention could there be when a player puts his hands above his head when trying to block a shot?

[AggyBlue]

If the ref had any gonads he'd have sent him off too

[gumboots]

If the ref had any gonads he'd have sent him off too

Why bother when he had assists for both our goals?

[philipl]

Revealing player ratings from a Brum paper

Rovers really nullified them.

I was particularly pleased to see Collins have a poor game- never rated him.

[rebelmswar]

Revealing player ratings from a Brum paper

Rovers really nullified them.

I was particularly pleased to see Collins have a poor game- never rated him.

Pretty much a good write up until this.

"GAME RATING 5

Blackburn’s long-ball tactics and Villa’s below-par performance made for an unedifying spectacle."

Should of read :-

GAME RATING 5

Blackburn's stout defending and dogged attacking saw off an overrated and dour Villa.

[Blueandwhitemike]

Really, really enjoyed the game.

As said by many, Dunn was a class apart, I just hope he doesn't get injured with all the kicks he is getting for going past people. I've always loved seeing a player taking people on, and DD did it really well today, you'd think his lack of pace might hamper his ability to do that more.

Lars was really good again, solid in defence and good going forward, could hardly believe my eyes when he skinned Warnock, he should show MGP how to do it. He has been good in every game he has played so far and if he can keep it up he be up there as one of our best players.

Grella did well until the 68th minute, hope he learns from it, he has played quite well so far and would be in my team ahead of Nzonzi.

Nzonzi did quite well, lots of potential but I hope Emo or Reid or Dunn if we go 442 can push on and replace him. I don't think he is ready for 30 games this season, occasional appearances would be better. He looks like he is not sure what to do a lot of the time and like to pass the ball off quickly before he loses it. That isn't a criticism, I just want him to improve before I think he is good enough to be a regular, hopefully he'll learn to take a bit more responsibility with the ball and pass it forward/run with it a bit more. He did that one really nice pass so there is reason to believe he can.

Di Santo did well, big improvement on Roberts, hope he grows and grows in his time here.

Referee was crap, I think his emotions got in the way of his judgement as the game wore on and if I were the assessor I'd be having words with him.

Easy penalty for me, surprised at the debate.

[thenodrog]

There's a couple who sit in front of me, who get up and leave around 4:45 every home game. It doesn't matter whether the ball is in play, or whether they block your view. Against Villa, when the penalty had been given and before it had been taken, guess what? - they got up and left. The ball was on the spot, but they went before it had been taken. Unbelievable.

Aliens obviously...... It's a sure sign. Remember 'V' from the 80's?