[Archived] Blackburn Vs. Peterbrough Preview

[Hughesy]

Selgado, the goal excepted had a stinker. The wide player had him in his back pocket it was embarrassing. Selgado didn't know how to tackle him and ended up making some awful and pitiful challenges. I cringed all evening.

Kalinic was rank. Where do you start??? Lazy for one. Made no runs and had Dunn screaming at him. No idea how to find goalscoring positions. Awful

touch and so left footed he is nearly always off balence. Was easily outjumped on every header, looked like headers aren't his game.Did anyone else notice he took the pen with his right?

Mcacartthy played Dunns role but fat 40 and past it he might has well be. I'd put bisto gravy on the ball, he might just run quicker: run at all would be a start! Andrews was pants when he cake on.

That post just confirms one thing.......you need to go on ignore...oh actually 2...you sound so biased against us, I think you may be a dingle :!:

[hollowsr]

That post just confirms one thing.......you need to go on ignore...oh actually 2...you sound so biased against us, I think you may be a dingle :!:

Good idea Sir. Knew you always talked sense

[sambo]

Graham are you drunk? Spelt Salgado, a world famous player's name wrong...

Spent McCarthy wrong...

And spoke a lot of bile.

Can't believe a Rover had such a blinkered view against his OWN team.

Waggy, eat your heart out!

[JAL]

That post just confirms one thing.......you need to go on ignore...oh actually 2...you sound so biased against us, I think you may be a dingle :!:

The one thing Graham is right about is that Kalinic WAS outjumped on every header. Kalinic definitely isnt suited to heading the ball, definitely not.

[Hughesy]

After Graham's stupid dingle post...il post a sensible one.

Posh - Poor, dont even look Championship quality, yes they got 2, but except for hard graft they looked poor. It could have quite easily been 7 or 8 had we pushed for more.

Rovers:

1st half - Good free-kick by Pedersen, although the Posh keeper should of saved it as it went in his side of the goal. Thier 1st goal was awful defending in the air - either Jones or Givet at Fault. We then won a penalty, and their keeper saw Red (which the ref wasnt going to do until the crowd got involved). 2-1 lead - McCarthy let Reid take the Penalty, who slipped on run up, but still slotted home.

2nd half - Yes the grabbed a goal back...but come on, it was easy for us. Salgado got a very good 3rd goal, Kalinic set up Benni and then Benni once again allowed Kalinic to take the penalty following a foul on Olsson (I think?!).

Players-

Brown - Did nothing, let 2 in, awful kicking too - NOT good enough & too small

Salgado - Best game in a Rovers shirt, also took his goal well.

Jones - Looked good for 17, however made 1 or 2 errors (probably nerves), which he wouldnt get away with in the prem. One for the future maybe

Givet - OK, not his best game, not his worst.

Olsson - Probably one of his best games for us - always full of energy and always looking to attack, not sure if left wing would be better suited to him.

Reid - Solid 65 mins, did what he had to, kept the ball - nothing fancy but vital fitness work

Emerton - again solid fitness work, did better than saturday

Pedersen - Good free-kick and apart from that, not alot - awful corners as usual!

Hoilett - Not an out an out winger, wanted to play more centrally (obvious from his positioning), made some decent crosses, however also got caught out with possession once or twice.

Benni - 1st half did ok, 2nd half very good and hugged the ball as much as possible. Id say Star Man tonight

Kalinic - Full of effort, never gives up, set up BEnni very well for his 1st and then took the penalty. Improving!

8500 on...decent Posh following...5-2 and weve got the flu.....now onto the Quarter Finals.

[modes98]

The three young lads arent good enough Ollson, Hoilett and Jones. You're being far, far, far too kind on these lads.

Olsson: I concur

Hoilett: Very talented

Jones: Looks very solid, good header of a ball and can read the game so well for a 17 year old. Not long before he pushes for a starting spot.

Oh and Sam was watching from the stands the entire game, not sure why,but McDonald also spoke to Radio Rovers before hand.

Swine Flu?

The one thing Graham is right about is that Kalinic WAS outjumped on every header. Kalinic definitely isnt suited to heading the ball, definitely not.

So maybe our players need to play the ball into his feet then? Just a thought! Also his heading will probably improve with all the gym work he is doing, give him extra power. Just need to work on it in training.

[grizfoot]

Another Rovers game, another hatful of goals thankfully this time the majority were in the oppositions net. Rovers first goal came with a little incompetence from the ref who really should have played the advantage but instead blew for the free-kick which our Norwegian dilemma converted expertly. Peterborough even with ten men looked a poor side in my opinion and it came as a surprise when they equalized to make it 1-1 and then again at 2-2. This is rather worrying that we managed to concede two goals to a side that created very little.

The sending off was harsh in my view, Pedersen definitely went looking for it and there was minimal contact. But these days those are nailed on penalties and likely red cards.

The second half was a bit of a walk in the park after we got it back to 3-2 thanks to a well crafted goal finished by Salgado. Despite going onto win the game comfortably I find it difficult to highlight any player's performance as outstanding. The fullbacks Olsson and Salgado are both good going forward but are still a concern when it comes to defensive issues. The young lad Jones looked a little shaky in the first half but overall didn't do too badly considering it's just his second senior start. Was most impressed by how calm and collective he was on the ball, not outstanding but definitely got potential there. Nelsen was superb and commanding when he came on.

Pedersen, Gamst, MGP, Peds, Useless, Brilliant are just a number of ways of describing our left-sided midfield. Scores a wonderful free-kick and then descends into mediocrity for the majority of the first-half with poor corner deliver and the tendency to be shrugged of the ball to easily. He however is always a threat in the air and always can be relied on to try and got onto those diagonal balls from deep. He 'won' the penalty that ultimately tipped the game largely in our favour. Second half again he did a number of things well but then goes a misses an absolute sitter. The game sums up Pedersen perfectly, inconsistent in the extreme.

To the central midfield duo of Emerton and Reid, the later was largely unnoticeable for large parts of the game but at least he does get around the pitch a bit hopefully he can stay injury free and we can see the best of him. Emerton had a decent game in my opinion, offers the option of carrying the ball out from central midfield and to his credit some of his passing was top notch tonight. On the right wing you had Hoilett who in my opinion flattered to deceive, going forward he always looks a threat with his pace and dribbling ability but in the area of defensive duties and tracking back he definitely needs to work on. The first Peterborough goal came from poor defending on his behalf.

Upfront McCarthy looked like he was playing in a testimonial, second half he was dropping deep and picking up the ball in all sort of areas. Some would argue that this is the only pace Benni can play at, but in my opinion this is when he's at his best when he gets involved with play and uses his flair and technique. Capped his impressive performance with a goal from a chance I could safely say he was going to score beforehand, in a one-on-one like that Benni is the one player at the club you'd want on the end of it. Onto Kalinic, still a bit undecided on him after that performance. He never seemed to be involved in much of the play throughout the game and I don't recall him ever challenging effectively in the air, which is a worry considering his height. His best moment however came in setting up the McCarthy goal with him dribbling past a defender with ease. He did take his penalty well to be fair.

It's hard to know what to take from a game against lower opposition who had to play with ten men for the entire second half but as the saying goes you can only beat what's in front of you and it's a nice confidence boost after the weekend.

5-2 and we've got the flu!

[Miker]

Didn't see the game, but I have to raise my hand and say I was wrong if Emerton did in fact have a brilliant performance at CM. I would like to see if he can replicate that sort of form in the league, but for now I'm happy to admit I was wrong.

Has Givet gotten slightly less impressive in the last couple of games? It seems he's looked a bit more shaky at the back and more prone to error than he was at the start of the season.

Nice to see Sam's big name signings (Salgado and Kalinic) score for the first time, not to mention the man under criticism lately (Gamst) and Reid and McCarthy be given a chance and taking them. Pretty encouraging and morale boosting I'm sure.

I think Olsson should be given a chance, he had some awful games last season, especially when he had to battle against Ronaldo when we played United, but he's looked much better this season when I saw him play against Arsenal. Out of the back 4, I thougnt he did the best job (or the least worst I should say), which is saying something about the most inexperienced player on the pitch that day.

I'm very happy with the win! I had absolutely zero confidence when we were going to play Chelsea because I've tipped them to win the league this season and could not see them lose 2 in a row, but I am optimistic about United. Although they are the Champions, I think their squad is considerably weaker than it was.

[LDRover]

Really enjoyed the game and thought we played pretty well and were entertaining throughout.

However, I met a couple of friends on the walk home who said it was awful, poor, bad..in fact any derogatory remark you can think of.

I thought it was just me but then I come on here and read that either people thought it was very good or very bad - no middle ground, and that is pretty much a reflection of the views on here all season. I like to think of myself as pretty fair minded and not a knee jerk reactionist (if there is such a term...which there probably isn't) but to me it's certain that the majority on here are either pro Sam or anti Sam. I don't class myself as either, I'm just a Rovers fan.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I thought Salgado was excellent and showed us why we went all out to sign him, Emerton - excellent and full of tricks and skill (I know I can't believe I just typed that either), Hoilett - pacy but dwelt in posession too often, Kalinic - some good touches but should bust a gut more to get in the box. The others all played decent with no real 'stinker' amongst them. A word about Jones too, he looks a real prospect - especially when he came out of defence with the ball at his feet.

So, a good evening's entertainment and we're in the quarter finals...only hope that regardless of who we draw, we give it a right go.

[LeftWinger]

25 goals in the last four Rovers games now. Our games are entertaining if nothing else!

[Majiball]

25 goals in the last four Rovers games now. Our games are entertaining if nothing else!

I wonder if that record rivals Ossies old one at Spurs?

[roversfan1]

Went to the game yesterday and I thought that prior to the sending off alot of the players looked nervous and unsure and the ball was given away cheaply and defensively we looked shaky - both their goals were poor ones to conceded and each scored when they only had 10 men on the pitch (one of their lads was off injured for the first)!!

Still once we scored the third we looked more comfortable on the ball and passed it round well enough and it was good to see us take advantage of the extra man and score a few ourselves.

I thought Salgado was solid and took his goal well and Jones at the back looked sound enough given his age - will be knocking on the door of the first team very soon I feel.

I do have to take issue with the comments regarding Reid and his performance though which I thought was poor. I know he has been out for a long time and I do hope he manages to get back to somewhere near his best but last night he looked like a player well short of match fitness (understandably I know). He tended to shadow people rather than tackle, passes were going astray (not counting those under 10 yards) and he rarely ventured further than 10 yards from the back four. I hope that this was due to lack of games and that he improves with more minutes on the park but as a team we had better shape and options when he went off. Of course people will say "what do you expect" but if he is being pushed into the starting line up - even for a game against Peterborough in the Carling Cup - I was hoping to see a performance from him that hinted that he was on his way back. For me that isnt what I got.

[roversmum]

It was a nice mild evening and we got five goals. Reidy returned and looked good, Kalinic shows promise (more balls to him,please lads), Morten linked up well with Benni and Martin, Bert was excellent(loved the way he went flying off with the ball and then stopped dead leaving his markers chasing fresh air) and enjoyed Salgado's touches. It was a welcome relief from being trounced by the likes of Chelsea and Miss Roversmum in her flat in London for once enjoyed the stream of texts from the match.

Once the lads got used to each other and into the swing of things there was no stopping them.

Hopefully we will get a good draw for the next round.

As for LD's moaners - what exactly do they want?

Noticed the Doc seemed hale and hearty so hopefuly the virus has run its course.

[Hasta]

I am a bit worried about the performance of Emerton and Reid. In fact last night summed up our midfield this season. Both looked decent in the ball and put in some crunching tackles (especially one of Emertons). However, they didn't close the man in posession down quick enough and seemed to almost mark zonally rather than pick a man up. A simple bit of movement seemed to find the Peterborough players in space in the midfield when really one of the central Rovers players should have been closed. It wasn't just last night, it is every game. The problem is that the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea can rip you apart if you keep letting the midfielders pick the ball up in space and then give them time to make the pass.

It just seems that whoever we play in there seems to be reluctant to mark players and close people down. I don't mean run around chasing the ball headless chicken style but just be more aware of the positions the opposition are taking up and when they have the ball try and pressure them. Sounds simple but we don't seem to do it. It's noticable that in the first half against Burnley we actually did do this and played one of our best 45 minutes of the season.

I thought Kalinic looked a bit nervy and quite poor and shoud really have scored the header. Wasn't as bad a MGP's miss at the start of the second half.

Olson and Salgado did well. The young lad at the back was OK for his age. Hoillet did OK and was more direct than a lot of our squad but played the wrong ball and ran into trouble at times. Probably just experience. Benni was well marshalled in the first half but when he found loads of space in the second played well.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Well thank the Lord for that. Here I am sat in Zurich thinking the game is tonight, I enter the thread half way through and see someone moaning that we allowed them back at 2-2. I allways like to go through the threads from the start of the game to the finish, so I do that and finally find we won 5-2. Oh well!

[Hughesy]

When is the draw for the Quarter Finals?! 3rd year in a row we have reached this stage!

[G Somerset Rover]

When is the draw for the Quarter Finals?! 3rd year in a row we have reached this stage!

On football Saturday this coming week mate.

You get the feeling that if we get a home draw then we've got a chance against anyone.

[gumboots]

It was a welcome relief from being trounced by the likes of Chelsea and Miss Roversmum in her flat in London for once enjoyed the stream of texts from the match.

Once the lads got used to each other and into the swing of things there was no stopping them.

Yes, my daughter also thanked me for the updates this time! You've hit the nail on the head there - once they got used to playing together. That was almost Peterborough's first team whereas we had loads of changes and many will only have played together occasionally in training. We were playing like individuals at first, working out where others were going to be. Salgado in particular wanted to run all over the pitch and was often out of position earlier on. Once he stuck to his own side of the pitch, even when he went forward, we were much more steady. Nelsen's attitude when he arrived seemed to be to take no prisoners and his determination seemed to wake up others. Criticism of Jones and Hoillet seems a bit excessive to me. They made mistakes yes, but that's why they play in these games - they are games where a mistake might be punished but you've a much greater chance of recovering from it than you do in a premier league game.

One last thing - the booing of Andrews was from the JW side of the Blackburn end at the back and was, in my opinion, disgraceful. The guy may not be very good but it's not his fault the manager puts him on, and whether you like him, rate him or not, once he's on that pitch in a blue and white shirt, he deserves at least not to be booed before he's even kicked a ball. If he makes a mistake then give him some stick if you feel the need but booing as he comes on? Unbelievable

[brfcs5359]

Well I hope you lot are right and I am wrong. I fear we are relegation fodder next season. £80,000 per week on two players stuck in the reserves is huge problem. Hoillet, Jones forgiven. They will mature, especially Jones plus Jackson Camm? and Cruz who look good for their age.

It's no good saying shouting me down about for eg NZonzi at the strat of the season. 10 games in it is a no brainer, Grella isn't good enough. Or that Roberts is good enough. Diouf is the next in the firing line. Next to no assists and 1 goal.

Undeniable Observation LOL; Last night 4 of the 5 midfielders were Souness signings.

[Hughesy]

On football Saturday this coming week mate.

You get the feeling that if we get a home draw then we've got a chance against anyone.

We could really do with Bolton pulling off a shock result tonight, and maybe Arsenal beating Liverpool too.

Id then like to see a QF draw of:

Rovers v Bolton

Pompey v Tottenham

Arsenal v Villa

City v United

[Silencio]

One last thing - the booing of Andrews was from the JW side of the Blackburn end at the back and was, in my opinion, disgraceful. The guy may not be very good but it's not his fault the manager puts him on, and whether you like him, rate him or not, once he's on that pitch in a blue and white shirt, he deserves at least not to be booed before he's even kicked a ball. If he makes a mistake then give him some stick if you feel the need but booing as he comes on? Unbelievable

I don't believe in booing young players but I think senior players who have proven to rubbish for a long period of time are fair game. If it stops him or Roberts playing as regularly then it will be a good thing that he got booed.

I'm sure their undeserved paychecks make up for their hurt feelings.

[Hughesy]

I sit in N02 - you could hear the booing, but their was very little from the blackburn fans, it mainly came from the away end.

[LeChuck]

Undeniable Observation LOL; Last night 4 of the 5 midfielders were Souness signings.

Reid, Emerton, Pedersen and... ?

Hoilett - academy; Dunn - Hughes; Andrews - Ince.

[RoyRover]

I'm happy with the result, the spread of the goals and that players like Salgado, Reid, Emerton, Hoilett, McCarthy and Kalinic got to play and play well by some accounts. It's another good work out for Steven Reid, who needs as many games as possible. I'm hoping to get Portsmouth at home in the !/4 finals now.

[gumboots]

I don't believe in booing young players but I think senior players who have proven to rubbish for a long period of time are fair game. If it stops him or Roberts playing as regularly then it will be a good thing that he got booed.

I'm sure their undeserved paychecks make up for their hurt feelings.

Do you seriously think it will stop the manager playing him if you boo him when he comes on? Of course it won't. In fact the expert that is our manager is far more likely to play him just to show who is boss. I don't worry about his hurt feelings - just can't believe that our own fans boo our own players onto the pitch! Plays right into the hands of the opposition and their fans. They don't need to jeer Andrews - his own supposed fans already do it. And it wasn't the opposition booing - it was right behind us in the Blackburn end. Not saying they weren't as well - they may well have been but when it's directly behind you, you know where it's coming from