[Archived] Chelsea V Rovers Preview

[tonygreenbank]

I am in a quandary.

Nelsen, Ollsen, Pedersen and Roberts were truly awful today. The others were below average at best. However the performance of Andrews was the worst I have ever seen from a Rovers player in 38 years, and so far below what is required of a Premier League player it was unbelievable.

If the manager keeps picking him he should be dismissed asap. Therefore I feel the best way to achieve this is perhaps not to go to games. The board will soon act if attendances plummet. I have missed 6 games at home since 1971-72 so don't know if I could just not go.

The alternative in my opinion is to stand and boo for the entire period Andrews is in the field.

Something has to be done to get this cretin out of the team, or the man who picks him out of the managers office.

We do not have a good team by any means, but would stay up at least if it were not for a player who would be laughed at if he turned out at Pleasington on Sunday mornings.

I urge all supporters who have the future of the club at heart to boo, howl and whistle at his every touch until he HAS to be removed from the field.

I know the "get behind 'em" brigade will shout me down, but if they held sway Jim Iley would still be manager and John Butcher would have broke Derek Fazackerly's record.

BOOOOOO Andrews BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What a totally stupid post! How on earth is that going to help the team or the player? I am not saying that Andrews is a world beater but to suggest that he and he alone is responsible for that defeat and our current problems is down right stupid. Andrews didnt make Givet kick the ball into his own net; neither did he force Robinson to be beaten from 35 yards nor tell Nelsen to trip Drogba up in the penalty area. 3 silly goals given away.That usually means a heavy defeat.

[colin]

I can't quite beleive what I've just seen on MOTD. Allerdyce blamed the result on the players.

Not on himself or his tactics.

Not on the fact that Chelsea rarely lose at home.

Not on the fact that Chelsea have £millions more to spend.

No, it's the players who didn't do what he wanted them to do to win the game.

Ha fecking ha!

Allerdyce might have saved us from relegation last season, but he's fast turning into an idiot as far as I'm concerned.

Blaming the players is a really poor move. I can handle being beated 5 -0 by Chelsea. But his comments are unacceptable.

[tcj_jones]

McCarthy has clearly been marginalised, but would have been a better introduction into a 4-4-2. Salgado for Jacobsen was just a hopeless and meaningless gesture.

Got to agree with this. What the hell was the point in bringing Salgado on?

Andrews for McCarthy. Sorted.

[patrickvalery]

4 out of the starting 11, and the key substitutes Kalinic and Salgado. Both of which smacked of getting "his" players on the park before the interests of the team and the result. McCarthy has clearly been marginalised, but would have been a better introduction into a 4-4-2. Salgado for Jacobsen was just a hopeless and meaningless gesture.

I said as much in the Sam Allardyce thread. Putting Kalinic on today was tantamount to cruelty. The boy needs his confidence boosting and today was simply not the time or place for that to happen.

On the subject of Emerton. Well to my mind all he has is energy. But on the ball he is and always has been pretty useless. Lots of people seem to rave about the man. I must have missed it. To my mind his only future lies in replacing the clown which is Andrews. Stick him in the middle and let him press and harass the opposition. Even then we still have the problem of what he does once he has the ball.

Today has just left me asking numerous questions. Why do sides with unarguably less talent go to the top sides and not concede the amounts we do? Why was £6m spent on a striker when our midfield is possibly the worst i've seen it in 15yrs? Why do none of the midfielders we posses offer no protection to the back four? Why do we persist with Pedersen when we have raw and hungry talent like Hoilett on the books? Why was Andrews given a new contract?

[Hughesy]

Get Gordon Strachan in ASAP - he cannot be any worse than this clown.

The same guy who kept us up? The same guy that since he's been in charge we have lost 2 home games under... the same guy who managed us to a win against the dingles last week.... Seriously lose the knee-jerk reactions its pathetic!

I'm not a Sam basher, but these days games against the top 6 fill me with sadness, before they've kicked off. It's an embarassment. Only Kidd has made me this fed up.

Top 4 mate, not top 6. City are top 6 we played well against them..Villa probably another - we beat them.

that comment is about as funny as our performance. How you can you even attempt to defend allardyce on recent performances?

Recent performances being? Do we forget Villa & Burnley??? Yeah thought so!! Crawl back under your stone will you...

[RibbleValleyRover]

On the subject of Emerton. Well to my mind all he has is energy. But on the ball he is and always has been pretty useless. Lots of people seem to rave about the man. I must have missed it. To my mind his only future lies in replacing the clown which is Andrews. Stick him in the middle and let him press and harass the opposition. Even then we still have the problem of what he does once he has the ball.

I'm prepared to give Emerton some time, he came back from a serious injury so its pretty natural for him to need some time both physically and mentally to get used to playing at this level again. The mental issue can be huge, you'd be worried about going into tackles after suffering that injury.

[Hughesy]

Emerton will give 100% however the biggest disapointment about him today was his set piece/ crossing delivery - it was awful!

[47er]

I'm prepared to give Emerton some time, he came back from a serious injury so its pretty natural for him to need some time both physically and mentally to get used to playing at this level again. The mental issue can be huge, you'd be worried about going into tackles after suffering that injury.

He's better than Andrews who does absolutely nothing.

[47er]

Ollson is taking a lot of stick but I didn't think he did a lot wrong today

I'm surprised at the criticism of Ollson. He's come on a lot since last year.

[RIML]

I'm surprised at the criticism of Ollson. He's come on a lot since last year.

I'm surprised at the criticism of Sam Allardyce.

I've seen very little of the game so can't comment on the performance but at the start of the season when the fixtures came out, we all looked at October and thought 3 points from that month, anything else a bonus, we've got the 3 points what are people moaning about? How can these people not take into consideration the job he did keeping us in this league. Not to mention our outstanding home record of just 2 losses in 10 months, not many teams will be going to the likes of Chelsea and getting something from the game, they've conceded one goal at home all season, they beat Athletico Madrid 4-0 in midweek, not to mention us having a lot of key players out. I wish they'd get behind the team and the manager.

[Steve Moss]

I've just watched his BBC interview. Sam did call the second half "pathetic". He did not, however, appear to me to throw the players under the bus. His take on it was the own goal in the 1st was unfortunate, the second goal should have cleared, then the Rovers, contrary to instructions (his idea was to take acting opportunites as they came, not try to force them), tried to run up three goals which he found frustrating as that opened up the Rovers defense and Chelsea pounced. Assuming Sam is a reliable narrator, I'm thinking he had the right idea though it was poorly executed.

[Silencio]

I've just watched his BBC interview. Sam did call the second half "pathetic". He did not, however, appear to me to throw the players under the bus. His take on it was the own goal in the 1st was unfortunate, the second goal should have cleared, then the Rovers, contrary to instructions (his idea was to take acting opportunites as they came, not try to force them), tried to run up three goals which he found frustrating as that opened up the Rovers defense and Chelsea pounced. Assuming Sam is a reliable narrator, I'm thinking he had the right idea though it was poorly executed.

The problem with trying to take chances when they come rather than force them is that when you have Roberts up front alone you will miss anything that does come. He couldn't score in a brothel and is poor in just about every other area. For a man his of his size he is poor at holding the ball up, he can't head it either. He's carrying too much muscle as well and can't last 90 minutes (which is probably a good thing considering the way he plays).

It's horrible to think that he signed a new contract quite recently.

[tcj_jones]

Emerton did a sterling job for a short while at CM, filling in when we needed him to, but he isn't a CM by trade. The really unfortunate thing is that his best position is, and always has been, RB, but now we have about seventeen players on the books who can play there.

What the HELL was the point in bringing in Salgado when we already had Jacobsen and Emerton - both great players for a club outside the top six to have - ready to compete for the position?!

[Miker]

I had to watch this at 3.30am and fell asleep about half an hour in

You could tell by then that we were going to get slaughtered. I honestly did not expect a thing from this match. We should've just forfeited. I know people say other teams like Wigan give the top 4 a run, but Wigan played Chelsea at Home, with their best team out on the field.

When you look at the stats and you see that Chelsea lost their last league game and then went on to beat a quality European team 4-0 in the Champions League, then you have to put up your hand and say: "We are completely and utterly screwed."

So far this season we've seen that Di Santo, Dunn and Samba are absolutely crucial to our game plan. We can deal without ONE of them, but without ALL THREE... no chance in hell. Not to mention we were without Chimbonda who has been quality at left back and in my opinion.

[Presty On Tour]

Well what a ###### disgrace that was!

Yes I know we were hit by the flu and all that ###### but wtf was going on today. No fight, no passion! Absolutly steaming in a run down pub in swansea with me singing my head off surrounded by swansea jacks waiting to kick my head in! Roberts is ######! I thought after the Burnley victory we would be well up for this like I was after my 10th pint before kick off.

Same old school boy lessons, we haveto close down quickly and pressurerise to stop them playing. Essien could have had a cup of tea anda donor kebab by the time Andrews got near him.

Absolutly gutted by the performance and the result is a ###### take. All the fans who went down should get a refund. Man Utd next, well I hope were better than this! ###### laughing stock!

Lancashire la la la la..........Lancashire la la la la!!!!

[bigbrandjohn]

Lucky we dont meet teams like Chelsea every week. next week should be easier for the lads.

[Rover Down Under]

If I were Andrews, Roberts or Pederson I would ask to NOT be picked for the first team again until I felt I was capable of playing and ask the boss to play Hoillett, Kalinic/Benni and Emerton/Reid/Grella as my confidence is being constantly eroded, the fans are getting on my back and I am bringing nothing to the team.

[thenodrog]

Today has just left me asking numerous questions. Why do sides with unarguably less talent go to the top sides and not concede the amounts we do? Why was £6m spent on a striker when our midfield is possibly the worst i've seen it in 15yrs? Why do none of the midfielders we posses offer no protection to the back four? Why do we persist with Pedersen when we have raw and hungry talent like Hoilett on the books? Why was Andrews given a new contract?

Hit the nail on the head there. A reallist would recognise that our best player is on loan from Chelsea and cannot get within a mile of a 1st team start for them but I'd take 2-0 defeats at the top 4 clubs all day long in the knowledge that every so often we will catch one on an off day and get something from the game but but we have simply become cannon fodder these days. It's odd cos one thing I thought we would be when SA came was as difficult and cussed as Hughes made us in his 4-5-1 1st season formation.

Apart from Nelsen being unable to compete with Drogba in the air (and accepted not many can) most of our malaise is caused by weak midfield players who simply are not good enough nor strong enough to stop players simply running through us with ease .... even Blake showed that weakness up. Emerton is out of position, N'Zonzi is very promising but very young and inexperienced in English football, the best I can say about Pederson is that he blows between tepid and cold, EHD though talented on the ball doesn't have a tackle in him,Dunny and Grella are very good players but continual sick notes, whilst Andrews is slow of pace, slow of thought, gets effortlessly swept aside by real Prem players and may as well not even be on the pitch, he should not even get to wear the shirt.

I rarely see a player running at us with intent get checked and it's even rarer to see a midfielder 'go with a runner' unless it's the token effort of tamely trailing in his wake. In a nutshell the sheer determination and bloody mindedness required to stand up to these teams is not there and that is precisely the quality that I expected SA to bring. imo the team spirit has been wanting since the Jan transfer window before Mark Hughes left I don't know why but maybe thats where we should all be looking for the answers.

[thenodrog]

If I were Andrews, Roberts or Pederson I would ask to NOT be picked for the first team again until I felt I was capable of playing and ask the boss to play Hoillett, Kalinic/Benni and Emerton/Reid/Grella as my confidence is being constantly eroded, the fans are getting on my back and I am bringing nothing to the team.

Thats stupid. Do you think they'd agree to forfeit their wages too? Can you at least try to apply a modicum of thought and keep your posts sensible?

[des]

For me I have never liked the 4-5-1 however the one thing that has to happen when playing like that is for the midfield to close down quickly.

We stood off in the midfield and let them play, you cannot do that, you might as well of played 4-4-2 if yoiu are ging to do that.

Sam will be judged by the decsions that he makes and so far some have been right some wrong.

however we do need to go back to having two up front, as the ball just keps comimg back on to the back four.

well lets see what happens next week

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Looks like we are going to have to win another 10 games at home!

Given away performances and scores there is absolutely no reason not to play the kids at old trafford - can't do worse than get beat 5-6 nil and at least there would be a valid excuse!

TBH had written the chelsea game off and was expecting to ship 4 (hoping just to ship 1 or 2). Since getting into the prem we have never had 2 or 3 tonkings in a season ( 5 or more) in big danger of 4 or 5 this season.

[Jan]

I'm so glad I got into this for free.

FFS someone kneecap Andrews QUICK!

[thenodrog]

however we do need to go back to having two up front, as the ball just keps comimg back on to the back four.

I think that all depends on the man (men) up top. Jason Roberts simply cannot hold the ball up, his second touch is a tackle and without someone like Dunny or Lampard in close attendance it's a thankless task for anyone.

[iamarover]

40 years. In 3 different divisions several times. Away games to clubs a dizzying height above us. Home to big city clubs with lavish purchases. Down to 10, even 9 mine men sometimes. And several unexpected defeats to part timers, ne'er do wells and even, God preserve us, the Dingles.

And never. Never have I been embarrassed to have been a Rover. Sat in the magnificent West Stand with 2 Roverettes, the 3 of us died. Witnessing the worst performance of a longish lifetime has several peculiar effects which scar your soul. Everyone around us knew who we supported And the worst thing, the absolutely terrible humiliation was- Chelsea didn't care. It started with mild patronising. Then waves of laughter. And shouts of 'Shoot' every time Essien or Lampard lazily strode across the half way line with fat cigars, spats and a top hat. And then, worst of all, far, far worse than anything all my Rover days, came the sympathy.

Clearly moved by the pain etched on our faces, they began sort of cheering for us. It was like being single at the school disco 14 weeks in succession, and your form teacher in front of the whole school pull out the dinner lady for a snog you were never ever going to get on your own.

That kind of inner pride you have when you sit amongst the opposition knowing secretly they hated you, maybe were even unsettled or threatened by your presence, evaporated in a performance that defies description. It was like witnessing your pet seal being booted around the beach by a playful killer whale.

Off the Kings Road we meandered into a pub. The scarves brought a smile from the barman and then a barely perceptible shake of the head. In the bog they were advertising for players for the pub Sunday team. Last night Allardyce should have dropped off Nelsen, Diouf, Olsson, Andrews, Roberts and the indesribably awful Pedersen and then driven the rest of them to the M1 to hitch a lift off Northbound nutters and their psychotic partners.

I hate them.

[Silencio]

Off the Kings Road we meandered into a pub. The scarves brought a smile from the barman and then a barely perceptible shake of the head. In the bog they were advertising for players for the pub Sunday team. Last night Allardyce should have dropped off Nelsen, Diouf, Olsson, Andrews, Roberts and the indesribably awful Pedersen and then driven the rest of them to the M1 to hitch a lift off Northbound nutters and their psychotic partners.

I hate them.

Hate who? The above players? I live in Korea these days and didn't see the game but I think Olsson and the young players should be given more of a chance. The others you mention deserve all the stick they get, more in my opinion.