[Archived] Blackburn Vs Portsmouth. Ewood Park, 7Th November.

[broadsword]

Why are we criticising.

We're not the experts, Allardyce is. Portsmouth fell into his classic sucker punch trap. The old false sense of security at half-time number.

[Silencio]

Decent result but I would hold back on saying Roberts should start the next game. He did what he is decent at yesterday, coming on as a sub and making an impact. He is never good starting games and should accept a substitute role.

It's time to get Diouf and MGP out of the side and I would go with someting like this:

Robinson

Chimbonda Samba Nelsen Givet

Emerton Grella N'zonzi

Dunn

Franco Benni

[S15]

I can't remember the last time we were on such a good home run. In fact, I've been watching Rovers for 15 years now, and even during the Championship winning season, I don't recall us ever winning 5 home league games on the trot.

Yet people are slating the manager? Five home wins on the trot is nothing to do with having correct tactics to win home games? Just got lucky five times in a row in the worlds most difficult league?

Yes our recent away performances have been poor, but how anyone can look at our overall style of play over the past five home games, combine that with the results obtained and be anything other than ECSTATIC is beyond me.

It's clear some people just won't give Allardyce anything at all, but slowly and surely he is turning us into the kind of team Bolton were, and that all started with home form. In 12 months I'd wager we are 5-8 places higher in the league, but I guess even then he'll just be an arrogant fool.

Ironically, that is the only thing he has in common with a number of the Rovers fans criticising him.

[Amo]

Funny how both Roberts' goals were instinctive finishes. Whenever he's given time to dilly-dally, he always seems to cock it up.

[Balwer]

While I am happy with the result and disappointed with some of the hysteria on here, I have to correct the point about five league wins in a row at home. It's four league wins with the Peterborough Cup Game making it five. Surely basic maths dictates that 5x3>13...

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

The problem with those who criticise Sam today is this; although we did play terribly in the first half, Sam changed it and convincingly won the game. If you want to choose to ignore the fact that we won 3-1 and just focus on the first half display then fine, but its hardly a watertight argument.

As has been mentioned, we've won well at home against Burnley, Wolves and Villa (5th in the league with us down to 10 men) so its understandable for Sam to have kept it that way. He ommitted Andrews which we've all been screaming for and after the first half, everybody wanted Benni on, Diouf/Gamst off and thats exactly what he did.

He's not a genius but he deserves credit. Not really fair to slam him for getting it wrong in the first place and then to ignore the fact that he rectified the situation and most importantly won the game. If he sets the same team out for our next home game then obviously thats a seperate issue but today I feel Sam deserves more praise than criticism. As has been said many times, its not the mistakes which are criminal, its not learning from them. Whatever you might say about the Sam's lineup in the first half, he realised what needed doing and changed it immediately. Hughes didnt do that and neither did Ince.

[grizfoot]

Having watched the highlights back I do think Robinson could have done better with the O'Hara goal he seemed to have bad positonal awareness as he wasn't in the middle of the goal and hence had more ground to try and scramble across to try and save the shot although in his defense the ball did skim across the wet surface a little quicker than you would usually expect.

Also worth a mention was the brilliant piece of skill from Dunn that sent a ball perfectly in the direction of Di Santo. The one that Ronaldinho use to do a lot and the same one he was trying in that infamous clip as a Birmingham player.

[Tom]

As I said fair play to Sam for changing it, however it has to be stated he also got lucky today. We were so bad in the first half that the game could have been over by half time against a better team.

It must be said I was baffled at half time with the changes and the choice of Roberts over Kalinic but the result proves Sam right and many of us wrong on that one.

[Gamst]

Spot on Bryan !

I honestly think his arse started twitching when he heard the boos ringing at half time. It was as loud as i've ever heard it and we've had some dire performances over the past few years !!

I think he only intended on making one change at half time because i can only remember Benni warming up in the 1st half and not Roberts - i may be wrong ! He made the double change to appease the fans and make it look like he was taking drastic action. There would have been more than jeers at full time if things hadn't worked out result and performance wise !!!!

That's just guess work and is therefore not a fair criticism of Sam. Regardless of whether the fans influenced his substitutions, he was still tactically right. Roberts is a player that doesn't seem especially popular with the fans, but sam brought him on and he won us the game. I suspect most fans, me included, would have chosen Kalinic. Fair enough, we were hopeless in the first half, but the substitutions were spot on and we won comfortably. Winning any premierleague match is a minor triumph for a club of our size and wealth. Sam is arrogant, but he is actually very good at what he does. He is no Wenger or Ancelotti, but Sam doesn't have the same money that they have. He is good at orchestrating home victories against opponents in and around us in the league. Since he has arrived he has done this excellently. Its why we are still in the Prem and its why we will stay up this season. Personally, Im glad he is our boss. He proved how good he was at Bolton. What he did there was remarkable and he is in part responsible for them still being a prem club today.

The away form needs to pick up, but if you look at the previous 10 away league games they have been very tough matches. Barring Stoke, you would expect us to lose the others. I would have loved us to have picked up points away from Ewood and am dissapointed we havn't, but it is not worthy of such harsh criticism. If we continue to lose away against poorer teams then there will be cause for concern, but currently we lie in 13th having played 3 of the top four away. Fair enough start to the season in my opinion.

[Ninjathunder]

There is some rubbish being written here.

Allardyce got it horribly wrong today like Ince got it horribly wrong in games last season.

Allardyce reacted and got it right in the second half unlike Ince who didn't have the wit to change things around.

Sam is by no means perfect but he's not that bad overall.

Even under Sparky we used to bemoan that we got performances repeatedly that were good for one half and indifferent in the other.

Spot on.

[Steve Moss]

Why bother changing it at all then, it's obviously a genius system.

I am a fan, and I'm worried that the guy we have in charge isn't suitable. ...

Beating a poor Wolves side, an off-colour Villa and a Burnley side with a woeful away record I wouldn't take as a rubber-stamping of this tactical approach.

"Tactics" is not a one size fits all proposition. Some tactics work against some teams on some days, and some don't. What worked yesterday may not work today, but might tomorrow. Sam is suitable, as he adapted his tactics when it mattered and got the win.

If we only continue to do better than Pompey, Wolves and Burnley, and knick points from the occassional "off-colour" team, we'll stay up. I happen to think we'll do considerably better than that and will ultimately rank 8-12, but we'll see. But things are looking good. So cheer up.

. . .

I honestly think his arse started twitching when he heard the boos ringing at half time. It was as loud as i've ever heard it and we've had some dire performances over the past few years !!

I think he only intended on making one change at half time because i can only remember Benni warming up in the 1st half and not Roberts - i may be wrong ! He made the double change to appease the fans and make it look like he was taking drastic action.

Looking at the pre-squad line up, this is not likely true. He had 3 strikers on the bench, indicating he was at least considering the possibility of switching 2 up front before the game started.

There is some rubbish being written here.

Allardyce got it horribly wrong today like Ince got it horribly wrong in games last season.

Allardyce reacted and got it right in the second half unlike Ince who didn't have the wit to change things around.

Sam is by no means perfect but he's not that bad overall.

The problem with those who criticise Sam today is this; although we did play terribly in the first half, Sam changed it and convincingly won the game. If you want to choose to ignore the fact that we won 3-1 and just focus on the first half display then fine, but its hardly a watertight argument.

. . .

He's not a genius but he deserves credit. Not really fair to slam him for getting it wrong in the first place and then to ignore the fact that he rectified the situation and most importantly won the game. . . .Whatever you might say about the Sam's lineup in the first half, he realised what needed doing and changed it immediately.

Amen. There a quiet a few "great" generals who blew the early tactical layout but made corrections mid-stream and won the day. Sam deserves credit, not criticism.

[thenodrog]

Having watched the highlights back I do think Robinson could have done better with the O'Hara goal he seemed to have bad positonal awareness as he wasn't in the middle of the goal and hence had more ground to try and scramble across to try and save the shot although in his defense the ball did skim across the wet surface a little quicker than you would usually expect.

Brad would have saved that all day long. Unfortunately the Ince legacy carries on long after his demise.

[brfcs5359]

First off; I have said all along Diouf is a liability, he slows our attacks and contributes nothing. Whilst I would like to actually defend Pederson, unfirtunatley the same critisisms apply. 2nd half the speed of our attack was totally different to what it had been in this and other games.

Benni is old and slow and I think he is no longer even a second striker. He is class and behind two target men in the gaps he revelled. You could argue it's him and Dunn for the head of a diamond midfield but on yesterdays performance they are both too good to leave out. Roberts is useless but having Do Santo doing a similar job and Benni, nzonzi Dunn Cimbonda Emerton all surrounding him at some point with support his strengths were applified and his weaknesses covered.

I have said all season NZnzi is class, Diouf is pants. Allardyce is an old fashioned manager and the game has move on.

[American]

Brad would have saved that all day long. Unfortunately the Ince legacy carries on long after his demise.

Would have being past tense. Have you seen much of him this season? He's lost a bit and we'd be complaining about his play if he were still here with this defense.

[imy9]

Here is a novel thought, if Sam does something well give him credit, if he doesnt critisise him, but some of the comments are now becoming moronic.

Yesterday he dropped one of his favourite players at half time as he was playing poorly and played with THREE strikers- tactical masterstroke.

[Kelbo]

Rovers have done well at home this season (City apart) so why should the manager have changed the system for this game,remember, we did Pompy last year with the set pieces and James was all over the place, so Portsmouth would have been prepared,which they were andhad a plan to niggle Samba at set pieces!!

It didnt work this time so things were changed and Nelsen was charged with winning the set pieces (Scored one and made one) whilst Samba occupied the marker!!

And going to 442 helped toobut this is why he selected the bench he did, three strikers!!

Football is so technical nowadays, teams prepare and try to nullify opponents by cutting out their strengths, Portsmouth did this in the first half and Sam reacted at half time.

Hopefully, if Emertons second half performace is anything to go by, Keith Andrews will be on the bench for a long while!!

[nowthen]

Just to add to RIML's comments about NO1...it's getting more and more embarrassing. I sit up there and there must be at least 50 or 100 singing about the formation or Allardyce not knowing what he is doing every time something goes wrong. Yes, we were rubbish in the first half but, as many have said, we have won our previous home games playing the same formation. Away from home I'd agree the formation is very negative and the aim seems to be just to keep a clean sheet but 4-5-1 (or 4-4-1-1) can be attacking at home if one or two of Pedersen, Diouf and Dunn are playing well but none of them did in the first half.

At the end the same lot in NO1 were chanting a self congratulating 4-4-2 yet we hadn't played it in the second half really until Super Keith came on in attempt to preserve our lead.

After the anti-Sam facebook group this negativity about him was always going to creep back in this season. People were willing to keep quiet while he was keeping us up but now it's changed. If we have a patchy couple of results at home these people won't be happy until he has gone and replaced with someone with no track record who'll get us relegated.

[imy9]

1) There are things about Allardyce's management and tactics which people do not like.

FAIR ENOUGH- BUT IT IS CLEAR MANY DISLIKE SAM-THE MAN.

2) When people point these out after a defeat, they are branded idiots and asked "where were these comments last week when we beat so-and-so".

THE SAME PEOPLE POINT THEM OUT AFTER A WIN TOO.

3) When people point these out after a victory they are branded idiots and asked to accept "we won didn't we; all's well that ends well; no harm no foul".

IT BECOMES TEDIOUS WHEN YOU HEAR "WE WON INSPITE OF SAM" COMMENTS AFTER A WIN AND "WE LOST BECAUSE OF SAM" COMMENTS AFTER A DEFEAT.

4) People are entitled to their opinion even if you do not agree with it. Rather than stick a negative rep mark and describe people as insane, why not try debating the finer points. You might learn something about each other!

HOW CAN YOU DEBATE "I HATE SAM"? A LOT OF THE COMMENTS STEM FROM AN UNDERLYING HATRED FOR THE MANAGER- IF PEOPLE PUT THIS TO ONE SIDE AND THEN TRIED DEBATING THE FINER POINTS OF THE GAME IT WOULD BE A MORE FUN PLACE TO BE!

5) Whilst there are limits of taste and decency, the only poor opinion is "My opinion is that your opinion is crap".

AGREED.

Now, Sam made a rod for his own back by saying, even in jest, "Leave it to me, I'm the expert, not you". It was obviously tongue-in-cheek but he gave his detractors some ammunition for every bad decision.

THE GIVE AWAY WAS THE TONGUE IN CHEEK- WHY SHOULD THIS BE HELD AGAINST HIM?

The second half line up yesterday smacked of a bit of desperation, and it paid off. That's quite a valid opinion.

IT SMACKED OF A MANAGER ANNOYED AT HOW HIS TEAM PERFORMED IN THE FIRST HALF AND MADE THE NECESSARY CHANGES FOR THE 2ND HALF- AN EQUALLY VALID OPINION.

By all means, enjoy the victory, we've even clawed back 2 points on the dingles with a game still in hand, but this is a football message board. It would be a little boring if we all agreed with each other!

[47er]

I love the idea that the crowd made the decision for the manager by their booing! As if a manager of his experience couldn't see things needed shaking up! Moreover not one of the crowd would have come up with the solution he did. Some would have wanted Pedersen off and McCarthy on, others would have wanted Hoillet for Doeuf, still others would have wanted Kalinic up-front with McCarthy or Di Santo. Nobody wanted Roberts on yet he won the match for us! And no-one but no-one suggested playing 3 strikers with both wingers off.

The manager gets the blame when we lose but little credit when we win.This was a must-win match and we won it comfortably but for some this game further entrenches their dislike of him.Incredible really.

[Guest Kamy100]

It is right to have a go at Sam for the first half yesterday, simply the tactics and team selection were wrong, however also deserves credit for changing things at half time and getting us the result.

[RIML]

Just to add to RIML's comments about NO1...it's getting more and more embarrassing. I sit up there and there must be at least 50 or 100 singing about the formation or Allardyce not knowing what he is doing every time something goes wrong. Yes, we were rubbish in the first half but, as many have said, we have won our previous home games playing the same formation. Away from home I'd agree the formation is very negative and the aim seems to be just to keep a clean sheet but 4-5-1 (or 4-4-1-1) can be attacking at home if one or two of Pedersen, Diouf and Dunn are playing well but none of them did in the first half.

At the end the same lot in NO1 were chanting a self congratulating 4-4-2 yet we hadn't played it in the second half really until Super Keith came on in attempt to preserve our lead.

After the anti-Sam facebook group this negativity about him was always going to creep back in this season. People were willing to keep quiet while he was keeping us up but now it's changed. If we have a patchy couple of results at home these people won't be happy until he has gone and replaced with someone with no track record who'll get us relegated.

There is just no pleasing some people.

The fans wanted 4-4-2, Sam went one better with 4-3-3 or as I'd like to put it 4-3-2-1 yet people are still not satisfied, it was clear to see the first half was .......... I don't think words can describe it, we just lacked everything in the final third which is why Sam thought it was necessary to play three further forward, very similar to the formation Arsenal played with Ashavin v.Persie Eduardo, with v.Persie the furthest forward and Ashavin and Eduardo using the width of the pitch to stretch the Wolves defence in a 4-3-2-1 formation, we used the width very well in the second half which opened gaps for us.

I still feel attack is the best form of defence but at the same time we need some stability in midfield and at the back. After heavy defeats away to Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea we have bounced back every time and won the following game, we haven't gone on a massive losing run in fact we have only lost twice in a row all season, nobody can say the team lacked confidence in the first half it wasn't a case of that, we lacked ideas and creativity but all that changed with the options we had on the bench, even if we'd gone 2-0 down you would have backed up to get back in it, that is the sign of a good team, they mentioned that about City yesterday. Once this stability sets in I'm sure we'll go on to take points away from home and what a better way to do that against Bolton. We have plenty of options on the bench, which is more than what can be said about Liverpool's team this season!!

The supporters will want to see more of the same in our next fixtures but what happens if the 4-3-2-1 formation doesn't work, it would be interesting to hear the plan B they would have.

I love the idea that the crowd made the decision for the manager by their booing! As if a manager of his experience couldn't see things needed shaking up! Moreover not one of the crowd would have come up with the solution he did. Some would have wanted Pedersen off and McCarthy on, others would have wanted Hoillet for Doeuf, still others would have wanted Kalinic up-front with McCarthy or Di Santo. Nobody wanted Roberts on yet he won the match for us! And no-one but no-one suggested playing 3 strikers with both wingers off.

The manager gets the blame when we lose but little credit when we win.This was a must-win match and we won it comfortably but for some this game further entrenches their dislike of him.Incredible really.

Exactly, as I pointed out before, it's not how you start it's how you finish.

[Roost]

A system which has given us 8 goals in 3 home games is in no way negative

Really?

The only 'system' that worked yesterday was the gamble to remove two very poor players and replace them with two strikers. That is not a system - those changes were made to try and mask just how wrong the tactics were in the first half.

Why not start with an attacking formation?

Why not?

[47er]

It is right to have a go at Sam for the first half yesterday, simply the tactics and team selection were wrong, however also deserves credit for changing things at half time and getting us the result.

But those same tactics and that same team selection (minus Andrews!) had brought us 3 home victories in a row.The manager was right to assume that would continue against Portsmouth.

[nicko]

Hands up all of the people who spotted the flaws in the first half and would have made THAT substitution at half-time and play with a totally unique formation...

If you are honest, nobody would have.

Give the manager a break. That was inspired.

The next problem is picking a starting line-up as attacking as that for the next game.

Good job he has a fortnight to think that one through.

[Exiled_Rover]

Hands up all of the people who spotted the flaws in the first half and would have made THAT substitution at half-time and play with a totally unique formation...

If you are honest, nobody would have.

Give the manager a break. That was inspired.

The next problem is picking a starting line-up as attacking as that for the next game.

Good job he has a fortnight to think that one through.

*Raises hand*