[Archived] Academy 2009/10

[Hughesy]

This gives a good idea of the difference between the two sides, Nationalities of teams at beginning of 2nd half:

Chelsea- English x4, Dutch, Sierra-Leone, Slovakian, Italian, Guniea, Swedish, Turkish

Rovers- English x9, Irish, Scot!!

More importantly what is the cost of the two sides....

[hollowsr]

More importantly what is the cost of the two sides....

Not a clue those figures generally aren't banded about, but I'd have thought most of Rovers have been with us for a while, you somehow don't get the idea that the Chelsea lads have been at Chelsea for 5+ years!

If anyone is still watching, how embarrassingly biased is the Chelsea commentary??

[Exiled_Rover]

Not watching, but if it's on Chelsea tv I wouldn't be surprised if it's hugely biased. It's catering for Chelsea fans after all.

[den]

If anyone is still watching, how embarrassingly biased is the Chelsea commentary??

Terribly so.

They branded us a bunch of thugs around five minutes into the game. They reckon it was "only" our physical approach that got us this far. Half time they were saying that the referee had better keep his eyes open because rovers would be flying in second half.

Oh - and they reckon Chelsea were "easily the best team at Ewood Park". They were better than us on the night, but it wasn't as easy as they say.

Yes, it's a terribly biased commentry.

"owing to Blackburn's physical approach, we're fortunate not to pick up any injuries tonight".

All a throwback to Mourinnho's comments.

[Exiled_Rover]

This is why I'm enjoying my season ticket at the DW Stadium more and more. Football is turning into ballet.

[hollowsr]

Again too many players just not turning up.

Banton has to learn quickly that he has to contribute more than just being good on the ball, unless he has the ball you just don't see him.

Bowen is too small and wastes possession going on his mazy runs.

It's a worry when our CB's look the best part of the team and yet we concede 4, Hitchcock can't continue to play up top alone as he gets nothing in terms of proper chances, his development is starting to get effected by him just running after balls and defenders now.

I said it last week and I'll say it again we need to swap formation to get the best out of the team again like before Christmas. You wouldn't believe these are the same players from before then trust me!

Also Morris is not a LB! Very annoyed about this as he was playing well in CM but has now been shifted back there because he is left footed and for other details I won't get into right now!

This is why I'm enjoying my season ticket at the DW Stadium more and more. Football is turning into ballet.

It took me a long long time to realise what you meant here, take it you mean Warriors,

Also where abouts in Clayton Green are you?

[Exiled_Rover]

It's the interwebs, I ain't narrowing it down for you! Ok - near the two primary schools, best you're getting!

And yeah I have a season ticket at the Warriors, much more entertaining of late.

[Tom]

This gives a good idea of the difference between the two sides, Nationalities of teams at beginning of 2nd half:

Chelsea- English x4, Dutch, Sierra-Leone, Slovakian, Italian, Guniea, Swedish, Turkish

Rovers- English x9, Irish, Scot!!

Sounds like Rovers need to spread the net a bit further and catch some up and coming youngsters from furhter afield.

[Claytons Left Boot]

And yeah I have a season ticket at the Warriors, much more entertaining of late.

Warriors on a Friday, then Rovers on a Saturday, can't be bad.

Sounds like the Warriors are getting their act together at last and not before time. Bit since I've been now. I'll try and put that right this season!

[hollowsr]

Sounds like Rovers need to spread the net a bit further and catch some up and coming youngsters from furhter afield.

We've a couple of swedish lads in the U16's one came on tonight, we also have an Austrian who hasn't figured much this year. Part from that mostly british isles players I think.

Not sure if Osawe is English or not??

[Exiled_Rover]

Warriors on a Friday, then Rovers on a Saturday, can't be bad.

Sounds like the Warriors are getting their act together at last and not before time. Bit since I've been now. I'll try and put that right this season!

Aye, we've been crap for a decade, but McGuire (ex-Melbourne Storm assistant coach) has got them playing out of their skins. Top of the league and looking well worth it. Couple of big games coming up though - got the Champions next week at the DW and then the last ever Saints/Wigan derby at Knowsley Road the week after. Looking forward to it.

[roversmum]

It's the interwebs, I ain't narrowing it down for you! Ok - near the two primary schools, best you're getting!

And yeah I have a season ticket at the Warriors, much more entertaining of late.

Sounds like we're almost neighbours then

[bazza]

Warriors on a Friday, then Rovers on a Saturday, can't be bad.

Since when do Rovers play on a Saturday?

Sorry. You're talking about the youth team.

[koi]

This is why I'm enjoying my season ticket at the DW Stadium more and more. Football is turning into ballet.

A Warrior? Good man. I have a season ticket in the West Stand. I love my rugby league!

[bennyboyt11]

Zac Aley played against Middlesborough in the Under 18s game last night, anyone see it and comment on the player?

[hollowsr]

Zac Aley played against Middlesborough in the Under 18s game last night, anyone see it and comment on the player?

Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the game this morning!!

I am going to watch against Crewe in a few weeks so will let you know then, he's scored 2 for the kids now! Not bad!

[bennyboyt11]

Cheers buddy! Looking forward to some opinions on this fella

[hollowsr]

Unfortunately I went this morning to watch Rovers v Crewe. Fantastic weather and was looking forward to the game.

Rovers lined up with

Swann

Ajagbe Lindsay Pearson Billington

Evans Knowles Bowen Vastic

Osawe Hitchcock

Both teams had chances in the opening stages, including Crewe hitting the bar, but it was Rovers who took the lead on 17mins, Evans springing the offside trap in the area and slotting past the keeper with ease. Possibly against the run of play possession wise.

Rovers took heart from this and stepped up their game and created a few chances Hitchcock probably should have had one but he scuffed a shot wide.

On 29 mins Bowen gives a free kick away which he wasn't happy about, he was jumping up and down having a bit of a tantrum about it, free kick came in from half way, wasn't cleared and Crewe shot from edge of area past an unisghted Swann.

3 mins later and Crewe had the lead from the spot after a tangle of legs involving Billington just inside the area resulted in the awarding of a penalty. Sometimes they're given, sometimes they're not. Smashed down the middle and off the bar and in.

At half time, captain Pearson was replaced by A O'Connor after the defence looked shaky in the first half. 47 mins and Crewe extended their lead, O'Connor won a couple of challenges but the ball broke to a Crewe striker with time he flicked it up to himself and hit it into the top corner from the edge of the area.

Rovers tried to create chances but most were either blocked or took too much time trying to get a clear sight of goal.

Billington and Vastic were replaced in the second half for Hands and Pivkovski (sp??) Hands was anonymous really and Pivkovski had one good run as soon as he came on then stood on the wing and the game bypassed him.

Osawe was awful all game, he was very lucky not to be replaced as I thought Vastic had a better game than him.

No one really played well but Evans caused them the most problems down the right.

[hollowsr]

After drawing 1-1 last week v Sunderland away with, U16 Reece Hands scoring the goal, the lads return to Brockhall this weekend with a home game v Sheff Wed kicking off at 11 tomorrow morning.

[hollowsr]

U18's drew 1-1 this morning with Sheff Wed. Sheff Wed started off brightly but Rovers got back into it and had the most possession I would guess throughout. Rovers hit the post early on through Hitchcock and Swann had to come off his line to save well from a 1on1 opportunity.

From a free kick on half way Sheff Wed took the lead after a good ball floated in and Ajagbe lost his man and Sheff Wed player took the opportunity with a good header.

With the game a scrappy affair with both teams appealing for anything going and the referee giving or not giving odd decisions.

Rovers got back on level terms with a goal from a corner. Knowles whipeed the ball in and with Sheff Wed struggling to clear the ball fell to Toni Vastic who lashed the ball home from 8 yards out. Rovers tried to push for a win but couldn't make the most of opportunities.

Rovers lined up with:

Swann

Ajagbe Lindsay James Billington

Evans Bowen Knowles Banton

Hitchcock Osawe

Subs- Hands and Vastic on for Hitchcock and Osawe at HT, Maclaren on for Bowen 65mins.

Positives- Will James on debut from the U16's looked assured throughout, Welsh International apparently.

Evans again looked the liveliest for us.

Maclaren did well when he came on to play up front.

Our front players seem to be able to play anywhere it seems, Evans up front and right wing, Banton either wing, Osawe up front or on right, Maclaren right or up front, you get the idea.

Negatives today- Billington had a bit of a nightmare at times today with touch mainly.

Osawe just wasn't interested and hustled off the ball way too easily, replaced at HT.

U16's won though this morning 2-0 also against Sheff Wed with Rustemaj getting both the goals I think. Pivkovski and O'Sullivan also played for them.

[Majiball]

As always thanks for keeping us up to date.

[unleaded]

Anybody know this players id?........Over to you Hollowsr...under 16`s.........Big lad!......Rovers Academy played LA Galexy.......Under 16s won 7-4 & the under 18`s won 6-1..............

[hollowsr]

Anybody know this players id?........Over to you Hollowsr...under 16`s.........Big lad!......Rovers Academy played LA Galexy.......Under 16s won 7-4 & the under 18`s won 6-1..............

Yeah his name is Bob Smith, hard working midfielder OK not a clue who he is but do recognise him as I saw him this morning down at the Academy for the U18 game, he was just watching with the rest of the U16's I think.

It was a very young team this morning, when the game finished we had 7 U16's playing.

It was a weird game really as I thought Rovers looked stronger in the 2nd half yet conceded 3 goals in it.

I will never understand how Banton missed his opportunity in the 2nd half, Lee's report is not exaggerating with an open goal.

For the first goal Billington was turned inside out and then was poor for the rest of the first half but improved in the 2nd half. I can't remember much about the 2nd goal for some reason. 3rd was a decent header by one of their players before the 4th which was a tap in really.

Despite conceding 4 Urwin did well I thought making some smart saves, the first time I've seen the lad and I was impressed, his kicking was awesome also, Robbo-esque.

With 2 U16's at centre back because of the reserves tonight they had a tough game today with some strong fast players but handled it ok, nothing more or less. James was the better of the two, with Wylie struggling against the height of the opposition at times.

The right back who came on at half time from the U16's, Adam Henley I think, was really good. Good in the tackle, brilliant passing and was also very quick.

Hands in midfield is an interesting player in many ways. He looks like he should be good in the way he does things but still has a lot to learn but he can come on.

Bowen is not ever going to get a first team game at Rovers, yes too small, but also just not great and I don't think anyone can really decide where his best position is.

Banton in the first half showed his intensely irritating side of not doing much off the ball, if he continues that style of play he won't get a game for any first team no matter how good he is on the ball. However, in the 2nd half he showed that he could play at the highest level as he improved immensely and even though he missed the open goal he created many chances for himself but couldn't quite find the target.

Vastic was quite good in the first half possibly our best player for the first half, however he got a couple of knocks to the head and other areas and by the end he was limping quite a bit but still came closest in the 2nd half with a good effort where he slid onto a through ball before narrowly putting it wide.

Rustemaj was pretty poor but he was against 2 huge centre backs one who looked about 30 But he didn't seem to fancy going for headers despite him being quite a big lad himself.

Again when Maclaren came on he did well, he looks like he could be an interesting prospect, not the biggest lad but jumps for headers and has quick feet.

Despite some positive performances we still got hammered 4-0 which I don't think was deserved to be honest as Wolves weren't that good, just clinical to be fair to them.

[hollowsr]

We are now coming down to the final few games of the season for the youngsters.

On the whole it will probably be viewed as a half decent campaign with a semi-final appearance in the Youth Cup before crashing out against a very strong Chelsea side, but we did beat strong opposition along the way including Everton and Man Utd.

The lads were top of the league going into the Winter break however since then league form has fallen dramatically.

Before Xmas

P W D L F A GD PTS

14 8 4 2 27 15 12 28

After Xmas

P W D L F A GD PTS

11 1 4 6 10 26 -16 7

So from being top of the league they are now second bottom but with games in hand, however it does get difficult as the kids now have 3 games left all within 8 days, which includes 2 games in 2 days starting tomorrow.

They do have an outside chance of finishing 3rd but it looks more likely it will be somewhere around 7th.

Monday- Notts Forest (H) 13.00

Tuesday- WBA (H) 12.00

Following Tuesday- Wolves (A) 11.30

With the reserves also playing on Tuesday it is going to take a massive effort from the lads for these remaining few games.

If anyone fancies watching football tomorrow lunch time get yourselves down to Brockhall to cheer on the lads.

[hollowsr]

Part one of the two games in two days at lunch time today.

Rovers won with a hard fought and good performance 2-1 against a Forest side who have won their division!

Rovers started with 7 players from the U16's with Ajagbe, Knowles, Lindsay and Hitchcock the only U18's from the start of the season playing.

Urwin

Ajagbe ?? Lindsay Raheem (first name)

J. Hall Knowles Robbie (First name) Pivkovski

Hitchcock Osawe

With so many youngsters in the side it took a while for Rovers to get into gear but they soon started to play a bit and were a bit unfortunate to fall behind. Poor marking from a corner resulted in a free header for the tall Forest centre half who headed home from 10 yards out despite the efforts of Raheem on the line.

Things went worse minutes later after a long ball over the top was a run race between the Forest forward and the Rovers CB who tripped before pulling the ball back with his arm. There was little else the ref could do after speaking with the linesman but to send him off.

This resulted in Ajagbe going to CB and Knowles to RB with Hitchcock dropping back to CM. From then till half time Rovers found it difficult to get control of the ball and were probably quite glad for half time.

Rovers came at second half and gave it their all, Osawe was running about with Forest looking happy to pass it across their back four. Rovers waited for Forest to come into their half before closing them down and this worked well as Forest were limited to pumping balls up top.

Pivkovski received the ball in his own half before running down the left and jinking inside on the edge of the area before his curling shot went just over the top with the keeper well beaten.

Moments later and Rovers were level, Osawe collected the ball 35 yards out ran forward 10 yards before unleashing a shot from 20yards out which crashed off the bar, with the defence static Osawe got there first to head home from 12 yards out.

Thoroughly deserved equaliser for Rovers and there was a feeling they could still win it. Forest came back into it but Rovers still played a good game and had another effort hit the bar. With not long left a good run by J.Hall was pulled back deep for Knowles to cross with precision who found Hitchcock who thumped home a super header which on looking Dad, Kevin would have struggled to save.

Rovers deserved the win with the effort put in and Forest obviously didn't like the game we played which was committed.

Urwin- Didn't have much to do, but got behind the shots well that he did have to save, made one major error which wasn't picked up on when he picked up a Hitchcock back pass but the referee or linesman didn't pick up on the pleas from Forest players.

Ajagbe- Captain again and played well in both positions especially CB as he isn't the tallest but held off the Forest players well.

Raheem ??- Left back, quite quick and struggled early on but did well the more the game went on.

Lindsay- Confident at the back and won many headers had one good Sambaesque run forward.

Other CB- Looked ok whilst on the pitch but then took one for the team when pulling the ball back after going down.

Jadan Hall- Old style winger, gets the ball runs and crosses the ball in, had a couple of excellent runs but struggled with defensive duties especially when we were down to 10. Promising player with the right provision from the staff.

Robbie ??- Despite looking lightweight he can put in a good tackle and not afraid to jump for headers, good passer of the ball and confident on it.

Knowles- Typical 110% effort from him, played very well at RB putting Forest players under pressure and did well getting up and down the pitch.

Pivkovski- Quiet first half but did well in the second half going close on a number of occasions. Good trickery on the ball and maybe looking like the prospect that made us sign him as opposed to the player of recent weeks.

Osawe- First half was better than in recent weeks but still not good, first touch was generally good but second touch was awful. Second half he was up front alone and did well with the running involved and he ended up running himself into the ground. Took his goal very well.

Hitchcock- Did well to slot back in to midfield and gave his all which one of the Forest players took exception to on a number of occasions with little wrong. Brilliant header for the goal.

Sub- Willo (All the players called him this)- Was obviously told to get on and run after the players in place of Osawe. Did well and caused a few players on the ball in his bright yellow boots.

Since it was a young team today then it will be interesting to see what the team in tomorrow especially with the reserves also playing!