[Archived] Rovers Vs Sunderland - Dec 28Th Preview (Well Sort Of...)

[Miker]

We are still only 2 points from 10th position and would be there tonight if we had managed to score another goal. So not only are we not taking our chances on the pitch, we are not taking our chances to prosper in the league. Top half is being dangled in front of us but we are not reaching out and taking it. Saying that though, we are yet to win in 8 and not playing as well as we can but still close to the top half so that is not too bad. As you can tell, I am not looking down, only upwards. We are closer to the top half than the relegation zone so we need to start making the most of our opportunities

I think that's a good point and the fact that we are looking at the fact we have dropped points to land us in the top 10 rather than being dragged into a relegation fight. There's probably people looking at these last few games in anger and nervousness, but they have been more disappointing to me that we are not capitalising on our edge in games to pick up 3 points and push on for the top 10.

You can point at the poor team selection, but Sam has been doing what the fans wanted. He's changed formation and he dropped Diouf, Pedersen, Andrews and Roberts for a while. He's done that and now Pedersen's been inspired to a man of the match performance as a result and Diouf comes off the bench and grabs the equaliser. So surely Sam's selection isn't as awful as people think.

Not scoring shows lack of quality, but getting two equalisers shows character and mental strength and team unity and to me that's more important. I applaud the team for saving the game and for doing their best to win. We're not in a disastrous position and 13th after more than half a season is a decent position.

[Steve Moss]

Kalinic and Di Santo showed more of an attacking threat in their cameos than Roberts did for the time he was on the pitch. Its time to play both of them.

Absolutely. Roberts has to go. He is completely unmotivated. Beattie would be an improvement, if only because Beattie has some passion and some fire in his belly.

And I am hoping that Kalinic and Di Santo both get starts against AV this Saturday. It's a match made to experiment with. If they do poorly, it would not effect our league standing and we can still focus the Carling Cup matches against AV. If they do well together it'll be time to pop the champagne corks.

i can't quite understand sams logic in that first 11. this is happening more and more lately, is he losing the plot?

jacobsen, kalanic / di santo & salgado should all have started ahead of nelsen, andrews & roberts

I don't understand Sam's team selections either, sometimes. On the other hand, he's the manager, he's competent and he has access to more information than I do. So I assume he has good reason for his decisions.

We are still only 2 points from 10th position and would be there tonight if we had managed to score another goal. So not only are we not taking our chances on the pitch, we are not taking our chances to prosper in the league. Top half is being dangled in front of us but we are not reaching out and taking it. Saying that though, we are yet to win in 8 and not playing as well as we can but still close to the top half so that is not too bad. As you can tell, I am not looking down, only upwards. We are closer to the top half than the relegation zone so we need to start making the most of our opportunities

Spot on. We are fighting our way upwards, a point at a time. And while we have not been preforming to our potential, we have been hanging on. I think (or hope) that even some modest improvements in the squad this January will have a very positive impact on our point total. We're always just within reach of the win, only to fall short. We need a little something extra in the team, and I think what we need is an attacking midfielder or two.

Next up Man City away.

I don't expect that we'll win against ManC away. I would be ecstatic with a point. Even if we don't win (or draw), however, we still have Fulham and Wigan at home, and West Ham away. Three points each from Wigan and West Ham are likely, and 1 or 3 points from Fulham is also likely.

If we perform to our potential this January, we should be between 28-31 points at the end of January. Not as comfortable as I would like, but its out own fault and we can break the 40 point barrier by end of season if we end the month at around 30 points.

More so, if in January we offload Roberts and at least one other, and bring in an experienced striker and an attacking midfielder (or maybe two).

perderson had a twin brother or did sam allardye actually made 4 substitutions???? simply amazing stuff from him after 52mins.................... he scores, he defends, he makes amazing crosses and his free kicks actually hits the target....... magical.......

Maybe he's realizing that he needs to work for a new contract, either with us or with some other team, like Celtic. Its all well and good to think that you are a good footballer, but prospective employers like to see a performance on the pitch every once in awhile.

[MeanGreenMachine]

Its a sad state of affairs when people are happy with a point against sunderland at home when they are pish poor on the road...

[Commondore]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

Strange post-match comments from Allardyce yet again. Does he really think everything would be hunky dory with Bent or Crouch in the team?

[chocky]

We'll be O.K. this season because there are at least four or five teams that are far worse than we are...Stoke and Hull are in free fall and Burnley are @#/?..Portsmouth look doomed already and they may go into adminitration with all their financial gopings on...Mandaric and brown Envelope man are in trouble with the I.R....

[RibbleValleyRover]

Does he really think everything would be hunky dory with Bent or Crouch in the team?

Not really. I think Bent will have struggled to score 13 goals in this side that is devoid of creativity.

[Rover Down Under]

Disappointed...yet again, I thought this would be our turning point until I saw Roberts on the pitch, I knew Keith would start due to the injuries but he did well and could have got a hat trick, can't deny he has a very good eye for goal from outside the box, he only made 1 or 2 wayward passes as well. Would be nice if he can keep that up but I fear he will slip back to his poor form. Rather ironic that it was Junior who blocked one shot on goal, returning the favour from Saturday perhaps? The other goal bound one hit Jason Eeyore Roberts.

Special mention to Pedersen who went at the Sunderland defence like a man possessed straight after we conceded and scored a brilliant individual goal. It was a glimpse of his former self and a reminder that no mattter how bad he plays sometimes he is worth keeping for gems like that. He really seemed to fire everyone up after that as well as he injected some spirit into us.

I pray that we offload JR next month. He was dire and his only contribution was to win a few free kicks. If Di Santo or Kalinic had started instead of him we would have won easily. He should not start games, ever, period. Impact sub at best, please offload and sign Di Santo...PLEASE!

Junior was pretty poor as well, he had a chance to show what he could do on the right and didn't really do much at all. He embarassingly fluffed 2 chances, the first one where the ball actually ended up BEHIND him after he swung at it. As he's still young and learning it's not too disastrous that he was a bit rabbity in the headlights.

All in all we deserved what we got for another poor team selection. Luckily Andrews played well making only the inept Roberts and nervous Junior the weak points. Bent took his second goal brilliantly, his run was timed to perfection and he placed it knowing it would more than likely beat Robbo. Otherwise Sunderland were pretty poor, especially in the first half and we should have thumped them.

[1864roverite]

Well well well. The final home game of 2009 produced, as the title of another thread suggested, the bad, the ugly and a bit of good.

I am not going through the normal rigmorole of ratings, instead I am trying to concentrate on anything POSITIVE.

here goes.....

I am POSITIVE Sam is NOT an expert. His lack of tacical nouse in the first half proves that beyond doubt.

I am POSITIVE Roberts and McCarthy do not link well together nor do they complement each others style of play.

I am positive that MGP can produce the goods and whatever he had pre-match he should have every game day.

I am positive that Kalinic and di Santo offer a much better threat, better work rate and a much more POSITIVE outlook for our future if they continue to progress.

I am POSITIVE that Rovers will adress the central midfield berth. It is essential that this position is filled with a credible player even if it means borrowing or going into debt. It is a MUST.

I am POSITIVE that there is NOTHING POSITIVE whatsoever about Keith Andrews. I defy ANY Rovers fan to bring a POSITIVE to the thread about his display today and in general. I will summarise his non-performance here goes.

he cannot tackle, he cannot shoot, he cannot pass forward, he cannot head the ball, he only brings chaos to our own team, he can do nothing right, he cannot mark, he watches the ball, he runs past the ball, he does faff all. With this in mind I am POSITIVE that he fits the bill as the WORST EVER Rovers player I have witnessed in my time of following the Rovers. In 38 years we have seen some dross players but he is by far and away the worst.

Today, it wasnt the substitutions that gained us a point, it was Sams efforts at putting a disfunctional team out that nearly cost us big time, and this against a Sunderland team rife with injuries and who were solely reliant on the scoring nouse of Bent up front. Beleive me, Sunderland are a poor team but todays first 45 minutes saw a game devoid of football, from both sides. It was simply the worst ever 45 minutes in a long long time.

Winter has set in, Ewood is full of gloom. It is only the fact that some teams are truly awful that we find outselves so high up the table. ther ehas to be some wholesale changes at the club.

I would stick with MGP, he does bring something to the party.

Out must go Roberts and Andrews, taking the likes of Brown and Treacy, Zurab and Diuof with them.

We MUST buy or loan an experienced midfielder and this is a PRIORITY. We must also have a left sided defender in as well, a multi task player who can play across the back 4.

Sam, any more of the diatribe served up at 3pm and you will lose the Ewood faithful, very very quickly. It was awful. And if you, or your staff can find a positive about Andrews then you must try and explain it to us fans. he must NEVER wear our colours again.

[Eddie]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

Strange post-match comments from Allardyce yet again. Does he really think everything would be hunky dory with Bent or Crouch in the team?

Just posted it on the Allardyce thread...very, very odd comments.

[sambo]

Sam lost some of the fans today, with very audible booing greeting the triple substitutions. Just pray Junior doesn't think they were booing him!

Poor result, was a good second half display going forward but so frustrating again. N'Zonzi can't shoot for ****, and Samba definitely should have scored. Kalinic is desperately unlucky - feel he should start at City.

Pedersen Magical!

[Bobby G]

Is it just me or do the fans start booing at HT and FT during most of our games but the music comes on conveniently to drown it out?

[Steve Moss]

We'll be O.K. this season because there are at least four or five teams that are far worse than we are...

I think you're right about that. Here's how I think it looks currently.

Current 9th - 20th in the League table:

9. Fulham 27/19 = 1.42 points per game x 38 games = 53.96 end of season total.

10. Sunderland 23/20 = 1.15 points per game x 38 games = 43.7 end of season total.

11. Everton 22/19 = 1.16 points per game x 38 games = 44.08 end of season total.

12. Stoke 21/19 = 1.11 points per game x 38 games = 42.18 end of season total.

13. Blackburn 21/20 = 1.05 points per game x 38 games = 39.9 end of season total.

14. Burnley 20/20 = 1 point per game x 38 games = 38 end of season total.

15. Wolves 19/19 = 1 point per game x 38 games = 38 end of season total.

16. Wigan 19/18 = 1.06 point per game x 38 games = 40.28 end of season total.

17. West Ham 18/20 = .9 points per game x 38 games = 34.2 end of season total.

18. Bolton 17/17 = 1 point per game x 38 games = 38 end of season total.

19. Hull 17/19 = .89 points per game x 38 games = 33.82 end of season total.

20. Portsmouth 14/19 = .74 points per game x 38 games = 28.12 end of season total.

Extrapoated League table at end of season based on current position/performance:

9. Fulham

10. Everton

11. Sunderland

12. Stoke

13. Wigan

14. Blackburn

15. Bolton

16. Wolves

17. Burnley

18. West Ham

19. Hull

20. Portsmouth

Even playing erratically and not winning when we should, we are still out performing 5-6 squads. If we can address one or two positions and make a couple of positive trades, we could easily bolt up the table several places, based on how tightly the bottom half are positioned.

On the other hand, if we get a bad run we could easily find ourselves in a relegation battle, though I have to believe that we will consistenly outperform Bolton, Wolves, Burnley, West Ham, Hull and Portsmouth. If so, a gap should be opening up soon.

[Bobby G]

You are counting on none of the teams below us even getting 3 more points than us between now and end of the season?

Dont forget a couple of the teams down at the bottom will go on good runs, and pull away.

This table is too tight to run judgment on but if we dont start winning games, of which approximately 6-7 of them you can put down as defeats from now (Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Pool, Villa, City, Spurs), then we will be in real trouble.

Last season we beat the teams around us. This season we are drawing with those same teams.

[Iceman]

Sam really needs to get a settled lineup going. His constant chopping and changing, makes the players uneasy and unsure of themselves. The players who have a good game, suddenly gets taken off or dropped. think Sam is running out of ideas. I think the point we got today, is more than Burnley and West Ham got. Every point we get, moves us away from them, but we need a win. If teams below us start winning, then we will be in heaps of trouble.

[Steve Moss]

You are counting on none of the teams below us even getting 3 more points than us between now and end of the season?

I'm not counting on anything. I have no clue what the future holds. But based on the first half of the season, we are not in the relegation zone, which is a plus. We have some advantages (like having played the top 3 away already) that other squads lack.

If teams continue to perform as they have, with the bottom 5-6 teams winning the odd game but mostly losing, we should be fine. On the other hand, if the bottom 5-6 teams take steps to improve their squads, and we don't, we could easily be in trouble. A midfielder or two is vital.

Our situation reminds me of a joke I was told a while ago:

Two hikers are out hiking. All of a sudden, a bear starts chasing them.

They climb a tree, but the bear starts climbing up the tree after them. The first hiker gets his sneakers out of his knapsack and starts putting them on.

The second hiker says, "What are you doing?"

The first responds, "I figure when the bear gets close to us, we'll have to jump down and make a run for it."

The second says, "Are you crazy? Don’t you know you can't outrun a bear?

The first guy says, "I don't have to outrun the bear... I only have to outrun you!"

[Stuart]

Not really. I think Bent will have struggled to score 13 goals in this side that is devoid of creativity.

If today is anything to go by, Bent HAS scored 13 goals in a side devoid of creativity!

As far as the match today. Up until Sunderland scored, it was a pretty boring affair. The crowd were showing little signs of life until after the goals. (I don't care if it was just short of 27k today, you would have thought there were about 7k, such was the lack of atmosphere).

Saying that, once the two goals did go in, the fans woke up, and the final half hour of the game was actually entertaining. Coming back after twice going behind, and having the chance to take all three points was really exciting stuff.

I just wish we (fans and players) were more up for it when it is 0-0. Perhaps Sam is keeping the players on a tight leash, such is his fondness for a 1-0 win.

Ironic then that we haven't had a single 1-0 win all season...

[DE.]

Another draw, though to be fair I'm quite disillusioned with the team at the moment and did not believe realistically we'd even get a point, so I'm happy that we got a point.

[AggyBlue]

"Sunderland have gone out and bought a man who scores goals. If we had a man who had scored 13 in the league like Darren Bent then we'd be in a different position. I don't think you can add the goals from our strikers and match what he's scored. We haven't got the clout to go out and buy a Bent or a Peter Crouch. I don't think there's anybody out there in the Europe or world markets that could change things."

Strange post-match comments from Allardyce yet again. Does he really think everything would be hunky dory with Bent or Crouch in the team?

They both had two chances against us and scored two.

We had 21 attempts on goal today, some from very good positions.

He's saying if we had a striker in their price bracket, one that is more clinical at finishing, we would have won that game easily.

[G Somerset Rover]

I don't expect that we'll win against ManC away. I would be ecstatic with a point. Even if we don't win (or draw), however, we still have Fulham and Wigan at home, and West Ham away. Three points each from Wigan and West Ham are likely, and 1 or 3 points from Fulham is also likely.

If we perform to our potential this January, we should be between 28-31 points at the end of January. Not as comfortable as I would like, but its out own fault and we can break the 40 point barrier by end of season if we end the month at around 30 points.

No 3 points are 'likely' for us right now, especially West Ham away. We lose at their place every single season.

We'll be O.K. this season because there are at least four or five teams that are far worse than we are...Stoke and Hull are in free fall and Burnley are @#/?..Portsmouth look doomed already and they may go into adminitration with all their financial gopings on...Mandaric and brown Envelope man are in trouble with the I.R....

Stoke and Hull both drew with us with Stoke taking their point at Ewood. They will most probably beat us at the Britannia.

8 Games and counting. Is Big Sam going for Ince's record from last season? I'm getting very very worried. We simply can't win and are constantly relying on teams below us to keep cocking up too.

[RoverRich]

We are in a better position than we were at this stage last season so IF we can finish as strongly as we did last season then there is no reason why we can't get close to the top half or at least improve our current position. I know mid table mediocrity is not ideal but as long as we are clear of the relegation zone then it is acceptable.

[AggyBlue]

Is it just me or do the fans start booing at HT and FT during most of our games but the music comes on conveniently to drown it out?

As a Chelsea fan responded to the same question regarding booing at their game, it's the JCL's.

Johnny Come Lately's.

[Paul]

I think that's a good point and the fact that we are looking at the fact we have dropped points to land us in the top 10 rather than being dragged into a relegation fight. There's probably people looking at these last few games in anger and nervousness, but they have been more disappointing to me that we are not capitalising on our edge in games to pick up 3 points and push on for the top 10.

You can point at the poor team selection, but Sam has been doing what the fans wanted. He's changed formation and he dropped Diouf, Pedersen, Andrews and Roberts for a while. He's done that and now Pedersen's been inspired to a man of the match performance as a result and Diouf comes off the bench and grabs the equaliser. So surely Sam's selection isn't as awful as people think.

Not scoring shows lack of quality, but getting two equalisers shows character and mental strength and team unity and to me that's more important. I applaud the team for saving the game and for doing their best to win. We're not in a disastrous position and 13th after more than half a season is a decent position.

I appreciate you can't get to matches Miker but if you had been at the DW and then Ewood today you would understand just how wrong your comment in bold is. Rovers may have scraped a draw today but this cannot disguise we were appalling at Wigan, even worse in the first half today and only began to play after Sunderland scored when to an extent the players seemed to decide to put the ball on the floor rather than simply hammer it upfield as instructed by the manager.

Things were very close to boiling over after the Sunderland goal and if MGP had not equalised so quickly I believe the crowd would have turned on Allardyce. One goal is possibly all that stopped the crowd turning, that's how close it is. I could almost feel the tenson coming out of the BBE and folk around me were getting very angry, and that's in the JW. Don't be fooled 2 points from 6 is a very poor return from these two games.

[AggyBlue]

Dire first half.

Much better second half with a rip roaring end.

I'm still stunned at how we didn't win that game with all the chances we created.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Take a bow Gamst. Great second half from him. His goal gave him so much confidence from then on. He looked a completely different player. His poor delieveries were easily outshone by some classy crosses from both set pieces and outwide in open play. Keep it up. Loved his celebration as well. He definitely has the passion which is good to see.

[RIML]

The reasons Roberts started

-He is the second highest goalscorer

-Our highest scoring striker

-When McCarthy scored against Wigan didn't he run over to hug Roberts who was warming up, they seem to have a good partnership together but obviously it didn't work on the pitch today

Disappointing not to have won but when you consider that we went behind twice, we came back and showed great spirit.

I wish the fans would get behind the team, sad bast&rds, people walking out at half time, losers. I walked out once before @ half time but only when we were losing 2-0 against Arsenal when Paul Ince was manager what sh*te that was but when it was still goalless and all to play for, I just couldn't understand, booing Diouf what was all that about? Get a f***in grip!