[Archived] Carling Cup

[Paul]

Very enjoyable game, no great urgency from either side but some good neat passing football from Rovers.

QUIZ TIME: What was unusual about the Norwich team until the No. 23 came on as a sub?

[Tom]

Very enjoyable game, no great urgency from either side but some good neat passing football from Rovers.

QUIZ TIME: What was unusual about the Norwich team until the No. 23 came on as a sub?

1-11 maybe?

Scratch that hoolahan was 14. I have no idea then

[S15]

Very enjoyable game, no great urgency from either side but some good neat passing football from Rovers.

QUIZ TIME: What was unusual about the Norwich team until the No. 23 came on as a sub?

Gizza clue Paul..

[Tim Southampton Rover]

QUIZ TIME: What was unusual about the Norwich team until the No. 23 came on as a sub?

They were s****

[Paul]

Gizza clue Paul..

OK you would have to be at Ewood or have watched on TV to notice this. Colour is the clue.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

They all wore black boots?

[BuckyRover]

They were all white?

(can I even say that? Caucasian?)

[roversfan99]

Definetly alot of positives today. Shame to concede at the end but to be honest we always seem to concede when we change our defence in the cup.

Firstly Diouf getting a hat trick and the strength on show was one of the major things we can take from the game, i definitely think he can be a key player this season. You can see why he was loaned out, hes still raw as shown by his dreadful miss from a couple of yards(i think the hat trick just about makes up for it), and he needs a change of boots as he slipped alot but he was a real threat and the hat trick will boost his confidence. So far iv liked what iv seen.

Pedersen was brilliant today too, iv criticized him in the past and apart from his penalty miss hes looked good in all 3 games. His cross for the 3rd was perfect, more of the same and im sure he can prove the doubters wrong. I thought Linganzi and Grella were both quietly effective in the centre, Linganzi was very unlucky when he hit the post and they both broke up the play very well and showed good distribution. Also Hoilett didnt always deliver although hes a clear threat, his blistering pace adds a new dimension and his final passes were an improvement on last season.

2 players i thought were poor were Emerton, who i would consider offers for as i dont really see what he offers us, and Chimbonda is very erratic. Also i though Bunn pulled off a few good saves although his kicking was a bit nervy.

[hollowsr]

Very enjoyable game, no great urgency from either side but some good neat passing football from Rovers.

QUIZ TIME: What was unusual about the Norwich team until the No. 23 came on as a sub?

I can only think of one thing but it can't be what I think, not sure if I'm even right.

I went tonight, alright game we never had to hit top gear, if we had done we could have smashed them. They deserved a goal though even if there shooting was awful.

Bunn made some great saves, the best in my view from a header from a corner from close range.

Jacobsen dependable as ever.

Chimbonda- shame he has no left foot.

Givet and Samba- Had it relatively easy, loved that Givet decided to play up front basically for 5mins at one point.

Grella- Tidy but some awful passes at times.

Linganzi- Tidy, strong.

Emerton- Quite good but also some poor passes, gave up hope of him running at defenders tonight, he gets so far then stops.

Junior- Quiet first half but played better second, good crosses with both feet.

Gamst- As already said arguable MoM, showed what he can do tonight.

Diouf- Took all his goals well, showed pace and strength but could do with keeping onside more.

Thought both sides played some good football at times, we could have had more with us hittign the woodwork twice.

Also was very fluid formation tonight with it changing every minute it seemed but for the majority seemed a diamond with Junior in the hold behind Gamst and Diouf but as I say this changed a lot.

They were all white?

(can I even say that? Caucasian?)

This is what I was going to say but didn't want to

[MarkBRFC71]

Really glad I went in the end, it was a bit stale at times but well worth it, a few notes on players:

Bunn made some super saves its a shame a goal came off s corner from one of them

Hoilett was quiet first half but a totally different player in the second, once he started running at people he was unplayable. Good hand in two of the goals

Pedersen was in my opinion by a distance the best player on the pitch although you can't begrudge Diouf his MOTM award. Every set piece from morten was a threat and his cross for the first was sublime, also won a lot in the air

Linganzi looked neat and tidy and made some great passes and deserved a goal. Tired towards the end though.

Diouf was a constant threat, took his goals well but should have had another with a simple header. Brave in going for a fifty fifty with their keeper and taking a clattering. Given Sam a selection problem npw

Agree with all that - even about Pedersen!

Think Grella made a huge difference too, he actually looks for a short pass which none of our other deep lying midfielders do.

We look a far more dangerous team when we actually play football - we played well for 20 mins, scored, then sat back for an hour and played long-ball, and in that hour created nothing. Once we started playing football again, we hit the post, bar and scored in about 5 minutes, and created chance after chance until the end. Also, there was a tangible lift in the atmosphere when we played some nice passing moves.

Wish we'd play more like that in the league. I know it's not advisable against the better teams, but we'd cause no end of trouble to the middling Prem teams.

[BPF]

Can we afford to risk injury to one of our two available strikers though?

Our squad is so thin this tie is a disaster waiting to happen.

Big disaster playing Diouf Rev

Only joking, your concern was warranted.

I was happy with tonight but let's see what Diouf does in the next few games. People have a tendancy to go with the 'only good as your last game' idea in here.

[Mattyblue]

I agree with you, but wanting Rovers to play more football equates to wanting to watch Barcelona. There's no room for compromise on BRFCS.

That isn't the case at all, it's horses for courses, we played very open tonight- it was Norwich.

Arsenal we will play a more physical, direct game as they are the superior 'footballing' team.

Not rocket science!

[1864roverite]

happy with the result gutted about missing the game

[doctorryan]

Hasn’t he scored more already than Roberts did last season?

I thought Ole Jay Ro had 5 goals from all competitions last season.

[Amo]

That isn't the case at all, it's horses for courses, we played very open tonight- it was Norwich.

Arsenal we will play a more physical, direct game as they are the superior 'footballing' team.

Not rocket science!

See my point? You take the best footballing side in the country and use them as your argument for long-ball tactics. *Of course we can't outplay Arsenal, but do you seriously expect anyone to believe we can't play more football against the lesser, average sides in our league?

* Although it should be noted that Wigan spanked the Big Four last year playing decent stuff. It's just everyone else they're hopeless against.

[MarkBRFC71]

That isn't the case at all, it's horses for courses, we played very open tonight- it was Norwich.

Arsenal we will play a more physical, direct game as they are the superior 'footballing' team.

Not rocket science!

We'll play that way against every Premier League team unfortunately. Why can't we play tonight's type of football against the lesser teams, particularly at home?

[JAL]

Chinbonda again at fault for the opposition scoring, what a wet arse this guy is, hope Sam keeps the guy out of the starting eleven for the next game.

As for Grella hes down right poor, cant pass, cant run, doesnt have a creative streak in him ...cheerio Vince, Rovers will do a lot better with out you.

People slating MGP need to watch the game more closely as jim mk2 said earlier MGP is an important member of the team.

As for Emmerton and Hoilett these guys need to start delivering 'the end product' to their game to justify their selection in the team.

Well done to Mame Diouf showed some real desire and hunger for the team after slipping on his backside when he fluffed one of the easiest chances of the game.

Anyhow onwards and upwards for Rovers.

[Antgrad]

Can anyone who actually went confirm that the noises after Mame scored were "Diooooouf" rather than boos? Some idiot United fan on Twitter is claiming we're ungrateful and racist. They claim they were told by Rovers fans that they were boos.

[Mattyblue]

See my point? You take the best footballing side in the country and use them as your argument for long-ball tactics. *Of course we can't outplay Arsenal, but do you seriously expect anyone to believe we can't play more football against the lesser, average sides in our league?

* Although it should be noted that Wigan spanked the Big Four last year playing decent stuff. It's just everyone else they're hopeless against.

But we did play more football against the lesser sides at home (post the City away debacle), this seems to be forgotten.

Sam does what he sees fit to win the game, just like tonight.

This debate is going round in circles.

[Amo]

We'll play that way against every Premier League team unfortunately. Why can't we play tonight's type of football against the lesser teams, particularly at home?

There should probably be a disclaimer with every post: I don't want us to become a Wigan or a West Brom, who can only play one way and lack the quality to play the beautiful game week in, week out. By all means play the long ball game, but intersperse it with as much passing as you can. We showed signs of it against Birmingham, but sure enough the habit took over and we resorted to lumping it forward time and time again.

Anyway, great result tonight. Looking forward to at least one cup run this year.

[cn174]

Can anyone who actually went confirm that the noises after Mame scored were "Diooooouf" rather than boos? Some idiot United fan on Twitter is claiming we're ungrateful and racist. They claim they were told by Rovers fans that they were boos.

It went 'Mame, Mame Diouuuuuuuuffffffffffffff'

Not boos.

[Antgrad]

It went 'Mame, Mame Diouuuuuuuuffffffffffffff'

Not boos.

Thanks Clare

[LeChuck]

As for Grella hes down right poor, cant pass, cant run, doesnt have a creative streak in him ...cheerio Vince, Rovers will do a lot better with out you.

He can't really do anything very well. He's brave I guess. He thinks he can pass better than he really can, which leads him to losing possession a lot.

We're a stronger team without him. Problem is though that, like Roberts and Zurab, we're going to be stuck with him until the end of his contract.

[Hughesy]

2 players i thought were poor were Emerton, who i would consider offers for as i dont really see what he offers us, and Chimbonda is very erratic.

Suprise, suprise - Emerton has been crap for over 12 months, Chimbonda is no good if he isnt playing regular footy...Id also listen for offers on either of them.

happy with the result gutted about missing the game

Me too - glad we progressed though

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A solid performance by Rovers and job well done,never really troubled by a very average championship side.