[Archived] Newcastle v Rovers

[BPF]

People shouldn't get carried away calling for Roberts to start - we've seen this lots of times before, he has a big impact off the bench when he has something to prove, then works his way into the team only to return to being average.

Great result.

Very true. But sickeningly, he is the best option for us (Until January).

[John]

Roberts looked fuming at the end, Dunn attempted to calm him down....

[imy9]

Big Sam out, we are going to be relegated...oh sorry that's two games ago! Europe here we go...lol!

[unclejack28]

Carrrrrn you Blues! great great win..

[RibbleValleyRover]

FT

Massive three points when you consider our upcoming fixtures. Decent performance overall especially in the first half. Good finish from Pedersen but his game apart from that was poor. Roberts showed once again his impact player qualities off the bench against tired legs- I still don't see him as a starter. Hoilett I thought had a very good game, the ability to run with the ball and at pace is a great asset even though he did that shocking dive. He must keep his place for the next game. Emerton continues to put in a good shift, looks more like the Bert of old. Perhaps he is finally getting over that bad injury?

Sam's tactics overall worked, Samba kept Carroll quiet (apart from that chance that Carroll put away- but we won so it didn't cost us) and Nolan didn't do much due to an impressive Jones.

A very good result indeed and should give us a confidence boost going into the Spurs game.

[DE.]

Great result, that. A bizarre selection from Allarydce but it seems to have been justified. Didn't seem like Newcastle threatened us much (barring the mandatory 47th minute goal), whilst we had a fair few chances. Considering our away record, it's an excellent win.

Roberts can shake his head and act angry, but the fact is he just doesn't do it for us when he starts. He always works for us as an impact sub, if he could accept that I think Sam would be willing to keep him. Can't blame the fella for wanting to start matches, though.

Two very important wins, chuffed!

[sambo]

Get in!

Roberts and M Diouf from now on please Sam.

I think Junior more than staked his place for a spot in the team too, although hard to leave EH Diouf out, who has been fantastic for the majority of the season!

JR probably has to start after 2 goals in 2 games, although lets hope its not one of many false dawns for him.

Delighted.

[Amo]

FT - 2-1

Fantastic result for the lads. Full credit to Sam for making the gamble in his tactics and team selections. I've always said Hoilett deserves a chance, and he certainly took it tonight. Aside from that awful dive, he was a constant menace with his pace. I'd also give credit to Nelsen, who I thought was a rock at the back.

And lastly, Mr. Roberts. Glad to see he's playing with a chip on his shoulder, because it's looked to have really fired him up. Ironically, if this was Benjani coming into the side and scoring 2 in 3, we'd all be saying what a great bit of business by Sam. But because it's Jase, his own fans make a mockery of him. Good on him for proving a point.

[bazza]

Brilliant result. Well done Rovers.

I noticed towards the end there were 220 people reading this messageboard

257 now

[chocky]

Those two are starting to be a good double act..Another win at St James Park...I would love it if Roberts came good at last. He's been a poor finisher but maybe this is his renaissance.

[Dan]

Great result! Wooo!! Roberts is our Anelka! Please stat fallen out with him Sam!

[koi]

The 'tics fans I know are pretty confident they're getting J Rob in January.

[Doaksie]

Big mention for Sam's tactics tonight. He got it spot on, as we ease into the mid-table.

The Expert

[JMillZz]

Get in!

Roberts and M Diouf from now on please Sam.

M Diouf has been a bit inconsistent too. It would be interesting to see how kalinic and Roberts faired together. Roberts powering about would mean kalinic wouldn't have to do all that himself.

Sounds like Hoilett needs to start after his performance today.

Agree with someones comment about Roberts and his impact performances but lack of producing when he starts. I think he has to start though. But his sulking is a bit too babyish and pathetic, could disrupt the dressing room.

[Balwer]

Credit to Sam for the strange tactics. We beat the form team in the league on their own turf.

[ChesterRover]

Great result, St James' is a happy hunting ground after all, got to say I feared the worst on seeing the starting eleven but credit when its due.

[Iceman]

Well done boys. Now lets beat Spurs on Saturday, then its happy days. heck, ill even take a draw.

[Andy]

Big Sam out, we are going to be relegated...oh sorry that's two games ago! Europe here we go...lol!

I realise you're joking, but some fans genuinely do react like this.

Apparently we were relegation fodder a week ago and now, back-to-back wins later, we're probably a couple of points from the top 6 (without looking at the league).

We could do with sticking with this formation for more away games - massively solid at the back (barring Samba's error) and wing-backs getting forward.

David Hoilett was very good and MGP also had a good game.

1 shot on target for them, who have been pretty good at home, is a massive statement of how well we did defensively.

[AlanK]

Bloody well chuffed with that! That lot have been on a bit of a roll recently. Job well done.

[Eddie]

I thought we played really well. Very sloppy from Samba to lose the plot for their goal, but apart from that we defended well and held onto the ball well at times. Hoilett did very well and should keep his spot (although not good to see him dive). Roberts will always be a useful sub, hopefully he'll be kept for that.

MOTM: Pedersen. Took his goal very well and was good getting forward, but more importantly did some very good work helping out when Newcastle had the ball.

[Mr. E]

Few things make me happier than beating the barcodes, especially at St. James. This season just got a whole lot better. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Still not 100% what Roberts is angry about, but the way BFS treated him over the summer would be a good guess. And he has every right to be angry about that. Or maybe still his miss vs Chelsea? In any case, let's hope he keeps up what he's doing.

[BuckyRover]

We have just brought back 3-5-2! I thought it had been lost forever to the 4-5-1.

A classic formation.

[sambo]

Few things make me happier than beating the barcodes, especially at St. James. This season just got a whole lot better. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Still not 100% what Roberts is angry about, but the way BFS treated him over the summer would be a good guess. And he has every right to be angry about that. Or maybe still his miss vs Chelsea? In any case, let's hope he keeps up what he's doing.

I'd have thought him scoring proved his point enough, the behaviour towards his team mates was childish though, as was him storming off without shaking hands or applauding the travelling support who were singing his name.

Goals speak a lot more words than a hissy fit.

[yeti-dog]

FT

Massive three points when you consider our upcoming fixtures. Decent performance overall especially in the first half. Good finish from Pedersen but his game apart from that was poor. Roberts showed once again his impact player qualities off the bench against tired legs- I still don't see him as a starter. Hoilett I thought had a very good game, the ability to run with the ball and at pace is a great asset even though he did that shocking dive. He must keep his place for the next game. Emerton continues to put in a good shift, looks more like the Bert of old. Perhaps he is finally getting over that bad injury?

Sam's tactics overall worked, Samba kept Carroll quiet (apart from that chance that Carroll put away- but we won so it didn't cost us) and Nolan didn't do much due to an impressive Jones.

A very good result indeed and should give us a confidence boost going into the Spurs game.

Can't agree RVR..I thought Ped's threaded some lovely passes tonight and showed some guile,not something we're overburdened with.

[tony gale's mic]

Great result. Another Sam subtitution does the trick, but I don't see as many people mentioning this as those blaming him for none of our defenders marking Carroll for their equaliser.

Really good to see Roberts showing so much passion too - he's earning a big wage and could quite easily have sat on the bench and taken it, but he's out to prove a point and has responded in the best possible way. Even though his finish against Chelsea was shocking I doubt any of our other strikers would have got into the position to score - still it should be 3 winning goals out of 3 games for him rather than two in two.

We're just a point behind Spurs.

Three tough games coming up (Spurs away, Villa home, Man Utd away) that I'd be happy to take two points from, but after that we have Wolves home, Bolton away, West Ham home, Stoke home, West Brom away and Sunderland away - all winnable games where we should be aiming for 10-12 points from.