[Archived] West Brom v Blackburn Rovers

[tony gale's mic]

A lot of gritted teeth mumbling from the Sam disciples today

Yeah, there's some really hacked off people here after Rovers got a crucial win today isn't there?

[beerwins]

Said it the day we signed him....KEANO SIGN HIM UP...KEANO...KEANO SIGN HIM UP!

Great to see him stick with Niko & Mame today...shows it could work

Today this guy was really worth the Manure hype about him, Kean has played him in a bit of the deep striker role as he is best suited to the ball carrying role, his best feature today and against stoke was his tracking back, im not a massive favourite of striker's tracking back but when you play 2 up front someone has to do it and he did it really well.

We have a bit of fine tuning to do with him and Kalinic but I can see it working if we could hold onto him. The ball must be played to his feet, at some stages in the game it was knocked high to him and he really struggled in the air to win the ball but when the ball is played to his feet he has a ability to hold onto the ball and make things happen, as we saw for the red card.

I see a bit of ability in this lad and he his a different striker to Kalinic there is no reason the two cant work together (apart from Kalinic cant play the next three games) his work ethic is very good and I like that in a striker especially one who is on loan.

[No Nay Never]

Yeah, there's some really hacked off people here after Rovers got a crucial win today isn't there?

Yeah some Sam "disciples" would argue we may have taken 9 points out of the last 9 available with Sam at the helm.

[tony gale's mic]

Yeah some Sam "disciples" would argue we may have taken 9 points out of the last 9 available with Sam at the helm.

Well we'd won all four home games against bottom half teams so far this season and seven out of ten last season, so to say we would've beaten Stoke and West Ham isn't much of a stretch. Had we won those we would've still had plenty of people whinging about the manner of the win like they did after the Wolves game, rather than saying it was an excellent result.

Against West Brom, well we beat the other two promoted teams away from home, and Blackpool have been doing much better than West Brom while Newcastle are level on points (and we beat them with Hughton still in charge). Surely a win was pretty possible?

However, ravaged by injuries, plus with it still being an away game...a win would rightly have been seen as an excellent result and I think a draw would've been a fair call here.

[No Nay Never]

Well we'd won all four home games against bottom half teams so far this season and seven out of ten last season, so to say we would've beaten Stoke and West Ham isn't much of a stretch. Had we won those we would've still had plenty of people whinging about the manner of the win like they did after the Wolves game, rather than saying it was an excellent result.

Against West Brom, well we beat the other two promoted teams away from home, and Blackpool have been doing much better than West Brom while Newcastle are level on points (and we beat them with Hughton still in charge). Surely a win was pretty possible?

However, ravaged by injuries, plus with it still being an away game...a win would rightly have been seen as an excellent result and I think a draw would've been a fair call here.

Pretty much spot on.

[cruz]

Yeah, there's some really hacked off people here after Rovers got a crucial win today isn't there?

I never said anyone was hacked off they have meerly been giving praise to the new manager through gritted teeth as they put their sharpened knives back in the block for another day

[Majiball]

Those who can, do....

Anyhow, as for the match itself, thought that we gave them too much space in midfield the first half - almost as if our midfielders were afraid of going for the ball or tackling, but then in the start of the second half it was almost like we were in attack mode to take the pressure off of Bunn. Kalinic was a great pest, probably the best 10-15 minutes I've seen him play. Didn't see the sending off, so not including that in my assessment.

Taken from www.rover.co.uk

That change sees a switch in formation as Gael Givet drops to the bench, his place in the starting line-up taken by El-Hadji Diouf.

No mention of him being ill but recovering to make the bench, dropped or drops in this case. So whilst you maybe be right in what you say I generally consider our own website to be reliable, but times they are a changing. Being dropped for a formation change for me generally means your fit but you don't fit. So my comment and others is valid at that moment in time.

'Those that know, do....'

[tony gale's mic]

I never said anyone was hacked off they have meerly been giving praise to the new manager through gritted teeth as they put their sharpened knives back in the block for another day

No, I'm pretty sure most are delighted our club might not be so f**ked after all.

One swallow and all that though, Ince got a great result in his first game...

[Tom]

Well we'd won all four home games against bottom half teams so far this season and seven out of ten last season, so to say we would've beaten Stoke and West Ham isn't much of a stretch. Had we won those we would've still had plenty of people whinging about the manner of the win like they did after the Wolves game, rather than saying it was an excellent result.

Against West Brom, well we beat the other two promoted teams away from home, and Blackpool have been doing much better than West Brom while Newcastle are level on points (and we beat them with Hughton still in charge). Surely a win was pretty possible?

However, ravaged by injuries, plus with it still being an away game...a win would rightly have been seen as an excellent result and I think a draw would've been a fair call here.

You could look at it any way you want though, each will look differently.

Some would say what you just did, others may say we only drew with West Ham and Stoke last season also we failed to beat Fulham and Sunderland at home and just got turned over by a poor ten man Bolton away. Add in the fact we have been ravaged by injuries and you could say we would have lost all 3.

In reality none of us have the slightest clue what may have been.

For me though we had to take 9 points from December but due to points dropped by Sam and Kean we only took 7 which is slightly disappointing.

[Miker]

I never said anyone was hacked off they have meerly been giving praise to the new manager through gritted teeth as they put their sharpened knives back in the block for another day

No one is against Kean doing the job, IF he can do the job. His first 2 matches in charge weren't reassuring in the least. He's now got a good result, which we're all happy with, let's see what happens in January now.

For the record, that win wasn't exactly the most exciting win in the world. Was it actually any better than our win against Wolves? Two goals from corners and a long punt up field.

[tony gale's mic]

You could look at it any way you want though, each will look differently.

Some would say what you just did, others may say we only drew with West Ham and Stoke last season also we failed to beat Fulham and Sunderland at home and just got turned over by a poor ten man Bolton away. Add in the fact we have been ravaged by injuries and you could say we would have lost all 3.

In reality none of us have the slightest clue what may have been.

For me though we had to take 9 points from December but due to points dropped by Sam and Kean we only took 7 which is slightly disappointing.

You could never say we would've lost all three - Stoke was our first home loss to a bottom half side since the Ince days.

Just taking the matches against West Ham and Stoke wouldn't tell you that much either - just like taking our home matches against Man Utd and Chelsea last season (both draws) shouldn't set our expectations for when Kean plays Man Utd at home. Taking all matches from similarly ranked opposition gives you a much broader perspective.

Sam dropped a point at Bolton, Kean dropped 5 points against West Ham and Stoke but picked up two against West Brom. We're 4 down on what we should've got IMO. Oh well, good job we won today.

[RevidgeBlue]

Sam dropped a point at Bolton, Kean dropped 5 points against West Ham and Stoke but picked up two against West Brom. We're 4 down on what we should've got IMO. Oh well, good job we won today.

It's slightly optimistic assuming we would win both the games againsrt West Ham and Stoke. Four points would be more realistic.

And it could easily be argued Sam dropped three points against Bolton given we played most of the second half against ten men.

[jim mk2]

Unexpected win for Rovers and England have just retained the Ashes - what a day !

And Sam should still be in charge.

[RevidgeBlue]

Didn't see today's game but delighted to hear the positive reports for Olsson and Mame Diouf.

I thought the former was excellent amongst a sea of dross against Stoke and I really like the United lad. In a good side/with the right formation I think he would be a cracking player.

[Tom]

Yep Bolton was the most winnable of those games given the circumstances ie injuries and Bolton being down to 10, 3 points dropped there.

It's all if's and but's though.

Why did Bunn get booked yet last week Stoke got away with time wasting constantly, bloody inconsistent refs.

Some funny points from the highlights, namely Diouf's comedy pantomime villain exit and Keans reaction to the foul on MB Diouf would love a gif of that.

[tony gale's mic]

It's slightly optimistic assuming we would win both the games againsrt West Ham and Stoke. Four points would be more realistic.

And it could easily be argued Sam dropped three points against Bolton given we played most of the second half against ten men.

Why? We were in good form at home, had just beaten Wolves and Villa convincingly, and apart from the Man Utd game had been playing pretty well. Even against Bolton we played some good football but poor defending let us down.

It equally could be construed as slightly pessimistic to predict an away draw vs West Brom given that we'd beaten the other two promoted teams away from home. But a draw was a fair prediction.

[beerwins]

You could never say we would've lost all three - Stoke was our first home loss to a bottom half side since the Ince days.

Just taking the matches against West Ham and Stoke wouldn't tell you that much either - just like taking our home matches against Man Utd and Chelsea last season (both draws) shouldn't set our expectations for when Kean plays Man Utd at home. Taking all matches from similarly ranked opposition gives you a much broader perspective.

Sam dropped a point at Bolton, Kean dropped 5 points against West Ham and Stoke but picked up two against West Brom. We're 4 down on what we should've got IMO. Oh well, good job we won today.

Really? Did Sam have the same pressure when he won his games? Did he have chickens wondering round the darwen end? Did he have chants of you dont know what your doing? did he have less than 5 days training with the team? Did he have players handing in transfer requests?

For gods sake give it a rest, Sam is gone and Blackburn rovers are trying to move on, and while Kean isnt the exact replacement which most of the fans would have liked we are learning to deal with it in a positive manner, to which I expect a massive ammount of fans tried to give him today, and low and behold it seemed to work, even Kean acknowledged the fans today and a lot of the players too.

Move on in a positive manner and ignore poeple trying to get a rise out of you.

[darwenblueswearehere]

[/b]

Really? Did Sam have the same pressure when he won his games? Did he have chickens wondering round the darwen end? Did he have chants of you dont know what your doing? did he have less than 5 days training with the team? Did he have players handing in transfer requests?

For gods sake give it a rest, Sam is gone and Blackburn rovers are trying to move on, and while Kean isnt the exact replacement which most of the fans would have liked we are learning to deal with it in a positive manner, to which I expect a massive ammount of fans tried to give him today, and low and behold it seemed to work, even Kean acknowledged the fans today and a lot of the players too.

Move on in a positive manner and ignore poeple trying to get a rise out of you.

Spot on. The King is dead, long live the King.

[Rovermatt]

It was good to see Kalinic being afforded an opportunity while facing goal and not having to contort himself to buy even a half chance. This is not something that has happened very often during his time at the club. Fantastic pass from Pedersen too.

Even from the highlights on Sky it was startling to see Rovers' player actually attempting to pass to each other.

[RoyRover]

I watched the highlights this evening and was delighted with an unexpected win. Kalinic took his goals very well, especially the first one. As Rovermatt says, it's nice to see him facing goal and getting chances, rather than running after lumps up the field and having his back to goal all the time. I was less impressed with his tackle which was pretty bad and deserved a red, which is a shame as he will miss games now that his confidence is up. I thought Mame Diouf had a good game as well. I would like to see these two paired together more often.

[RoversSG]

Have to say the first goal was surreal with the defenders seemingly in slow motion and the nonchalant way Niko finished it.

I thought it was offside or something till i heard the roar from the crowd!

All in all, a good game in terms of the result but our midfield is really non-existent at present with Dunn and Pedersen hardly making any tackles and passing the ball to a West Brom player more often then that. No one seems to be closing down opposition players when they run with the ball too and we were very lucky we were not punished. Against a team with better finishers, i'm pretty sure we would have loss as West Brom looks threatening everytime they push up.

Have to say the first goal was surreal with the defenders seemingly in slow motion and the nonchalant way Niko finished it.

I thought it was offside or something till i heard the roar from the crowd!

All in all, a good game in terms of the result but our midfield is really non-existent at present with Dunn and Pedersen hardly making any tackles and passing the ball to a West Brom player more often then that. No one seems to be closing down opposition players when they run with the ball too and we were very lucky we were not punished. Against a team with better finishers, i'm pretty sure we would have loss as West Brom looks threatening everytime they push up.

[USABlue]

Finally a return to 4-4-2 (or maybe 4-5-1; I'm never quite sure whether M.B.Diouf is playing as a striker or winger) with a recognisable midfield (2/3 central players and 2 wingers) and we finally get the result we needed. A sensible formation with clearly defined positions which the players understand and the flexibility to switch between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 as the pace and momentum of the game dictate. I hope Steve Kean has learnt something today!

(I have nothing against Kean but he's yet to show any tactical intelligence and only gets it right when he finally copies Sam - he undoubtedly needs time to get the players pulling in his direction but until then I am glad he has finally shown willingness to use a known system that works, even if it isn't his own)

So a return to Sam's shape and tactics that we've seen consistently through the first half of the season and we get our first win since he got the boot. I hope Venky's have learnt something today!

So the first good result we get since Sam left is when we play the system and players Sam himself would have played. I hope the anti-Sam brigade have learnt something today!

Huh, were we watching the same game. I did not anything much Sam like. In fact in the early going before they scored I was praying for some Sam stuff, we stood off way too much. I saw more passing there in this game by us than I had all season will Allardyce. Would Sam have made two attacking subs in those circumstances, don't think so.

[American]

Taken from www.rover.co.uk

That change sees a switch in formation as Gael Givet drops to the bench, his place in the starting line-up taken by El-Hadji Diouf.

No mention of him being ill but recovering to make the bench, dropped or drops in this case. So whilst you maybe be right in what you say I generally consider our own website to be reliable, but times they are a changing. Being dropped for a formation change for me generally means your fit but you don't fit. So my comment and others is valid at that moment in time.

'Those that know, do....'

You believe the website, I'll believe Kean's own words on Talksport.

[Paul]

Hope you both really enjoyed yourselves........

Football............funny old game eh

Yes we did, more than I can recall for a couple of years, Blackpool this season, excepted.

I can vouch that Paul enjoyed the game. Had a quick chat to him on the way back to the car.

Good to see you and Tom today Paul.

Good to see you as well Ricky. Have to confess you've lost so much weight I didn't realise who it was when you first said hello! Well done.

By the time we reached the M6 this had all the hallmarks of a bad day out! I'd decided to go because it was a 3.00pm KO and I knew Tom would have a good time - he was starting to climb the walls with boredom at home! The radio was reporting 70 minutes delay between junctions 21A and 16, so we dived off at Warrington, down the A49, joined the A50 and back on the M6 at 16, only to run in to fog and most of the world returning from holiday!!! Somehow we got to The Hawthorns at 3.03, dumped the car just before the BP station and made our way to the TO. We, well Tom, doesn't do running!. The TO said they had no tickets and to go to the cash turnstile. Got to the cash turnstile closed, back to the TO, they still haven't got any tickets!!!! By this time I was beginning to lose it with the stress of three hours on the M6 etc. etc. Eventually we got two tickets and I'm ashamed to say I left the TO loudly muttering "this wouldn't happen at Ewood!!" It probably would. Get to the turnstile, the same as ours, and it jams! Me inside, Tom out. Jeeeeez.

Huge cheer while we were stuck in the turnstile, I groaned! After all this it's going to be another bad day away. We eventually got in some seats at 3.20 with the score at 1-1.

Sat in row 6, quite low, I find it hard to judge a game overall. For the 25 minutes we saw of the first half I felt WBA were the better side and seemed to be carving holes in our midfield and defence almost at will. With Rovers attacking away from us it was difficult for me to know how well or badly we played in that period. Going in at 1-1 seemed a good position for Rovers as I'd felt for the last 5-6 minutes of the first half WBA would take the lead and that might well be the end of us. To the second half and the 47th minute passed without disaster and we are playing some good stuff, passing the ball and with good control, then Kalinic scores a simple but well taken goal and I can't quite believe it. Good football and a goal. The next 10 minutes must have whizzed by because until this morning I thought we'd scored two in about 4-5 minutes - when your team is playing well time flies by. Kalinic in particular seems to be doing all the things a striker should. At 3-1 Tom and I are literally dancing and having a wonderful time.

By now I've worked out it's easier to watch our half of the pitch on the big screen, which was giving a very good view of the WBA attacks. To be honest one has to admit this could have been 5-3 to WBA, goal line clearances, terrible misses and very good keeping meant we survived some first class chances for the Albion. Yet I never felt we would lose from being 3-1 up. You make your own luck in this game, if the team deserve a result they will get it and today our performance deserved a result.

Someone posted we won this game because Kean realised he had to use Allardyce tactics. Absolute phooey. Nonsense. It's far, far too early to be praising Kean as a messiah but I rarely, if ever, saw Rovers play like this under Allardyce, except against Chelsea in the Carling Cup and Bolton away ( step forward Neil MacDonald). We tried to play football, we passed the ball, we entertained our fans and gave them reason to sing. Watching Allardyce's teams was purgatory, trips to Ewood a duty and away games just so painful it's unbelievable. I'm really looking forward to Liverpool next week and vaguely thinking about Sunderland on Saturday. Sunderland? I've never been there.

What we saw yesterday was a team trying to play football. Still plenty of flaws, the same mistakes being made by the same culprits but there was much more attempt to play............and that's all I want. Had we lost 5-3 yesterday I'd have been very disappointed but at least we gave it a real go.

And what a difference this makes to the fans. After buying coffee in the BP garage we stood by the car as Rovers fans streamed past on foot, in cars, mini buses and coaches. Lots of smiles, singing, waving and remarks to us as people went by. Yesterday was why I watch football and it hasn't been that way for a couple of years. Well done to Kean and the players. There is a long way to go, the squad is down to it's bare bones with injury and other problems caused by lack of cash but even at this stage it can be done. My deep reservations about our owners, the management change and the club's future remain but after a decent performance and an excellent result things look a lot better. If Venky's are telling the truth, and there is good reason to doubt this, and money is available we have seen a glimpse that things can get much better.

A good day!

[mhead]

Positive,magic and sums up joys of football. Well done Paul....super post.