[Archived] Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City 9th April 2011

[RevidgeBlue]

The teams below us in the league are better than us, that's the point.

What absolute nonsense, is that why they're all two or three points behind us with an inferior goal difference?

Teams like Aston Villa and West Ham have a lot more quality about them on paper then us but for whatever reason they haven't shown it over the course of the season. Otherwise they wouldn't be where they are at this stage of the season.

[Mercer]

Bad luck, poor refereeing, total bullshyte.

We are where we are because of our record in the last 8 or 9 matches - drawn 3, lost the rest.

A feckin disgrace and we are going down.

I am totally p1ssed-off by what has happened to our once great club.

IMO, the lunatics are firmly in control of the asylum

[RIML]

Offside everyday of the week! Bowyer was in front of the ball, in front of his own player Jerome and in front of our defending players when the ball was played.

It was a close call but it was the wrong call.

Oh well a last minute offside goal against Everton (like the time Ooijer scored) will make up for it

[booth]

Offside everyday of the week! Bowyer was in front of the ball, in front of his own player Jerome and in front of our defending players when the ball was played.

It was a close call but it was the wrong call.

Oh well a last minute offside goal against Everton (like the time Ooijer scored) will make up for it

I personally thought it was offside, but the main gripe was with the blatant foul that came right before it.

[RevidgeBlue]

As for today's game I saw Paul walking up Livesey Branch Rd. and he said it was one of the worst games of football he'd ever seen today. Hard to disagree, for me neither side showed the sort of urgency you would expect from two teams scrapping to stay up. A draw was just about the fair result although we certainly had the better of the play in the second half.

The main problem for me is that we lack quality all over the pitch, no quality in midfield and we know none of them are Alan Shearer but none of our strikers are currently performing to even the modest sort of levels they are capable. Robinson, Samba, Phil Jones Hoillett and Olsson are carrying the rest of the team and if we stay up it's essential we keep those five and a huge clearout is required everywhere else.

Another "must win" game goes begging but at least we have shown a certain amount of grit and dtermination in the last few games and if we can't win games with pretty flowing football it might be that no heavy defeats and grinding out another four or five points by hook or by crook might suffice to stay up.

For me this sort of situation was inevitable sooner or later given the lack of investment in the squad over the years. Fortunately it might just be that we can still scrape up on the "there's at least three clubs even worse than us" basis.

[modes98]

That is absolute rubbish. If you are behond the second last player and behond the ball you are offside.

Correct and he was. Not to mention the blatant foul (push in the back) in the build up.

Foy, like the 3 before him, was on a mission to see us leave with nothing. My Dad has never been a big Rovers fan but came along and he was in full agreement that the ref gave them everything, which is like getting him to admit he is wrong (never happens).

On a nagative note, Benjani! Why? The man had rollerskates on at one point, managed to fall over on his own in the middle of the pitch. Couldn't score in a brothel! Get Kalinic in now!

[AggyBlue]

Bowyer was in front of all our players (except Robbo) and just in front of Jerome too when the ball was played, it was a close call but according to the above he was just offside.

He was level with the ball when it was played across, therefore onside

[RIML]

He was level with the ball when it was played across, therefore onside

Get out A part of his body was level but look at his out-stretched leg, he could have scored with that part of the body, offside!

[roverwhelmed]

After the excitement of last week I was pretty convinced we'd do well today and feel disappointed beyond belief.

I just don't think we're good enough, although I think Hoillet is magnificent and some of the players did well. As an overall outfit, its not a rosy picture at all.

The biggest thing I just can't stop thinking about is refereeing decisions. At the end of the day, they are professionals and I just don't think the last four we've had are getting their decisions right. It is starting to feel like a conspiracy - today was just a joke. I've never been so fuming with a referee and that's saying something. He was atrocious.

I wish with all my heart that we'll stay up, but only just, and that Venky's will see that playing these ridiculous games with OUR club is not in anybody's interests.

WE NEED AN EXPERIENCED CHAIRMAN WHO IS ABLE TO MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE FROM KNOW-NOTHINGS. WE NEED AN EXPERIENCED EPL MANAGER WITH THE FREEDOM TO SIGN THE PLAYERS AND USE THE TACTICS FITTING OUR PLAYERS. WE NEED INVESTMENT. WE NEED STABILITY.

Please Venky's, for the sake of our wonderful football club, listen.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Mind-boggling.I think you're seeing the world through blue and white glasses.

As for Jones J, how many needless free-kicks does he have to give away before the manager ###### him? We were organised last week but today I thought the defence was shaky. As for going forward, only Hoilett threatened. Dunn improved in the second half but I'm amazed he got MOM.

How can you be optimistic after that? That was the "easiest" game we had left! Where's the 2 wins we need coming from?

I cant remember birmingham having loads of chances. Watching various players you could see a better team pattern and players actually covering for each other. I still think we are deep in the brown stuff - but the last 4 matches the team have shown more desire, team spirit and organisation than at any time under kean. But for some poor refereeing we would be 4 points better off. Of course that doesnt change our position - but at least it would appear we are at least fighting against the real threat of relegation. As for j jones he does dive in when perhaps he shouldnt - but at least he gets stuck in something fans have been moaning about for a few years now.

[RevidgeBlue]

He was level with the ball when it was played across, therefore onside

It was offside, just, but ninety nine times out of a hundred the flag would go up without a second thought in a situation like that with two strikers the two players nearest the goal. Can you imagine that goal standing against Man Ure at Old Trafford?

I don't believe there's a conspiracy but if decisions do indeed balance themselves out over the course of a season it's to be hoped we get a fair crack of the whip in the last few games because we've been on the end of some right stinkers recently, Webb's being by far the worst.

[Brfcrule1]

I can not believe some of you as clear as day Bowyer s leg was clearly in front of the player so clearly he is offside. Modes the incident you refer to with Benjani was clearly a penalty Johnson makes no attempt to play the ball & even when looking at it in real timefrom the BBurn end my first reaction was it was a penalty & the tv replay confirms it & for the record Benjani I thought did well to tackle pick their defenders pockets on a few occasions & was unlucky not to score but I do agree with you Kalinic needs to come back in as RSC/MB Diouf/Roberts are not clinical enough in front of goal.

[LeChuck]

No wins in how many?

We have to rely on other teams being worse than us now. We can't win games on merit.

[Paul]

Now I usually value your opinion very highly on here Paul - but this is a bit much. Yes the referee was poor and it wasn't the best of games, but being a Rovers fan you've surely seen worse games and referees. I've seen worse this season.

I was thinking of the overall game, not just Rovers, but the whole spectacle. I felt City, Rovers and the ref all combined to make this one of the worst matches I've watched. Quite agree I have seen Rovers play far worse, the one which always sticks in my mind as an absolute low was the 1-0 home defeat to Stockport under Ray Harford but there have been plenty of others. This season newcastle at home was really very, very poor.

I don't often comment about the ref, mainly because there are folk far better qualified than me, but this did seem a thoroughly inept performance. It seemed every time a player felt the need to interupt play, especially from City, all he needed to do was fall over. As for the drop ball incident, what a complete joke.

[Paul]

As for today's game I saw Paul walking up Livesey Branch Rd. and he said it was one of the worst games of football he'd ever seen today. Hard to disagree, for me neither side showed the sort of urgency you would expect from two teams scrapping to stay up. A draw was just about the fair result although we certainly had the better of the play in the second half.

Rev, apologies I must have seemed rude. The lady who spoke to me just after we began chatting was Tom's primary school teacher. I don't think she has seen him in around 12 years. Didn't mean to ignore you, hope there was no offence?

Just thinking about the game a little more. This Larsson was the player who was going to come to Rovers in the summer and had everyone so excited? Good free kick but he didn't do much else. I only realised Ferguson was playing after about 75 minutes when someone told me! City seemed to be very wound up, extremely aggressive and ready to do whatever was needed to get a result. Difficult to argue with that approach at this stage of the season. I felt we looked fairly comfortable, not good but in control, until Nelsen went off. I was even thinking three points for us and all the Ws below were losing at the time, if it stays like this it's going to be a good day. When Nelsen went off we seemed to change to 4-4-2 and to lose what control we'd had of the midfield? Or was I dreaming this bit? If it was a deliberate change to 4-4-2 this seemed to be the key to our play spiralling downwards.

Hopefully the next bit is not a rant as I wasn't even angry yesterday and I'm certainly not now. Having said how poor I thought the whole game I could see moments were Rovers clearly tried to play but it simply didn't work for them. I don't often go through the team player by player but today feel it needs saying:

• Robinson - I've liked him from the off, nothing to do, great keeper

• Olsson - wasted at left back and a real talent
• Samba - very average
• Nelsen - his departure the key to this game for me see above
• Salgado - was not impressed by his signing but how wrong can you be, didn't do much yesterday
• J Jones - faded badly after a good start, leaving in the summer so irrelevant really
• P Jones - Phil is great, hope he stays but yesterday he was poor and needs to learn to shine in games like this
• Dunn - good old Dunny, he tried and tried but it isn't there anymore
• Pedersen - been a great servant but probably finished at this level
• Santa Cruz - complete waste of space and money, utterly useless
• Hoilett - a beacon in the gloom who we'll probably lose in the summer
• Emerton - finished
• Mwaruwari - that's who the BBC say played. If it's Benjani he's about our level, not very good
• Roberts - good old Jason will always put in a shift but pretty hopeless these days

Truth is we have a very, very poor squad now with a number of players who have reached the end of the careers and it seems they have all just faded away during this season. Though I never liked Allardyce I think he had an enormous ability to squeeze performances out of these fading stars. Presuming we stay up, and I think we will though I'm resigned to relegation (if that makes sense), we have to clear out the majority of our squad and start again.

I've read all the conspiracy theories about the press, the refs, nobody likes us etc. What a load of old nonsense, talk about having a persecution complex. Way before Christmas Den said to me along the lines of "this squad isn't good enough for the Championship." Now Den has forgotten more about football than most of us know, he was right then and it applies today. We are in the current position through lack of investment by the trust, the appalling management of our current owners, a novice manager and a rapidly declining squad. Somehow Williams and Allardyce kept papering over the cracks, how much longer that could have gone on I don't know, but that's where we were then and are now.

.................and I still think we'll stay up! I don't know how or where the points will come from but I think West Ham, Wolves and Wigan are going down.

Come on the Gunners, one nil to the Arsenal, one nil ......

[Stuart]

I noticed the change to 4-4-2 when Roberts replaced Nelsen but P Jones was the obvious replacement. I remarked at the time that I didn't think we had the quality in midfield to cope.

This was further exacerbated when Emerton came on in the second half. Not sure if it was my imagination but players didn't seem to want so pass to him when he was the player 'on'.

Pedersen didn't have a great day either. Did anyone hear what the fat bloke was shouting at him at half time. The look on Ped's face was of complete shock. He looked pretty upset.

Question of the day for me was "Where the hell was Givet?". I imagine Olsson would have been asking that all afternoon.

[Beta Ray Bill]

No wins in how many?

We have to rely on other teams being worse than us now. We can't win games on merit.

Unfortunately, the future of Rovers really does now rely on others being even worse than us. As we have to play two of those teams away, I suspect that we will drop into the bottom three for the first time in the season around 1720 on 22nd May and stay there for the next 30 minutes.

[47er]

Unfortunately, the future of Rovers really does now rely on others being even worse than us. As we have to play two of those teams away, I suspect that we will drop into the bottom three for the first time in the season around 1720 on 22nd May and stay there for the next 30 minutes.

Did you mean the next 30 years?

I cant remember birmingham having loads of chances. Watching various players you could see a better team pattern and players actually covering for each other. I still think we are deep in the brown stuff - but the last 4 matches the team have shown more desire, team spirit and organisation than at any time under kean. But for some poor refereeing we would be 4 points better off. Of course that doesnt change our position - but at least it would appear we are at least fighting against the real threat of relegation. As for j jones he does dive in when perhaps he shouldnt - but at least he gets stuck in something fans have been moaning about for a few years now.

PAUL RIVERS, SmallHeathAlliance.comThis was a job well done. To get a point away at this stage is a plus. It was an error-strewn game, with passes going astray all the time. I've also never seen so many players going down injured. They were dropping like flies. Ridgewell switched off for their goal, but it was a good finish by Hoillet - he looked the dangerman. Bowyer was in the right place at the right time to put us ahead and if we can beat Sunderland at home next weekend we should be all right.

Birmingham didn't need to create many chances--they were the away side. That is what they think of their performance.

[Pugg]

Where are our points going to come from? Simple...we're going to draw every game! Well we've drawn the last three...I can see a plan forming :op

I hope Ryan and junior are back against everton. Move Martin O into midfield and replace santa and we could have a chance, playing with a bit of pace.

[Stuart]

And another thing. Did Foy forget his watch yesterday? How on earth did he only find 3 minutes of first half and 4 minutes of second half stoppage time. I've never known a game with as many stoppages. Shame on Birmingham and shame on Chris Foy.

[Beta Ray Bill]

might have signalled 3 mins in first half, but played 8.

[Tom]

To be fair I thought benjani did well when he came on, made a nuisance of himself but had no service once junior went off

[roverwhelmed]

And another thing. Did Foy forget his watch yesterday? How on earth did he only find 3 minutes of first half and 4 minutes of second half stoppage time. I've never known a game with as many stoppages. Shame on Birmingham and shame on Chris Foy.

I thought it was funny when Dunn threw himself on the floor dramatically and took the mickey out of the Birmingham player/s.

I was expecting them to say 7 or maybe even 10 minutes added on, it was so stop-start.

[Stuart]

might have signalled 3 mins in first half, but played 8.

Only because there was another 5 or 6 minutes stoppage during injury time, BRB. I'm talking about the total stoppages accrued during the main first half.

I've never seen a team like it. Very cynical indeed.

[beerwins]

Good post Paul and it's very true, I dont see any manager coming in and getting this average lot playing a lot better, some of them like you mentioned are clearly past it.