[Archived] Rovers versus Manchester City, 25th April 8pm

[The Gull]

Dunn was injured. Your options are either Pedersen, Diouf, Formica or Rochina. You tell me which one and i'll tell you what's wrong with your choice. There was no easy option. We didn't concede because of it. We played well. Kean did as much as he could do. Unlucky. There are games where players and the manager are at fault but not tonight.

######!

Pedersen would have been more effective, Hanley in at CB with Phil Jones moving to CM, both better options.

How anyone can defend this idiot is beyond me and I was more than willing to bide my time and give him a chance.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Another game another mugging perhaps we might get a decision next season in the nPower. Hope the "know it all" fans calling for Kalinic for about an hour tonight are happy it was crystal clear that Benjani was causing them all sorts of problems all night long but a few calls for our "wonder striker" & a spineless manager obliges. These are the fine margins between success and failure and we're only heading one way...

I'm going to miss Phil Jones next season

There we go. Any excuse for a pop. Benjani was as useful as Roberts. Kalinic wasn't ever going to do much, he never has.

If add Hoilett into the mix and I think we have enough to survive. It will be close and Bolton will be the key.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Classy City fans with the Munich chants.

[Mc Love]

Kean on now - is he talking to a GIANT?

[John]

We need points not performances.

[Biddy]

Kean on now - is he talking to a GIANT?

LMAO, I was wondering that

[DanLad]

Kean on now - is he talking to a GIANT?

Maybe he's a hobbit?

It was the same pre-match.

[Mc Love]

After that performance I am getting behind the team! Its about time everyone else does!

[Stuart]

I didn't expect anything before the game but now I'm home, I feel heartbroken.

I'm going to sleep on it.

[Ferrit]

I thought Kean was going to start crying at the start of that ....

[Eddie]

We played well at Arsenal only for it to be followed up by poor results.

The teams around us aren't playing terribly. We got away with it this weekend, but West Ham, Wolves and Wigan have all won 3 games since the start of February. Blackpool have won 1. We've won 0.

That's one way to look at it.

The other way is that virtually every Rovers fan would have expected a defeat tonight (playing a top four team just coming off a semi-final win and who are looking to seal their Champions League spot...you can't expect much from that)...and we've played quite well.

OK..it's another game without a point, but I'm choosing to be a bit hopeful and say that if, and that is a rather big IF, but if we play like that in the final few games we will pick up points.

Will we get anything against United?

Probably not.

Could we get something from Wolves and West Ham? I would hope so.

The team is fighting and they care, that much is obvious. That makes a big difference.

[Mc Love]

LMAO, I was wondering that

Maybe he's a hobbit?

It was the same pre-match.

Its like he is a small child talking to his daddy - spoke a lot of sense though.

[Majiball]

Bah.

No it's highly frustrating. All night our game plan was two banks of 4 and defend the penalty box and it was working after the first 5-10 what did they create???

So it's worked all game they haven't threatened, Dunn gets injured. So do you swap like for like and maintain the two banks of 4 which have done so well or change it all? If we had stayed the same we wouldn't have seen Rochina (or whoever else had come one) and Olsson (who was always back when it was the two banks of four) so far forward when they scored. I still believe they could have made it but a central midfielder knows he must be there and so would have been as Dunn had been all night.

It was a silly move and it really cost us tonight.

But in the same vein we created far more clear cut chances than they did and really we should have scored, but we've always struggled with scoring for 2 seasons now. So with that in mind do you change away from the defensive posture that has done well and created or change it, cause change is always good. Isn't it???

It's a rookie mistake. You see tonight was David V Goliath and I would ask if you were david would you move first? I wouldn't as the longer we keep circling each other poised for fight, I get to figure out what the (Please don't use that word again) to do and in the mean time no ones struck a blow. So in our match it was nil - nil we looked the more threatening but at the same time Goliath hadn't scored a goal. So it's happy days as really if your David you'd be happy to reach 90 without that giant club of Goliath smashing you on your head. But we didn't we went on the attack by bringing on another striker and putting him in the hole. Goliath saw our charge towards him swung his club and smashed us upper cut styley in the jaw, game over or K.O. We should have stayed as we had been all game, by bringing on one of Gamst or Andrews as we could would have kept the game plan that was working and the shape and discipline that was stopping Goliath from getting past our shield, intact.

That tactical change for me cost us a lovely precious point tonight and points win prizes.

:angry2:

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

######!

Pedersen would have been more effective, Hanley in at CB with Phil Jones moving to CM, both better options.

How anyone can defend this idiot is beyond me and I was more than willing to bide my time and give him a chance.

Urgh. Tonight we played well. Tonight we were unlucky. But if you're so determined to blame everything on Kean then fine, its not worth wasting time arguing against.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Doesn't matter if we played well or were unlucky when you're in the ###### it's the points that count.

The next two games are massive, I think we will need a minimum of 4 points from the Bolton and West Ham games so a draw and a win from those two games. I can't see us getting anything from the United game and the Wolves game will be really tough.

[tony gale's mic]

That's one way to look at it.

The other way is that virtually every Rovers fan would have expected a defeat tonight (playing a top four team just coming off a semi-final win and who are looking to seal their Champions League spot...you can't expect much from that)...and we've played quite well.

OK..it's another game without a point, but I'm choosing to be a bit hopeful and say that if, and that is a rather big IF, but if we play like that in the final few games we will pick up points.

Will we get anything against United?

Probably not.

Could we get something from Wolves and West Ham? I would hope so.

The team is fighting and they care, that much is obvious. That makes a big difference.

Unfortunately, our away record under Kean is considerably worse than it was under Allardyce.

The only saving grace is that Bolton's away record this season is also (marginally) worse than ours last season under Sam too. So that could work in our favour.

[Biddy]

I actually quite like Kean's positive attitude in the interview. I would be FAR more annoyed if he came out and said we weren't good enough etc etc as that would not keep up the belief and team spirit for our remaining games.

Full marks for him saying that he definately belives playin like that we WILL stay up.

still hate the guy and think he's useless but certainly says the right things.

[Eddie]

Minimum 4 points? What are you expecting the sides below us to do? Win all of their games?

[m0r94n]

I've got hope after tonight for the remaining games. I have a really good feeling about us going out and snatching something against Bolton. COYB.

[dr_awol]

one decent forward we would have won that game

[Stuart]

I meant to add...

The fans were fantastic tonight. More of the same on Saturday please.

[PAFELL]

######!

Pedersen would have been more effective, Hanley in at CB with Phil Jones moving to CM, both better options.

How anyone can defend this idiot is beyond me and I was more than willing to bide my time and give him a chance.

We lost by one goal - we were not murdered today - apart from the offside rule.

[Exiled_Rover]

Cannot see the point in an attitude like that.

We aren't in the relegation zone.

We've actually played quite well today.

The teams around us are all playing terribly as well.

They're picking up results, we're not. We can't find the back of the net at the moment, though we're not helped by playing Benjani and Roberts upfront.

[tony gale's mic]

I actually quite like Kean's positive attitude in the interview. I would be FAR more annoyed if he came out and said we weren't good enough etc etc as that would not keep up the belief and team spirit for our remaining games.

Full marks for him saying that he definately belives playin like that we WILL stay up.

still hate the guy and think he's useless but certainly says the right things.

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

That may be our saving grace. We're running out of games, but so are the people below us.