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

[tony gale's mic]

Phil Jones WAS excellent for most of the game, however his scuffed clearance at one end and missing that gilt edged chance at the other end really cost us tonight.

Don't want to be too harsh on the lad, but even given his level of experience you'd expect better in both situations and had it been any other player there'd be much more said about it.

[ABBEY]

How many free kicks did we waste tonight? Awful delivery.

Got to say I thought Dunn was poor and quite lazy but we had better shape when he was on.

dunny looked shagged after 20 mins tonight looks like this saturday night clubbing in mancland caught up with him (allegedly....the squad to be precice again allegedly)

[47er]

I thought we played well to be honest. The desire, work-rate and approach were top notch. After a wobbly first 20 minutes we were on top and only Kean's insane decision to play Rochina alongside Jones in midfield reversed the flow of the game. Annoyed about the Roberts penalty which was absolutely stonewall but we just don't seem to be getting any decisions from referees these days. Phil Jones, Samba and Salgado were magnificent at the back and and I thought Dunn and Jermaine Jones performed admirably against their 5-man midfield. Kean is right in saying if we play like that against Bolton we should win, the key is to actually play like that instead of lowering our level again like we did after Arsenal.

Yep, you've encapsulated what I intended to say. Didn't like the formation when I first saw it but to their credit the players worked their socks off.Took a long time to work ourselves into the game and lucky not to be behind in the 4th minute when Silva hit the inside of the post.Only luck we got though.We should have had a pen, Roberts should have scored with that header and Samba came within inches.That should inspire a lot of confidence in us to beat Bolton but we do not appear to be able to maintain that level of intensity for 2 games running.That's the real problem. Play like that every game and we will be safe but we probably won't.

Can't blame the manager for that game though. They are a vastly better side than we are but we did everything possible to narrow the gap. Quite proud of them really.

[pwaw_whipp]

i'll be honest at the start of the game i had "slagged" the decision of starting roberts, yet a fellor rover mentioned the fact against those two strong centre halves we might have more joy with him!

a few beers in me and just dis-liking roberts wasnt enough for me to oppose his comments.... i agreed... yes, i think your right pal!

the first 15 minutes or so were indeed shakey but i put it down to nerves and pressure!

jason did a very good job in parts, rovers got better, and obviously with how nuts football is nowadays and how unlucky we can be, they scored... against the run of play!!

i went to everton where we were very good, until the toffees scabbed that first goal and rovers fell apart! heads down and unbelievably uninterested and defeated!

a lot more fight tonight and a bit more quality at times, alot of the onus on banging it down the wing to olsson who was very good, along with super phil jones!

same again against bolton please, rochina and his footwork look good from the last few games i have seen him, olsson and hoilett would be terrorising at ewood against wanderers!!

[AggyBlue]

How many free kicks did we waste tonight? Awful delivery.

This is what cost us tonight IMO. We had shed loads of set piece chances around their box but didn't manage to create a worthwhile chance from any of them.

Great effort from the players and fans though but our ragtag squad was always going to be short on quality against City.

We did better than I was expecting but the bottom line is that the winless run continues.

[Hughesy]

Should Balotelli have been given offside?

Highlights, including penalty shout here - Rovers v City

[47er]

Just a quickie.

All credit to the players tonight. To a man they worked their socks off and really couldn't have done much more. The obvious gulf in quality was kept to a minimum and there were some superb performances, particularly from the back four. Phil Jones is top class, the lad seems to have everything. I just hope we don't lose him at the end of the season through relegation. Junior might just have made that difference between a win and a loss tonight. Shame he was missing.

I don't suppose it would be me, not to point out the one continuing worry - Keans substitutions. Fair enough if Dunny had picked up a knock, he had to come off. Every game though, we seem to start making substitutions just for the sake of it, and more often than not rather than give us that bit extra, they seem to change us for the worse. On 60 minutes we'd just got on top of City [in the second half]. They were getting rattled, but our fairly needless subs at that time actually slowed us down and we lost that momentum. Our subs just never seem to improve us.

As for City, they're just a team of big, soft, foreign cheats.

I thought Dunny was knackered Den.He played superbly though and I simply cannot understand fans on here having a go at him. "Lazy" "saw him having a pint last Tuesday" etc etc. Is he the guy we have a go at when Andrews and Pedersen aren't playing?

[tony gale's mic]

Should Balotelli have been given offside?

Highlights, including penalty shout here - Rovers v City

Ballotelli isn't obstructing Robbo's view any more than Givet is.

Obstruction or not - there was no way Robbo was saving that anyway from that kind of range.

We wouldve been livid if we'd had a goal like that disallowed.

[Steve Moss]

Oh shutup, noone said Kalinic was better than Drogba and Rooney, just that his scoring rate is better.

Kalinic: 4 in 6 before his little cameo today, and 5 in 16 in the league.

Roberts: 1 in his last 19 games.

Hmm...which one to start with?

Something that I've been wondering for awhile. Kalinic may not be Drogba, but statistically he's the best we have. He should be starting every match with Benjani if we're playing 4-4-2.

Roberts is an impact sub, not a starter. But to be fair he was not horrible tonight, though the missed chance hurt.

Which is our best Central defensive partnership? Samba & Jones or Samba & Nelsen....I think tonight (Except the poor clearance) showed that we need to use the 1st from the start of next season (If we stay up).

In my opinion we can only afford to move P. Jones back to defense if: 1) we keep J. Jones; and, 2) we add more teeth to the midfield. P. Jones is an outstanding CB but we are bleeding out in the midfield.

a lot more fight tonight and a bit more quality at times, alot of the onus on banging it down the wing to olsson who was very good, along with super phil jones!

same again against bolton please, rochina and his footwork look good from the last few games i have seen him, olsson and hoilett would be terrorising at ewood against wanderers!!

There is the makings of a very good squad in [no particular order] Olsson, Hoillett, N'Zonzi, Samba, Kalinic, Rochina, P. Jones, J. Jones, and Salgado. Another half dozen quality players and we could go far. Formica may or may not get us part of the way.

Note: None of the above is to be interpreted as an endorsement of Kean. Results count, not good efforts. By my math, he needs 3-4 wins to be considered a competent manager (north of 30% win ratio). However, tonight was not his worst moment and it gave hope that this squad can stay up, if it fights every minute of every game regardless of the competition.

[AggyBlue]

Ballotelli isn't obstructing Robbo's view any more than Givet is.

That's not what Robbo said after the game, I'll take your word on it though

[Commondore]

A good battling performance from Rovers, but we seemed completely bereft of real quality. I had a bad feeling through the whole period in the second half when we dominated possession, we just never threatened despite having the ball and that was always going to come back to haunt us. City was dire offensively throughout the game, but one good action from Silva (their best player by far tonight) was all they needed. The goal was never offside by the way, exactly how is Balotelli supposed to be interfering in the game at that point?

I was surprised to see Kalinic come on for Benjani,who I thought gave the City defense a lot more hassle than Roberts. Dunn didn't look injured when he was taken off (I thought he had a decent game) and Rochina was clearly not the right man to replace him. Even if Rochina showed glimpses of his technique and had some decent dead ball deliveries we more or less lost the central midfield with him in there.

Robinson: 5 - Not to blame for the goal and did what can be expected of him.

Givet: 5 - Solid for the most part and didn't really need to go forward that much with Olsson bombing down the same flank.

P.Jones: 8 - Spectacular (if ineffective) forward runs coupled with some great tackles.

Samba: 8 - Our biggest forward threat.

Salgado: 7 - Knows every dirty trick in the book and uses them well, also helped out in midfield.

Olsson: 6 - Huffed and puffed throughout the game and was a good outlet for our counterattacks, but I don't think he delivered a single useful cross into the box.

J.Jones: 5 - Solid, probably at his best when allowed to roam more freely.

Dunn: 5 - Had some good passes and showed glimpses of his creative ability, didn't look terribly lost defensively either.

Emerton: 5 - Helped out a lot defensively, but needs to put in more than one good cross each game.

Roberts: 4 - Ran and worked to help the team from his forward position, but the man is about as dangerous as a fluffy Easter bunny.

Benjani: 5 - Hassled the City defense a bit with his strength and heading, possibly closest to score for us from that Emerton cross.

As said above, a lot of solid performances against a good (if underachieving) opposition, but we lacked any kind of edge.

[Kremmin]

Thought the lads played their socks off tonight and after first 20 minutes looked the better team. At least they showed they're still fighting. City looked disinterested for large periods in the second half and some of their passing was woeful for the talent in the side.

Roberts - clear cut pen.

Benji - why the hell did he come off?

Robbo, Samba, P Jones - holding us together and they all deserved better than to concede that goal.

Santa Cruz - must not be picked again this season.

Gamst - should be in the 11. He takes free kicks, he takes throws and he can score.

Notlob - if we don't beat them, it's over.

[cruz]

Sorry Kremmin but Roberts dived. The replay on the riverside tv's showed no contact whatsoever ( if it's the 1st half incident you are referring to)

[frosty]

Sorry Kremmin but Roberts dived. The replay on the roverside tv's showed no contact whatsoever

Really? I saw it on Sky Sports when I got home and it looked a definite penalty, the three pundits agreed too. At the time it didn't look too convincing but replays showed contact, I thought.

[modes98]

Sorry Kremmin but Roberts dived. The replay on the riverside tv's showed no contact whatsoever ( if it's the 1st half incident you are referring to)

Sorry but you are wrong on that one. Defender kicked his foot clearly and sent it underneathhim. Roberts problem was he planted his foot and then went down.

He should have rolled his ankle over and gone down, that would have convinced the ref more than his stumble.

Coleman equally said it was a penalty.

[cruz]

Looked like a dive to me on my only gleeting glance at the replay with a few heads in the way. Don't get that from the couch ;-)

[PAFELL]

Ballotelli isn't obstructing Robbo's view any more than Givet is.

Obstruction or not - there was no way Robbo was saving that anyway from that kind of range.

We wouldve been livid if we'd had a goal like that disallowed.

Makes a mockery of the offside rule though. When the ball went forward a man city player was in an offside position.

[Brfcrule1]

I have to conclude after tonight's performance whoever decides to berate Kalinic he was only on the field of play for 20 mins you can hardly say it was his fault when he came on thought he held the ball up well. However TGM & TSR if a player stands in an offside position & obstructs the view of the goalkeeper how can that be classed as a good goal?. At the very least one thing neither of you 2 can argue is it is as clear as day Balotelli is in an offside position so if anything the decision should be offside no ifs not buts simple offside & another point which makes this offside theory daft is Balotelli is most definitely interfering with play which is the important thing in all this.

[AggyBlue]

The goal was never offside by the way, exactly how is Balotelli supposed to be interfering in the game at that point?

If that's the case I'd suggest playing Hanley against Bolton and just ask him to stand in front of their keeper all the match. Never attempt to go for the ball, just obstruct his view.

[Gamst]

Just arrived back from match. We worked so hard this evening and deffinately deserved a point. All the players deserve credit for their work rate. The fans also deserve credit. Despite all that has happened over the last few months, the support was excellent. The City winner was really hard to stomach, but im sure Kean will be accentuating the positives to the players and if we can recreate that intensity in the remaining matches, we certainly have a fighting chance of survival. Thats if we can score any further goals this season.

Felt the defense were superb. For much of the first half it was Phil Jones and Samba against Man City. Jones was inspirational. Likewise, the midfield and Benjani worked hard with little to show for their efforts. Really dissapointed with Roberts. He was so poor and didnt look that interested to me. The fact that a striker of his quality is starting for us is a damning indictment on where we are at the moment.

As for Kean, for all the rubbish he talks, the players are certainly working hard for him. I just fear it might not be enough. We didnt really look like scoring, which isnt really surprising when you start with Benjani and Roberts up front. I was dissapointed that he chose to start with those two. Thought Benjani worked his socks off, but its not really enough. Neither of them were going to score. I cannot understand why Kean chose to replace Benjani and not Roberts. It was a bad decision, especially as Benjani had done pretty well defensively. Roberts is just useless really. Also, with all the set piece opportunities we were having and the terrible quality of delivaries on display, I felt the match was crying out for MGP. It amazes me that Kean can't see these things.

Was a little emotional after the match as I don't get to many games due to living a long way from Ewood. Not sure whether I will see us again in the Premiership in the near future/ever. Its so dissapointing to think that this was so avoidable. Having seen my first game live under Steve Kean's tenure, it seems obvious to me that the players are not good enough to play his style. It goes to show how well Sam was doing and how effective his style really was. His style suited us and enabled us to punch above our weight. The owners didnt like that it wasn't glamorous and made a huge clanger in sacking him and appointing Kean. Without Sam's tactics, we are the most toothless and least creative team in the league and we are relegation material. Without the points earnt under Sam, we would be down by now. The players we have suit Sam's style and with all the best will in the world and all the hours on the training ground, Kean cannot convert Benjani, Roberts, Dunn, Emerton et. al into world beaters. The owners naivity is astonishing and this simply should never have happened.

[thenodrog]

Sorry, but Kean's problem is that he's not up to the job.

Bringing on Rocinha and sticking him in midfield has cost us. You make your own luck.

Correct. Rochina is a luxury player and not someone who will bring anything to our relegation scrap. Kean should know that. Rochina played some nice touches but he cost us last week at everton and he cost us again today when a. we lost important momentum and b. he gave the ball away just before City scored. wtf Kean was doing replacing Dunny with him instead of MGP in a 4-4-2 I cannot begin to guess..... In fact why Kean started with 4-4-2 in the first place I cannot comprehend either.

For what it's worth I saw a BRFC team fully committed to the cause and that offers some small hope .... unfortunately it is also a group of players who have lost all belief in themselves, whose confidence has been shattered and who don't appear to have a leader .. either on the pitch or off it. They say winning is a habit... well it appears the same applies to 'losing' too and we have well and truly caught it.

[steverovers]

Just arrived back from match. We worked so hard this evening and deffinately deserved a point. All the players deserve credit for their work rate. The fans also deserve credit. Despite all that has happened over the last few months, the support was excellent. The City winner was really hard to stomach, but im sure Kean will be accentuating the positives to the players and if we can recreate that intensity in the remaining matches, we certainly have a fighting chance of survival. Thats if we can score any further goals this season.

Felt the defense were superb. For much of the first half it was Phil Jones and Samba against Man City. Jones was inspirational. Likewise, the midfield and Benjani worked hard with little to show for their efforts. Really dissapointed with Roberts. He was so poor and didnt look that interested to me. The fact that a striker of his quality is starting for us is a damning indictment on where we are at the moment.

As for Kean, for all the rubbish he talks, the players are certainly working hard for him. I just fear it might not be enough. We didnt really look like scoring, which isnt really surprising when you start with Benjani and Roberts up front. I was dissapointed that he chose to start with those two. Thought Benjani worked his socks off, but its not really enough. Neither of them were going to score. I cannot understand why Kean chose to replace Benjani and not Roberts. It was a bad decision, especially as Benjani had done pretty well defensively. Roberts is just useless really. Also, with all the set piece opportunities we were having and the terrible quality of delivaries on display, I felt the match was crying out for MGP. It amazes me that Kean can't see these things.

Was a little emotional after the match as I don't get to many games due to living a long way from Ewood. Not sure whether I will see us again in the Premiership in the near future/ever. Its so dissapointing to think that this was so avoidable. Having seen my first game live under Steve Kean's tenure, it seems obvious to me that the players are not good enough to play his style. It goes to show how well Sam was doing and how effective his style really was. His style suited us and enabled us to punch above our weight. The owners didnt like that it wasn't glamorous and made a huge clanger in sacking him and appointing Kean. Without Sam's tactics, we are the most toothless and least creative team in the league and we are relegation material. Without the points earnt under Sam, we would be down by now. The players we have suit Sam's style and with all the best will in the world and all the hours on the training ground, Kean cannot convert Benjani, Roberts, Dunn, Emerton et. al into world beaters. The owners naivity is astonishing and this simply should never have happened.

Agree with all this - top post!

[Steve Moss]

Sorry but you are wrong on that one. Defender kicked his foot clearly and sent it underneathhim. Roberts problem was he planted his foot and then went down.

He should have rolled his ankle over and gone down, that would have convinced the ref more than his stumble.

Coleman equally said it was a penalty.

My paranoia is whispering that the football establishment wants to take us down. There have been far too many bad calls recently.

Under Sam, he'd be breathing fire and he'd be shining the spot light on the officials. Kean has been fair too meek the last few months. They can do anything to us and either get nothing ("respect the referee's decision") or whining. Neither generates either respect or fear.

[Darwen Rover]

Team playing well and still losing is a sure sign for relegation..

We need an ugly win ASAP to stay up then clown Keane needs to go and we get an established mgr in..

[Steve Moss]

. . . we get an established mgr in..

We need a fire breather. Someone to scare the beejesus out of both the officials and the squad.

This is NOT the time for rational thought and positive thinking. This is the time for digging down deep and finding one's inner savage. Blood, sweat and pain for the sake of inflicting maximum misery on the opposition and anyone else standing between us and safety. No gentlemen need apply.