[Archived] Anti-football or anti-results?

[Guest TheArtistFormallyKnownAsJB]

To analyse a manager’s style of play one must spend a lot of time watching the football club he has managed. Lots of debates regarding styles of play are often stilted by the person or person’s personal affliction for a certain type of play. I wish to hear the thoughts of Rovers fans regarding their impressions of how the tabloid press attempts to mould our views on how football should be played.

Firstly, I give you Ian Holloway and Tony Mowbray. Both managers took their clubs down, whilst employing a certain brand of football that many in the media would call “pretty”. The tabloid press took a particular shine to Holloway, perhaps more for his outlandish interview technique, rather than his team’s results. I believe that Blackpool could have stayed in the league this season if they had attempted to play a more rigid formation, but do you think the press would have the same affliction for them if they were to do so?

Mark Hughes was one of the best managers we have seen at Ewood in modern times. An eye for a bargain, and certainly not afraid to mix up his style of play, under his stewardship we achieved a number of results against the “big” sides that we can take a lot of pride in. Perhaps, his one minor flaw’ was our home form, and although it is a long time ago, I’m still irked by that last game of the season away against Birmingham, which cost us a place in Europe and ultimately Mark himself.

Under Mark Hughes, I felt Blackburn Rovers played the most effective football of the last 15 years. Perhaps this was more down to the playing squad of the time. (Bentley, MGP on form, Friedel, Benni under 12 stone, a “fit” Roque, and fiery Bellamy amongst others) Even with all this talent we still had the Bully boy tag given to us famously by Arsene Wenger.

Big Sam, in my opinion, is one of the most unfortunate professionals in the management game. Sacked 3 times(Blackpool Newcastle and BRFC) for reasons which “in real life” would go down as unfair dismissal, I feel that he has to do well at WHU in order to prolong his career. As for Big Sam’s Blackburn football, what can I say without being lambasted? He had a lot less talent to work with than Mark, but he also spent a sizeable chunk of his budget on one player who hasn’t quite paid it back yet. (Kalinic) His football itself was definitely geared for home results. How many season ticket holders can complain about 09/10 season’s home games? I’m sure the statisticians out there will correct me, but for £200, we played 19 home games, only losing to Spurs and City, beating Arsenal and picking points up against Chelsea and Man united on the way.

I for one can safely say I enjoyed this period. For all the high balls into the box, I felt we were making strides in the right direction. But the tag that Sam had picked up in his Bolton days turned out to be the sword of Damocles.

The BIG question. After taking the WHU job, will Big Sam’s anti-football tag dissipate? My impression of the Media is that he will probably start to be heralded as a tactical genius, now that he is managing in the capital.

We only have to look at how Mark Hughes is portrayed nowadays compared to his days with us...

[Amo]

I think it's absolutely patronizing when pundits praise teams like Blackpool & West Brom for being relegated 'the right way'. Try telling that to their fans. Football purists like to see the game played the right way, without even considering the financial gulf caused by Sky's monopoly of the Premier League. That's why few teams can play flowing football week-in, week out and get away with it. They can't afford to buy the top players, without selling themselves into oblivion (like Pompey), nor can they build a team from scratch because most youth products are poached by the bigger clubs. That's why teams like ourselves have to mix it about and win ugly at times, because we simply can't afford the to play teams off the park. Thankfully, though, we've been blessed with younger players who have added some much needed flair and exuberance to our side.

Yet at the same time, they criticize Arsenal for playing the right way to a fault, not being clinical enough or having a Plan B.

[K-Hod]

To be honest, teams need to be able to mix it up. Silky passing football is all well and good but if you become predictable, you need a plan B.

The media's love-in with Blackpool was cringeworthy in my eyes, a bit more grit and determination from them and they would have stayed up, their gung-ho nature was always going to get them into trouble. I.E being 2-0 up against Manure at home and still attacking, they were always going to get done that way!

[JAL]

To be honest, teams need to be able to mix it up. Silky passing football is all well and good but if you become predictable, you need a plan B.

The media's love-in with Blackpool was cringeworthy in my eyes, a bit more grit and determination from them and they would have stayed up, their gung-ho nature was always going to get them into trouble. I.E being 2-0 up against Manure at home and still attacking, they were always going to get done that way!

Thought Blackpool's players looked by far the worst set of players to have played at Ewood park last season despite them taking a two goal lead. Even though the Blackpool players played without any inhibitions similar to how Reading had played in their first season, ultimately they were out of their depth, and duly paid the price with what was always going to be guaranteed relegation.

[K-Hod]

Thought Blackpool's players looked by far the worst set of players to have played at Ewood park last season despite them taking a two goal lead. Even though the Blackpool players played without any inhibitions similar to how Reading had played in their first season, ultimately they were out of their depth, and duly paid the price with what was always going to be guaranteed relegation.

I agree, that's probably a fair assessment tbh. Their defence was terrible IMO. I still think that Charlie Adam will be found out when he does move on to a bigger club, I think he's been scandalously over-rated. I personally think David Vaughan had a far better season. I guess time will tell!

[Kenwoo]

To be fair Fulham are in Europe because of their fair play and I think we had the worst discipline in the league under Hughes which may go some way in explaining any difference in opinion of the two clubs. 1-0 to the bully boys.

[American Rover12]

Agree with a lot of what has been said already, but would like to pose a question to Kenwoo;

Do you think we are actually one of the most violent teams in the Prem or do you think that the Bully Boys-Anti Football Rovers we're talked about as in the media nation wide has something to do with the way our players are judged on the pitch? (Side note: listening to the ESPNsoccernet podcast episode Down and Out, ive never heard professional pundits talk so against a side like they did ours. Not just the usual indifference as most clubs get, but and out and out disappointment we didn't drop.)

While we are by no means hesitant to go into a tackle (on a whole as a team) all of the yellows we receive for dissent, persistent fouls (where the quota is much lower than other "bigger clubs" to hit before shown the yelllow) and 50/50 challenges where the ref had a bad angle and has to make a choice add up and continue to perpetuate this dirty play stigma. If we got the leniency that ManUre and L'pool receive week in and week out when it comes to rough tackles and harassment of the referees, we could cut our cards by a third.

And before anyone starts telling me to take my blue and white specs off, I freely acknowledge that we are a very physical side, a fact about our team I love. We often put ourselves in rough situations which leads me to;

Our next managerial appointment. While there has been no worse PR form then whoever has been doing work for Venkys since the takeover, there's never a bad time to start on a good foot. With an appointment of an "attractive" manager and some good PR and buys this summer, the new and first real season under the new owners could go a long way into changing our image.

Edit: spelling mistakes and other misc.