[Archived] Blackburn Vs Arsenal

[waynerovers]

Well it has happened.

I read that we've beaten Arsenal 4-3, and I feel sick to my stomach. Any piece of joy that Kean or Venkys receive ruins everything for me.

They have taken the club I followed since I was 4 away from me.

What a pathetic thing to say, we've just come from behind twice to beat Arsenal 4-3 and this is your response?!

Well it has happened.

I read that we've beaten Arsenal 4-3, and I feel sick to my stomach. Any piece of joy that Kean or Venkys receive ruins everything for me.

They have taken the club I followed since I was 4 away from me.

What a pathetic thing to say, we've just come from behind twice to beat Arsenal 4-3 and this is your response?!

[RibbleValleyRover]

Absolute nonsense imo.

I came on here expecting to see plenty of posters disappointed we won and it looks like I was correct in that respect.

Arsenal were by far the better side first half, we were by far the better side in the second and came from 1-2 down to 4-2 up.

This is ARSENAL we were playing not Norwich or Swansea. They're still a quality outfit, how many times have we beaten them in the last ten seasons?

We do have one glaring area to address - the left back position - Givet has had a couple of absolute nightmares in the last two games.

On the plus side, for the first time in quite a few seasons we have genuine ability all over the pitch offensively and always look capable of creating something.

Yakubu was a revelation today. Didn't get the ball much but practically every touch he made was absolute quality. Hope he can keep that up.

We weren't the better side overall in the second half at all. We started out slightly brighter in the second half when Arsenal were a shambles in defense. We got the off-side goal and the two own goals which put us ahead but after that Arsenal were on top. It required several top class saves by Robbo especially towards the end of the game when Arsenal were pushing for an equaliser.

So we weren't extremely lucky in that Arsenal dominated us in possession and chances, and three of our goals came from own goals and an off-side?

I agree on the left back issues, but some of that blame has to go on Hoilett today for not covering him and leading to Givet being double teamed.

Yakubu had a decent game, let's see if he can keep it up.

Happy to get the three points as we will need them for our survival battle with this manager in charge.

[texasrover]

People will be talking about how we were lucky and how arsenal were the better side and dominated possession etc.

SO WHAT?! It would have been stupid to train all week preparing to dominate possession against ARSENAL. It wouldn't have happened and we would have got smashed. We did exactly what we should have done and Kean gave a good brief of it in his post-match, pushing them wide.

The only criticism about this tactic that I have is that Hoilett left Givet for dead multiple times, and I really feel like he was a weak link today in an otherwise solid lineup. He gave the ball away numerous times, too, and didn't track back to win the ball back. Showed his immaturity. Givet did not play bad today. You try marking two Arsenal players at once. I was screaming at the screen for Givet to rip in to Hoilett and tell him to help out, but he never did. Hoilett will, of course learn.

While Arsenal were not at the top of their game, they definitely were not poor, and I hope that nobody tries to take anything away from Kean's positives he finds after the match because there were a hell of a lot of them and they are all legitimate.

[Oz Rover]

5 shots on target to arses 16

arse 58% posession

great day, but we will get raped by city chelsea etc, Arsenal as bad as liverpool last year.

While it might be true we'll get raped by City and Chelsea etc to be fair we're really not expected to beat the likes of those sides regardless of how we play, hell we weren't expected to beat Arse today but we did! No matter what happened or how we did it, just enjoy the win mate

[DE.]

I don't think Kean's doing himself any favours with his comments about the protestors. A good win today but that doesn't change the fact his overall record is still very poor - he should just acknowledge the protestors right to protest and leave it at that. Not smart to start calling them "1% of the support", insinuating only 1% of fans are unhappy with the terrible performances we've had to endure during his reign.

I hope for his sake things do improve and we climb the table - but that doesn't mean the protests weren't justified and he has a long way to go to regain the faith of many people, far more than 1%.

[Rover & Out]

credit where credit's due...when the pressure is on, Steve Kean seems to deliver results.

I don't think there's any need to analyse every minor aspect of the game, we got 3 points so lets just enjoy it and look forward to our next game!

[Commondore]

Did anyone else see Olsson's dive towards the end of the game? No idea how he got away with that one, if it had been van Persie doing it I'd have been absolutely livid.

[EWOODACE1]

some on here need to get a grip. we beat arsenal and played well in the process. enjoy it for a change instead of looking at any negatives

[Tom]

Some people actually seem gutted that we just beat Arsenal, baffled.

Anyway today we had the luck back that cost us the Everton game. A note on the players

Robbo - Couple of great saves but the worst distribution I've ever seen from him

Salgado - nothing of note, still think he's finished

Samba - Solid as ever

Dann - great performance apart from one or two lose balls

Givet - struggled but had no support from Hoilett and did well second half

Hoilett - decent going forward but not enough protection for Givet

Nzonzi - Brilliant today I thought

Lowe - decent in midfield, exceptional at RB considering it was his first PL start and what he was up against

Rochina - touches of class, great delivery for the equaliser and ball to Formica still makes some bad decisions

Formica - not his best game

Yakubu - quality, simply put. Hardly lost the ball and that finish was something Roberts could never even consider

Petrovic - much better by him, his ball for Olsson was perfect

Olsson - should start ahead of Formica for me, deadly when running at fullbacks

Vukcevic - showed he has some class about him, will be a big player for us

Kean - Think he should have had Olsson on the left protecting Givet but fair play to him brilliant call to put Lowe at RB

I can't understand how people can be gutted, for me you just can't beat this feeling.

Oh and a final note I'm not a Kean fan but you can't say the players aren't playing for him, real passion shown there.

[chris]

This site seems down again or are you all partying.

Great game loved it. I mean a 4-3 win against Arsenal when the Rao brothers were watching.

Essientialy the got exactly what they wanted, entertainment, they must have loved it.

Robbo 8: great saves

Salgado 9 For getting inured fantastic seeing him off the pitch

Dann 7 looked good, I think hes at the right level, hes not top four but good player

Samba: 8 think Arsenal should have bought him

Givet: 7 I though he did ok, Holliet exposed him badly, you saw how much better we were with Olssen left mid supporting, Givet played much better after that.

Lowe: 7 did good considering

Nzonzi: 6 First half looked lost was bypass, big mistake for goal, second half some good play

Rochina: 5 this guy makes so many bad decision, I can;t believe he tried to take on three player at once, sort him out and he'll be good but selfish boy.

Holliet: 7 great going forward but defensively lazy

Olssen: 8 where he belongs left midfield, so much energy introduced to the game.

Yakubu 9: maybe an 8 but to not see Goodwillie and particularly Roberts, seeing a guy that has "it" was sooo refreshing, touches and a goal that reminded me of Shearer against Newcastle 1993/94.

Petrovic: 5 to this guy looks lanky and slow maybe clumsey, I really can;t see physically how this is going to work, but maybe I'll be surprised

Kean 8: Dropping Roberts completely now is great and deserved, putting Olssen left mid was good move maybe a little late, signing Yak looks good, Lowe did ok.

Kean looked like he wanted to cry after. It still feels like Kean verses the fans.

TBH I still can't stand listening to him talk and his little dig at the protests but its much easy when we win, Kean will win that battle by winning games, its simple.

He's still duluded i'm sure, but credit to him today.

[chris]

dup, sites been crashing delete

[chris]

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[chris]

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[chris]

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[chris]

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[cn174]

Say again Chris?!

[ElTwis]

I wonder what chris made of the game?

[neophox]

Terrific performerance and all the subs worked out! Great and big win!! Cheers for a happy night!!

[Andy]

Great result which, to be honest, I didn't see in a million years.

I'm one of the more vocal supporters against Kean, but as he is judged on the results he gets, I have to give credit for today.

I still want him gone and have a massive dislike for the man, but he deserves credit for guiding the team to a win over a decent Arsenal side.

Really dislike his interviews - who was it who praised his 'pressers'? They are awful.

The 1% comment was bitter, inaccurate and petty - he should know better and rise above such comments.

The players are seemingly playing for him, which is a positive but if he really is to stay at Ewood much longer, he needs to work on building a relationship with the fans and refrain from lying and making stupid comments to the press.

Delighted with Yak, always liked him and Robbo had a good game.

Dann I'm undecided on - sometimes looks solid, but sometimes gives away soft possession and makes the wrong decision.

[des]

not sure how we won, but very happy that we did, my sister is a gunners fan and on sunday she will be getting some stick, happy days indeed

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Finally get to enjoy MOTD too!

[Balwer]

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Thought we deserved a draw to be honest, yes Arsenal had more shots/possession but they didn't do much more with it. By the same token yes we were a bit lucky but we also made a lot of that luck.

As someone mentioned earlier we have finally broken that second half turnaround drought we had going.

Thought we were quite poor in first half but for the five minute period when Yak scored (what a touch). Pretty disorganised and exposed at the back. Probably a bit lucky to only have been 2-1 down.

To Kean/the player's credit we came out in the second half and performed a lot better, not only did we create more runs but we even pressed a bit and (gasp) laid a few tackles. Wasn't a perfect half, but a vast improvement on the first.

Was pleasing to see the players get stuck in in the final ten minutes, reminds me of the end of two seasons ago when Jones just started coming through and we beat Arsenal and drew with United and Chelsea, and those games were characterised by some real effort defensively from the players.

Have to note that this was the worst Arsenal side I have seen at Ewood in a long time. On that performance they will struggle to make the top half. This can hardly be considered a shock result for them when you consider their league results to date (one win against Swansea, at home, 1-0).

The tactics were a bit better this week, but we still put too much space between our midfield and our defenders, and we don't have the fullbacks to compensate. The defensive line as a whole was pretty poor and very disorganised.

Robbo was class. Not the first time I have said that and it won't be the last. Honestly think he's the most underrated player in our team, we have been spoilt rotten with goalies.

Better subs this week from Kean. When Salgado had to come off he reshuffled as best he could. Formica for Olsson was very good, provided a spark, and finally seeing Vuckevic was pleasing.

Still way too many soft injuries. Salgado and Formica. The fitness and training needs to improve.

Players:

Robbo - MoM

Salgado - wasn't on long enough. Has improved in past three games but athletically can't cope with the faster wingers anymore.

Dann - some great stuff towards the end after a shaky early start. Love what he does in the box but not the most confident about him being on the ball.

Samba - got better and better. Can't believe he missed the header early on. Still getting the communication down with Dann, that will come.

Givet - I like him as a centre back and think he's our definite number 3 there. As a left back...no. A bigger liability than Salgado, which is saying something.

Hoilett - our best player on the ball but needs to learn to pass more often and work on his defensive skills.

N'Zonzi - not his best, not his worst. I'm not his biggest fan but he's ok.

Lowe - barely touched the ball in central midfield (first 20). At right back got skinned a couple of times but got better as the game went on.

Formica - pretty disappointing today. Made a couple of decent runs but not a huge threat and like most of the midfield was weak in defense.

Rochina - one of our worst. Needs to work harder when backing up his fullback, plays like he's the best player in a Sunday league game at times.

Yakubu - thrilled by his performance. A proven goalscorer and while not the perfect game an incredible debut and return to football after a long while out.

Subs:

Petrovic - look, I hope the guy does well, I really do. But he's not ready yet. He's slow, he can barely retain the ball and offers little defensively.

Olsson - class. Offers so much, we need him in the starting lineup. Definitely a winger not a fullback at this point. Very disappointed with his dive though.

Vuckevic - hello, welcome to Rovers. Looks very promising, got great touch on him, hope to see more of him.

Overall I am pleased, but I do worry there will be an overreaction. It was an improvement, but there is still a lot of work to be done to keep us in the league and competitive in games. Yes it was Arsenal, but not the Arsenal we are used to (Liverpool last year pre-Kenny?). Two own goals and an offside one and we did let in three. Seems like Kean stays for a while, let's hope he gets some momentum out of this.

[Al]

Great 3 points but Kean must still go. Apart from being a crap manager I can't stand the sight of him and the sound of his voice makes me want to throw up.

KEAN OUT.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Great game, massive win. 4 points from the last two games was vital. Fair play to the team and manager

Olsson has to start next week. Vukcenic/Hoilett/Olsson behind the Yak could really work well with Formica and Rochina in reserve.

[cn174]

Finally get to enjoy MOTD too!

We're on first too