[Archived] Blackburn Vs Arsenal

[Veevs]

Strange game from a few aspects, we where played off the park in the first half and the end of the second but managed to hold on for the win.

Rochina is a liability imo, he holds onto the ball for way to long and gives it away more than he makes use of it and failed to effectively track back.. once he was off for Olsson game changed totally.

We still had the same old issues but Arsenal are another side who lack the authoritive midfielder in the middle of the park, thanks to that and their utter awful defending we got a nice little win.

One aspect I will point I will mention is Keans starting 11 is still awful, but he is listening and improving. Putting on the second defensive midfielder (Petrovic for Salgado and moving Lowe) and removing one fancy dan (Rochina for Olsson) utterly changed our game, we basically had cover for our fullbacks, won the ball more, alolowing our attacking players had more freedom and once that happened the team played much much better... my issue is this is how we should of started the game, for too many of us it has been obvious for weeks on end and talked about in every match, it's almost as if Kean takes 4 games to see the obvious and that is far to long in anyones book.

One thing he said in his interview was you choose your tactical approach, counter attacking, long ball etc and stick with it.. he really should tailor his teams better prior to the match based on the opposition, it does not take a rocket scientist to realise a tighter midfield and cover for the fullbacks is essential against a passing team like Arsenal... so maybe he needs to spend some more time analysing the opposition prior to each match.

Maybe it was very cunning tactics from Kean after all.. telling Arsen well in advance about lowe starting, and having Salgado in the starting lineup then moving Lowe, adding a def mid and dropping Salgado asap.. but hell never seen a manager use a sub as a foil like that.

Anyone else notice almost all of todays games where utterly unpredictable.. if you where a betting man I would imagine you could have made an absolute fortune on Norwich, Swansea, Blackburn and QPR today.

Yak was a hightlight for me today.. I may go on about his injury and he isn't as quick as he was but he still has a very good footballing brain.. may well turn out to be a very inspired signing indeed.

Got to drop Rochina asap, stick with Lowe at RB and try and get Petrovic up to pace asap.. would love to see grella in there but doubtful and we can't let Roberts back into the side, he simply is not good enough. Nzonzi as ever seems to need someone with more assurance next to him in defensive midfield, once Petrovic started to settle a little (he looked petrified when he started) Nzonzi improved no end. Olsson was exceptional yet again in his role on the left of mid.. Givet plays far better with him there and the opposition have to face the pace of Olsson.

Not sure if Kean has been desperate for his attacking signings to be able to play together, but to me our two best attacking midfielders are Olsson and Hoillett.. I can't see any way we can play with more than one of the other new lads in there.. has to be either Formica, Rochina or Simon in there... I would also not mind seeing Rochina playing off the Yak, I reckon he is more suited as a striker than a midfielder.

I do think if we are playing hoillett out wide then we do need a second defensive midfielder to assist, he is even worse than Rochina when it comes to tracking back and defending but he is also by far our best attacking talent so worth comprimising to have him play.

[malk]

Only on a Blackburn forum!

Counter factual arguments about Arsenal suddenly being poor, we're lucky (we're never unlucky...) blah blah blah.

We just beat Arsenal and had to score four in the process. I'll take that any day of the week and twice on Saturdays!

[tonyoz]

Whichever way you look at it, Arsenal are a team with quality players and Wenger is one of the best managers the Premier League has seen.

When we have gone behind in the past - that was often the end of the story.

When did we last come back from being behind TWICE.

When have we ever come from behind twice against a "big 4" team - not ever I reckon!

This is a statistic of significance I think. We went for it and reaped the rewards.

I like Olsson on the wing too for the reasons stated by others - he gives us some fizz and provides defensive cover. Hoilett is rubbish at covering back so should be played up front with the Yak. The Yak is 2 players in one - he can finish and he does the Diouff role of holding the ball and relieving pressure or drawing a foul. I really like him and I like Dann who just seems to fit and is likely to become a fixture for a long time to come.

Oh yes, and you lads and lassies that went to the match - what's it like to actually enjoy the game? Bet you'd almost forgotten what that was like huh?

[USABlue]

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.

BUt you are still here to revel in the misery of defeating Arsenal. Silly person.

I came on here hoping for a bit of an upbeat read, but alas same old crap. Thought I might post a bit but wind was took right out me sails. Not that it matters but I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the game today, ran just about all the emotions a human body can stand. I saw frailties yes but the spirit was good, some strange attacking decisions too. Surely just anyone knows Arse are weak at defending high balls in the box, why then did we on more than one occasion waste free kicks by passing them down the wing. We gave em far too much time and space in the first half again everyone knows you get after this lot. A wins a win and to come back from behind twice is outstanding in my book.

They showed the protesters here on ESPN 2, funny, to me most of em looked like spotty faced kids, The Sky generation??

[Ripleys love child]

So proud of the boys today at the final whistle I was close to tears . You can say what you want about kean but the players played for him today .

[tonyoz]

Apparently Arsenal fans don't agree that their team is a pale shadow of the Arsenal of old:

"Even the staunchest Blackburn fan would be forced to concede it was astonishing that the game was not over as a contest at half-time. We had two goals to show for some sublime football, but sandwiched between them the hosts had scored the unlikeliest of equalisers when Santos, on his Premiership debut, played Yakubu onside.

However at half-time the talk was of Arsenal and how well we had played."

http://goonerholic.com/?p=4010

[RoversSG]

Apparently Arsenal fans don't agree that their team is a pale shadow of the Arsenal of old:

"Even the staunchest Blackburn fan would be forced to concede it was astonishing that the game was not over as a contest at half-time. We had two goals to show for some sublime football, but sandwiched between them the hosts had scored the unlikeliest of equalisers when Santos, on his Premiership debut, played Yakubu onside.

However at half-time the talk was of Arsenal and how well we had played."

http://goonerholic.com/?p=4010

Sublime football? What a joke, this is the first Arsenal side i seen in years that can't keep possession for more than 5 passes!

Btw, anyone knows when was the last time we came from behind and won in the premier league? It's been so long that i couldn't believe it when we got the 3rd goal

[rovers1993]

Watched the whole 90 minutes of the game yesterday. Wanted to post since yesterday but wanted to wait and cool my adrenaline first before posting so I can be as unbiased as possible... probably won't work though cause I'll always be biased from rovers!

So..

First Half:

I thought our attacking play was good and encouraging but our defensive display was absolutely woeful! Kean wanted us to be attacking and score a lot. Well, we have been doing that now but our defensive line has gone into tatters! No organization, no tracking back, no cover and it was all down to Samba and Dann that we were only 2-1 down plus bad finishing from Arsenal. N'zonzi did a ###### poor job at DM. He played more like a CM which left us really exposed! Rochina is frustrating but he will become a star sooner rather than later. You could see it when he was on the ball... He seems like poorer version of Ronaldo when he first just started. Bad decision making but skillful and could be any man on his day plus a Barca academy technique (Far better than we have).

Second half:

J.Lowe did an amazing job at RB.. He has to play there now. I never really saw him play there before but wow. Arshravin was made a fool there and they only seemed to attack down our left after that. I don't know if this was intentional or not but Kean putting in Olsson for Rochina to close the gap between our wingers and full backs did heaps of good for Givet. Also, as the game grew I thought Petrovic started becoming better and N'zonzi also. Petrovic played well and could be our solution to a 'makelele' role. He just sat back, broke up SOME plays and distributed the ball forward or to N'zonzi for him to take it up. Simple but effective. The Yak was impressive today and I hope he can continue throughout the season. Hoilett, as before, need to get him to sign on the dotted line ASAP! Vukevic did well I think when he came on. I prefer him to Formica tbh, seems more suited for the PL and I think he can influence the game more. Formica seems to drop in and out of the game without influencing it a great deal.

Arsenal played bad but lets not forget that they are still ARSENAL with WENGER managing. They are still a top top club and they played with their strongest team. To win against them on any given day is a feat, especially coming back twice! credit where its due... well done Kean and the players!

Formation for Newcastle.

Robbo

Lowe Dann Samba Givet

N'zonzi Petrovic

Vukevic Olsson

Hoilett

Yak

Subs: Bunn, Sally, Grella, Peds, Rochina, Formica, Goodwillie.

[blue/white]

Disagree with this. Grella would have given too many free kicks away around the area.

Aggyblue on a kiler Isley Brothers kick!

[waggy]

with arteta joining learse could he create some sort of record if he scores on sat.scoring at ewood for 2 different teams in consecutive home games

had a funny feeling this might happen,in the end what a game.if we had lost 6-4 we might have said we were unlucky,seeing we won 4-3 i will say we were lucky,roll on a protest march before every game.

[bigbrandjohn]

I have just read all 27 pages and there are some classic posts on here, Bottom line, we have always struggled against Arsenal at Home. Some of their players who arent playing well play well against us. This is a huge result. 4 goals for Gods sake and some real emerging talent We have real options except for right back and in Dann we have a smashing young replacement for Phil Jones.

This game is about luck, momentum and belief. The players demonstrated it today. if we kick on from here, our only role is to support the club and the owners. This is Keans team now and I for one feel pretty good about the future. One swallow doesn't make a summer but with a new set of players post transfer window including Yakattack it is game on.

[HemelRover]

If it looks like i'm targeting you on here then stop talking balls and I won't have to do.

Now he has HIS side...we have four points from two tough games. I personally think he does deserve more time.

and HIS side were unable to pick up any points from the first 3 games of the season, against decent teams that were around our level at the end of last season, looking utterly clueless at most times.

So, 4 points from 5 premier league games.

[CheeseOnToast]

Not many thing better than watching Arsenal lose it there. Happy for Yakubu, his first goal was cheek and class.

[Rover Down Under]

Terrible! Arsenal scored FIVE goals and we only managed TWO. Rabble, rabble! Kean out! Venkys out! Tea lady out! Protest! Oh, wait...erm...ahem...

Quote of the day from the missus when seeing a close-up of the Yak for the first time:

"Jesus Christ! We bought King Kong!"

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

It was a weak Arsenal side, but virtually every player in their starting XI would have walked into ours. We played very well going forwards, caused them plenty of problems and deserved at least a point.

Salgado going off was a blessing in disguise, and Givet looked far more comfortable at full back when Olsson was playing in front of him.

The result could have gone either way, but to have come out on top was a huge result. The kind of result which can kick start our season. To lose at home to Wolves meant that we had to pick up a win at home against a big team and that's what we've done.

4 points in the last 2 games was the minimum target and I doubt many people thought we'd get them. Credit where its due. We've turned an horrendous start into a mildly disappointing one. Get a result against Newcastle and I think we can start to feel optimistic.

[Ozz]

Thought Gervinho played well, considering he's only just had his nails done.

[47er]

Givet looked far more comfortable at full back when Olsson was playing in front of him.

As plenty of people said on here all week. So why didn't he start?

[AggyBlue]

and HIS side were unable to pick up any points from the first 3 games of the season,

and YOUR obvious hatred of Kean is clouding the the blatant 'in your face' reasons why we lost two of them.

[HemelRover]

and YOUR obvious hatred of Kean is clouding the the blatant 'in your face' reasons why we lost two of them.

I dont hate Kean. Never met him.

All I care about is whether he has enough tactical nouse, man management skills, motivation ability and luck. He fails on all counts and thats why we have such a poor record since he took over.

I want him to succeed, would love him to succeed, and if his win percentage improves to a decent level then thats great.

And as for the reason we lost 2 of them. I can provide 1 reason why we didnt win 3 of them. We were very very poor. We were poor against Fulham too, and also against Arsenal(who, luckily, were worse)

[AggyBlue]

I dont hate Kean. Never met him.

All I care about is whether he has enough tactical nouse, man management skills, motivation ability and luck. He fails on all counts and thats why we have such a poor record since he took over.

I want him to succeed, would love him to succeed, and if his win percentage improves to a decent level then thats great.

And as for the reason we lost 2 of them. I can provide 1 reason why we didnt win 3 of them. We were very very poor. We were poor against Fulham too, and also against Arsenal(who, luckily, were worse)

The quote 'you only see what you want to see' rings true in your case then.

[Amo]

I hadn't watched MOTD until last night, for a number of reasons but mostly due to the ######-poor production and Rovers' wobbly start to the season.

Let's begin with Shearer's "Before we get onto Arsenal, let's give Blackburn credit..." Practically admitting that our performance was an afterthought.... and then he went straight on to talk about Arsenal anyway! It all came down to pointing out Arsenal's defensive lapses, which were there for all to see. As always, it's the big club which loses, not the underdog who wins.

I thought the whole point of hiring "expert" pundits is so they can give insight into the game which escapes the common fan? You know, analyzing tactics, formations, substitutions, that sorta thing?

I found myself shaking my head in disbelief throughout most of the show, with such gems as Shearer's "Bad day at the office" summary of Wolves, and Lawro's verdict that WBA will stay up 'cos Hodgson's a "wily old fox". I mean, what on earth are we paying these guys for? That show needs a total overhaul. It's been far too cosy for far too long.

[Stuart]

Just watched the replay on MOTD. (Amazingly first).

The bias against us us palpable.

We basically scored 2 goals and did NOTHING else.

Arsenal only have themselves to blame for not getting an equaliser in the final minutes (not least as the ref and linesman did their level best to give them enough chances). The only saving grace for us was that the ref had a decent angle to see the late penalty shout but I'm still surprised he didn't give it. Even Shearer (manager-elect) though it was a "stonewall" penalty. Bet he wouldn't have seen it that way from the Ewood dugout.

We didn't deserve to win, it was just that Arsenal were very poor. Apparently.

Zero credit. If I didn't go to the games and relied on MOTD, I think I'd give up bothering.

######s

[McClarky]

Really exciting game and great atmosphere in DE. If we have been a bit unlucky in some games we got it all at once yesterday but played some good football so lets say we earned our luck. I think we have loads of talent going forward but our midfield offers little or no support to the defence so we are going to concede a lot of goals. Much better with Olsson as back up for Givet as he isn't a natural full back but is a good defender and don't think Rochina and Formica can both play. I would play Hoillet and Olsson wide with Rochina in behind the Yack.

On the train over from Preston there were loads of Arsenal fans singing about how they hate all the players who have left them and how great the ones they have replaced them with are. That's their problem really. It's similar to when we won the league and started going downhill, everytime you make a signing the player coming in is slightly worse than the previous person you had and you go downhill quickly. Arteta, Mertesacker and Benayoun are nowhere near as good as previous Arsenal players no matter how much they are in denial.

[Mattyblue]

Coming away from Ewood, I said it would be a 'defensive horror show' and little else on MOTD.

That show actuaLly gets worse each year. It's not a BBC thing as I quite enjoy MOTD2.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

My only concern about yesterday is that we've used up a season's luck in one match!

Lets get real. Rovers played well in patches, awful in other patches. Arsenal were by far the better team in the first half because they always an outlet ball to the Rovers left. Hoilett, like the Fulham goal the week previous, did not back track properly which left Givet exposed.

Rovers were better in the 2nd half because that outlet ball was stopped. Whether that was because Sagna went off or Olsen on or both,I don't know.

IMO Olsen has to play left wing in future. The team has better balance.