[Archived] Sunderland vs Rovers

[DE.]

I still can't get my head around our second half tactics. I've been out for a meal with the family (I wasn't great company, admittedly) and I thought maybe I'd make some sense of it after calming down and having a few drinks... but no. I still cannot believe, even with a clown like Kean at the helm, we played an entire half in ultra-defensive mode.

Blackburn Rovers, who leak 2 goals on average per game, who need to score at least 4 to win a match, who can't even keep a clean sheet against Leyton Orient, were instructed to play 45 minutes doing nothing but defend a slim 1-0 lead against a team who are creatively little more than a void? A team who have the mighty Titus Bramble and the comedy duo of John O'Pie and Wes Brown in defence?

Unbelievable.

[thenodrog]

Look at the team today then look at the bench then look at the manager and then consider his lack of football knowledge and tactical nous. Just two players in todays squad with a proper tackle in them. Finally then consider the absent owner who must by now have taken on the appearence of a terrified rabbit caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Then consider the position that we were in 12 months ago and all blame must be apportioned to her inexperience and ineptitude. I realise that she must have been suckered into buying us and I wager that she wishes to God that she had never heard of Blackburn Rovers! Well thats not half as much as I wish we had never heard of her thats for sure.

Sorry but despite the constant spin from manager, the PR man and the assistant/deputy/acting chief exec it's plain that the end is nigh. Someone likened our predicament to a death by a thousand cuts last season and it describes our experiences since to a tee. No amount of 'hard work on the training ground' will pull this back. The shark pool that is the Premier League is an unforgiving place for any weak links and from my perspective we are the weakest of the weak.

The writing was on the wall when I made the decision to not renew my ST way back in May and nothing I have seen since is making me regret refusing to fund our slumdog millionaires with £400 quid of my hard earned. The sad thing is I'd gladly pay double to wake up and find that this has all been a bad dream as I suspect most would! It would after all only be the going rate for a team in the Prem anyway....... or have I inadvertantly touched on the REAL root of the problem? Should we all be looking in a mirror perhaps? Are we collectively getting what we deserve?

[youandwhosearmy]

That was the worst 45 minutes I have ever had the misfortune of sitting through. It was just so frustrating as it was obvious that Sunderland would eventually score. It was effectively just get the ball and give it straight back to them to have another go...

If it was a team who was able to keep a clean sheet, defending like that would have been easier to understand.

Yakubu's performance was attrocious, he should be forced to give his wages back. Never have I see such a lazy performance, fitness is no excuse, he is a premiership footballer.

Selgado on right wing? COME ON!

Terrible performance and result.

Kean out!

[Inta Beaver]

How much do we miss Brett Emerton when we have Salgado on as a right midfielder!

[thenodrog]

Nicky Reid and Mark Atkins was a way better midfield 2 than the 2 we had in there today.

We are woeful and all the positive thinkers in the world must be able to see that ?

add Nicky Marker and Lee Carsley to that list! The likes of Batty, Flitty, Cowans and Savage patrolling defensive midfield are just pipe dreams these days.

[Steve Moss]

That ship has sailed, Steve.

That's what I fear. And the major reason I despise Venkys.

What would you do in Keans position. Do the honoourable thing. I don't think so.

I think you do your fellow board members a disservice. Many would do the honorable thing and quit, if our ineptitude was taking the Rovers down.

[roverandout]

nicko blaming the defeat on bad luck, i despair sometimes!!!

[thenodrog]

nicko blaming the defeat on bad luck, i despair sometimes!!!

Has he commented on the good luck enjoyed against Arsenal and Swansea? How about MGP's lucky corner... as in lucky that no one was watching him.

[Torgeir]

Dont know if this has already been pointed out but the BBC sport website has possession for the game at 50-50 hahaha!

You sure?

I know first half was 50/50, second was around 70/30 in favour of Sunderland.

Any comments from Kean post match?

[roverandout]

nicko and kean are probably at his house having a bottle of red and chortling at the twitter posts and posts on here!!

[jones_rover]

You sure?

I know first half was 50/50, second was around 70/30 in favour of Sunderland.

Any comments from Kean post match?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16021619.stm

Scroll down!

[bob fleming]

The sad thing is I'd gladly pay double to wake up and find that this has all been a bad dream as I suspect most would! It would after all only be the going rate for a team in the Prem anyway....... or have I inadvertantly touched on the REAL root of the problem? Should we all be looking in a mirror perhaps? Are we collectively getting what we deserve?

Not really Theno. In fact no. If we had been bought by someone who actually gave a damn about the club then all this could have been avoided. Certainly neither of us would have appointed Kean in the first place, nor would we have organised a pointless trip to India during the season in order to shift some chickens.

Instead, like a unwanted Christmas present that Venkys bought themselves 12 months ago, we've been discarded and chucked under the bed. Hopefully one day they'll stick us on eBay and someone who gives a damn will buy us. Until then it's going to be bloody painful.

Today was horrible, dreadful second half. Inevitable defeat, you knew the free kick was going there. You also knew we'd lose when they equalised. Kean is so out of his depth it's frightening. Only still here for reasons which clearly aren't in the best interests of the club.

So are we getting what we deserve? No not at all. A bit of care and attention, common sense and seeking advise from the right people. It's not rocket science. The frightning thing is that it's a crap division this season as well IMO. We're pulling out all the stops to be the worst.

[dring1]

Well i was with the 300 that travelled. the secobd half you could see a mile off that we were going to let one if not a few in. you expect the home side to come at you at some point but we were never going to hold out when it was all the second half.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

I still can't get my head around our second half tactics. I've been out for a meal with the family (I wasn't great company, admittedly) and I thought maybe I'd make some sense of it after calming down and having a few drinks... but no. I still cannot believe, even with a clown like Kean at the helm, we played an entire half in ultra-defensive mode.

Blackburn Rovers, who leak 2 goals on average per game, who need to score at least 4 to win a match, who can't even keep a clean sheet against Leyton Orient, were instructed to play 45 minutes doing nothing but defend a slim 1-0 lead against a team who are creatively little more than a void? A team who have the mighty Titus Bramble and the comedy duo of John O'Pie and Wes Brown in defence?

Unbelievable.

I couldn't believe the second half tactics either - the Yak easily had the measure of Bramble when he had support - though we didn't look sound defensively in the first half - we always looked a threat. We just invited Sunderland to attack in the second half - I think we were a little unlucky as we were within 10 minutes of pulling it off - and it was only two brilliant strikes that deprived us of a win - but it was just the wrong tactics.

[Bluefudge]

The 2nd half I really thought we had gone down to 10 men.

[DE.]

I couldn't believe the second half tactics either - the Yak easily had the measure of Bramble when he had support - though we didn't look sound defensively in the first half - we always looked a threat. We just invited Sunderland to attack in the second half - I think we were a little unlucky as we were within 10 minutes of pulling it off - and it was only two brilliant strikes that deprived us of a win - but it was just the wrong tactics.

Thing is DMTP, even if we'd won the match I still would have been very angry over our second half performance. The defending would have been praiseworthy but the tactics would still have been wrong because any other team would have punished us severely. It's not the first time we've done this either, we seem to do it all the time and we always get punished. Even if we'd scraped a win today I still would have been absolutely convinced we were going down after that second half performance. It just wasn't premier league quality - hell, it wasn't even Championship quality. It was just embarrassing.

[Exiled_Rover]

The Axe and Andrews would have been a better midfield combination than what we put on today...that is how far we have fallen

We knew that going in though - there's not a tackle between Dunn and Pedersen.

[Bluefudge]

We knew that going in though - there's not a tackle between Dunn and Pedersen.

Midfield of:-

Sellers Reid Atkins Price is better than we have now !!

[roverandout]

i would have matty holmes ahead of any of them

[Bluefudge]

i would have matty holmes ahead of any of them

You forget just what a massive impression he made at our club.......

I'm thinking....

[AlanK]

And even if, IF, Kean goes, we are still stuck with these incompentent owners, no chairman, CEO. No Infrastructure at all.

We have been systematically destroyed on and off the field in 12 months.

I was at Cheltenham v Southend at the weekend. Bumped in to another Rovers fan by chance. I asked him what he thought of Kean. He repied " ah, he`s alright ". effin gobsmacked.

[Rovers_786]

we did ok but once we were giving the ball away i knowed we would mess up and safc took that on and played well to get the win.

The injurers dont help but all season we been poor under steve kean.

[Mercer]

Might have missed him, but didn't spot Paul Clements today.

Did anyone see him there ?

[Emge]

Might have missed him, but didn't spot Paul Clements today.

Did anyone see him there ?

That little brat-kid Kean has probably run crying over to Venkys again blaming his assistant for the results yet again?

[colin]

And even if, IF, Kean goes, we are still stuck with these incompentent owners, no chairman, CEO. No Infrastructure at all.

We have been systematically destroyed on and off the field in 12 months.

Agree, it's not just the useless waste of space that is Steve Kean and Venkys it's also the loss of Allerdyce; John Williams & Tom Finn.

Our club is rotten to the core and heading downhill.

One question that hasn't been put is "Why did the Walkers Trustees sell Rovers to this bunch of idiots?"

Did they have no mandate to not sell the club to a bunch of chicken idiots?