[Archived] Sunderland vs Rovers

[bigbrandjohn]

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

and of course that much aligned midfielder Andrews has scored nine goals so far this season for Ipswich and is likely to join a premiership club in January. Any odds on him scoring against us this season.

[Sparky Marky]

Yes Colin, it seems like a dodgy decision considering the Qataris are in the market. Im a broker and they would have been my first telephone call. Imsure if the club was put to them 12 months ago it might have all been so different.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

I could have accepted the second half if it had been away against City, United or Arsenal. But to Sunderland????

Our ONLY strength this season, the ONE crumb of comfort that we could take from the past 4 months was that we could score goals. Even away from home we could score. Today we had no fit defensive midfielders or full backs, so why on earth does Kean. at half time, decide to sit back and hold out for a clean sheet..???????????

Furthermore, their defence consisted of Bramble, Brown and O'Shea. We stood as much chance of scoring against that lot as Sunderland did against Samba and Dann.

Kean decided to sit back and allow Sunderland to mount as many attacks as they wanted. Not with 5 mins to go or after going down to 10 men, but at half time with 11 fit players.

Instead of exposing Sunderland's main weakness we just allowed them to mount attack after attack. It only felt worse because we conceded so late on in the match.

If we had won that game I genuinely would have been impressed because I thought it was far too much to ask the players to simply shut up shop for a whole half and without any fit full backs or defensive centre mids it was a crazy decision. No surprise that as soon as they got the first they got a second.

If he's not fired now, he never will be. Disgusted.

[redroses]

he won't be sacked. We need to face facts he's here bluffing his way through the season. We'll go down and the owners will realise their mistake yet allow him another season to get us back up. He'll fail miserably at that and before we know it the parachute payments will have run out and we'll be loitering in the championship like Crystal Palace season after season.

Oh and as for yesterdays game, Kean got the tactics wrong. When i saw Salgado in the line up i immediately assumed "defensive midfielder" but no. Exposed on the wing instead. Kean you are useless!

[dazmaz]

Horrid 2nd half tactics, however I do take my hat off to the free kick.

How any why we didnt sign Larrson on a free is past me, scored more free kicks than anyone this season.

Kean has the tactical nounce of a toad, wait thats an insult to toads, Salgado on right wing (spent most of his time on the pitch in the middle) says it all.

There us a good point, for 45 mins we got to see a few bits of what Simon offers

[Rovers_Dan]

we need to get back to basics and start playing an experienced side from here on in.

hanley is way way way out of his depth in this league. he got turned about 20 times in the 2nd half.

even though nelson hasnt really got the legs any more I only hope he can come in and start organising things better.

doomed at the moment!

[thenodrog]

Seen MoTD and I cannot believe the rank amateur mistake made by Henley when he headed that cross right into the danger area at the edge of the box. He had long enough to get a stronger header onto that ball and that mistake would be enough to see him dropped from a Sunday League team! Pathetic.

[USABlue]

I feel bad for Henley today he coped well again but will be gutted over his part in the first goal

Me too as soon as I saw him head that I said to the GF that's trouble. No one seemed to want to close the ball down though either. So now keepers misjudging the ball and clattering into the back of attackers is a foul on the keeper and I am getting sick of the amount of pulling, use of arms and pushing that is being let go these days.

The second goal was a gut wrencher that I still have not recovered from, if only Yak had stood on his tiptoes. Any word on Young Lowe and how he's doing?

[USABlue]

After watching todays game on the box , I have come too the conclusion we are the worst team in the league . Couple that with the manager we have , we are doomed to relegation . There is very little talent available at our disposal , Kean completely wasted the last transfer window ..

The next man at the helm needs to be someone who knows the championship , because due to gross mis management that is where we are heading.

Where were Dennis and Chris today ?????

I'll have to disagree, somewhat, I think we have the players minus a top notch midfielder to be midway in this league. OUr manager is what makes us worse than we are. I know the results speak for themselves but I think a boss with a bit of savvy would get a lot more out of our current crop than Venkys puppet.

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

What's the point Pedersen tackling if he won a tackle he'd give the ball back at his very next pass.

[Shabani]

Only caught the last 20 minutes of the game yesterday, completely agree with what everyone has said Re Kean's tactics

You cannot expect to defend 20 minutes with no midfielders who can tackle. If Kean had any nouse of tactical skill he's have instructed the team to go for the jugular, get the second and kill the game off. Sunderland were bereft of confidence, the ground was silent and a 2nd would have guaranteed 3 vital points

We have been very good attackingly this season, so why didn't go for the 2nd? Wigan went up there and got a win, we should have done the same.

You cannot expect to hold onto a clean sheet away from home with our defence/midfield.

Whats also baffling is how very few in the press pick up on how bad out tactics are. All they do is spout the usually cliches 'new manager bounce', 'unlucky with injuries' etc. Most of them are incapable of any kind of proper football-ing analysis

Still fuming from seeing the game, thought I'd wait a bit before i posted

[bestierover]

Kean has the tactical ability of a drunk. We are screwed.

[Rovers_Dan]

I have just watched a replay of the 2nd half again. Seriously I havent seen a worse half in my whole life as far as rovers are concerned.

Literally every time we had the ball after about 2 passes we smashed back down the field to wes brown and bramble.

Pederson being the worst offender. Why on earth can we not keep the ball for longer than 10 seconds?

Bar Samba and Robinson, I'd sell the whole lot of them and bring in a whole new team, useless!

[bestierover]

It's not the team pal, just the tactics employed. Honestly, Kean could not organise a ###### up at a wedding, forgive the pun.

[Mattyblue]

A team that is capable of scoring goals, that is causing havoc at set pieces against a team with a poor Connor Wickham up front and low in confidence.

1-0 up at break, you go for another and finish off the game, surely?

To sit that deep for a whole half, punting balls in the general direction of Yakubu who was shackled by two defenders with no support whatsover was absolutely absymal, how the feck have we been lumbered with this farce?

[bestierover]

Exactly. Far from rocket science it is. I feel very lost at this moment.

[daveoftherovers]

So many things surrounding our club at the moment make me sick to the pit of my stomach, this match was a new low.

We are 1 Nil up away to a really poor side, who are on their arses confidence wise and next to us in the league

So...

We play a flat back 10

We have our oldest player at right wing

We show NO ambition whatsoever

Our striker plays up fron on his own over 40 yards from our nearest player

We play the most negative hoof ball ever (This includes BS's reign)

We can't retain any posession

And he says we are changing our style of football????

He says we are definitely staying up "Without a doubt"

OMFG we are so doomed.

[bestierover]

Doomed does not quite encaptulate the descriptive.

[Barnesy]

Diabolical tactics have cost us once again. What happened to the influence of Clements? Who's big idea was it to defend deep for most of the game against a team just above you and under pressure to produce for the home fans? I don't want to keep hearing about injuries costing-what about tiredness costing yet again after 60 minutes?

Some non-Roverites here at work reckon we were unlucky with the chalked off goal and having to change the back 4 constantly but too many players are not good enough or fit enough and that has to be down to the manager and his coaching staff.

[Rovers_Dan]

Paul Clements youd think we had Pam St Clement as assistant to be honest.

Another one who cant seem to get a grip of things although working alongside that clown Kean your not really gonna be able to stamp your authority on the side.

The whole place nees gutting.

[rovers11]

We are destined to go down this season. Poor Manager, poor owners, poor signings, relationship between club and fans at an all time low, rumours of financial crisis off the pitch....

Sooner Venkys leave the better...then we can start rebuilding again.

[forumquizmaster]

Not being funny but who cares about Lowe he was woeful today, got exposed time and time again today like he usually does and nearly cost us a goal twice. Just cause he's come from academy doesn't mean you have to pretend he's half decent

I am accustomed to reading a lot of mince on here at times, but you just took it to a new low (no pun intended!)

[RoyRover]

I saw the highlights last night on MOTD2 and we were brutal, so God knows what is was like for those who watched the entire thing or were at the game. I think we stooped to a new low under Kean yesterday if that were possible. The idea that we are playing a new brand of open, attacking, possession based football is a complete myth. There may have been brief instances of this during the season, but that would be more out of luck rather than design. Like it was under Sam we aimlessly thump the ball up the field in the vague direction of one of our players. We pile everyone forward for set pieces and any decent goals we have scored (mainly by Rochina or Hoillet or Yakubu against Swansea) have come from a bit of off the cuff skill and not from open passing football that Steve Kean would have people believe that we are playing.

Steve Kean got it tactically so wrong yesterday that the blame for this defeat is solidly laid at his door. He will point to the lateness of the goals, the injuries and the wrongfully ruled out goal as the reasons to why we lost and not admit to his own tactical mistakes. Sunderland were there for the taking and he ****ed up. Again. This will no doubt buy him more time, get him a bit more sympathy from the Soccer Saturday panel and wash over the fact that he and the owners are complete imbeciles who in 12 months have butchered everything that so many people have worked so hard for over the past decade after getting us back into the Premiership. God I would love to meet Steve Kean in the street so I could tell him what the 'minority' think of him. I honestly feel like crying at how desperate the situation has become. No 'hard work on the training ground', having Ryan Nelsen back or having Indian school children wearing Rovers shirts will save us from the black hole we are in.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Seen MoTD and I cannot believe the rank amateur mistake made by Henley when he headed that cross right into the danger area at the edge of the box. He had long enough to get a stronger header onto that ball and that mistake would be enough to see him dropped from a Sunday League team! Pathetic.

Can't just blame Henley on this Theno and its and not just this season, its something we have been doing as a team for along time as I have mentioned previously our lack of understanding' danger' and leaving massive gaps in that area.

Just look at where goals we have conceded this season even with the probability factor counted into it.

[Roost]

The worst thing to have to endure today are all the calls saying 'what kind of football is that?' from my mates.

We have plummetted from a respectable small town club in to a lauging stock, in one disastrous year.

The second half yesterday is difficult to describe it was that bad - how can the players accept that style of play is beyond me, we were that deep that the bloody idiots were in each others space.

We are down, I am sure of that now.

Kean & Venkys should be ashamed of what they have done to our once proud club.

Simply devastated.

[den]

Who's big idea was it to defend deep for most of the game against a team just above you and under pressure to produce for the home fans?

We've seen many managers in the past, on the touchline screaming at the defenders to push upfield - to get the opposition away from goal. Allardyce would have done that, as would Hughes, Dalglish or any competant manager. Sunderland had no pace, so taking them upfield was a no brainer.

But.... Kean stood there and did absolutely nothing to stop them getting in cross after cross. I think he was just hoping they wouldn't score. It was inevitable what was going to happen. It was also inevitable that when they scored the first, they would score again. Yet we have fans telling us how he's a top coach - really? Why did he do nothing to change things?