[Archived] Rovers v Sunderland Preview

[A cup of beans]

From the goal onwards I thought we played well, mainly because we now have pace in abundance, a proper goalscorer and N'Zonzi ticking the game over.

We could actually do it

are you feeling alright, Matty ? You sound positive

I think i was at a different game to this guy.. he makes it sound like we were lucky! we had 16 shots to 2. 9 shots on target to nil! http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/mar/20/blackburn-rovers-sunderland-premier-league

[braddock]

I'm pretty sure they didn't have a shot (unless you count a thirty yarder, borne out of frustration which was going considerably wide until it fell to the feet of a striker who was offside) until the 70 minute mark.

[Majiball]

That was a massive decision for me and one I thought Kean was going to get wrong. When I heard he was bringing on Orr, I thought he was going to put Lowe in midfield and put Orr at right back. That would have been a massively wrong decision, Lowe was superb against Mclean.

Don't underestimate the role Eric Black has played in making Rovers more tactically astute and this was a small example of that.

To be fair I didn't think he was superb against Mclean as he was their best player for and looked dangerous if a bit one dimensional. Lowe did alright.

Hanley stood out, and others did decent but N'zonzi needs to be quicker at times as a better central midfield will take it off him next time. The Olsson brothers linked up well at times although Marcus looks raw.

Black appears to have been of benefit and he's obviously had some input but lets see how we do over time.

PS I reckon Blacks contract runs up until Keans results go south again.

[budha]

Couldn't find any mention on the length of Black's contract, but Clement had a rolling one, so one could assume that's what Black got too.

[Barnesy]

Started quickly- several early corners nearly came off-then went flat for 25 minutes as game drifted into nothing. Second half-Rovers much quicker to the ball with Hoilett pushed much further upfield. I groaned when Kean made the change-but

hey it worked! Jury out on twin Olsson but Yak must be bargain of the season.NZonzi rapidly gaining class; Hanley most improved player during season. C'Mon You Blues!

[Puffsan]

Much needed win.

However, need to keep in perspective - we've beaten a shambolic Wolves and a Sunderland side that shot their bolt on Saturday at Everton.

Can someone tell me wtf Marcuss Olsson is doing in that team other than he is Martin's brother ? This guy is very, very average.

As I've been saying recently, no problems staying-up but next season..................

It's great to have got 2 wins on the bounce but I honestly believe that we've flattered to deceive. First half last night we were poor and let's be honest, Sunderland never really tried to get out of 1st gear until the last 10 minutes or so of the match - they were lethargic, sloppy and simply had no edge to their game, as I said earlier, they shot their bolt on Saturday.

Let's see how we fare in next 5 fixtures - Bolton away, United home, WBA away, Liverpool home & Swansea away. Would not surproise me if we lost the lot !

everytime we get a good result i read something similar.

Arsenal win: "ye great result but they were terrible"

swansea win: "yakubu great, but swansea crap"

man utd: "worst united game this season"

fulham: "they were v poor vs10 rovers players"

Qpr, wolves, sunderland: "add negative sentance"

So why are everyone so crap vs us?

theory 1: we always meet teams when they are in terrible form.

theory 2: The league is overrated, and the other teams arent any better than us.

theory 3: we are making the other teams worse

i would say a combination of theory 2 and 3.

and please tell me the logic, why will it be harder to stay up next season?

given that we keep all our players, except hoilett maybe

1. lowe and hanley will have 1 years of experience. Hanley is already future captain material in my eyes. we have one of the youngest teams in the league, this turbulent year with ups and downs, protests and negativity has given the players alot of experience.

2. we have cut away at lot of high earners, and even though our financial situation isnt great, there are teams who will be in worse financial situation than us.

3. Many things can be said about steve kean. He isnt the best manager in the league, but he can't get any worse can he? like the players steve kean will have 1 more year of experience and will probably do better than this season.

4. Our team has maybe the best morale in the league. poor results, protests, chanting. every player and coach have worked together to pull in the same direction.

The only way we will be worse next season is if there will be a fire sale. i doubt that will happen

[den]

and please tell me the logic, why will it be harder to stay up next season?

Well, your logic says that we should have improved this season - and we didn't.

The current squad of players would/will struggle again - just as they did this season - IMO. We'll undoubtedly lose one or two more of our better players and we know Kean's record in the transfer market is very poor. The best way to take this club forward - while at the same time taking the fans with them - is to get rid of Kean and for the club to start being honest with the fans. More of the same, will bring more of the same. Failure to act could cost the club immensely.

.

[K-Hod]

Thought we did well for the most part, but Sunderland were poor. Only McLean seemed to have a really good game. (how on earth Bruce wasn't playing him is beyond me!)

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

It's great to have got 2 wins on the bounce but I honestly believe that we've flattered to deceive. First half last night we were poor and let's be honest, Sunderland never really tried to get out of 1st gear until the last 10 minutes or so of the match - they were lethargic, sloppy and simply had no edge to their game, as I said earlier, they shot their bolt on Saturday.

Let's see how we fare in next 5 fixtures - Bolton away, United home, WBA away, Liverpool home & Swansea away. Would not surproise me if we lost the lot !

I agree we have a long way to go - last night could easily have ended 1-1.

But I think you have to give credit where it is due - at the end of the day some of the more pessimistic posters had us getting beat by Wolves and Sunderland - and virtually relegated by now. As they say - luck evens itself out over a season - and we seem to be getting the run of the ball that perhaps we didn't earlier in the season.

The next 5 fixtures are tough - which why it was important to pick up points while we could. But if you think we have difficult fixtures - look at QPR and Wigan's new few fixtures.

Lets just enjoy the win - and hope the youth team can do the business on Thursday to make it a really good week

[Mattyblue]

everytime we get a good result i read something similar.

Arsenal win: "ye great result but they were terrible"

swansea win: "yakubu great, but swansea crap"

man utd: "worst united game this season"

fulham: "they were v poor vs10 rovers players"

Qpr, wolves, sunderland: "add negative sentance"

So why are everyone so crap vs us?

theory 1: we always meet teams when they are in terrible form.

theory 2: The league is overrated, and the other teams arent any better than us.

theory 3: we are making the other teams worse

i would say a combination of theory 2 and 3.

and please tell me the logic, why will it be harder to stay up next season?

Got to agree with this.

You beat/lose to whoever is put in front of you. We stay up it is deserved, we go down, same deal.

I remember reading on here after we finished 10th under Sam that the 'top half finish was lucky', 'only because of late season wins' and so on.

It doesn't matter, after 38 games you get what you deserve.

[Puffsan]

Well, your logic says that we should have improved this season - and we didn't.

The current squad of players would/will struggle again - just as they did this season - IMO. We'll undoubtedly lose one or two more of our better players and we know Kean's record in the transfer market is very poor. The best way to take this club forward - while at the same time taking the fans with them - is to get rid of Kean and for the club to start being honest with the fans. More of the same, will bring more of the same. Failure to act could cost the club immensely.

.

yes maybe they will struggle. We will probably as you say lose one or two of our better players, but don't you think the surprise teams this season; norwich and swansea are also likely to lose key players?

i don't agree that keans transfer record is very poor. yakubu and formica has been two of our key players this season, with the yak's goals and formica's work rate. Marcus Olsson and bradley orr have been decent considering they were very cheap to get in. almost every pundit in the world said dann was a massive signing for us, even though he hasn't proven his price tag and expectations that were on him yet i will not say he was a poor signing. Many on this board thinks rochina and vuckcevic are good players, but the fact is they aren't good enough for our starting 11. i don't believe in the contractual rumors on these players.

which leaves us with petrovic and goodwillie as bad signings, you can add myles anderson and bruno ribeiro to that list even though i don't rate them as signings.

if the current table will be the ending result, qpr, wolves and wigan will get relegated. and if we look at the current championship table southampton, reading and west ham are most likely to join us in the premier league. and 1st season up is usually never easy. which gives us following teams we can compare ourselves with:

Rovers

bolton

southampton

reading

norwich

swansea

west brom

i would say big sam is to smart and experienced to let them drop. you can maybe add everton to that list when we look at financial muscles, and if David Moyes get picked up by a larger team i think everton will be in the bottom tier. Aston villa is also a team that may struggle next season if they keep Alex Mcleish.

how can you say we havent improved? 30th january we were on 20th place with 11 points. 1st january we were at 19th place with 14 points. Now we are at 16th place with 28 points. Currently on 7th place on the form table. i call that improvement.

yes it is probably wisest to sack steve kean and get new owners. but if that doesnt happen it won't mean that we will be weaker off next season. sorry i don't see the logic in us being weaker after surviving a relegation battle with a weak manager and a young team

[yoda]

Well, your logic says that we should have improved this season - and we didn't.

The current squad of players would/will struggle again - just as they did this season - IMO. We'll undoubtedly lose one or two more of our better players and we know Kean's record in the transfer market is very poor. The best way to take this club forward - while at the same time taking the fans with them - is to get rid of Kean and for the club to start being honest with the fans. More of the same, will bring more of the same. Failure to act could cost the club immensely.

.

The season is not finished yet, I guarantee that if we secure safety with 3 games still to play (or 2) coco will hail the improvement!

[Majiball]

how can you say we havent improved? 30th january we were on 20th place with 11 points. 1st january we were at 19th place with 14 points. Now we are at 16th place with 28 points. Currently on 7th place on the form table. i call that improvement.

But we were 10th when he took over so that was his starting point. You can term it improvement but given where we were I won't consider it improvement until we get above where we were. The whole point of changing managers is to improve on where you are not to regress and then herald small steps back to your perch.

[philipl]

Puffsan- yes a load of puff.

[Puffsan]

But we were 10th when he took over so that was his starting point. You can term it improvement but given where we were I won't consider it improvement until we get above where we were. The whole point of changing managers is to improve on where you are not to regress and then herald small steps back to your perch.

ok i see we have a misunderstanding here. I didn't mean improvement as in rovers improving from big sam to steve kean.

i meant improvement as from when steve kean started and now. I think we can say without doubt that rovers and kean has improved over this current season, and thats what matters. Becoming better, step by step. we cant change the past

Puffsan- yes a load of puff.

good to see that you contribute with something useful to the discussion

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

Parsonblue's match report is now published to the front page here.

[speeeeeeedie]

To be fair I didn't think he was superb against Mclean as he was their best player for and looked dangerous if a bit one dimensional. Lowe did alright.

Thought we did well for the most part, but Sunderland were poor. Only McLean seemed to have a really good game. (how on earth Bruce wasn't playing him is beyond me!)

He did look somewhat dangerous but can only do one thing; run quite fast and straight, then try to cross it. He gave them a real spark on his debut against us and it still going. I doubt it will last long though before defenders figure him out.

As for the game. Rovers are getting better, but we played Sunderland at the perfect time. We are still nto very good. 3 more wins needed. Beating Bolton on Saurday counts as 2. The team owes the fans one after the disgraceful performance against them at home.

[braddock]

Parsonblue's match report is now published to the front page here.

A very fair summary. Spot on.

(Mistake at the bottom saying Campbell was booked for Villa).

[LeChuck]

He did look somewhat dangerous but can only do one thing; run quite fast and straight, then try to cross it. He gave them a real spark on his debut against us and it still going. I doubt it will last long though before defenders figure him out.

I think they were his instructions last night. I've seen him play more of a free role and he's still excellent - he's got a thunderous shot and is as strong as ox.

He's still a little raw but I think he's the real deal - I can't see him staying at Sunderland for very long. If Gareth Bale should be lead away from Spurs in the summer then I think there is ready made replacement for them at Sunderland.

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

A very fair summary. Spot on.

(Mistake at the bottom saying Campbell was booked for Villa).

Good spot - thanks for that. Now corrected.

[Parsonblue]

A very fair summary. Spot on.

(Mistake at the bottom saying Campbell was booked for Villa).

Thanks braddock. I tend to use a standard template for the stats and clearly overlooked changing the name of the opposition last night.

[1864roverite]

Credit where its due to Kean and co but especially to Mr Black.

Rovers last night fought hard for each other and at times the defending was a throwback to Hendry and co. Last ditch tackels and a never say die attitude to preventing a goal against.

A few observations:

Kean didnt make any cock ups going with the same 11 and the formation set out from the start worked a treat.

Some of the crossing was awful, Olsson bros and Pederson main culprits. They should all take a leaf out of Orrs book on how to cross a ball to a forward who WILL score given half a chance.

NZonzi was class BUT yet again for a 10 min period he went awaol when Sunderland threatened to get back in the game.

Hoilett provided another class finish, instinctive and clinical. Just how much will we miss him next year is incalcuable.

Hanley was my motm. He gets better every game and is forging a useful partnership with Dann.

Formica is another player who appears to be benefitting from a rejuvenated squad. Some good play, attacks and closes down and that is what we want to see.

Pederson continues to be good and bad. All his good work was undone by pure sloppiness in giving the ball away.

All in all pleased as punch with the 3 points. Now we head down the M61 for the biggest Rovers v Bolton derby for many a year. It will be emotional for so many reasons.

I just hope that all Rovers fans who are travelling support the team because make no bones about it, Bolton players will be up for it. In Rovers favour, should we score then the Bolton players will no doubt have many things on their minds and therefore it is imperative that Rovers go the jugular from the off.

To be 8 points clear of Bolton is a massive gap to overcome, even more so for the other teams at the bottom. it would probably mean that Rovers would only require 2 more wins to secure their place in the league because as I see it, Wigan and Wolves have nowhere near enough in the tank and have the worst run ins.

Finally, does anyone know where Vince Grella is ????

[Guest Rovers4Good]

It was a very poor half which each team was cancelling each other out but in the second half we stepped up a gear when Sunderland didn't offer too much to say the least and i was quite disappointed with their showing and glad i was the away supporter.

Thought Formica put a great shift in and Hanley is looking like he could be one of the suprise packages as he seems to be going from strength to strength.

Hoilett again was different gravy and was our main threat all night.

[m1st]

Amazing, Kean actually seems to be getting a good team spirit, maybe Samba leaving was good news.

I've not re-read all this thread [only posts from about 9.55 last night!] but did anyone else hear the Radio 5 commentary on last night's game?

Jan Molby was the summariser and said that his friend [and compatriot] John Jensen had told him [i'm paraphrasing what Molby said] that, when he was Assistant Manager here, the team was solidly behind Kean.

If I remember aright [i was bog-eyed after work], that led the other commentator to speculate similarly to Roversider above.

[Waggy76]

It's great to have got 2 wins on the bounce but I honestly believe that we've flattered to deceive. First half last night we were poor and let's be honest, Sunderland never really tried to get out of 1st gear until the last 10 minutes or so of the match - they were lethargic, sloppy and simply had no edge to their game, as I said earlier, they shot their bolt on Saturday.

Let's see how we fare in next 5 fixtures - Bolton away, United home, WBA away, Liverpool home & Swansea away. Would not surproise me if we lost the lot !

True a difficult set of fixtures but Bolton ,WBA , Swansea are hardly taxing also factor in Norwich and Wigan one win out of those will prob be enough ..Tonights game at QPR will be very interesting cos QPR have to win and if they don't , I think the bottom 3 will be relegated ..Bolton , I have always thought will stay up (Muamba will galvanise the team) and with the easiest run in should comfortably stay up ..