[Archived] Bolton Vs Rovers

[G Somerset Rover]

For those including Givet and Simon in their first 11's, let's not raise false hope eh? They're quite clearly not playing for off the field reasons, be it financial or other.

I remember when we were struggling last season, Martin Blackburn I think it was tweeted 'what Rovers would give for a top class centre half right now, oh wait they have one but won't pick him'. That's Givet and its still applicable now.

Cryer or somebody needs to ask the questions. Fluffy responses like 'Simon has a big part to play' and 'Gael is fit and ready' just aren't washing.

[Amo]

For those including Givet and Simon in their first 11's, let's not raise false hope eh? They're quite clearly not playing for off the field reasons, be it financial or other.

I remember when we were struggling last season, Martin Blackburn I think it was tweeted 'what Rovers would give for a top class centre half right now, oh wait they have one but won't pick him'. That's Givet and its still applicable now.

Givet got dropped by Black for some off-the-field issue that was supposed resolved:

"The outcome has been resolved," Black told Rovers' official website. "Gael came and spoke to me and outlined the decisions surrounding it. I'm happy with what he had to say.

"He has been spoken to, he's spoken to the rest of the group, he accepts that what he has done was wrong, he's an emotional guy, he just wants to win."

So what gives?

More fallings out? Something else we don't know about?

[neophox]

We need to do some tradings in the january window, some players are not up for it. Sorry but a win at turf moor is a most or Berg is in trouble.

I do feel Dunn and MGP could do a better job in the middle than Murphy and Etuhu.

Play this team against Burnley:

Robinson,

Lowe, Dann, Givet, Olsson

Vukcevic, MGP, Dunn, Kazim

Rhodes, Nuno Gomes.

[Amo]

I do feel Dunn and MGP could do a better job in the middle than Murphy and Etuhu.

I don't. That midfield would get eaten alive by our six-fingered neighbours.

[Blue n White Rover]

So when can we start to give Berg criticism?

It seems as though all the fingers are being pointed at the players for not performing, however nobody is slating the tactics employed by Berg.

4-5-1 was clearly not working so he switched King into a more central role and as soon as CKR came on, we looked more threatening. Our CM has no legs and was it a coincidence that as soon as Lowe came on, it allowed Murphy to push further up.

The players that started were not good enough, however the players on the bench were and it's Berg who has to take the stick for not starting them.

Other than the honest interviews, I can't see much of a change between Kean and Berg. I'm yet to be convinced.

[Kamy100]

Really disappointed with what I saw last night.

As per Saturday I thought that the way we moved the ball forward was far to slow, it allowed Bolton to keep their shape and we weren’t really able to stretch them in a defensive sense until the last 10 minutes. At times we passed the ball for the sake of passing but there didn’t seem to be an obvious gameplan. Bolton played well, they were well organised and through Chris Eagles & Lee were a threat going forward.

The crux of our problem is the centre midifield, Etuhu & Murphy as a combination doesn’t work when a team pushes up and closes us down in midfield, one can’t pass (Etuhu) and the the other’s legs have gone (Murphy), so if your centre midfield is not functioning properly then the rest of the team also get’s dragged down. The other problem is Rhodes, at the moment we are not playing to his strengths. His best work is done inside the box but because of the way we play he is often isolated, spends an inordinate amount of time outside the box (for the team) and is feeding on scraps. It was no coincidence that he looked more of a threat when Kazim came on and did all the physical stuff which allowed Rhodes to make his clever runs and get into goalscoring positions.

I wouldn’t judge Berg yet, 5 points from 18 is not good enough and there are some worrying signs BUT he needs to be given time to undo all the damage that Kean did over the last 2 years, this is not going to happen overnight. Personally I think that Berg needs to “freshen” things up at Brockhall, there are still to many people there from Kean’s reign, so maybe it’s time to bring his own backroom team in, hopefully they will bring new ideas (more in tune with Berg’s philosophy) and that might galvanise the players.

Sunday is obviously a huge game, the minimum that fans want to see from the team is Passion, Pride and Commitment. Might be time to bring some of the more experienced players into the team, I would bring in Givet, Lowe, Kazim, MGP and Simon.

[Blue n White Rover]

Also, why the hell were we not playing a higher line in defence. Surely Davies isn't going to run in behind our midfield or outpace Hanley. That's the first thing I would have outlines to my defenders. Instead, we were far too deep and in turn led to Murphy and Etuhu being stuck in our own half.

[Paul Mellelieu]

Agree with Kamy that the two areas that are causing the tactical problems are central midfield and up front. The later looks easier to fix than the former though. We have a number of options to play along Rhodes, however what is the central midfield pair that can offer the pace, aggression and passing needed at this level?

[Howler]

Dreadfully disappointing result and performance. I would go for wholesale changes for Burnley. Bring in experienced players like MGP, Dunn, Gomes and a battler like Lowe rather than the fancy dan dross of Rochina, Formica and the dreadful, passionless midfield of Etuhu and Murphy. To be bossed around by Keith Andrews says it all.

Can i ask what are Etuhu's strengths exactly? He keeps them well hidden and him and Murphy together provide zero drive.

[Mercer]

So when can we start to give Berg criticism?

It seems as though all the fingers are being pointed at the players for not performing, however nobody is slating the tactics employed by Berg.

4-5-1 was clearly not working so he switched King into a more central role and as soon as CKR came on, we looked more threatening. Our CM has no legs and was it a coincidence that as soon as Lowe came on, it allowed Murphy to push further up.

The players that started were not good enough, however the players on the bench were and it's Berg who has to take the stick for not starting them.

Other than the honest interviews, I can't see much of a change between Kean and Berg. I'm yet to be convinced.

+100

And he's even beginning to sound more like Kean in his post match interviews:

"We were nowhere near them, they got in behind us and scored a goal but it was not the start we would have wanted.

"We had a bad start against Millwall as well, we talked about having a good start today, but we weren't able to do it and that was very very disappointing.

"After that it evened itself out but still we didn't dominate the game like we would like to do, we didn't have the passing and the movement.

What game was he watching - for 75 minutes, they dominated us.

On Radio Rovers, he also said we had 10 chances to Bolton's 6 !!! Not from what I saw.

Berg, IMO, is now almost as delusional as Kean and looking like as equally out of his depth !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The writing is on the wall.

[Doug]

Our first touch (es) were poor last night. We were beaten by the better passing team. They closed us down when we had the ball but we weren't quick/fit enough to do the same to them, therefore we were forced to get bodies behind the ball. Therefore we had to play deeper.

We didn't play as a unit, we played as 3 units, defence, midfield and isolated striker.

Robbo and the defence have obviously been told to build from the back, but they look poor on the ball, and there was so little movement ahead of them it often made the ball go square or back.

The full backs and wide midfielders must give width which will create space and options for playing out of defence.

I felt sorry for Murphy because he rarely had a player to pass to due to the lack of space, width and options.

[Ossydave]

Why oh why oh feckin why have we STILL not realised that teams are going to fire in as many shots from outside the box at Robbo as they can? I'm sorry but at the moment, we are quite possibly the easiest team to beat in the country! Even a blind man could spot weaknesses like this. I'm never usually negative but we haven't got a chance on Sunday unless there's drastic changes.

[Mercer]

Why oh why oh feckin why have we STILL not realised that teams are going to fire in as many shots from outside the box at Robbo as they can? I'm sorry but at the moment, we are quite possibly the easiest team to beat in the country! Even a blind man could spot weaknesses like this. I'm never usually negative but we haven't got a chance on Sunday unless there's drastic changes.

If Bolton had had a Charlie Austin to mop-up a number of rebounds from Robbo, it would have been even more embarrassing.

Equally worrying is our midfield allowing the opposition to get off so many shots from distance.

[Ossydave]

If Bolton had had a Charlie Austin to mop-up a number of rebounds from Robbo, it would have been even more embarrassing.

Equally worrying is our midfield allowing the opposition to get off so many shots from distance.

Absolutely, they could easily have put 5 past us. I'm not blaming Robbo completely, like you say the midfield is like a set of fairies running about. In Bergs defence he must have had strong words about players being soft in the tackle at half time, because second half we got more 'stuck in', which resulted in more fouled but hey ho.

How did Bunn do last night anyone? Can't help but think we should have kept hold.....

[Andy]

+100

And he's even beginning to sound more like Kean in his post match interviews:

"We were nowhere near them, they got in behind us and scored a goal but it was not the start we would have wanted.

"We had a bad start against Millwall as well, we talked about having a good start today, but we weren't able to do it and that was very very disappointing.

"After that it evened itself out but still we didn't dominate the game like we would like to do, we didn't have the passing and the movement.

What game was he watching - for 75 minutes, they dominated us.

On Radio Rovers, he also said we had 10 chances to Bolton's 6 !!! Not from what I saw.

Berg, IMO, is now almost as delusional as Kean and looking like as equally out of his depth !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The writing is on the wall.

Bit harsh, MM.

Kean was completely, utterly and entirely out of his depth and went to great lengths to try and disguise this.

Berg has been left with the mess that Kean left behind and although his start has been poor, he's still a considerably better option than Kean ever will be.

We are not unreasonable fans and have more patience than the likes of Chelsea or Newcastle fans, so in my opinion Berg needs to be given time.

For God's sake, the infinitely incompetent Kean was given about 6-12 months before the majority turned on him!

Anyone calling for Berg's head anytime soon needs to have a word with themselves.

As for the question on Bunn above, I saw the highlights last night and he was pretty poor.

Flapped at crosses, poor positioning and poor kicking.

Nowhere near good enough to be a first choice GK at this stage.

[moerpho]

Originally posted in the "Hennning Berg.." thread but was meant for this one.

Question for those of you that were at the match last night:

What was the reaction from the players on the pitch after Boltons early goal? Anyone stand out and take responsibility - i.e. shouting/being a leader etc? Was Murphy captain? And if so did he do anything to defend that role?

[alexanders]

Happy I was at a Christmas party and nowhere near the radio after reading the comments about yesterday.

[JAL]

Originally posted in the "Hennning Berg.." thread but was meant for this one.

Question for those of you that were at the match last night:

What was the reaction from the players on the pitch after Boltons early goal? Anyone stand out and take responsibility - i.e. shouting/being a leader etc? Was Murphy captain? And if so did he do anything to defend that role?

There was quick blast from Paul Robinson towards his central defenders which may have been one or both as it was hard to tell.

Agree with Kamy that the two areas that are causing the tactical problems are central midfield and up front. The later looks easier to fix than the former though. We have a number of options to play along Rhodes, however what is the central midfield pair that can offer the pace, aggression and passing needed at this level?

I'd like to add wide right aswell as another problem area for the team.

[Plastic Head]

To take a leaf out of Stan Ternents book...

The following should never play for Blackburn Rovers again:

1 Dann

2 Murphy

3 Etuhu

4 Hanley

5 Shyt Ollson

Thank you

[Mercer]

Bit harsh, MM.

Kean was completely, utterly and entirely out of his depth and went to great lengths to try and disguise this.

Berg has been left with the mess that Kean left behind and although his start has been poor, he's still a considerably better option than Kean ever will be.

We are not unreasonable fans and have more patience than the likes of Chelsea or Newcastle fans, so in my opinion Berg needs to be given time.

For God's sake, the infinitely incompetent Kean was given about 6-12 months before the majority turned on him!

Anyone calling for Berg's head anytime soon needs to have a word with themselves.

As for the question on Bunn above, I saw the highlights last night and he was pretty poor.

Flapped at crosses, poor positioning and poor kicking.

Nowhere near good enough to be a first choice GK at this stage.

I think a lot of folk are utterly frustrated after the last 2 years.

It took an inordinate amount of time, not least, allegedly, due to the Singh / Shaw disagreements, to appoint Berg and we saw very good options slip away.

Not least Freedman, who I strongly advocated, and to a lesser extent Holloway, to name just two.

Instead we got Berg who gave a "brilliant interview" - bit like Nicko's description of Kean as a gem owing to his presser !

We all hoped for a new dawn but unfortunately, not much seems to have changed. As a person, clearly Berg is in a different league to Kean but football wise, IMO, based on what we have seen so far including the signing of King, he is no better than Kean.

The comments on the ground were very interesting last night, certainly where I was sat, and it seems that Berg's very short honeymoon period is well and truly over. Seems likely, again, that Venky's / Singh promised so much but have delivered so little.

[alexanders]

To take a leaf out of Stan Ternents book...

The following should never play for Blackburn Rovers again:

1 Dann

2 Murphy

3 Etuhu

4 Hanley

5 Shyt Ollson

Thank you

Sometimes you suit your nickname perfectly !

[ABBEY]

Originally posted in the "Hennning Berg.." thread but was meant for this one.

Question for those of you that were at the match last night:

What was the reaction from the players on the pitch after Boltons early goal? Anyone stand out and take responsibility - i.e. shouting/being a leader etc? Was Murphy captain? And if so did he do anything to defend that role?

I'd pay him his contract and get this mon right out of the club . I've seen better leaders with nose bags on at Blackpool beach . He can't even get his head and knee over the ball . He's had a good game once since joining . As for leaders we are sadly lacking in this dept . Very very poor and not one player has stood up and been heard. They came out 5 mins early for the second half in freezing conditions and stood in groups chatting, it took black to tell them to stay warm . They either don't give a crap or they are clueless .

[Boz]

So when can we start to give Berg criticism?

It seems as though all the fingers are being pointed at the players for not performing, however nobody is slating the tactics employed by Berg.

4-5-1 was clearly not working so he switched King into a more central role and as soon as CKR came on, we looked more threatening. Our CM has no legs and was it a coincidence that as soon as Lowe came on, it allowed Murphy to push further up.

The players that started were not good enough, however the players on the bench were and it's Berg who has to take the stick for not starting them.

Other than the honest interviews, I can't see much of a change between Kean and Berg. I'm yet to be convinced.

In answer to your question, not for at least another twelve months.

You can talk about systems, formations and tactics which managers and coaches might be able to affect games, but at the end of the day it comes down to what the players do on the pitch, taking responsibility for their actions, or lack of.

What we have assembled is the poorest squad of players for many, many years, over paid journeymen with putting aside their actual abilities, who are not fully fit and are lacking in self pride. They were poor in the Premier League and they are now poor in the Championship, quite frankly the senior players need to understand this point, rather than continually making excuses for them with reasons that allow them to hide behind systems and formations.

Take a look in the mirror this morning, Paul Robinson, Scott Dann, Grant Hanley, Martin Olsson, Dickson Etuhu, Danny Murphy, Ruben Rochina, Mauro Formica, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Colim Kazim-Richards, Gael Givet, Simon Vukcevic, David Dunn, Nuno Gomes and ask yourselves whether you are happy with your contributions to Blackburn Rovers, your employer.

The Rovers faithful will not accept a non existent performance on Sunday.

My goodness I’ve just read back the list of players, just a couple of years ago this included the likes of; Friedel, Salgado, Nelson, Samba, Jones, Emerton, Reid, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Tugay, Roberts, Santa Cruz.

[JAL]

First half we seemed to hold onto the ball for one, two, three, four, five, six, seconds hardly moving anywhere before making a mundane pass.

This is far too long to be effective though the movement off the ball has to improve vastly. Just hope Berg can get them playing closer to a two second rule, thus making everything quicker, with those that cant do it booted out.

[1864roverite]

I am still numb at the thought of what I witnessed on the pitch from 11/14 professional players wearing the blue and white shirt last night. It truly was awful.

I am dreading the game at dingledome on Sunday. Never in 33 plus years have I ever thought the 6 fingered trolls would be setting themselves up for the kill over the Rovers - Burnley is ready for a sunday night Kean fest should they beat us, there will be over load in the birth rate in 8/9month time at Dingle general and we as Rovers fans areg oing to feel the brunt of their mockery for a long long time.