[Archived] Michael Appleton - New Rovers Manager

[thenodrog]

It still amazes me that in the first half and even at half time people on here and twitter were moaning about our approach to the game and wanted us to start playing a more open attacking game

I blame a cross between Championship manager, having two left feet and not being old enough to remember the Rumble in the Jungle.

[thenodrog]

Probably the same people who booed and moaned when we were 3-0 up against Wolves because we didn't try to win 10-0.

An opinion which I have expressed on a number of occasions in the past. Unfortunately said idiots appear to have evaporated. Many can remember it but few will ever dare own up to it for fear of eternal ridicule. Similar story with our Facebook warriors.

[thenodrog]

perception perhaps. It felt like it. It may not be true but watching certainly wasn't easy even though I liked winning. When your keeper takes all the kicks in his half of the field and just puts them as far up as he can, then it's always going to feel like long ball. The ball that set up our goal on saturday travelled a fair way but wasn't aimed into the box to create mayhem, it was more directed - or am I giving Hanley too much credit?

Can I assume that if you were BRFC manager you would have got N'Zonzi and keith Andrews playing intricate little Barca type one two's through opposing Premier league midfields?

Gumboots I'll play Devils advocate here, so if you have two players over 6' 4" in their stockinged feet and a keeper with the most accurate delivery in the country you'd be a fool not to utilise them. One might say delivering a ball into the box from distance as often as possible is the very definition of attacking football. No one can run as fast as an accurately delivered ball can they?

Only problem with Allardyce imo is that he might have mixed it up a little more.

[Stuart]

Can I assume that if you were BRFC manager you would have got N'Zonzi and keith Andrews playing intricate little Barca type one two's through opposing Premier league midfields?

Gumboots I'll play Devils advocate here, so if you have two players over 6' 4" in their stockinged feet and a keeper with the most accurate delivery in the country you'd be a fool not to utilise them. One might say delivering a ball into the box from distance as often as possible is the very definition of attacking football. No one can run as fast as an accurately delivered ball can they?

Only problem with Allardyce imo is that he might have mixed it up a little more.

Also playing devil's advocate; it's not by accident that Allardyce has those two 6' 4 blokes in his team.

He plays the percentages, and it works. Get the ball into the box 50 times and you will score at least one goal. Robbo's kicks and Pedersen's set-pieces were his stock in trade.

"Effective but ultimately effective" is about all one can say.

[thenodrog]

Like if you look at his away record from Newcastle management onwards (I'm not familiar specifically with his away record at Bolton). He has had a dreadful away record for a long time, but he persists with the same tactics because he struggles deploy any others successfully. Given how little he gets away from home you'd imagine he could lose the hoof ball and keep the sturdy defence but with a more passing approach. It would be worth a try since it's not like he's going to be losing any more games than he already does. And he'd only need to do it against the lesser/mid table teams. But he doesn't and he never will, even though his away record is abysmal. That is because he can't.

Last season WHU had the best away record in the Championship. Funny old game.

[Salgado Is A Hero]

Appleton has had a good start - nothing more. Each match he has had the rub of the green at key moments - Bristol City missing good chances before we scored, Ipswich missing a sitter in the 90th minute, Arsenal hitting the bar and missing a one-on-one.

I don't really follow your logic when you mention things like this. In most Barcelona games, the opposition misses a chance at 0-0. The same could be said for top teams most of the time. Is that luck? Bristol City and Ipswich missed good chances because they're in a relegation battle in the C'ship and usually do miss those chances.

Luck evens itself out over the course of a season, even after 2/3 games. You're where you are in the table by merit, not luck.

We deserved to beat Arsenal because we scored more goals than they did. We weren't lucky that the guy who Arsenal fans say couldn't finish his dinner missed a one-on-one.

[Amo]

DMTP is a contrarian. Always has been, always will be.

[USABlue]

Appleton showing he could be real deal for Rovers

LMAO at the Berg making Kean look competent comment. I supported Berg and dis-approved of Appleton, thank god I'm not in the Rovers hot seat. I'm very pleased to be quite wrong so far.

[gumboots]

Can I assume that if you were BRFC manager you would have got N'Zonzi and keith Andrews playing intricate little Barca type one two's through opposing Premier league midfields?

Gumboots I'll play Devils advocate here, so if you have two players over 6' 4" in their stockinged feet and a keeper with the most accurate delivery in the country you'd be a fool not to utilise them. One might say delivering a ball into the box from distance as often as possible is the very definition of attacking football. No one can run as fast as an accurately delivered ball can they?

Only problem with Allardyce imo is that he might have mixed it up a little more.

Don't be daft - Nobody could have got those 2 playing like Barcelona. Your last sentence is more what I'm thinking - it would have been better for him and all of us if, just sometimes, he'd made it look like we were trying to play football rather than always seeming (and I stress it is about perception) to prefer the long ball and trust that someone would get to it. And Nzonzi wasn't great at heading with any control or direction for a tall guy.

[bypass06]

Best back and Forrester at the double for Rovers reserves

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/10236054._/?

[patrickvalery]

LMAO at the Berg making Kean look competent comment. I supported Berg and dis-approved of Appleton, thank god I'm not in the Rovers hot seat. I'm very pleased to be quite wrong so far.

Can't echo this enough. I was utterly opposed to Appleton. The job, IMO, needed an experienced manager. Guess there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I'm loving being proved wrong.

[Plastics]

Last season WHU had the best away record in the Championship. Funny old game.

Sorry, I was only looking at his away stats in the Prem post Bolton. I do apologise.

Best back and Forrester at the double for Rovers reserves

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/10236054._/?

What's long term expectation of Forrester?

[RoyRover]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, but this is a good article in the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/feb/15/michael-appleton-blackburn-rovers-arsenal

[den]

Sounds like plastics and a few more still haven't realised that if you have a manager that can keep you in the top half of the Premier League, you keep hold of him best as you can. Apparently, they would sack him again. The ironic thing about it, is that they come out with these silly views after what? - a hard earned, while unspectacular win against a premier league side.

[thenodrog]

Sounds like plastics and a few more still haven't realised that if you have a manager that can keep you in the top half of the Premier League, you keep hold of him best as you can. Apparently, they would sack him again. The ironic thing about it, is that they come out with these silly views after what? - a hard earned, while unspectacular win against a premier league side.

That would mean admitting that they were wrong and that they know less than the square root of @#/? all about all things football..... and that doesn't sit well with their generation Den.

[bypass06]

Bentley keen to make amends at Blackburn Rovers

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10236586._/?

[den]

Bentley keen to make amends at Blackburn Rovers

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10236586._/?

Good move by Bentley. Very much looking forward to seeing him play this Saturday.

[47er]

Can't echo this enough. I was utterly opposed to Appleton. The job, IMO, needed an experienced manager. Guess there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I'm loving being proved wrong.

Yet its not rocket science is it? The problems Appleton's identified were all identified on here by many months and months ago.

The side wasn't fit enough. You have to build from the back. Our squad is unbalanced. Our defence isn't set up right, its too exposed.

We have no pace down the right wing, Rhodes would benefit from fast breaks and early crosses into the right areas.

Centre-midfield needs sorting out, we need a good defensive central mid-fielder who can rattle a few teeth and so on and so on.

We identified all these issues long ago and the experts at Ewood took no notice at all for over 2 years.

[yoda]

Yet its not rocket science is it? The problems Appleton's identified were all identified on here by many months and months ago.

The side wasn't fit enough. You have to build from the back. Our squad is unbalanced. Our defence isn't set up right, its too exposed.

We have no pace down the right wing, Rhodes would benefit from fast breaks and early crosses into the right areas.

Centre-midfield needs sorting out, we need a good defensive central mid-fielder who can rattle a few teeth and so on and so on.

We identified all these issues long ago and the experts at Ewood took no notice at all for over 2 years.

They took notice alright, they were to busy lining the back sack, labelled as building squad value

[Andy]

Bentley keen to make amends at Blackburn Rovers

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10236586._/?

Takes a man to admit to a mistake, so well played Bentley.

Now where was that apology from Mr Orr...?

[USABlue]

Bentley keen to make amends at Blackburn Rovers

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10236586._/?

Fair enough David, I forgive you, now let's get you back to where you were.

[Plastics]

Sounds like plastics and a few more still haven't realised that if you have a manager that can keep you in the top half of the Premier League, you keep hold of him best as you can. Apparently, they would sack him again. The ironic thing about it, is that they come out with these silly views after what? - a hard earned, while unspectacular win against a premier league side.

I would replace him with a manager.

We are currently in a position where we would have to take the medicine to stabalise the club, except it isn't even like medicine, because Appleton shows you can be organised AND not resort to hoofball. What we hopefully have here, is a good manager who we won't outgrow.

That would mean admitting that they were wrong and that they know less than the square root of @#/? all about all things football..... and that doesn't sit well with their generation Den.

How on earth is this a generational thing? I often admit when I am wrong on here.

[jim mk2]

Constantly referring to it as "hoofball" show you haven't learnt anything, Braddock.

[Stuart]

Constantly referring to it as "hoofball" show you haven't learnt anything, Braddock.

Agreed. Hoofball is an aimless punt upfield in an attempt to clear the ball.

Allardyce deliberately targeted the penalty area from wherever and whenever possible.

There was nothing aimless about it.

[Plastics]

It was an aimless punt when it was from open play. It wasn't a long pass, that's for sure.

It doesn't have to be to clear the ball. It was done often enough when not under pressure and without real direction. That to me is hoofball.

As I have said, however, I've nothing against set pieces which are targeted to the big men. It's a very good tactic to go from defence to attack with some amount of control. In open play, however, it just gets tedious playing the percentages game.

Anyway, Appleton is much more like Hughes than Allardyce, and I'm extremely happy with this.