[Archived] Hull City [Away]; 19th February.

[Mike Graham]

We were poor last night, VERY POOR and outplayed for a full 90 minutes.

If it were not for Jake Kean and Hanley then Hull would have had a hatful of goals; the only attempt on goal for us that I recall was a ame shot in the I rest 15 minutes.

Hull were a class apart.

We need to lift ourselves for Leeds, Leicester etc etc. The FA Cup is a sideshow, unfortunately we are far far away from being promotion material.

[Mike Graham]

We were poor last night, VERY POOR and outplayed for a full 90 minutes.

If it were not for Jake Kean and Hanley then Hull would have had a hatful of goals; the only attempt on goal for us that I recall was a tame shot in the the first 15 minutes.

Hull were a class apart. We had no midfield, Lowe and Murphy were like rabbits caught in headlights.

We need to lift ourselves for Leeds, Leicester etc etc. The FA Cup is a sideshow, unfortunately we are far far away from being promotion material.

[Waggy76]

We are no better or worse than about 10 teams in the division , thats not Appletons fault the previous 2 managers are too blame , especially Kean cos it was he who bought the majority of the dross !

Midfield is very poor , until that is sorted we stay where we are (no play offs ) ..........

I didnt go last night ,so cannot comment on individual performances , but I can guess !

[EPF]

For me it's not over u told its mathematically impossible to get into the top 6. Until then let's just try and get right behind the team, try and pack out ewood and roar them on starting with dirty Leeds on Saturday!!!

Rovers should make the remaining home games very cheap to try and attract crowds back

[Audax]

Teams certainly do go on good and bad runs, sometimes they drop like rocks. So we will see. 1 out of the top 6 or 1 of the 4 playoff teams is bound to do that. Also it's odd the last playoff team often seems to do well in that playoff.

[USABlue]

On a side not, Cardiff lost 2-0 at home tonight. Long way to go yet.

And on another side note Forest won handsomely. Davies has them back in it. Was wondering when the back to earth with a bump was coming. Now we begin to see if Appleton is the real deal or not. How we respond to that loss is the key. Jury still out for me, but not as much as when we hired him.

[Parsonblue]

I think Hull exposed the weaknesses in our team, particularly at full-back. Neither Orr nor Martin Olsson seem natural full-backs and seem to allow people to drift on their blind side as they get attracted to the ball. I thought the tactics were very much the same as used at Brighton and Arsenal - two banks of four sitting very deep and denying space to the opposition. This works well until you go a goal behind and then you need something different and, sadly, we aren't able to provide that at the moment.

Hull looked extremely impressive whilst we looked like what we are - a mid-table Championship side. Given backing in the summer I think Appleton will make us contenders next season but for me this season has come down to a Cup game at Millwall to see if we can make a bit of money by getting to Wembley for the F.A. Cup semi-final. We have left ourselves with too much ground to make up in terms of the League and whilst we have looked decent defensively in recent games, we lack a great deal going forward. Once again Rhodes showed that if he is not getting the ball in the area he contriubtes very little whilst DJ Campbell had another very disappointing outing. Whilst there is no doubt that Appleton has improved us there is still a lot of work to be done before we can be termed promotion hopefuls and I suspect the manager is all too well aware of this.

[G Somerset Rover]

The lad from City looked totally clueless. He played wide left but I thought he was a center back?

No wonder he was totally clueless, he's probably never played LM in his whole life! That was an absolutely baffling decision by Appleton. Lets hope he's learned from his bad mistakes last night.

[McClarky]

I suppose for a side who can't create chances we are bound to get found out every now and then. I can hardly remember a game all season where we have had more than 2 or 3 decent chances. This is out main problem I reckon and unless we improve we're just relying on Rhodes scoring the 1 chance he gets and not much else. At least we can concentrate on t'cup as Millwall obviously aren't much cop either.

[OJRovers]

I'm sure Appleton will have realised that Murphy/Lowe are not good enough to run games in this league. We'll have to wait til summer for him to be able to replace them.

On the wings, we've got Bentley and King to come in who would be a massive improvement.

I think Rhodes will benefit from having a proper striker next to him when Best is back.

[Plastics]

On to the next one. We were due a bad result and I'd rather it come against these than Leeds or Leicester. Let's see what the response is.

[rovers11]

On to the next one. We were due a bad result and I'd rather it come against these than Leeds or Leicester. Let's see what the response is.

Exactly, we were due a bad result and losing to Hull away is no shame. I expect us to beat Leeds and get something from Leicester. Hull were playing us at the right time after our cup game.

We are probably playing Leeds at the right time. They are in terrible form, Warnock is on the brink and they will have had a days less rest due to them playing tonight. Similarly, Leicester are having a wobble, particularly at home so a good time to play them.

I did worry about the team selection when I saw it last night pre-kick off. Having wingers in Williamson and Rekik meant we didn't have any attacking threat and were screwed if Hull scored the 1st goal.

Bentley and Marcus Olsson need to start against Leeds.

[Plastics]

Exactly, we were due a bad result and losing to Hull away is no shame. I expect us to beat Leeds and get something from Leicester. Hull were playing us at the right time after our cup game.

We are probably playing Leeds at the right time. They are in terrible form, Warnock is on the brink and they will have had a days less rest due to them playing tonight. Similarly, Leicester are having a wobble, particularly at home so a good time to play them.

I did worry about the team selection when I saw it last night pre-kick off. Having wingers in Williamson and Rekik meant we didn't have any attacking threat and were screwed if Hull scored the 1st goal.

Bentley and Marcus Olsson need to start against Leeds.

Yes, this is second place away from home. I wanted 4 points from 3 games. Now it's 4 points from 2 games. Going through the next two games without a win wouldn't be good for our play-off hopes. We should win at least one of them or things will start getting very tough. Certainly no time to panic, though.

[Mike Graham]

Exactly, we were due a bad result and losing to Hull away is no shame.

The way we played was the issue, badly setup, no passion and a truly dreadful midfield performance.

yes we will have off days, every team has them, but this was an embarresment last night and Hull could have had a hatful in a totally one-sided game. If we are promotion material then I will gladly eat horsemeat.

[Lancs Rover]

You're right, PB. It wasn't the defeat but the manner of it. Certainly in the second half. First half looked like our charmed life over the last few games was going to continue. 'That' save from Kean was truly shocking in the miraculous sense. Don't know if it's available online. Would love to see it again.

Last night, however, showed our season for what it is. Check out the results to date and take out Rhodes's goals. Looking at the season through that particular lens what do we have? Some very average performances turned into wins and draws because JR took the only chance that came his way. When did we last really batter a team? Answers on a postage stamp, please.(No-one, btw, would be moaning about JR's workrate if he had nicked one again last night but he had literally nothing from midfield). I think we will look back on this season with disbelief - and relief - at actually how many goals the lad has managed to bag in this jumped-up team. How many will Campbell get, for example? Last night he looked like he had just turned up for his pay check. Wait a minute...

Too many big-time Charlies. Get a grip, Appy.

[Plastics]

Haha, it's already 'Get a grip, Appy'?

[Lancs Rover]

You're right, P.

I'm writing as a Rovers fan and a dad who drove his kids to the game, paid good money for it, and feel more than a little angry about the efforts of some players our lads look up to.

Misplaced passes are one thing. Seeing professionals underhit their passes time and again suggests something a little more fundamental. At least to me.

[booth]

I agree it's frustrating as we know they can do better but after a 6 game unbeaten run including a win at the Empirates, you can't blame Appleton.

[RockinRover]

Can't believe that people are being so quick to shoot at Appleton on here and on Twitter after the run he's given us. We're finally a team that's organised and looks like it could JUST make the play offs. Remember he's not actually had a lot of spare time to drill his philosophy into the players so the fact we're already so much better than we were shows what a brilliant job Michael has done. Given a summer, I reckon he can turn us into an even more solid and efficient outfit so if we don't make the playoffs this year I guarantee we take the league next year.

[Parsonblue]

Haha, it's already 'Get a grip, Appy'?

I don't think anybody seriously blames the manager. The fact is that the squad is in the process of being rebuilt and that will take time. We were fortunate to get a point at Brighton last week and last night we were totally outplayed by a Hull side who look like promotion candidates. We have looked a midtable side all season and so there is no disgrace in losing. Appleton is not the first manager who we have had at Ewood who has set about rebuilding by trying to establish a strong defence. I think the only people who need to get a grip are those who are going to be disappointed if we don't make the play-offs. The position the club was in when Appleton took over meant that promotion was never a serious possiblity. However, if the owners back him in the summer I'm sure he will develop a side that will be in contention next season.

[thenodrog]

Following a tremendous run of results, culminating in the Arsenal cup win, another positive result would be very pleasing indeed. A tough match against an organised and resilient team, but having seen them at Ewood there really is not a great deal to fear and I cannot see them beating us. Fingers crossed anyway.

1-1.

I think I've supported the Rovers for too long ........ They always do it to us.

http://www.brfcs.com/mb/index.php/topic/28469-arsenal-in-the-5th-round-of-the-cup-please-dont-ask-for-streaming-links/?p=1380501

[Lurid Coat]

I agree it's frustrating as we know they can do better but after a 6 game unbeaten run including a win at the Empirates, you can't blame Appleton.

This. Let's not forget how it was under Kean and Berg. The defeat against Hull was disappointing, but Appleton has had a better start than most of us dared dream of.

[EPF]

You're right, PB. It wasn't the defeat but the manner of it. Certainly in the second half. First half looked like our charmed life over the last few games was going to continue. 'That' save from Kean was truly shocking in the miraculous sense. Don't know if it's available online. Would love to see it again. Last night, however, showed our season for what it is. Check out the results to date and take out Rhodes's goals. Looking at the season through that particular lens what do we have? Some very average performances turned into wins and draws because JR took the only chance that came his way. When did we last really batter a team? Answers on a postage stamp, please.(No-one, btw, would be moaning about JR's workrate if he had nicked one again last night but he had literally nothing from midfield). I think we will look back on this season with disbelief - and relief - at actually how many goals the lad has managed to bag in this jumped-up team. How many will Campbell get, for example? Last night he looked like he had just turned up for his pay check. Wait a minute... Too many big-time Charlies. Get a grip, Appy.

Try that with RvP for Utd and they wouldnt be top and you take other teams top goal scoreres out and they would be lower down their respective leagues. We dont need to batter teams, Id be happy winning 1-0 all season and the football be boring

[windymiller7]

The way we played was the issue, badly setup, no passion and a truly dreadful midfield performance.

yes we will have off days, every team has them, but this was an embarresment last night and Hull could have had a hatful in a totally one-sided game. If we are promotion material then I will gladly eat horsemeat.

You probably already have!

[Plastics]

Try that with RvP for Utd and they wouldnt be top and you take other teams top goal scoreres out and they would be lower down their respective leagues. We dont need to batter teams, Id be happy winning 1-0 all season and the football be boring

Indeed. The 'how would we perform if we took out x, y or z' argument has massive flaws. For starters we are setting our team up in the knowledge that we do have Rhodes. Secondly, if we didn't have Rhodes we would have somebody else there who could contribute so you wouldn't lose all of Rhodes' goals. They may even offer other services to the squad alongside the more modest goal count, which could contribute to other positives in the team.

Regardless, we do have Rhodes, and I'm glad we do.