[Archived] PREVIEW : Rovers vs Leeds Utd - Saturday Feb 23rd 3.00pm

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Lets look forward to next season and hope we can keep hold of the likes of Rhodes etc.

[broadsword]

Spot on. I hope he gets the opportunity to do so.

Within your answer there lies a puzzling conundrum.

This is a massive job, to repair such wanton damage. In which case, why didn't we hire a manager with a longer track record?

Appleton's very much a novice, and as such, very much a gamble. he may turn out to be good, but there's no real way of knowing. Yes, he's shut the backdoor, but Black did that, and I don't think anyone wanted him appointed permanently.

[Gav]

Lets look forward to next season and hope we can keep hold of the likes of Rhodes etc.

Yes that's exactly it SG, this season has gone for me, but early signs are we will be challenging next, so fingers crossed.

[Tom]

Yes that's exactly it SG, this season has gone for me, but early signs are we will be challenging next, so fingers crossed.

IF we can keep him and sign Bentley on a permanent deal and some real, actual central midfielders I really think we could challenge

Kean

Henley Dann Hanley Olsson

Bentley new mid new mid King

Rhodes Best

The outline is there but there is a huge gaping hole

[broadsword]

You need more than just a starting 11 Tom, we need new players for the bench too, I think.

There's been so much damage done, it's crazy.

[Dunnfc]

Appleton has added steel, cohesion and a togetherness. The is a great sense of we are all in this together. We are not playing as 11 individuals but as a team. Promotion as an idea needs to be forgotten about, one game at a time lads.

We are a car crash but slowly but surely we are being rehabilitated by Appy and look far more organised and fitter for it. We are void of any midfield quality in which games can be won by something which Kean failed to sort and we are paying for his legacy.

Give him time.

Onwards AND upwards but in Appy I trust.

[Fife Rover]

The poor state of the pitch did not help the game but Leeds were better than us and can count themselves unlucky not to have won. Poor from Appleton not to make any changes (except the one forced on him) as the majority could see we needed to freshen it up. Campbell was shocking, Murphy really poor and several others only marginally better than these two. The only consolation for me is that I think under previous managers this season we may well have lost.

As a slight aside does anybody know where Dunn is?

In the pub?

[m1st]

Appleton has succeeded in make us look more solid at the back and we aren't the soft touch that we were earlier in the season. It is going to take time for him to rebuild a squad that has been destroyed by two years of mismanagement. Personally, I'm happy with what I have seen so far. As I've felt all season, from day one at Ipswich, that the squad was never good enough to win promotion I can't say that I'm surprised that we are where we are. Like Leeds, we will be playing Championship football next season but given support by the owners in terms of the transfer market and with a proper pre-season behind them, I still feel confident that Appleton will do well for the club in the long run. The time to judge will be at this point next season. Five managers in one season is no basis for a promotion challenge and for that the blame lies with those in India and those who have spent too much time jockeying for position in the Boardroom.

I think today showed just how thin the squad is of the type of player needed to succeed in the Championship. At least Appleton has started weeding out the Fancy Dans who were never going to battle their way to promotion. I suspect that in his own mind the manager knows that promotion was never likely this season and that it is time to start preparing for the next campaign. The manager has also been unfortunate with the number of long term injuries that we are now picking up.

Spot on, imo. I'm a glass-half-full fan and think that Appleton's done a good job in the circumstances he's found himself in. Promotion this season under 'Appy would have been a bonus [and arguably, a season too soon]; let's hope he can continue his work of clearing out the augean stables and create a squad capable of seriously challenging for promotion next season.

Let's remember; we could be Wolves' fans!

[rovers11]

IF we can keep him and sign Bentley on a permanent deal and some real, actual central midfielders I really think we could challenge

Kean

Henley Dann Hanley Olsson

Bentley new mid new mid King

Rhodes Best

The outline is there but there is a huge gaping hole

I'm almost certain Martin Olsson will leave in the summer. He's wanted out for a while. There will be interest in Dann and Rhodes as well but I'm not convinced anyone will pay the required amount of money to get them.

Think we will try and sign Bentley, DJ and Thomas on permanent deals which will see us strong on the wings. Certainly need a completely new central midfield with Lowe and Murphy as back up. Rekik will probably join us on loan again and Kaz will go back to turkey.

[m1st]

I'm almost certain Martin Olsson will leave in the summer. He's wanted out for a while. There will be interest in Dann and Rhodes as well but I'm not convinced anyone will pay the required amount of money to get them.

Think we will try and sign Bentley, DJ and Thomas on permanent deals which will see us strong on the wings. Certainly need a completely new central midfield with Lowe and Murphy as back up. Rekik will probably join us on loan again and Kaz will go back to turkey.

Are those your hopes, rovers11, or are you itk?

[rovers11]

Are those your hopes, rovers11, or are you itk?

Appleton himself has already said he wants to sign dj and bentley on permanent deals in the summer. We were close to signing thomas in jan so id be surprised if we didnt go back in for him.

Appleton is a big fan of rekik and i cant see him breaking into the city team for a while so it would seem logical that if he is loaned out again next season then it will be to rovers.

Just cant see us signing kaz permanently but thats my opinion.

[grizfoot]

Thought Hanely was superb in central defense once again and was by far and away our best player. On the new player front thought Rekik looked very solid at left-back. Bentley showed glimpses of what he's capable of but never really produced anything of note. Kazim-Richards was probably our best attacking player until he went off injured. All the chances fell to Rhodes, the best one being from Murphy closing down and playing a through ball which would have seen Rhodes clean through on goal but for the ball seeming to slow down and take a few bobbles on the pitch, this meant the chances wasn't as clear as it could have been. Pretty dire on the whole you would say, with defenders being on top for both sides. Good to see we look a lot more organised defensively now though, I still think the right balance going forward needs to be found both Bentley and CKR seem to like to drift infield a lot which meant we were often very narrow throughout the game which made it easier for Leeds to defend. I'd prefer a return to playing with tradition wingers where possible, surprised Marcus Olsson wasn't introduced at some stage to add something different going forward.

[wampam]

danny murphy was an embarassment today. let him see his time out in the reserves or on loan. sort the midfield and we will be better. a young lad with legs would do better. well played hanley and dann. bentley ok too. murphy, my word, how embarassing for him. do the right thing danny,please.

[des]

I was always taught that you build from the back and work you way outwards.

so first task sort out the defence side of our team that job as been done by and large.

our forwards when fit should be fine for next season

so its the big question what about midfield that is a job for the preseason to get some new players in.

\the problem is we have been saying this for a number of months or is it years. Lets this time this task is undertaken

[darrenrover]

Its the spine of the team that also needs sorting. Courage, commitment, personality and creativity are all none existent in our team currently.

Dead right Jake Kean, Grant Hanley, Scott Dann and Jason Lowe have been a revalation since Appleton appeared but we don't have a heart beat or a box to boxer.

Might appear ludicrous but if we can afford £8 million for Rhodes why not make Lampard an offer he couldn't refuse?

That's ambition!

[RevidgeBlue]

Appleton has succeeded in make us look more solid at the back and we aren't the soft touch that we were earlier in the season. It is going to take time for him to rebuild a squad that has been destroyed by two years of mismanagement. Personally, I'm happy with what I have seen so far. As I've felt all season, from day one at Ipswich, that the squad was never good enough to win promotion I can't say that I'm surprised that we are where we are. Like Leeds, we will be playing Championship football next season but given support by the owners in terms of the transfer market and with a proper pre-season behind them, I still feel confident that Appleton will do well for the club in the long run. The time to judge will be at this point next season. Five managers in one season is no basis for a promotion challenge and for that the blame lies with those in India and those who have spent too much time jockeying for position in the Boardroom.

I think today showed just how thin the squad is of the type of player needed to succeed in the Championship. At least Appleton has started weeding out the Fancy Dans who were never going to battle their way to promotion. I suspect that in his own mind the manager knows that promotion was never likely this season and that it is time to start preparing for the next campaign. The manager has also been unfortunate with the number of long term injuries that we are now picking up.

As someone who has been watching the Rovers for many many years like yourself Parson I couldnt disagree more with that assessment. I dread to think where we are going to end up under Appleton. We were never chock full of creative talent but he has offloaded the only players with any sort of creative flair and left us bereft of talent.

Today was absolutely abysmal, the same as the other home games under Appleton, The difference being Rhodes didn't bail us out with a moment of brilliance today.

I watched the game today with a friend who had come up from London and who was at the Arsenal game. He commented that CKR had an extremely effective game last week playing up front and holding the ball up but today he had been shunted into no -man's land at left back/left midfield rendering him totally ineffective.

Appleton's record is worse than Kean's, worse than Bowyers and almost exactly the same as Black's who also favoured a negative safety first approach. Only holds up favourably in comparison to Berg. If we'd been playing this badly under Kean the fans would be practically storming the pitch. Because it's Appleton it seems to be viewed as acceptable for whatever reason.

danny murphy was an embarassment today. let him see his time out in the reserves or on loan. sort the midfield and we will be better. a young lad with legs would do better. well played hanley and dann. bentley ok too. murphy, my word, how embarassing for him. do the right thing danny,please.

Disagree completely with that as well. Lowe is so poor in central midfield it is frightening. Murphy is by no means as bad as many people make out but he is fighting a losing battle so poor is Lowe. He is having to try and do evverything single handed.

[darrenrover]

As someone who has been watching the Rovers for many many years like yourself Parson I couldnt disagree more with that assessment. I dread to think where we are going to end up under Appleton. We were never chock full of creative talent but he has offloaded the only players with any sort of creative flair and left us bereft of talent.

Today was absolutely abysmal, the same as the other home games under Appleton, The difference being Rhodes didn't bail us out with a moment of brilliance today.

I watched the game today with a friend who had come up from London and who was at the Arsenal game. He commented that CKR had an extremely effective game last week playing up front and holding the ball up but today he had been shunted into no -man's land at left back/left midfield rendering him totally ineffective.

Appleton's record is worse than Kean's, worse than Bowyers and almost exactly the same as Black's who also favoured a negative safety first approach. Only holds up favourably in comparison to Berg. If we'd been playing this badly under Kean the fans would be practically storming the pitch. Because it's Appleton it seems to be viewed as acceptable for whatever reason.

Disagree completely with that as well. Lowe is so poor in central midfield it is frightening. Murphy is by no means as bad as many people make out but he is fighting a losing battle so poor is Lowe. He is having to try and do evverything single handed.

I agree with Parson and yourself to a degree, Appleton's been left an appalling legacy which will need time to rectify.

I think his tactics to date have been horses for courses, at least I hope so!

I disagree with your interpretation in midfield regarding Lowe and Murphy. Murphy has been appalling all season long irrespective of who has partnered him in midfield. He is the captain, should lead by example, he has never ever given the impression he could give a toss. He seldom supports defensively, seldom supports in an attacking sense, seldom makes himself available to receive the ball from a colleague in the middle of the park and when he does more often than not he cheaply concedes possession.

Its a shame he's not on peace work !

[Parsonblue]

Rev, many of the so called creative flair players were never going to get us out of the Championship. The teams who are doing well in this League have players who work, run, close down and are prepared to graft. The very things that the likes of Rochina and co were not prepared to do. Appleton has inherited a club that has been a shambles from the minute the owners got rid of Big Sam. They clearly now realise that "entertainment" is not always going to put points on the board and have gone for a manager with a more pragmatic approach. I honestly don't believe you can judge the guy at this stage. He needs to be able to build his own team in the summer and get a proper pre-season under his belt. One of the reasons we have suffered during the past two years has been the lack of work done in pre-season which has left us with a squad that has been lacking in fitness.

I've been pleased with the progress we have made so far under Appleton because at one stage I seriously doubted that we could stay in this League this season. However, the time to judge him will be around this time next season. We don't have a divine right to promotion having thrown away our Premier League status because of the sheer stupidity of the decisions being made over the last two years. It will be a struggle to get it back - indeed we may not get it back for years to come - but at least Appleton has made us look like a team again and instilled some discipline both on the pitch and on the training ground. It's early days but for the first time in two years I believe we have a management team in place who actually know what they are trying to achieve. It's not going to happen overnight and I'm sure there will be setbacks along the way but I've been a lot happier watching the Rovers under Appleton than at any point since Sam left. I'm not saying that his approach is for everyone but at the moment it will do for me.

[Butty]

I agree with Parson and yourself to a degree, Appleton's been left an appalling legacy which will need time to rectify.

I think his tactics to date have been horses for courses, at least I hope so!

I disagree with your interpretation in midfield regarding Lowe and Murphy. Murphy has been appalling all season long irrespective of who has partnered him in midfield. He is the captain, should lead by example, he has never ever given the impression he could give a toss. He seldom supports defensively, seldom supports in an attacking sense, seldom makes himself available to receive the ball from a colleague in the middle of the park and when he does more often than not he cheaply concedes possession.

Its a shame he's not on peace work !

Completely agree with this regarding Murphy. Frustrates me so much how he rarely competes going forward and defensively he simply doesn't have the legs to chase. He was dead on his feet mid-way through the second half but there was nobody on the bench who could have come on in centre midfield! Not sure either whether I would of been tempted to stick Bentley in there and brought Markus on to left and switched Pedersen to the right? I'm not a fan of Markus but there was nobody else! Need king back or a left mid on loan. If only we could have got Jerome Thomas.

[USABlue]

Yes that's exactly it SG, this season has gone for me, but early signs are we will be challenging next, so fingers crossed.

For once I can't agree Gav, what early signs? who've we beat? who've we bossed? We've drawn or lost to decent/good teams and only beaten the divisions poorer sides. Nothing to me indicates promotion in any season at this rate. Parson I don't think we became a shambles the minute Sam left, we worked hard and long to get to that. Had we employed a good manager at the time it might have been different. Unless Appleton has some tricks up his sleeve I think we will become not just ineffective but also drap and dire to watch. I can really appreciate a solid defensive performance but it's not what I want to see for ninety minutes every ninety minutes

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Rev - I agree with the first part of your post - but Murphy making up for Lowe - get real. Lowe gets Murphy out of a hole on some many occasions it is embarassing. Lowe is by no means the perfect midfield player - but has the engine you need in this division - all Murphy has is mis-placed passes, no pace, limited tackling, no drive and no ability to make space to play a pass. I thought Murphy would be a good player for us - but obviously isn't suited to the type of football played in this division.

[OJRovers]

First theositive points, we defended every well, Hanley is looking top class and we kept Leeds down to speculative efforts. Rekik is going to be a top player. Bentley was really good. Rhodes worked hard.

Now for Appleton's team selection, why he decided to play CKR out of position I don't know. The game changed in our favour when Ped came on,

DJ Campbell was completely woeful, has anyone worked out why he wasn't replaced by Gomes yet? He was worse than I've seen for years at Ewood.

Murphy was poor again,

There is promise with Bentley and the solid defence, but Appleton standing there not even getting this subs warming up reminded me of Kean's dark days of not making any substitutions.

A we back to the weekly budget?

[Stuart]

It's a good point about CKR, OJ.

He was meant to be playing left wing but ended up all over the place.

CKR's strength are quick feet and a good first touch with the ball sticking to him.

When he does this up front, it gives us a lot of time and eases the pressure. Less so when he does it in midfield.

In trying to fit Rhodes and his own man, Campbell, up front Appleton is sacrificing possession further down the pitch.

[cn174]

It's a good point about CKR, OJ.

He was meant to be playing left wing but ended up all over the place.

CKR's strength are quick feet and a good first touch with the ball sticking to him.

Also in the first half Rekik was all over the show leaving us wide open down that side. Every Leeds attack came down our left.

Got better in the second half though.

[gumboots]

Agree Rekik looked good but was awful positionally. He wandered far too much and will need to learn when to go forward etc and when to stay back and do his job of defending. and Murphy? closest I've ever come to booing a Rovers player on the field yesterday. Whatever he had, he hasn't got now and if there were any way we could drop him, we should. Unfortunately injuries are going to mean that we see more of the same poor play as yesterday - we don't have the personnel to replace the current team.