[Archived] The Championship 2013/14

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Very confident about beating us then? You do know it is us who has those thirteen points more than you in second? Oh I know it is all going to go wrong when we have to play someone in the top half of the table ......That said I just did a quick calculation and I'm sure I must have got something wrong because as far as I can see we have 19 points from 10 games against teams in the top 10 but you only have 4 from 9 games against the top 10?

As you say no question your next 2 games will have a huge bearing on your season - and will give a good indication of where you might end up. For the record we got a draw at Forest - haven't played the home game against Derby yet, we won 0-3 at their gaff.

Still a long way to go before I think we have the top 6 in the bag but as we only need maybe 3 points from 21 games I think I can say we won't be relegated this season now.

I cannot face a play off against your lot, anybody but your lot

You're getting over excited again Longers. You know what always happens when you get over excited.

[rovers11]

I think you've played 5 away, as have we. I'm only quoting stats that were thrown at me earlier in the season to show we were kean and within weeks we'd be back down the bottom of the league :-)

Still 21 games to go, that is a lot of points and, as Derby have just shown, a decent run is more than possible

Of the current top 10 in the championship we have only played Forest and Reading at home.

[longsiders1882]

My mistake there rovers11 - no idea how I missed Ipswich and Wigan when counting your away fixtures!

As for getting over excited, hardly. I'm happy we've avoided relegation, I'm ecstatic we've got into a postion to give ourselves a decent shot at the play offs. I think when you are 12 points ahead of 7th that is hardly getting over excited - unlike being 13 points from second and thinking you'll make automatic promotion!

[47er]

Not the 2014 version, silly.

The one who we had last time we were in this position.[/

Souey was great for us for a while I agree but overall looking at his managerial career he was a failure. The myth grows with every year that passes.

He would frighten these young lads to death!

[LDRover]

You're very much a realist longers and I like that.

You're doing well this season, too well. It'll be difficult NOT to make the play offs but the one thing that makes me think you won't is a lack of bottle. It's what stops you ending the 34 years, do you feel like you could bottle it?

[Waggy76]

I dont think Burnley have a lack of bottle from the players.It is the board who I suspect will bottle it !

Dyche , is doing absolute wonders for them...

[longsiders1882]

I don't think we will bottle it. We might get caught out by our squad size however!

On the board, interesting one really. The current chairmen (yep, we've 2) haven't been in this position before so it is hard to be sure what they will do. At this point they've found 750K for Barnes. I read the comment earlier about Brighton fans views on him but online forums suggest a much more split stance - maybe something of a marmite player but his attributes seem to be right in with Dyches thinking. Whether we can keep Ings will depend firstly on whether we get any serious offers first. Nothing so far and lets hope it stays that way.

On Dyche, I don't think wonders covers it, he's close to working miracles right now but it is the players who cross that line each week so they deserve plenty of credit. Crowds are still kean though, they are really struggling to get people back through the turnstiles.

As for will we bottle on 34 years again? Who knows, we find out soon enough!

[ABBEY]

I don't think we will bottle it. We might get caught out by our squad size however!

On the board, interesting one really. The current chairmen (yep, we've 2) haven't been in this position before so it is hard to be sure what they will do. At this point they've found 750K for Barnes. I read the comment earlier about Brighton fans views on him but online forums suggest a much more split stance - maybe something of a marmite player but his attributes seem to be right in with Dyches thinking. Whether we can keep Ings will depend firstly on whether we get any serious offers first. Nothing so far and lets hope it stays that way.

On Dyche, I don't think wonders covers it, he's close to working miracles right now but it is the players who cross that line each week so they deserve plenty of credit. Crowds are still kean though, they are really struggling to get people back through the turnstiles.

As for will we bottle on 34 years again? Who knows, we find out soon enough!

Er 35 years it's the nobbers who ain't turned us over in 34 years ...Rovers still pride of Lancashire

[Tom]

Hate them as we may in truth you can't say anything bad about the way Burnley are doing at the minute, honest hard working team with a manager who looks the real deal

We just have to hope for a capitulation, failing that last day heartbreak would do

I just really don't want to face them in the playoffs no matter what!

[longsiders1882]

Er 35 years it's the nobbers who ain't turned us over in 34 years ...Rovers still pride of Lancashire

Must be a great comfort to you abbey :-)

[Guest Norbert]

We'll take anything we can get after the last few years Longsiders!

[old darwen blue]

Very confident about beating us then? You do know it is us who has those thirteen points more than you in second? Oh I know it is all going to go wrong when we have to play someone in the top half of the table ......That said I just did a quick calculation and I'm sure I must have got something wrong because as far as I can see we have 19 points from 10 games against teams in the top 10 but you only have 4 from 9 games against the top 10?

As you say no question your next 2 games will have a huge bearing on your season - and will give a good indication of where you might end up. For the record we got a draw at Forest - haven't played the home game against Derby yet, we won 0-3 at their gaff.

Still a long way to go before I think we have the top 6 in the bag but as we only need maybe 3 points from 21 games I think I can say we won't be relegated this season now.

I cannot face a play off against your lot, anybody but your lot

Hey Longers

34 years nine months

You may finish third position, twenty points ahead of us in 6th, but you just know what will happen don't you?

Too much pressure put onto your players shoulders every single time we play you by your fans.

Accept your mediocrity, you have found a good manager but he will be gone soon enough and normality will be restored.

Blackburn Rovers FC, the most successful town team in English football history and the pride of Lancashire!

[longsiders1882]

Aye our good manager may well be away soon enough but I doubt he'll be sacked by inept owners and replaced with the tea boy :-)

[Stuart]

You never know your luck, Longers.

[thenodrog]

Ince also continues to work his magic at Blackpool - another loss, this time to an in-form Boro.

I think Karl Oyston will be making a racist decision soon.... according to those dollopers Oliver Holt and Darren Lewis that is.

[Guest Norbert]

I may be imagining this, but didn't they give him a new contract a few months ago.

[Leonard Venkhater]

Aye our good manager may well be away soon enough but I doubt he'll be sacked by inept owners and replaced with the tea boy :-)

Good answer. It even stung me!

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

I don't think we will bottle it. We might get caught out by our squad size however!

On the board, interesting one really. The current chairmen (yep, we've 2) haven't been in this position before so it is hard to be sure what they will do. At this point they've found 750K for Barnes. I read the comment earlier about Brighton fans views on him but online forums suggest a much more split stance - maybe something of a marmite player but his attributes seem to be right in with Dyches thinking. Whether we can keep Ings will depend firstly on whether we get any serious offers first. Nothing so far and lets hope it stays that way.

On Dyche, I don't think wonders covers it, he's close to working miracles right now but it is the players who cross that line each week so they deserve plenty of credit. Crowds are still kean though, they are really struggling to get people back through the turnstiles.

As for will we bottle on 34 years again? Who knows, we find out soon enough!

I think your squad size may hit you also - as Dyche seems to have you playing a high intensity game which must be physically draining. It may come down to luck - it is amazing how players can keep going with aching limbs when the team is winning - but a few defeats (luck is partly down to the terrible refereeing in this division) and the legs suddenly feel tired.

[SamDingle]

You're getting over excited again Longers. You know what always happens when you get over excited.

"We are staying up" was the chant at the end of the game on Saturday as we reached the 50pt mark.

[longsiders1882]

I think your squad size may hit you also - as Dyche seems to have you playing a high intensity game which must be physically draining. It may come down to luck - it is amazing how players can keep going with aching limbs when the team is winning - but a few defeats (luck is partly down to the terrible refereeing in this division) and the legs suddenly feel tired.

I can say with hand on heart that I don't think we've had many favourable decisions - I was reading the comments about Nugents penalties this season and trying to remember how many we've had - the answer I came up with was 'not many'.

Yeah they keep going and it may be that the relatively early cup exits genuinely are blessings in disguise.

As for Blackpool, can't understand what has happened there. Going really well at one point and now it's all falling apart - real shame and all that.

[Jimmy612]

As for Blackpool, can't understand what has happened there. Going really well at one point and now it's all falling apart - real shame and all that.

A hopeless manager has happened there.

[only2garners]

Don't forget 1991-92 Longsiders. About this time in the season the bookmakers were paying out on Rovers being promoted in May. We then proceeded to go on such a bad run we only scraped into the play-offs with a win at Plymouth in the last game.

[longsiders1882]

No argument 2 garners, top 6 is a long way from assured for us, top 2 is a pipe dream right now.

On a serious note, we've a decent run in over the last 10 games. IF (big if) we can be there abouts with 10 to go we should make the top 6 - but still 11 games to negotiate before then!

I still think QPR and Leicester for top 2 and next 4 from Burnley, Forest, Derby, Reading, Brighton, Blackburn, Ipsiwch and Wigan - but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be a touch disappointed if we missed out on the play offs now (assuming we don't sell this January!)

[roversR4ever]

To be fair Id be surprised if you weren't at least in the play offs. You haven't fallen away and aren't easy to beat. You've got to be very pleased with the season so far.

I do think Leicester at some point will hit a bad patch. So automatic promotion spot isn't out of the question either. Of course the danger is one of the teams misses out on automatic promotion is well clear of the next team below but is not in the same form as earlier in the season for the playoffs compared to another team hitting form just at the right time and scraping into the play offs. Or they get injuries just at the end of the season.

Play offs are such a lottery. To be honest if both us and yourselves end up in the playoffs I think both teams will have done better than the majority of both sets of fans would have thought before the season started. Would be edge of seats stuff tho if the final was between both teams.

[Tom]

It's probably more likely to be a semi final between us if anything with us in 6th and them 3rd setting up a horrible two legged affair in which only people with a clean driving licence are allowed to attend after going through 18 police checkpoints and arriving at the ground 2 days before