[Archived] Have we got our Rovers back?

[Rover_Shaun]

I just think it has no place Imy.

When push comes to shove he'll do as he is told.

Results are all that matters.

Just my opinion.

[imy9]

I just think it has no place Imy.

When push comes to shove he'll do as he is told.

Results are all that matters.

Just my opinion.

Fair enough mate.

I do of course want results but watching my team play for the shirt, seeing my club begin to resemble something like a football club is just as important as results for me.

[patrickvalery]

So you don't see fit to praise a manager who has just overseen a very decent performance on his debut (as permanent boss)? You don't see fit to praise most of the debutants on the pitch yesterday for a committed display? None of that even mentions Venkys. Its just that the performance yesterday (the thing Rovers fans pay to watch) was far superior to anything we have been subjected to in the last 3 years. If you can't appreciate that and issue praise when its due then i'm afraid you're a part of the problem.

I'm not going overboard and believing all our problems are behind us. I don't even believe we'll make the play offs. But i support Rovers for the performance they show on the pitch. I don't support the owner - good or bad. Sure Jack Walker was a superb benefactor and owner of the club. But i don't love him because he poured money in to the club. I loved him because he was an incredible man with morals and ethics. And most importantly he cared about what he saw on the football pitch. The very same thing people are praising Rovers for after yesterday. I wonder if Jack would have stood up and applauded yesterday or grumbled into his chips about some niaive ownership? To a man nobody likes Venkys. Thats never been up for debate has it? But to let it ruin your support for Rovers and never issue praise is hard to fathom.

[Rover_Shaun]

I was encouraged by yesterdays performance (even if we still cannot win games we dominate) but I see this topic as being about the clubs infrastructure and not just the team on the pitch. Even if some are getting a wee bit over excited about 1 game

As far as I can see we still have an imbecilic owners and MD and Shebby can always re-appear and put the kybosh on everything.

As someone said as long as Venkys are around we will always be teetering on the edge of an abyss of incompetence where they can destroy any green shoots that appear on the pitch

If in three years they have still not done anything unfathomable we can be encouraged

[McClarky]

Short answer........NO,

There are many reasons why which are hardly offset at all by one decent performance. Still a basket case as far as I can see.

[RevidgeBlue]

Hypothetically if we were to go up this season Venky's would have equalled the Trust's achievement in securing promotion after a second season of Championship football. So whilst no-one would deny they've made a catalogue of mistakes during their period of ownership thus far, I'm not sure where the criticism of them then would have to go then.

Plus if we finally shed the remaining non contributing high earners, Pedersen, Givet, Etuhu, Robinson, Dunn we ought to be in reasonable financial shape moving forward.

Maybe it won't happen, but football is a strange game at times and you never quite know what's round the corner.

[M-K]

Its just that the performance yesterday (the thing Rovers fans pay to watch) was far superior to anything we have been subjected to in the last 3 years.

To be fair, until Best scuffed in that late equaliser the match thread on here yesterday was all doom and gloom and 'if Lowe is a professional footballer then I'm a champion sheepdog.'

[somersetrover]

To be fair, until Best scuffed in that late equaliser the match thread on here yesterday was all doom and gloom and 'if Lowe is a professional footballer then I'm a champion sheepdog.'

He hardly scuffed it in, it was a very good finish.

[patrickvalery]

To be fair, until Best scuffed in that late equaliser the match thread on here yesterday was all doom and gloom and 'if Lowe is a professional footballer then I'm a champion sheepdog.'

When isn't it? Old habits die hard and all that. We usually roll over and get our tummy tickled after we go one down. Yesterday i felt we controlled the game for 70 minutes. The heads didn't drop and they kept right at it until the final whistle. We should have won the match but we didn't. If we play like that for the rest of the season (yes i know that won't happen) then we'll end up higher than i thought we would two days ago. We might not have our club back, but we did play well and there were encouraging signs.

[M-K]

When isn't it? Old habits die hard and all that. We usually roll over and get our tummy tickled after we go one down. Yesterday i felt we controlled the game for 70 minutes. The heads didn't drop and they kept right at it until the final whistle. We should have won the match but we didn't. If we play like that for the rest of the season (yes i know that won't happen) then we'll end up higher than i thought we would two days ago. We might not have our club back, but we did play well and there were encouraging signs.

I was expecting to be completely sickened by watching it on TV, but instead I actually nipped down the shop for some beers for the second half. It's a good sign. I didn't think Derby were up to much, though. Very negative.

He hardly scuffed it in, it was a very good finish.

He was falling over, it bounced off his shin and somehow went in. He was trying to hit it with the other foot!

[Al]

To be fair, until Best scuffed in that late equaliser the match thread on here yesterday was all doom and gloom and 'if Lowe is a professional footballer then I'm a champion sheepdog.'

Woof.

He was falling over, it bounced off his shin and somehow went in. He was trying to hit it with the other foot!

Should have gone to Specsavers.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

He was falling over, it bounced off his shin and somehow went in. He was trying to hit it with the other foot!

Astonishing.

[broadsword]

Won't have our Rovers back until Venky's eff off.

[tonygreenbank]

Maybe its not so much getting our Rovers back but perhaps the feel good factor returned yesterday. How long it remains for is open to conjecture. I did enjoy the performance especially as it was on the box and you could see the impact that Gary has made.

But then again after the Everton game the reaction was totally the opposite so its probably wiser to retain a sense of perspective.

[rhodie]

It's a thread for short memories and the easily pleased Jal

Seems it`s also a thread for those that will never be pleased and have memories like elephants.

[Roverthechimp]

Maybe its not so much getting our Rovers back but perhaps the feel good factor returned yesterday. How long it remains for is open to conjecture. I did enjoy the performance especially as it was on the box and you could see the impact that Gary has made.

But then again after the Everton game the reaction was totally the opposite so its probably wiser to retain a sense of perspective.

Therein lies one of the problems - there is still a lot of negative feelings in the background just waiting to be expressed. I watched the Everton game live and then again a few hours later - there was a difference in quality (of course) but if we hadn't conceded the sloppy goals then the feeling would have been more positive. Likewise if Best hadn't scored then this MB would be full of negatives and a few lone voices stating the bloody obvious - things have got a lot better in terms of the basics that the supporters demanded: 1 - players that give a feck, 2 - players that aren't totally fecked after 55 minutes, 3 - a manager/coach that is honest and 4 - no idiotic press releases or interviews undermining the players/coaches/fans

If this continues for 3 years together with appropriate investment (when needed) and sound management (when needed) to create a sustainable club that buys cheap, sells dear and has a chance (even via the playoffs) of getting to the promised land then we can start asking the OP's question.

[M-K]

Astonishing.

Watch it again in slow motion. He's looking the other way, and you can clearly tell he's thinking of laying it off to Rochina with his left foot. Then he realises Rochina isn't on the pitch any more, and the sheer force of the surprise makes him stumble, sticking out his leg and scuffing in a fluker.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Watch it again in slow motion. He's looking the other way, and you can clearly tell he's thinking of laying it off to Rochina with his left foot. Then he realises Rochina isn't on the pitch any more, and the sheer force of the surprise makes him stumble, sticking out his leg and scuffing in a fluker.

Not sure how to respond to this. He thought Rochina was on the pitch?? What, how, why, the questions are endless. He'd replaced Rochina himself over an hour ago! The ball took about 1-1.5 seconds to travel from Taylor's foot to Best's and was crossed slightly behind him, if he wasn't getting into position within half a second he wouldn't have even hit it. As it was he connected cleanly, if with the bottom of his shin more than his foot, and the ball rocketed into the corner past the keeper exactly where he'd placed it. It was a great goal. And it was a great performance, winning headers, turning defenders, a livewire in the box, he contributed more in one half than our £10m-rated striker did in the whole match.

[M-K]

Not sure how to respond to this. He thought Rochina was on the pitch?? What, how, why, the questions are endless. He'd replaced Rochina himself over an hour ago!

Footballers aren't the smartest. Also, TV pundit logic - you can tell exactly what a player is thinking just from his body language, if you know how to read it. For example, David Dunn is almost always trying to decide which flavour crisps he's going to have with his first pint after the game.

Seriously, though, it's good that there's a relatively positive buzz after the first game. If this turns into a reprise of the Don Mackay years, I'll be chuffed / amazed.

[Gally]

Maybe its not so much getting our Rovers back but perhaps the feel good factor returned yesterday. How long it remains for is open to conjecture. I did enjoy the performance especially as it was on the box and you could see the impact that Gary has made.

But then again after the Everton game the reaction was totally the opposite so its probably wiser to retain a sense of perspective.

I think that's the point. Nobody's foolish enough to think that our problems are over or that one game means a very much in the greater scheme of things.

Nevertheless, when coming away from the match yesterday, it was impossible not to be really pleased with the level of desire and tempo that we've not seen in years. It's obviously far too early to be making predictions about how good the team is, but it was really heartening to see a team who really looked proud to be playing for Blackburn Rovers.

[LDRover]

If you see players with application and desire for the duration you'll accept a lot.

Mind you, the last minute equaliser certainly helped, think there'd have been a lot more negativity without it irrespective of the performance. As for getting 'our Rovers back', I certainly celebrated that goal harder than any other in the previous 2 years and it felt good to look at a team who appeared united. Also good to see Hanley and Best having a few scuffles and the other players getting in there as well, showed good team spirit.

Early days and Derby were no great shakes but it's a good start.

[Stuart]

I'll tell you one thing. It's great to read posts from people debating and even complaining about all things ON THE FIELD rather than off it.

[saxo1man30]

agree with the comments questioning bowyer`s `love` for rovers(he`s a forest man ain`t he?), but what i would say is he knows what the fans want and expect from our team from his near decade of experience at the club. appleton and berg lacked that knowledge.

rovers have always been at their best as a no frills, hard working and hard to beat football side, with just a dash of finesse.

[JBiz]

I have waited a while to gauge opinion before reflecting on this topic.

I still feel the same way when I first read the title, we always had our Rovers, and always will. (barring the worst scenario possible, which admittedly is more likely now but still very unlikely)

The direction of the club is something we cannot control fully. Perhaps we would have more if we had a major stake in the club. Essentially though we can make a noise both on and off the field which does have ramifications for the staff and owners but ultimately unless you are a multimillionaire you cannot control the way the club is run.

Venkys have made an awful lot of mistakes which led to thousands of fans stopping going or "losing rovers". I can completely sympathise with this choice. My choice was to carry on buying season tickets and thinking constantly about our plight, and in that sense the club has always been "my Rovers". I may have missed games through the sheer want of avoiding two hours of negativity but I still could not tear myself away from radio/tv/results.

Blackburn Rovers is a football team for the community's entertainment. It has been since day one, and will be till the doors close. Lots of different people have worn the shirt or signed the cheques, but the same people and families, generation followed by generation will follow the team as their own. This will be changed by success or the opposite, but the success I have enjoyed with my family has led to sheer devotion to my club and so means that I could never have "given up" or "lost" my Rovers.

I am not trying to condescend or blur the lines between plastic fandom and real support, but the club will always be up and down. I know what happened was completely avoidable, and the idiocy we have had to put up with so I sympathise if you felt you had lost "your" team. It's just not the way I ever felt.

[den]

Just a thought.

Who's the "proper fan"? The fan who attends whatever damage is being done to the club, - or the fan who is so very, very hurt because of the unnecessary demolition to the club. So hurt that he/she can't have anything to do with these people?

Is the real fan not the one who hurts the most?

Tin hat time and said with tongue in cheek, but maybe a different topic for "proper" discussion.