[Archived] Bowyer

[Stuart]

Fine Stuart, then there will be no promotion for Rovers this coming season.

Well, either way it won't be great to watch.

I'm afraid we are going to have to accept Bow-rinho's approach, and hope we can regularly defy gravity and hang on to 1-0 leads, whilst hearing how great the likes of Donny are, with our most creative players out of position or on the bench.

If that's the approach at home to Doncaster, just imagine how attritional it's going to get when the top 6 teams rock up to Ewood.

[Majiball]

JAL. I'll save you the suspense. Bowyer will play Lowe in EVERY game that he is fit. He is the first name on the team sheet every week and Bowyer is basically staking his reputation, and promotion, on Lowe.

you can't criticise GB?

his management saved us from relegation. even with jrs goals we were going down before he took the helm.

he's got us back to being stable and almost in the play offs, thats progress. this puts him above criticism. he's as valuable as jr and just as we allow jr his deficiency we must then allow GB his lowes.

[Stuart]

you can't criticise GB?

his management saved us from relegation. even with jrs goals we were going down before he took the helm.

he's got us back to being stable and almost in the play offs, thats progress. this puts him above criticism. he's as valuable as jr and just as we allow jr his deficiency we must then allow GB his lowes.

Are you on a wind-up, Maj?

GB is above criticism?

May as well close down the messageboard.

[yoda]

Are you on a wind-up, Maj?

GB is above criticism?

May as well close down the messageboard.

Is it GB's board

[Ewood Spark]

Daft as it sounds, if Bumley finish 3rd and we finish 6th I think they will be more worried.

A lot will hinge on "the 19th".

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Bumley could finish 5th and us 8th.

When you say "the 19th" I presume you mean "the 9th"? .... Or am I missing something?

[Stuart]

When you say "the 19th" I presume you mean "the 9th"? .... Or am I missing something?

Sorry, you're right. 9th.

My appointment on the 19th isn't going to affect anyone!

[USABlue]

I'm still not convinced well make the play offs, we're not consistent enough but we have 20 or so games to work on that I guess.

Cant believe Im saying this but Id much rather miss out than play that lot down the road, not because Im worried about getting beat so much, but the whole package of a Rovers v burnley game in the play offs would send me over the edge.

We wont make the playoffs because we are consistant. Consistantly playing Lowe and Williamson with Cairney out wide. GB is really getting under my skin with this. Cairney puts in a mom performance at Leeds in the middle the GB reverts to type and Tom is missing. Surely Bowyer sees this

[Blue blood]

We wont make the playoffs because we are consistant. Consistantly playing Lowe and Williamson with Cairney out wide. GB is really getting under my skin with this. Cairney puts in a mom performance at Leeds in the middle the GB reverts to type and Tom is missing. Surely Bowyer sees this

Spot on. We won't make playoffs because we're too inconsistent. It's great to see Marshall hitting form and Gestede looking useful but when you drop points from two of the more winnable home games it really hampers your progress. And Cairney out wide really contributes to this.

[Paul]

The Rovers Burnley play off scenario is causing havoc in our house because my daughter and her fiancé cant plan their honeymoon in case that final happens and may not speak to one another for months after their wedding if it does.

I'm shocked gumboots, truly shocked. Have they written the vows yet? Do his include "I promise to help you raise our children as Rovers"

[gumboots]

Worry not. They will be Rovers.

[thenodrog]

Spot on. We won't make playoffs because we're too inconsistent. It's great to see Marshall hitting form and Gestede looking useful but when you drop points from two of the more winnable home games it really hampers your progress. And Cairney out wide really contributes to this.

I think you are too picky. Since they sacked Dave Jones Sheff Wed have been showing automatic promotion form. We suffered new manager boun ce. As for Brum, many said it was one of our best performances yet 1st half Birmingham scored every time they crossed the half way line. Yesterdays match and result was just the other side of the coin. imo Bowyer can be criticised for not changing formation sooner away from 4-4-2 which was seeing us get outnumbered and pressurised in midfield.

One thing that this Division tells us is not to predict results based on the league table.

[Shabani]

We wont make the playoffs because we are consistant. Consistantly playing Lowe and Williamson with Cairney out wide. GB is really getting under my skin with this. Cairney puts in a mom performance at Leeds in the middle the GB reverts to type and Tom is missing. Surely Bowyer sees this

Wholeheartedly agree with this

Its absolutely baffling me as to why Bowyer keeps shunting Cairney out wide to accommodate Williamson and Lowe into central midfield

Its like Man Utd putting Scholes on the wing so they can play Butt and Sharpe as their CMs

Our best, most creative midfielder is being kept out of games on the wing. Bowyer's defensive mindset at home is puzzling, considering how poor our away form is. I can understand defensive play away, but not at Ewood against teams like Donny and Shef Wed.

[Parsonblue]

Wholeheartedly agree with this

Its absolutely baffling me as to why Bowyer keeps shunting Cairney out wide to accommodate Williamson and Lowe into central midfield

Its like Man Utd putting Scholes on the wing so they can play Butt and Sharpe as their CMs

Our best, most creative midfielder is being kept out of games on the wing. Bowyer's defensive mindset at home is puzzling, considering how poor our away form is. I can understand defensive play away, but not at Ewood against teams like Donny and Shef Wed.

I would have thought the reason is fairly simple. Gary really rates Lowe end of story. Jason will always get the nod because the manager trusts and believes in him. He is a player that Gary has helped develop from Under-18's to become an England Under-21 international. Gary has total faith in him. Cairney is, perhaps not the greatest tackler to be playing in the centre. Out wide he can enjoy a bit more time and space on the ball. He did well in the first half yesterday but then faded. Williamson is the one who does the dirty work in midfield and that is something Cairney can't do. Cairney is a playmaker and Gary clearly wants two holding midfield men with the likes of Cairney and Marshall operating further forward. I've no doubt that when Evans is fit he will partner Lowe in the centre rather than Williamson.

Personally, I don't have a problem with is team selections as I think building on a solid defensive platform is the way to go. I'd much rather a dire 1-0 win and than lose an exciting 3-4 thriller.

[jim mk2]

Very pragmatic Parson and absolutely correct of course but not what the Lowe boo-boys want to hear. Lowe will continue to be picked by Bowyer which means our midfield dynamo will take the flak for every defeat while being given no credit for as win (unbelievably they were castigating him again yesterday). Football's a controversial game and everyone has opinions but some of them beggar belief.

[Al]

I would have thought the reason is fairly simple. Gary really rates Lowe end of story. Jason will always get the nod because the manager trusts and believes in him. He is a player that Gary has helped develop from Under-18's to become an England Under-21 international. Gary has total faith in him. Cairney is, perhaps not the greatest tackler to be playing in the centre. Out wide he can enjoy a bit more time and space on the ball. He did well in the first half yesterday but then faded. Williamson is the one who does the dirty work in midfield and that is something Cairney can't do. Cairney is a playmaker and Gary clearly wants two holding midfield men with the likes of Cairney and Marshall operating further forward. I've no doubt that when Evans is fit he will partner Lowe in the centre rather than Williamson.

Personally, I don't have a problem with is team selections as I think building on a solid defensive platform is the way to go. I'd much rather a dire 1-0 win and than lose an exciting 3-4 thriller.

You won't have a problem if I disagree with you will you? I don't have a problem with Lowe but two defensive midfielders especially at home severely restricts the number of goal scoring chances you can set up. Encourages draws rather than wins.

[Tom]

You've summed it up though Parson, Williamson does the dirty work leaving Lowe to do not a lot in most games

The problem is yesterday both of them got into the box at times in the first half then both fluffed their lines when they got there

[thenodrog]

Very pragmatic Parson and absolutely correct of course but not what the Lowe boo-boys want to hear. Lowe will continue to be picked by Bowyer which means our midfield dynamo will take the flak for every defeat while being given no credit for as win (unbelievably they were castigating him again yesterday). Football's a controversial game and everyone has opinions but some of them beggar belief.

Indeed so. Yesterday Lowe made both the best and the worst passes in the first half, put himself about against a physical midfield and was damned unlucky with a shot that whistled just past the angle of the goal. No reason to be especially singled out for special praise or special criticism. Our current curve is upwards and he is contributing his share to that.

[Shabani]

I would have thought the reason is fairly simple. Gary really rates Lowe end of story. Jason will always get the nod because the manager trusts and believes in him. He is a player that Gary has helped develop from Under-18's to become an England Under-21 international. Gary has total faith in him. Cairney is, perhaps not the greatest tackler to be playing in the centre. Out wide he can enjoy a bit more time and space on the ball. He did well in the first half yesterday but then faded. Williamson is the one who does the dirty work in midfield and that is something Cairney can't do. Cairney is a playmaker and Gary clearly wants two holding midfield men with the likes of Cairney and Marshall operating further forward. I've no doubt that when Evans is fit he will partner Lowe in the centre rather than Williamson.

Personally, I don't have a problem with is team selections as I think building on a solid defensive platform is the way to go. I'd much rather a dire 1-0 win and than lose an exciting 3-4 thriller.

We're playing at home against poor teams, we don't need TWO defensive midfielders

We can easily afford to accommodate Cairney into the centre of our midfield. I'm not getting on Lowe's back, I just showing how we're playing two defensive central midfielders in games we should look to dominate and put the game to bed early doors

Doncaster cold quite easily have equalized at the death, and more points would have been dropped against lowly oppositon

Bowyer isn't putting much faith in the team when he picks this side, in fact it probably contributes to an even greater defensive mindset from the other players

[patrickvalery]

Living in Southampton i'm not fortunate to see enough of Rovers and as such i rarely make comments about specific patterns of play. It would be a pointless exercise and frankly pure guess work. So can anyone tell me how our full backs contribute to our attacking play? From the little i have seen i would have said they aren't an integral part of how we attack the opposition. I only ask because if we are playing two holding midfielders (which i wouldn't say is necessarily a bad move tbh), then i would like to think the flip side to a less creative and attacking midfield would be the option to get our fullbacks beyond Cairney and Marshall whenever possible. I know that Spurr put in a good cross for Marshall head home against Milwall the other week, but is this a common occurance?

[LDRover]

The full backs very rarely overlap, not sure if Henley is told not to such is the rarity of his forays forward.

Spurr has got forward on occasion but it's certainly not a feature of our game. I'd like to think it'll change now that Gestede is partnering Rhodes.

[Amo]

Very pragmatic Parson and absolutely correct of course but not what the Lowe boo-boys want to hear. Lowe will continue to be picked by Bowyer which means our midfield dynamo will take the flak for every defeat while being given no credit for as win (unbelievably they were castigating him again yesterday). Football's a controversial game and everyone has opinions but some of them beggar belief.

No problem with Lowe. It's the fact that Bowyer opts for TWO defensive midfielders at home against the league's weaker sides. There's no point in playing Lowe AND Williamson. Neither complements the other. It might be a necessary precaution away from home or PL cup ties, but at home against Doncaster? Cairney's a deep-lying playmaker who can dictate the tempo and thread through-balls for the likes of Rhodes, but now he's playing as a makeshift winger to accommodate this negative midfield duo. That's the crux of the problem.

[Parsonblue]

No problem with Lowe. It's the fact that Bowyer opts for TWO defensive midfielders at home against the league's weaker sides. There's no point in playing Lowe AND Williamson. Neither complements the other. It might be a necessary precaution away from home or PL cup ties, but at home against Doncaster? Cairney's a deep-lying playmaker who can dictate the tempo and thread through-balls for the likes of Rhodes, but now he's playing as a makeshift winger to accommodate this negative midfield duo. That's the crux of the problem.

You say it's the crux of the problem. However, Gary clearly doesn't see it as a problem but believes that Lowe and Williamson are a combination that give him a solid defensive platform on which to build. Lowe has a terrific engine and keeps going for 90 minutes - not something that Cairney can always do. Williamson digs in and nips away at the opposition in the middle of the park. Again, not something that Cairney is good at. Whilst supporters might not agree, clearly Gary believes they compliment each other and help him to achieve what he works on when on the training ground during the week. As Jim has so rightly said neither Lowe nor Williamson get much credit on here when we win but are always held responsible for defeats. When Evans is fit I suspect he will play alongside Lowe in the centre with Williamson coming on when we want to hold onto a lead in the closing stages. Cairney has proved he can influence games cutting in from the right just as Marshall is now doing on the left.

Gary is trying to take the club forward and achieve the best result possible this season and it's clear that he has a belief in the formation he is using. If we moved Cairney into the centre and started losing matches would fans be demanding the recall of Lowe or Williamson or merely look for another scapegoat to blame.

[roversfan99]

I don't think that Cairney has been anywhere near as influential from the right. Also if Bowyer feels that Cairney can't give us 90 minutes in the centre, although he has IMO proven that he can, then start with Cairney and sub him if and when is necessary.

[Amo]

You say it's the crux of the problem. However, Gary clearly doesn't see it as a problem but believes that Lowe and Williamson are a combination that give him a solid defensive platform on which to build. Lowe has a terrific engine and keeps going for 90 minutes - not something that Cairney can always do. Williamson digs in and nips away at the opposition in the middle of the park. Again, not something that Cairney is good at. Whilst supporters might not agree, clearly Gary believes they compliment each other and help him to achieve what he works on when on the training ground during the week. As Jim has so rightly said neither Lowe nor Williamson get much credit on here when we win but are always held responsible for defeats. When Evans is fit I suspect he will play alongside Lowe in the centre with Williamson coming on when we want to hold onto a lead in the closing stages. Cairney has proved he can influence games cutting in from the right just as Marshall is now doing on the left.

Gary is trying to take the club forward and achieve the best result possible this season and it's clear that he has a belief in the formation he is using. If we moved Cairney into the centre and started losing matches would fans be demanding the recall of Lowe or Williamson or merely look for another scapegoat to blame.

A lot of words there, Parson, but they're still conveniently ignoring the issue. Cairney is someone in the Tugay mould. Obviously nowhere near the Turkish Delight's level but cut from the same cloth. Would you have advocated sticking Tugay out on the wing, where he's no good to anyone, in order to play Flitcroft and Savage together? Bowyer obviously feels this is his best eleven, I don't see how anyone could argue otherwise. That doesn't change the fact that he's hindering one of our best players, and therefore the team, with his selection policy.

[RevidgeBlue]

Good job Tugay isn't 31 again and playing here, he'd be shunted out onto the wing to accomodate Lowe primarily and another defensive midfield partner.

Not much you can say when you've just bagged a 1-0 win albeit very unconvincingly, whether we can do that for the rest of the season though is a different matter entirely. By all accounts we were much more convincing at Leeds without Lowe in the side at all.

I can't help think that players are being shunted about and the natural balance of the side upset to accomodate Lowe who simply isn't good enough to play the defensive midfield role on his own and needs another similar player in there.

In my view we'd look a far better side with Cairney in the middle alongside Williamson or Evans when he returns and with Taylor nominally on the right but with a licence to roam.

I'm guessing results would also be better, that said I'd gladly take scrappy 1-0 wins in all the remaining games with Lowe in the side. Will we get them though? That's the question.

Edit: See Amarillo beat me to it.