[Archived] Rovers vs MAN CITY FA Cup **NO TICKETS AVAILABLE ON DAY**

[arbitro]

some good highlights here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video/?vid=a030fda4-32ce-4b57-a311-75321eb273b4

Don't really think their first goal was off-side and they should have had a pen---Spurr. But hey-ho we never get them.

Thanks for the link. It's the first time I've seen any replays and one thing really struck me for their goal (and ours). Why didn't we have anybody on each post from their corners? Pretty basic really but the numbers of preventable goals from such a simple tactic is surprising.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

What What further investment do you think we need Glen? I'd say in an ideal world we still need a reliable goal keeper, a proper ratter/ball winner in midfield and a second striker who knows where the back of the net is.

If we can get Robinson and Evans back in reasonable states of health that would only leave the striker imo, and even then Gestede might come to a bit in that respect.

I'd be very surprised if another striker is bought unless Best is shifted out. Campbell seems to be in the manager's plans.

[Ossydave]

Revidge give up on your nit picking about the non attendance of some fans - it's boring.

The fact of the matter is that there's countless valid reasons people chose not to attend.

And no I didn't go. For various reasons like I wanted to stay with my 2 week old daughter and to be quite honest watching us get a pasting (99% of the country expected this) didn't seem more appealing. I would probably have gone if you could have paid on the day and it was a 3pm ko but it's irrelevant now.

[glen9mullan]

What What further investment do you think we need Glen? I'd say in an ideal world we still need a reliable goal keeper, a proper ratter/ball winner in midfield and a second striker who knows where the back of the net is.

If we can get Robinson and Evans back in reasonable states of health that would only leave the striker imo, and even then Gestede might come to a bit in that respect.

I think a GK, centre back and another striker .

Inevitably some players will leave this month as we try and trim the wage bill.

A solid keeper is worth quite a few points a season , Robbo being back is great , however his pay , appearance money and win bonus is premiership money , this will be in the thoughts of the bean counters .

Dann and Hanley is first choice centre back pairing , but if either is sold or injured or suspended it leaves us short as Kilgallon is steady but not good enough IMO to be a regular replacement for either of those two .

Gestede is a great signing , but take Rhodes out of the equation and it leaves rovers short of goals .

Best is finished with the club , DJ can't buy a goal and Rochina will no doubt leave this month . With games coming thick and fast , we can never have too many options up front

[RevidgeBlue]

I w

I think a GK, centre back and another striker .

Inevitably some players will leave this month as we try and trim the wage bill.

A solid keeper is worth quite a few points a season , Robbo being back is great , however his pay , appearance money and win bonus is premiership money , this will be in the thoughts of the bean counters .

Dann and Hanley is first choice centre back pairing , but if either is sold or injured or suspended it leaves us short as Kilgallon is steady but not good enough IMO to be a regular replacement for either of those two .

Gestede is a great signing , but take Rhodes out of the equation and it leaves rovers short of goals .

Best is finished with the club , DJ can't buy a goal and Rochina will no doubt leave this month . With games coming thick and fast , we can never have too many options up front

My comments were on the basis no-one of any worth would be leaving. I would definitely hope we don't sell Dann or Hanley as I don't rate Kilgallon either. I also hope Rochina doesn't leave but like you think he will and I really don't rate DJ even assuming he is completely innocent of the recent allegations.

[Stuart]

some good highlights here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video/?vid=a030fda4-32ce-4b57-a311-75321eb273b4

Don't really think their first goal was off-side and they should have had a pen---Spurr. But hey-ho we never get them.

Wow. Glad I went to the game.

Biased highlights with bias commentary. We bossed City for the majority of this game and from that it looks like we were simply lucky to get a point. They even thought City should have had a penalty.

[RevidgeBlue]

I think a GK, centre back and another striker .

Inevitably some players will leave this month as we try and trim the wage bill.

A solid keeper is worth quite a few points a season , Robbo being back is great , however his pay , appearance money and win bonus is premiership money , this will be in the thoughts of the bean counters .

Just on Robinson I wouldn't have thought anyone would be prepared to take a punt on him on his wages until he has proved his fitness and if he's fit I can't see much point in shipping him out for half a season just to bring someone else in. Anyone as good or better isn't going to be cheap either I wouldn't have thought.

[Parsonblue]

The very best of luck with the new arrival. There will obviously be some like yourselves facing exceptional circumstances for whom yesterday's game was genuinely a bridge too far financially. But I'm sure you would admit that wouldn't be the case for the majority of fans who wouldn't have attended because they were either a) still harbouring a grudge against the owners or thought they would take the easy option and watch the match on TV (I have BT sport and I freely admit I considered taking that option) or c) Weren't willing to spend 20 quid less on their christmas and new year celebrations so they could go to the game.

The bottom line Rev is that you and I chose to spend our money watching the Rovers while others didn't. How you spend your own money is a matter of personal choice. However, I have no problem with any supporter who has turned their back on the club because of the actions of our owners over the past three years. We all saw how support dropped away in the sixties and didn't return until we were in the Premier League. At the end of the day the owners have only themselves to blame for the fact that Ewood is three quarters empty for most matches.

Also, times change and the FA Cup is no longer a competition that has much meaning to most clubs in the top two divisions. Teams going for Europe will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to stay in the Premier League - which is about half the division - will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to get in the Premier League will field weakened teams. We may not agree with it or like it but the simple fact is that the money on offer in the Premier League secures the long term future of a club whilst, as we have seen, relegation and Championship football can seriously threaten the very existence of a club.

When we play City in the replay we will have Nottingham Forest away just a few days later. Which is the most important game? I suspect many of us would say Forest and wouldn't mind if players were rested for the City game.

[Tom]

Well said Parson

As someone who attends pretty much every game it's very fair of you to say

As I previously said I never do away games anymore and didn't go yesterday, simply because I'm not obligated to as a football fan and chose what the best way to spend my spare time is

To attack people for that is beyond pathetic in my opinion.

[JAL]

Another good header from Gestede from a corner two on the trot now from the big lad. Who was it though that lost their marker for the City player to score.

[Tom]

Another good header from Gestede from a corner two on the trot now from the big lad. Who was it though that lost their marker for the City player to score.

Lowe at the back post not sure about the initial header

[glen9mullan]

Just on Robinson I wouldn't have thought anyone would be prepared to take a punt on him on his wages until he has proved his fitness and if he's fit I can't see much point in shipping him out for half a season just to bring someone else in. Anyone as good or better isn't going to be cheap either I wouldn't have thought.

I agree totally. , can't see him joining another club and personally I'd like to see him between the sticks between now and the end of season .

So many players bonuses now outweigh their weekly pay packet , it's these bonuses which in turn has big effects on cash flow .

Even the Kit man gets so much per point ,

Obviously some players have been paid off and gone , but if you take players like Orr for e.g he won't leave for 1 penny less than his contract is worth be that perm or loan .

If rovers can get an able keeper in on a proportion of the wages , it would fit in better with their expenditure plans

[JAL]

Lowe at the back post not sure about the initial header

Again ! and he knew it !

[RevidgeBlue]

Well said Parson

As someone who attends pretty much every game it's very fair of you to say

As I previously said I never do away games anymore and didn't go yesterday, simply because I'm not obligated to as a football fan and chose what the best way to spend my spare time is

To attack people for that is beyond pathetic in my opinion.

What's beyond pathetic is someone saying they get a bit uneasy when City are in town and using that as a valid excuse for non attendance. In my opinion.

[den]

Tin hat on: Going to have a rant at the stayaway fans though, 9k home fans for a plum tie against the best team in England is absolutely pathetic. The ground should have been nearly full for such a mouthwatering game. IIf I was the owners looking at pictures of an empty Blackburn End I'd think "Why bother?" If you can't be bothered going today you might as well give up or fook off and support Burnley.

And if you didn't go today please don't come on here whinging if Rhodes is sold this month.

Rant over.

Missing fans? Well there's a surprise. Shame you didn't see that coming three years ago. Many did Rev.

[Tom]

What's beyond pathetic is someone saying they get a bit uneasy when City are in town and using that as a valid excuse for non attendance. In my opinion.

I've not seen anyone say that, I personally said I've found it uncomfy with their lot around before but that certainly wasn't the reason I didn't go

There you go again 'valid excuse' who the hell needs an excuse to justify how they spend their spare time Jesus wept

[RevidgeBlue]

The bottom line Rev is that you and I chose to spend our money watching the Rovers while others didn't. How you spend your own money is a matter of personal choice. However, I have no problem with any supporter who has turned their back on the club because of the actions of our owners over the past three years. We all saw how support dropped away in the sixties and didn't return until we were in the Premier League. At the end of the day the owners have only themselves to blame for the fact that Ewood is three quarters empty for most matches.

Also, times change and the FA Cup is no longer a competition that has much meaning to most clubs in the top two divisions. Teams going for Europe will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to stay in the Premier League - which is about half the division - will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to get in the Premier League will field weakened teams. We may not agree with it or like it but the simple fact is that the money on offer in the Premier League secures the long term future of a club whilst, as we have seen, relegation and Championship football can seriously threaten the very existence of a club.

When we play City in the replay we will have Nottingham Forest away just a few days later. Which is the most important game? I suspect many of us would say Forest and wouldn't mind if players were rested for the City game.

The bottom line Rev is that you and I chose to spend our money watching the Rovers while others didn't. How you spend your own money is a matter of personal choice. However, I have no problem with any supporter who has turned their back on the club because of the actions of our owners over the past three years. We all saw how support dropped away in the sixties and didn't return until we were in the Premier League. At the end of the day the owners have only themselves to blame for the fact that Ewood is three quarters empty for most matches.

Also, times change and the FA Cup is no longer a competition that has much meaning to most clubs in the top two divisions. Teams going for Europe will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to stay in the Premier League - which is about half the division - will field weakened teams. Clubs trying to get in the Premier League will field weakened teams. We may not agree with it or like it but the simple fact is that the money on offer in the Premier League secures the long term future of a club whilst, as we have seen, relegation and Championship football can seriously threaten the very existence of a club.

When we play City in the replay we will have Nottingham Forest away just a few days later. Which is the most important game? I suspect many of us would say Forest and wouldn't mind if players were rested for the City game.

Good post Parson, take on board what you say but really what is the more attractive fixture? Citeh at home in the Cup or Doncaster at home next week? I still maintain that in our position if you can't get excited about a match against the best team in the Country you must not have a pulse. Arguably only ManUre would be a bigger game and I don't even know about that these days.

You may also be right that in the general scheme of things the League is more important, but will Ewood be rocking for the visit of Doncaster on Saturday? Of course it won't, nor would I expect it to really, unlike for a one off chance to see us against the probable champions elect. However I keep reading posts week after week gloating about the low attendances for the League games and insinuating that the owners are at fault. Well they've made mistakes in the past certainly but I think we're past that stage now, the toxic elements have left the Club despite people consistently claiming they were "unsackable" and the excellent Gary Bowyer and the young team need everyone's support. You can't keep blaming the owners for non attendance forever and a day, well you can, but it isn't valid imo, nor in our relatively lowly position is it particularly valid to claim the game of this prestige doesn't matter because it's only the FA Cup. City dans didn't think that yesterday did they otherwise they wouldn't have filled the Darwen End. And they're playing a team a division and ten places below them.

When I posted yesterday I said "tin hat on" because I knew my comments would bring predictably defensive and over the top reactions from certain people with perfectly valid reasons for not attending yesterday and one or two without.

At the end of the day 9 k home fans for a fixture of that magnitude is pathetic. There are of course valid individual reasons why people can't attend in various cases. Nor is it compulsory to attend games and peoe are perfectly free to use their spare time and spend their money as you see fit. However if you won't go to that game what will you go to? The team and manager need people's support and it's time to get behind them imo.

We're 55m in debt and losing money at an alarming rate. Use it or lose it otherwise the nightmare scenario of Gordon's Lancs United draws that tiny bit closer.

[47er]

BT put the lines up across the pitch and he was offside. Steve Mcmanaman thought he was OK because he was only offside by an inch!

There was contact by Spurr but the fall by the City player made it look like a dive.

But the assistant saw it once! There was no time to get the geometry kit out! When the convention now is that the attacker gets the benefit of the doubt, that was never going to be a pen. Just too fractional.

[Tom]

You really don't get it do you rev?

Once again you mention people having a valid reason

[47er]

It will take years to get over what Venkys have done to us (if ever )and I don't give a monkeys what they think about it.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Good post Parson, take on board what you say but really what is the more attractive fixture? Citeh at home in the Cup or Doncaster at home next week? I still maintain that in our position if you can't get excited about a match against the best team in the Country you must not have a pulse. Arguably only ManUre would be a bigger game and I don't even know about that these days.

You may also be right that in the general scheme of things the League is more important, but will Ewood be rocking for the visit of Doncaster on Saturday? Of course it won't, nor would I expect it to really, unlike for a one off chance to see us against the probable champions elect. However I keep reading posts week after week gloating about the low attendances for the League games and insinuating that the owners are at fault. Well they've made mistakes in the past certainly but I think we're past that stage now, the toxic elements have left the Club despite people consistently claiming they were "unsackable" and the excellent Gary Bowyer and the young team need everyone's support. You can't keep blaming the owners for non attendance forever and a day, well you can, but it isn't valid imo, nor in our relatively lowly position is it particularly valid to claim the game of this prestige doesn't matter because it's only the FA Cup. City dans didn't think that yesterday did they otherwise they wouldn't have filled the Darwen End. And they're playing a team a division and ten places below them.

When I posted yesterday I said "tin hat on" because I knew my comments would bring predictably defensive and over the top reactions from certain people with perfectly valid reasons for not attending yesterday and one or two without.

At the end of the day 9 k home fans for a fixture of that magnitude is pathetic. There are of course valid individual reasons why people can't attend in various cases. Nor is it compulsory to attend games and peoe are perfectly free to use their spare time and spend their money as you see fit. However if you won't go to that game what will you go to? The team and manager need people's support and it's time to get behind them imo.

We're 55m in debt and losing money at an alarming rate. Use it or lose it otherwise the nightmare scenario of Gordon's Lancs United draws that tiny bit closer.

Fixture of that magnitude? It's the FA Cup third round for crying out loud! Forget who the opposition were it was almost a meaningless game. Why do you think we rested Rhodes? Would I rather win the cup or win promotion? Promotion.

Just because we were playing a big team, it didn't make it a big game. Doncaster at home is far more important.

[RevidgeBlue]

You really don't get it do you rev?

Once again you mention people having a valid reason

You don't get it either Tom. I'm hearing all sorts of reasons for non attendance which are perfectly valid in the cases of the individuals concerned but which wouldn't apply across the board to the 10 k or so fans yesterday who chose not to attend.

People might differ slightly as to the importance of the tie and whether 9/10k was a respectable turn out in the circumstances but at the end of the day the majority of the fans who stayed away did so because they wanted to or have got out of the habit of going.

The team and manager could do with our support in what could be a make or break second half of the season in every sense of the word couldn't they?

[DE.]

the toxic elements have left the Club

We're 55m in debt and losing money at an alarming rate.

Hmm.

I'd say the most toxic elements still remain at the club, albeit at a remote distance.

[hollowsr]

You don't get it either Tom. I'm hearing all sorts of reasons for non attendance which are perfectly valid in the cases of the individuals concerned but which wouldn't apply across the board to the 10 k or so fans yesterday who chose not to attend.

People might differ slightly as to the importance of the tie and whether 9/10k was a respectable turn out in the circumstances but at the end of the day the majority of the fans who stayed away did so because they wanted to or have got out of the habit of going.

The team and manager could do with our support in what could be a make or break second half of the season in every sense of the word couldn't they?

I think an important thing to remember is that these 10k you're saying have stayed away have been doing so for a good 18 months if not more now and have obviosuly found other things to do on a Saturday. It could be Barcelona in town for a vitally important game and not many more home fans would attend

I didn't go myself and haven't been yet all season for a variety of reasons starting with initally living in Sheffield but now in Darwen and money reasons also.

I will be going down to Ewood for either the DOncaster or Derby game and may even go to the Replay but with this home game being so close after Christmas where money is very tight for so many people it is no surprise that we didnt get more than our average home following

[RevidgeBlue]

Fixture of that magnitude? It's the FA Cup third round for crying out loud! Forget who the opposition were it was almost a meaningless game. Why do you think we rested Rhodes? Would I rather win the cup or win promotion? Promotion.

Just because we were playing a big team, it didn't make it a big game. Doncaster at home is far more important.

I disagree about the City game and unfortunately there'll only be c12k home fans on against Doncaster as well. If 20k fans suddenly rocked up for the remainder of the vital League fixtures and only gave any remaining Cup games a swerve because it was the Cup I'd have to concede you had a point.