[Archived] Forest

[thenodrog]

agree on the first point.

I would play a 4 man midfield if we had a pacey striker like King with a Gestede type. it would push their defence much deeper and give us more space in midfield to pass the ball.

otherwise, I would play 4-2-3-1 formation with a target man type striker

isn't that a 4 man midfield then? 2 centre midfielders with 2 wingers?

Brown is better than Gestede at midfield duties. Gestede needs to be on the back stick as much as possible.

Isn't that a 4-2-4 as opposed to a 4-4-2?

4-2-4??? Showing your age now Simon!

[RevidgeBlue]

Our wide men are invariably on the wrong wing to deliver telling balls in for Gestede though. (Look what happens when they do.) I think it may be a tactic to beef up our midfield defensively in order to accomodate 4-4-2 which is in place to accomodate you know who..

If they were on the correct sides we might find both Gestede and Rhodes got a lot more chances though.

As far as the midfield goes whilst I think Williamson has had a decent season I think Evans has had an abysmal season with Marshall Cairney and Conway not far behind. That's where the majority of the problems lie, not with either of the two strikers.

[chaddyrovers]

Isn't that a 4-2-4 as opposed to a 4-4-2?

nope. it is a 4-4-2 formation.

[RevidgeBlue]

nope. it is a 4-4-2 formation.

I give up. Whatever you pretend it is it leaves 2 central midfielders trying to cope again extra numbers in the centre of the park with two completely ineffective wide men operating on the wrong flanks.

[glen9mullan]

Thought Gestede did what Gestede does best , which is bang three headers into the back of the net .

I think the Critism of Rhodes is just crazy , I'm pleased we have both he and Rudi.

We are not privy to the mileage stats etc. of what players cover in a game , I.e closing down, working off the ball , doing the donkey work , however if I was placing a bet I'd say Rhodes stats in this department would be twice as high as Gestedes .

Rhodes is never going to beat the centre halves in the air with long punts up field or indeed outstrip the defence for speed . His goalscorer rate is phenomenal despite not being the best at those points .

At the same time , Gestede scores most of his goals from headers. He's never going to score the type of goals Rhodes scores .

What we have is a style of play that does not best suit Rhodes game , yet he still scores . Our style of play suits Gestede better , but our key players become very anonymous when we set up the team to play to Gestedes strengths .

It's no coincidence that Cairney, Marshall and Conway have had inconsistent seasons due to Rovers style of play which often bypasses our midfield , as none of these players are ball winners by trade it then puts our defence under pressure as it often results in handing the ball back to the opposition.

However defending from the front is important and I still feel Rhodes does far more closing down, whilst trying to link play with our midfield . Gestede wins much in the air but those flick ons are often to no one in particular

[Lancs Rover]

The referee from yesterday's game did not write the lyrics to this song...

[A cup of beans]

I give up. Whatever you pretend it is it leaves 2 central midfielders trying to cope again extra numbers in the centre of the park with two completely ineffective wide men operating on the wrong flanks.

Best to give up, Simon.

Steadfastly defends his beliefs, but doesn't back up with any reason or insight.

Case in point, in the GB thread he said GB "sorted things tactically 2nd half" but won't explain how.

Nothing new.

[Mike E]

I didn't see the same lazy, couldn't care less attitude in Williamson tbf Mike that was evident in Marshall and Rhodes. Rem he was in a midfield 4 with Conway, Cairney and Marshall and had plenty on his plate doing their dirty work for them I'd suggest.

It was the fact he kept losing the ball. Either by being hounded or by errant passing.

[Mike E]

My criticism of Rhodes yesterday is that he didn't defend from the front at all. Turns his back for every block and never puts his foot in when the oppo defence is passing side-to-side. Just a bit of light jogging. Same for when the keeper boots it, he should be legging it to get straight back onside imo.

His ability is there, no doubt. His effort? It's there in there when we attack but not when we've lost possession.

[K-Hod]

Is that it?

Use your own eyes and read Parsons match reports week after week.

He can put the ball away but he can't play.

I must have imagined that cross he put in the other week that we scored from, he obviously can't play.

Quite argumentative aren't you Den? Interesting you cite Parson when you argue with him daily on here.

As for using my own eyes, I do every week from the same stand you sit in, come and say hi to jbizzle and I on Tuesday ;-) Sounds more like you're telling me what to think than allowing me to form my own opinion. ?..

[Husky]

I'm afraid I'm leaning towards the Bowyer Out! crew after we bottled yet another high pressure game.

Well, at least we didn't lose and also Sheff Wednesday didn't win. We're still in the hunt for 9th.

[thenodrog]

Sounds more like you're telling me what to think than allowing me to form my own opinion. ?..

No thats me you are thinking of, not den.

[LewisF]

I'm afraid I'm leaning towards the Bowyer Out! crew after we bottled yet another high pressure game.

Well, at least we didn't lose and also Sheff Wednesday didn't win. We're still in the hunt for 9th.

The Battle For Midtable Supremacy

[bazza]

Who was in the royal seats? Was it Balaji? Who else?

I wish they'd talk to us.

I wish they'd stay to watch ALL of the match.

Another game at Ewood where the visiting team look better formation, better quality on the ball, fitter, faster and better managed.

When will it all end?

[47er]

A high-scoring game, we are in front 3 times, we lose the lead in the closing minutes, every neutral says what an exciting game!

Someone tell me how is that different from the Kean era?

Just like then, we are not set up to defend a lead.

[Husky]

A high-scoring game, we are in front 3 times, we lose the lead in the closing minutes, every neutral says what an exciting game!

Wasn't at the game and on paper you'd say 3-3 seems like amazing entertainment. But surprisingly I've heard it was crap.

I'm sure on BBC someone posted a photo of 2 birds (the feathered type) on the pitch at Ewood some way into the 2nd half and said something like - "this is the most interesting thing about the game".

Bizarre! Bring Dabo back FFS!

[47er]

I meant every neutral who didn't see it! Just like the Kean games.

[Tom]

In fairness Husky at least the birds had to have their wits about them this week.

One game - I don't recall which there were some birds feasting towards the riverside / darwen end when we were attacking that half and didn't have to move for a good ten minutes.

This week the standard was poor but was an entertaining affair as you could tell there was goals in it if anyone showed any guile. Sadly you also expected them to equalise each time we scored.

[mattjansen]

Its to bad we cant defend even if our life depended on it, stats wise we have got 35 goals from Jordan and Rudy. Only Watford can better that and they sit top.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

However defending from the front is important and I still feel Rhodes does far more closing down, whilst trying to link play with our midfield . Gestede wins much in the air but those flick ons are often to no one in particular

While I agree that Rhodes does close down players - more often than not he does it so damn slowly that the defenders have more than enough time to clear the ball to a team mate. As far as nobody getting on the end of Gestede's flick on's - this is mainly due to Rhodes lack of pace.

It may not be popular - but the lack of pace we have up front has a significant impact on the whole team set up - and Rhodes is a large part of that equation.

I lost count of the number of balls Forest played hopefully out of defence - and their forwards had the pace to make hopeful punts into reasonable balls. We saw it ourselves when King played on his own up front in the FA Cup.

Of course it isn't all Rhodes' fault - but the limitations in certain parts of his game has a significant impact on the rest of the team - including defence (as we don't have an out ball - and pace up front - teams can press us into our own half). IMO it is something that Bowyer should have addressed a long time ago - but it is a tough one - made all the more difficult by Rudy's form.

I always think back to the great Everton team of the 80's - the season they came second to Liverpool was the season they had Lineker knocking in goals for fun.

[Tom]

I actually think Rudy puts his flick ons in the right place 90% of the time just his team mates are too slow to react or just too slow in general

[tomphil]

Two or three times on Sat Rudy headed down into space in the box but no one was on the end of it. Rhodes had made a little sideways run outside the box taking his defender, the ball went long towards Rudy he then headed it down into space in the box, nobody there. It's easy to pick on Rhodes and he doesn't read Rudy very well but several times he made a little run outside the box before the ball goes in the direction of Gestede. We don't push midfielders forward to get on the end of things but of course it's all down to Jordans limitations

[Tom]

Two or three times on Sat Rudy headed down into space in the box but no one was on the end of it. Rhodes had made a little sideways run outside the box taking his defender, the ball went long towards Rudy he then headed it down into space in the box, nobody there. It's easy to pick on Rhodes and he doesn't read Rudy very well but several times he made a little run outside the box before the ball goes in the direction of Gestede. We don't push midfielders forward to get on the end of things but of course it's all down to Jordans limitations

The issue is where are the likes of Cairney? Often doing his best Keith Andrews jogging impression rather than trying to get up to support

[tomphil]

The issue is where are the likes of Cairney? Often doing his best Keith Andrews jogging impression rather than trying to get up to support

That guy irritates more than most. Lopping around in the middle, hands on hips looking like he'd rather be somewhere else most of the time. He should have been benched months ago or given a kick up the backside and told to graft. Sadly that won't happen because Justin is a nice lad and probably another of the favs who get's accommodated in the team rather than earning it.

[ABBEY]

wait till browny is the star man next season , the sadistic streak in me cant wait for the moaning and groaning then.