[Archived] The Championship 2015-2016

[chaddyrovers]

Rovers only 7 points behind 5th place.

Dyche changed his formation tonight. Is the pressure getting to him?

I cant remember Dyche even not playing 4-4-2 formation apart from 1 game which was last year against WBA(I think) which they lost 3 or 4 nil if my memory is correct

[DE.]

A really good result for Ipswich away to Fulham, and Cardiff got a decent result against Brentford too. Neither result ideal for us, but we were always going to be playing catch up after such an appalling start to the season. On the plus side Sheffield Weds lost and Birmingham drew, and with Brentford losing that means we're within three points of overtaking all three teams above us. We're 5 points behind 7th and 6 points behind 6th, though.

[JHRover]

Rovers only 7 points behind 5th place.

Dyche changed his formation tonight. Is the pressure getting to him?

I cant remember Dyche even not playing 4-4-2 formation apart from 1 game which was last year against WBA(I think) which they lost 3 or 4 nil if my memory is correct

The pressure has to be on him. The money he's spent on players last summer certainly doesn't look well spent. They've been mediocre all season and it's a miracle they are still in the top six. Now results have taken a downturn patience might be wearing thin.

Both fifth and sixth are very much achievable this season. Of course it will be tough and we will need some good additions in January, but we're not even half way through yet.

Three or four weeks ago many were saying even sixth was a distant dream. Ipswich and Cardiff are thereabouts at this moment in time. Anyone impressed with either of those two at Ewood this season?

Burnley and Hull are on dodgy runs. Long may that continue and suddenly places in the top six open up.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

I think that, with the right run of results - a mid table team could catch hull in 4th (ten pts ahead of us) Above that is too far. Dingles can defo be caught in 5th though.

Solid defence and pace up top is the way out of this league.

We've got the defence sorted, hopefully in Jan......

[JHRover]

I think that Middlesbrough, Derby and Brighton are too far ahead. It would take a monumental collapse from those 3 to miss out on the play-offs, and Middlesbrough and Derby have the strongest squads anyway.

Hull should have enough in their squad and with Steve Bruce's nous in this division to see them into the top six, although in recent weeks they seem to have hit a sticky patch. They certainly didn't look anything special when we played them at their place and we fully deserved our point.

Lets look at the teams currently separating Rovers from those top four:

Burnley

Ipswich

Cardiff

Birmingham

Sheffield W

Brentford

Can anyone honestly say there is anything to fear in there? We played Burnley off the park at Ewood, comfortably beat Ipswich at Ewood, deserved at least the point we got against Cardiff, were the better side at Birmingham away, were five minutes from beating Sheffield W and played poorly against Brentford yet still got a point at a time they were in very good form.

I'm not trying to sound overly confident, but I think fifth and sixth will be achieved by the most consistent sides, not necessarily the best on paper. We appear to be getting the consistency. We're getting results and winning when not playing well and not fully fit. We're defensively strong and are hard to beat. There is nothing to fear above us, we just need to be able to maintain this momentum through the season and turn draws into wins more often.

Many people were saying 5th and above were out of reach when Lambert arrived. That was always nonsense. 3-4 weeks later and the gap has been more than halved already. and fine margins against Sheffield W and Forest and it would have been all but wiped out.

[old darwen blue]

All we have to do is finish in that last play off position because as we know the play offs are a lottery.

[Bucksrover]

Has to be an advantage that Reading play tonight and we played Monday.

They are away at Hull as well so a tough match.

Hopefully we will be fresher on Sunday and get the win.

[Ricky]

Lovely finish by Blackman after two back to back back heels.... That's a mouthful!!

[JHRover]

Hopefully Reading will exhaust themselves in pursuit of a win tonight before conceding late on to draw.

Lots of people on the internet commenting on the crowd and atmosphere at Ewood on Monday, looking at the KC tonight I doubt there's even 12,000 on and the atmosphere is dead.

[Mattyblue]

Hopefully Reading will exhaust themselves in pursuit of a win tonight before conceding late on to draw.

Lots of people on the internet commenting on the crowd and atmosphere at Ewood on Monday, looking at the KC tonight I doubt there's even 12,000 on and the atmosphere is dead.

This 10 in 10 thing, shocking for match going fans just before Xmas (like Sky care, of course). No wonder plenty are giving going to the games a swerve.

[the original david brent]

Hopefully Reading will exhaust themselves in pursuit of a win tonight before conceding late on to draw.

Lots of people on the internet commenting on the crowd and atmosphere at Ewood on Monday, looking at the KC tonight I doubt there's even 12,000 on and the atmosphere is dead.

Good point. The attendances were generally low last night. Quite a few around the 12,000 mark including Cardiff and Charlton.

[JHRover]

Hull gone 2-1 up in the 90th minute with Reading sustaining a couple of injuries in the second half.

Anyone else notice the floodlights at Hull? What's that all about?

[tomphil]

Good point. The attendances were generally low last night. Quite a few around the 12,000 mark including Cardiff and Charlton.

Was just going to point that out, when a lot of similar clubs are at home midweek and there is little chance of big away support the crowds in the champ are much of a muchness. People just love to stick the boot into Rovers as if we are the only club like that. Loads of gates around the 12k mark in this div with probably far less actually in.

[JHRover]

Was just going to point that out, when a lot of similar clubs are at home midweek and there is little chance of big away support the crowds in the champ are much of a muchness. People just love to stick the boot into Rovers as if we are the only club like that. Loads of gates around the 12k mark in this div with probably far less actually in.

Lots of clubs have season ticket holders that travel in on a Saturday to 'make a day' of it at the weekend, so when faced with a midweek game after work on a miserable December night simply won't bother.

Hull have been announcing their gates as 15,000-17,000 all season. I've watched them on TV twice recently, against Derby on a Friday a few weeks ago and against Reading tonight, and I can say with some confidence that they were a good few thousand short of that, because there is an element at every club that simply won't turn up to the awkward midweek games, especially if they are on TV.

Last night there were 19,000 on Middlesbrough against Burnley. When you consider Middlesbrough are top of the League and have been promotion favourites since last season I don't think that is impressive in the slightest.

I do get tired of comments about our crowds when with the notable exceptions of Derby, Brighton, Wolves and maybe Wednesday and Forest, nobody in this league gets significantly bigger or better gates than us. The likes of Hull, Burnley and QPR are around the mid-teens at the moment but they will naturally have renewals after their Premier League adventures last season. A sustained spell in this league will no doubt wipe them out.

The ultimate culprits are Sky Sports. Their ridiculous 10 in 10 stunt is very good for those who want to stay at home every night and watch live football, even though the majority of the games have been dire anyway, but for the supporters who travel every week it is a nightmare. Look at Forest - away at Wolves on a Friday night then away at Rovers on Monday night. Look at Wolves - home games on Friday then Thursday nights. Lots of their season ticket holders might struggle to attend those games with work commitments having shelled out hundreds of pounds at the start of the season.

The clubs and Football League have a part to play in this too and should be held partially accountable. Sky should not enjoy such free reign, and clubs should show more solidarity in the interests of their supporters. Clubs are quite happy to agree to the League's ridiculous fixture schedule which sees many of the longest and most difficult away games arranged for mid-week to ensure the smallest away contingents. Bolton at Charlton last night. Us at QPR on a Wednesday earlier this season. The list goes on and on and takes place right down to the Conference. There's no way that if the clubs applied some pressure that they couldnt alter the fixtures to ensure mid-week games were split into North and South zones to ensure supporters had at most a couple of hours travelling to mid-week away games.

North Zone of Middlesbrough, Leeds, Hull, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wed, Bolton, Burnley, Blackburn, Preston, Derby & Wolves

South Zone of Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Reading, MK Dons, Ipswich, Brentford, Fulham, QPR, Charlton, Forest

Set out at the start of the season to ensure that there was no cross over between zones for mid-week fixtures and insist that Sky games in midweek had to be from the same zones.

Obviously with postponements etc. then there might be some exceptions and there would be scope for crossover with the Midlands clubs as they are well located, but something like the above could be achievable and would help the loyal supporters who want to go to every game to do so with minimal disruption in terms of work commitments etc.

But why do I get the feeling they don't want as many people as possible to go to games. Stewards and police at QPR are quite happy to only have to worry about a few hundred Rovers fans in London than 1000.

[Athlete]

Lots of clubs have season ticket holders that travel in on a Saturday to 'make a day' of it at the weekend, so when faced with a midweek game after work on a miserable December night simply won't bother.

Hull have been announcing their gates as 15,000-17,000 all season. I've watched them on TV twice recently, against Derby on a Friday a few weeks ago and against Reading tonight, and I can say with some confidence that they were a good few thousand short of that, because there is an element at every club that simply won't turn up to the awkward midweek games, especially if they are on TV.

Last night there were 19,000 on Middlesbrough against Burnley. When you consider Middlesbrough are top of the League and have been promotion favourites since last season I don't think that is impressive in the slightest.

I do get tired of comments about our crowds when with the notable exceptions of Derby, Brighton, Wolves and maybe Wednesday and Forest, nobody in this league gets significantly bigger or better gates than us. The likes of Hull, Burnley and QPR are around the mid-teens at the moment but they will naturally have renewals after their Premier League adventures last season. A sustained spell in this league will no doubt wipe them out.

The ultimate culprits are Sky Sports. Their ridiculous 10 in 10 stunt is very good for those who want to stay at home every night and watch live football, even though the majority of the games have been dire anyway, but for the supporters who travel every week it is a nightmare. Look at Forest - away at Wolves on a Friday night then away at Rovers on Monday night. Look at Wolves - home games on Friday then Thursday nights. Lots of their season ticket holders might struggle to attend those games with work commitments having shelled out hundreds of pounds at the start of the season.

The clubs and Football League have a part to play in this too and should be held partially accountable. Sky should not enjoy such free reign, and clubs should show more solidarity in the interests of their supporters. Clubs are quite happy to agree to the League's ridiculous fixture schedule which sees many of the longest and most difficult away games arranged for mid-week to ensure the smallest away contingents. Bolton at Charlton last night. Us at QPR on a Wednesday earlier this season. The list goes on and on and takes place right down to the Conference. There's no way that if the clubs applied some pressure that they couldnt alter the fixtures to ensure mid-week games were split into North and South zones to ensure supporters had at most a couple of hours travelling to mid-week away games.

North Zone of Middlesbrough, Leeds, Hull, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wed, Bolton, Burnley, Blackburn, Preston, Derby & Wolves

South Zone of Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Reading, MK Dons, Ipswich, Brentford, Fulham, QPR, Charlton, Forest

Set out at the start of the season to ensure that there was no cross over between zones for mid-week fixtures and insist that Sky games in midweek had to be from the same zones.

Obviously with postponements etc. then there might be some exceptions and there would be scope for crossover with the Midlands clubs as they are well located, but something like the above could be achievable and would help the loyal supporters who want to go to every game to do so with minimal disruption in terms of work commitments etc.

But why do I get the feeling they don't want as many people as possible to go to games. Stewards and police at QPR are quite happy to only have to worry about a few hundred Rovers fans in London than 1000.

Clubs really need a reality check with some of their pricing as the championship is getting as bad as the premership..

I'd like to see the twenty is enough campaign gain more momentum

[Mattyblue]

The prices at Championship games are going through the roof.

£33 for us at Bolton. PNE are being charged £37 at Leeds on Sunday (£42 if you buy on the day!!)

£30 for us on the day at Hudersfield earlier on this season (!).

When you consider there are 10000/15000+ empty seats at most Championship grounds each week and there are more games live on Sky than ever, crazy pricing.

[tomphil]

For overall averages the Championship relies on the odd big club coming down and the bigger city type clubs going well and I think that's always been the case. There was a purple patch a few seasons ago with decent crowds all over but with money increasingly ruling the roost more than ever the clubs with big fanbases are regularly occupying the upper areas of this league now.

Plus one or two of those with the big parachute brass and the odd ringer of course but everywhere else early season crowds and actual attendees are on the slide. Sky yet again with saturation coverage and over lining the pockets of the bigger guys shoulder most of the blame. It won't be long before some bright spark there decides 10am Saturday morning is a good time to play live Champ games to get the kids watching.

It also won't be long before we have Championship super powers with almost the same 6 big clubs scrambling for promotion every season, coming back down then going again.

[DE.]

It also won't be long before we have Championship super powers with almost the same 6 big clubs scrambling for promotion every season, coming back down then going again.

With the even bigger influx of money into the PL over the next few years I'd agree this is a very realistic possibility. The only exceptions will be teams who have been horribly mismanaged financially or clubs where the owners pocket the majority of the money and refuse to invest in the team.

[oldjamfan1]

Lots of clubs have season ticket holders that travel in on a Saturday to 'make a day' of it at the weekend, so when faced with a midweek game after work on a miserable December night simply won't bother.

Hull have been announcing their gates as 15,000-17,000 all season. I've watched them on TV twice recently, against Derby on a Friday a few weeks ago and against Reading tonight, and I can say with some confidence that they were a good few thousand short of that, because there is an element at every club that simply won't turn up to the awkward midweek games, especially if they are on TV.

Last night there were 19,000 on Middlesbrough against Burnley. When you consider Middlesbrough are top of the League and have been promotion favourites since last season I don't think that is impressive in the slightest.

I do get tired of comments about our crowds when with the notable exceptions of Derby, Brighton, Wolves and maybe Wednesday and Forest, nobody in this league gets significantly bigger or better gates than us. The likes of Hull, Burnley and QPR are around the mid-teens at the moment but they will naturally have renewals after their Premier League adventures last season. A sustained spell in this league will no doubt wipe them out.

The ultimate culprits are Sky Sports. Their ridiculous 10 in 10 stunt is very good for those who want to stay at home every night and watch live football, even though the majority of the games have been dire anyway, but for the supporters who travel every week it is a nightmare. Look at Forest - away at Wolves on a Friday night then away at Rovers on Monday night. Look at Wolves - home games on Friday then Thursday nights. Lots of their season ticket holders might struggle to attend those games with work commitments having shelled out hundreds of pounds at the start of the season.

The clubs and Football League have a part to play in this too and should be held partially accountable. Sky should not enjoy such free reign, and clubs should show more solidarity in the interests of their supporters. Clubs are quite happy to agree to the League's ridiculous fixture schedule which sees many of the longest and most difficult away games arranged for mid-week to ensure the smallest away contingents. Bolton at Charlton last night. Us at QPR on a Wednesday earlier this season. The list goes on and on and takes place right down to the Conference. There's no way that if the clubs applied some pressure that they couldnt alter the fixtures to ensure mid-week games were split into North and South zones to ensure supporters had at most a couple of hours travelling to mid-week away games.

North Zone of Middlesbrough, Leeds, Hull, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wed, Bolton, Burnley, Blackburn, Preston, Derby & Wolves

South Zone of Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Reading, MK Dons, Ipswich, Brentford, Fulham, QPR, Charlton, Forest

Set out at the start of the season to ensure that there was no cross over between zones for mid-week fixtures and insist that Sky games in midweek had to be from the same zones.

Obviously with postponements etc. then there might be some exceptions and there would be scope for crossover with the Midlands clubs as they are well located, but something like the above could be achievable and would help the loyal supporters who want to go to every game to do so with minimal disruption in terms of work commitments etc.

But why do I get the feeling they don't want as many people as possible to go to games. Stewards and police at QPR are quite happy to only have to worry about a few hundred Rovers fans in London than 1000.

Bravo. Best post I've seen for a while this.

[jim mk2]

Has no one noticed Brian McDermott has returned to Reading, our opponents on Sunday, as manager?

Let's hope the "new manager effect" doesn't affect our revival.

[chaddyrovers]

Jim, I mention last week in this thread that McDermott would be named as manager there

[Blue Cabbage]

Yeah Jim

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Jim, I mention last week in this thread that McDermott would be named as manager there

Well spotted Chaddy. That puts a slightly different complexion on the game. New manager bounce and all that.

[tomphil]

Why does this always happen to us is there an unwritten rule somewhere in football that clubs must only debut new managers v Blackburn Rovers at home!

[gumboots]

Perhaps it doesn't count if he's a recycled manager