[Archived] Official: Paul Lambert Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager

[Mike E]

"We were trying to get into the Premiership."

Were we? I must have missed that.

Read that in Chris Kamara's voice!

[Baz]

.

Tell you what. Jason Roberts would have been a brilliant partner for Rhodes.

Agreed, however it still makes me laugh he made a video about finishing.

Have nightmares about JR rounding the goalie at Sunderland and slotting it wide of the post from 5 yards out.

[4000Holes]

That 7-1 defeat at Shrewsbury in October '71 was pretty well Rovers' all time low point.

Yes but that was the game that Roger Jones injured his arm very badly early on. He was actually one of the best 3 goalies that we have ever had and I go back as far as Harry Leyland. In my opinion of course.

[tomphil]

"We were trying to get into the Premiership."

Were we? I must have missed that.

What a goon, If he'd said eventually or in a season or two fair enough but if we go right back to the beginning of last season there were no signs whatsoever that was the all out intention.

Quite the opposite in fact when you take into account most of the stuff that came out of his gob was just about saying we can't go for it in not so many words.

[Pedro]

.

Tell you what. Jason Roberts would have been a brilliant partner for Rhodes.

That is my belief too. He was a very underappreciated player - based on his sometimes poor finishing. The work rate and effect he had on defences was excellent and he linked up held up play brilliantly. A great foil for every striker he partnered.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Roberts was a hard working guy but your heart was in your mouth when he was through on goal, anything could happen. I remember him shanking one in with his shin at Bolton from about 20 yards out !

I agree that whoever played up front with him benefitted from his hard work though.

[USABlue]

Abbey makes a fair point. I find it really strange that the knives are always out for Rhodes whenever he goes a couple of games without scoring whereas most of the rest of the squad have been basically crap for the last two seasons and have been basically carried by Rhodes (and Gestede) yet very little ever gets said about those other players individually.

All that said I do wonder if Rhodes has been told "Nothing personal and no reflection whatsoever on your ability but you're going to be sacrificed in January to boost the transfer kitty." I really hope that isn't the case.

Have to disagree with the first statement. With the possible exception of Gestede, Conway and Olsen, every player had.their turn in the barrel on this forum. Hanley, Duffy, Henley, Evans, Marshall all came in for a fair amount of derision on here.

[tomphil]

Roberts was one of those who best operated on just instinct, whack a quick ball in front of him for him to physically attack and you'd get goals. When he had time to think or tried something other than just drilling it or heading it goalwards and you'd usually get a miss.

A great hardworking strong player who had a poor first touch and went down too often with his back to goal but scored his fair share. He'd have been a top striker as he was since we've been in this league again though.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Roberts was one of those who best operated on just instinct, whack a quick ball in front of him for him to physically attack and you'd get goals. When he had time to think or tried something other than just drilling it or heading it goalwards and you'd usually get a miss.

A great hardworking strong player who had a poor first touch and went down too often with his back to goal but scored his fair share. He'd have been a top striker as he was since we've been in this league again though.

Everything you say about him is correct.

[DE.]

Roberts was always at best a lower-end PL striker. As we progressed, his limitations became more apparent, particularly with the likes of Santa Cruz and McCarthy in the squad. He went through a period where he missed a few really easy chances which seemed to turn a lot of people completely against him. He never really regained the trust of the fans after that and probably should have left the club a lot sooner than he did.

Never felt that he shirked his responsibilities on the pitch, but often seemed to have a sulk on due to his lack of first team football. Let's not forget Roberts was a staunch defender of Kean and Venky's on 5 Live and would often shout down any Rovers fans who dared to call and criticise the state of the club at that time. Can't help but think his frustrations over never being completely accepted by the fanbase caused some bitterness which manifested themselves during that period.

[BlueMonday]

Let's not forget Roberts was a staunch defender of Kean and Venky's on 5 Live and would often shout down any Rovers fans who dared to call and criticise the state of the club at that time.[\quote]

We haven't

[tomphil]

To be fair Roberts was probably taken in with the contract extensions that were being handed out and also I believe coco had mentioned a coaching role. Some of the players were being conned to keep them onside it seemed, fortunately for them though it meant they walked away with extra ££ so I doubt they were really that bothered.

[Amo]

It looks like the honeymoon period is at an end.

I don't know much the owners are going to make available in the summer, but if they have faith in their man they need to back him in the transfer market. The squad is in desperate need of an overhaul in almost every position and for the first time in years we have a manager with the know-how to do it. I'd rather we pulled out all the stops and ran the risk of FFP than try to rebuild the team piecemeal with a bargain bucket signing here, a loan or two there. It's going to be even more difficult to compete next season with the prospect of Villa, Sunderland, & Newcastle coming down. We can't afford to get left behind.

[yoda]

It looks like the honeymoon period is at an end.

I don't know much the owners are going to make available in the summer, but if they have faith in their man they need to back him in the transfer market. The squad is in desperate need of an overhaul in almost every position and for the first time in years we have a manager with the know-how to do it. I'd rather we pulled out all the stops and ran the risk of FFP than try to rebuild the team piecemeal with a bargain bucket signing here, a loan or two there. It's going to be even more difficult to compete next season with the prospect of Villa, Sunderland, & Newcastle coming down. We can't afford to get left behind.

Yep

Lambert out Jose in

[RevidgeBlue]

Have to disagree with the first statement. With the possible exception of Gestede, Conway and Olsen, every player had.their turn in the barrel on this forum. Hanley, Duffy, Henley, Evans, Marshall all came in for a fair amount of derision on here.

Hi USA how are you? The point being, none of them have ever performed to any appreciable extent apart from Rhodes over the last few seasons.

As for Lambert, the honeymoon period is now well and truly over as others have correctly said. We'll really see what he is made of now. Can he indulge in a bit of horse trading in January and get us in and around the play of places?

[Tony Diamond Inc]

Looking more like this set of players were performing to their best under Bowyer, because, after 6 games, I ain't seen any improvement yet.

[allanncd]

If a GB team had produced the aimless performance I've just witnessed at Reading this MB would have been dripping with invective. Early days but PL has a mammoth task to transform these journeymen and in some cases lower league players into a unit that survive still less thrive next season.

[ABBEY]

First loss under PL and the bowyer lovers are pulling their puds

[DE.]

Let's not get too downhearted. Performances haven't been great under Lambert but he equaled Bowyer's win count for the entire season in 4 games. Are we really going to judge our new manager this harshly after six matches, before he's had a single transfer window to try and rectify the situation here? We have a lot of very average players, and a lot of players distinctly below average. You only have to glance at our bench to see Lambert has very little to work with.

We're still only six points off 6th place. This was our first loss in the league since Oct 24th. Once January has been and gone we'll have a much better idea of what Lambert is aiming for.

[Tony Diamond Inc]

First loss under PL and the bowyer lovers are pulling their puds

Didn't realise there were any...

[47er]

If a GB team had produced the aimless performance I've just witnessed at Reading this MB would have been dripping with invective. Early days but PL has a mammoth task to transform these journeymen and in some cases lower league players into a unit that survive still less thrive next season.

You forget----this IS a GB team.

[AggyBlue]

You forget----this IS a GB team.

I haven't heard a single fan have a go at PL today but rightly slagged off some of the players.

PL learned an awful lot about some of our squad today.

[47er]

I haven't heard a single fan have a go at PL today but rightly slagged off some of the players.

PL learned an awful lot about some of our squad today.

I think a couple might have!

[Rover_Shaun]

Surely it takes time to irradiate the attitude of the last manager?

Lambert has a Souness style job on his hands to wipe away all the ineptitude of Gary Bowyer

[DE.]

I haven't heard a single fan have a go at PL today but rightly slagged off some of the players.

PL learned an awful lot about some of our squad today.

Most definitely. I'd say he's learned a lot in the first six matches, not just today. Certain players will be making his mind up pretty quickly. Could make for an eventful January.