[Archived] Official: Paul Lambert Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager

[tomphil]

If he plays and we can force Boro into launching long balls all aft then Rhodes won't be a problem. Somehow I think Boro are a bit better than that, from what I've seen of them this season they are the perfect team for him. Just let him lurk in the middle up front and pounce on stuff, he'll get a bag full for them.

We'll need to score 3 to win on Sat imo

[Stuart]

make Rhodes run for the ball; that will keep him quiet.

Well we were very good at that when he was wearing blue and white so I don't see that being a problem.

In all seriousness, we have to hope that all those years on the training ground mean that our defence know how to handle him because, for all Rhodes' weaknesses, he somehow still managed to score 80-odd goals in a @#/? team.

[DE.]

Well we were very good at that when he was wearing blue and white so I don't see that being a problem.

In all seriousness, we have to hope that all those years on the training ground mean that our defence know how to handle him because, for all Rhodes' weaknesses, he somehow still managed to score 80-odd goals in a @#/? team.

With the way Boro play, our defence won't be able to do too much to combat Rhodes if he plays. It's easy to say 'play a high line to isolate him', but Boro aren't Rovers. They'll push forward, and that's where Rhodes' best attributes - movement inside the box, anticipation and finishing - will cause us problems.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Play a high line, not much chance of Rhodes running in behind you. You could give him a 5 yard start and still catch him.

I presume they've got a couple of other forwards who are a bit quicker than Rhodes.

[Stuart]

I presume they've got a couple of other forwards who are a bit quicker than Rhodes.

I feel a bit sorry for Boro fans. They are going to have to get used to playing with 10 men every game. That's going to be tough.

Seriously, Tyrone, do you really think that he has nothing to offer a team that has a decent midfield?

[jw_]

This question maybe in the wrong topic but when comparing how many goals Rhodes scored it would be interesting to know just how many came from penalty's.

[patrickvalery]

I feel a bit sorry for Boro fans. They are going to have to get used to playing with 10 men every game. That's going to be tough.

Seriously, Tyrone, do you really think that he has nothing to offer a team that has a decent midfield?

You've just nailed it Stuart. He'll have a field day at boro with a capable midfield behind him. It's a shame we'll never see him enjoying that same success here. But in order for us to get a better midfield it seems his sale was necessary. I can't say I'm opposed to that. Because every striker on the planet (and I include Chris Brown in that) would benefit from a good midfield. Therefore logic says although whoever we play up top probably won't score as many as Rhodes, they'll still be more productive. Not to mention our defence might get some respite when they clear their lines and you never know, our better midfield might even weigh in with a few more goals too if the ball is held up long enough for them to support the man they just passed to.

I loved Rhodes and I think it's a crying shame we couldn't incorporate him into a functioning side. Sadly the squad needed some serious surgery. If my car broke down and needed a a new gearbox, new clutch, brakes, four tyres and a windscreen. All of which I could buy if I sold the stereo. I know what I'd do.

[47er]

This question maybe in the wrong topic but when comparing how many goals Rhodes scored it would be interesting to know just how many came from penalty's.

A question, up till recently, Rhodes was the penalty-taker and very good at it. Did he ever miss one?

Then Marshall took over, why was that?

[Baz]

A question, up till recently, Rhodes was the penalty-taker and very good at it. Did he ever miss one?

Then Marshall took over, why was that?

Cos JR wasnt on the field?

[JBiz]

A question, up till recently, Rhodes was the penalty-taker and very good at it. Did he ever miss one?

Then Marshall took over, why was that?

Rhodes wasn't on the pitch?

[tomphil]

You've just nailed it Stuart. He'll have a field day at boro with a capable midfield behind him. It's a shame we'll never see him enjoying that same success here. But in order for us to get a better midfield it seems his sale was necessary. I can't say I'm opposed to that. Because every striker on the planet (and I include Chris Brown in that) would benefit from a good midfield. Therefore logic says although whoever we play up top probably won't score as many as Rhodes, they'll still be more productive. Not to mention our defence might get some respite when they clear their lines and you never know, our better midfield might even weigh in with a few more goals too if the ball is held up long enough for them to support the man they just passed to.

I loved Rhodes and I think it's a crying shame we couldn't incorporate him into a functioning side. Sadly the squad needed some serious surgery. If my car broke down and needed a a new gearbox, new clutch, brakes, four tyres and a windscreen. All of which I could buy if I sold the stereo. I know what I'd do.

Rock and a hard place for Rovers and Rhodes really. If they'd have got a grip of the situation after Kean then maybe we could have built a decent team and he would have been the cherry on top. Sadly once the parachutes had been tied up by the dastardly duo, Shebby & co it was too late.

I dreamed of them building a team around him but keeping faith in people to do it who weren't up to the job and of course a lack of finance mean it was just never going to happen. If it had I'm sure he'd have stayed at Rovers quite happily another 3 or 4 yrs especially given the money he was on.

A question, up till recently, Rhodes was the penalty-taker and very good at it. Did he ever miss one?

Then Marshall took over, why was that?

One I think v Hudds.

[Pedro]

A question, up till recently, Rhodes was the penalty-taker and very good at it. Did he ever miss one?

Then Marshall took over, why was that?

He missed one at the Blackburn End.

When Marshall took the pens Rhodes had been pulled off for being a passenger.

I do think that Middlesbrough will have a more motivated Rhodes in their side, which wouldn't be a like for like comparison to the player we've fielded for quite some time.

[47er]

Cos JR wasnt on the field?

Shearer missed more than one!

[den]

This argument that Rhodes didn't get service doesn't stand up. How did he score all the goals he scored - taking into account that even his best fans always argued that if he was a good around player he'd have been in the Premier League years ago? There's also been the sarcastic comments about him being "expected to create his own chances as well."

It's all bunkum. He scores goals, the rest of his game drags performances down. It's OK to say that about Steele, Hanley, Lowe, brown, Evans or any other rovers player, it's fine to point out when they put in poor performances, but not apparently when Rhodes does/did.

The truth of why Jordan is still in the championship is right before our eyes - if we care to open them.

[JBiz]

That kind of finishing ability on a pure athlete - he would be playing in the champions league you can bet.

I disagree with Blueyedboy, who says he didn't improve his game whilst here - I personally think he a adapted to a higher standard well, namely utilising his poaching strengths and probably taking a higher percentage of his chances.

I also thought he sometimes looked able to perform on his own upfront, his positioning himself just behind the centre backs and leaning on them to force a mistake - albeit inconsistently.

His form this season has definitely dipped, along with ours as a team. I don't know if this is a symptom of attitude for leaving or whatever, but PL needs to develop a consistent approach that delivers result - it's hard to argue against the theory this is only a possibility with more cost cutting.

Time will tell how good we are at finding bargain players who can deliver the goods. I do agree with BEB when he says selling rhodes means our next investments need to be absolutely spot on.

[Stuart]

He missed one at the Blackburn End.

When Marshall took the pens Rhodes had been pulled off for being a passenger.

I do think that Middlesbrough will have a more motivated Rhodes in their side, which wouldn't be a like for like comparison to the player we've fielded for quite some time.

It's the same bloke. You can't get much more of a like for like comparison!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I feel a bit sorry for Boro fans. They are going to have to get used to playing with 10 men every game. That's going to be tough.

Seriously, Tyrone, do you really think that he has nothing to offer a team that has a decent midfield?

I couldn't really tell you much about ' Boro strengths and weaknesses. I've not seen much of them and I prefer to go off watching teams in the flesh. The TV never tells the full story about players. The league table tells me they must be a pretty good side to be where they are. It sounds like they think they lack a goalscorer.

I'd say that if they've swapped Rhodes for a willing runner who maybe isn't quite as a good finisher the remaining ten players are going to have to step up their game to maintain the same level of performance. Possibly they can do that at this level. I doubt wether they'll be able to do that in the Premier League. Maybe they have been making loads of chances and not putting them away. I don't know. Will they carry on making as many chances with Rhodes in the team ? They've gambled that they'll make enough and he'll put them away. Time will tell wether they are right. It'll be interesting.

As I said the other day the Rodney Marsh story is a sort of parallel. A team running away with the League splashed the cash to buy a really great but individualistic player to see them over the line. By the time he'd got up to speed with their system of playing it was too late and the title was lost.

My bottom line on this not having seen how ' Boro perform recently - if they're as good as they think they are they'll have enough in the other ten to make up for Rhodes lack of work rate and they'll make enough chances for him to put a good few of them away. That'll be good for us financially and good regarding the Dingles. By no means is this guaranteed however. They could stutter and struggle to fit him into a system just like we did. Let's hope on Saturday they do.

[Dean]

I also thought he sometimes looked able to perform on his own upfront

For his sake he better have improved playing on his own, that's the only role he'll be playing for Middlesbrough.

He'll probably do well there, they've gone about building a team the right way; best defence in the league, outstanding five-man midfield. Rhodes is the icing on the cake. We tried to do it the other way round and it was a disaster.

[Claytons Left Boot]

If my car broke down and needed a a new gearbox, new clutch, brakes, four tyres and a windscreen. All of which I could buy if I sold the stereo. I know what I'd do.

Kick the car, pour yourself a Guinness and put some Pink Floyd on?

[booth]

It's the same bloke. You can't get much more of a like for like comparison!

[sambo]

http://mobile.mfc.co.uk//news/article/2016/middlesbrough-jordan-rhodes-2938438.aspx

The Rhodes press conference. Mentions the very different direction we were going in with Lambert as opposed to Bowyer. Definitely suggests change is in the air at Ewood.

[chaddyrovers]

Lambert's pre match conference

https://audioboom.com/boos/4145910-i-m-pretty-happy-with-what-we-ve-done-in-january-considering-the-way-things-were-onerover-s-paul-lambert

[VinjayV4]

If anyone thinks one player makes a team they should probably look at former Wolves player Steve Bull. A superior player to Rhodes (I don't know what Bull's playing style but he got an England call up in what is now league 1!!!) and yet Wolves didn't get promoted to the Premier League during his tenure. Now that almost certainly wasn't Bull's fault and they had strong financial backing from Hayward. In their case it was presumably down to managers PLUS other parts of their teams. The difference was they could afford to keep Bull (not that he wanted to leave) and improve other areas of their team. Thanks partly to Venkys and partly to FUP.

Rovers need to do what Wolves couldn't do and build a promotion winning TEAM with less funds relative to this time period. In the best case scenario discover a cheap talent who might be better than Rhodes. Or at least more players who can share the goals between them. Presumably Lambert won't spend huge money on just one player but we need to see how much Venkys provide first. Of course in the next couple of years its not impossible that we could see an end to FUP.

[VinjayV4]

Lambert unhappy with mistakes leading to the goals. Says Rovers deserved to lose and thought the first half was flat for both sides. Too many off their game. Too much inconsistency and told the players Hull would play off Rovers mistakes.

Also said the injuries are no excuse. Will wait and see whether they could be back on Tuesday.

[G Somerset Rover]

He's talked a good game since day one. Time for him to get some results as he's made, frankly, quite an appalling start.