[Archived] Rovers V Reading Sun 20Th Dec

[Tom]

It's a debate that will never end but the reality for me is Bowyers reign is a mix of success and failure.

Overall the club as a whole are better off then when he started so overall his reign should be seen as something as a success but I can't see the last full season and his time this one as a failure.

With the decent groundwork in and Rhodes, rudy and King to call on up front we should have been challenging for a play off spot without a doubt.

Lamberts target has to be promotion and should be judged on such but I don't think this season that's even remotely probable and would accept a season where we get more organised and fitter to have a proper shot at it next season.

[Exiled in Toronto]

It's a debate that will never end but the reality for me is Bowyers reign is a mix of success and failure.

Overall the club as a whole are better off then when he started so overall his reign should be seen as something as a success but I can't see the last full season and his time this one as a failure.

With the decent groundwork in and Rhodes, rudy and King to call on up front we should have been challenging for a play off spot without a doubt.

Lamberts target has to be promotion and should be judged on such but I don't think this season that's even remotely probable and would accept a season where we get more organised and fitter to have a proper shot at it next season.

It takes more than that imo. Conway aside, the defence and midfield are lower-mid table at best from what admittedly little I've seen in the flesh. I'd like to see where we stand in goals scored from everyone but the front two over the last couple of years.

[USABlue]

Having been living out the country for some time this was my first game in a couple of years. Not even been able to catch much on TV or online. So in a way I was looking at many of these players with a fresh pair of eyes.

Jordan Rhodes was terrible. By far the worst player on the pitch. We were playing with 10 men. Having had a scan of this thread I really can't believe how little criticism he is coming in for. He genuinely looked as if that was his first game in the side. First half the few times Conway had the ball out wide for a cross him and Rhodes were just on a totally different wavelength. Cross far post as Rhodes ran near. I watched him miss time the ball with it subsequently bouncing over his head numerous times. He had three half chances today. One he skyed it, second a decent cut back for him was miss controlled and the third he scuffed into the keepers arms. If he isn't threatening with half chances what on earth is he worth having for. That was league two standard stuff from him. And he was never fast but to say he's getting slower is an understatement. My opinion is sell, sell, sell. We need the cash. New striker, a forward thinking midfielder, and a winger with pace to replace Marshall whom didn't make it more than ten yards in front of Olsson all game.

In regards to the game. They scored a wonder goal having not really touched the ball for ten minutes. He's swung his boot at it. He'd try it anther twenty times and it would be in the stands. Then nothing really happened for the rest of the game. It became apparant very quickly how toothless we were. So Reading ram around a lot. Put pressure on us when we has possession. We had no answer. As for everyone slating brown coming on. However depressing it is to see that style of football. We created a couple of chances at the death with a few big lumps up there to play head tennis in their box. Far moreso than Jordan created. So yes. He was feeding on scraps but he certainly doesn't help himself by just generally being a bit of a crap lump.

I am curious, if you have not been able to watch much just how do you know Jordan is getting slower.

[ben_the_beast]

I am curious, if you have not been able to watch much just how do you know Jordan is getting slower.

Odd highlights here and there. Plus he's been at the club longer than I have been out the country.

[AllRoverAsia]

I have not seen the Reading game apart from 2 mins of highlights & the I 'wonder' how that went in goal.

Anyway Craig Conway says Rovers played well in that game:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/14162232.Craig_Conway__Blackburn_Rovers_can_deliver_Boxing_Day_blow_to_table_topping_Middlesbrough/?ref=mac

[Blueandwhitemike]

I watched the game on Rovers player, I thought both teams were poor, but something that a lot of people seem to bypass is that most teams in the championship aren't very good.

First half we were much the better team and Reading were very poor, fluke goal aside. One of the reasons though is I think Reading weren't very good was they were concentrating on stopping Rovers first half (maybe they noticed we tire in the second) and in particular stopping Guthrie dictating play.

Second half they came out much better, we came out slow (is this a PL tactic? Go hard in first half, take the foot off the gas in the second so we don't get too knackered at the end?). They made Steele make a few fairly simple saves and we created little. Brown came on at the end and did cause a little bother.

A draw would have been a fair result in my opinion.

As PL said I thought Koita had a reasonable game, he won a lot of balls, and linked play decently. He has missed a few chances but as a lot of managers say, I'd rather he be getting the chances as he will eventually stick one away. I know it has to be soon or he will be replaced but people writing off already are a bit quick to do so in my opinion, he doesn't look like he'll be a great but he might be quite decent for us.

On the whole i think people are drawing too many conclusions too quickly, it's still early days, like FG said about the training and players adapting etc. the players need a little more time to adapt.