[Archived] Rovers v Doncaster Rovers

[tomphil]

4 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Smallwood was really poor at Southend, constantly losing the ball, Evans also played well v Coventry from what i've read and Whittingham is our main summer signing and we need his set pieces and passing, especially at home.

And for me, Conway is better than the alternatives and is a proven player. 

And Samuel was even worse than Graham v Southend and lacks a proven record that Graham has.

Why 3 centre backs at home? Especially when youve had to shoehorn Nyambe there. Makes no sense and seems like playing a formation for the sake of it.

Dropping our 3 main players going forward seems bizarre too.

Agreed, no to 3 at the back just to accommodate we really don't want to go down that road again. If Mowbray is going to turn out to be the real deal he should know the best way to play and pick the best 11 to suit that.

Obviously allowing for certain tactical changes for the odd certain teams but we should have a core style and his recruitment should reflect that. We should be the ones imposing ourselves on others.

 

[Athlete]

45 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Dont know. 

Ward cant play in a 2 man defence. Not quickly and would be exposed. Mowbray said this last season. Plus will Lenihan and Wharton out injured. Plus Ward experience is need at the minute

Dropping 3 main players? Graham, Whittingham and Dack? Poor at Southend. 

Samuel, Gladwin, Evans and Smallwood all had good games in last game. Mark Atkins was very impressed by Smallwood at Coventry. 

So thats why. 3-4-2-1 is a attacking formation. 

Thats not a formation 

[darrenrover]

Play a FLUID and MOBILE 4 4 2 and we won't go wrong unless the players are either/or not good enough, motivated enough or not intelligent enough. 

It's football not chess.

[Fraserkirky]

My Team:

-------------Raya-----------------

Caddis Ward Mulgrew Williams

------Evans Smallwood-----------

--Bennett Gladwin Chapman---

--------------Samuel----------------

That team has balance

No Whittingham, Nyambe, Graham, Dack due to performance at Southend.

If Ward can stay fit, I see him being a mainstay in the team, gives us some height and the closest to a proper old fashioned centre half we have. I think Graham will struggle to get in the team now.

I am sortof impressed at the squad Tony has assembled, on paper. Need a performance tomorrow. I think we win comfortably,

[perthblue02]

4 hours ago, Mercer said:

What's the problem?

There should be an enormous chasm between the two teams - one a relegated Championship team still able to field the likes of Mulgrew, Graham etc and the other a promoted Div 2 team with most Rovers' fans struggling to name even one Donny player.

Think we'd struggle to win a Sunday league game at Pleasington according to some on here.

Similar was also said (maybe not by yourself ) before the third game in the Championship 2013/14 season. result Doncaster 2 Rovers 0 , out muscled and out gunned.

Can not take anything for granted in the Third Division . The way Southend dealt with us will have been noted by many a team in this league, saying that hopeful of a Rovers win to kick start the season

[arbitro]

I don't really like making predictions as there are too many variables in a game of football. However at the back of my mind is a Friday night trip to Doncaster recently when we were shockingly bad and lost 2-0 with Chris Brown scoring and leading our defence a merry dance.

Overconfidence is a dangerous trait which sometimes transcends into arrogance. 

[Mike E]

3 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I don't really like making predictions as there are too many variables in a game of football. However at the back of my mind is a Friday night trip to Doncaster recently when we were shockingly bad and lost 2-0 with Chris Brown scoring and leading our defence a merry dance.

Overconfidence is a dangerous trait which sometimes transcends into arrogance. 

Wasn't it 3-0?

[arbitro]

Just now, Mike E said:

Wasn't it 3-0?

I have 2-0 in the back of my mind.

[K-Hod]

11 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Wasn't it 3-0?

I went and it was 2-0 and horrible. I was going on holiday the following week, that was the only thing that got me through that journey home!

As I recall, it was a Friday night due to the a clash with the world jet skiing championship on the Saturday....

[blueboy3333]

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/doncaster-rovers/blackburn-rovers-v-doncaster-rovers-ferguson-aims-to-test-blackburn-s-mindset-1-8699364

Fergie Jnr on parallels between them last season and us this season

[Ricky]

Andy Williams is back for Donny. He's from the same town as me and his family still live up the road.

[Gav]

Just had a chat with some Donny fans from Bristol at Keele services, they're looking forward to a pint of Wainwright in "The big pub behind the away end" told them they'll be disappointed it didn't let away fans in last time I was up, so they're heading for the Golden Cup instead.

Not expecting to much, they'll be happy with a draw, so will we!

 

[Giant]

The crowd will be well down today due to the second half of the Church v. Darwen Worsley Cup Final taking place this afternoon. This will be the priority for many Rovers fans, whose sporting concerns will be at the WECG, not Ewood today. I hope the turnstiles at Ewood will be open for the mass influx at around 4pm, by which time the Mighty Church will have beaten the Towers..........hopefully.

[jim mk2]

8 minutes ago, Giant said:

The crowd will be well down today due to the second half of the Church v. Darwen Worsley Cup Final taking place this afternoon. This will be the priority for many Rovers fans, whose sporting concerns will be at the WECG, not Ewood today. I hope the turnstiles at Ewood will be open for the mass influx at around 4pm, by which time the Mighty Church will have beaten the Towers..........hopefully.

I love my cricket, but seriously ?

After last week's debacle, Mowbray needs a good result today.

1-1 draw

[Giant]

12 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

I love my cricket, but seriously ?

After last week's debacle, Mowbray needs a good result today.

1-1 draw

Judging by the number at the first part of the game last Sunday, you clearly don't understand that the Worsley Cup final is more important to a lot of people who support Rovers and Church and Darwen cricket clubs than today's game at Ewood. By the way, my original post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

[neophox]

Would give Graham a start today. Think he wants to show he is nr one now that Samuel, Chapman and Antonsson compete for a starting place...

[neophox]

I think our overconfidence hit a snag at Southend for a reality check and that will stand us good in the coming games..

[blueboy3333]

1 hour ago, Ricky said:

Andy Williams is back for Donny. He's from the same town as me and his family still live up the road.

That's added extra spice to the occasion.

Let's hope it's not the Andy Williams Show today. First game of the season is always The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Danny Boy Graham should ensure we don't leave Ewood with Sad Eyes after another Hopeless performance, but instead with a Happy Heart and Sweet Memories.

[Blueandwhitemike]

 

Very excited for today, as I teach in Shanghai I only get to go to a few games in august every year and I haven't seen us win for several years now so hoping today can stop me feeling like a jinx

It is going to be interesting to see who gets to play centre mid today as I think we have three players that expect to start most games.  Whittingham hasn't come here and (supposedly) turned down champs teams to sit pos the bench, Evans is, when fit, clearly a championship standard midfielder so I think he'll be expecting to play as often as his body lets him so that leaves Smallwood and I think TM quite likes him but he'd be the one to sit out for me.   Whilst performances at Coventry may have been encouraging I think they should be taken in the context that they were against a L2 side that had made 6 (iirc) changes....

My tactical worry about TM is that he seems to want the full backs to get really high and play like wingbacks a la Barcelona and the like, which is great when it works well but combined with playing narrow and advanced up top leaves us sometimes easily exploited at the back.  I don't think it is always the fault of Williams and Nyambe that they get caught out of position.  Last season Lowe used to come across and help cover Nyambe but I didn't see that happening with Smallwood against Southend.  Also I'd be very surprised to see Danny Graham dropped, he was anonymous last Saturday but he is a class apart in this league (or at least should be) and I expect (as I amine TM does) that he will get a lot of goals this season, especially at home, Samuel was similarly bad last Saturday and whilst I hope he plays a big role I'm getting us promoted he wasn't amazing against Cov, and if he's going to play right of the three in games he needs to learn how to do it better.

I think whilst it will be a long and sometimes difficult season I fully expect to get promoted and anything less is major failure.  I think it might be a lot easier at home (even though many teams will park the proverbial bus) with our big pitch than away at compact little grounds like Roots Hall.  That might be an obvious point to make but the game last Saturday really showed me that TM has work to do on the tactical side for those types of games.  

He want the team to play the ball around, draw teams out and play in the spaces and at Ewood we should be able to do that, we've got some decent passers now (especially at centre back  ) so I'm hoping that here we should be able to win most games starting today.

I'm torn between 3 and 4 at the back, I prefer 4 myself, especially as from reports we were not very solid defensively playing three at Coventry, but with the full backs quite high whichever system we use I can see the logic in having three centre backs.  Ward can play in a flat back 4 and it is silly to think he can't and although he has his critics I'm hopeful (but not certain) he can prove a good centre back at this level, only thing is he would look better (as would Mulgrew) with someone quick at his side.

My team would be 

 

                    Raya

Caddis Ward Mulgrew Williams 

       Whittingham Evans

????        Bennett      Chapman

                Graham

 

I'm not sure who to play on the right, I've not seen Gladwin, and although I don't think Feeney is useless if played right I'm not a fan, Conway is still coming back to fitness and Samuel looked out of position when he played there last week.  I think Bennett's best games have been in behind the striker and whilst he's not the most creative his energy and pressing there really make a big difference.  I'm presuming Dack isn't quite ready (and poor last week) although I think he might be a big player, especially at home.

Personally I'd go for 442 and stick Samuel or Antonsson up top but I don't get the impression that TM will go with two there.

[G Somerset Rover]

1 hour ago, Gav said:

Not expecting to much, they'll be happy with a draw, so will we!

 

You would take a draw or the wider fan base? If it's the latter, you're wrong. 3 points a must today.

[Skiptonrover]

In keeping with the thread 3-1 prediction more confident with antonnsen if he features.

[Mattyblue]

Away fans are allowed back in the Fernhurst now, load of Bristol City fans were in there when I was last season.

[blueboy3333]

Off to Ewood today to watch 3rd Division football for the first time in 37 years. I'm excited. For 90 minutes I won't give the Venky mob a second thought.

COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tomphil]

First time i'll ever have seen them in the 3rd tier but it's something I've known has been on the cards for 5 years. A trip to Southend was probably rather unique for those who went as it was a proper welcome to league 1 in every sense.

Nowt unique about today though as it's not long since we were playing and struggling against Donny Rovers and the reality of league 1 dawned fully last week, nothing nostalgic about it at all now it's real and here we are.

Very tricky game this but an early goal could really get the tails up.

[Boaty]

Should be winning this one easily. Won't be attending due to ridiculous ticket pricing though. 22 quid for division 3 is unacceptable