[Archived] Scunthorpe United v ROVERS

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

48 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

We didn't have the best or most expensive squad in the league then, we probably do now.

Rhodes and Rudy were very static and operated in the same narrow area of the pitch. It makes a difference to the way the team plays, regardless of what some silly arse will say about how it doesn't matter if they don't 'run the channels FFS'.  I think Samuel and Antonsson are a lot more mobile from what I've seen.

.

Let's hope not. Rhodes was a penalty box player and top class finisher for us. He was also a poor footballer who offered no outlet when we were under the cosh. The end.

I would agree with you regarding mobility, the two we've got now work harder and cover more ground.

[only2garners]

46 minutes ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

After a bit of digging, it would appear the last time that we won five on the bounce was back in our promotion season of 2000/2001, where we won six on the spin before drawing away to Pompey. Those six were:

18 October 2000    Wimbledon    A    2-0    6,019    Willmott (own goal), Flitcroft
21 October 2000    Grimsby Town    H    2-0    16,397    Flitcroft, Jansen
25 October 2000    Tranmere Rovers    H    3-2    17,010    Hughes (2), Østenstad
28 October 2000    Huddersfield Town    A    1-0    12,287    Østenstad
4 November 2000    Stockport County    H    2-1    17,404    Hughes, Hignett
8 November 2000    Barnsley    A    2-1    13,622    Jansen, Dunn

Would that be the last time we won three away in a row as well?

The old adage for promotion was to win your home games and draw away - on that measure we are two points ahead of target.

[G Somerset Rover]

1 minute ago, only2garners said:

Would that be the last time we won three away in a row as well?

The old adage for promotion was to win your home games and draw away - on that measure we are two points ahead of target.

Don't quote me on it but you would imagine so. If you look on wiki at previous seasons it highlights matches won. Unsurprisingly the 3+ victory patches were about as rare as hens teeth since the turn of the millennium!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 minutes ago, RV Blue said:

He does run around a lot but not in a threatening manner, he's never running in the right position to cut off potential passes. As I said in an earlier post, he runs like a dog would do when chasing the ball.

Pedersen used to top the " running around " stats as well I believe. Trouble was they weren't always useful yards. He'd track back with an opposing full back half the length of the pitch stride for stride but he'd never put a tackle in and the cross came over anyway.

Antonnson runs around a lot but it's not always productive. On Saturday he never won a foot race with any of their back four and in a toe to toe challenge with their defenders he never came away with the ball. Ok, we my get him fitter and he may get a bit quicker then but as for playing like Dickov - he'd need a head transplant !  He looks like the friendly, pleasant, easy going Scandanavian. In that respect he reminds me a lot of MGP.

What ever happened to the Viking spirit ? The only real animal I can remember was Stig Tofting.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

But he wasn't doing laps of the pitch, was he? If he ran 12km , that means whoever was marking him had to do nearly the same. I'm not sure what the average ground covered for a player in League 1 is, but I would a centre half would not like to be marking a guy that covers that kind of ground.

So by "curving his run" do you mean he should run a different direction that the defender and then curve in, to take the defender by surprise? Fair enough, but sometimes running directly at a defender to close them down can panic them enough. I wouldn't say the majority of centre halves in League 1 are composed and classy footballers, like Mulgrew for example. 

How far did Tugay run in games ? It's not how far you run it's wether the runs lead anywhere. I could seriously run all day when I played, it didn't make me a pro though.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Would hope a few more make the trip to Ewood on Saturday...this team and Manager are well worth the effort.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

How far did Tugay run in games ? It's not how far you run it's wether the runs lead anywhere. I could seriously run all day when I played, it didn't make me a pro though.

Come on now, Tugay was an exception(genius).

Of course it is just a starting point, but I would prefer to start with a hard working player, rather than a lazy sod. Plus there is the fact that he has scored 2 in 2. Hardwork and goals, he is bringing both. Fair play to the lad. 

[Beanie01289]

The simple fact of the matter is the lad is grafting his @#/? off and scoring at the moment that as all I ask of him.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Come on now, Tugay was an exception(genius).

Of course it is just a starting point, but I would prefer to start with a hard working player, rather than a lazy sod. Plus there is the fact that he has scored 2 in 2. Hardwork and goals, he is bringing both. Fair play to the lad. 

He'd be a handy lad to bring on if you're behind and you need a goal or even as a starting player against the teams that are obviously going to park the bus when we play at home. If we're going to play 4-4-2 away I'd prefer to play somebody who can hold onto the ball a bit better up front  and relieve the pressure that we'll be under. If Danny Graham has his " I'm trying " head on he'd be the ideal striker to partner Samuel in these sorts of game.

[Bigdoggsteel]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

He'd be a handy lad to bring on if you're behind and you need a goal or even as a starting player against the teams that are obviously going to park the bus when we play at home. If we're going to play 4-4-2 away I'd prefer to play somebody who can hold onto the ball a bit better up front  and relieve the pressure that we'll be under. If Danny Graham has his " I'm trying " head on he'd be the ideal striker to partner Samuel in these sorts of game.

Ya, but will Graham run 12km? I'm not sure he would be anywhere near that. If he is marking a big strong centre half, his ability to hold the ball will be limited enough. I like Graham, but he needs to show more at this point to be a starter for me. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, but will Graham run 12km? I'm not sure he would be anywhere near that. If he is marking a big strong centre half, his ability to hold the ball will be limited enough. I like Graham, but he needs to show more at this point to be a starter for me. 

Why don't we get Mo Farah in ? He can play a bit and run 25k.

[tomphil]

I think if Mowbray has decided on starting games in a 442 he wants lads closing down from the front and as long as we don't concede keep it tight get a foothold in games away from home then introduce the attacking talent to stretch them as the game goes on.

Have to say it's working so far in away games so need to change at the min although I understand wanting an outlet and the ball to stick up front a bit more but we don't really have a unit to put in there and do that. Some of us were crying out for it all summer along with a unit at the back, having said that he'd revert to one up top if that was the case.

[RevidgeBlue]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I can see this being a re run of the Rhodes debate. Can we play with an out and out penalty area player and be successful ? I've only seen him play in the flesh once but I was deeply un-impressed. He lacked the physicalitity to contribute to all around team play. Maybe he's not yet playing to the best of his ability ? I hope for our sakes that this is the case. Watching the film of him in previous games he looks like a decent finisher with some nice goals. Some pretty poor goalkeeping in those clips though.

Are the other nine outfield players good enough to make up for his lack of contribution to team play ?  That is the question. We'll see. 

I remember Rhodes scoring goals for us regularly yet we never really looked like challenging for promotion in that time.

Groan. Im not going to get drawn into this ancient old chestnut again but our inability to challenge  for promotion had absolutely nothing to do with Rhodes (or Gestede) but was primarily due tothe fact we didnt have an effective grafter in the middle of the park like Smallwood.

If we still had Lowe in the middle we'd still be struggling imo. As for Antonssen, wasn't there last night but thought people were harsh about his contribution at Rochdale and the finish at last night was a technically difficult one maybe only he outbof our current strikers could have pulled off. If people keep wittering on about his supposed deficiencies and he keeps scoring a goal a game he'll do for me.

My last word on here about Rhodes. den will be along in a minute. He pops up like candyman every time the word "Rhodes" is uttered 3 times! 

[Bigdoggsteel]

10 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Why don't we get Mo Farah in ? He can play a bit and run 25k.

Too skinny and probably wouldn't pass a drugs test 

[rossyrover]

I think I am going to have to withdraw my previous posts criticising Antonssen if he keeps up his scoring run.  

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, rossyrover said:

I think I am going to have to withdraw my previous posts criticising Antonssen if he keeps up his scoring run.  

If he plays well, I'll be the first to say so. On Saturday apart from the goal he was anonymous. That's not just me, several other people who at the game and saw what I saw said the same.

[EgyptianPete]

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

If he plays well, I'll be the first to say so. On Saturday apart from the goal he was anonymous. That's not just me, several other people who at the game and saw what I saw said the same.

Well Gary Lineker didn't do much running or tackling, and i'm not saying Antonssen is anywhere near his class,  but score every week,  well we cant complain

[Dreams of 1995]

Antonsson running 12km a game means nothing if those 12km is his him chasing shadows. He doesn't get in behind the back 4 often enough, certainly doesn't put any defenders under much pressure and doesn't seem to come out of any type of 50-50 with the ball. His name has been brought up but Paul Dickov was an expert at this. When he was chasing the ball you had an inkling he was going to come out of any challenge with it - with Antonsson you never really feel confident in his ability to pull off the long odds.

I don't think the criticism of him is unwarranted. I hope it's some sort of confidence issue with him to as why his interplay isn't what I expected.

I think what RVBlue is on about when he says closing the pass down is putting yourself in front of the easy way out, something Antonsson doesn't do. He charges directly for the ball, allows the defender to play a simple pass to the side and that means Antonsson is on the chase again. Repeat this process around the back 4 and you probably see why Antonsson has been substituted most games because he's puffing. He needs to learn to position himself in a way that the defender has to play the long ball, or the most difficult ball. If you watch Graham closing down, when he does, you'll see he arcs his run so that his body is in the best position to cut out the simple pass. It's a question of football intelligence and in this respect I think Antonsson is all bark and no bite.

Great point by blueboy though about him finding space in the box. If he's a fox in the box and knows where to be then I'm good with that. He can run around like Lassie on crack for me if he keeps putting the ball in the net once a game. I'd like to see him improve the quality of his chasing down, play on the shoulder of the last man and let Samuel do the interplay and then see what he's made of as a real poacher.

I feel confident with them both up front, largely because of Samuel. I think with him as an everpresent with either Graham or Antonsson we will have a very successful front two partnership. He's a real player.

[gumboots]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

My wife wouldn't agree, I'll bet Gumboots wouldn't either. Come to think of it, I don't agree either.

How come you can't use that language on this site then?

I don't get offended by bad language. I just don't see the point and overuse, particularly of f***, means it hasn't got the impact it used to have. When I was growing up, hearing bad language was rare so that if you did hear it you knew somebody was very angry or upset or whatever. Nowadays they might just have dropped a 5p coin or something as minor

[the original david brent]

3 hours ago, RV Blue said:

 I saw with my own eyes (did you? I doubt it) that he wasn't intelligent with his runs and brought absolutely nothing to the table apart from his goal.

I was there and I think Antonnson has got better with every game. The saying 'brought nothing to table the but the goal' never ceases to amaze me! It was a brilliantly taken goal and has won us 3 points! He also scored the crucial 2nd goal against Rochdale to secure the points. Graham Alexander was bemoaning his teams inability to score yesterday - lots of football and endeavour but crucially no goal - I'm sure he'd love an Antonnson in his team!

Also Gavlar Somerset that is a great stat and has saved me a job in trying to find it! Some good memories in that 6 game winning run. I went to Craven Cottage and saw us get beat 3 days before the run began at Wimbledon. Thought it was going to be a long season before that happened. Best memories - Mark Hughes 2 goal debut v Tranmere, Hignett injury time 25 yard free kick winner v Stockport, Dunn late winner top corner at Barnsley in front of us in the away end (Barnsley took the lead through Stuart Ripley) and Ostenstad sending 4,000 plus wild at Huddersfield! 

Lets hope we can beat Wimbledon and go for the 6 at Shrewsbury.

 

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

22 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Antonsson running 12km a game means nothing if those 12km is his him chasing shadows. He doesn't get in behind the back 4 often enough, certainly doesn't put any defenders under much pressure and doesn't seem to come out of any type of 50-50 with the ball. His name has been brought up but Paul Dickov was an expert at this. When he was chasing the ball you had an inkling he was going to come out of any challenge with it - with Antonsson you never really feel confident in his ability to pull off the long odds.

I don't think the criticism of him is unwarranted. I hope it's some sort of confidence issue with him to as why his interplay isn't what I expected.

I think what RVBlue is on about when he says closing the pass down is putting yourself in front of the easy way out, something Antonsson doesn't do. He charges directly for the ball, allows the defender to play a simple pass to the side and that means Antonsson is on the chase again. Repeat this process around the back 4 and you probably see why Antonsson has been substituted most games because he's puffing. He needs to learn to position himself in a way that the defender has to play the long ball, or the most difficult ball. If you watch Graham closing down, when he does, you'll see he arcs his run so that his body is in the best position to cut out the simple pass. It's a question of football intelligence and in this respect I think Antonsson is all bark and no bite.

Great point by blueboy though about him finding space in the box. If he's a fox in the box and knows where to be then I'm good with that. He can run around like Lassie on crack for me if he keeps putting the ball in the net once a game. I'd like to see him improve the quality of his chasing down, play on the shoulder of the last man and let Samuel do the interplay and then see what he's made of as a real poacher.

I feel confident with them both up front, largely because of Samuel. I think with him as an everpresent with either Graham or Antonsson we will have a very successful front two partnership. He's a real player.

The problem is with all of our strikers at the moment is their first movement is back towards the ball. We needed someone who's first movement is away from the ball into the spaces behind the back four. Craig Bellamy was a master at it, Andy Cole and Matt Jansen weren't bad either. Every game Bellamy played in the opposition had to defend 10 yards deeper to counteract the ball over the top. He'd be first to the ball 9/10.

[RV Blue]

22 minutes ago, david brent said:

I was there and I think Antonnson has got better with every game. The saying 'brought nothing to table the but the goal' never ceases to amaze me! It was a brilliantly taken goal and has won us 3 points! He also scored the crucial 2nd goal against Rochdale to secure the points. Graham Alexander was bemoaning his teams inability to score yesterday - lots of football and endeavour but crucially no goal - I'm sure he'd love an Antonnson in his team!

Like I said, if he keeps putting it in the back of the net, you can't really complain. The problem comes when he doesn't score and you have essentially been playing with 10 men. It is the Rhodes debate again, and hopefully this time we're good enough to carry someone who is a liability for the vast majority of a game.

[Mike E]

Re: my earlier post...

1. I thought it was funny.

2. It isn't aimed at anyone in particular, and certainly not those who quite rightly rather not hear them (I consider myself one of those people, there's a time and a place).

3. It was in reaction to the idea that footballers may get upset by their boss swearing (something that goes on in every environment I've been in, from the footy dressing room, to the golf club, to the teacher's staffroom).

4. The point is generally that those who get loudly and melodramatically offended by those words tend to be the sort of trolls who provoke others into calling them such things.

5. Lighten up!

[the original david brent]

52 minutes ago, RV Blue said:

Like I said, if he keeps putting it in the back of the net, you can't really complain. The problem comes when he doesn't score and you have essentially been playing with 10 men. It is the Rhodes debate again, and hopefully this time we're good enough to carry someone who is a liability for the vast majority of a game.

Fair enough. I just got a feeling Antonson is going to be a decent player (contributor and goalscorer). I thought he was more involved last night than he has been in previous games and there were flashes of class; although granted it didn't always come off. He seems very much a confidence player.

I appreciate you will probably disagree! 

[chaddyrovers]

Can anyone at the game, comment how well the back 4 played and did Evans and Smallwood win their midfield battle?