[Archived] Gillingham - Home

[grizfoot]

2 hours ago, tomphil said:

Evans = rest for international duty after we've got him fit AGAIN.

Pish take that one is.

Might be sensible in the long-run if it helps prevent a possible injury. Thought Whittingham was excellent first-half and warranted his selection above Evans to be honest. What I did find bizarre was that Mowbray was clearly trying to solidify the midfield in the second half by moving Bennett into centre midfield when he had Evans sitting on the bench. 

 

[JAL]

48 minutes ago, rigger said:

I would suggest that the only quality striker we could entice to the Rovers, is one of, "division one quality" and I think we have those already!

So long as he's the best one in division one happy days!  Could you see the people at the club identifying then enticing such a player to the club, I can't .

[tomphil]

44 minutes ago, JAL said:

Would Rovers miss this player if he left the club ?

Not if the correct replacement was brought in no but if it was Whittingham then yes over the season.

He'll not leave though he's on a good number at Ewood carrying him between internationals and resting him whenever his persistent problem flares up then back in the team on a program tailored to get him ready for his next call up.  Who else will deliver that for him ?   let alone pay the wage he's on or a fee for him.

[tomphil]

59 minutes ago, grizfoot said:

Might be sensible in the long-run if it helps prevent a possible injury. Thought Whittingham was excellent first-half and warranted his selection above Evans to be honest. What I did find bizarre was that Mowbray was clearly trying to solidify the midfield in the second half by moving Bennett into centre midfield when he had Evans sitting on the bench. 

 

They have to manage him that way i'm told so there's no option and yes done sensibly it's the right way to go about things. My beef is it seems tailored to have him ready for International call ups and has been that way for years. Difference this time though is there is a capable player to fill in now if used correctly so over a season it should work out ok and if Whittingham is playing well he keeps his place although to me there isn't much left in his tank so he'll need to be the cameo man really I reckon.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, JAL said:

Would Rovers miss this player if he left the club ?

I think we would. I thought Whittingham was OK against Gillingham - he has a cool, collected head, but as others have suggested, he's a bit Pedersen-esque when it comes to tackling. I suppose that responsibility lies with Smallwood, and what an excellent man for the job he is, but if he suffered an injury, I'd rather have Evans to cover that job than Whittingham.

I still can't get over how good Smallwood has been for us. It already feels like Rovers is is home.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

They have to manage him that way i'm told so there's no option and yes done sensibly it's the right way to go about things. My beef is it seems tailored to have him ready for International call ups and has been that way for years. Difference this time though is there is a capable player to fill in now if used correctly so over a season it should work out ok and if Whittingham is playing well he keeps his place although to me there isn't much left in his tank so he'll need to be the cameo man really I reckon.

I was hoping that Tomlinson would be a good stand in for Evans but he seems to have gone missing.

[tomphil]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I was hoping that Tomlinson would be a good stand in for Evans but he seems to have gone missing.

I thought he was knocking on the door a couple of years ago to be honest but he never gets a proper sniff for some reason. Maybe he'll help drag us to Wembley in the Checktrade though

[Stuart]

9 hours ago, tomphil said:

Evans = rest for international duty after we've got him fit AGAIN.

Pish take that one is.

If they didn’t then we might have to face Blackpool without Mulgrew. Such a dependency on such an unreliable player. And a bit of a farce of a rule.

[Blow-in]

9 hours ago, Mike E said:

They weren't

He must have meant Warren 

[blueboy3333]

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2017/october/rovers-v-gillingham---extended-highlights/

Some superb saves from El Gato,..interspersed with the obligatory flap. Cat Flap

Just from those highlights it is noticeable how many times Smallwood breaks up danger. And some of his passes were sublime, especially the diagonal to Antonnson. Credit to Mowbray, RS has proven to be a fantastic signing.

 

[J*B]

35 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2017/october/rovers-v-gillingham---extended-highlights/

Some superb saves from El Gato,..interspersed with the obligatory flap. Cat Flap

Just from those highlights it is noticeable how many times Smallwood breaks up danger. And some of his passes were sublime, especially the diagonal to Antonnson. Credit to Mowbray, RS has proven to be a fantastic signing.

 

Makes you wonder really, Rotherham fans said he was average, we all wrote him off... he was joint first name on the teamsheet in the poll this week. Some players just fit certain teams better?

[Roverthechimp]

1 hour ago, J*B said:

Makes you wonder really, Rotherham fans said he was average, we all wrote him off... he was joint first name on the teamsheet in the poll this week. Some players just fit certain teams better?

Maybe fans aren't always right 

[Tom]

After watching the highlights it confirmed to me that Whittingham was really effective when sitting deep then hardly involved when moved.

Dack did a lot right; it will come for him.

Great saves by Raya but that pass in the second half was worse than I remember, he's cost us a goal already this season with his stupid antics he really needs to cut that sort of thing out sharpish.

[47er]

That save at the end was world-class---fantastic reflexes, going the wrong way initially,Then to get a hand to it so low. Brilliant.

But the kick-out to the defender was so poor it deserved a goal.

If they can improve his kicking or his judgement, and coach him re the high balls we would have a real player on our hands.

Certainly enough, if sold, to keep the floodlights on for another season. That's where its heading isn't it?

[OJRovers]

With Downing looking solid enough (seemed poor in the air for his size though), when Lenni is back it will give us options for the midfield. Mulgrew and Smallwood in the middle would be a match for anyone in this league.

[Mattyblue]

Agreed, but there does seem to be a reluctance to put Mulgrew in midfield (not sure if it's from the player himself?)

[Leyland-Rover]

50 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Agreed, but there does seem to be a reluctance to put Mulgrew in midfield (not sure if it's from the player himself?)

Maybe his age is catching up with him and can't handle the physical (injury risk, slower recovery between games etc) demands of running round as much as midfield demands?

I'm a big Mulgrew fan by the way, so I'm not criticising him. 

[Leyland-Rover]

Did anyone get a better look at the Chapman booking / dive? Did he dive or was the ref yellow-happy?

Mowbary was clever with his comment about it at, when interviewed after the game on Radio Lancashire. Said he hadn't seen it on the reply, but if he did agree he dived, he'd have a word in his ear and tell him to stay on his feet. I liked that. He says a spade is a spade, whereas say Mourinho et al would often categorically deny it was a dive without seeing a replay and change the subject. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Going off the highlights Dack should have scored at least 1. He got himself in good positions, just his shooting let him down. Hopefully he finds his shooting boots. You can see how he scored so many a few seasons ago though, bit of a more rough and ready Lampard about him. He arrives into the box late getting on the end of crosses or second balls. 

Also, how good is it to have a keeper again who is actually worth a few points?

Some great tackles by Smallwood in there. Does he get booked much? He seems to like the odd slider! 

[Sparks Rover]

5 hours ago, J*B said:

Makes you wonder really, Rotherham fans said he was average, we all wrote him off... he was joint first name on the teamsheet in the poll this week. Some players just fit certain teams better?

Or its a lower league, lower standards and we have now got used to cutting our cloth accordingly.....smallwood is ok...just ok.  It's the rest that are utter dross making him look like a world beater.

[JacknOry]

Smallwood just emphasizes how poor Lowe was. We had that man literally cemented into our midfield in the Championship - we bring in a little known guy from L1 who is instantly ten times better. Been player of the season for me easily so far and he will win it if he keeps this form up. i hold my hands up as was one that was not overly excited with the transfer on the face of it - but wow has he proved me wrong.

[AllRoverAsia]

1 hour ago, Leyland-Rover said:

Did anyone get a better look at the Chapman booking / dive? Did he dive or was the ref yellow-happy?

Mowbary was clever with his comment about it at, when interviewed after the game on Radio Lancashire. Said he hadn't seen it on the reply, but if he did agree he dived, he'd have a word in his ear and tell him to stay on his feet. I liked that. He says a spade is a spade, whereas say Mourinho et al would often categorically deny it was a dive without seeing a replay and change the subject. 

Good view of the incident at 5.10 taken from BBE.

Did Ref have a good view?

If Chapman dived then did the Gill make a 'simulated' tackle to buy the dive?

[Bigdoggsteel]

Decent dive, well done by the ref to spot it

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 hour ago, Sparks Rover said:

Or its a lower league, lower standards and we have now got used to cutting our cloth accordingly.....smallwood is ok...just ok.  It's the rest that are utter dross making him look like a world beater.

What a load of sh!te 

[Bigdoggsteel]

May explain why Whittingham was left on for the full 90

 

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/15570661._He_understands_my_thoughts____Tony_Mowbray_admits_it_has_been_a_frustrating_time_for_Peter_Whittingham_since_Rovers_move/?ref=mac