[Archived] Blackpool away

[Speedie's Gonna Get Ya]

2 hours ago, arbitro said:

Great result, indifferent performance but once again we score four away from home. I genuinely think we can score in every game but there will be games when it's only one. A few clean sheets in the next few games should see us challenging Shrewsbury and hopefully Wigan.

The work rate of the team was really high tonight and we seem to have a greater intensity away from home. Still lots to work on though to get a consistent performance for ninety minutes.

Correlation with level of positive vocal support from fans you hear at away games. Anyone else wonder if the players feel less confident at home?

[JacknOry]

Four wins from four - have to give massive credit to Tomo and the team for what they have done in the last ten days. Gone from a season where the playoffs looked our best bet to now really having a chance at promotion if they can keep racking up the points. Certainly earned a reprieve from me has Tomo although I still have some doubts overall - but credit to him as he has steered us into a much better position after some early season cock-ups.

Mulgrew has been instrumental and I feel we will lose him even if we d get promoted at the end of the season. He really looks like he is enjoying himself though so who knows. Smallwood a lot quieter but when you consider the level of work he puts in (and HAS put in all season) he can be excused after four games in ten days of not being quite at his best. Dack is a born-match winner and is what links everything together further up the pitch - he is turning into a real gem now and god forbid he does not get injured. I think he could do a job in the Championship as well.

Those three are without a doubt the first three names on the teamsheet and are our best players - we actually own them too which is nice. We have a bit of quality around them but they are the standouts.

We are scoring from everywhere too, I think its only Nyambe and Whittingham from that starting eleven that has not yet notched this year. When we go at teams we have the firepower to cause real problems and this is how we always have to setup - at least in bursts like last night.

I feel we have to rest some for the upcoming cup game, Smallwood deserves one especially. I would say Mulgrew as well but who will come in for him?

Anyway onwards and upwards!

[Tugay's Right Foot]

16 minutes ago, JacknOry said:

 

I feel we have to rest some for the upcoming cup game, Smallwood deserves one especially. I would say Mulgrew as well but who will come in for him?

 

Wharton captained the kids the other night. Probably worth a run out for the FA Cup. Probably take pick two of Harper/Whittingham/Evans so that Smallwood can have a break. Harper seems to have a work engine similar to Smallwood. The FA Cup might be a good chance to let Travis have a go at RB and Doyle at LB.

 

Anyhow, back to the match, great result but so-so performance. Antonsson is a finisher and now our top scorer. Can't see him being dropped now. Downing's first goal was so welcome! Hope that the winning run can keep going, say, let's match Man City's 11-matches run!

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A winning run,confidence high and the club heading in the right direction.

This is what the fans expect,this is what the fans demand Tony.....keep up the good form.

Feels good.

[ChrisPriceBaldSpot]

7 hours ago, 47er said:

Exposed by Delfuenso?!!! Is that even possible? If true then JAL is right, NYAMBE OUT!

Could understand it if he had been exposed by Dack!!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 hours ago, skous18 said:

Wtf thats some shockin defending from Blackpool. 

I am not his bigeest fan but Antonsson looked quality.. Was he any good today

I'm only going off those highlights but Antonnson looked quicker on the ball than I've seen before. Poor defending on Blackpool's part for our first two goals  but that's what you get at this level if you put players under pressure.

It's good to score four goals away but none of those came from open play. Two gifts, a free kick and one from a corner.

It's starting to become clear that neither Whittingham or Evans is the answer to whoever partners Smallwood in midfield.. That's a lot of wages for no great effect, oh for an Eamon Rogers or a Simon Barker or Stuart Metcalfe.

How seriously do we take the Crewe game ? Do we play our best 11or do we use the game to experiment ?

[Dreams of 1995]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I'm only going off those highlights but Antonnson looked quicker on the ball than I've seen before. Poor defending on Blackpool's part for our first two goals  but that's what you get at this level if you put players under pressure.

It's good to score four goals away but none of those came from open play. Two gifts, a free kick and one from a corner.

It's starting to become clear that neither Whittingham or Evans is the answer to whoever partners Smallwood in midfield.. That's a lot of wages for no great effect, oh for an Eamon Rogers or a Simon Barker or Stuart Metcalfe.

How seriously do we take the Crewe game ? Do we play our best 11or do we use the game to experiment ?

This is the FA Cup Tyrone. We take it seriously and win. Maybe give a chance to a couple of fringe players but ultimately we stick to what is working and win.

[BigUts]

Distribution from Raya when Antonsson hit th post was top drawer!

[MarkBRFC]

Personally, I'd take Dack, Smallwood & Mulgrew out against Crewe and refresh them for the next batch of league games coming up.

Bring in Evans, Harper & Wharton. Maybe try Whittingham a bit further forward in Dacks roll where he can get a few shots away and play that killer pass, afterall I don't think he has ever played in this position just in front of the back four in his whole career.

[Manchester Blue]

Harper got 10 minutes for whoever asked.  I agree he looked really decent though, much more composed than at Oxford when he came on, held the ball up, drove forward well and put some good tackles in.  Calm and composed just at the right time.  I tend to agree to an extent with Schoey on Nyambe but I wouldn't say he was exposed as such, I'd say most full backs when targeted with a big striker doubling up would lose most headers and he did, but as you say he stuck to his guns and second half he was much better and worked well with Bennett.  I do think he lacks confidence and composure at times but I can see him improving.  I'd just said to my Dad on Saturday he'd done pretty much nothing compare to Williams and then he did some fantastic skill to turn into Cafu for a sec.  Hopefully just a matter of time and the good thing is we've good cover in Caddis.

Whittingham is strange one, I can fully understand him not being popular he doesn't charge around, doesn't really put many tackles in etc but he does offer good balance when alongside Smallwood in my view.  he's deffo not a winger and shouldn't play there like Saturday, but 2nd half he showed plenty of evidence of what he brings.  I would agree he's not playing to my expectation, let alone some of the folk who think we should have world beaters in every position so no issues with criticism but he should be judged when played in a role that suits in my opinion.

Overall a great trip, awful first half really was we'd have had no complaints about being behind but clearly got a roasting off Mowbray at half time and came out and battered them  Rounds off a great run of games.

[AAK]

Just now, Manchester Blue said:

Harper got 10 minutes for whoever asked.  I agree he looked really decent though, much more composed than at Oxford when he came on, held the ball up, drove forward well and put some good tackles in.  Calm and composed just at the right time.  I tend to agree to an extent with Schoey on Nyambe but I wouldn't say he was exposed as such, I'd say most full backs when targeted with a big striker doubling up would lose most headers and he did, but as you say he stuck to his guns and second half he was much better and worked well with Bennett.  I do think he lacks confidence and composure at times but I can see him improving.  I'd just said to my Dad on Saturday he'd done pretty much nothing compare to Williams and then he did some fantastic skill to turn into Cafu for a sec.  Hopefully just a matter of time and the good thing is we've good cover in Caddis.

Whittingham is strange one, I can fully understand him not being popular he doesn't charge around, doesn't really put many tackles in etc but he does offer good balance when alongside Smallwood in my view.  he's deffo not a winger and shouldn't play there like Saturday, but 2nd half he showed plenty of evidence of what he brings.  I would agree he's not playing to my expectation, let alone some of the folk who think we should have world beaters in every position so no issues with criticism but he should be judged when played in a role that suits in my opinion.

Overall a great trip, awful first half really was we'd have had no complaints about being behind but clearly got a roasting off Mowbray at half time and came out and battered them  Rounds off a great run of games.

Was also impressed with Harper, looked good on the ball, and broke very quickly with the ball, which is something we need and his distribution was brilliant.

[Dreams of 1995]

3 minutes ago, Manchester Blue said:

Harper got 10 minutes for whoever asked.  I agree he looked really decent though, much more composed than at Oxford when he came on, held the ball up, drove forward well and put some good tackles in.  Calm and composed just at the right time.  I tend to agree to an extent with Schoey on Nyambe but I wouldn't say he was exposed as such, I'd say most full backs when targeted with a big striker doubling up would lose most headers and he did, but as you say he stuck to his guns and second half he was much better and worked well with Bennett.  I do think he lacks confidence and composure at times but I can see him improving.  I'd just said to my Dad on Saturday he'd done pretty much nothing compare to Williams and then he did some fantastic skill to turn into Cafu for a sec.  Hopefully just a matter of time and the good thing is we've good cover in Caddis.

Whittingham is strange one, I can fully understand him not being popular he doesn't charge around, doesn't really put many tackles in etc but he does offer good balance when alongside Smallwood in my view.  he's deffo not a winger and shouldn't play there like Saturday, but 2nd half he showed plenty of evidence of what he brings.  I would agree he's not playing to my expectation, let alone some of the folk who think we should have world beaters in every position so no issues with criticism but he should be judged when played in a role that suits in my opinion.

Overall a great trip, awful first half really was we'd have had no complaints about being behind but clearly got a roasting off Mowbray at half time and came out and battered them  Rounds off a great run of games.

I think the criticism of Whittingham is borne out of a false hope for what he'd do in this league. He can put the ball on a 50 pence piece but isn't afforded the time in this league to pick out that killer ball. Whether it's due to the, what seem to be, smaller pitches, poorer surfaces (although the pitches have been a lot better than what I expected so far) or simply that a lot of midfielders in this league are industrious and don't stand off, preferring to chase everything or a combination of all I don't know. He seems to shy away from some games for large periods of the time. When he had Evans & Smallwood in the midfield with him vs Oxford you'd have expected him to dictate the tempo but he didn't seem to get a footing in the game.

I much preferred Whittingham when we brought him on later in the game to take control of it. His game management is second to none and knows how to retain possession. I think we as fans need to put the thoughts of the old Whittingham aside and understand he's come to us in this league because the best is behind him. He is still probably our best passer of the ball and takes a fantastic corner. He just isn't going to dictate every single game like we thought he would so, it's for this case really, that I'm glad Harper is showing glimpses of quality. A bit of youthful exuberance.

I agree he's definitely not a winger anymore. His time there has passed.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I not excusing Nyambe but he shouldn't have been jumping with a big centre half for that free kick. We didn't match up correctly there.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, BigUts said:

Distribution from Raya when Antonsson hit th post was top drawer!

Yeah, that was a brilliant pass, took the man out and sent Antonnson on his way.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, MarkBRFC said:

Personally, I'd take Dack, Smallwood & Mulgrew out against Crewe and refresh them for the next batch of league games coming up.

Bring in Evans, Harper & Wharton. Maybe try Whittingham a bit further forward in Dacks roll where he can get a few shots away and play that killer pass, afterall I don't think he has ever played in this position just in front of the back four in his whole career.

I'm not sure Whittingham's got the legs for the Dack role anymore. If we are going to experiment I would have thought Gladwin was brought in as cover for Dack.

[had.e.nuff]

1 hour ago, ChrisPriceBaldSpot said:

Could understand it if he had been exposed by Dack!!

but that would mean another court case.

[blueboy3333]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I not excusing Nyambe but he shouldn't have been jumping with a big centre half for that free kick. We didn't match up correctly there.

There were two big CH's at the back post. One had taken Nyambe out and was on the ground with him and the other was unmarked. Somebody else wasn't doing their job.

[nathan_rovers1]

12 hours ago, neophox said:

Graham woeful first half and Smallwood and Whittingham not really up for it has to Do better second half. Would put on Samuel 10 mins into second half..

why was graham woeful? 

[nathan_rovers1]

I drove some 608 miles taking about 14 hours in total and arriving home at about 4:30 this morning  while having to be on a train to work in London at 6:30 this morning. But My god it is worth it!!!!! 

First thing first, it is bloody cold up north. Secondly a great performance, the team seemed to be playing as a team and my god the football club feels different at the moment, I got a true feeling of optimism last night which none of us have had in a while. 

[blueboy3333]

Just now, nathan_rovers1 said:

I drove some 608 miles taking about 14 hours in total and arriving home at about 4:30 this morning  while having to be on a train to work in London at 6:30 this morning. But My god it is worth it!!!!! 

First thing first, it is bloody cold up north. Secondly a great performance, the team seemed to be playing as a team and my god the football club feels different at the moment, I got a true feeling of optimism last night which none of us have had in a while. 

Respect, sir...and to all the others who put those kind of miles in to watch Rovers.

 

[booth]

Haven't seen the score yet as I've been working nights and was asleep while it was on.

Guessing both managers parked the bus to a dire 0-0? Or even us losing 0-1 in the closing minutes?

[JHRover]

Another one of those performances where we have done enough to secure the win despite not being entirely convincing. I'll take that all day long and I'm starting to come to the conclusion that we probably can get away with doing that in this division as we have a significantly stronger and more experienced squad than most other teams in this league. We might not get away with it vs Wigan and some of the other top 6 but I think we will have enough against most to see us across the line in games even when we're not playing especially well or consistently.

We seem to be at the stage where we are taking our chances when they come and are having 20 minute periods in games where we are putting the game beyond reach of the opposition. Against Bury I wasn't particularly impressed with our performance and they started the better, but we weathered that storm and then bang bang two quick goals taken well and all of a sudden we were 2-0 up and Bury deflated. Oxford was similar although we started the game much more impressively and got at them from the start, but again 3 quick goals put them out of sight early doors giving us a cushion to rest on. Bristol Rovers more like Bury in that they started better and we were struggling and didn't really get going until they were ahead but another good response to a setback and two quick goals turned the game on its head. Against Blackpool they started the better and looked the more likely to score but two predatory strikes taking advantage of their errors (perhaps forcing them into errors) and we put ourselves in the driving seat before a good 15 minutes at the start of the 2nd half put us out of sight.

We have the experience of the likes of Graham, Bennett and Whittingham to see games out when defending a lead and we have the athleticism of people like Harper and Samuel to come of the bench in the last 30 minutes and run.

A little bit concerned at the ease with which Blackpool scored 2 goals and I'm not comfortable with our defence when we are pushed back and under pressure and balls are dropping into our box or people are running at us. We don't seem to be able to deal with it too well and appear panicky and nervous. Contrast to our attacking play and when Dack, Antonsson, Graham and Bennett are getting forward at teams in this league they will cause mayhem.

An excellent couple of weeks work and I applaud the manager for delivering that. I'm not going to get worked up about the FA Cup. We should progress through and keep the wins coming and the confidence flowing but the league is the focus now. We are back into the pack now having been chasing it for most of the season. Lots of work to do. Make no mistake our rivals - Wigan, Shrews, Scunny, Bradford and Charlton - will be looking at us with concern knowing that with the possible exception of Wigan we are stronger than all of them 'on paper' and are now threatening to rise above them.

Aim 1 is to get to 75 points for a play-off berth and we're 1/2 way there. Aim 2 is to get towards 90 points for automatic promotion.

[Tom]

Just now, booth said:

Haven't seen the score yet as I've been working nights and was asleep while it was on.

Guessing both managers parked the bus to a dire 0-0? Or even us losing 0-1 in the closing minutes?

Close 

[booth]

14 minutes ago, Tom said:

Close 

I bet that Antonsson was sh** again as well.

[Mike E]

11 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

Great pic from the LT

Is Downing trying to powerbomb Charlie?