[Archived] Blackburn Roverseas previews Bristol Rovers (H) 25.11.17

[arbitro]

17 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I've only seen it on the Bristol Rovers forum and  it's not a great view so I can't comment on wether the off side decision is right or wrong. What I can say is the defending that led up to it was woeful.

It's a strange one but you are absolutely right about the defending. I can remember at least two similar incidents late in the second half when panic set in and there were mis kicks and air shots galore. The anxiety amongst the team when defending a lead scares me.

[Dreams of 1995]

Corry Evans had a terrible performance. He needs to really up his game. His first touch is abysmal and he pulls out of so many tackles. Take a look at the build up to their goal to see exactly why he isn't good enough

We made Bristol Rovers look better than they are. Some mediocre midfield play and Smallwood is hardly helped having both Whittingham and Evans having bad game after bad game. This needs addressing.

Mulgrew and Downing excellent once again. I'd even go as far as to say Williams was solid. Nyambe didn't have his best performance in a Rovers shirt and it felt as if all their danger came from that side. His performance was epitomised by his yellow card: a terrible first touch and a wild lunge. A 'youthful' performance.

Nuttall had very little to feed off and it was best that he came off. Both Samuel & Graham changed the game, in particular DG. He bullied the defenders, won headers and made brought the ball down well.

I wouldn't say the balls forward were "punts". Downing aimed for DG and found him - it's one of Downing's best qualities. Rather than the aimless punts we are accustomed too from Hanley and Duffy you actually feel like Mulgrew and Downing have an idea where they want the ball to land.

Our first half performance was...shite. After their goal we kicked it up a gear and could have had 3 or 4. 

[briansol]

An ugly, but good win Yesterday. Decent first 15 minutes with good tempo on the passing and winning every second ball. After that it fell flat, the midfield trio of Evans, Smallwood and Whittingham crowded out each other and we found no width against a very compact Bristol Rovers side. Evans and Smallwood are too similar going, only passing backwards, you need Whittingham in the centre to control the passing when the opposite is so defensively. Instead Bristol Rovers looked dangerous on the counter, especially with the full backs pushing up while the midfield gave away the ball. 

There was a couple of decent penalty shouts in the first half, but otherwise very little created. Bristol Rovers had a goal disallowed, very lucky for us because it seemed legitime.

Bristol Rovers got the goal they deserved in the second half, another half-assed closing down like Oxford, although a well placed shot which I don't blame Raya for. Mowbray brought on Samuel and Graham which both impressed. The tactics to bypass the midfield worked well and suddenly we turned the game. Very good movement and header from Samuel, reminded me of Gestede. 

In the end we held out for an ugly win, which can be seen as progress. This was a game we would have lost earlier in the season. I think Mowbray now realises it's an option to go more direct against defensive teams at home. 

 

 

[JacknOry]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

He's not a Chapman but he'd definitely make a difference. I can't see him coming here though.

Why not? Do you mean you cannot see us going for him or him just not wanting to come here?

[blueboy3333]

1 hour ago, ChrisPriceBaldSpot said:

I went and spoke to Tony before kick Off as my lad was mascot and when I said let's make this 3 wins On the bounce he looked decidedly nervous and tbh I walked out of his office feeling very nervous. 

You'll have scared the shit out of him saying things like that. Probably why he had central midfielders on the wing. It's your fault!

Did your lad have a good day?

[Paul]

3 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

Probably easier just to post the highlights:-

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/11143950/blackburn-2-1-bristol-rovers

So much for Mowbray the master tactician and his patient approach play. Two long punts with 2 up front and we score 2 in 5 minutes.

Tactically astute.

From that clip it’s very clear the Rovers midfielder through poor control in midfield gifted the opposition the chance for a very well taken goal. 

[blueboy3333]

Just now, Paul said:

From that clip it’s very clear the Rovers midfielder through poor control in midfield gifted the opposition the chance for a very well taken goal. 

Evans was certainly guilty of fannying around with it.

[donnermeat]

Did anyone notice their goalkeeper, before taking a goal kick from his hands he would spin around 360 degrees before doing so. I know some footballers have superstitions but that seems a bizarre one to me!

[chaddyrovers]

32 minutes ago, JacknOry said:

Why not? Do you mean you cannot see us going for him or him just not wanting to come here?

Isnt Payne a centre midfielder not a winger like Chapman? We need pace in wide areas.

[JacknOry]

Despite differing views on the performance and selection - the fact that we are are debating this after a good run of results is definitely refreshing compared to the last 7 years.

[Hasta]

The disallowed goal.

https://streamable.com/tmh71

 

I didn't go yesterday and that looks a bizarre decision.

[Stuart]

I think the lino (or maybe the referee) thought that it was touched by number 9. He did look in an offside position when the ball was played forward but the lad who scored wasn’t offside.

About time we got the rub of the green on one of those.

[the original david brent]

1 hour ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

I wouldn't say the balls forward were "punts". Downing aimed for DG and found him - it's one of Downing's best qualities. Rather than the aimless punts we are accustomed too from Hanley and Duffy you actually feel like Mulgrew and Downing have an idea where they want the ball to land.

 

You are correct about Mulgrew and Downing having a good range of long passing; we need to utilise this more. The most dangerous we looked was in the 15 minute spell in the 2nd half when we went direct. Graham and Samuel won most of their headers. Even when they didn’t we invariably won the 2nd ball. Bristol Rovers couldnt cope. The outcome was 2 crucial goals.  

We should play to our strengths and adopt this direct tactic more often. Sam Allardyces philosophy was to get the ball into the final third as quickly as possible and play football from there. Criticised for not being pretty but very effective. It worked yesterday. With players like Graham, Samuel, Dack, Antonnson, Nuttall and Bennett operating in the final third we have and we will always score goals.

Also Bennett being dropped to the bench yesterday was inexplicable. I caught most of the Oxford game on an internet stream and Bennett beat the left back on the outside more times than he has any other game. He set up the 4th goal. He is one of the fittest players in the team and so fatigue would not expected to be an issue. 

[roversfan99]

Good to see us win and 3 in a row is always positive, but I did feel that it posed more questions than answers and that many of the fans worries about Mowbray reared their ugly head yet again.

The team selection screamed of him messing for the sake of it, if you want to rest Bennett then Conways back in a week he said, so wait until then. Whittingham was hung out to dry on the wing and it totally ruined the shape, leading to an atrocious first half where they absolutely battered us and should have killed us off there and then.

Graham was absolutely brilliant when he came on, won everything and played a key part in the comeback. Samuel was very good too, got lucky with a very soft penalty but scored a very good header, hes quick, quite strong, hes got the attributes but he needs to do that consistently. That said, ideally we could get them playing together but I don't think its possible to get them 2 and Dack all playing in their best positions in the same team, and due to Dack being our main attacking player it has to be one or the other. Shows the firepower at the managers disposal, meaning he has nowhere to hide. Its why the other day I was arguing against chaddys suggestion to sign Devante Cole, for me a waste of money on a player inferior to the forwards we already have.

Mulgrew was brilliant yet again, proper captain, him and Dack are the star quality who can drag us through, I feel that Graham, Bennett and Whittingham can aswell if Mowbray can get the best out of them.

Think yesterday proved, as if we didn't already know, that we look so much more dangerous when we don't try to keep the ball for the sake of it, we've got good players in the final third that are wasted, need to play pressing, attacking football.

Didn't go to Oxford, but like at Bury I felt that Nuttall didn't look a threat really, did the odd bit of tidy hold up but still too raw to be above the 2 that came on, although hes a good prospect with a big part to play and we should sign him for longer.

Antonsson was really poor, Nyambe a total liability really, and no idea how Smallwood got man of the match.

 

[RV Blue]

2 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Corry Evans had a terrible performance. He needs to really up his game. His first touch is abysmal and he pulls out of so many tackles. Take a look at the build up to their goal to see exactly why he isn't good enough

But Biz said he plays for Northern Ireland so he must be good??

[RV Blue]

1 hour ago, Hasta said:

The disallowed goal.

https://streamable.com/tmh71

 

I didn't go yesterday and that looks a bizarre decision.

Looks like they thought that the black lad touched it or was interfering, poor decision.

[Vinjay]

7 hours ago, philipl said:

I am sorry but that sums you up 100%.

You simply don't get what 90% of the people on this board are all about.

What the hell has questioning the results of Morecambe/Accrington being read out had to do with whether I "get" people on this forum or not? Its about something the club choose to do and I see absolutely no reason for it and don't like the perception it sends out. If they read out Barnet's results at Arsenal they would be laughed at. Stop trying to get me banned by provoking me and be bloody specific.

If there's anyone I get 100% by the way its lying scum in Monaco and Jersey. I'll probably break the swear filter if I had to sum them up. Were the trustees "forced" to sell this week or is it back to "oh the family have no say they aren't starving the club oh the trustees are wonderful blah blah bloody sodding blah." 

I have tried to ignore him and not start an argument but this comment has been angering me all morning/afternoon. Nobody else asked what the hell he's talking about. Its clearly about more than me just mentioning those results.

[Dreams of 1995]

17 minutes ago, Vinjay17 said:

What the hell has questioning the results of Morecambe/Accrington being read out had to do with whether I "get" people on this forum or not? Its about something the club choose to do and I see absolutely no reason for it and don't like the perception it sends out. If they read out Barnet's results at Arsenal they would be laughed at. Stop trying to get me banned by provoking me and be bloody specific.

If there's anyone I get 100% by the way its lying scum in Monaco and Jersey. I'll probably break the swear filter if I had to sum them up. Were the trustees "forced" to sell this week or is it back to "oh the family have no say they aren't starving the club oh the trustees are wonderful blah blah bloody sodding blah." 

I have tried to ignore him and not start an argument but this comment has been angering me all morning/afternoon. Nobody else asked what the hell he's talking about. Its clearly about more than me just mentioning those results.

[Bbrovers2288]

After Bristol scored their disallowed goal, before the officials intervened Tony put his two fingers to his head to make a gun and blew his brains out. Obviously as frustrated with nyambe as I am. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Bbrovers2288 said:

After Bristol scored their disallowed goal, before the officials intervened Tony put his two fingers to his head to make a gun and blew his brains out. Obviously as frustrated with nyambe as I am. 

Just Nyambe ? You could have put half a dozen players in a big sack after that incident and whacked it with a big stick. You wouldn't be hitting an innocent person.

[tomphil]

Corry Evans is one who it shouldn't be difficult to replace given the sum total of his contributions since being at Rovers. He hides in some games and is a passenger in others, yes he's an international but he only performs like one when he wears the green.

[Bbrovers2288]

I’d happily sell Evans, replace him with an actual midfielder 

[dingles staying down 4ever]

3 hours ago, Paul said:

From that clip it’s very clear the Rovers midfielder through poor control in midfield gifted the opposition the chance for a very well taken goal. 

and Mulgrew standing 10 yards off the player didn't. Evans lost the ball in their half. Mulgrew stood off and allowed Harrison to run 20 yards with the ball into the box, pick his spot go and have a cup of tea come back and then shoot.

Sure Evans was weak but Mulgrew has to take the majority of the criticism for that goal,

[Oldgregg86]

I for the life of me can't see why that goal got diasallowed. Throw in our " penalty" and we where very lucky. If the shoe was on the other foot I would feel very hard done by but nice to get Abit of luck . I'm sure it won't be long before we are complaining about poor refereering decisions 

[Blueandwhitemike]

 

Who is gonna buy Evans with his injury record and knowing that his body needs to be managed?

He was poor yesterday but he has played well several times this season like someone else said he needs the run of games that it appears so difficult for him to get.