[Archived] Northampton Town v Rovers

[RV Blue]

1 minute ago, Biz said:

Results since the 3rd game of the season suggest otherwise, but “if” they don’t play well, you “might” be right.

Yeah let's pick some games to ignore, that makes your argument so much better!

[JBiz]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Yes, because we haven't been in the third tier of English football...

Only the teams at the top come end of the season are going to sustain those sort of results? We came a gnats testie from it yesterday and chief “Tony sort it out” is having a field day.

[Lancs Rover]

1 hour ago, Gav said:

 

On the game itself, we lacked energy, winning that second ball was a struggle all afternoon, but we had enough chances to win the game comfortably and didn't play badly by any means. 

Sorry, Gav. We did play badly and against one of the weakest teams in the League. (I think I've seen just about all of them now.  So I'm not being rhetorical.) 

Promotion will be achieved by having a sense of urgency throughout the season not when there are just a few games left. The cheer at the end of the match by Northampton fans told us again what a scalp we remain for lower division clubs.

'Premier League and you f'd it up'  'You're not famous any more'. If the players on the pitch can't handle the intensity, they shouldn't be there. 

As for Conway, leaving aside his predictable, one-paced performance, not feeling up to taking the penalty on the part of the captain is unforgivable. No wonder Antonsson bottled it. It ought to be the other way round: Antonsson should have been intimidated into scoring for fear of the consequences. The idea that I could have a few off moments at work and then ask a junior to land the aeroplane because I might mess up would be a sure way to lose respect - and possibly my job. 

All that after paying for four tickets and our coach journey down. Not been so annoyed since last standing with our away fans...at Oldham. 

COYB on Boxing Day. 

[JHRover]

9 minutes ago, Biz said:

How many teams in any level completely dominate games convincingly week upon week? You do know why we haven’t won 7 games in a row since 1995 don’t you? If we’d performed fantastically but failed to win 3/4 of the last 7 games - the knives would be out.

That's why i said that as long as we're winning performances aren't an issue but the moment we stop winning they do become an issue. Nobody cares if we're winning games whilst playing poorly, which has happened several times this season.

I'm not asking for us to completely dominate games every week. It would be nice to dominate a game some time soon though. The nearest we've been recently was Oxford away and I can't remember the last time we ran the opposition ragged at Ewood.

[JBiz]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Yeah let's pick some games to ignore, that makes your argument so much better!

It’s only an argument if there are two sides, and you offer zip. We started with two defeats - nobody is ignoring that- our current position is impacted by it. If we’d started in the form of the past two months, (which was always unlikely in a new league, with a new team) we’d either be top or second.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, JHRover said:

That's why i said that as long as we're winning performances aren't an issue but the moment we stop winning they do become an issue. Nobody cares if we're winning games whilst playing poorly, which has happened several times this season.

I'm not asking for us to completely dominate games every week. It would be nice to dominate a game some time soon though. The nearest we've been recently was Oxford away and I can't remember the last time we ran the opposition ragged at Ewood.

I care. Nobody gets promoted after 46 games without putting a real run of form together at some point.  Wigan aren't much better than us in terms of playing staff yet they're regularly battering the rubbish in this league. What's the difference ? I think I know the answer to that one.

[JBiz]

Just now, JHRover said:

That's why i said that as long as we're winning performances aren't an issue but the moment we stop winning they do become an issue. Nobody cares if we're winning games whilst playing poorly, which has happened several times this season.

I'm not asking for us to completely dominate games every week. It would be nice to dominate a game some time soon though. The nearest we've been recently was Oxford away and I can't remember the last time we ran the opposition ragged at Ewood.

Nearly all of our games include at least 30 minutes of control/upped performance dependent on the match, Oxford is a funny example because we started brilliantly and then shot ourselves in the foot - the 45th minute goal changed the game, and if it wasn’t for Nuttalls counter, I don’t think we would’ve held on.

We've done this throughout, but that’s not just us - consistency is always a key area in general. Using that game as an example, Oxford had to react at 3-0 after 20 minutes, plus our players would naturally “relax”. We don’t have the level of player of former years to look comfortable, which is part of being in the third tier.

In reflection, I can recall excellent spells and wobbles in most games. I felt we absolutely dominated the Plymouth game (they left their half once and scored a screamer) but failed to win... creating some of our best chances. I remember long periods of excellent spells in the  Peterborough, Crewe (before sending off), Blackpool, Bristol, Oxford and Bury - and they’re all within a month.

In the same games, I remember wobbles and errors - I think the level is a shock to some fans, it’s a different type of football. We and many other of the better teams don’t have the mobility (pace is expensive!) to run teams ragged, and the opposition will never be short of bruisers. Organisation is more common in this league than expansive wing play, thus games will seldom be freeflowing. The pitches won’t help either.

Im not saying we can’t improve either, and I do think TM could get more out of what he has. I do think we’ve upped the level since September though, and its positive to hear the manager actually talking about something we need - adding a pacey winger.

[RV Blue]

15 minutes ago, Biz said:

It’s only an argument if there are two sides, and you offer zip. We started with two defeats - nobody is ignoring that- our current position is impacted by it. If we’d started in the form of the past two months, (which was always unlikely in a new league, with a new team) we’d either be top or second.

My argument is that we are in 3rd place, which isn't good enough. Your argument is that if we ignore certain games that don't suit your agenda, we may or may not be in 2nd place, stupid argument. If we are third come the end of the season, should we complain to the league that the first 3 games don't count?

[JBiz]

Just now, RV Blue said:

My argument is that we are in 3rd place, which isn't good enough. Your argument is that if we ignore certain games that don't suit your agenda, we may or may not be in 2nd place, stupid argument. If we are third come the end of the season, should we complain to the league that the first 3 games don't count?

 

[Gav]

22 minutes ago, JHRover said:

 I can't remember the last time we ran the opposition ragged at Ewood.

We battered Plymouth from start to finish but couldn't convert the 20+ shots we had JH.

We drew away at Northampton, it's not the end of the world and all will be forgotten when we batter Rochdale on Boxing Day.

If not we can bring the Mowbray out thread back and all change our votes again 

[blueboy3333]

3 minutes ago, Gav said:

We battered Plymouth from start to finish but couldn't convert the 20+ shots we had JH.

That's because only 4 were on target. It was hardly the Alamo, it was bottom-of-the-league putting 10 players on the edge of their box and saying 'come and break us down' and we couldn't. That has been the problem a few times at home and is why Mowbray has said he needs to address it this January.

[Gav]

6 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

That's because only 4 were on target. It was hardly the Alamo, it was bottom-of-the-league putting 10 players on the edge of their box and saying 'come and break us down' and we couldn't. That has been the problem a few times at home and is why Mowbray has said he needs to address it this January.

It was rank bad finishing, how many times did we put unchallenged shots from the edge of the box over the bar and Nuttalls miss at the end....

I've not seen us dominate a game like that for years, but we digress...

 

[Parsonblue]

At the moment we are averaging two points a game - which I suspect most folk would find acceptable irrespective of performances.  Every promotion season I've witnessed has had games like yesterday when we played below our best but came away with a point.  I find it incredible even a tiny minority are complaining about being third in the League.  There is a sense of entitlement that is beyond belief.  It's football and money and past reputations count for nothing.  After many years of turmoil we seem to finally be heading in the right direction.  Personally, I'm more than happy to judge the manager at the end of the season and am more than happy with a 2-points per game return that we have at present.  In recent games we've created any number of chances but not taken them - yesterday was a classic case in point.  We had the opportunities to take all three points but squandered them - it happens.  On Tuesday we reach the half-way point and third place doesn't seem much of a disaster at this juncture.  A couple of quality additions in January and I would fully expect us to clinch one of the two automatic places.  

[tomphil]

13 hours ago, Vinjay17 said:

Mulgrew and Samuel and sickness can be down to all kinds of things. Evans was "injured" again apparently.

Pretty sure Bayes said on the radio Mulgrew was 'injured' when he got here or something along those lines.

[Mattyblue]

I was there yesterday and for me we still lack some of the dirty tricks that you need in this division, we saw it against Wimbledon and again yesterday.

Their keeper constantly wasting time, their Andy Carroll lookalike O’Toole elbowing, shirt pulling, kicking the ball away etc. 

Wigan know the league and I wager know all the dark arts.

[RV Blue]

1 minute ago, Parsonblue said:

I find it incredible even a tiny minority are complaining about being third in the League.

We have the biggest budget and best players, so we should be in the automatic promotion places and it is disappointing that we aren't yet. That is like saying that Real Madrid would be wrong to sack their manager if they were 3rd in La Liga. Just like Real Madrid should be in the top 2 in La Liga, we should be in the top 2 in League 1, if that's 'entitled' so be it, it is true. Basket case Bolton went up from this league with relative ease last season, we should be going up with absolute ease. You call me entitled, I call you a happy clapper.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, RV Blue said:

My argument is that we are in 3rd place, which isn't good enough. Your argument is that if we ignore certain games that don't suit your agenda, we may or may not be in 2nd place, stupid argument. If we are third come the end of the season, should we complain to the league that the first 3 games don't count?

Third place is good enough for now. The way we're failing to get the better of rank bad teams isn't.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Gav said:

We battered Plymouth from start to finish but couldn't convert the 20+ shots we had JH.

We drew away at Northampton, it's not the end of the world and all will be forgotten when we batter Rochdale on Boxing Day.

If not we can bring the Mowbray out thread back and all change our votes again 

My vote hasn't changed. I'd still like Mowbray to switch Lowe and Johnson's roles regarding the first team. 

[RV Blue]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Third place is good enough for now. The way we're failing to get the better of rank bad teams isn't.

Not for me it isn't, half way through the season and we aren't on target for a automatic promotion place, not good enough, although not awful either. This league is very poor and anything other than automatic promotion would be a failure, there is no way that we should be happy with relying on the lottery of the playoffs to go up.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, RV Blue said:

Not for me it isn't, half way through the season and we aren't on target for a automatic promotion place, not good enough, although not awful either. This league is very poor and anything other than automatic promotion would be a failure, there is no way that we should be happy with relying on the lottery of the playoffs to go up.

Nobody gets promoted on Jan 1st, as we found out in King Kenny's first season.  I agree with you regarding the play offs, to be avoided if at all possible !

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, meadows said:

I’d say there’s a fair argument and weight of evidence that Wigan have the best players so far. Won more, lost fewer, scored more, conceded 40% fewer than us. That’s a pretty impressive first half of the season in anyone’s book. 

I think they've also got the best management team. Results don't happen in isolation. When Dyche finally vacates the Dingledome they'll be straight in there.

[yorkblues]

very poor game I did think we should have retaken the penalty as 4/5 of their player where in the box before he passed the ball to the keeper.

only good point it’s another ground ticket of the list 

[roversfan99]

50 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

At the moment we are averaging two points a game - which I suspect most folk would find acceptable irrespective of performances.  Every promotion season I've witnessed has had games like yesterday when we played below our best but came away with a point.  I find it incredible even a tiny minority are complaining about being third in the League.  There is a sense of entitlement that is beyond belief.  It's football and money and past reputations count for nothing.  After many years of turmoil we seem to finally be heading in the right direction.  Personally, I'm more than happy to judge the manager at the end of the season and am more than happy with a 2-points per game return that we have at present.  In recent games we've created any number of chances but not taken them - yesterday was a classic case in point.  We had the opportunities to take all three points but squandered them - it happens.  On Tuesday we reach the half-way point and third place doesn't seem much of a disaster at this juncture.  A couple of quality additions in January and I would fully expect us to clinch one of the two automatic places.  

Whilst we havent lost for a while, weve won 6 on the bounce recently and I am very optimistic that we will finish in the top 2. And agree that we are not in a disastrous position.

I think your comment about self entitlement to be unfair, at the end of the day, half way through the season, we are 3 points behind a team who have barely spent a penny, and considerably behind one who finished miles behind us last season, and that was before we signed some quality players, think theyve basically got their team from last year. The discussion from the manager and incoming players in the summer was about trying to win the league. So we are behind target, and its fair to be able to point that out without being accused of being self entitled.

I am not complaining or being negative, I am just saying that whilst I am positive, we are slightly behind our intended target. I think we will go up and that we are in an upward trajectory, I would like to think that our second half of the season as a whole will be better than the first half and based on recent results I think it will be.

[Parsonblue]

1 hour ago, RV Blue said:

We have the biggest budget and best players, so we should be in the automatic promotion places and it is disappointing that we aren't yet. That is like saying that Real Madrid would be wrong to sack their manager if they were 3rd in La Liga. Just like Real Madrid should be in the top 2 in La Liga, we should be in the top 2 in League 1, if that's 'entitled' so be it, it is true. Basket case Bolton went up from this league with relative ease last season, we should be going up with absolute ease. You call me entitled, I call you a happy clapper.

Bolton were in third place last Christmas in League One and by March were in fourth place before a run of wins in March took them into second place - which is how they finished.  Seems to me we are right on track at the moment which, as a happy clapper, pleases me no end.

[Hasta]

2 hours ago, Gav said:

It was rank bad finishing, how many times did we put unchallenged shots from the edge of the box over the bar and Nuttalls miss at the end....

I've not seen us dominate a game like that for years, but we digress...

 

Nuttall was still being overlooked at the time. It was Ben Gladwin who missed the sitter.