[Archived] THE BATTLE FOR PROMOTION....WON.

[MarkBRFC]

We play twice now before Shrewsbury play again, we have to make these games count and open up a nice gap ahead of them.

[K-Hod]

11 hours ago, Jim Royle said:

Sorry sir!

I’ll run my next post pass you first - see I really can be childish

We are top, yes I know it’s div 3 but it must be twenty years since we were top of a division. I’m enjoying it and so are all the folk I travel the length and breadth of country with. I would therefore expect more comment on the 8-9 players doing very well for us week in week out. It’s very easy to pick fault on players - I don’t understand why Antonsson gets picked every game he is fit for, but realise that TM knows more than us all on here, I would not have said that about his predecessor! Perhaps I am wrong as the first thing I heard from a fellow rover walking out of MK having hung on for the crucial 3 points was that Raya can’t kick a ball; hell he’d just made 3 worldies.

I've not seen anyone not having a nice time to be fair! Who wouldn't be? As you say, we're top of the league....(Even if it is two leagues lower than the one we were in when these owners took over).

It's also a bit childish for people to go the other way and to call people 'happy clappers' for blindly accepting everything. Know what I mean?

People have been over the top on Antonsson IMO. Before he got injured he scored some vital goals for us. Admittedly, he's hardly been at it since he came back but he's not cost us any games since being back. Conway coming on and scoring was vital, not just for the team, but I suspect also for his confidence.

 

[AllRoverAsia]

11 hours ago, Jim Royle said:

Sorry sir!

I’ll run my next post pass you first - see I really can be childish

We are top, yes I know it’s div 3 but it must be twenty years since we were top of a division. I’m enjoying it and so are all the folk I travel the length and breadth of country with. I would therefore expect more comment on the 8-9 players doing very well for us week in week out. It’s very easy to pick fault on players - I don’t understand why Antonsson gets picked every game he is fit for, but realise that TM knows more than us all on here, I would not have said that about his predecessor! Perhaps I am wrong as the first thing I heard from a fellow rover walking out of MK having hung on for the crucial 3 points was that Raya can’t kick a ball; hell he’d just made 3 worldies.

The fan who said Raya can't kick a ball was not moaning either but rather stating an opinion which is based on substantial fact.

Raya makes worldie saves is true also but not a reason to ignore a players flaws. A flaw which should have been coached out of him by now but hasn't been.

I am happy though that his ball catching has improved a bit.

[dring1]

Think raya is going for a record of kicking it out of touch every game. His kicking on occasion is poor and needs work. That being said you can tell he will be a class keeper one day

[OJRovers]

The highlights montage that the office Rovers twitter posted of Raya was seriously impressive. I think he's been an unsung hero this season. Saved us lots of points over the season. I'd rather he practice his shot-stopping than his kicking.

 

[AllRoverAsia]

I do struggle to understand why so many keepers even in the PL are so dodgy when it comes to kicking a moving ball. It's certainly not just Raya. I suppose they are just not 'footballers' but rather specialists in keeping so just not comfortable with the ball at feet.

I agree with comments that Raya is developing well and on his way to being a very good keeper.

[FGS5635]

Nobody wants to go in goal as a kid. You end up there becasue you cant kick

[JHRover]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43653959

Shrewsbury captain injured in training, likely to be out for the remainder of the season.

[DE.]

2 hours ago, K-Hod said:

People have been over the top on Antonsson IMO. Before he got injured he scored some vital goals for us. Admittedly, he's hardly been at it since he came back but he's not cost us any games since being back. Conway coming on and scoring was vital, not just for the team, but I suspect also for his confidence.

To be fair, I remember even when Antonsson was scoring goals there were people saying he hadn't contributed anything worthwhile until he put the ball into the net. The criticism of him has been fairly consistent I think, the only difference now is that he isn't scoring so there's less obvious positive points to balance out said criticism.

As you say, he doesn't do anything stupid to cost us games and he's steady if not spectacular. You can rely on him to be in the right position and be available for the ball, even if he doesn't do anything special with it. I think he's good enough to be a squad player in this league, but I can't see him being effective at all in the Championship. 

[Mattyblue]

Gladwin reflecting on his first season...

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/16139111.Ben_Gladwin_reflects_on_a__tough__first_season_at_Rovers/?ref=mac

 

All standard stuff, though he wasn't quite like as reflective in the Bonny Inn last night, by all accounts.

He told everyone in ear shot who he was, how much his tattoos cost, how he'd never been given a chance wherever he's been, and wait for it... how he's better than Dack.

 

[47er]

2 hours ago, OJRovers said:

The highlights montage that the office Rovers twitter posted of Raya was seriously impressive. I think he's been an unsung hero this season. Saved us lots of points over the season. I'd rather he practice his shot-stopping than his kicking.

 

At least he seems to be staying on his line these days......

[Tom]

9 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Gladwin reflecting on his first season...

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/16139111.Ben_Gladwin_reflects_on_a__tough__first_season_at_Rovers/?ref=mac

 

All standard stuff, though he wasn't quite like as reflective in the Bonny Inn last night, by all accounts.

He told everyone in ear shot who he was, how much his tattoos cost, how he'd never been given a chance wherever he's been, and wait for it... how he's better than Dack.

 

Well if he’d had scored that tap in against Plymouth we’d nearlt be promoted by now - cheers Benjamin!

[JBiz]

2 hours ago, dring1 said:

Think raya is going for a record of kicking it out of touch every game. His kicking on occasion is poor and needs work. That being said you can tell he will be a class keeper one day

Have a look at the early chance vs Bradford that should’ve seen Knight Percival sent off when Samuel got in behind.. who set it up?

I agree Raya can lack consistency but I don’t think he’s the only keeper of that age with that issue, and in general I think his kicking and technique is decent personally.

[dring1]

39 minutes ago, Biz said:

Have a look at the early chance vs Bradford that should’ve seen Knight Percival sent off when Samuel got in behind.. who set it up?

I agree Raya can lack consistency but I don’t think he’s the only keeper of that age with that issue, and in general I think his kicking and technique is decent personally.

 

39 minutes ago, Biz said:

Have a look at the early chance vs Bradford that should’ve seen Knight Percival sent off when Samuel got in behind.. who set it up?

I agree Raya can lack consistency but I don’t think he’s the only keeper of that age with that issue, and in general I think his kicking and technique is decent personally.

I go to every match home and away. Monday was mixed. Made some fantastic saves, but could also have cost us in the last 10 mins. But that is why he is in league one and as i have said signs are there for him to be a top class keeper

[Dreams of 1995]

Raya's decision making has improved as the season has gone on. It's no surprise he was voted goalkeeper of the year.

At the start of the season he was making error after error with aerial balls. I have no doubt that at youth level he bundled everyone out of his way and claimed everything. You speak to any goalkeeper and they'll all tell you that coming out and taking the ball out of the air is a huge confidence boost. Likewise ask any defensive player what they want their keeper to do when it's in the air.

His positioning for crosses/set pieces has also improved. You can see now he thinks about whether he can reach the ball or not before coming and, recently at least, has took the ball cleanly more often than not.

Making better decisions always comes with age and experience. Where Raya needs to look at is not the original ball in (he's improved in that area) but when the ball bounces up in his box and seems to hang in the air. His first instinct, every single time, is to come and try and punch the life out of the ball. This isn't always the best decision and at times he could have cost us more goals with his urgency to belt it clear. Sometimes a keeper has to trust in his defenders as much as they have to trust him.

That will come though. You can see he has a small learning curve by the vast improvement in him his first full season. He'll have a good career as a goalkeeper that's for sure.

[JAL]

3 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Gladwin reflecting on his first season...

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/16139111.Ben_Gladwin_reflects_on_a__tough__first_season_at_Rovers/?ref=mac

 

All standard stuff, though he wasn't quite like as reflective in the Bonny Inn last night, by all accounts.

He told everyone in ear shot who he was, how much his tattoos cost, how he'd never been given a chance wherever he's been, and wait for it... how he's better than Dack.

 

Should have asked why can't he run fast and how close to the goaline must he be to score a goal. Is his nickname Andy Capp.

Summer can't come soon enough to bin the blonde dummy .

Will Mowbray attempt to jeopardise Rovers promotion chances by giving the blonde dummy Gladwin, some game time before the end of the season. ?

[JacknOry]

2 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Raya's decision making has improved as the season has gone on. It's no surprise he was voted goalkeeper of the year.

At the start of the season he was making error after error with aerial balls. I have no doubt that at youth level he bundled everyone out of his way and claimed everything. You speak to any goalkeeper and they'll all tell you that coming out and taking the ball out of the air is a huge confidence boost. Likewise ask any defensive player what they want their keeper to do when it's in the air.

His positioning for crosses/set pieces has also improved. You can see now he thinks about whether he can reach the ball or not before coming and, recently at least, has took the ball cleanly more often than not.

Making better decisions always comes with age and experience. Where Raya needs to look at is not the original ball in (he's improved in that area) but when the ball bounces up in his box and seems to hang in the air. His first instinct, every single time, is to come and try and punch the life out of the ball. This isn't always the best decision and at times he could have cost us more goals with his urgency to belt it clear. Sometimes a keeper has to trust in his defenders as much as they have to trust him.

That will come though. You can see he has a small learning curve by the vast improvement in him his first full season. He'll have a good career as a goalkeeper that's for sure.

Not dissing him but the three or four keepers that had kept more clean sheets than Raya this season were all loans and therefore not eligible for the team of the year. That said, he has improved in certain areas and his shot-stopping is phenomenal at times. If he could iron out his kicking and his aerial command int he box, we would have an excellent keeper on our hands.

[JacknOry]

Just now, renrag said:

Only Walton of Wigan has kept more clean sheets than Raya, and only two clubs Wigan and Shrews have more clean sheets than Rovers

Sorry - I worded it wrongly..should have meant CS percentage.

Matthews 22 played with 9 clean sheets - 42.9%

Walton 22 played with 15 clean sheets - 68.2%

Henderson 33 played with 13 clean sheets - 39.4%

Raya 38 played with 14 clean sheets - 36.8%

I know that Raya has played more but I am not certain he would have been such an automatic choice for the EFL team of the year had those three not been eligible.

 

[Preben]

I'm not sure how we can compare Raya with other goalies when we didn't have a defence for the first half of the season?

[G Somerset Rover]

6 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

He told everyone in ear shot who he was, how much his tattoos cost, how he'd never been given a chance wherever he's been, and wait for it... how he's better than Dack.

 

Sounds like Ben ‘you should see what he does in training’ Gladwin is on something which rhymes with Dack.

[JacknOry]

Just now, Preben said:

I'm not sure how we can compare Raya with other goalies when we didn't have a defence for the first half of the season?

If we didnt have a defense we would lose every game. We did have a defense but it had some weak links. Either way, that a keeper is not judged on the defense in front of him. if we had a more solid defense then certainly his figures would be much higher and then he would rightfully be number one. 

I'm not dissing the guy, just saying that he was an obvious choice as his main competition were eligible. 

[jim mk2]

Just now, JacknOry said:

If we didnt have a defense we would lose every game. We did have a defense but it had some weak links. Either way, that a keeper is not judged on the defense in front of him. if we had a more solid defense then certainly his figures would be much higher and then he would rightfully be number one. 

I'm not dissing the guy, just saying that he was an obvious choice as his main competition were eligible. 

"Defence". 

[Vinjay]

On 26/03/2018 at 11:10, jim mk2 said:

Far too much complacency and Rovers exceptionalism here.

Argyle for one made us look distinctly ordinary in the 2-0 defeat at Home Park where our defensive frailties were on show again. Playoffs are one off events where form over the season counts for nothing and it's all down to how the team plays on the day.

I don't fear the play-offs like some but I'm well aware that anyone can win and if we don't play well we'll be out. 

Defencive.

[blueboy3333]

7 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Gladwin reflecting on his first season...

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/rovers/news/16139111.Ben_Gladwin_reflects_on_a__tough__first_season_at_Rovers/?ref=mac

 

All standard stuff, though he wasn't quite like as reflective in the Bonny Inn last night, by all accounts.

He told everyone in ear shot who he was, how much his tattoos cost, how he'd never been given a chance wherever he's been, and wait for it... how he's better than Dack.

 

Flying again in training though. "His stuff in the training has been good, his short, sharp stuff, fast feet and everything"

The kids got it all. Just can't finish from a yard out the useless lump of peroxide. I'm surprised he's mouthing off. More front than Blackpool.

 

[Cherry Blue]

Got to say how much I'm enjoying this season home and away. A few near does but we have been top three for the last 4 months and mainly top of the league since mid Feb'18.  Roundabout this time last year in the championship we were 3rd from bottom hoping the likes of Bristol City, Burton, Notts Forest and Birmingham (big club) would drop points, but sadly it didn't work out. In the championship this season its looking like Burton and possibly Birmingham will be relegated  with Notts Forest not too further up the league. But Bristol City are knocking on the playoff door.

As for Rovers now we're a strong unit at this level and well capable of at least avoiding the dreaded playoffs. Business end of the season is going to be one hell of a ride!

COYB