Rovers v Leeds, Ewood, 12.00 KO, 20th October

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

53 minutes ago, tomphil said:

It is exactly the kind of whole package of things that were missing under GB despite some obvious good things then. That's not a dig at him in any way as he just brought an air of calmness to it all for a while that was desperately needed and he did a good job to the best of his abilities but they were very limited due to lack of experience.

You can see now though why there was so much falling out on here in regards to him when a lot of us who've seen it all before felt it right to expect a bit more of the whole package of things we have now rather than the just do enough and it's enough nature of back then. 

If the plonkers that be had got someone in like TM after him to build on his stability we might well be in the Prem now. Lambert was a dud but not a disaster but never underestimate the damage getting Coyle in did and never ever let it be repeated.

Coyle was just a self inflicted wound. You get court-martialed for that in the services. 

[blueboy3333]

3 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

I am enthused again and seriously looking at buying a half season ticket.

Hopefully they'll have them on sale ASAP.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Fans posting that they earn more than others and attacking what others work at to earn a wage. Eugh, some bad posts on here, but that kind of stuff is gross. A very low form of discourse. 

[blueboy3333]

 

 

I think some fans (understandably) may be getting a bit giddy. We are doing nothing different to what Millwall, Nobbers and Sheff Utd did last season. This doesn't make us guaranteed play-off favourites, or even contenders. We had our arses handed to us two weeks ago by one of the teams mentioned. Every game we've won has been by a single goal and we've only won 2 out of 7 at home. This is an incredibly tough league, as Bielsa is now finding out. Lose our next two tough league games and we could be back to lower mid-table. 5 points less and we'd be 19th. I worry about our strength in depth if we lose Lenny (criminally underrated by some), Dack or Graham for any length of time. Evans (new contract incoming hopefully) has been phenomenal since last season and would be sorely missed.

The 'we should have gone up under Bowyer' mob never seem to learn?

My own special brand of optimism will be available in all good retailers this Christmas. 

 

 

[philipl]

25 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

The 'we should have gone up under Bowyer' mob never seem to learn?

 

I am in the "we would have gone up under Mowbray with that squad" mob. (Rovers hat emoji which seems to have disappeared)

[blueboy3333]

Just now, philipl said:

I am in the "we would have gone up under Mowbray with that squad" mob. (Rovers hat emoji which seems to have disappeared)

Not unexpected ?

[philipl]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

Not unexpected ?

Yes shame about the emoji

[Bigdoggsteel]

I had a feeling we would start well this season, but ultimately fall away. Part of me now thinks getting in Reed and Rodwell has given us real strength in depth. If we get to January without any major injuries, if the investment is made to add a couple of real quality, I think we can stay in the play off places. 

[blueboy3333]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

I had a feeling we would start well this season, but ultimately fall away. Part of me now thinks getting in Reed and Rodwell has given us real strength in depth. If we get to January without any major injuries, if the investment is made to add a couple of real quality, I think we can stay in the play off places. 

If we're still up there by the time Mogga goes to India in November (?) he'll have a vey good case for saying 'you can trust me to deliver and trust me with your money', which seems to be what Venky's want assurances on (unsurprisingly). 

[roversfan99]

53 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

 

 

I think some fans (understandably) may be getting a bit giddy. We are doing nothing different to what Millwall, Nobbers and Sheff Utd did last season. This doesn't make us guaranteed play-off favourites, or even contenders. We had our arses handed to us two weeks ago by one of the teams mentioned. Every game we've won has been by a single goal and we've only won 2 out of 7 at home. This is an incredibly tough league, as Bielsa is now finding out. Lose our next two tough league games and we could be back to lower mid-table. 5 points less and we'd be 19th. I worry about our strength in depth if we lose Lenny (criminally underrated by some), Dack or Graham for any length of time. Evans (new contract incoming hopefully) has been phenomenal since last season and would be sorely missed.

The 'we should have gone up under Bowyer' mob never seem to learn?

My own special brand of optimism will be available in all good retailers this Christmas. 

 

 

Surely Mulgrew must come under the category of severe worry should we lose him due to injury? 

Both of the centre backs were excellent yesterday, and the decision not to sign a centre back as a matter of urgency in the summer I fear would really bite us should either get injured. But Mulgrew is the main man and the steady hand back there.

[BigBar]

How much do you reckon saints would want for Reed?

[blueboy3333]

5 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Surely Mulgrew must come under the category of severe worry should we lose him due to injury? 

Both of the centre backs were excellent yesterday, and the decision not to sign a centre back as a matter of urgency in the summer I fear would really bite us should either get injured. But Mulgrew is the main man and the steady hand back there.

 He is indeed the steady hand, and captain fantastic. I even started a thread about him.....but he can't do the dirty stuff like Lenny can, and as Mowbray said last season, Lenihan allows us to play further up the pitch as a team because he has the pace to recover. Mulgrew doesn't. It's like comparing Hendry with Tony Gale or Keeley with David Mail, they both did different things. But in my opinion, over an extended period of time, we would miss Lenihan more as a team, for the reasons stated. Saying Mulgrew is the 'main man' isn't really an argument.

Edited October 21, 2018 by blueboy3333

[roversfan99]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

 He is indeed the steady hand, and captain fantastic. I even started a thread about him.....but he can't do the dirty stuff like Lenny can, and as Mowbray said last season, Lenihan allows us to play further up the pitch as a team because he has the pace to recover. Mulgrew doesn't. It's like comparing Hendry with Tony Gale or Keeley with David Mail, they both did different things. But in my opinion, over an extended period of time, we would miss Lenihan more as a team, for the reasons stated. Saying Mulgrew is the 'main man' isn't really an argument.

I think that Mulgrew is just as capable of the "dirty stuff," he sticks his head in and his body in more than hes given credit for, and his leadership brings out the best out of at times a naive Lenihan, who is prone to an error or a rash decision much more than Mulgrew is. Obviously, Mulgrew has the extra dimension to his game in terms of his composure on the ball, and his set pieces, which I feel at time outshine the fact that he is a very good defender into the bargain. No one is more important to us than Mulgrew bar Dack I would say.

That said, agree regarding Lenihans atheticisim and feel like they are a good match for each other. Basically, I dont think we could do without either.

[Mattyblue]

5 minutes ago, BigBar said:

How much do you reckon saints would want for Reed?

He’s under contract until 2021, so a fair bit you’d imagine.

However, he must be angling for a move soon. He’s 24 in January and seemingly not in their plans.

[blueboy3333]

I wonder if the Luke Freeman money (£4m bid) was separate to the money spent on Brereton or if they spunked the lot. Or it always the agreement that more would be allocated for the Jan transfer window … to be agreed when they all meet up in November.

[blueboy3333]

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I think that Mulgrew is just as capable of the "dirty stuff," he sticks his head in and his body in more than hes given credit for, and his leadership brings out the best out of at times a naive Lenihan, who is prone to an error or a rash decision much more than Mulgrew is.

He's really not. Lenihan is a monster. Mulgrew is a lot more of a ball-playing CB. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

I wonder if the Luke Freeman money (£4m bid) was separate to the money spent on Brereton or if they spunked the lot. Or it always the agreement that more would be allocated for the Jan transfer window … to be agreed when they all meet up in November.

A bit of dosh to spend in January could be the difference between the end of the season being really interesting for all the right reasons or just petering out into a scramble to stay in mid table. These next two away games will tell us a lot about our chances. 2 points would be good, 4 would be great, 6 would be fantastic.

[roversfan99]

44 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

He’s under contract until 2021, so a fair bit you’d imagine.

However, he must be angling for a move soon. He’s 24 in January and seemingly not in their plans.

You do wonder what his position is long term. Norwich fans seem to think hes best at RB, whereas here hes making his name wide.

26 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

He's really not. Lenihan is a monster. Mulgrew is a lot more of a ball-playing CB. 

He is, but the 2 arent mutually exclusive.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Surely Mulgrew must come under the category of severe worry should we lose him due to injury? 

Both of the centre backs were excellent yesterday, and the decision not to sign a centre back as a matter of urgency in the summer I fear would really bite us should either get injured. But Mulgrew is the main man and the steady hand back there.

Mowbray had his number 1 in the summer and is waiting for him whether its in January or the summer on a free

46 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

You do wonder what his position is long term. Norwich fans seem to think hes best at RB, whereas here hes making his name wide.

He is, but the 2 arent mutually exclusive.

centre midfielder who gets box to box 

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

I think that Mulgrew is just as capable of the "dirty stuff," he sticks his head in and his body in more than hes given credit for, and his leadership brings out the best out of at times a naive Lenihan, who is prone to an error or a rash decision much more than Mulgrew is. Obviously, Mulgrew has the extra dimension to his game in terms of his composure on the ball, and his set pieces, which I feel at time outshine the fact that he is a very good defender into the bargain. No one is more important to us than Mulgrew bar Dack I would say.

That said, agree regarding Lenihans atheticisim and feel like they are a good match for each other. Basically, I dont think we could do without either.

I would say his best qualities are his reading of the game and his calmness in situation. 

 

[roversfan99]

10 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Mowbray had his number 1 in the summer and is waiting for him whether its in January or the summer on a free

centre midfielder who gets box to box 

I would say his best qualities are his reading of the game and his calmness in situation. 

 

If thats the case, which is an assumption rather than a fact. Then we should have looked into a more temporary addition to that position, as if either centre back gets a serious injury then we are goosed, and reliant on either sub par replacements (Downing) or players who arent centre backs. (Rodwell, Williams)

Reed has not proven himself there yet to be fair. I wonder who will play when Nyambe comes back, as presuming he comes in at right back, whether thats instantly or after a few weeks, it looks a straight battle between Reed and Bennett for that "defensive winger" position unless Reed is pushed back into central midfield. An area where he will have competition. (Evans and Smallwood are 2 of Mowbrays favourites, and with Rodwell and even Davenport already in the mix)

My point was not what his best qualities are. I feel that sometimes, due to the number of strengths that he has, (set pieces, composure on ball, reading of the game, leadership) his ability to actually do the dirty side of defending, stick his body on the line and head crosses away etc, is underestimated by our supporters. I also think in general, he is our most underrated player, and we will struggle to replace him when the time comes.

[chaddyrovers]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

If thats the case, which is an assumption rather than a fact. Then we should have looked into a more temporary addition to that position, as if either centre back gets a serious injury then we are goosed, and reliant on either sub par replacements (Downing) or players who arent centre backs. (Rodwell, Williams)

Reed has not proven himself there yet to be fair. I wonder who will play when Nyambe comes back, as presuming he comes in at right back, whether thats instantly or after a few weeks, it looks a straight battle between Reed and Bennett for that "defensive winger" position unless Reed is pushed back into central midfield. An area where he will have competition. (Evans and Smallwood are 2 of Mowbrays favourites, and with Rodwell and even Davenport already in the mix)

My point was not what his best qualities are. I feel that sometimes, due to the number of strengths that he has, (set pieces, composure on ball, reading of the game, leadership) his ability to actually do the dirty side of defending, stick his body on the line and head crosses away etc, is underestimated by our supporters. I also think in general, he is our most underrated player, and we will struggle to replace him when the time comes.

We are well stocked for centre backs options until January. I disagree we are goosed as we have Rodwell and Williams as back ups. more than capable. 

Nyambe back to right back with Bennett back into the wide role and Reed into centre midfield for me. Mowbray said Nyambe back in training now and should be in the WBA squad

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

12 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

We are well stocked for centre backs options until January. I disagree we are goosed as we have Rodwell and Williams as back ups. more than capable. 

Nyambe back to right back with Bennett back into the wide role and Reed into centre midfield for me. Mowbray said Nyambe back in training now and should be in the WBA squad

If we're so " well stocked for centre back options now "  why do we need another one in January ?

[K-Hod]

I wouldn’t say we were well stocked in a position if we are having to play others (Nyambe/Williams) out of position and counting them as centre halves....

We need specialists, not people who can ‘do a job’ there. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by K-Hod

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

If we're still up there by the time Mogga goes to India in November (?) he'll have a vey good case for saying 'you can trust me to deliver and trust me with your money', which seems to be what Venky's want assurances on (unsurprisingly). 

Ya, it's looking good. I think that's exactly how things will play out ideally. I wouldn't be surprised if they went crazy thinking the premiership was in touching distance and gave him a serious wedge for January. 

[Neal]

5 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Doesn't look like Chapman figures much in Pulis's thoughts.

Probably because he know he wants to be here so doesn't trust him. Should be nailed on that one.