Swansea vs ROVERS - 23/10/18 19:45pm

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

Graham is key for us because we play in a way that suits a striker like him. Dack. as good as he is,  isn't going to win the knock-downs when the ball is hoofed up to him. 

Another concern is how few goals we score from open play - only about 10 of our 17 so far. We either don't create enough chances or we don't take those chances.

Dack seems to be missing his one good chance per game at the moment.

Graham is clever in that he makes it difficult for defenders by using his strength rather than win the ball. It is something Dack has to learn if this role is to continue. A lot of people disagreed with me when I said Dack is not clever with the ball after the Sheff utd game but at time he is naive.

Dack's missing one chance a game is only a problems when we don't create many chances in a game. Remember it was said that Andy Cole needed 5 chances to score 1.

[blueboy3333]

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/swansea-city/11533816/swansea-3-1-blackburn

Dreadful defending for all three goals. Rodwell's attempt at closing down the first was Lowe-esque. Mulgrew just trundling about for the 2nd. They just all gave up for the 3rd. 

[Stuart]

A myth invented by the - subsequently lampooned - Glenn Hoddle.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/feb/01/1

[blueboy3333]

Just now, dingles staying down 4ever said:

A lot of people disagreed with me when I said Dack is not clever with the ball after the Sheff utd game but at time he is naive.

Dack is clever with the ball. He's brilliant at winning free-kicks by using his body, plays some superb through-balls and is a quality dribbler and finisher.

He's just not 6ft and a target man like Graham and will never win the headers like Graham does. We play a lot of balls in the air (We are top of the stats for 'long passes' or we were a few weeks ago). which suit Graham not Dack. 

 

[arbitro]

After giving probably the most inept performance I have seen from a Championship side this season it was clear that the Swansea manager was going to change things at half time. They allowed us to dominate the ball and stood off us for long periods. That changed with the introduction of their substitutes and the began to dominate midfield and stretch us creating more room for their midfield runners. I thought Mowbray should have addressed this by bringing on Rothwell to play in a central midfield three. I thought the bringing on of Brereton actually weakened us and coincided with Swansea enjoying a spell of dominance. Mowbray made some strange tactical decisions I though last night particularly after getting it spot on against Leeds. Hopefully he can come up with a plan to get a result at west Brom now.

For the travelling Rovers fans it was a long day. We decided to come back through Mid Wales to avoid motorway closures and we drove along sheep lines roads and cattle grids on what were A roads. Despite that we were back around 2.40 am which I thought was decent.

[blueboy3333]

Just now, Stuart said:

A myth invented by the - subsequently lampooned - Glenn Hoddle.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/feb/01/1

He's nailed Hoddle in his first sentence!

[1864roverite]

Rovers simply opened up through the middle as they allowed Swansea to overrun the midfield. My view is that TM should have reverted to a 3 man defence to counter the extra man in midfield. 

As a side issue a worldly save stopped us from drawing level then 20 seconds later we concede the 3rd and it was game over.

huge credit to the fans who made the horrendous midweek trek to South Wales ???

[blueboy3333]

Just now, arbitro said:

After giving probably the most inept performance I have seen from a Championship side this season it was clear that the Swansea manager was going to change things at half time. They allowed us to dominate the ball and stood off us for long periods

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/graham-potter-reveals-message-delivered-15320221

Pretty much what their manager said. Sounds like Mogga got out-thought in the 2nd half, although in fairness he has said he saw it coming and he was going to go to a 3 at the back at half-time but didn't. https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/17002585.swansea-city-3-blackburn-rovers-1-tony-mowbray-reaction/?ref=mac

[Waggy76]

15 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/swansea-city/11533816/swansea-3-1-blackburn

Dreadful defending for all three goals. Rodwell's attempt at closing down the first was Lowe-esque. Mulgrew just trundling about for the 2nd. They just all gave up for the 3rd. 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but Lenihan going was not good news !!

We are  missing a big physical centre half and he is the nearest thing we have ...

Edited October 24, 2018 by Waggy76

[rovers11]

3-1 flattered them massively. I think a draw would have been a fair result.

Potter made some good tactical changes at HT. He tried to pull our defenders out of position more and play the ball in behind to expose our lack of pace back there. Pace is the one thing our defenders can not cope with and he exposed that. 

Still no complaints about the progress we’re making as a club though. Promotion would be a dream but mid table more of a reality. Personally, I thought a relegation scrap before the season started, but I don’t think we’ll be anywhere near the drop zone. 

On the pluses from last night, more game time for Rodwell. He will be a big player for us when fully fit. Rothwell looked excellent when he came on yet again. Brereton did ok, but that final pass or shot is not quite coming off for him yet. 

Surprised that Williams has been frozen out recently and did not come on when Lenihan got injured.  He was once one of the first names on the team sheet. Palmer still cannot find a way into the team. I actually agree with TM on that decision, I’ve not been impressed by him at all. Smacks of a deal that will be ended in January. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Showed them too much respect and came out second half under cooked. Hopefully lessons learnt all round 

[K-Hod]

27 minutes ago, Rogerb said:

Williams is left footed would have meant three left footers in the back four making it unbalanced

So is Rodwell.

[Lancaster Rover]

I thought 3-1 flattered them too, poor second half from Rovers but to me it seemed like a game too far after Saturday. We looked off the pace in certain areas and the gaps between the lines was enormous in the second half. On Saturday we looked a compact unit that attacked and defended as one yet last night we were dragged all over in the second half as players could go with their runners. A shame to come away with nothing as I thought our first half dominance was worth a point. 

Still, those results are going to happen throughout the season and we're still very much a work in progress. Bringing Fer on at half time changed things for them, he won everything and moved the ball really well. 

[Lancaster Rover]

Just now, K-Hod said:

So is Rodwell.

I'm not sure he is, he took several free kicks last night with his right foot and I seem to remember him filling in at right back when he started at Everton

[DE.]

8 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Palmer still cannot find a way into the team. I actually agree with TM on that decision, I’ve not been impressed by him at all. Smacks of a deal that will be ended in January. 

The fact he can't get on in one of his natural positions ahead of a 19 year old striker says it all. Mowbray obviously doesn't rate him. It's a season-long loan though, so unless there's a clause allowing us to break the deal he'll be warming our bench for a while yet.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

21 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Dack is clever with the ball. He's brilliant at winning free-kicks by using his body, plays some superb through-balls and is a quality dribbler and finisher.

He's just not 6ft and a target man like Graham and will never win the headers like Graham does. We play a lot of balls in the air (We are top of the stats for 'long passes' or we were a few weeks ago). which suit Graham not Dack. 

 

You make it sound that Graham is 6 foot 5 and towers over everyone.

Disagree about Dack too. When things are going against Rovers, Dack thinks he has to win the game himself. There are times he needs to get his head up. The winning of free kicks is why he gets put up top and is what he has learnt, to his credit, off Graham. I agree he is not a number 9.

Graham is not the tallest around and is often small compared to defenders around him but does not get out muscled because of how he positions his body which gives him the advantage. Some refs don't like it and deem it a foul but he does it well and why we will struggle to replace him

[Parsonblue]

Long day, difficult journey and disappointing result.  A game of two halves which changed with the introduction of Swansea's subs at half-time.  Losing Lenihan so early was a blow and then Bennett picked up a knock early on and was never really himself after that.  I thought Swansea played some attractive football in the second half and exposed the weaknesses in our team at times.  Sometimes, you just have to hold your hands up and say the opposition were better  - which Swansea were for long periods of the second half.  They upped their game and we couldn't respond but even so the second half was decided by some fine margins - the unfortunate own goal, the save from Dack and then the break straight after for the third goal.  We are still two or three players short, which Mowbray has acknowledged, to be challenging for promotion but at this moment in time we look, as we have done all season, a comfortable mid-table side - which for a team just up from League One is no bad position to be in.  Before the Leeds game, I had hoped for three points from the Leeds, Swansea and WBA fixtures and we have achieved that with one game to go - and I expect that WBA will be our toughest test yet.

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Missed Lenihans physical presence too. I made the point we had two classy ball playing centre half's on, but hopefully not too classy. They were a bit. Roberts, James and Celina are nice footballers, but none of our defenders got close. Someone needed to clatter into them fairly and make them think twice about what they were doing. They were allowed to run rampant really. 

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

47 minutes ago, Rogerb said:

Williams is left footed would have meant three left footers in the back four making it unbalanced

That's probably why Mowbray put Rodwell on.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

20 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

I'm not sure he is, he took several free kicks last night with his right foot and I seem to remember him filling in at right back when he started at Everton

Maybe he's that rarity in modern football. A player who can use both feet equally well !

[K-Hod]

22 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

I'm not sure he is, he took several free kicks last night with his right foot and I seem to remember him filling in at right back when he started at Everton

Every time I've watched him at Ewood, he always seems to use his left foot. As a left-footer myself, it's something I always look out for!

[MarkBRFC]

1 hour ago, Rogerb said:

Williams is left footed would have meant three left footers in the back four making it unbalanced

I always find this odd.

Would a back four with 3 right footers be unbalanced?

How about our midfield 5 (including Dack) who are all right footed?

For the record, I don't think Rodwell is really a centre half, he played well against Bolton and when he come on against Leeds both in midfield, thought he was sloppy against Forest when playing CH, and think he got caught out last night too.

I'd start him in midfield on Saturday.

[Lancaster Rover]

Rodwell is listed on transfermerkt as right footed, not that I am taking that as gospel.

On Rodwell, I thought the delay in closing down for the Swansea goal showed his lack of proper positional awareness at centre half. He didn't know whether to charge out and engage the man with the ball or sit off and try to shepherd him into a less dangerous position, he ended up doing neither and letting the lad have an easy ride to goal. I do think Rodwell has the physical tools and technical capabilities to be a centre half, however he needs so much work putting in on positional awareness and when to stick or twist.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Lancaster Rover

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I would play him up front. Thats his position. He likes the ball to feet and playing on the defender last shoulder. We need to change style when he is playing we are wasted a very good talent player. 

The problem comes when you want to play 3 centre midfielders and keep it solid. Dack isnt a centre midfield or wide player. So will Mowbray be brave enough to taken both Dack and Graham off to give us a more solid base. Not a fan of Dack.has a false 9 striker but I understand Mowbray's thinking whilst disagree with him on it

You're not making sense Chaddy. Players who like the ball played to feet usually  move in field towards the ball and away from the defenders. Like Graham. Players who play on the shoulder of defenders usually move away from the ball and into the space behind the defenders. Like Armstrong. If you're looking for a player who can do both at top level you're looking at a £50 million pound striker.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I always find this odd.

Would a back four with 3 right footers be unbalanced?

How about our midfield 5 (including Dack) who are all right footed?

For the record, I don't think Rodwell is really a centre half, he played well against Bolton and when he come on against Leeds both in midfield, thought he was sloppy against Forest when playing CH, and think he got caught out last night too.

I'd start him in midfield on Saturday.

It's not odd to want to play with guys who are left footed on the left side. It does give you a better balance. The ideal centre half pairing is a right footed player along with a left footer. Some players can pass adequately with either foot but can't tackle equally well on their weaker foot. How many pens do you see given away when players get drawn into a tackle on their " wrong " side ?