Rovers away at Preston NE: 24th November 2018 - 3pm. The match thread.

[tomphil]

Just now, bluebruce said:

Wow, can't agree at all. Nuttall hasn't played at all for ages. I don't necessarily object to him being a bench option, but it should start with cameos from there.

Brereton offered bugger all until the last three games, when he has been our best substitute. Last person who needs dropping from the bench (especially with him being our 7 million pound investment, he's never going to realise his potential if he is dropped altogether). Can't see where you're coming from on that one, sorry. For me, he's in form and deserves a chance to finally start or his confidence will go. Granted, I didn't see today's game (work) so don't know about his overall performance, but from the disallowed goal he is clearly consistently having an impact at last.

Fair do's although I'm looking at it over the season so yes he's had a couple of assists recently but come on throw him in and if he sinks in a game like that it doesn't bode well. Nuttall has sniffed out a few goals so he deserves a chance now and again but he didn't cost anything so his signing doesn't need justifying every week.

Nothing against BB at all but just try something different now and again as he clearly isn't yet some kind of wonder kid just a young player trying to find his feet, may come good may not but he's being protected in a way that to me prevents others from having a chance to see if they can benefit this current team.

It's all about the team not the individual and a couple of assists aside he's shown very very little, doesn't mean he won't but let's prioritise getting a unit upfront and a provider wide otherwise we'll still be seeing this same time next season with him. 

[G Somerset Rover]

Mowbray doesn’t seem to get it in his post match presser. The issue here isn’t not starting Graham if he’s not quite fit. It’s having absolutely zilch in regards to an alternative (and I’m not including Brereton or Armstrong as TM clearly doesn’t consider them as strikers - another debate alone).

Edited November 24, 2018 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[rigger]

Well lets forget about that. Beat Wigan on Wednesday and its better than two draws.

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

He signs, picks and coaches them. 

He asked if you watched it. 

[perthblue02]

TM after match reaction from the LT

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/17254034.preston-north-end-4-blackburn-rovers-1-tony-mowbray-reaction/

[Dan]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

He played Palmer up front. He's played Dack up front. He plays strikers out wide. He either doesn't know his players or he's buying the wrong ones. His signings this summer have been poor. 

The automatic team that a video game would pick would be a lot more acceptable. I don’t really understand it. I’m all for trying things out(look at Ian Pearce! :lol:). But, why can’t we just try players in their natural position. It’s difficult to understand what the manager is thinking and wanting to happen.  

[Bigdoggsteel]

12 minutes ago, Stuart said:

You laughed at Jim when he predicted a 3-1 defeat before kick off. You’d think you’d be a little less vocal after making yourself look so foolish.

Mowbray once again picked a team with no strikers. It must give the opposition so much confidence and a platform to get forward.

You mention a lack of motivation. How can Mowbray’s selection not demotivate players? Fans shake their heads so players must too.

Mowbray, like any manager, will get stick when he gets something wrong. I expect he’s big enough to accept that.

I was laughing at the fact that every post he makes is negative. He was spot on with the score. 

As for looking foolish, if that's in your eyes Stuart, I must be doing something right. 

I have given Mowbrays selection plenty of stick, so not sure what your point is or why you are a telling me the above 

[Dan]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Mowbray doesn’t seem to get it in his post match presser. The issue here isn’t not starting Graham if he’s not quite fit. It’s having absolutely zilch in regards to an alternative (and I’m not including Brereton or Armstrong as TM clearly doesn’t consider them as strikers - another debate alone).

It’s like the Grabbi thing in reverse!! 

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

2 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

The criticism of Dack is bizarre. If he doesn't score we often don't. It's worth noting only 5 goals have come form open play this season that haven't been scored by him. 5 GOALS IN 18 GAMES. 

Goals are a major issue this year.

Last season, before it started, TM came out and said we need to score 80 goals and contribute around the team. 

We are woefully short of goals this year.  Graham may  scrape 10, Dack possibly 15. Mulgrew may get 5 or 6. After that, Armstrong has never done it at this level (yet) Bennett, Evans, Smallwood, Rothwell, Reed, Nyambe, Bell, Williams, Travis, Conway,Rodwell will contribute 4 or 5 between them, if we are lucky.  

This season is going to tail off rapidly unless we find away of scoring more.

What's the stat...one first half goal all season at Ewood?

 

[blueboy3333]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

He was spot on with the score. 

You know it was 4-1 right?

[bluebruce]

7 minutes ago, Gav said:

Injuries the reason for team selection today and clearly Brereton isn't ready, regardless of what fans on here think.

Mowbray knows his players better than we do, but you'd hope has some regrets about starting like he did today...

Is Palmer more ready to play up front than a natural striker who has experience in this league?

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Dack has 8 goals and 2 assists in 15 matches this season. If he carries on in that vain, he only needs another 18 games or so to match what he did last season. So he's actually on course to smash last season, and at a higher level.

See this exactly the type of thing that gives him a free pass. Yep, goals ratio is great this season. All round play is nowhere near where he was last year. He's basically becoming a midfield Jordan Rhodes 

[Gav]

Just now, bluebruce said:

Is Palmer more ready to play up front than a natural striker who has experience in this league?

Yes, because the manger picked him.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Gav

[bluebruce]

3 minutes ago, tomphil said:

 

Nothing against BB at all but just try something different now and again as he clearly isn't yet some kind of wonder kid just a young player trying to find his feet, may come good may not but he's being protected in a way that to me prevents others from having a chance to see if they can benefit this current team.

 

The only way I see him as being 'protected' is the fact he isn't being started. Guess we will have to just agree to differ on this one.

[bluebruce]

Just now, Gav said:

Yes.

So, Palmer did well up front today?

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

See this exactly the type of thing that gives him a free pass. Yep, goals ratio is great this season. All round play is nowhere near where he was last year. He's basically becoming a midfield Jordan Rhodes 

What’s the reason for Dack’s very poor form (minus the goals)? Position deployed by TM? Head turned by the supposed bright lights of the Premier League? Olivia Attwood playing him like an accordion once again? One or all of them? 

Part of me thinks we should snatch someone’s hands off for £20+ million and invest IF the loons somehow stuck to their word of actually allowing a manager to do that.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[only2garners]

Just now, bluebruce said:

The question that needs to be asked isn't about why Graham gets dropped, which is what I suspect Sharpe will ask or accept for an answer...what needs asking is the thinking behind who he brings in to replace him. Why Dack or Palmer and not Armstrong or Brereton?

You missed the tweet from Sharpe above that said that Graham had not trained for most of the two weeks.

I haven't read most of the posts above but I have had a good chat to some North End fans on the bus coming home. They were a bit perplexed as to how they had managed to win that game 4-1 given we had most of the play.

In truth for all the whinging about the starting format we played considerably better in the first half than the second. We gave two stupid goals away very early on but for the rest of the half controlled the game through midfield and made a number of chances. Rudd made a couple of crisp saves, missed a cross and dropped another, Williams had a free header and Dack missed what looked like a sitter from 100 yards away . You can hardly blame whoever the front line is for the first two goals.

I thought Reed had a decent first half and that Smallwood was outstanding. What was wrong about the half time substitution was not that Graham came on but that Smallwood went off.  Second half we had much less of the ball - Bennett was poor there and to add to it he wasn't wide on the right exploiting the space with Nyambe that they did in the first half. For me this kills the argument from fans that we should have a different central midfield than Evans and Smallwood.

Anyway I've managed two away games so far this season and we've lost them both 4-1. The bad news is I'm off to Wigan. The good news is that I haven't seen them lose a home game for well over a year now - I was on holiday for the Sheff Utd game.

[DE.]

3 minutes ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Mowbray doesn’t seem to get it in his post match presser. The issue here isn’t not starting Graham if he’s not quite fit. It’s having absolutely zilch in regards to an alternative (and I’m not including Brereton or Armstrong as TM clearly doesn’t consider them as strikers - another debate alone).

Did anybody ask why we seem to have no alternative to a 33 year old who we knew well before the season started wouldn't be up to playing a full 46 games? I mean, we apparently had £7m to spend so you'd think we might have considered it a priority. Instead we've brought in more strikers to convert to wingers (does Tony know there's a difference?) and we're left to play midfielders up front with predictable results.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

You know it was 4-1 right?

3-1,4-1. All the one really. He said they would punish our weak defence and he was bang on. 

 

1 minute ago, perthblue02 said:

TM after match reaction from the LT

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/17254034.preston-north-end-4-blackburn-rovers-1-tony-mowbray-reaction/

I thought he would accept more of the blame for his team selection to be honest. 

The comments about Lenihan and Mulgrew being away with their countries are most peculiar. Robinson for Preston was away with Ireland too. As many other players were away with their countries 

[blueboy3333]

Just now, perthblue02 said:

TM after match reaction from the LT

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/17254034.preston-north-end-4-blackburn-rovers-1-tony-mowbray-reaction/

“He came on and made an impact, but I don’t sit here regretting the decisions I made with the team selection.

“Palmer played up top, we went with the speed of Armstrong in the wide areas.

“Take the first 10 minutes out of it and I thought it was a confident performance, which sounds strange having lost the game 4-1.

“I’m not hiding behind the fact the defenders weren’t good enough, that’s uncharacteristic of them"

Roughly translated as 'not my fault'. He was exactly the same at the start of last season when we were struggling.

#honesttony

 

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Worth noting that Paul Gallagher pretty much ran the show again according to the radio.  He's done that several times against us now.  

[blueboy3333]

Just now, bluebruce said:

So, Palmer did well up front today?

Has Palmer ever done well? Absolutely bizarre selection. 

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, DE. said:

Did anybody ask why we seem to have no alternative to a 33 year old who we knew well before the season started wouldn't be up to playing a full 46 games? I mean, we apparently had £7m to spend so you'd think we might have considered it a priority. Instead we've brought in more strikers to convert to wingers (does Tony know there's a difference?) and we're left to play midfielders up front with predictable results.

This. The exact question that needs asking. I suspect he’ll come out with some jive like ‘Nuttall’ or ‘Palmer/Dack can play that role’ but it needs asking as the alternatives to Graham do not work (Brereton could be the man but right now it feels like we’ll never know). 

Edited November 24, 2018 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[HowieFive0]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

“He came on and made an impact, but I don’t sit here regretting the decisions I made with the team selection.

“Palmer played up top, we went with the speed of Armstrong in the wide areas.

“Take the first 10 minutes out of it and I thought it was a confident performance, which sounds strange having lost the game 4-1.

“I’m not hiding behind the fact the defenders weren’t good enough, that’s uncharacteristic of them"

Roughly translated as 'not my fault'. He was exactly the same at the start of last season when we were struggling.

#honesttony

 

but ..honest ?

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

What’s the reason for Dack’s very poor form (minus the goals)? Position deployed by TM? Head turned by the supposed bright lights of the Premier League? Olivia Attwood playing him like an accordion once again? One or all of them? 

Part of me thinks we should snatch someone’s hands off for £20+ million and invest IF the loons somehow stuck to their word of actually allowing a manager to do that.

All of the above along with being marked more closely. 

The fawning over him from the club, fans and media has blown his performances out of proportion. Midfield Jordan Rhodes