Brentford v Rovers

[Darwen Rover 007]

8 minutes ago, AAK said:

Elliott Bennett is getting some real abuse on twitter tonight from rovers fans, their really going for him, he's retaliated as well, going back to the dark days tonight.

Shame on them the chavs.... absolutely no need!!! 

[Hasta]

11 minutes ago, AAK said:

Elliott Bennett is getting some real abuse on twitter tonight from rovers fans, their really going for him, he's retaliated as well, going back to the dark days tonight.

The two lads he's having a go at are complete pond life though. You only need to look at their tweets back to the rovers fans who've criticised them for being abusive to Bennet. 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Hasta

[Ewood Ace]

22 minutes ago, AAK said:

I've been saying all night their a far better team than us, but people totally disagree, how? I don't know. It's cause they've lost their manager, they went tits up for a couple of months, but their back to their best now.

No doubt that Smith leaving big effect on them for a spell. When he left they were 6th and after he left they went on a run of 4 points in 10 games.

 

24 minutes ago, AAK said:

Elliott Bennett is getting some real abuse on twitter tonight from rovers fans, their really going for him, he's retaliated as well, going back to the dark days tonight.

I won't ever understand why footballer use twitter.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Ewood Ace

[Exiled in Toronto]

12 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Although losing and conceding five goals is annoying and frustrating I have to say I thought some of Brentfords football today was exceptional and they fully deserved their win. Their play in and around our penalty area was extremely difficult to play against. The quick movement, one two's, spinning in behind and movement off the ball was as good as anything I have seen in the Championship this season. From an analytical point of view there is plenty for Mowbray to look at and whilst he does that he has to analyse himself and his staff. His changes were poor and once again he made several positional changes when using substitutes when one positional change would have done. 

One real cause for concern was how our players looked at each other after three of the goals. It seems that they were trying to pass the buck whilst exonerating themselves. A bad day for us and the sooner we can get fifty points the better which has been my opinion since August.

That was the biggest worry for me Tony, and it’s not the first time. There’s no-one out there setting the standard. They’ll all be playing Playstation with each other by now, and Mulgrew coming back won’t make any difference. We need a Knighton, McNamee, Speedie, Bellamy angry git.

Edited February 2, 2019 by Exiled in Toronto

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Commondore said:

They ended last season in 8th place, they're in 9th after today. Hardly the fall of Rome. 

Lets see where they finish in May.

[arbitro]

Just now, Exiled in Toronto said:

That was the biggest worry for me Tony, and it’s not the first time. There’s no-one out there setting the standard. They’ll all be playing Playstation with each other by now, and Mulgrew coming back won’t make any difference. We need a Knighton, McNamee, Speedie, Bellamy angry git.

Since Southend away last season the friends I go with have all said the same thing. We need a couple of strong characters who get really hurt and angry when things go wrong and aren't afraid to rattle a few cages. I know Mowbray talks about having the right type of character in his players but they are all similar in that respect. For their first goal today Bennett has let their player run by him on the half way line. I was screaming at him to foul the Brentford player but Bennett just shouldered arms and a few seconds later they score. We have to be nasty and horrible, this is professional sport and sometimes doing the nasty stuff gets results.

[AAK]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Lets see where they finish in May.

Who Brentford? They'll finish above us that's for sure.

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

Not sure I agree with that. There’s 6 points between 8th and 18th, all of whom could beat each other; we are in with that pack rather than being nearer the playoff pack. I think we are 4-5 players short of a genuine playoff run.

So, if you are right, when do we start trying to add those 4-5 players? 

Surely it's unrealistic to think we can do it all in one window in one fell swoop? Should be an ongoing process which seemingly hasn't yet started, furthermore the manager doesn't appear to view embarking on the task as a matter of any particular urgency

[Tom]

46 minutes ago, Darwen Rover 007 said:

Just got home...

I thought they were really really impressive... how come they are only 17th in the league??  I thought their no 21 was really good... 

I think we are a decent mid of the league team.. if we want to progress we need significant improvements in my view.. Having a chunk of league 1 players in the championship just isn't going to work.. we need a few premier league players with a big chunk of championship players if we want to kick on.

Please don't play Bennett there again Mowbray also am I the only one who spent rate Lenihan... 

 

Also what's the obsession with Conway.. he's had one good game in the last 12 months... typical Mowbray over loyal.. Rothwell should deservedly be gutted 

Agree about Conway although I think I would extend that 12 months further, he was brilliant that one home game this season but done next to nothing the last 2 seasons.

People talk of his defensive discipline but I don’t see much evidence of it to be honest, there’s not many occasions where I think I’d pick him as an option ahead of the others in the squad

[Rover_Shaun]

Joint worst away defence

[Crimpshrine]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

Although losing and conceding five goals is annoying and frustrating I have to say I thought some of Brentfords football today was exceptional and they fully deserved their win. Their play in and around our penalty area was extremely difficult to play against. The quick movement, one two's, spinning in behind and movement off the ball was as good as anything I have seen in the Championship this season. From an analytical point of view there is plenty for Mowbray to look at and whilst he does that he has to analyse himself and his staff. His changes were poor and once again he made several positional changes when using substitutes when one positional change would have done. 

One real cause for concern was how our players looked at each other after three of the goals. It seems that they were trying to pass the buck whilst exonerating themselves. A bad day for us and the sooner we can get fifty points the better which has been my opinion since August.

I noticed the same at Preston, Wigan and Sheff Utd. No fighters or leaders in the team

[garnersfags]

6 hours ago, dallydally said:

Just watched the highlights. 5 2 flatters them. Graham and Dack going off changed the game but we were still in it till Raya's howler. Then chasing it we were caught out. Disappointing after such a good start but we will have these days in this tough league. We lick our wounds and then move on to the Reading game.

I think this comment is realistic, now the dust is settling...

5 hours ago, Neal said:

Just in the car on the way back, time to kill so though I'd give my thoughts... 

 

Time for brutal honesty and a few concerns I have... 

I've never seen a player get roasted as badly as Bennett today. It was so obvious they targeted him from the off, for TM to not see this and adapt shows an alarming amount of naivety. Reed is far more competent defensively and TM should have switched him with Armstrong to provide better cover for Bennett, by the time he he actually did this it was far too late. This one problem area cost us the game, it allowed them to stretch us, pull us out of position and ultimately we got overrun in CM. It's pretty apt the LT did a piece on Bennett not being long term full back, this just underlined it. Nyambe I think has looked like one of our best players at times this season when I've watched him. He has a lot to learn but that's to be expected and I'd rather a young lad makes mistakes who needs to learn than a 30 year old who can no longer develop. 

 

Another display of naivety from TM was how we played after scoring the second. I can't recall a time where I've seen a rigid bank of 4-5-1 whilst winning, this is exactly what we needed to do, we don't always need to be chasing players down trying to win back possession when 2-0 up. What we should've done is been disciplined, kept our shape and done our jobs. Once players start running out doing a high press it leaves spaces in behind for them to play through us. We simply didn't need to play like that whilst 2-0 up. 

 

One final thing that concerned me from the manager today was the lack of communication from him from the touch line, I wanted to see more organising and instruction to our players at key moments in the game but it simply never came. I don't mean for this to sound like a which hunt on TM, I love the bloke but I'm just simply saying what I saw. 

 

Further concerns... 

 

Raya, not just because of the blunder but because I just don't think he's a commanding presence. Brentford, is a tight ground and I was stood right behind him. I didn't hear Raya once, no shouting hardly any talking, some of the best Rovers keepers I've seen have arguably the loudest players on the pitch, fair enough this might not be his style but it makes us less organised and the goal just drives home that point. 

 

The quality of our substitutions. I know Conway has had a couple of decent games but I'm sorry, he shouldn't be on at the expense of Joe Rothwell. Nutall I don't want to write off, but having played to a decent stadrard myself I look at him and I'm not seeing anything special, in games like this at this standard simply running around is not enough, you must affect games and get involved and I think time will show that he's not quite good enough, I hope I'm wrong. 

 

Today just showed that running will only take you so far, you need quality too and we just don't have enough to kick us on to be a top 6 challenging side. Perhaps the first 11 might be but the squad depth isn't there for us to challenge, it's a shame but I'm making my peace with it now. If I'm to be proven wrong then a lot is riding on Chapman and Brereton to step up and kick us on. The dissapointment from the fans in not landing a CF is right and justified because it showed how much we needed someone to make the ball stick up top and release the presssure, without this we simply invite too much pressure for us to cope with at times. 

 

Some positives (if there are any). 

 

Adam Armstrong was outstanding, they simply couldn't live with him. 

 

Rodwell. It seems crazy to say as we got smashed but the centre halves got no protection whatsoever, everything he had to deal with individually he did with class. 

 

Brereton. Looked really sharp when he came on and surprisingly confident and dangerous. 

 

Final thoughts. Brentford players were completely out of order in how they celebrated and were lucky not to start a violent incident. They should be fined for attempting to incite something that could have got nasty. 

 

Today definitely tempered expectations and is a stark reminder to not get too ahead of yourself in this league. You try to win your next game and have no right to even think about the game after. We're a decent side in this league but we're still a bit short in key positions and I think it will take some ruthlessness from the manager to put his loyalties to certain players aside and replace them with better quality. 

 

This league is mental, we could stuff Bristol or vice versa, let's focus on that one and hope the manager makes the appropriate changes. 

 

A day to learn from and not simply forget. 

 

P. S. The fans were brilliant and the Burnley in Europe song is top class banter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This kind of thoughful, thorough review is just what those of us who couldn't het to the game appreciate. Nice one. 

[rossyrover]

David Raya seems to be making mistakes at crucial times. 

[jim mk2]

4 hours ago, RoverCanada said:

 

Nuttall... threw himself about a bit, but his play with the ball at his feet can be downright pathetic...

 

We won't get anywhere in this division if Nuttall is considered good enough to be in the team

[TugaysMarlboro]

5 hours ago, Ewood Ace said:

He's just had a month to get help in and hasn't even though by his own admission he had the funds to so. 

But clearly outside of the funds we had available. As he said, clubs, players and agents were trying to rinse every penny. Summer is the time.

[AllRoverAsia]

5 hours ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

We should not be conceding the number of goals that we do.  That is TM's current weakness. 

God knows how Brentford put that team together.

Good scouting and recruitment, a tactically aware manager and players who will put the boot in and push a ref to his limits. 

[AllRoverAsia]

2 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

So, if you are right, when do we start trying to add those 4-5 players? 

Surely it's unrealistic to think we can do it all in one window in one fell swoop? Should be an ongoing process which seemingly hasn't yet started, furthermore the manager doesn't appear to view embarking on the task as a matter of any particular urgency

Mowbray wants to see how far his lads can go, well they don't like going away from Ewood, not even as far as Preston nevermind London.

It will be back to 4 or 5 windows needed, and he ignores the January ones.

[AllRoverAsia]

22 minutes ago, Traviscon said:

But clearly outside of the funds we had available. As he said, clubs, players and agents were trying to rinse every penny. Summer is the time.

It is the same in the Summer, the rest are lame excuses to extend the inevitable of shopping at discount stores apart from the odd spree.

[AllRoverAsia]

3 hours ago, Ewood Ace said:

No doubt that Smith leaving big effect on them for a spell. When he left they were 6th and after he left they went on a run of 4 points in 10 games.

 

I won't ever understand why footballer use twitter.

Amen to that.

Personally I think it's a brain cell thingy. A need to be one of the lads and believing the hype.

[AllRoverAsia]

6 hours ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

Hand's up who enjoyed Sam's tenure at EP?  Hughes was fantastic, but complained about resources after a while and lost interest, and the plot and been a failure at his other clubs.

ME and I partially blame the anti Sam brigade for his ousting. Desai seized on bringing "pretty" football to Ewood for "that" appointment. That went well.

Edited February 3, 2019 by AllRoverAsia

[1864roverite]

Well in my hotel room pondering just how poor half the team were yesterday. Ecstatic after 7 mins replaced by utter rejection and the most dismal of performances. Bennett raya Evans were awful the midfield were overrun and didn’t win any second balls. Conway should not be near the team he is past it. The defence were woeful and Raya needs shooting for that stupid mistake he made. Rant over off for breakfast and the train!

[philipl]

Just as last week, it was Sunday when how good we were against Hull hit me and I couldn't stop smiling for three days, woken up this morning with the hammer blow of just how goddam awful that defeat was..

 

One for the oldies here, but this season is reminding me of 1977/8 under Jim Smith. Totally unexpected really good season with some stunning dominant wins interspersed with some horrific defeats. We lost 5-2 at Blackpool in front of the cameras with Bob Hatton getting 4 if I remember correctly. We finished 5th but in those days no cigar. Happily take 5th again this season but sticking with my forecast of 7th and a lot of recriminating bunnies in East Lancs.

Another parallel, mid-table bunched up that season as well and in fact we finished only 8 points (2 points for a win) ahead of Blackpool who got relegated- Brentford be warned!

 

At the risk of upsetting Stuart again, we lost yesterday in the centre of the park. For the first quarter we were hitting nice diagonals and getting Arma in to terrify their back line. From the moment they pinned Reed to the advertising hoarding, they signalled their intent and bullied us out of control in the centre. From then on it was their players being fed the diagonals to expose Bennett in particular. Our supply to Arma dried up and they could press forward without fear. Conway was a really bad sub decision, we needed Rothwell to worry them the way Dack worried them assuming he could survive the assault and battery the ref was letting go. In fact the 50th minute yesterday was the ideal platform for Rothwell to stake his case in the same way BB got to show he is the obvious forward sub ahead of Nuttall.  

 

Big job behind the scenes this coming week. Mowbray to get the heads right. The physios to repair the bodies of Dack, Graham, Evans (sounds he could be the worst from Mowbray's interview) and Lenahan plus the walking wounded of Reed, Bennett and Travis- all of whom would have been taken off injured in a more normal game.     

[Parsonblue]

The last two games have illustrated just what a good League the Championship is in terms of entertainment value.  On their day it seems any team can beat any other irrespective of form.  Last week Hull came to Ewood on a good run and were given a football lesson.  Yesterday we were given a similar football lesson by Brentford at Griffin Park.  I have to say some of their football was sensational at times and Sawyers simply ran the game in midfield with none of our players able to get near him.

Brentford's use of the wing-back system was as good as I've seen in a long time and their play in and around the Rovers area was exceptional.  We made errors, of course we did, but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and simply accept we were beaten by a better side on the day.

This game merely confirmed what I've always felt - we'll finish in mid-table and no disgrace in that.

[AllRoverAsia]

I think we are overdue a massive multi-quote.

They are a positive, you can skip past loads of tosh in a single go.

Not having seen the game were Brentford really that brutal? If they were then why did we not kick a few ourselves, late on. Revenge style. I hate us being a soft touch.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

Well we had Smallwood on the bench who would have added some aggression into midfield. Instead we brought on Conway!