Brentford v Rovers

[den9112]

1 hour ago, philipl said:

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.     

I certainly remember that season as i played in the Rovers schoolboy team hoping to try and get in the reserves at the time...A bad knee injury cut of any pro route i may have ventured in to ,i was freindly with one of Jim smiths  daughter for a while who would have been around 16 at the time,sure they lived near the woodlands area .

[Tom Stinny]

Seen someone say. "We can't buy in January, summer is the time" can you tell that to Preston fans who brought in 2-3 players from league 1 who've had instant impacts.

 

Also seen a few say "well we need premier league and ready made championship players" could you say Dack, Armstrong and Travis we're ready made championship players or Rodwell and Reed are premier league players? 

 

We could have easily looked at the best from league 1 in January and taken them due to a higher league standing and financial backing.

 

For a manager to be somewhere two years and not sort a competent defence out is criminal. He's even had a full season in that amateur league 1 where it's kick and run football.

 

Someone else has also got it right with the players. Where is this team spirit and right characters? Are they at home playing fifa and taking photos? They should be fucking happy on 10+ thousand a week. It's absolutely pathetic and some on here put up with it. Where's your will to win and get the best for this football club.

 

This isn't a I deserve mentality it's a I want mentality. The fans hurt at the end of the day. The players come out with a "We'll go again"

 

Again. The manager is playing this for the long term, but he could be sacked this time next year then we'll be in the mindset of oh if only we'd pushed on. Bought a centre back. Dropped the dead wood. Played our best right back and were good at defending.

 

This isn't a negative rant it's someone whose seen this situation before and can't buy into these owners backing someone long term. We've had too many sudden decision moments of craziness that to me we had to take our chance this year. But we haven't.

[arbitro]

17 minutes ago, Uddersfelt Blue said:

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

That would have been the logical change but Mowbray over complicates things by switching several players positions. 

It's one of the most frustrating aspects of his management to me.

[Tom Stinny]

Also get bets on now that Smallwood will replace Travis for the next game with Bennet staying at right back. You'll be printing money.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

10 hours ago, AAK said:

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

We we're discussing Big Sam and  Everton.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Mattyblue]

Just now, arbitro said:

That would have been the logical change but Mowbray over complicates things by switching several players positions. 

It's one of the most frustrating aspects of his management to me.

Without doubt.

It was a game that needed the sting taken out of it. Get Smallwood on and shore up the middle of the park.

Instead Conway gets brought on, two young strikers are chucked on and unsurprisingly we quickly descend into a rabble.

[Ossydave]

Bad second half, really bad. 

But. 

We need to put it in context. 

This league is absolutely bonkers. Previously top Leeds were absolutely destroyed by Norwich last night, who squeezed past us 1-0.

100% confident we'll do them farmers over next week. 

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

4 minutes ago, arbitro said:

That would have been the logical change but Mowbray over complicates things by switching several players positions. 

It's one of the most frustrating aspects of his management to me.

Was Conway not brought on for Dack ? 

[arbitro]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Without doubt.

It was a game that needed the sting taken out of it. Get Smallwood on and shore up the middle of the park.

Instead Conway gets brought on, two young strikers are chucked on and unsurprisingly we quickly descend into a rabble.

And to accommodate Conway our most effective player on the day, Armstrong gets shifted to the left and Reed into the middle.

 

[jim mk2]

6 minutes ago, Tom Stinny said:

Also get bets on now that Smallwood will replace Travis for the next game with Bennet staying at right back. You'll be printing money.

 Nailed on I'd say. 

[arbitro]

Just now, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

Was Conway not brought on for Dack ? 

I was meaning when Evans went off. Smallwood would have been like for like.

[Hasta]

Just seen the highlights. Rodwell doesn't cover himself in glory for goals 1 and 4.

His marking for the fourth is particularly poor. He's got the guy in front of him and 2 seconds later the guy is clean through without doing very much.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Hasta

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

10 hours ago, Crimpshrine said:

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

You're right. I had a pal who was a professional scout and he would always insist on scouting players at away games. He reckoned that was where you saw a players true character.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Without doubt.

It was a game that needed the sting taken out of it. Get Smallwood on and shore up the middle of the park.

Instead Conway gets brought on, two young strikers are chucked on and unsurprisingly we quickly descend into a rabble.

Spot on.

At 2-1 up we could have sacrificed a striker and strengthened the midfield. 

I believe bringing on Conway was to help Bennett on the right but we could have just put Reed there. 

 

[Stuart]

1 minute ago, Uddersfelt Blue said:

Spot on.

At 2-1 up we could have sacrificed a striker and strengthened the midfield. 

I believe bringing on Conway was to help Bennett on the right but we could have just put Reed there. 

Not sure I agree given the timing. There were 35-40 minutes left and we are awful at holding on to leads.

A like for like switch with Rothwell on for Dack.

I think moving players to ‘help out’ a player struggling. Assuming he wasn’t injured, where was Nyambe? If he was the Bennett could have gone to RM and Reed to RB. Or even take Bennett off.

Mowbray seems to be a tubthumper who can rouse the boys for a fight but doesn’t have the nouse to make changes when we are losing ground. He has previous for his. A game is changing and we are losing the battle - even if we are still in the lead and he delays until it’s too late. Then makes the wrong decisions. Losing so badly is still hard to stomach.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

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.

 I keep reading we got beaten up yesterday. Well the remedy is in your own hands in situations like that. You meet fire with fire and you get stuck in yourselves. Trouble is we have too many players who don't fancy it when it gets a bit physical. 

I watched that Ireland V England RU match last night. Ireland like to put it about as well but England showed they weren't having any of that and got their retaliation in first.

[mhead]

At 3-2 down after Bennett had struggled all the match with little support from Armstrong, we took off Evans in midfield and put on another forward.

Clearly Tony M went to get at least a draw.....but it backfired cos it further unbalanced the team.

Problems occurred at 2-0 when Travis was ambushed repeatedly as Brentford worked hard for supremacy.

We scored too easily and too early. Smallwood should have been on at half-time.

Only 3 points lost whatever the score,

[JHRover]

Given Brentford are supposedly such a brilliant side and our manager compares them to Real Madrid perhaps he or someone else at Rovers could carry out an analysis as to how a club of their size with their budget and facilities have managed to assemble such quality whilst also coping very well with the regular sales of key players to rival clubs?

Our manager says he has had money available to spend but that he decided to not spend any because decent players were not available for a reasonable price. How much did Brentford's starting XI cost them?

The difference of course is that Brentford are on another level to us in terms of their operation, strategy and recruitment and that is shown up neatly when we lose Dack and Graham to injury and our only solution to that is to chuck on Nuttall, Brereton and Conway. None of whom are really good enough for this level at this moment in time and in the case of Brereton cost more than anyone in Brentford's team that took us to pieces.

I could perhaps subscribe to the theory that we were simply outplayed by a better team had we not followed the familiar path of completely and utterly imploding once again having been in a good position. I said after the game that had it been 0-0 at half time and not 2-1 we'd have had a better chance of winning. Going out into the 2nd half to protect a lead is the last thing this team or manager is able to do, far more comfortable if we are level or behind.

From the minute we went 2-0 up the game changed. Like a switch went in the players heads and we went from being on the front foot to being on the back foot and from that point on Brentford dominated and I don't recall us having anything in the game except a two minute period in the 2nd half when we had a few corners in succession. 

22 points dropped from winning positions is outrageous and has to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

[tomphil]

Rodwell is a bit like Mulgrew in as much as he's a nick it off the toe type, usually reads the game well but is found wanting against pace, movement and aggression that's why sometimes you just need a rock at the back to block/clear their lines without actually thinking about it.

This is the Championship though boys and girls and this is what it is it's a crazy league at times full of good but very inconsistent players that's why a lot of them spend their careers in it.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by tomphil

[blueboy3333]

4 minutes ago, mhead said:

At 3-2 down after Bennett had struggled all the match with little support from Armstrong,

Good point, Bennett isn't brilliant at full back but AA doesn't offer any cover whether he plays left or right. However, AA is better on the right IMO so the need for a top quality RB must surely be a priority if Nyambe has fallen out of favour. 

[rigger]

18 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Good point, Bennett isn't brilliant at full back but AA doesn't offer any cover whether he plays left or right. However, AA is better on the right IMO so the need for a top quality RB must surely be a priority if Nyambe has fallen out of favour. 

I think Reed would fill that role 

[tomphil]

We have a right back on the books so why aren't we using him at right back ?

Simple things like this help undo us frequently.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Hasta said:

Just seen the highlights. Rodwell doesn't cover himself in glory for goals 1 and 4.

His marking for the fourth is particularly poor. He's got the guy in front of him and 2 seconds later the guy is clean through without doing very much.

That's his 3 year contract removed from off the table then ?

[Husky]

I think I prefer post match knee jerk reactions.

In the cold light of a new day, yesterday's capitulation (along with the January transfer saga) seems an even bigger disgrace.

[rigger]

24 minutes ago, tomphil said:

We have a right back on the books so why aren't we using him at right back ?

Simple things like this help undo us frequently.

Because Tony Mowbray isn’t picking him