Rovers V Bristol City

[roversfan99]

24 minutes ago, Stuart said:

Impossible not to blame Mowbray for that one.

Calamitous substitutions and unnecessary changes that completely foxed Rovers instead of Bristol.

Travis on a yellow, and after an untidy challenge Mowbray decided he couldn’t trust him not to get a second one.

So brings him off and decides his only post-window option is to move Reed inside to cover him. This means bringing on Nyambe in order to move Bennett from right back to cover right mid. Three changes to deal with one perceived problem. (And we missed Travis when he went off!)

Brings off Dack for Rothwell, and we’re thinking that’s brave but let’s see how Rothwell does in the role behind Graham. Oh no, no, no. He still sees Rothwell as being a wide left player so he moves Armstrong to the right to make room. (Bear in mind Arma has been causing their right back all sorts of problems).

At this point Graham is looking over at the bench like “so who’s playing where, Tony?”. Not sure Tony even knows - although he spent the length of the Dack substitution explaining his master plan to Bennett, who then had to tell as many people as he could.

During this chaos, Bristol of course score, from a delayed corner due to the fussy official, and the game has changed completely. From being on top in the second half and looking like taking the game to Bristol to looking very much second best.

He then brings on Nuttall. So maybe he’s replacing Graham? Kind of makes sense. I guess. But no, off comes Smallwood - his preferred holding midfielder, presumably because having Reed in there is enough, and he is going for an attacking formation. But Nuttall doesn’t seem to know straight away if he is meant to be playing as a centre mid in a five or as a second striker alongside Graham.

It was just an absolute mess.

Yes, the ref was totally out of his depth but that game was Mowbray looking to nick a point, then throwing it away, then panicking to try to get it back.

Another bad day in the manager’s office, and the Manager of the Month hoodoo in full swing.

I actually totally agreed with the sub of Nyambe for Travis, I called it myself as soon as Travis luckily evaded a second yellow. He had no direct replacements on the bench.

The problem with that sub is that Nyambe should have started, therefore we would have been bringing on a midfielder.

The Dack sub was not an insolated example of Mowbray trying to be clever and it backfiring, it made absolutely no sense to push Bennett into a 10 role, or to take an admittedly quiet Dack off as no matter how quiet he is, hes always our biggest goal threat.

Bennett himself played almost in every position today, theres no need to constantly change so much.

[Sparks Rover]

A back 4 with the awful Williams and three midfielders in it.  League 1 holding midfielder and a young lad looking leggy in the middle of the park.....easy as fuck for Bristol. 

Bells forward running was missing today. William's stays back and this leaves them a spare man wide.  Bell gets the opposition thinking of running back. Tony picking these suggests he's taking the piss and spinning the job out 

[Waggy76]

11 minutes ago, LDRover said:

Points wise we were.

We were on a 4 game winning run, momentum was with us and a couple of players (money was available we're led to believe) could've really pushed us on. If we'd won our last 2 (which is not inconceivable given our prior form) we'd be 7th now, 1 point from the playoffs. Chance not taken for me...yet while we all celebrate being safe in the 2nd tier Mowbray will be happy to meander on.

True to a point but we had just won 4 on the bounce after losing 3....

Bristol have won 6 on bounce but I will be amazed if they make the Play offs ...Cos they are not good enough to keep that form up !!

[Ewood Ace]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Bennett himself played almost in every position today, theres no need to constantly change so much.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he was any good in just one of them.

[Waggy76]

6 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

A back 4 with the awful Williams and three midfielders in it.  League 1 holding midfielder and a young lad looking leggy in the middle of the park.....easy as fuck for Bristol. 

Bells forward running was missing today. William's stays back and this leaves them a spare man wide.  Bell gets the opposition thinking of running back. Tony picking these suggests he's taking the piss and spinning the job out 

It wasn't easy for Bristol ....It was a dour game with very few chances , won by them with a set piece ...

Edited February 9, 2019 by Waggy76

[Angry_Pirate]

Firstly, the 'referee' was appalling, called it after the opening kick off was restarted and he didn't disappoint.

To not send off Travis for a 'stone wall' 2nd yellow was poor enough (but helped us), but that doesn't mean he has to allow the next 'stone wall' 2nd yellow card challenge to go unpunished... The obvious corner at the end was the icing on the cake to go along with Frank "I'm gonna hold this ball for 18-20 seconds" Fielding.

Fundamentally... Mowbray is showing a severe lack of ambition, tactical awareness and blind loyalty to L1 players. We were poor today and much of it is the manager refusing to put our 11 best players on the pitch together in their right position.

Is this £3 Tony Mowbray '?? fest' also a Q&A? Hope so.

[Tom]

Mowbray doesn’t sound happy with their goal and says the players responsible have been told in no uncertain terms.

Hope he’s not placing the blame solely at Nyambes door, admittedly he was too focused on the man not the ball but Raya should come and take that ball.

Next game we have to have Nyambe in at right back, I also hope he doesn’t use Travis having one off day to put him back on the bench.

[Waggy76]

Just now, Angry_Pirate said:

Firstly, the 'referee' was appalling, called it after the opening kick off was restarted and he didn't disappoint.

To not send off Travis for a 'stone wall' 2nd yellow was poor enough (but helped us), but that doesn't mean he has to allow the next 'stone wall' 2nd yellow card challenge to go unpunished... The obvious corner at the end was the icing on the cake to go along with Frank "I'm gonna hold this ball for 18-20 seconds" Fielding.

Fundamentally... Mowbray is showing a severe lack of ambition, tactical awareness and blind loyalty to L1 players. We were poor today and much of it is the manager refusing to put our 11 best players on the pitch together in their right position.

Is this £3 Tony Mowbray '?? fest' also a Q&A? Hope so.

Fundamentally... Mowbray is showing a severe lack of ambition, tactical awareness and blind loyalty to L1 players. We were poor today and much of it is the manager refusing to put our 11 best players on the pitch together in their right position.

Is this £3 Tony Mowbray '?? fest' also a Q&A? Hope so.

Fundamentally... Mowbray is showing a severe lack of ambition, tactical awareness and blind loyalty to L1 players. We were poor today and much of it is the manager refusing to put our 11 best players on the pitch together in their right position.

Is this £3 Tony Mowbray '?? fest' also a Q&A? Hope so.

I agree with the above !

[Oldgregg86]

1 hour ago, Miker said:

Absolutely frustrating. The first substitution to bring Nyambe on and push Bennett further up was the right decision, but taking Dack off and moving Bennett central made no sense. Bennett was actually looking good on that right wing before that. 

I stick by my thoughts in the first half, Graham wasn't offering enough in attack. If Mowbray didn't spend money in January, he absolutely has to place his faith in Brereton and let him play in games like this. The last change did not work at all and the decision to drop Bell for Williams clearly didn't pay off either.

Mulgrew and Rodwell were excellent today though, and I thought Smallwood was back to his best.

This is how I saw it. 

Frustrating but not surprising game. Rodwell and Bennett where the best of an average bunch. Travis didn't have one of his best games and was rightly substituted. No cutting edge , no flair in the final third, poor final balls and to many leggy looking lads. 

This team is crying out for a real leader. I want to see someone take responsibility and start screaming at people, rallying the players, lead by example die for the cause player that unites the group  and lifts a flat performances like that. Imo that could have been the difference today.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Oldgregg86

[Cherry Blue]

The curse of the Manager of the Month.

[roversfan99]

5 minutes ago, Ewood Ace said:

It wouldn't have been so bad if he was any good in just one of them.

Bennetts inclusion seems to split people; some are of the opinion that he needs to be included as one of the first names on the team sheet, whereas many feel like he is one of Mowbrays favourites and is shoehorned in regardless.

To be fair, whilst I thought Rodwell was ahead of him in the man of the match stakes, I felt that Bennett had a good game today, impressing me mostly when he was wide.

I think Mowbray massively overestimates Bennett's versatility, to the point when it almost becomes a case of picking the other 10, with the mentality that Bennett will be able to do a job in the remaining position, wherever it is. Recently, Armstrong and Reed have been performing well in the wide roles, but rather than drop Bennett, he picks him in an unnatural position.

He should only be picked on merit based on his performance levels in midfield. He should only ever be considered in other positions, right back, central midfield, when we are suffering from injuries and thus a lack of alternatives there.

Bennett brings alot, his energy for me is harnessed far better in a wide role where he can run after lost causes safe in the knowledge that he has a a full back behind him. Hes a good player to have in the squad. That being said, is work rate enough and does he have enough ability for a team with ambitions of eventually getting promotion, to be one of the first names on the team sheet? Not for me.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Nobody did well today. Raya was rooted to his line too often. Williams is a liability at both ends, Bennett a jack of all trades but master of none. I thought their inswinging corners were targeted at the fact neither of our centre halves attack the ball. Reed has his worst game for us, and if Evans had played like Travis then this thread would be ten pages longer. Armstrong was back to his always shoot, always miss mode. Dack and Graham both looked knackered . And the manager made things worse.

[Mercer]

11 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

This is how I saw it. 

Frustrating but not surprising game. Rodwell and Bennett where the best of an average bunch. Travis didn't have one of his best games and was rightly substituted. No cutting edge , no flair in the final third, poor final balls and to many leggy looking lads. 

 

You are not the only one to flag this today.

It's a big concern as it frequently strikes me that we are physically and mentally less able than other teams.

The way Mowbray harps on about fitness and bringing players up to 'standard' is, in my view, very misleading - you would think we were the most athletic team in the Championship.  Chapman is supposedly some way off match fitness but unless I'm wrong, he recently started for M'boro or came on as a sub - as Pulis is a bit of a stickler for discipline, fitness etc, I find it strange that Mowbray doesn't even think he's fit enough for our bench (yet how many times do we read about our lads looking 'leggy').  Think Mowbray makes some very strange statements and decisions.   

Edited February 9, 2019 by Mercer

[Sparks Rover]

Just now, Exiled in Toronto said:

Dack and Graham both looked knackered . And the manager made things worse.

Yes, there's no vitality, movement, surprises.  Dack looks more unfit every game and Danny does his thing but against good physical defenders he's a bit limited. 

[Ewood Ace]

3 minutes ago, Mercer said:

The way Mowbray harps on about fitness and bringing players up to 'standard' is, in my view, very misleading - you would think we were the most athletic team in the Championship.  Chapman is supposedly some way off match fitness but unless I'm wrong, he recently started for M'boro or came on as a sub - as Pulis is a bit of a stickler for discipline, fitness etc, I find it strange that Mowbray doesn't even think he's fit enough for our bench (yet how many times do we read about our lads looking 'leggy').  Think Mowbray makes some very strange statements and decisions.   



I think its clear for all to see that our fitness levels are well below the levels of the vast majority of teams in the division.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Ewood Ace

[Mike E]

I’ve pondered it for an hour or so, and wonder if fans would be more accepting of our position if Brereton had only cost the same as Armstrong? Around £1.5m?

Because without that ‘£7m spent’ tag (and Brereton hardly playing for us as it is), I think our form and place in the table so far looks about right.

I said from the start of the season that staying up is the goal, and anything from around 14th and above is a good season imo.

[West Yorks Rover]

Just now, Mercer said:

You are not the only one to flag this today.

It's a big concern as it frequently strikes me that we are physically and mentally less able than other teams.

The way Mowbray harps on about fitness and bringing players up to 'standard' is, in my view, very misleading - you would think we were the most athletic team in the Championship.  Chapman is supposedly some way off match fitness but unless I'm wrong, he recently started for M'boro or came on as a sub - as Pulis is a bit of a stickler for discipline, fitness etc, I find it strange that Mowbray doesn't even think he's fit enough for our bench.  Think Mowbray makes some very strange statements and decisions.   

Just listening to Brighton v Burnley game on Talksport, Commentator more or less said the reason Burnley are winning (1-3) is because they have far more intensity

about their game and you can see what a very fit team they are, as you would expect under Sean Dyche he went on.

 

Brockhall Holiday Camp for us.

[Fraserkirky]

Really poor from us today despite being the better side for much of the second half. First half we were played off the park and lucky to go in at 0-0. The goal was just crap, so lucky from Bristol City.

I am just not happy with the 4-5-1, it is just shoe horned in for if Dack decides to have a good day. Dack was poor today and definitely not 100% fit.

4-4-2 or 3-4-3 I dunno something needs to change cause we are dire going forward.

Smallwood did his job today, without adding any quality play. 

Rothwell again creative when he comes on. 

Charlie Is losing pace by the day, scary in the first half.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Fraserkirky

[Mercer]

5 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I’ve pondered it for an hour or so, and wonder if fans would be more accepting of our position if Brereton had only cost the same as Armstrong? Around £1.5m?

Because without that ‘£7m spent’ tag (and Brereton hardly playing for us as it is), I think our form and place in the table so far looks about right.

I said from the start of the season that staying up is the goal, and anything from around 14th and above is a good season imo.

I think you are being too generous in your theoretical Brereton valuation.

To me, he looks no better than a young lad on a free transfer whom we've taken a chance on.  Even on a free, you would be tempted to say why the hell have we signed him as Mowbray rarely uses him and when he does, in my view, he offers so very little.

To me, there is a lack of drive and ambition with Mowbray.  Don't buy this build slowly and steadily stuff.  IF, and perhaps it's a big if, we had money available in January, as Mowbray has said, it's unfathomable that we didn't strengthen - not having it that we couldn't find at least one player in the whole UK within our budgets who could have come in and strengthened our starting eleven.

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Mercer

[Cherry Blue]

Just now, Mike E said:

I’ve pondered it for an hour or so, and wonder if fans would be more accepting of our position if Brereton had only cost the same as Armstrong? Around £1.5m?

Because without that ‘£7m spent’ tag (and Brereton hardly playing for us as it is), I think our form and place in the table so far looks about right.

I said from the start of the season that staying up is the goal, and anything from around 14th and above is a good season imo.

It does look right but there are other issues this season that cause concern like silly decisions from TM that have cost us and not just the no spend January window but the message coming through that we can't better the squad we already have. Today's positional movement of Bennett shows TM is wrong about the current squad strength.   

 

[Miller11]

21 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Bennetts inclusion seems to split people; some are of the opinion that he needs to be included as one of the first names on the team sheet, whereas many feel like he is one of Mowbrays favourites and is shoehorned in regardless.

To be fair, whilst I thought Rodwell was ahead of him in the man of the match stakes, I felt that Bennett had a good game today, impressing me mostly when he was wide.

I think Mowbray massively overestimates Bennett's versatility, to the point when it almost becomes a case of picking the other 10, with the mentality that Bennett will be able to do a job in the remaining position, wherever it is. Recently, Armstrong and Reed have been performing well in the wide roles, but rather than drop Bennett, he picks him in an unnatural position.

He should only be picked on merit based on his performance levels in midfield. He should only ever be considered in other positions, right back, central midfield, when we are suffering from injuries and thus a lack of alternatives there.

Bennett brings alot, his energy for me is harnessed far better in a wide role where he can run after lost causes safe in the knowledge that he has a a full back behind him. Hes a good player to have in the squad. That being said, is work rate enough and does he have enough ability for a team with ambitions of eventually getting promotion, to be one of the first names on the team sheet? Not for me.

Bennett also helps his own cause with our fans hugely with his use of twitter. 

[Stuart]

54 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I actually totally agreed with the sub of Nyambe for Travis, I called it myself as soon as Travis luckily evaded a second yellow. He had no direct replacements on the bench.

The problem with that sub is that Nyambe should have started, therefore we would have been bringing on a midfielder.

The Dack sub was not an insolated example of Mowbray trying to be clever and it backfiring, it made absolutely no sense to push Bennett into a 10 role, or to take an admittedly quiet Dack off as no matter how quiet he is, hes always our biggest goal threat.

Bennett himself played almost in every position today, theres no need to constantly change so much.

I agree Nyambe should have started if he is back fit. We were surprised to see Bennett starting and Nyambe on the bench.

The problems we had today was that we made too many changes - unnecessarily.

Personally I wouldn’t have subbed Travis. We can’t keep subbing players who are on yellows, that’s a nonsense. We very much missed his positivity and nobody could really replace that. Amazing how far that lad has come in such a short space of time.

[aletheia]

Hmmm. One of those games where you think, ‘OK, we’ve been lacklustre but I can go home just a little bit glum with a point.’ But then failing to grind out a point means you have to go home and open the bottle of red in a much more irritated mood.

 

Better side won. But that doesn’t excuse a few things:-

 

Why did we look ‘leggy’ as someone mentioned?

Why does an expensive striker not come on when needed? That’s whole season’s worth and more gone….

Why not reinforce when clearly new energy and impetus is required?

At least if we are not playing well, why can’t we grind out a draw?

 

Agree with Miker and AAK. Spot on.

 

Too many players had an off day. We are a team that has to have everyone more or less on top form to do well. This was typified when we went behind (with 7 mins to go?) They kept the ball really well for about 5 of those mins. We had our moments. First 10 seemed to start off like the last home game-lovely crisp passing and interplay, good tempo. But it fizzled out as they took a stranglehold on the game without actually killing us off. We then had another good 10 in the second half after the 1^st sub. Dack came a little deeper to play well with Reed and Bennett got down the right well. Again fizzled out and you knew there was only going to be one winner and very likely from a cross or corner.

 

As to the comments on the ref –so predictable here. Travis should certainly have been off. Armstrong’s attempt to buy a penalty was infantile and risible. Only thing maybe that might have mattered was the corner he didn’t give late on –and then that was one of those where there are so many bodies involved that refs just have to guess really. The ref was not a factor in this weak performance.

Edited February 9, 2019 by aletheia

[Hasta]

10 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I’ve pondered it for an hour or so, and wonder if fans would be more accepting of our position if Brereton had only cost the same as Armstrong? Around £1.5m?

Because without that ‘£7m spent’ tag (and Brereton hardly playing for us as it is), I think our form and place in the table so far looks about right.

I said from the start of the season that staying up is the goal, and anything from around 14th and above is a good season imo.

 But at the start of the season we didn't realise that most teams in this league were going to be mediocre, or that we would keep shooting ourselves in the foot in the last 10 minutes of games.

At the start of the season I'd have been happy with finishing mid table but not now. Now I feel like the last play off spot is up for grabs. Bristol City didn't look great today and they are 6th. Birmingham are 8th and we were strolling past them until we committed Hari Kari.  Surely watching the way the season has panned out has made people change their view from the opening day.

Maybe this season is like the year Leicester won the premier league. All of the big names are going through a transition period and by next year Stoke, Villa Swansea etc.. will have got their act together. 

We put ourselves in with a chance but , despite all of the talk, didn't strengthen and try and make a serious challenge. Disappointing. 

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

19 minutes ago, West Yorks Rover said:

Just listening to Brighton v Burnley game on Talksport, Commentator more or less said the reason Burnley are winning (1-3) is because they have far more intensity

about their game and you can see what a very fit team they are, as you would expect under Sean Dyche he went on.

 

Brockhall Holiday Camp for us.

You would wonder wouldn't ya? Mowbray over in Switzerland and the players in the indoor training centre taking shots to share on instagram.

I have no issue with Mowbray going away, but I really think there is a holiday camp with mates vibe at times  it just annoys me when we lose. Dack and Chapman and their twitter banter about who will do the most nutmegs. Like feck off lads and actually focus on winning games. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Bigdoggsteel