Rovers vs Stoke City, 06/04/18, Ewood Park, 3pm Kick Off.

[Vinjay]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Not actually too bothered by TM's comments about Dack. If there has been some sort of spat, you'd expect him to try and protect the player.

Normally I'd back the manager in this sort of situation but given a choice between the two I know who I'd sooner see the back of and his initials are not BD.

In this particular example (even with the manager's evident incompetence) a knife in the back isn't the way you repay people. Remember Dack's legal issues? Can't say I didn't see this coming (if it's true) and it's more weakness from Mowbray if he's telling lies to protect the guy.  

Edited April 6, 2019 by Vinjay17

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, Miller11 said:

The words I’ve heard used, from a club employee, where “looking worse for wear”

FFS, get this big time plonker out of our club along with Mowbray. In any other job he’d be out on his ear. I guarantee anyone on here his stock will fall year from year simply because he’s a decent footballer in a fat mans body and a kids mind. 

[DaveyB]

Just now, Stuart said:

I take back the plant comment.

But... I still can’t get on board with the idea that Mowbray has somehow earned extra time (longer than he has already been given), nor can I accept the “we won’t get anyone better” argument.

That’s not just me being belligerent, it’s down to what has happened at the club over the last 8.5 years. (Bloody hell, Venkys will have been here a decade soon!). We have managed to keep going despite changing managers - even under Venkys watch. They sacked Bowyer (too late) and brought in Lambert. They sacked Coyle (too late) and brought in Mowbray. The problems in both those cases were as much down to the “too late” as what happened with the replacement.

Maybe - but we've generally been on a downward trajectory ever since they arrived. At some point I believe we need some stability, some long-term planning, rather than just jumping from one manager to the next. Like I say, I'm not 100% convinced that Mowbray is the man to take us forward, but I kind of hope he is, and I can at least see some kind of long term plan, some forward planning - the players we signed, on the whole, have been young, hungry, youth internationals - mixed with the young players already in the u23's, hopefully we have a bright future over the next few years.

I like Mowbray and I want him to succeed, but more importantly I don't want to see us become the basket-case of a club that we were under Kean, Berg, Appleton, Lambert & Coyle. That's why I'm prepared to give him time. And why, if he does go, I'd want to see D Johnson get the gig.

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, Pedro said:

My thoughts too.

Yep. If he’s playing Smallwood, Evans and Williams (to name just 3) but not Reed or Rodwell then it’s because they’ll be in and around the team next season. We’re blatantly looking at our team bar one or two changes with Tony trusting ‘his lads’ once again. Get planning your League One 20/21 campaign boys and girls.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, DaveyB said:

 I can at least see some kind of long term plan, some forward planning - the players we signed, on the whole, have been young, hungry, youth internationals - mixed with the young players already in the u23's, hopefully we have a bright future over the next few years.

Might be true.

If he'd play them!

[DaveyB]

Just now, Blue blood said:

So what's going to change over the summer to change the downward trend? TM hasn't a great record in the transfer window, he isn't using what he currently has well and hasn't showed any desire to change things when not working. On top of this we've a terribly unbalanced squad after 4 windows, why will a 5th make things any better? 

I don't know - but then if you'd told me at the end of November that we would currently be on the run that we are I wouldn't have believed you and would have asked what was going to change to make us fall down the league so spectacularly.

[JHRover]

It's the lack of evidence of any change that worries me the most. I accept bad runs are a part of football, I accept we don't have a particularly good squad for this level (although the manager is responsible for that). What concerns me however is that this has now been happening for more than 2 months and there's no sign of anything changing or getting better.

We still can't keep a clean sheet - in contrast Stoke have arrested their defensive woes under a new manager and kept 5 in a row. If we started things off by being hard to beat I'd see progress. We aren't creating much or scoring many goals. We aren't offering anything. The whole thing is just so predictable, boring. 

Someone said earlier that we'd scored 6 home first half goals in 19 games this season. Make that 20. An awful stat. Once again though we had a positive first 10 minutes, 'nearly' scored and then regress and the opposition score with their first chance of the game. Almost an exact repeat of Preston, very similar to Middlesbrough and Bristol City. 

I'd love to see something, anything, to give me reason to be optimistic but the whole thing i find boring, predictable, frustrating and our slide towards the bottom 3 is alarming.

The call for patience is only valid if there's confidence this is only a blip that will soon be overcome. Where is the basis for that confidence? If it clearly isn't working then 'patience' becomes negligence as we slide down the table to oblivion. 

Things need to change, and sharpish, if this manager can't or won't do it then someone else needs to. The worry is he's done this before at Boro and Coventry and arguably WBA where after a positive 12-18 months things have rapidly unravelled and he's had no solution to it. 

The cost of allowing him another summer to squander substantial funds is far greater than firing him and employing a better manager, or going back to League One, so the cost argument is a non-starter. 

[DE.]

Just now, DaveyB said:

I don't know - but then if you'd told me at the end of November that we would currently be on the run that we are I wouldn't have believed you and would have asked what was going to change to make us fall down the league so spectacularly.

We'd just been beaten 4-1 by Preston and 3-1 by Wigan so that probably would have been an indicator to be fair!

[Pedro]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

FFS, get this big time plonker out of our club along with Mowbray. In any other job he’d be out on his ear. I guarantee anyone on here his stock will fall year from year simply because he’s a decent footballer in a fat mans body and a kids mind. 

Bit harsh.  He's probably been up all night crying over his ex Mrs.  She's not my cup of tea but he seemed well into her.  Pointless him playing if he was knackered and upset.

[DaveyB]

Just now, DE. said:

We'd just been beaten 4-1 by Preston and 3-1 by Wigan so that probably would have been an indicator to be fair!

Fair point. Amend it to before the Preston game then!! 

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, JHRover said:

It's the lack of evidence of any change that worries me the most. I accept bad runs are a part of football, I accept we don't have a particularly good squad for this level (although the manager is responsible for that). What concerns me however is that this has now been happening for more than 2 months and there's no sign of anything changing or getting better.

We still can't keep a clean sheet - in contrast Stoke have arrested their defensive woes under a new manager and kept 5 in a row. If we started things off by being hard to beat I'd see progress. We aren't creating much or scoring many goals. We aren't offering anything. The whole thing is just so predictable, boring. 

Someone said earlier that we'd scored 6 home first half goals in 19 games this season. Make that 20. An awful stat. Once again though we had a positive first 10 minutes, 'nearly' scored and then regress and the opposition score with their first chance of the game. Almost an exact repeat of Preston, very similar to Middlesbrough and Bristol City. 

I'd love to see something, anything, to give me reason to be optimistic but the whole thing i find boring, predictable, frustrating and our slide towards the bottom 3 is alarming.

The call for patience is only valid if there's confidence this is only a blip that will soon be overcome. Where is the basis for that confidence? If it clearly isn't working then 'patience' becomes negligence as we slide down the table to oblivion. 

Things need to change, and sharpish, if this manager can't or won't do it then someone else needs to. The worry is he's done this before at Boro and Coventry and arguably WBA where after a positive 12-18 months things have rapidly unravelled and he's had no solution to it. 

The cost of allowing him another summer to squander substantial funds is far greater than firing him and employing a better manager, or going back to League One, so the cost argument is a non-starter. 

Bang on. The previous form argument is too convincing to be swayed otherwise - he clearly doesn’t have the nous or experience to turn this slide around. It’s not an ‘unlucky run’ or whatever he’d have us believe. It’s a nosedive and then some. We’re 1000% dead certs for the drop next season if we do, as you would expect, survive this time around.

[Stuart]

Just now, DaveyB said:

Maybe - but we've generally been on a downward trajectory ever since they arrived. At some point I believe we need some stability, some long-term planning, rather than just jumping from one manager to the next. Like I say, I'm not 100% convinced that Mowbray is the man to take us forward, but I kind of hope he is, and I can at least see some kind of long term plan, some forward planning - the players we signed, on the whole, have been young, hungry, youth internationals - mixed with the young players already in the u23's, hopefully we have a bright future over the next few years.

I like Mowbray and I want him to succeed, but more importantly I don't want to see us become the basket-case of a club that we were under Kean, Berg, Appleton, Lambert & Coyle. That's why I'm prepared to give him time. And why, if he does go, I'd want to see D Johnson get the gig.

We are still on that downward trajectory. With Venkys money we are too good for League One. With Mowbray in charge we aren’t good enough for the Championship.

He doesn’t promote our U23s. The fact that we have good players being brought through by Johnson is a reason to replace Mowbray, not keep him.

Your last para I almost agree with. IMV he has run out of time. Another Summer window will not see us do anything differently. He will replace what he is forced to - replacing players out of contract - but he will not bring in better players than Bennett, Evans and Smallwood. Only supplements.

[Paul Mellelieu]

What a pack of Dacks.

[Oldgregg86]

All this integrity stuff with mowbray. He's here to put his grandkids through school because he knows it's his last proper pay day. He isn't walking anywhere. He needs to be honest with himself that things arnt working and God forbid do something different.

If Tony had a brummie accent he would be gone. The guy is dining out on a beautiful soft north east accent. He's like a grandad from a worthers advert. 

Piss off Tony with boring , predictable hoofball and line ups and answer the phone for the samaratans. You can't help us anymore but you can use your accent for good. 

If I see that line up of Bennett, Smallwood and Evans on Tuesday it's going to take phoning a helpline to stop me slitting my wrists and when I phone I hope whoever answers has your soft sweet accent because I'm on the edge

Do the right thing and please piss off.

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, Pedro said:

Bit harsh.  He's probably been up all night crying over his ex Mrs.  She's not my cup of tea but he seemed well into her.  Pointless him playing if he was knackered and upset.

I don’t think so. I’ve lost count of the times they’ve been on/off. He’s a professional, well paid footballer and should be able to get his head sorted for a game. For me it just comes back to him being more trouble than he’s worth. He’s been shite since November too.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[SBlue]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

I don’t think so. I’ve lost count of the times they’ve been on/off. He’s a professional, well paid footballer and should be able to get his head sorted for a game. For me it just comes back to him being more trouble than he’s worth. He’s been shite since November too.

I reckon with the amount of turgid, nothing possession that we had second half that Dacky would’ve been the difference, as he often has been.

 

To talk about shipping our best player out the door for reasons unknown is absolute lunacy.

[Miller11]

Today was the straw that broke the camels back for me. Has to go.

If it wasn’t for Raya we’d have lost 3-0, which would have reflected the game more accurately. The lad has the makings of a good keeper, if he is allowed to keep goal in his 6 years box. He doesn’t have the physical attributes to be a “commanding keeper” yet he’s expected to do so to cover for our centre backs failings. He also doesn’t have a coach at the required level to work with.

Nyambe, like Raya, has been used as a scapegoat by Mowbray. I think he’s doing extremely well since he must be the most isolated full back I have ever seen. He’s expected to operate up and down that right hand side, never gets any defensive help from Armstrong or Evans/Smallwood. I’d be putting in a transfer request if I was him... and being subbed off for Brereton and Bennett dropping in there is an insult to the lad.

Travis seems to have got worse the more he has settled in to the team. He’s still infinitely better than Evans or Smallwood, but he seems to be stifled. Mowbray seems to want 2 midfielders who never stray beyond the centre circle in either direction. Those two jokers he started with today offered absolutely nothing. Rothwell looked to make things happen, but I expect he will only have that drummed out of him given a run of games.

Bennett, Smallwood, Mulgrew, Bell, Williams, Evans and Armstrong are all crap. So is Brereton, so let not pretend his signing is anything than an absolute disaster for a minute longer. If Mowbray wants to take responsibility for wasting 7 million on him, that’s a sackable offence on its own.

Rodwell won England caps as a midfielder. Reed has been a standout this season. Yet they can’t dislodge the least dynamic duo, who offer fuck all at either end of the pitch I have ever witnessed?

Dack needs a heavy fine and if we had anyone resembling a proper captain, a bollocking/good hiding. He will probably get a paid holiday and a cuddle.

Shite.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Well that was extremely dire. Can’t believe I took time off from Miami Beach to find a coffee shop with free wifi to sit through it. When I saw the line up, I thought “Finally, Rothwell in Dack’s role”. Too much sun, I guess. His two stand out moments were standing looking at Danny Graham head down a sitter for him and then not looking at Smallwood or the ball at all. Why oh why do these bench geniuses always disappoint.

How did Bennett ever play in the Premier League? More than any other error Mowbray has made, keep putting his trust in Bennett will be the end of him. Truly awful.

Two fabulous Raya saves though, the one from Volkes was almost Banks/Pele - he didn’t just get a hand to it but somehow scooped it round the post. 

[BankEnd Rover]

Just now, Miller11 said:

Today was the straw that broke the camels back for me. Has to go.

If it wasn’t for Raya we’d have lost 3-0, which would have reflected the game more accurately. The lad has the makings of a good keeper, if he is allowed to keep goal in his 6 years box. He doesn’t have the physical attributes to be a “commanding keeper” yet he’s expected to do so to cover for our centre backs failings. He also doesn’t have a coach at the required level to work with.

Nyambe, like Raya, has been used as a scapegoat by Mowbray. I think he’s doing extremely well since he must be the most isolated full back I have ever seen. He’s expected to operate up and down that right hand side, never gets any defensive help from Armstrong or Evans/Smallwood. I’d be putting in a transfer request if I was him... and being subbed off for Brereton and Bennett dropping in there is an insult to the lad.

Travis seems to have got worse the more he has settled in to the team. He’s still infinitely better than Evans or Smallwood, but he seems to be stifled. Mowbray seems to want 2 midfielders who never stray beyond the centre circle in either direction. Those two jokers he started with today offered absolutely nothing. Rothwell looked to make things happen, but I expect he will only have that drummed out of him given a run of games.

Bennett, Smallwood, Mulgrew, Bell, Williams, Evans and Armstrong are all crap. So is Brereton, so let not pretend his signing is anything than an absolute disaster for a minute longer. If Mowbray wants to take responsibility for wasting 7 million on him, that’s a sackable offence on its own.

Rodwell won England caps as a midfielder. Reed has been a standout this season. Yet they can’t dislodge the least dynamic duo, who offer fuck all at either end of the pitch I have ever witnessed?

Dack needs a heavy fine and if we had anyone resembling a proper captain, a bollocking/good hiding. He will probably get a paid holiday and a cuddle.

Shite.

Armstrong is overrated. He's got the first touch of a donkey and his final ball is poor. Think he had a lucky month to get player of the month. The lad has had the odd decent game but all in all, I'd have chapman & rothwell over him.

Edited April 6, 2019 by BankEnd Rover

[DE.]

Just now, BankEnd Rover said:

Armstrong is overrated. He's got the first touch of a donkey and his final ball is poor. Think he had a lucky month to get player of the month. The lad had had the odd decent game but all in all, I'd have chapman & rothwell over him.

He's also quite a poor finisher. If he wasn't he'd be near Graham as top scorer, but he doesn't take many of his chances. You get what you pay for though.

[Blue blood]

6 minutes ago, DaveyB said:

I don't know - but then if you'd told me at the end of November that we would currently be on the run that we are I wouldn't have believed you and would have asked what was going to change to make us fall down the league so spectacularly.

Well some of the elements were more predictable than others. 

All our centre backs getting injured was blatantly obvious given their records. 

Some of the players haven't been up to it for years. Williams, Evans, Conway have all been past it for yonks. 

There were a lot of times last season we relied on the magic of Dack, Mulgrew and Graham to get us out of trouble in a number of games last season masking our lack of creativity. 

We had no proper left mid last season and looked unbalanced because of it. 

We had a raft of crap transfers last season - Whittingham, Hart, Harper - TM has form for poor transfers. 

Bereton has looked poor all season. 

Dack has had a playboy attitude since day 1. 

Now I grant you I couldn't see how we would could possibly have such a bad run - but mostly because it was so bad. But the signs were there we could go on a bad run and have been for a while. Shame TM in this regard managed to surpass expectations. 

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, DE. said:

He's also quite a poor finisher. If he wasn't he'd be near Graham as top scorer, but he doesn't take many of his chances. You get what you pay for though.

Captain marvel Benno calls him ‘Mini Shearer’ so don’t be so harsh.

[Miller11]

Just now, DE. said:

He's also quite a poor finisher. If he wasn't he'd be near Graham as top scorer, but he doesn't take many of his chances. You get what you pay for though.

I think he’s also quite lazy and greedy. Might be better more central, but I don’t think so.

[Stuart]

Just now, BankEnd Rover said:

Armstrong is overrated. He's got the first touch of a donkey and his final ball is poor. Think he had a lucky month to get player of the month. The lad has had the odd decent game but all in all, I'd have chapman & rothwell over him.

Several players seem to have got worse in the second half of this season.

Armstrong is bang out of form. Bennett looks a shadow of his former self and lacking energy. Evans is poor, Smallwood lacks teeth. Mulgrew looks about 50yo, Nyambe was beaten every time in the first half today. Graham is still Graham but while being the target for everything he has so little support.

They look so low on confidence. A change is needed.

[DE.]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Captain marvel Benno calls him ‘Mini Shearer’ so don’t be so harsh.

Maybe he means mini as in much worse? 

Just now, Miller11 said:

I think he’s also quite lazy and greedy. Might be better more central, but I don’t think so.

Armstrong seems to go through purple patches where he looks like he's finally cracked it, then goes months looking like he wouldn't score if the opposition defence and goalkeeper were watching from the sidelines. He's a young player so I suppose inconsistency is to be expected, but I wouldn't trust him right now as our central striker.