ROVERS V Frank Lampards DCFC

[AllRoverAsia]

I'm so pleased I bought a match pass tonight and the iFollow vid was good quality too.

Great all round team performance and a lot of standout individuals. Dack and Rothwell can play well in the same side.

Off to bed as it's 4 am here and I'm done in.

Which reminds me, thank you Olivia for obviously doing Dacky right too ?

[Torgeir]

Massive win, totally dominant. Mowbray cannot look past Rothwell any longer, just hope it was a slight knock that forced him off towards the end. A lot of energy in midfield, and the right team selection with Reed and Travis in the center of the park. Even Bell was a lot less hesitant on the ball than usual, and Lenihan showed how much he has been missed.

[Bigdoggsteel]

People are being a bit mischievous now and saying that  "Mowbray picked the midfield we wanted".  Few if any wanted Conway, who put in a great shift. Some excellent crossing. He has a brain and composure. Not the answer next season, but I think he brings more than Armstrong. 

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Bigdoggsteel

[OJRovers]

Fingers crossed the tombola gives the same midfield for Saturday. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, Torgeir said:

Massive win, totally dominant. Mowbray cannot look past Rothwell any longer, just hope it was a slight knock that forced him off towards the end. A lot of energy in midfield, and the right team selection with Reed and Travis in the center of the park. Even Bell was a lot less hesitant on the ball than usual, and Lenihan showed how much he has been missed.

Bell was very good and Lenihan put in an old school centre half performance. I bet their forwards would have won far more ball if Mulgrew was back there. Even Williams was solid 

[Gogger]

Great win, and a well deserved mom for Rothwell. He never stops running into channels and against the opposition. 

Can anyone imagine Smallwood or Evans making a similar run that Travis did in the 88 minutes which almost resulted in a goal?

[RevidgeBlue]

Great performance tonight. Guess what? Pick (some of) the right players you play well and win. Only about the 4th or 5th home game I've enjoyed all season.

All this really proves though  is the manager has been picking the wrong team all season by persisting with at least one of Evans or Smallwood or both, ignoring Rothwell and playing  Reed out of position as a resilt of which we'veprobably lost all chance of signing him.

From that side if you put Nyambe in for Bennett, Chapman in for Conway a decent striker up front and a big nasty centre half next to Lenihan you'd be cooking on gas.

The pressure is now on Mowbray to develop what we saw tonight and not revert to type.

[Stuart]

WiFi at Rovers is ? 

 

[SBlue]

Just now, LDRover said:

And....my original comment was hardly a criticism of the team more of the manager stumbling from one idea to another and hoping he has it right for a change. 

Nice to know you follow me so closely though bud.

Just pulling your leg mate ?

Just in the prematch there were quite a few whinges... yours was the nearest one!

[neophox]

Seems we should stick with irish duo in central defence for now..They seem to understand each other..

[Ewood Ace]

What a difference Reed and Travis make in the middle of the park compared to Smallwood and Evans, getting stuck in, always on the front foot and getting the team up the pitch. Thanks to their performances we were constantly on the front foot taking the game to them and that meant that our defence was barley tested. Reed I thought was sensational tonight, he really has been wasted this season, just think how much higher we would be if he had played central midfield all season. It's no coincidence that in our last 2 wins Reed has played central midfield and been instrumental.

Rothwell excellent again a constant threat, always wants the ball and to run with it and an absolutely class finish after a superb touch from Graham. Dack much better with Rothwell around him. Also a mention for Nuttall, he's no world beater but in fewer minutes this season he has had more of an impact on the season than Brereton. 

[philipl]

Lovely win, Rovers totally dominant after the first 5 minutes. Derby flattered to deceive. So good to see players mostly in their right positions and Rothwell to play a blinder. Dack much better than in recent weeks.

Now let's see what Mowbray does with this breathing space. Forest got thrashed tonight so will be dangerous opponents on Saturday as it will be last roll of the dice for getting a play off place for them.

I will apologise to Williams- he was very solid and no misplaced passes from him.

Edited April 9, 2019 by philipl

[Torgeir]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Bell was very good and Lenihan put in an old school centre half performance. I bet their forwards would have won far more ball if Mulgrew was back there. Even Williams was solid 

Good defending from the front also helps the defenders, but Lenihan is one of a kind among this group of players.

[Don Said]

Delighted to eat humble pie tonight. I criticised Mowbray and the selection and was proven wrong; that’s why I’m not a manager!

We were excellent. One of the best performances of the season.

Lenihan at the back is an absolute warrior. Won everything as usual. He should be captain without a doubt.

Great work rate and energy from Travis and Reed who didn’t give Derby a minutes rest.

Dack is back. Did what he does best, he had a point to prove and he did it. 

Conway - I hold my hands up. Excellent performance. Best crosser of the ball at Rovers still.

Finally, Rothwell. 10/10. Phenomenal. His runs got me off my seat like nobody has done since Duffster. Jumped about 10 foot high when he scored. Love him.

The rest of the lads put in a great shift, played like men tonight to a man. Credit to TM for getting it right.

Lets hope this is a turnaround from the recent bad run of form.

The moment at 2-0 with everybody including Raya down in the corner was brilliant. Proud to be Rovers!

[neophox]

Rothwell reminds

me of Rochina... bags of quality rarely played.. time for Tony to learn...

[blueboy3333]

The only time we seem to keep clean sheets is when Lenihan is playing and Mulgrew isn't. 

[Stuart]

That team was what we’ve been crying out for all season. Bold, attacking and making the opposition worry about us for a change.

Delighted for Rothwell with his performance and goal, and Dack had so much more energy and enthusiasm tonight that has been missing for such a long time.

Maybe they are all really fed up with Mowbray’s negative tactics because they certainly made the most of this evening.

Sending likes and prayers to 38yo Ashley Cole who had a torrid time tonight, up against an instantly rejuvenated Conway, pacey Rothwell and later Armstrong. He will need a sit down after that one. Lampard should have replaced him after 20 minutes.

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Just now, Stuart said:

That team was what we’ve been crying out for all season. Bold, attacking and making the opposition worry about us for a change.

Delighted for Rothwell with his performance and goal, and Dack had so much more energy and enthusiasm tonight that has been missing for such a long time.

Maybe they are all really fed up with Mowbray’s negative tactics because they certainly made the most of this evening.

Sending likes and prayers to 38yo Ashley Cole who had a torrid time tonight, up against an instantly rejuvenated Conway, pacey Rothwell and later Armstrong. He will need a sit down after that one. Lampard should have replaced him after 20 minutes.

As a Roversceptic, it's so lovely to hear. TM is not the man for us long term, just like the Loons, so sad.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Proudtobeblue&white

[rigger]

A great performance, but I still don't rate Bell.

[frosty]

Excellent that, how things can change in the space of a few days. 

Delighted for Rothwell. He simply must become a regular in the starting eleven, and even then it'll be unbelievable it took so long. With our standard line up we're pretty bereft of creativity and reliant on just two or three players for goals - Rothwell will help in both of those areas as he showed tonight.

Travis and Reed were excellent. What I loved in particular was how they kept us on the front foot, and Travis especially was still bombing forward in the last few mins and getting shots away. With us 1-0 up, Smallwood and Evans would have been camped on the edge of our 18 yard box and who knows what'll happen then if you invite pressure. No panicky moments late on as we stayed on the front foot.

Mentions too for Lenihan, Conway whose crossing was very good, and Dack who was in the mood.

Team selection on Saturday will say a lot. Don't revert to type Mowbray.

[Miller11]

Closest we will play to a 4-4-2 while Dack is here, and it was a joy to watch. We played with two wingers playing as wingers, and our best two central midfielders and we turn in a performance like that.

Rothwell was absolutely superb, needs to start every game... in fact that midfield 4 does, maybe give Chapman a run too. Play that system and Conway could still have a place in the squad next season.

Lenihan defending like a proper defender tonight, he can play a bit too. Get another proper centre half alongside him (stick a bid in for Jake Cooper from Millwall) and I’d be happy with that.

Nuttall head and shoulders above Brereton. May not possess masses of ability but positively influences games.

Not perfect by Mowbray though, dropping Nyambe and putting Bennett at full back is a bad call.

[AAK]

What a coincidence, smallwood, evans and mulgrew absent and we keep a clean sheet. How weird.

[Parsonblue]

  An excellent team performance tonight.  Everyone put in a shift and the football was a joy to watch.  Pleased for the manager and players who showed what we can do when we are on our game.  With the youngsters in the under-23's and the ones on show tonight, Mowbray has a firm base on which to build in the summer.   

[arbitro]

Pace, intensity, pressing and movement. We have been severely lacking in these areas for some time now and tonight we saw them in abundance. As poor as we were in central midfield on Saturday we were the polar opposite tonight which is simply down to personnel. Reed was terrific and is fundamental to a high press at the tip of the diamond. Travis was full of energy and tackled like his life depended on it. He was sloppy in possession a couple of times but that aside was very good. Rothwell excites me when he runs at opponents. He runs a bit blind at times but give me that type of player anytime. Conway was good tonight although I wouldn't give him a new deal. Dack grew into the game and his footwork in tight areas was good to watch. Hopefully he learns from the nonsense of the last few days and stays away from Instatwitter or whatever it's called and remembers who pays his wages and his duty to them. We looked as solid as we have for some time against a side with some good attacking players.

Mowbray simply has to see the error of his ways and keep Smallwood and Evans away from the starting eleven.

It was an enjoyable evening and, as football does gave us all a high after weeks of lows.

[had.e.nuff]

good win tonight been a long time coming ,was it just me or was the ref very quick to book a rovers player but let derby players do what they wanted as many times as they wanted.