Bristol City (A) - Bradley Dack's Christmas Break

[47er]

3 hours ago, DE. said:

Much like most of the teams in and around our position, a lot of it comes down to a combination of confidence and luck. The only teams in the division who are above that in terms of performance are WBA and Leeds, and the table conclusively proves that. The rest of us are at the mercy of the footballing gods and praying for continued good fortune. 

Also apologies that I seem to be repeatedly quoting you, genuinely not intentional ?

The worst thing that could happen is that TM/Venkys don't look to strengthen the squad in January because our recent form has been so good.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, OJRovers said:

Credit to Mowbray this last week, he's effectively rotated the team to maximize points over the 3 game week. Fresh faces today made a difference.

Yes I'm sure you're right. He made some brave decisions today. I'm not Benno's biggest fan but I take my hat off to a guy who'll play where ever he's asked to play. Right back and then left wing is a big ask if you aren't massively gifted. Paul Warhurst could have done it but he was a gifted player.  I can't think of many others.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Bohinen 22]

An excellent win. Full credit to the manager who got tactics and selection and preparation spot on. He got a lot of stick a month ago, from myself included, but since then has revitalised the team. Well done the players too. Hard to pick the team for Wigan now. Johnson looked a colossus today.

[@roverseas]

Think we all deserve a drink after that week - chuffed to the heavens! Cracking performance, life after Dack might not be half bad... whenever that time comes.  Well oiled machine out there, massive credit to Nyambe (Rovers academy), Travis (Rovers academy) and Lenihan (Rovers Academy) for today... shit hot!

 

Thoughts from the Gaffa, the fans and more.

 

[Tom]

I still think that Boris was being punished for being out on the night of the Tom Lawrence / Keogh incident.

He bossed his first few games here then was out of favour, think maybe his lifestyle may hold him back slightly.

What a strike that was though.

Loved the move today when Nyambe absolutely blitzed down the wing, cut it back to Travis who then slid it in to Holtby on the overlap (we won’t mention the cross shot), some great movement in recent weeks off the ball

[Alejandro Tapia]

5 hours ago, Yonder12 said:

Esa es una publicación increíble. juego limpio para ti mi amigo

Thanks so much pal!

[old darwen blue]

8 hours ago, bazza said:

The whingeing when the team was announced was unreal. Still, what do we fans know, hey? I had us down for a 2-0 defeat.

Great result.

I also predicted a 0-2 result pal, something big occurred today in relation to our season as a whole. I’d love to see a 90 minute recording of the game. 

8 hours ago, LDRover said:

Held back from commenting after the team selection but safe to say I wasn't particularly thrilled with it. However, that is a great result and really opens up the league for us now. Can't believe I'm typing this as these players looked 'gone' a few weeks ago, but I think we look as strong as any team in this league right now. 

There's absolutely no reason why we can't realistically think top 6 now and, for that, huge credit has to go to Mowbray - for the change in mindset as much as anything.

Having watched West Brom struggle against big clubs bullying initially today I’d suggest we can beat anyone in the division. That includes Leeds who we will smash again at home. 

7 hours ago, Alejandro Tapia said:

Well fucking done my Rovers!!! I'm still on moon cause we defeated a cery good team amd after a very tight match speacially first half...bristol did a good game but they we were better i know that in this group there are some moaners that would be talkig crap like "we did a horrible match but we were lucky or we doesen't deserve to win" or crqp like thst why? Well cause they doesen't really love this colors...if youbate a true supporter it doesen't matter where you come from it matters to support even on bad times...you could be desagree with a lot of things the gaffer the tsctics the way we are playing the players seleccion etc... but what a true supporter never does is to TALK BAD or SHET about their own colors isn't?
Letsstill celebrating but not to much pals cause we are on the most difficult part of the table...to survive in this possition is the task this campaign i guess and I'm sure we will...
So surprised about or development i have to say that when i saw Tony idea i was a little nervous but what a way to shut our mouths isn't? I knew  Johnson would be vital in this match because of his sacrifice and vecaise is the natural palyer that we have to do the dirty job and to try to retail ball but he did much more than that he scored and he was one of the best players today!
Come On You Rovers! We are showig what we are capable to do this season and if we stil playing like that who knows what could happens? Whoever to me showig this level I'm more than glad this is just our second year into this tier again so I'm not hurry inwamt my team stil building the correct background and infrastructure to put my team on 1st toer and stay ther much more than just one season!
#ImRoversTillIDie 
#COYBBR
#TheMexicanRover

Great post pal, great to hear from overseas fans who’s posts I would rather read than some in this country who probably have never been to Ewood. Don’t take any criticism to heart. 
 

Oh yeah,

 

Ay Caramba......I think

[Commondore]

5 hours ago, davulsukur said:

It was a cracking strike.

I really wonder what's happened here with him. I was expecting him to be a great signing, he started well enough and then his performances went down hill.

He was dropped and was out of the team for a while. Just poor performances? Attitude? Both?

I've seen a tendency in him to play for himself rather than the team in central midfield, I.E he's tackling, shooting, passing and dribbling but without much thought or positional sense for such an important position. He was toned down today and had plenty of defensive support in midfield from Travis, Bennett and Holtby, and looked much better. 

[tonyoz]

5 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That sort of travelling is far from ideal, especially when you're getting a bit older. Anybody else think that the corner/goal was a planned move ? It looked that way to me.

Absolutely. Not quite Liverpool v Barca but good enough!

[AllRoverAsia]

9 hours ago, OnePhilT said:

It's great to have won in this manner, but I think we need to recognise how easily it could have been different. Bristol City had three clear chances to equalise in the first-half, and even in their awful second-half performance, they had a glaring opportunity to do the same. We are (whether we like it or not) fortunate that it didn't happen, and we went on to capitalise to make it 2-0.

I've no doubt that Mowbray will be looking at one or two of those events in order to work on it, because we're far from comfortable winners of any given match. Not being negative, but the nerves I had throughout our slender lead are justified, I think!

A very fair summary. We played well all over the pitch and deserved to win but did have Lady Luck in our bed.

I do think that over time we will see a lot more from Holtby.

[philipl]

That was a complete performance against a very good side. Bristol City are as low as they are because of an horrific run of injuries they are recovering from. Yes we were very fortunate not to concede twice but three other scoring chances they carved out were denied by superb defensive work plus an exceptional Walton save.

Notable Casey Palmer not even in their squad...

The second half in particular was a supreme performance from the team almost totally nullifying Bristol City in every aspect of the game. 

One game but that looked like a promotion outfit out there and I cannot think I have felt that way about any game in the Championship since 2001.

Walton made me feel completely comfortable about seeing him in goal for the first time this season, Bell showed there is a great left back under that laconic demeanour at long last, Johnson immense, Lenihan even immenser (not a word but it is how I feel), Bennett deployed where his strengths are best used and the lad showed he knows his limitations so didn't try what he can't do, Holtby showed today why he has those German caps, Travis energy and skill fabulous. Nyambe continues to display form which points to him.becoming a fabulous wing back.

I also think we saw a glimpse of a £12m future up front. Pairing Gallagher and Brereton worked. Gallagher was the unsung hero working all across the front line looking dangerous whenever on the ball and was veritably the first line of defense when we were out of possession.

Brereton had a few moments we all despair of but he also did many things to confound the view he isn't a footballer.

Two final points. 

1) A poster rightly observed Johnson raised his arms in celebration before Armstrong had scored. He raised his arms in celebration after looking at the linesman having seen he had played the ball before Arma could go offside!

2) What do you do with Dack Downing Evans Rothwell and Graham? That eleven yesterday deserve another start.

Edited December 15, 2019 by philipl

[bluebruce]

17 minutes ago, philipl said:

 

2) What do you do with Dack Downing Evans Rothwell and Graham? That eleven yesterday deserve another start.

It goes without saying that Dack will be back in for Brereton. He has earned it much more. After that, it's hard to predict what TM will do with the rest. I suspect Rothwell won't start though.

[Yonder12]

5 hours ago, old darwen blue said:

I also predicted a 0-2 result pal, something big occurred today in relation to our season as a whole. I’d love to see a 90 minute recording of the game. 

Having watched West Brom struggle against big clubs bullying initially today I’d suggest we can beat anyone in the division. That includes Leeds who we will smash again at home. 

Great post pal, great to hear from overseas fans who’s posts I would rather read than some in this country who probably have never been to Ewood. Don’t take any criticism to heart. 
 

Oh yeah,

 

Ay Caramba......I think

Maybe set up a crowd funding page to get him over for a game. Just a thought.

[MarkBRFC]

2 hours ago, philipl said:

 

2) What do you do with Dack Downing Evans Rothwell and Graham? That eleven yesterday deserve another start.

You make it sound like they will never play again.

Remember it's Mowbray, they will all probably get a start before we go to Huddersfield on the 29th.

As for the next game, I'd bring in Dack for Brereton & Armstrong for Bennett and let the other 9 have another crack at it.

[arbitro]

The run we have been on but the last week in particular is what we are all about as a club. Working hard, tackling, doing it for the club, great team ethic and many other things for which we are renowned. Significantly for me Mowbray seems to have ditched his new world passing game and gone back to the values we love. In the early part of the season I saw confusion from the players as to what way they should be playing. Of course we can pass it when it's on but we now seem to be seeing a mix of styles which is proving effective.

My message to Mowbray would be don't over complicate things and play to our strengths with the players we have.

[Preben]

Just now, arbitro said:

The run we have been on but the last week in particular is what we are all about as a club. Working hard, tackling, doing it for the club, great team ethic and many other things for which we are renowned. Significantly for me Mowbray seems to have ditched his new world passing game and gone back to the values we love. In the early part of the season I saw confusion from the players as to what way they should be playing. Of course we can pass it when it's on but we now seem to be seeing a mix of styles which is proving effective.

My message to Mowbray would be don't over complicate things and play to our strengths with the players we have.

This!

[Parsonblue]

What a great week!  All the travelling over the past few days has been more than worthwhile.  Yesterday I thought we were as good as we've been for a long while.  I think the manager proved yesterday that you can chop and change the players if you have the right game plan - and we have had that in recent weeks.  As arbitro said, we seem to be mixing the passing style that Mowbray wants with a more direct and combative style when needed.  

Leaving Johnson out seems to have done him a world of good.  It now looks slimmer and far more mobile - the sort of player I thought we had signed in the first place.  The spirit within the camp looks excellent - what a brilliant job Mowbray has done in that regard.  

 

[tonyoz]

I liked Walton, Holtby and Johnson. But I must hold my hand up, Bell who I’ve criticised heavily had an impressive return and, most of all, Gallagher showed that unceasing endeavour can affect the course of a game in a big way. Time and again he made the Bristol defenders rush their options to force mis-hit passes or win a throw in. Great stuff.

Bristol did have some big chances in the first half but Walton and Lenihan made great stops. In the second half we looked much the better team. Let’s not stuff it up in the next 2 games!

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

7 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

You make it sound like they will never play again.

Remember it's Mowbray, they will all probably get a start before we go to Huddersfield on the 29th.

As for the next game, I'd bring in Dack for Brereton & Armstrong for Bennett and let the other 9 have another crack at it.

I don’t think you can leave out Evans or Downing either. We have a busy schedule over Christmas so they will all play their part. The fact that we have 17/18 players in contention for a start says it all. Our squad depth is seriously impressive. 
 

This must be the best run of form we’ve been in since relegation from the Prem. 6 wins in 8 is phenomenal. I genuinely didn’t think we had it in us. 

[philipl]

I would be tempted to stick with the same eleven for Wigan knowing that we are going to be starting 18 different players over the Christmas period.

That performance yesterday was so exceptional I'd give that eleven the opportunity of an encore at Ewood.

Edited December 15, 2019 by philipl

[Mattyblue]

You tell ‘em Dunny

 

[arbitro]

At the risk of upsetting any purists a couple of incidents pleased me yesterday and allayed some fears for me personally. The first was when Gallagher was assaulted by the Bristol player and a couple of were confrontational to him as he was on the ground. Several Rovers players sprinted over and stood up for their teammate. The other was at half time when there was clearly an incident in the tunnel. Again several players sprinted down the tunnel to support whoever was involved.

When I hear the words 'team spirit' that type of incident encompasses it.

 

[Paul Mani]

31 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

 

30 minutes ago, arbitro said:

The run we have been on but the last week in particular is what we are all about as a club. Working hard, tackling, doing it for the club, great team ethic and many other things for which we are renowned. Significantly for me Mowbray seems to have ditched his new world passing game and gone back to the values we love. In the early part of the season I saw confusion from the players as to what way they should be playing. Of course we can pass it when it's on but we now seem to be seeing a mix of styles which is proving effective.

My message to Mowbray would be don't over complicate things and play to our strengths with the players we have.

That’s the thing. I don’t think he has ditched it. He’s just married it up with the hard work we historically do. Some of the goals and passing moves we’ve played and scored in the last few weeks have been amazing. We are a VERY different proposition to last season now. 

[Feed the Yak]

Just now, arbitro said:

At the risk of upsetting any purists a couple of incidents pleased me yesterday and allayed some fears for me personally. The first was when Gallagher was assaulted by the Bristol player and a couple of were confrontational to him as he was on the ground. Several Rovers players sprinted over and stood up for their teammate. The other was at half time when there was clearly an incident in the tunnel. Again several players sprinted down the tunnel to support whoever was involved.

When I hear the words 'team spirit' that type of incident encompasses it.

 

I reckon Bradley Johnson being in the team helps, he very much reminds me of a Savage type figure in the team. Tough choice picking the middle 2 now, Travis has to be first choice for me but we have 2 excellent partners in Evans and Johnson (if they can keep it up) now which is fantastic. 

[Doug]

Yesterday we brought in players who are capable of maintaining a decent work rate and I believe that is lacking in a number of players who were left out.

We played fitter players with arguably less technical ability against a team which made few changes and likely only at 90%.

Gallagher is a completely different player to Graham but covers far more ground and keeps the press further up the pitch.

Likewise, Bennett against Arma and Holtby against Dack. Johnson is similar to Evans but, if fit, is a better all rounder.

Bell, by all accounts is the revelation from yesterday and I will happily eat humble pie if he can fill our problem LB position.

Great problem for TM and us to decide who plays in the next game - that's exactly what a successful team needs.