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

[chaddyrovers]

10 minutes ago, Ewood Ace said:

If you want to include loan players the lad from West Brom, whose name escapes me at the moment. 

Harper

[Ossydave]

10 minutes ago, Ewood Ace said:

Whittingham, Hart, Samuel, Davenport and if you want to include loan players the lad from West Brom, whose name escapes me at the moment. 

Samuel and Davenport have been crocks more than anything,  he can't really do much about them getting injured. 

I'd forgot about Whittingham to be honest, pretty much everyone was happy with that signing at the time though it just didnt work out.

[Mattyblue]

Samuel was ok in League 1, never a Championship player, so you’d assume he’ll be off in the summer when he’s out of contract.

[Leonard Venkhater]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Samuel was ok in League 1, never a Championship player, so you’d assume he’ll be off in the summer when he’s out of contract.

Was he really ever ok in League 1 though?

[Mattyblue]

Yeah I think so, didn’t pull up any trees, but ok.

[DE.]

3 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Samuel was ok in League 1, never a Championship player, so you’d assume he’ll be off in the summer when he’s out of contract.

We thought the same about Gladwin...

[Butty]

12 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Yeah I think so, didn’t pull up any trees, but ok.

Hmm, not sure I agree. I remember a lot of games in league one where Samuel was singled out for a lot of criticism. He’s just not good enough.

[bazza]

Just a few things to ponder..........

Could this be the usual good run of games followed by the bad run which may start with Wigan at home?

 

How much has the playing of Tosin contributed to the general performance of the team? If he got injured (to be replaced by Williams) would our good run continue?

 

WBA have come from behind to win a lot of games this season. How would we cope when going 1 or 2 goals down? Have we got the bottle to come from behind and win games regularly? Could we do what Cardiff did in Leeds?

 

If TM took us up to the Prem and we only had one season there, would we stick with him throughout the relegation and trust him to take us back up like Burnley did with Dyche?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

25 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Yeah I think so, didn’t pull up any trees, but ok.

I'd say he was OK, no better than that. That division is definitely his level in my opinion.

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Hart - strange signing, Harper - only a loan but why was he signed ,  Whittingham - major flop, Anttonson ? - not exactly a flop but not good enough to be signed permanently. Samuel ? - not really been a success story has he. Davenport ? Nuttall ? Chapman - this time so far.

Ya and way more positive signings. His transfer record stands up. No one gets them all right 

[DE.]

17 minutes ago, bazza said:

Could this be the usual good run of games followed by the bad run which may start with Wigan at home?

We've been here before so it's possible. We will see how far we've come when we eventually lose a game. If we come back from that to start winning again then we can be more confident a corner has been turned, if we go into another patented Mowbray death spiral then we'll know it's business as usual. Only time will tell!

[Ossydave]

Wigan have won twice away in like 30 games or something in the league, last time being Leeds away last season and prior to that when they beat Stoke first game of last season I think.

I'd be amazed if we crumble against them, we're beating much, much better teams than them lately. I know football can be a funny old game but we ain't losing against that lot no chance.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Ossydave said:

Wigan have won twice away in like 30 games or something in the league, last time being Leeds away last season and prior to that when they beat Stoke first game of last season I think.

I'd be amazed if we crumble against them, we're beating much, much better teams than them lately. I know football can be a funny old game but we ain't losing against that lot no chance.

I hope you're right matey. We owe them one for sure. Having said that you could have " Oxford 3 - Blackburn Rovers 1" engraved on my gravestone.

[Bbrovers2288]

All those saying I told you so about mowbray can absolutely do one. I still don’t want mowbray as manager, I think there is a lot better out there. If he ever managed to do the unthinkable and get promotion then he would have to be replaced as only place we would be heading is back down. I’d like a manager than can take us up and keep us there. So yes I’m delighted things are going well and applaud the upturn to the players and manager but that’s not saying I want him long term here 

[because of boxing day]

2 hours ago, bazza said:

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by because of boxing day

[TBTF]

7 hours ago, Ossydave said:

How many flops has Mowbray actually signed?

Caddis 

Gladwin

Maybe Bell up until he rolled his sleeves up and played a blinder yesterday.

Chapman I really dunno about, he was class when here first time around but God knows what's going on with him now.

I get people will say Brereton but until he plays regularly as a striker it's unfair.

Apart from that he hasn't done too bad has he?

It’s looking like being a long long time until Brereton plays regularly as a striker . If he does we will have fallen a long way off the play offs!

i couldn’t tell you one of his attributes .... apart from being fairly young!!!! Lol

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya and way more positive signings. His transfer record stands up. No one gets them all right 

I think it is fair to say that his transfer record, even this season, has been mixed if you was to judge now.

Only Downing and Adarabioyo for me at this moment could be judged as a success, both have undoubtedly improved the quality of our starting 11.

Cunningham would have definitely been a success but for his unfortunate injury which means his impact was sadly very short lived. 

Johnson culminating in the Birmingham game has been a big disappointment. He was a signing of proven quality but up until yesterday his performance level had been pretty poor, repeatedly loose in possession and giving the ball away in dangerous areas, far from the all action midfielder he has shown that he is before he joined and of course yesterday. Mowbray said that he felt that Johnson commuting every day and at times living out of hotels (including a mention of eating hotel food) may have been sapping his energy levels and he explained that it was a big factor in him being dropped for the last 6 weeks. The quality is there, he showed that yesterday, so maybe once hes come to speed and maybe sorted his living arrangements out, he will go from the jury being very much still out to the successful signing we had hoped.

Holtby was a very exciting signing in terms of his calibre but again he cant be deemed a success because he is yet to find a home in our team. I think his quality is higher than most of our other players but with his best position being the same as Dacks, we have to find another position to get him in affecting games on a regular basis before we can call him a success.

Walton has made a number of costly mistakes and has not been the upgrade on the eccentric Raya that we were hoping for, I wouldnt say that he is a success or a failure really, and his errors have reduced in the last 2 or 3 weeks.

Gallagher for me is the most questionable of the 7 signings, and the jury still being out would be a very generous conclusion at this moment in time. For 5m, only 2 goals after starting the majority of games has been a really disappointing start to his second spell at the club.

Last season, he made the signings of Reed, who was a success, Armstrong, who has started contributing more consistently lately so maybe he can just about be considered a success, Davenport who has played about an hour of football in 1 and a half years, Rothwell who has not impacted the team (perhaps due to a mixture of Mowbray and himself) enough to be a success for all of his ability, jury out there, Rodwell who was mixed (had talent but questionable attitude and certainly not fit for purpose having been signed as a CB) and obviously the unequivocal failure that has been Ben Brereton. 

So a very mixed transfer record. The squad is better than the one he inherited, but hes spent a fair bit of money on fees and wages and like you said, like every manager, there is a mix of successes, failures and quite a lot of players who clearly have ability but have yet to prove that they are a success.

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by roversfan99

[because of boxing day]

Bazza asked: "Could this be the usual good run of games followed by the bad run which may start with Wigan at home?"

Hope not!!!  But,

The squad are apparently taking a few well earned days off after the exertions of the last few days in particular and the last few weeks generally.

Last year the few days off (and reportedly the players Xmas party) were during an extended break at the back end of November following which they never really turned up for the away games at Wigan and Preston. 

I really don't expect Mowbray to allow lightning to strike twice. I'm confident that the player "bonding exertions" festivities and days off won't compromise performance against Wigan and "bigclub". 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by because of boxing day

[tomphil]

A bit of the old Allardyce carrot and stick maybe.  Get us 4 points in the next 2 and you can have an extra day, get us 6 and you can have till Friday.

Nowt wrong with that as long as they are sensible, lets see how they turn up v Wigan and Brum, shockers won't be tolerated they've shown recently what we should be all about.

[joey_big_nose]

Watched the whole game back on iPlayer.

Great performance. Made all the better by many of the key players who have contributed to our recent wins either not playing (Dack, Evans, Downing), coming on as sub (Armstrong and Rothwell) or actually playing poorly (Tosin). Only Nyambe, Travis, Gallagher, Lenihan, Walton were continuing their good form.

The system was was different, the personnel different, yet we gave a really really strong performance. I find it hard to explain, but very pleased about it.

Picking the team for Wigan is going to be exceptionally hard. Id say only Walton, Tosin, Lenihan, Nyambe and Dack will definitely start. The other six places are too hard to call. Sign of a good squad.

Ps. Sadly Brereton was still terrible. One black cloud..

[simongarnerisgod]

wigan are s***e,only worry i have is dingle cooke and his over aggresive tactics injuring a few key players,if ever a team played  as ugly as it`s manager it`s that lot

[Wood26]

2 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

 

Ps. Sadly Brereton was still terrible. One black cloud..

I was pleased with our reaction to him when he was subbed. He’s got talent, but zero confidence. Hope it works for him.

[Alejandro Tapia]

23 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

Thanks a lot pal!

[Admiral Nelsen]

13 hours ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

All those saying I told you so about mowbray can absolutely do one. I still don’t want mowbray as manager, I think there is a lot better out there. If he ever managed to do the unthinkable and get promotion then he would have to be replaced as only place we would be heading is back down. I’d like a manager than can take us up and keep us there. So yes I’m delighted things are going well and applaud the upturn to the players and manager but that’s not saying I want him long term here 

Nobody should be rubbing it in anyone's faces, we all want the same thing ultimately. Also this run of good form won't last forever, so a bit of humility all round wouldn't go amiss. 

At the same time, I'd say two things. One, there are always better options. When we had Kenny, Souness or Sparky, who is to say there weren't better options out there? The manager is the most important figure at the club and we should know better than most what the costs and risks of playing about with that position can do.

Second, even though there are obviously valid criticisms of Mowbray (which I think have been drastically over played, but there we are) should he get us up he would've achieved a double promotion on a modest-ish budget and having to rebuild a squad from very little when he first arrived. In anyone's book, that would be an excellent achievement and one which deserves a crack at the big time. Dyche needed two attempts with the Dingles, and that's turning out okay.

Anyway, nobody should be crowing about our upturn in form. Many of the Mowbray in crowd including myself were having a few doubts before Barnsley/Brentford, so for now I'm just going to carry on enjoying it and see how far it can take us.