Wigan Athletic (H) - Monday Night Football (urgh..)

[Doug]

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

Yes you are right, we missed Benno tonight....I was just thinking that?

Good, then you are beginning to understand football.

[Vinjay]

Just now, Scotland1 said:

Dack injury https://mobile.twitter.com/jmousis/status/1209220795886522368

Feel for the guy you can tell he’s in pain by the screaming. 

Either that or he's got a low pain threshold.

[Sparks Rover]

Just now, Doug said:

Good, then you are beginning to understand football.

He and Del are the problem.  Nowhere near the squad either of them

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, Doug said:

Good, then you are beginning to understand football.

Bennett should be nowhere near the starting line up regardless of the opposition.

No coincidence the better run of results coincided with him not being in the starting line up.

[Doug]

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

He and Del are the problem.  Nowhere near the squad either of them

We had to pick a team that would compete in a local derby that the away team would be up for, we didn't, Arma, Dack and Graham do not have what is required in a physical match.

Grahams legs have gone, Arma has no idea how to get back and pressure and Dack is our luxury player.

We need to press from the front.

 

[Exiled in Toronto]

While Armstrong was AWOL most of the time, the ball played inside the fullback to his speed is still a good one, and he did put the cross on Graham’s head that hit the bar. Rothwell however does his good stuff with five defenders between him and the goal: too many touches, runs into traffic and zero positional sense. 
 

If we had had Johnson, Gallagher and Bennett on from the start I think we’d have matched their physicality.

[roversfan99]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

why? We have a squad and now someone has to stand up and replace him. We have different options how to play now. Could be positive

Very harsh on Williams who 1st game it is for while. Bound to rusty and probably only played due to Adarabioyo being out injured. Yes we missed defensively but also missed his passing. 

no. We cant keep signing players after players. ,Mowbray has already said we need to get rid of few in January to stop the squad being overloaded with players. said this last Friday to the press. 

We have enough wide and up front. Lets used the squad

You keep saying this but Dack is our only goal threat and by far our best player. These other players dont have the same quality or goalscoring ability to simply "stand up and replace him." To be honest our chance of play offs was very much an outside one but without our best player for presumably the rest of the season is a catastrophic blow.

Who will step up and score the goals we need? Graham is our obvious other goalscoring threat but he is seemingly on the wane and will miss his partner. Holtby is a good player but more of a creator. Armstrong will chip in sporadically but more often than not perform as he did today. Rothwell hasnt contributed all season goal wise. Gallagher has 2 in over 20 games and probably wont score at Dacks rate as long as hes got a hole in his arse. And the less said about Brereton the better. I dont see the goals there and thats absolutley no way that what happened tonight could prove to be "positive." 

Regarding Williams as well, we have seen over a couple of years now that hes not particularly good.

[Doug]

Just now, RevidgeBlue said:

Bennett should be nowhere near the starting line up regardless of the opposition.

No coincidence the better run of results coincided with him not being in the starting line up.

I am not a Bennett fan, honestly, but he'd have put a better shift in than Armstrong.

Pick your team according to the game, we couldn't afford any passengers tonight and we had several.

[roversfan99]

14 minutes ago, Pedro said:

There were far worse players than him out there tonight. Agreed, he didn't have a great game but he showed some desire 2nd half and made some good runs (dodging some ridiculously poor challenges along the way).

He needs to start scoring or assisting to merit a place. Plenty of ability but decision making and end product very poor it seems. 

10 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Thats the way we played tho. Our full backs provide the width 

 

If you are relying on Nyambe for width then you have a problem. Assists are not his thing, he cant cross. He has a lot going for him and he is our best right back but he gets so far and has a nose bleed.

Our wide areas are a huge issue and something that needs looking at in Jan. None of them seem capable of putting in consistently effective performances.

[savage90]

Wigan were overly aggressive tonight but I felt the referee contributed to Dack's injury too. He offered no protection whatsoever, he let them tackle how they wanted and foul pretty much whenever they wanted. He didn't control the game and neither did we. Ultimately an extremely fired up (and lacking in quality) Wigan team combined with an underperforming Rovers side lead to a horrible injury to our best player. What a crap night! ?

Edited December 24, 2019 by savage90

[JHRover]

A very disappointing evening. 

Once again Rovers are presented with a golden opportunity to make serious progress in the table and come up short.

A predictable performance - all too common at Ewood - a positive first 5-10 minutes, then 35 minutes of dross, before an improvement but too little too late in the 2nd half. How many times do we witness that. Virtually every game follows the same pattern.

Lets not exaggerate what Wigan are.  I've seen claims on twitter tonight that they are better than their position suggests and they are hard to beat. They are a poor side, like Luton and Barnsley, yet we appear to have little to no answer to these sides coming to Ewood and being organised and the onus being on us to take the game. To fail even to score against them and in the first hour have 0 or 1 attempt on target is extremely disappointing. 

Alarming also that in the last 5-10 minutes plus lengthy injury time that only one side looked like winning it and we struggled even to touch the ball. This a Wigan side whose dreadful track record away from home late on in games is there for all to see - regularly conceding and relinquishing points in the last 10 minutes of games yet we failed to create very much at all and were actually close to conceding a couple of times. They appeared to be fitter than us, finishing strongly whilst we seemed knackered and out of ideas.

A real shame that we've had a bumper crowd on yet not many of those present will have gone home with much of an impression.

In terms of the season - yes we are in a decent position - yes we are still unbeaten - yes we are 'only' a few points off the top 6 - but you have to be capitalising on these sort of fixtures at home against the weaker sides. Our fixtures at home later on in the season are mainly against the better sides.

 

[chaddyrovers]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

You keep saying this but Dack is our only goal threat and by far our best player. These other players dont have the same quality or goalscoring ability to simply "stand up and replace him." To be honest our chance of play offs was very much an outside one but without our best player for presumably the rest of the season is a catastrophic blow.

Who will step up and score the goals we need? Graham is our obvious other goalscoring threat but he is seemingly on the wane and will miss his partner. Holtby is a good player but more of a creator. Armstrong will chip in sporadically but more often than not perform as he did today. Rothwell hasnt contributed all season goal wise. Gallagher has 2 in over 20 games and probably wont score at Dacks rate as long as hes got a hole in his arse. And the less said about Brereton the better. I dont see the goals there and thats absolutley no way that what happened tonight could prove to be "positive." 

Regarding Williams as well, we have seen over a couple of years now that hes not particularly good.

well lets just foriett the season and not bothered with the rest of the season. Its pointless cos Dack isn't available to play. 

We have to find a way to win games without him. Having your attitude we might aswell not bothered playing any more games cos Dack missing. Grow up man. 

We have a squad that we need to use. We could play 4-4-2 now or keep playing 4-2-3-1. We have different players who can fit either system. 

Just now, roversfan99 said:

He needs to start scoring or assisting to merit a place. Plenty of ability but decision making and end product very poor it seems. 

If you are relying on Nyambe for width then you have a problem. Assists are not his thing, he cant cross. He has a lot going for him and he is our best right back but he gets so far and has a nose bleed.

Our wide areas are a huge issue and something that needs looking at in Jan. None of them seem capable of putting in consistently effective performances.

You simple just don't get it do you? We just cant keep signings for players in forwards areas. We have too many as the manager has said. but just signed the 3 positions we need players in as I have already stated to you. 

[RevidgeBlue]

I was initially going to come on and moan about a typical Mowbray performance and result after an atypical run of results which briefly gave us hope of doing something worthwhile rather than hoping to finish 15th to 20th. As we tend to do we simply didn't turn up in the first half and a bit of a spurt in the second half was too little too late. None of the outfield players played particularly well but sorry, Danny Graham has completely gone and shouldn't be starting.

However I ended up more incensed by the actions of Morsey who in my opinion is an out and out thug who should be nowhere near a professional football field. I've seen a replay of the Travis incident and my reading of it was that he walked right up behind Travis so no-one could see him and then trod on his Achilles whilst trying to make it look accidental.In real time I also thought he stamped down studs first on Dack whilst trying to make it look accidental. I don't mind if someone goes in for a full blooded challenge and gets the ball but cleans the opponent out in the process which is deemed to be violent conduct these days but those were the actions of an out an out coward. We could have done with a Glen Keeley to take him out at about neck height.

Hope the EFL throw the book at Morsey and wish Bradley Dack all the best for a speedy recovery. A win on Boxing Day and last night's disappointing result won't be a total disaster.

All the best to everyone on the message board for Christmas. Have a good one.

[Commondore]

Well, the one positive thing is that our unbeaten run is intact, as that was dreadful all around. Even Walton, with his two good saves towards the end, looked shaky throughout the rest of the game.

While he didn't exactly turn the game around, I feel Holtby showed that he needs to be in the team when fit as he's our best passer and decision-maker in the final third as well as offering effective solutions further down the field.  

[Parsonblue]

The game needed a stronger referee who was wise to the gamesmanship of Wigan.  Typical Cook team of spoilers who did what they had to do to get a point.  Too many of our players were not at their best and that inconsistency really confirms what I've always thought - we are far too good to go down but not quite good enough to get into the top six.  The performances at Swansea and Bristol were completely different from tonight. 

However, the window presents an opportunity and if Dack is out for any length of time - and it could well be a season ending injury - we will need strengthen in attack - Gallacher and/or Brereton aren't going to get the goals we need.

A point wasn't the worst result after our recent run but with only a couple of days to the Birmingham game, and with a few carrying knocks after tonight, it's going to be a real test on Thursday.

[Bigdoggsteel]

18 minutes ago, Doug said:

We had to pick a team that would compete in a local derby that the away team would be up for, we didn't, Arma, Dack and Graham do not have what is required in a physical match.

Grahams legs have gone, Arma has no idea how to get back and pressure and Dack is our luxury player.

We need to press from the front.

 

Ain't hindsight great 

[Sparks Rover]

5 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

However, the window presents an opportunity and if Dack is out for any length of time - and it could well be a season ending injury - we will need strengthen in attack - Gallacher and/or Brereton aren't going to get the goals we need.

Mcgheedy could replace Dack for 6 months...

 

[scotchrover]

31 minutes ago, Doug said:

We had to pick a team that would compete in a local derby that the away team would be up for, we didn't, Arma, Dack and Graham do not have what is required in a physical match.

Grahams legs have gone, Arma has no idea how to get back and pressure and Dack is our luxury player.

We need to press from the front.

 

Sorry, but that is absolute dross. To start with, say that Elliott Bennett should have been in the starting 11 tonight is utterly ridiculous- the man is a complete and utter liability. 

Then, to suggest Danny Graham’s legs have gone, despite the fact there’s been a massive improvement in results, since his return to the starting 11, is nothing short of laughable. 

So, to summarise, you want to take our most physical player out- Danny Graham- because his legs have gone. Then, you want to bring in Elliott Bennett who is apparently physical, despite the fact- from what I’ve seen in every game this season- his legs have gone. 
 

Elliott Bennett over Bradley Dack?

Sam Gallagher over Danny Graham (I’m guessing?), despite the fact he can’t hold a ball up?

... and to top it all off, I’m guessing Richie Smallwood over Adam Armstrong, because he gets stuck in?

What have I just read?! ?

[Exiled_Rover]

45 minutes ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

While Armstrong was AWOL most of the time, the ball played inside the fullback to his speed is still a good one, and he did put the cross on Graham’s head that hit the bar. Rothwell however does his good stuff with five defenders between him and the goal: too many touches, runs into traffic and zero positional sense. 
 

If we had had Johnson, Gallagher and Bennett on from the start I think we’d have matched their physicality.

Rothwell wants to play in CM, it's no wonder he's struggling shoved out on the left. 

[bluebruce]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

why? We have a squad and now someone has to stand up and replace him. We have different options how to play now. Could be positive

Very harsh on Williams who 1st game it is for while. Bound to rusty and probably only played due to Adarabioyo being out injured. Yes we missed defensively but also missed his passing. 

no. We cant keep signing players after players. ,Mowbray has already said we need to get rid of few in January to stop the squad being overloaded with players. said this last Friday to the press. 

We have enough wide and up front. Lets used the squad

Yes someone has to step up and replace Dack. But they're not going to be as good as Dack, who is our standout player. I would agree with the poster that, if Dack is out for 3 months or more, that's probably the end of our playoff hopes. Unless Holtby can really shine with regular game time, but I don't think he can replace that many goals. Can Dack be replaced from the existing squad and us be ok? Yes I think so. But he was the main edge we had over other playoff contenders, and I can't see us getting over the line if he's out for an extended period. Rather we lost tonight and he not been injured.

It's also a blow to the value of our biggest asset. I wouldn't normally look at it that way, but we all know it's likely he will be off by the summer at best.

Williams' passing was atrocious. Tosin was much missed. Lenihan didn't look the same without him either.

[AllRoverAsia]

The absence of Tosin and the inclusion of Hoofball Williams destabilised our defence and that 'fear' quickly spread throughout the team.

I am so sorry that we had no one capable of giving Morsy a feckin good kicking. He is a thug wearing boots who happens to be also a more than competent footballer.

Is a manager putting head in hands some sort of inspirational mind game that completely passes me by?

In the first half, we played like a bunch who only met up an hour or so before the game. I just can't understand how as the home team and in-form we can be so NOT up for this game. It does not speak well of our levels of coaching and motivation.

If I had to pay to watch that tripe I would feel cheated.

Walton was our MoM by a country mile. That kind of sums it up!

Edited December 24, 2019 by AllRoverAsia

[Doug]

4 hours ago, scotchrover said:

Sorry, but that is absolute dross. To start with, say that Elliott Bennett should have been in the starting 11 tonight is utterly ridiculous- the man is a complete and utter liability. 

Then, to suggest Danny Graham’s legs have gone, despite the fact there’s been a massive improvement in results, since his return to the starting 11, is nothing short of laughable. 

So, to summarise, you want to take our most physical player out- Danny Graham- because his legs have gone. Then, you want to bring in Elliott Bennett who is apparently physical, despite the fact- from what I’ve seen in every game this season- his legs have gone. 
 

Elliott Bennett over Bradley Dack?

Sam Gallagher over Danny Graham (I’m guessing?), despite the fact he can’t hold a ball up?

... and to top it all off, I’m guessing Richie Smallwood over Adam Armstrong, because he gets stuck in?

What have I just read?! ?

You were obviously happy with the performance then and would pick the same 11.

Bennett for Dack... Who suggested that? 

Bennetts legs have gone! 

Smallwood!! ? 

Wow, you been on the irn bru? 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Doug

[Doug]

5 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

 

 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Doug

[Doug]

Just now, Doug said:

Errrr, look at my team selection before the match. Walton, Nyambe, Tosin, Lenihan, Downing, Travis, Johnson, Bennett, Holtby, Dack, Gallagher. 

 

[Fraserkirky]

Think it’s be been pretty clear that Tosin is the most talented footballer at the club and was a huge miss last night. Lenihan and Williams looked like they had a few jars at tea time. Woeful.

I thought Holtby again looked class when he came on. Was watching with my family and told them he will stick out like a sore thumb. First touch was a cracking ball out to Downing.

Harsh on Amari Bell too to be left out as he just had his best game in a Rovers shirt last week.