Home V Fulham 08/02/2020

[JHRover]

Predictable and dull. We offered nothing until behind, I believe Mowbray set out purely to nullify Fulham, keep it at 0-0 and nick a goal if possible.

Fulham aren't that good despite the hysteria. Their fans singing 'how sh** must you be, we're winning away' sums up their away record.

We showed them too much respect.

Lack of options a concern but that situation has been building for weeks and we've just wasted a transfer window so hard luck stories are completely unacceptable.

I'm looking at our remaining fixtures and am not expecting many wins. We won't have the bottle at places like Charlton or Wigan whilst home games v the better sides will likely see a repeat of today.

I'll be glad when we reach 50 points but won't be relishing the summer window

 

[roversfan99]

Drab, limp performance and cant argue much with the defeat. Think it could be a sign of things to come regarding our attacking options going forward this season.

I am absolutely flabbergasted that Mowbray watches Gallagher out wide and thinks it has ever worked well enough to repeat it. We ended the game with 2 strikers out wide and the only striker we have who can play that role was playing as a 10. Its infuriating, its not effective and its horrible to watch.

Kudos to Samuel for putting in one of the most pathetic cameos of all time. If hes a better option than Chapman out wide...

Rankin Costello is nowhere near at this time, he seemed overawed, a few times he had the ball and no clue of what to do with it, not particularly fast or technically good and not sure why he played central which sidelined Downing.

Armstrong reverted back to trying to win the world record for offsides in a game. The amount of offsides across the board was embarassing.

Johnson has been a dreadful signing, so poor on the ball.

Travis, Nyambe, Lenihan and Downing were ok and Walton made a couple of routine saves but was really, really poor for the goal.

 

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

18 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Chapman has achieved nothing in the game - maybe the fault lies with him ?

Under 20 world cup winner?

[roversfan99]

11 minutes ago, Stuart said:

Anywho...

Today’s game. Dire. We are back where we were under Bowyer. Trying to keep a 0-0 at all costs and then when that is lost we throw the kitchen sink at trying to get a 1-1.

You do wonder though - in a game where Mowbray fans will say “they are promotion candidates we can’t possibly expect to win” - could he have thrown caution to the wind and gone out to try to get a goal before they scored? In a division where “anyone can beat anyone” and two wins separate 8th from 15th we do seem to think ourselves as huge underdogs and set up accordingly.

Cant fathom why we brought off Armstrong and started pinging balls out wide left to Gallagher. Surely it should have been Gally off and Arma out wide? A lot of huffing and puffing but no real end product. Limit passing was woeful.

The only real gripe would be the offside flag for our disallowed goal in the second half. Didn’t look offside when the ball was played. Maybe Tony could point to that and feel a little aggrieved but then we wouldn’t have had a mildly exciting last 5 minutes.

To be honest, we had been offside so many times all game that it was probably his instinct to put it up again!

[DE.]

16 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

A new record probably set  as we saw all  five of our available central  forwards strung  across the pitch at various points.

He's been here before...

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/mar/25/tony-mowbray-celtic-manager-sacking

Quote

Celtic finished Wednesday's defeat with six strikers on the field.

 

[tomphil]

Best team won i'm not sure it would have been any different with us at full strength as we'd still be relying on Dack.

Fulham looking solid and competent, us looking uncomfortable and disjointed but grafting hard to cancel them out.

A standard low quality groundhog Rovers.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Just now, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

Under 20 world cup winner?

Come on, Pulis couldn't wait to get rid.

[1864roverite]

It was utter shite! I’ve lost faith in Mowbray that’s me not back at a Ewood until mid March and I don’t think I’ll miss it with breaks in Poland and Tenerife. Season long gone

[stinny1]

creative missing today so plan B  4,4,2  Make team hard to break down and go man on man and make sure players win there battles that would have been my team talk today ,  Also i would have let  Fulham come on to use and then broken out quickly with wingers and two forwards its not rocket science

[Amo]

We're a bog average team with a bog average manager. Without Dack, Holtby or Rothwell there’s no spark. Armstrong is a speed demon, little else. For the sake of anyone’s sanity, forget about the playoffs. Another season of “stability”.

[Amo]

32 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Chapman has achieved nothing in the game - maybe the fault lies with him ?

It couldn’t possibly lie with Mowbray, could it? Perish the thought!

[G Somerset Rover]

1 hour ago, DE. said:

The kind of performance I feared with all of our creative outlets injured. Going to be a long end to the season I think. If Arma's purple patch is over we're going to struggle to score more than one a game which is going to put a heavy burden on our defence. 

I’d snap your hands off for 1 a game at the minute. I simply don’t see where any goals are coming from.

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

10 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Come on, Pulis couldn't wait to get rid.

Not a Pullis type player tbf. Would also appear he's not a Mowbray one!  Given that he's a winger who naturally plays out wide. 

[G Somerset Rover]

54 minutes ago, Darwen Rover 007 said:

Gallagher and Johnson were pants

He’s a crap player full stop but at least play him up top FFS, Tony.

As for Derby boy Johnson, he needs moving on in the summer. I thought Tony vetted the characters of all his players?!

[Tom]

Second best all over today, felt we were out for a point and failed at that task.

I wanted us to go for Hector and thought one slip aside he was class.

Not much in the way of positives I can scrape from that 

[DE.]

1 minute ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

I’d snap your hands off for 1 a game at the minute. I simply don’t see where any goals are coming from.

I think Armstrong will score a few more before the season is out, and we'll get the odd goal from Travis, Graham (if Tony plans to unfreeze him at any point) Downing, Lenihan/Tosin and possibly even Gallagher (£5m... what a waste), but agree that it's looking bleak overall. 

[alcd]

50 points is the target now. Wont be easy with squad that doesn't look like it could score in a brothel. Will probably come down to the final couple of matches against Reading and Luton.

[matt83]

I find it nearly impossible to motivate myself to go and watch Rovers particularly at home. Can’t get exited about the style football if there is a style. Can’t get exited about signings. Can’t get exited about a mid table slugfest. Most frustratingly it’ll be more of the same next season. Limping on killing time until we’re the next Bolton or god forbid Bury. 

[tomphil]

17 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Drab, limp performance and cant argue much with the defeat. Think it could be a sign of things to come regarding our attacking options going forward this season.

I am absolutely flabbergasted that Mowbray watches Gallagher out wide and thinks it has ever worked well enough to repeat it. We ended the game with 2 strikers out wide and the only striker we have who can play that role was playing as a 10. Its infuriating, its not effective and its horrible to watch.

Kudos to Samuel for putting in one of the most pathetic cameos of all time. If hes a better option than Chapman out wide...

Rankin Costello is nowhere near at this time, he seemed overawed, a few times he had the ball and no clue of what to do with it, not particularly fast or technically good and not sure why he played central which sidelined Downing.

Armstrong reverted back to trying to win the world record for offsides in a game. The amount of offsides across the board was embarassing.

Johnson has been a dreadful signing, so poor on the ball.

Travis, Nyambe, Lenihan and Downing were ok and Walton made a couple of routine saves but was really, really poor for the goal.

 

Mowbrays obsession with Samuel will see him to a new contract here i suspect. There has to be good reason he's still here.

Totally and utterly predictable how he'll use him and predictably abject from the player we've seen all this shite before. The whole place needs freshening up now in summer but i very much doubt it will be.

[G Somerset Rover]

Just now, tomphil said:

Mowbrays obsession with Samuel will see him to a new contract here i suspect. There has to be good reason he's still here.

Totally and utterly predictable how he'll use him and predictably abject from the player we've seen all this shite before. The whole place needs freshening up now in summer but i very much doubt it will be.

Gallagher is his striker on the right wing these days though and he ain’t changing that for love nor money. So unless Samuel has been training that left foot of his he’ll have to make do with the odd cameo. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 minute ago, tomphil said:

Mowbrays obsession with Samuel will see him to a new contract here i suspect. There has to be good reason he's still here.

Totally and utterly predictable how he'll use him and predictably abject from the player we've seen all this shite before. The whole place needs freshening up now in summer but i very much doubt it will be.

Is he obsessed with him though? 

[bluebruce]

7 minutes ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

I’d snap your hands off for 1 a game at the minute. I simply don’t see where any goals are coming from.

We have scored for the last 8 games running before today.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Lenihans goal was well onside too, just to note that. 

The refereeing is abysmal. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[OldEwoodBlue]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Lenihans goal was well onside too, just to note that. 

The refereeing is abysmal. 

was miles offside where I was sat

[DE.]

I'm not even sure why Samuel is still here. Massively below the standard required and will never be a first team regular unless we get relegated again. Can only assume there's been no interest in his services due to the wage we're paying him, whatever that is.