Championship Season 2020 - 2021

[rigger]

7 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

Bang average league and Mowbray is able to control us nicely to mid table every season....slow slow quickstep, slow....🍣

Without the quick.

[Blue blood]

8 hours ago, JHRover said:

How have Reading gone from relegation battlers to automatic promotion contenders in a matter of a few months during Covid, a short summer and without substantial spending?

Answers on a postcard for Mowbray to be delivered next time he starts bleating about budgets or slow builds.

I have to say I am very surprised as Reading really looked a mess the last couple of years. It makes mockery of TMs project time. Even if they fall away a bit they have achieved in one season what we have achieved in three. 

Mind you we see it everywhere but Rovers with excuses trotted out that we simply cannot compare the two. Boro were by all accounts absymal under Woodgate and cutting their cloth quite severely and Warnock has shifted that emphasis within a year.  Stoke were a rotten club with noone having success as manager - young or old - for years, and yet somehow it has been turned round. Not exact like for like examples but I think there is enough evidence that the slow build is a load of bull. 

Having said all that we amazingly aren't too many points off the top 6. It shows what a rediculously forgiving league this is, giving you chance after chance. I recall the same last season too. Makes things even more frustrating. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

9 hours ago, JHRover said:

How have Reading gone from relegation battlers to automatic promotion contenders in a matter of a few months during Covid, a short summer and without substantial spending?

Answers on a postcard for Mowbray to be delivered next time he starts bleating about budgets or slow builds.

Answer in one word - " Coaching ".

[chaddyrovers]

10 hours ago, JHRover said:

How have Reading gone from relegation battlers to automatic promotion contenders in a matter of a few months during Covid, a short summer and without substantial spending?

Answers on a postcard for Mowbray to be delivered next time he starts bleating about budgets or slow builds.

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

[Mattyblue]

1 minute ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

Imagine that!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Imagine that!

Yeah, that'd never happen at Rovers in a million years !

[arbitro]

52 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Imagine that!

A great scouse saying for somebody who is naive is 'as green as the grass'.

[JHRover]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

Isn't that how the last 3 managers got their jobs?

[Miker]

Personally, I can't see anything but disappointment at the end of the season. I might as well call it now and say we will finish 7th. I think we do have it in us to improve our results & performances, especially with a winnable run of games coming up. However, the current top 5 are really breaking away from the rest of the league. I don't really see them imploding any time soon allowing us to catch up.

Our best chance is that Bournemouth continue their downward trend and we're able to sneak into 6th. Boro, Stoke, Bristol and Preston are all average teams that we should be finishing above. 

[rigger]

23 minutes ago, Miker said:

Personally, I can't see anything but disappointment at the end of the season. I might as well call it now and say we will finish 7th. I think we do have it in us to improve our results & performances, especially with a winnable run of games coming up. However, the current top 5 are really breaking away from the rest of the league. I don't really see them imploding any time soon allowing us to catch up.

Our best chance is that Bournemouth continue their downward trend and we're able to sneak into 6th. Boro, Stoke, Bristol and Preston are all average teams that we should be finishing above. 

I bet that was said about Forest last year.

[Blue blood]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

Without a trace of irony... 

The stuff people say to try justifying a manager.

It's never a good sign when your defence of the manager and club is a criticism of the manager and the club! 

[Ewood Ace]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

Perish the thought. 

[Stonesrick]

Fry back in the starting 11 for Boro at Norwich.

So much for Warnock ranting and raving about his horrific injury.

Remind me, what was Corry Evan’s injury and how long was he out for.?

[arbitro]

1 minute ago, Stonesrick said:

Fry back in the starting 11 for Boro at Norwich.

So much for Warnock ranting and raving about his horrific injury.

Remind me, what was Corry Evan’s injury and how long was he out for.?

I thought he was in ICU and preparing to audition for the new Cyclops film when he is released. 😁😁

Typical Warnock embellishment to deflect away from a defeat.

[AllRoverAsia]

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

If the owners aren't as thick as pig-shit like ours are and if the agents are also working in the Clubs best interests its the best thing since sliced bread was invented.

A classic Win-Win-Win

[JHRover]

10 minutes ago, Stonesrick said:

Fry back in the starting 11 for Boro at Norwich.

So much for Warnock ranting and raving about his horrific injury.

Remind me, what was Corry Evan’s injury and how long was he out for.?

And his wailing has worked. Just watching Norwich v Middlesbrough and the gormless commentators are gushing with sympathy for poor Neil and the injustice, the indefensible challenge blah blah blah. He's got them wrapped around his little finger. Not a mention of their performance.

[AllRoverAsia]

1 hour ago, Miker said:

Personally, I can't see anything but disappointment at the end of the season. I might as well call it now and say we will finish 7th. I think we do have it in us to improve our results & performances, especially with a winnable run of games coming up. However, the current top 5 are really breaking away from the rest of the league. I don't really see them imploding any time soon allowing us to catch up.

Our best chance is that Bournemouth continue their downward trend and we're able to sneak into 6th. Boro, Stoke, Bristol and Preston are all average teams that we should be finishing above. 

I truly cannot see us getting above any of the current Top 6.

Bournemouth will not continue a downward spiral.

Maybe Reading could implode again, they also went into a bit of a spiral but have recovered

My only hope is that we finish above Preston.

We are not on a Journey, it's an Expedition led by someone who can't read a map.

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Owners are friends with certain agents. 

Do you want the same for Rovers? 

MB Gold!

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

And his wailing has worked. Just watching Norwich v Middlesbrough and the gormless commentators are gushing with sympathy for poor Neil and the injustice, the indefensible challenge blah blah blah. He's got them wrapped around his little finger. Not a mention of their performance.

In fairness the media never question Mowbray's lack of progression under Rovers with significant resources. It's always just a vague "longest serving manager doing a good job at little old Rovers".

[LDRover]

6 hours ago, arbitro said:

A great scouse saying for somebody who is naive is 'as green as the grass'.

I prefer 'as thick as pigshit'

[ben_the_beast]

The longer Jason Tindell stays in the job at Bournemouth the more chance there is of a top 6 spot being available. 

Not sure on Reading. I think they will get top 6 but I'm not sure there will be a huge gap between them and the chasing pack. 

Watford are a funny one. Clearly they have the players. Imagine they will be in the playoffs. Every possibility they might sack a manager in the last month of the season then who knows what you might get when they are there.

Personally I think Norwich and Swansea will get the auto promotion spots with Brentford chasing hard then to miss out again in the playoffs. 

Any chance for Rovers. I think there is a lot of dross in the chasing pack with the likes of Boro, Stoke, Bristol etc. I think we've more quality than those sides with a less pragmatic manager. Keep it tight and I think we really should be finishing 7th. A lot depends in our games building up to March. If we are grinding out wins then we have put ourselves in the mix. If we are hearing Mowbray talk about an unbeaten run, half of which are draws then I think not as we've left ourselves a lot to do. I'd be quite optimistic if we can put together a winning run until March then grind out some draws against some of the better sides in the league. 

Gut feeling says a 7th place finish and continued talk of progression which lead to groundhog day of another decisive transfer window in the summer.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

We're not playing well enough to get into the top six. That'll have to change first for us to have any chance. We subbed off 4 players yesterday for tactical reasons. That tells me we still don't know our best team. We could play the four that came on in the next game and the chances are they'd get subbed off for 4 more players. 

[Blue blood]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

We're not playing well enough to get into the top six. That'll have to change first for us to have any chance. We subbed off 4 players yesterday for tactical reasons. That tells me we still don't know our best team. We could play the four that came on in the next game and the chances are they'd get subbed off for 4 more players. 

I think this is my fear took Tyrone. That and the fact we are one defensive injury away from calamity again. It is a tad worrying that we don't know our best team of formation and and we are playing poorly - these things often catch up with you. 

BUT the flip side is despite all of this we are three points of playoffs. Imagine if just a little of this is fixed, a bit more of a settled team or a bit more consistency in our play. If we're just outside with all these faults, with a few improvements playoffs are very feasible. And the 4 subs also show we have strength in depth. 

As it is, history and our defensive frailties to me means that if I had to bet that the negatives we are seeing , our mental fragility  and our history for bottling it will mean we just miss out. 

It's a shame though as playoffs are eminently doable in this league. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

18 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

I think this is my fear took Tyrone. That and the fact we are one defensive injury away from calamity again. It is a tad worrying that we don't know our best team of formation and and we are playing poorly - these things often catch up with you. 

BUT the flip side is despite all of this we are three points of playoffs. Imagine if just a little of this is fixed, a bit more of a settled team or a bit more consistency in our play. If we're just outside with all these faults, with a few improvements playoffs are very feasible. And the 4 subs also show we have strength in depth. 

As it is, history and our defensive frailties to me means that if I had to bet that the negatives we are seeing , our mental fragility  and our history for bottling it will mean we just miss out. 

It's a shame though as playoffs are eminently doable in this league. 

Most of the time " not knowing our best team or formation " and " playing poorly " go hand in hand.

Looking at Dyche and that lot the secret of getting a group of pretty ordinary players to over achieve is to play the same way with the same players every week. I don't watch the dingles but I always look at the team sheets in the paper and I've more chance of naming their team before a game than I ever have of naming ours !

Edited January 31, 2021 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Ewood Ace]

Norwich, Brentford and Swansea will all be top 6. Reading at the start of the season I thought would fade away but every time I have seen them they look a very good side. They played Bournemouth of the park on Friday, yes Bournemouth are struggling but they are still a decent side and not many side will beat them as comfortably as Reading did.

The two in the current top 6 that I think would fall out if any do are Watford and Bournemouth. Watford are a funny club and you never know what you are going to get from them. In a way they remind me of us on the pitch in that I don't think as a team they are very impressive but they have individuals that have the quality to win them games they don't deserve to win and I'd expect that they have enough individual quality to keep themselves in the top 6.

Bournemouth are certainly the ones stuttering the most at the moment and I think the longer they stick with Tindall the more at risk they are of falling out of it. I wouldn't be at all surprised that now he has had a few months break if Eddie Howe is back there before the end of the season.