Cardiff (H) - Saturday 3rd October 2020

[Gav]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

@chaddyrovers based on ifollow or on radio commentary?

I thought Rothwell was a big disapointment. Needed to really impact the game especially v 10 men. No end product as is the case most of the time.

Are you being serious 99?

We’ve had an excellent start to the season, you’d predicted doom and gloom, enjoy the unbeaten run, it won’t last forever. 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Gav

[roversfan99]

12 minutes ago, Gav said:

Are you being serious 99?

We’ve had an excellent start to the season, you’d predicted doom and gloom, enjoy the unbeaten run, it won’t last forever.

? taken that way out of context..the radio/ifollow question was a genuine question. And I think the comment about Rothwell was fair. Today I was dissapointed that we couldnt beat a team that played a decent chunk with 10 men, hardly unreasonable. And this is specifically a thread about todays game. Im guessing my comments across the last 2 matchday threads have been ignored?

Excellent start is a little over the top but its been decent and plenty of positives which I have posted regularly. When did I predict doom and gloom? 

This is the problem at times on forums. A message is take out of context and made out as if I have a massive agenda of spreading doom and gloom.

Not specifically unbeaten but our start cannot be a flash in the pan and needs to be maintained. And I have never said that it wont.

Edited October 3, 2020 by roversfan99

[AspRover]

A team that finished above us by ten points last year came to Ewood to stifle, defend and nick a win. We're going in the right direction, and other teams know it.

[Wood26]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

@chaddyrovers based on ifollow or on radio commentary?

I thought Rothwell was a big disapointment. Needed to really impact the game especially v 10 men. No end product as is the case most of the time.

Didn’t see game, but Talksport gave Joe a shout out as best player on pitch by a mile.

[JPTSwindon]

Okay, whilst disappointed it was not raining goals, Cardiff are a decent, well organised side and often in recent seasons you’d have expected them to nick a winner - much, much better at the back. Weather didn’t help, but there was enough to show progress - roll on Forest after the international break.

Gallagher is a liability and doesn’t fit the system. He is a target man, who I am sure could produce for more direct teams, but that isn’t us. 

[Ossydave]

You can tell when people haven't played football at a decent level. Playing against 10 men is quite often harder than playing vs 11.

[roversfan99]

Just now, Wood26 said:

Didn’t see game, but Talksport gave Joe a shout out as best player on pitch by a mile.

Thought he was his usual energetic self with nothing at the end of it bar a few terrible shots at the end.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, Ossydave said:

You can tell when people haven't played football at a decent level. Playing against 10 men is quite often harder than playing vs 11.

 if you know what you're doing you can make the extra man count. Spread the play, make the pitch big. Conditions wouldn't have helped with that today though.

[islander200]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

Im not sure we would. But I dont think that I am being negative personally about being disapointed about not capitalising on our opposition having 10 men and getting the win. Nor does it mean that I think its a disaster or that we dont have aspects of the team to be happy about.

Ultimately their tactics arent unique and I fear that we may have issues at time breaking teams down.

7 points is a decent start, 9 would have been a good or even a very good start.

Their tactics might not be unique but they are more suited to playing those sort of tactics than most in this division and better at it.

It's one game out of four that we have failed to create chances,46 shots at goal in the two games prior to this and we scored twice and had a few other good chances in the defeat at Bournemouth.

I do think the conditions favoured Cardiff's tactics heavily and we got into promising positions only for our final ball to let us down and in fairness even if Gallagher is poor if that chance falls to him a 100 times he will score a lot more than is missed.I do think as the season progresses Mowbray will find a place for Buckley when teams are sitting back against us

2 points a game over the course of the season would see us promoted and our start is a point short on that , its dissapointing of course we couldn't get the 3 points today but plenty to be pleased about,the defence keeping clean sheets being one of them

[Wood26]

How did Ayala play today?

[roversfan99]

Just now, islander200 said:

Their tactics might not be unique but they are more suited to playing those sort of tactics than most in this division and better at it.

It's one game out of four that we have failed to create chances,46 shots at goal in the two games prior to this and we scored twice and had a few other good chances in the defeat at Bournemouth.

I do think the conditions favoured Cardiff's tactics heavily and we got into promising positions only for our final ball to let us down and in fairness even if Gallagher is poor if that chance falls to him a 100 times he will score a lot more than is missed.I do think as the season progresses Mowbray will find a place for Buckley when teams are sitting back against us

2 points a game over the course of the season would see us promoted and our start is a point short on that , its dissapointing of course we couldn't get the 3 points today but plenty to be pleased about,the defence keeping clean sheets being one of them

Absolutely regarding the clean sheets, mentioned that in my initial review including a mention for Ayala.

Specifically about today, my main feeling was regret at 2 points lost. A draw v Cardiff isnt a disaster at all but more because of the circumstances and it wasnt without positives.

Season so far, been a decent start, 2 great wins, 7 points from 4 I am content with and have seen plenty of positives.

With Buckley, played a couple of nice passes but like the other players at that time I didnt feel like any of them played at anything other than walking pace.

[Gav]

5 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Excellent start is a little over the top

Seriously, do you really mean that?

 

[roversfan99]

Just now, Wood26 said:

How did Ayala play today?

Slipped in lacking match fitness and youd never know. Good positionally and dealt with everything with minimum fuss.

[roversfan99]

Just now, Gav said:

Seriously, do you really mean that?

 

7 points from 4 games is decent to good. Excellent is 10 to 12 points IMO. Plenty of positives and happy enough? Definitely from me. Yes I mean it and I suspect I am only furthering my reputation as spreading doom and gloom.

[only2garners]

2 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Thought he was his usual energetic self with nothing at the end of it bar a few terrible shots at the end.

After two excellent performances he was a disappointment today, frequently running into blind alleys and once resulting in giving away a free kick on the edge of our box. I think Talksport suggesting Rothwell was the best player says more about their level of reporting.

Buckley did much more In 30 minutes. 

[rovers11]

Tough game today, a draw was probably fair. Cardiff are a bunch of cloggers - but they're very good at what they do. We had one very good chance in each half but that was it. They created absolutely nothing apart from a fine save from Kaminiski in the first half from a Hoillet shot.

Williams and Johnson were immense. They've been outstanding this season. Williams is unstoppable at the moment. Bell had one of his best games in a Rovers shirt. 

All of our best attacking players didn't get a look in really. Fair play to Cardiff on that.

I've seen enough already to strongly suggest we should expect to finish in the top 6 this season. We are actually pretty good and the league is quite poor. It will be a failure if we dont. 

Our squad has come along way. There would have been no chance in the past of us competing against the better sides in this league with several of our best players missing - Dack, Lenihan, Travis. But now we're actually stronger than those teams even with those ilk of players missing. 

[Exiled_Rover]

28 minutes ago, JPTSwindon said:

Okay, whilst disappointed it was not raining goals, Cardiff are a decent, well organised side and often in recent seasons you’d have expected them to nick a winner - much, much better at the back. Weather didn’t help, but there was enough to show progress - roll on Forest after the international break.

Gallagher is a liability and doesn’t fit the system. He is a target man, who I am sure could produce for more direct teams, but that isn’t us. 

Gallagher is tall. He's certainly not a target man. 

[Wood26]

Today shows how important a squad is. I was desperate for a CB, over moon we signed Ayala. Then yesterday I thought no how does he get in? Then to lose our skipper and bring in Ayala is kind of thing we been missing.

[joey_big_nose]

9 minutes ago, rovers11 said:

Tough game today, a draw was probably fair. Cardiff are a bunch of cloggers - but they're very good at what they do. We had one very good chance in each half but that was it. They created absolutely nothing apart from a fine save from Kaminiski in the first half from a Hoillet shot.

Williams and Johnson were immense. They've been outstanding this season. Williams is unstoppable at the moment. Bell had one of his best games in a Rovers shirt. 

All of our best attacking players didn't get a look in really. Fair play to Cardiff on that.

I've seen enough already to strongly suggest we should expect to finish in the top 6 this season. We are actually pretty good and the league is quite poor. It will be a failure if we dont. 

Our squad has come along way. There would have been no chance in the past of us competing against the better sides in this league with several of our best players missing - Dack, Lenihan, Travis. But now we're actually stronger than those teams even with those ilk of players missing. 

Yes that's a very fair point. Of you asked me at the start of the season who our best 4 players were I would have said Travis, Dack, Lenihan and Armstrong. We were missimh three of them and looked the better team by a way.

Target this season has to be top six minimum.

[Wood26]

Just now, joey_big_nose said:

Yes that's a very fair point. Of you asked me at the start of the season who our best 4 players were I would have said Travis, Dack, Lenihan and Armstrong. We were missimh three of them and looked the better team by a way.

Target this season has to be top six minimum.

Exactly. Look at table, Bristol and Reading won all games so far and Luton above us.

Over season I guarantee we finish above all 3 of them.

[Butty]

27 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Slipped in lacking match fitness and youd never know. Good positionally and dealt with everything with minimum fuss.

Handled that big lump Moore well enough, he’s the sort of player we need on the bench as a Plan B. Gallagher has the build for it but just isn’t that sort of player, who knows what sort of player Gallagher is at the minute, 5 million pounds f**k me.

[JacknOry]

3 hours ago, Tugayisgod said:

You mean the poor Derby team that won away at Norwich today?

Their form post lockdown is bottom 6 if not relegation form  2 wins from 12 or something until yesterday. Norwich have been poor too.

[Guest]

Let’s hope Forest don’t jump the gun and fire Lamouchi. Would hate for them to revitalise just as we play them.

On today’s match the only thing to add for me is that John Buckley is proving with every minute he gets that the clubs judgement of his long term potential is likely to be spot on.

[Wood26]

8 minutes ago, JoeH said:

Let’s hope Forest don’t jump the gun and fire Lamouchi. Would hate for them to revitalise just as we play them.

On today’s match the only thing to add for me is that John Buckley is proving with every minute he gets that the clubs judgement of his long term potential is likely to be spot on.

Buckley is a great talent. He will play this level or above for majority his career in my opinion. 

[philipl]

So often, after having a scoring blitz teams start getting blanks. Let's hope it is just one...

Combination of the weather and managerial instructions did for that game.

Cardiff had been told not to concede and to disrupt us. They did.

Mowbray told Rovers not to over commit bodies forward and avoid losing possession. Recycle rather than gamble. We did.

Combine that approach with wayward and ineffectual shooting and Rovers scoring nil was always going to happen.

However, Cardiff scoring nil and in the second half not even getting chances was far from inevitable and was a tribute to Ayala and Kaminski in particular, but also to Rovers rarely giving the ball away cheaply.

Frustrating we didn't up the tempo when they were down to ten.

Revidge completely correct about Gallagher reacting and rarely anticipating. The inevitable golden chance that was always going to come in the last 20 was just as inevitably skied.

Armstrong had his second poor game on the trot. Difference today was nobody played a brilliant pass for him.

Buckley again sparkled when he came on but was played too deep.

I hope today's starting line up gets another chance which is my plea not to drop Dolan and Brereton. Lenihan has a big challenge to get back in.

In the final analysis we lacked a bit of magic. Thankfully we have a reliably magic player on the books in Dack and his return could make a huge difference in games where the opposition have done their homework on us as thoroughly as Cardiff had yesterday.

Seven points and a +8 gd from three really tough fixtures and a banana skin is a dramatically better return than I had expected or even dreamed of before the season start. 

Extrapolate it and that's 80 points and a positive goal difference of 100.

The fact fans are bitterly disappointed tonight means automatic promotion is very much on the cards.

Edited October 4, 2020 by philipl