Swansea City away

[Oldgregg86]

2 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I never really understand people giving such specific and definitive time frames to be judged upon.

Firstly, what are the expectations in terms of decision making come next summer? Is it promotion or sacked, top 6 or sacked, is it more flexible, is 10th ok if we suffer too much from injuries or the style looks nice, how does it work?

Secondly, does it not at all depend on progress within that? If we lose our next 6, if we pick up 2 points from our next 8 games, if we are in the bottom 3 come new year, if we sit 18th at christmas, if the "nice football" stops yet the results stay poor between, is it still stick until the summer regardless? Surely there is a point in which it becomes untenable before?

Sadly not down at ewood ?

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

42 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Totally agree.

And who would you have played at left back ?

[chaddyrovers]

2 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Thats very open ended. We could finish 16th and say "well, we tried!"

Is that good enough?

 

Sorry my point was the target is top 6. 

But like I said in previous posts with the Coronavirus around for next few months, no fans in stadiums and lockdowns in place this isnt a normal season and shouldnt be considered as one. 

[chaddyrovers]

43 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Totally agree.

So who would you play at left back and centre midfielder then if Rankin Costello and Evans shouldnt play those roles? 

Considering the players we have unavailable at the minute

[Ewood Ace]

1 hour ago, Mr. E said:

Virus tombola every week?

You'd have thought that would have favoured us with Mowbray as manager.

[roversfan99]

7 minutes ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

And who would you have played at left back ?

 

4 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So who would you play at left back and centre midfielder then if Rankin Costello and Evans shouldnt play those roles? 

Considering the players we have unavailable at the minute

The left back choice was admittedly very limited today, the only real alternative was Williams LB, Wharton CB. My point regarding the full backs was regarding the choice prior to today to at times choose Rankin Costello or indeed Bennett over Nyambe at full back.

If there was little choice but to play Evans, firstly that would add further questions over the signing of Davenport, who Mowbray paid money for and hasnt started in 2 and a half years now. 2 options, play Buckley there, who I question the readiness of, or play Evans but in a midfield 2. The 4-3-3 shouldnt be above reproach, the results show that, and Evans is very limited, so have him and Trybull sitting deep and allow Holtby more scope to go forward perhaps.

I think we should have signed Downing early in the summer who would have been a better option in either position. But of course that wasnt a choice today.

All in all, the full back issue was one relating more to games prior to today, and the Evans point was more a shape issue, and again not really key to the overall points I was making.

[RevidgeBlue]

I know we're not good defensively normally but that was some pub team style defending today even by our standards, very Coylesque, if we carry on like that a relegation scrap beckons.

Lenihan and JRC were atrocious, Trybull will have to step up massively on that performance, on today's evidence he looks like a pointless crab very much in the Lowe/Evans mould.

Brereton was back to his pre lock down self, Evans was his usual self (P4 L4?) and Armstrong was allowed to continue for the best part of an hour after seemingly feeling his hamstring.

All in all a very depressing but fairly predictable afternoon.

 

[Ewood Ace]

50 minutes ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

My view has been/is to give Tony this season and then assess.

Then it will be give him the start of next season, then it will be give him till Christmas, then it will be give him until the end of the season and on and on the cycle goes.

[RevidgeBlue]

18 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So who would you play at left back and centre midfielder then if Rankin Costello and Evans shouldnt play those roles? 

Considering the players we have unavailable at the minute

Serious question, do we not have a young  player in the u23's who is actually a LB rather than play another youngster barely out of the U23's who isn't a LB there?

[m1st]

The whole structure of the club is wrong these days, imo. There appears to be no accountability anywhere and there doesn't really appear to have been since Uncle Jack died; and certainly not since the Walker Trust sold the club to our present owners and what seems to be their benign[?] neglect of an entity which they obviously don't value or respect a fraction as much as most of us on here.

I'm sorry I haven't the technological skills - I'm an old fogey who doesn't 'do' social media; apart from this Board, I like to 'have a life'! - to copy a post about Wolves which I put on page 37 of the post-Watford inquest. A Chinese company bought them some years ago and installed locally one of their executives as a link between the company and 'their' football club. Which has gone from strength to strength at a time when our owners' apparent benign neglect of their purchase has led to us travelling in the opposite direction.

Our owners apparently see us as a small and insignificant part of their portfolio; and, imo, all our present ills stem from this. A couple of years ago - plus or minus - I was one of those who took the attitude that, because Rovers were in roughly the same League position that we were at the time of the first match I remember my Dad bringing me to at Ewood in the 1953/54 season, we should give Mowbray at least another season.

Well, he's had that and more; and we seem to be locked into a spiral of decline in which he seems incapable of reversing. And worse, our owners seem not to care - at least to those of us who have always cared about Lancashire's Most Historic Football Club - enough about what they're presiding over.

I don't know what we can do about this - to most of us on here - sad state of affairs. The way that the FA and the EFL apparently did little or nothing in the sad case of Bury FC leaves me with little hope that either of them will want, especially not retrospectively, to investigate whether our owners are appropriate or responsible owners.

It hurts me to post a message like this; but we seem to be in a spiral of neglect. Money is wasted on players who are then played out of position; key positions are not being filled adequately; we're signing what appear to be Mowbray's cronies - or the sons of cronies - irrespective of whether they are what we actually need.

The worst thing is I don't know what we can do about it.

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, Doogs said:

Wow...Going for top six...Come on Tony...

.....in League 1.

[Doogs]

We play against a team with a proper manager on Tuesday. A very poor team who almost went down last season. But turned round with no cash to spend. Just good old coaching and the no how, how to set a team up to get results. Boro will beat us on Tuesday. Not because they have better players, but because who is in the dugout.  A PROPER MANAGER...

[rigger]

3 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

The problem you've got is that Armstrong is shit out wide, so you either go two up top or accommodate him by playing Gallagher / Brereton out wide. 

Or you drop Armstrong, I realise he is our top goal scorer, but he has also missed as many if not more really good chances. What have we got to loose by trying something drastic.

[darrenrover]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Try to get top 6..

Chaddy, that's bollocks. Your first word "Try" should never be used or said in this context unless you want to promote failure as perhaps being acceptable because at least you tried.

The aim should be both definitive and specific i.e. be top 2 and playoffs as an absolute minimum. Anything other is a failure.

We need to stop pissing about as a club and stipulate now that anything other than success is deemed a failure.

Edited October 31, 2020 by darrenrover

[bigbrandjohn]

43 minutes ago, darrenrover said:

My tongue was protruding through my cheek. 

Thank God. Difficult to see from Coopersburg Pennsylvania. ?

Thinking of you as I listen to Boris actually taking real questions from real people. Not a fan of his but I appreciate him taking the questions. President clown pants doesn’t even take questions from the media  

Maybe our Tony could have regular phone ins? ?

[onlyoneDuff]

Evans should have been given away long ago...just as bad of a contract extension as Mulgrew's...should never be included again....four year contract for Pears seems criminal...could not that money been spent on our out of contract players (Nyambe)....why was Pears signed?? Please look at Mowbray's last days at Celtic...too much talent for these results. Mowbray and Waggot OUT

[Tormund]

2 minutes ago, rigger said:

Or you drop Armstrong, I realise he is our top goal scorer, but he has also missed as many if not more really good chances. What have we got to loose by trying something drastic.

Good one.

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

My view has been/is to give Tony this season and then assess.

I have done my assessment and have come to the conclusion that I will not be renewing my season ticket till Mowbray has gone. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, simongarnerisgod said:

the entire playing staff needs a complete fresh outlook,simple as that,it must be soul destroying as a player listening to mowbray every day,im`e sure he`s a nice fellow but his time here is done

I've got to the point were I no longer listen to anything he says. Maybe the players feel the same way ?

[rigger]

57 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So who would you play at left back and centre midfielder then if Rankin Costello and Evans shouldnt play those roles? 

Considering the players we have unavailable at the minute

Whoever plays left back for the U23's, JRC right side midfield, Trybul defensive midfield, Holtby left sided midfield, with the option of playing Elliot as an attacking midfielder

[OldEwoodBlue]

55 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So who would you play at left back and centre midfielder then if Rankin Costello and Evans shouldnt play those roles? 

Considering the players we have unavailable at the minute

Our best player last season in both those positions was Stuart Downing.

 

[booth]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

He isnt getting a free pass tho. 

But plenty.of fans and I would say majority of Rovers fans are still backing Mowbray from what I seen pre Swansea games. 

Another imaginary head count when a manager is doing badly.

[rigger]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

He isnt getting a free pass tho. 

But plenty.of fans and I would say majority of Rovers fans are still backing Mowbray from what I seen pre Swansea games. 

What exactly have you seen to lead you to that conclusion.

[booth]

If you ask me he arrived frustrating.

[darrenrover]

11 minutes ago, booth said:

If you ask me he arrived frustrating.

I totally agree with that: Tony Mowbray is always extremely frustrating.