Stoke City v Rovers (a) Sat. 19th Dec. 3pm

[USABlue]

15 hours ago, tugayislegend said:

Gallagher can score goals if he is played as a number 9 and given the service.

Reason we signed is because he did so well for us in his loan spell. 

Watch this clip for a reminder:

TM is simply not getting the best out of him. It wouldn't hurt to let him play as the number 9 even if it is off the bench for the last 30 mins in a game.

Who is that scoring the goals, it's not the lad that is playing at Ewood now, some good finishes in there.  Has ToMo destroyed this lads career playin him how he does.

[USABlue]

15 hours ago, Crimpshrine said:

Exactly. I see people are still pinning their hopes on Dack and Travis turning the season around when they return. As you quite rightly point out, it will make very little difference in the long run. We will still do just enough to be comfortable in mid table.

Mowbray won't do it any other way, keeps his slippers warm that way.  Nice cup cocoa, some lemon drizzle and relax ready for his nice cushy very well paid job the next day.

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 hours ago, TimmyJimmy said:

My two pennies worth is that I like Gallagher. Like all players theres improvement to be made but he has a real drive and energy i like.

I think he is a confidence player. I bumped into him at Ewood after a match and said that I thought he'd played really well. He beamed like it meant so much to hear that and he thanked me. He looked really made up.

He's going to get goals if we play him in the right positions and feed him. Reading negative stuff on social media does I suspect affect him badly. Maybe thats why the other players were so protective of him after the newspaper article.

 

I don't think anyone is blaming him. It's on Mowbray. He is playing him in a position that highlights weaknesses. 

It's like if Sunderland played Niall Quinn on the wing, instead of upfront with Kevin Phillips! 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[Sparks Rover]

28 minutes ago, Yoogo said:

I suspect Rothwell will be the one to make way.

Yeah, that would be the kind I'd thing Mowbray would do.  Keep us rooted to mid table.  Pension coming along nice

[Ewood Ace]

I think if Gallagher was played through the middle over a season he would get you 10-12 goals. He has the attributes in my opinion to play either as a lone striker or in a front two but he has has no real attributes to be a wide right player and even less to be a wide left player. I could understand playing him wide slightly if we played a lot of long Crossfield diagonal balls but we hardly play any long balls let alone diagonal ones.

Just looking back at those goals shows you that if you get him in the box and central to the goal then he is a threat. His goals this season against Coventry and Luton showed the same. Thinking back to his goals last season against Swansea, Reading, Stoke, Luton and his first at Preston again it was the same thing balls played into the box and Gallagher scoring when he is in the box a central to the goal.

Since he returned to the club we haven't seen anywhere near the best of him and we won't see it until whilst Mowbray persists with playing him wide, play him up front either with or as an alternative to Armstrong then we will see his best. It's not rocket science even Owen Coyle could manage to work it out. 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Ewood Ace

[tomphil]

2 hours ago, TimmyJimmy said:

My two pennies worth is that I like Gallagher. Like all players theres improvement to be made but he has a real drive and energy i like.

I think he is a confidence player. I bumped into him at Ewood after a match and said that I thought he'd played really well. He beamed like it meant so much to hear that and he thanked me. He looked really made up.

He's going to get goals if we play him in the right positions and feed him. Reading negative stuff on social media does I suspect affect him badly. Maybe thats why the other players were so protective of him after the newspaper article.

 

Please don't be spinning things back onto the fans the main issue is clearly he struggles with what he's asked to do. That lies at the managers door i'm convinced he'd get a few more goals as an out and out striker having balls aimed in front of him.

He has the attributes and he's done it before, shoehorning him in to justify his signing is putting him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Stupid stuff by the manager but hey it works once every few months so lets keep doing it.

Edited December 21, 2020 by tomphil

[Mattyblue]

If negative comments on social media impact your performances ‘badly’ then you just ain’t going to cut it at a decent level in modern football...

[DE.]

4 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

If negative comments on social media impact your performances ‘badly’ then you just ain’t going to cut it at a decent level in modern football...

I think that's the bottom line. If his mental state is that fragile he simply won't make it at any decent level. 

Not that I believe it is. People were saying the same about Brereton, but the lad is flying now. Sometimes it's just a case of the player being in the wrong position, or just not being good enough. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

My advice would be not to read social media and try and improve on the field 

How many comments from Wigan fans did Dack get saying he was fat? I used to see loads. Never seemed to impact him! 

[roversfan99]

He is a striker who is at best an average Championship striker, at best he will creep into double figures as he did in his best season to date here. He also doesnt have any particularly strong attributes that make him important beyond his goal tally, he is fairly quick but not rapid, he doesnt bring others into play, a random example would be Jutkweicz who again wouldnt get into our team but his use to Birmingham is beyond a not particularly prolific goal record. Gallagher is not a striker that will give you the goals that will get you into the top 6.

The key has to be to avoid the temptation that Mowbray struggles to avoid, to try and crow bar him in anyway. I get that there is a big price tag but it is counter productive to play him out of position against the balance of the team. He could maybe grow into a useful player off the bench if we needed a goal or a deputy to Armstrong. 

Armstrong is our main striker and theres no way that he is anything but first choice. His goal record is competitive with players like Pukki, Toney etc at the top of the league so Gallagher cant grumble at not playing at Armstrongs expense but he could ideally become a competent second choice.

[simongarnerisgod]

gally is wasting his time here,mowbray is making him look a right prop,he must be on a fair wack each week to put up with it

[roversfan99]

He is a striker who is at best an average Championship striker, at best he will creep into double figures as he did in his best season to date here. He also doesnt have any particularly strong attributes that make him important beyond his goal tally, he is fairly quick but not rapid, he doesnt bring others into play, a random example would be Jutkweicz who again wouldnt get into our team but his use to Birmingham is beyond a not particularly prolific goal record. Gallagher is not a striker that will give you the goals that will get you into the top 6.

The key has to be to avoid the temptation that Mowbray struggles to avoid, to try and crow bar him in anyway. I get that there is a big price tag but it is counter productive to play him out of position against the balance of the team. He could maybe grow into a useful player off the bench if we needed a goal or a deputy to Armstrong. 

Armstrong is our main striker and theres no way that he is anything but first choice. His goal record is competitive with players like Pukki, Toney etc at the top of the league so Gallagher cant grumble at not playing at Armstrongs expense but he could ideally become a competent second choice.

[BlackburnEnd75]

4 hours ago, Yoogo said:

I suspect Rothwell will be the one to make way.

On recent form it should be Holtby.

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

He is a striker who is at best an average Championship striker, at best he will creep into double figures as he did in his best season to date here. He also doesnt have any particularly strong attributes that make him important beyond his goal tally, he is fairly quick but not rapid, he doesnt bring others into play, a random example would be Jutkweicz who again wouldnt get into our team but his use to Birmingham is beyond a not particularly prolific goal record. Gallagher is not a striker that will give you the goals that will get you into the top 6.

The key has to be to avoid the temptation that Mowbray struggles to avoid, to try and crow bar him in anyway. I get that there is a big price tag but it is counter productive to play him out of position against the balance of the team. He could maybe grow into a useful player off the bench if we needed a goal or a deputy to Armstrong. 

Armstrong is our main striker and theres no way that he is anything but first choice. His goal record is competitive with players like Pukki, Toney etc at the top of the league so Gallagher cant grumble at not playing at Armstrongs expense but he could ideally become a competent second choice.

Armstrong could easily fall off that pace too. He has never maintained it before. So even more incentive for Gallagher. 

Maybe he needs to be brave like Williams and say what his position is. 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Armstrong could easily fall off that pace too. He has never maintained it before. So even more incentive for Gallagher. 

Maybe he needs to be brave like Williams and say what his position is. 

He has had a year of consistent goalscoring to be fair with his biggest dry spell being 3 games since he has played up front.

To be fair even if Gallagher said I only want to be a striker, Armstrong is still the main striker so I suspect it is either play wide or be on the bench. Hed probably rather play out of position rather than not at all.

[booth]

20 hours ago, tugayislegend said:

Gallagher can score goals if he is played as a number 9 and given the service.

Reason we signed is because he did so well for us in his loan spell. 

Watch this clip for a reminder:

TM is simply not getting the best out of him. It wouldn't hurt to let him play as the number 9 even if it is off the bench for the last 30 mins in a game.

His ethos is, keep at it and eventually it'll work even if it's detrimental to the team and most of the time it is.

[simongarnerisgod]

14 minutes ago, booth said:

His ethos is, keep at it and eventually it'll work even if it's detrimental to the team and most of the time it is.

that is a player with confidence,now look at him,reduced to hopefull dashes  against full backs(which never work)you can only blame the manager imo

[RevidgeBlue]

Lot of revisionism here trying to make out that Gallagher would be ok put in the middle.

He isn't very good, never has been very good and never will be very good.  As I said above when he was here the first time round his main attribute was his willingness and his ability to run the channels all day and make a nuisance of himself but since bulking up seems to have lost that and he has no strikers instinct or anticipation whatsoever.

It's utter lunacy to even contemplate shoving a guy who is averaging three goals every four games out wide to accommodate him.

Gallagher is a poor player who Mowbray wasted £5m on because he knew him and liked him. End of.

Edited December 21, 2020 by RevidgeBlue

[ben_the_beast]

15 hours ago, TheRoversReturn said:

No, they really weren't. They scored early and shut up shop, happy to take the three points.

Good performance from them, a simple home victory. Wish we had some of those to look forward to... 

They've scored 4 goals in the last 7 games. They were scoring early in the season but conceding. Now they are not conceding but not scoring. They are currently zero threat going forwards. I'm sure the same would have applied for the remaining 83 minutes of the game with or without the early goal. We just gifted them an early one and it shot us in the foot. They are well organized. Full of stoppers. Exactly like Northern Ireland were. They aren't a great team. Yes i and every other fan would love to see a bit of resilience and a few shut outs. But stoke were and are crap. We'll finish in similar positions, with dramatically different styles of play.

[tonygreenbank]

2 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Lot of revisionism here trying to make out that Gallagher would be ok put in the middle.

He isn't very good, never has been very good and never will be very good.  As I said above when he was here the first time round his main attribute was his willingness and his ability to run the channels all day and make a nuisance of himself but since bulking up seems to have lost that and he has no strikers instinct or anticipation whatsoever.

It's utter lunacy to even contemplate shoving a guy who is averaging three goals every four games out wide to accommodate him.

Gallagher is a poor player who Mowbray wasted £5m on because he knew him and liked him. End of.

Obviously “in your opinion!” 
I don’t think to reach this far in the football pyramid would suggest he is a poor player.

He has many assets such as speed, physique, aerial ability and stamina. I think he must be a nightmare to play against if you’re a full back used to marking your diminutive winger.

He occupies the wing area and often changes to upfront when needed.

I actually see a player in him as I did with Brereton. He is definitely lacking confidence at the minute which is affecting his performance so he certainly needs backing from his significant others on the coaching staff.

But there is, in my opinion, a player there who can be an asset to Rovers.

 

[RevidgeBlue]

10 minutes ago, tonygreenbank said:

Obviously “in your opinion!” 
I don’t think to reach this far in the football pyramid would suggest he is a poor player.

He has many assets such as speed, physique, aerial ability and stamina. I think he must be a nightmare to play against if you’re a full back used to marking your diminutive winger.

He occupies the wing area and often changes to upfront when needed.

I actually see a player in him as I did with Brereton. He is definitely lacking confidence at the minute which is affecting his performance so he certainly needs backing from his significant others on the coaching staff.

But there is, in my opinion, a player there who can be an asset to Rovers.

 

I normally respect your contributions even when we don't agree but we'll have to agree to disagree big style on this! 🙂

I don't think he has any aerial ability at all. He's 6 ft 5 and jumps about 5 ft 10 and for such a big physical specimen is extremely weak in the challenge.

Nor do I think "occupying the wing area" is an attribute.

I agree with you that I always said I could see a glimpse of a player trying to get out with BB. I've never had that sense with SG and still don't. I thought he was ordinary first time round, has now lost most of his mobility, and has regressed dramatically.

[tonygreenbank]

39 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I normally respect your contributions even when we don't agree but we'll have to agree to disagree big style on this! 🙂

I don't think he has any aerial ability at all. He's 6 ft 5 and jumps about 5 ft 10 and for such a big physical specimen is extremely weak in the challenge.

Nor do I think "occupying the wing area" is an attribute.

I agree with you that I always said I could see a glimpse of a player trying to get out with BB. I've never had that sense with SG and still don't. I thought he was ordinary first time round, has now lost most of his mobility, and has regressed dramatically.

Fair enough Rev but I’m still optimistic we have a player on our hands. I’m sure we both want him to be a success with us.

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

He has had a year of consistent goalscoring to be fair with his biggest dry spell being 3 games since he has played up front.

To be fair even if Gallagher said I only want to be a striker, Armstrong is still the main striker so I suspect it is either play wide or be on the bench. Hed probably rather play out of position rather than not at all.

Still hasn't broken 20 goals in a championship season. Needs to start notching a few against the "better" teams. I hope he maintains the consistency. 

Would he? It's not doing him any favours. He looks lost. Be better off coming on for Armstrong ,in his position. 

[Exiled in Toronto]

It seems the only argument in his favour is he got into double figures three years ago - the only time in his career wasn’t it? Jon Stead got a bagful one year in the Prem but that didn’t prove anything either. Time to cut our losses and be thankful Armstrong and Brereton look like working out.

[roversfan99]

17 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Still hasn't broken 20 goals in a championship season. Needs to start notching a few against the "better" teams. I hope he maintains the consistency. 

Would he? It's not doing him any favours. He looks lost. Be better off coming on for Armstrong ,in his position. 

Mowbray even when needing a goal is unwilling to change the system and even if he is having a poor game, youd never take off Armstrong for Gallagher because the former is always more likely to score. If Gallagher asked to be a striker and a striker only he would be massively reducing any chance of game time and im sure hed rather play out of position rather than not at all. He should only be considered as a striker and very much 2nd choice but I can understand why he doesnt insist on being a striker only.