v Sheff Utd (h) - 6/11/21 - 146th Birthday

[ossyian]

1 hour ago, RoverCanada said:

I told myself I'd give Poveda one more chance after seeing the starting lineup... I recall him looking good for about 5-10 min in one of his early starts, and he must have something about him with his pedigree, but then crap ever since... what a rebound performance from him. Was less down on Khadra, although his recent appearances had been pretty poor, so quite pleased for him today too. Clear case of a couple young attackers just needing a few successful dribbles to give them the confidence to keep at it. Of course still questionable to have them over, say, Chapman, but he's currently sitting on the bench for Burton, so...

(It would be nice to maybe turn one of these loans into a loan-to-buy, as some had recently mooted about van Hecke before his, ahem, creative tackle against Fulham. One of the benefits of a loan can be 'try before you buy'... certainly not suggesting that for Khadra or Poveda just yet!)

A couple shaky moments from Lenihan and Wharton, but I suppose that can be excused for Wharton's first game back. Was a nice reminder of Wharton's dominance in the air today. Big head CBs, fuck yeah.

Otherwise, pretty great performance all around.

Edun makes me nervous at times, but it's nice to think we've got two young LBs competing for the spot. How long since we could feel optimistic at that position?!

edit: I should also mention a resurgent performance from Davenport, who I had started to finally write off. What an odd player he's been...

Davenport's first couple of years here must have been hard for him due to 2 long term injuries. Since he's been fit he's never been properly utilised by Mowbray. Never had a run of games but gets the odd 15 minutes here and there and always seems to be the first to get left out of a match day squad. Strange really because he was superb apparently at Burton in the Championship when we were in League 1. Very highly thought of at City too apparently 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

37 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Talk about contrasting games. On Wednesday we threw in the towel and surrendered with a whimper. Today we rolled our sleeves up and wanted to scrap and fight but more importantly show some pride. Having seen all of Mowbrays games in charge I think today was the first time we had some natural width, not wide strikers or inverted wingers but square pegs in the right flaming holes. And for me it was a fundamental difference with Poveda and Khedra running at full backs and putting crosses in. The pitch was made wider than ever and the benefit was there to be seen. I accept that defensively they weren't great. I thought Davenport was our best player today with lots of players not far behind him but a special mention to Scott Wharton. He looked a little rusty and really tired towards the end but he can be delighted with his contribution today. Alongside him Lenihan was solid although I think he picked up his fifth booking today (I stand to be corrected on that though) from a woefully inadequate referee who fell way below the expected standard although in a perverse way his denying of us a clear penalty seemed to anger the players and the crowd and the tempo was raised.

All in all it's a good end to an awful week but with yer man in charge who knows what the Bristol game will bring.

“ When you have the ball make the pitch as big as you can. When the opposition have the ball make it as small as you can.”

It’s not exactly inventing the wheel is it. 
 

He’s only stumbled on playing with two wingers because Gally was injured. Normal service will be resumed as soon as he’s fit again !

[Miller11]

Played with actual wingers! At times in the “dead” 4-4-2 formation!!

Brilliant that! Some massive performances!

I’m almost as happy with that as I was angry with Wednesday’s debacle.

[Polky]

Very happy with today, lads did well to come back from another early goal. Showed great character! 

[simongarnerisgod]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

“ When you have the ball make the pitch as big as you can. When the opposition have the ball make it as small as you can.”

It’s not exactly inventing the wheel is it. 
 

He’s only stumbled on playing with two wingers because Gally was injured. Normal service will be resumed as soon as he’s fit again !

mowbray be like,gally is fit again and i don`t want to upset him but i can`t put him at centre forward cos he can`t hold the ball up,i know,i`ll stick him out wide,he`s such a nice lad,it would be a shame to leave him out,those other two are only on loan anyway,that lad davenport,he`s a bit nasty and keeps answering me back ,im`e not picking him again,at least i managed to get rid of that evil harry chapman,he won`t be invited to my  end of season party

[Doug]

Just got back after a few pints in one of my locals. Had a load of stick since Wednesday but it was good to get back in with a smile on my face. Excellent performance and well worth the trip over. Well done Rovers. I'm going back to the pub now!! 😄 

[booth]

21 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Played with actual wingers! At times in the “dead” 4-4-2 formation!!

Brilliant that! Some massive performances!

I’m almost as happy with that as I was angry with Wednesday’s debacle.

Actual wingers and a centre forward. Two actual full backs. I’m not sure why Mowbray is so resistant to using players in their best position when it obviously works.

[Blue blood]

Not a TM fan and ultimately we will end up outside the playoffs but credit where it is due. Some odd calls but all worked out so well done TM and the team. A great response. Brilliant 3 points. 

[matt83]

1 hour ago, blondie said:

Regardless of all the misgivings about Venky's, Waggot and Mowbray, the one thing that stood out today was the players care about wearing the shirt.

Maybe today can you honestly say it overall. It’s not even about winning or losing at best I’d say it’s a 50:50 when they look like they care about wearing the shirt should be 100% regardless I of the result.  

[1864roverite]

3 minutes ago, matt83 said:

Maybe today can you honestly say it overall. It’s not even about winning or losing at best I’d say it’s a 50:50 when they look like they care about wearing the shirt should be 100% regardless I of the result.  

It’s about pride and working your best in the job that you are highly paid for!

Each player had effort in abundance today, it is this that’s often missing in Mowbray and his tombola selections

[broadsword]

1 hour ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Sadly this is exactly how I feel as well.

Yeah because it isn't the start of something better

"were just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year" 

 

As I said before, it hurts to care. Especially when it's your club in the hands of people who don't. 

Yeah, we won today. I don't get any pleasure from it, because we're just spinning our wheels. 

 

I've had eleven years of it, we all have. I look back and can't believe what's happened really. It's not the wins, or the trophies or the promotions. It's the special feeling the club gave us. A family club, a club with history, that maintained traditions. We couldn't match the big boys financially, but we gave them a proper game. 

 

These bastards have shat all over that. Fuck em. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by broadsword

[1864roverite]

Just now, broadsword said:

Yeah because it isn't the start of something better

"were just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year" 

 

As I said before, it hurts to care. Especially when it's your club in the hands of people who don't. 

Yeah, we won today. I don't get any pleasure from it, because we're just spinning our wheels. 

 

I've had eleven years of it, we all have. I look back and can't believe what's happened really. It's not the wins, or the trophies or the promotions. It's the special feeling the club gave us. A family club, a club with history, that maintained traditions. We couldn't match the big boys financially, but we have then a proper game. 

 

These bastards have shat all over that. Fuck em. 

The club is far bigger than Mowbray and Waggot. The players who wear the shirt of our club are the ones we should get behind.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

1 hour ago, Wheelton Blue said:

For me, Davenport was MOM today. Kept it simple and kept the ball moving. 

Why oh why can't Mowbray just stop his needless tinkering and play to our strengths? Bloody infuriating.

he just blags it from one game to the next. that's what he does and I'm sorry to keep going on..... but it wont be long until things come unstuck again and we're rooted back in mid table. 

Mowbray out

Waggot out 

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by Armchair supporter supremo

[Armchair supporter supremo]

44 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

mowbray be like,gally is fit again and i don`t want to upset him but i can`t put him at centre forward cos he can`t hold the ball up,i know,i`ll stick him out wide,he`s such a nice lad,it would be a shame to leave him out,those other two are only on loan anyway,that lad davenport,he`s a bit nasty and keeps answering me back ,im`e not picking him again,at least i managed to get rid of that evil harry chapman,he won`t be invited to my  end of season party

💯 

💯 

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[chaddyrovers]

What an excellent win today and the players played with passion, desire and Skill. Arte Et Labore 🔵⚪

Mowbray picked a simple 4-2-3-1 formation and players playing in the proper position with no false 9 striker or silly tactics, But a proper striker in the 9 role again. The team picked looked balance. Maybe he needs to keep it simple and stop over complicating team selection or tactics. Keep it simple and we will win more games than not

Well what a bad start to the game by us to allow them scored. It was good finish by Brewster but I was thinking here we go again. The fans got behind the players and they delivered an excellent performance and a really team performance to be proud off. 

Poveda was excellent and show his talent for the first real time in a Rovers shirt. Khadra was good also. Buckley and Travis was outstanding today and lead the team forward. Davenport had his best game in Rovers shirt. 

I like the balance of the back 4 with 2 left footed and 2 right footed in the defence. Wharton was rusty as expected but he was good today. 

Kaminski was in good form today and made some good saves and good positing in his area

Special mention here to the 12,500 Rovers fans who backed their team and players even after the Sheffield United's goal. Singing, cheering and encouraging the players. It was a great atmosphere today. 

Rovers till I die 🔵⚪

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by chaddyrovers

[Armchair supporter supremo]

10 minutes ago, 1864roverite said:

The club is far bigger than Mowbray and Waggot. The players who wear the shirt of our club are the ones we should get behind.

we've some brilliant young players, similar to the talented young squad Souness took over way back when.... Only this squad doesnt have the nessary senior experianced  players in the squad to hold it all together(ala flitcroft, short, hughes...) match after match or a manager with the determination, grit and know how of Souness

[SuperBrfc]

Winning is the name of the game and I'm happy to see us bounce back with a good win. Freshening up the attack and midfield worked well, so fair play to Mowbray for getting it right today.

Look at what can happen when we play actual wingers in their rightful positions. We've wasted so much time playing Diaz and Gallagher out wide and just in general through needless tinkering. We've got to stick with today's formation for a few games at the least.

I hope this is the start of Poveda's loan spell with us. I was excited about him signing as there is a player in there. It's taken him a bit of time, but he's starting to look good now.

[chaddyrovers]

 

 

[Bbrovers2288]

Good win, build on it and I will sit up and take notice, the one good one bad and it’s meh . Happy for any victory however 

[RevidgeBlue]

Perhaps we should try not training properly more often!

Really wasn't expecting that, someone be it Mowbray or someone else really shook them up and I really really enjoyed it. I'd go as far as to say it's the best we've ever played under Mowbray.

Terrible goal to concede after 1 min 17 s and the obvious thought was "here we go again" and heads could have dropped. However we gradually battled back and had the better of the rest of the first half and fully deserved our equaliser although it took a fortunate deflection.

The second half was brilliant. We were like lightning on the break. Poveda was terrific (Where's that performance been?) Genuine wide men in their natural positions works. Whoever would have thought it? Further back Davenport and Travis were very good indeed and I thought Buckley had his best performance for the Club over 90 mins.

In defence I love Wharton. I understand from someone who knows him he's Rovers through and through and I just think he does the basics you want from a defender. No frills but no messing either. Does what it says on the tin. I also think Wharton's so steady Lenihan looks better alongside him than anyone else.

Only downside for me Edun. I think he's shocking defensively and is never a LB in a million years. Whether he could do a job in midfield remains to be seen, but is he any better than what we've already got.?

Still want Mowbray gone before the next game but if he's still here by then, for God's sake man you've stumbled upon something that works, stick with it. Edit: And don't let Gallagher within a million miles of the starting line up.

Mowbray out, Venus out, Waggott out. We caught a glimpse of what the future COULD be like today. Imo only under another manager and different management off the pitch as well though.

Edited November 6, 2021 by RevidgeBlue

[unsall]

You’ve got to take the positives out of the last 3 games, if someone said would you take 5 points most would say yes, beat Derby and a point off Fulham and Sheffield.

Or would you take 6 points out of the 3 games, yes no brainier, credit to TM picking that side, don’t think many including me would have picked that side, played well and really enjoyed the game, let’s give a bit of credit to the management for a change, COYB.

[DE.]

It's so frustrating that TM feels the need to change our tactics so much depending on the opposition (especially for a man who supposedly doesn't believe in tactics). Just play to our strengths, we've got enough to trouble most teams in this divison because there really isn't any outstanding teams beyond the top three. With a consistent shape and style we can challenge the vast majority of teams in this division without needing to radically adapt to try and counter the opposition.

[harryhealless1928]

Big shout out to the supporters who put the banner outside the training ground.....motivational?

Tomphil called it correctly for today...cunning Mowbray normally dredges out a victory when in dire need of one.....perhaps thats why hes the longest serving manager in the Championship?

Great performance and stunning goals.....anyone think Ben plays a bit like a "ghost" where the ball somehow appears over the line as if by magic following a clumsy run-in despite the best attempts of defenders to stop him? Or is it the red wine talking?  

[simongarnerisgod]

bristol city away next up,they don`t scare me,we should go there,enforce ourselves on them and come away with a result,they are struggling,sadly i don`t think tony has my optimism,he`ll pick a completely different side and shape,he worries about the opposition rather then let them worry about us,we are a better side than them,lets show it

[garnersfags]

14 minutes ago, harryhealless1928 said:

...anyone think Ben plays a bit like a "ghost" where the ball somehow appears over the line as if by magic following a clumsy run-in despite the best attempts of defenders to stop him? Or is it the red wine talking?  

Sorry....I think I agree with you on Ben...but what did you mean again....I also on the red wine?