PLAYER WATCH v Stoke City

[tonyoz]

PLAYER WATCH v Stoke City

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: 

+5 GOAL 

+4 Excellent play 

+3 Very good play 

+2 Pleasing/good play 

+1 Decent play 

  0 Routine stuff 

 -1 Sloppy play 

 -2 Disappointing/poor play 

 -3 Very poor play 

 -4 Terrible play 

 -5 Own goal 

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. 

 
Ratings       

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = number 

Kaminski (55)           *******  *     10                                  

Nyambe                       **************  ***     14 

Lenihan                        *****************************   ******     33 

Wharton                       *********************  **     29 

van Hecke                    *********  ***     11 

Pickering                      *******  ****     6  

Travis                             ****************  **********    8 

Buckley                         *******************  *****    24     

Rothwell (72)               **********  *****    14   

Khadra (67)                  *******  **     12 

Diaz                                 **********  *******    6 

  

Pears (55)                     **  *     4 

Dolan (67)                     **  ****     -2    

Davenport (72)          **     3

                                                                        

Highlights and Lowlights 

(A justification for the main ratings given above) 

04 There’s not a lot happening so far. Kaminski just put the goal-kick straight out! It must be cold over there as Kaminski’s got his red longjohns on!

06 Vrancic receives the ball in midfield and leaves Travis in his wake. Eventually a cross comes in from the Stoke right wing and Kaminski takes responsibility. He gets a glove on it at the far post to push it well clear as a Stoke man charged in. He receives congratulations from a couple of teammates.

07 A good, strong, cheer-raising challenge from Lenihan sees the ball fly downfield at high speed.

08 Good, high pressing from Rovers.

Neat back-flick into our half from Stoke but Travis stops that nonsense by pulling Brown back by his shirt! Lucky not to get a yellow card for that. Fortunately they stuff up the free-kick by fouling Diaz when it looked dangerous.

10 Wharton puts through a glorious length of the field pass into the inside left channel for Diaz to chase. The keeper comes out to meet him and from 20m Diaz tries to bend the ball round him with the outside of his right foot. Sadly it bends too much, missing the right post by a metre or so. A good run but, on his current form, a slightly disappointing finish.

11 More good pressing from Rovers and Khadra forces Stoke to concede a throw-in. 

12 Nice distribution from van Hecke finds Buckley on halfway. He goes on a good run and squares the ball to Rothwell who tries a shot from 25m. It’s a poor effort and way off-target.

13 More good pressing, this time Buckley forces the hurried clearance.

15 Travis wins the ball in midfield and Buckley takes it up gliding past the Stoke man with ease. Diaz is in acres of space to the left but Buckley’s pass is poor and intercepted.

Rothwell wins the ball in midfield and Travis takes it on before squaring to Diaz just outside the box. He nutmegs the defender who then crashes into him and both fall to the floor. No foul but the commentators are incredulous, Mowbray appeals with arms widespread.

17 Nyambe gives the ball away and Stoke attack. They make their way into the box and Lenihan gets his foot in, allowing Travis to boot clear. Dangerous….all stemming from that sloppy Nyambe pass. 

Lovely long pass by van Hecke and one of the Stoke defenders slips allowing Khadra to take the ball. He gets Nyambe involved on the right wing but the move fizzles out and Stoke clear.

18 Rothwell drives forward from our own half and from 30m slides the perfect ball for Khadra to chase into the box. He tries to lob the ball to the far post where Nyambe is waiting but a defender just gets the slightest of touches to put the full-back off and the ball bounces harmlessly off the top of Nyambe’s head! 

20 Lenihan is winning a lot of aerial challenges. Here goes another one!

22 A long ball comes into the box and a back-pedalling Lenihan heads out but only to a Stoke player. Nyambe, Wharton and Travis are all trying to kick the ball out of the D but the ball refuses to leave! Finally, it rolls back to Vrancic who shoots but he doesn’t catch it cleanly and Kaminski saves comfortably.

23 Another nice long pass from van Hecke finds Diaz on the left wing. He controls well and lays it off to Pickering. Lots of players get touches but it’s not dangerous. Buckley gets the ball just outside the box and tries to glide past several defenders but he loses the ball and the attack collapses.

27 Rothwell picks up the ball on the centre spot and hares downfield leaving 3 or 4 defenders in his wake. He goes to curl the ball into the bottom right corner from the D but it’s comfortably wide. It would have been a fantastic goal but, in truth, it was a disappointing end!

31 Travis tackles from behind 18m out on the Stoke left wing conceding a free-kick. 

Kaminski punches the incoming cross clear.

34 Buckley receives the ball from a throw and goes on a mazy run through Stoke’s half before releasing to Khadra in the D but he is quickly dispossessed

Khadra, on halfway, lobs a lovely long ball to Diaz near the D but he can’t control it and Stoke get the ball back.

36 Rovers are keeping the press on and the home supporters are baying their disapproval at Stoke’s lack of ambition. Great stuff!

38 A lot of poor passes going begging. Travis this time.

39 Buckley and Travis put in weak challenges in our midfield and Stoke move forward. Nyambe intercepts in the box and Lenihan boots clear.

41 We continue to hoof long balls down to Khadra. On this rare occasion we benefit as Khadra is fouled! The free kick comes to nothing, however, as Khadra receives and tries to beat one defender too many.

42 Rothwell receives on halfway and moves forward. He does a nice 1-2 with Khadra before feeding Pickering on the left side of the box. He crosses but it’s just too far ahead of Diaz. Nyambe chases and wins the ball and releases to Khadra but his cross is just too high. Nyambe receives again as we maintain the pressure and he wins a corner. Eventually it all fizzles out as Rothwell is caught offside.

HALF TIME: not a great game of football but I enjoy watching our home-grown players (and the other youngsters) earn their spurs. 

 

46 Lots of short passes as we work our way upfield until that one careless pass ends it all….Travis at fault this time. Stoke storm forwards. When the cross comes in Nyambe chests it down to Kaminski.

49 From a throw-in, Stoke work their way across field to their right wing. The winger cuts inside Pickering and Rothwell is ball-watching as the ball is squared to Sawyers just outside the D. His shot is low and may just have been going in by our left hand post. Kaminski got down well to save it anyway with a full length dive...but he’s injured himself! Corner!

50 The ball comes in and Nyambe is beaten in the air, it’s bouncing around until Wharton hoofs it downfield. The ball comes back and Vrancic on the wing teases Wharton as he approaches the box. Wharton can’t get an effective challenge in but he does enough to put Vrancic off and the shot, from the D, is well wide. Stoke are complaining that Wharton had the last touch. Goal kick.

51 Diaz controls the long ball and lays off to Buckley who tries to beat 2 men but is quickly dispossessed in the centre circle. Buckley chases after the ball and an attempted Stoke clearance hits him and bounces to Khadra halfway in the Stoke half. He controls the ball on his knee and runs forward with 4 defenders around him. Diaz is occupying 2 of them and, from the right edge of the D, he unleashes a fantastic shot low and hard into the back of the net. Out of the blue that one!

55 Kaminski hasn’t recovered from his injury so he’s off and Pears is on.

57 One of Rothwell’s trademark tackles from behind…..conceding a free-kick.

Nice tackle by Buckley on our right wing sends Khadra away but he stands on the ball and possession is lost. Stoke counter-attack. Wharton prevents the cross coming in but it’s a corner. 

All eyes on Pears! Thirteen men in the box! Pears runs to the front post to punch the ball out of play. Good lad. But it’s another corner! They take it short but stuff up and Travis runs it clear. He lays off to Diaz who pushes the ball well into the Stoke half and it’s a kick and chase against 2 defenders. Diaz may not be favourite to get there first but they have to foul him and it’s a free-kick 30m out. Good stuff, that got the fans screaming!

Rothwell puts in a great cross, Wharton goes up but it’s a fraction too high. It falls to Lenihan immediately behind him 1m from the byline, on the edge of the 6 yard box. He strikes the ball first time and I swear it’s going in until Chester, on the goal line, gets something on it to keep it out. Amazing! Lenihan and Diaz calling for a hand-ball penalty but they’re ignored.

61 Buckley wins the ball in Stoke’s half, drives forward and wins a corner.

67 Dolan on, Khadra off.

70 Rothwell puts a lovely long ball down the right wing for Dolan to chase…...Oh! Dolan is easily outpaced by the Stoke man. We don’t often see that! It looked as if Dolan was struggling!

71 Rothwell repeats the same pass to Dolan but this time he’s on his own. He gets a cross in but it’s headed away.

72 Rothwell off, Davenport on.

73 A few nice touches from Buckley recently. Here he flicks a throw-in for Dolan to chase to the byline but Dolan’s offside…...then he gets booked for holding on to the ball.

74 Nice threaded ball down the line from Nyambe for Dolan to chase and this time he isn’t out-paced by Chester. Dolan runs to the box, beats his man and is brought down. Yellow card for Chester. Well done. Pickering’s free-kick is too close to the keeper who collects easily.

78 Travis loses the ball in midfield and Stoke attack. It looks dangerous until Wharton puts in a fine interception off the toes of a Stoke man in our box. 

84 Lenihan takes a free kick just inside Stoke’s half. He flights it beautifully across field to Dolan who controls well and beats his man. He runs into the box but his shot is disappointingly well off target.

86 Buckley picks up the ball just inside the Stoke half, on the right. He draws 3 men towards him before sliding a perfect ball to Diaz in the box. He only has the goalie to beat, from 12m out, but the keeper saves with his knees. Very similar to the situation where he scored the scorcher against Bristol…..but not such a tight angle.

88 Pickering joins Nyambe, both being booked for time-wasting at a throw-in!

89 Buckley sets off on a run but is clattered midway in the Stoke half. Yellow card for Wilmot.

90 Diaz booked for time-wasting. SEVEN nervy minutes of extra time!

93 Stoke work the ball forward and from 40m Tymon whips in a wicked, Buckleyesque ball on to the penalty spot where Vrancic (I think) meets it as van Hecke challenges. Pears had started to come for the cross and was slightly wrong-footed but he makes a great save low down to put the ball over the bar. Van Hecke let the Stoke man get the wrong side of him but maybe managed to put him off a bit!

Lenihan heads away the corner comprehensively! He was fouled too. Rovers fans in full-voice now!

94 Diaz offside. Stoke launch the ball long, a cross comes in and Nyambe heads away. But it comes straight back…...Tymon on the Stoke left flights the ball to the far post where Fletcher rises to beat Wharton and heads square across goal …..it’s panic time in the 6 yard box as Davenport throws himself into the air and misses everything and van Hecke manages to kick clear. Stoke regain possession until Buckley robs Vrancic and sends Dolan scampering down the wing. Eventually Buckley runs it out of play near the corner flag.

95 Travis just fails to pick the pass to send Diaz clear. Rovers looking tired now and it’s boot it as far away as you can time!

A huge roar erupts as the Stoke fans disagree with the Man of the Match award!

97 Full-time whistle! The usual nerve-wracking final few minutes but I enjoyed that. Rovers are turning into a proper, likeable (and young) team but still lots of rough edges.

Edited November 29, 2021 by tonyoz

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Thanks for that Tony. You really capture the ebb and flow of the game. It’s nearly as good as being there. The scores are very revealing as to who are the key players in the team.

[tonyoz]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks for that Tony. You really capture the ebb and flow of the game. It’s nearly as good as being there. The scores are very revealing as to who are the key players in the team.

Thanks for that Tyrone. You know it surprises me that Lenihan gets a fair bit of stick on the boards but the number of incidents he’s involved in is always impressive. Because he’s regularly scoring high on my system I know I’ve consciously been extra strict when allocating his marks in recent games. Buckley had a good game too, he’s starting to live up to his potential. Rothwell did some excellent things but his overall score reflects the fact that he also does quite a few sloppy things too. Pickering and van Hecke were very quiet.

[LeftWinger]

I always find these fascinating - a real good effort.

I've not actually seen the game - but I had heard reports that Travis had played well (contrary to the above score).

I'd be interested to see what people who did see the game thought about Travis compared to the rating above.

As for Lenihan always getting a high score - he's one of those players that is very good 95% of the time, but prone to a major lapse or error. I suggest this scoring system could have getting a high score but still giving away a couple of penalties. Ie. if he gave away two penalties on Saturday, he'd have got -8 on the above system, and still been our second best player, yet people would only remember the fact he gave away two penalties. 

[tonyoz]

43 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

I always find these fascinating - a real good effort.

I've not actually seen the game - but I had heard reports that Travis had played well (contrary to the above score).

I'd be interested to see what people who did see the game thought about Travis compared to the rating above.

As for Lenihan always getting a high score - he's one of those players that is very good 95% of the time, but prone to a major lapse or error. I suggest this scoring system could have getting a high score but still giving away a couple of penalties. Ie. if he gave away two penalties on Saturday, he'd have got -8 on the above system, and still been our second best player, yet people would only remember the fact he gave away two penalties. 

Yes, the system gives only an indication of the contributions, positive or negative of each player. BBD can score a couple of goals and do little else of merit all game……so his overall score will be lower than you might expect. It’s still a fair reflection of his overall contribution………. so it’s not the whole story. I try to comment on all incidents of significance in the game. You can see above that Travis had a mixed bag. He didn’t feature in many serious attacks or critical defensive efforts.

Edited November 29, 2021 by tonyoz

[J*B]

How do your ratings match up to Tony’s superb review? Vote here, scroll down to “ratings”… https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/football/match/717033/stoke-city-blackburn

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, tonyoz said:

Thanks for that Tyrone. You know it surprises me that Lenihan gets a fair bit of stick on the boards but the number of incidents he’s involved in is always impressive. Because he’s regularly scoring high on my system I know I’ve consciously been extra strict when allocating his marks in recent games. Buckley had a good game too, he’s starting to live up to his potential. Rothwell did some excellent things but his overall score reflects the fact that he also does quite a few sloppy things too. Pickering and van Hecke were very quiet.

It never ceases to amaze me reading the comments of people who were actually at the game. Person A will say player X played really well yet person B can say player X was awful ! They can’t both be right.

[BigUts]

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It never ceases to amaze me reading the comments of people who were actually at the game. Person A will say player X played really well yet person B can say player X was awful ! They can’t both be right.

Opinions thought isn't it...which is why everyone has gone made for stats and trying to 'Moneyball' football. It can work, but it can also be deceptive 

[rigger]

22 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It never ceases to amaze me reading the comments of people who were actually at the game. Person A will say player X played really well yet person B can say player X was awful ! They can’t both be right.

In their own minds they can.

[Herbie6590]

10 hours ago, tonyoz said:

PLAYER WATCH v Stoke City

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: 

+5 GOAL 

+4 Excellent play 

+3 Very good play 

+2 Pleasing/good play 

+1 Decent play 

  0 Routine stuff 

 -1 Sloppy play 

 -2 Disappointing/poor play 

 -3 Very poor play 

 -4 Terrible play 

 -5 Own goal 

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. 

 
Ratings       

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = number 

Kaminski (55)           *******  *     10                                  

Nyambe                       **************  ***     14 

Lenihan                        *****************************   ******     33 

Wharton                       *********************  **     29 

van Hecke                    *********  ***     11 

Pickering                      *******  ****     6  

Travis                             ****************  **********    8 

Buckley                         *******************  *****    24     

Rothwell (72)               **********  *****    14   

Khadra (67)                  *******  **     12 

Diaz                                 **********  *******    6 

  

Pears (55)                     **  *     4 

Dolan (67)                     **  ****     -2    

Davenport (72)          **     3

                                                                        

Highlights and Lowlights 

(A justification for the main ratings given above) 

04 There’s not a lot happening so far. Kaminski just put the goal-kick straight out! It must be cold over there as Kaminski’s got his red longjohns on!

06 Vrancic receives the ball in midfield and leaves Travis in his wake. Eventually a cross comes in from the Stoke right wing and Kaminski takes responsibility. He gets a glove on it at the far post to push it well clear as a Stoke man charged in. He receives congratulations from a couple of teammates.

07 A good, strong, cheer-raising challenge from Lenihan sees the ball fly downfield at high speed.

08 Good, high pressing from Rovers.

Neat back-flick into our half from Stoke but Travis stops that nonsense by pulling Brown back by his shirt! Lucky not to get a yellow card for that. Fortunately they stuff up the free-kick by fouling Diaz when it looked dangerous.

10 Wharton puts through a glorious length of the field pass into the inside left channel for Diaz to chase. The keeper comes out to meet him and from 20m Diaz tries to bend the ball round him with the outside of his right foot. Sadly it bends too much, missing the right post by a metre or so. A good run but, on his current form, a slightly disappointing finish.

11 More good pressing from Rovers and Khadra forces Stoke to concede a throw-in. 

12 Nice distribution from van Hecke finds Buckley on halfway. He goes on a good run and squares the ball to Rothwell who tries a shot from 25m. It’s a poor effort and way off-target.

13 More good pressing, this time Buckley forces the hurried clearance.

15 Travis wins the ball in midfield and Buckley takes it up gliding past the Stoke man with ease. Diaz is in acres of space to the left but Buckley’s pass is poor and intercepted.

Rothwell wins the ball in midfield and Travis takes it on before squaring to Diaz just outside the box. He nutmegs the defender who then crashes into him and both fall to the floor. No foul but the commentators are incredulous, Mowbray appeals with arms widespread.

17 Nyambe gives the ball away and Stoke attack. They make their way into the box and Lenihan gets his foot in, allowing Travis to boot clear. Dangerous….all stemming from that sloppy Nyambe pass. 

Lovely long pass by van Hecke and one of the Stoke defenders slips allowing Khadra to take the ball. He gets Nyambe involved on the right wing but the move fizzles out and Stoke clear.

18 Rothwell drives forward from our own half and from 30m slides the perfect ball for Khadra to chase into the box. He tries to lob the ball to the far post where Nyambe is waiting but a defender just gets the slightest of touches to put the full-back off and the ball bounces harmlessly off the top of Nyambe’s head! 

20 Lenihan is winning a lot of aerial challenges. Here goes another one!

22 A long ball comes into the box and a back-pedalling Lenihan heads out but only to a Stoke player. Nyambe, Wharton and Travis are all trying to kick the ball out of the D but the ball refuses to leave! Finally, it rolls back to Vrancic who shoots but he doesn’t catch it cleanly and Kaminski saves comfortably.

23 Another nice long pass from van Hecke finds Diaz on the left wing. He controls well and lays it off to Pickering. Lots of players get touches but it’s not dangerous. Buckley gets the ball just outside the box and tries to glide past several defenders but he loses the ball and the attack collapses.

27 Rothwell picks up the ball on the centre spot and hares downfield leaving 3 or 4 defenders in his wake. He goes to curl the ball into the bottom right corner from the D but it’s comfortably wide. It would have been a fantastic goal but, in truth, it was a disappointing end!

31 Travis tackles from behind 18m out on the Stoke left wing conceding a free-kick. 

Kaminski punches the incoming cross clear.

34 Buckley receives the ball from a throw and goes on a mazy run through Stoke’s half before releasing to Khadra in the D but he is quickly dispossessed

Khadra, on halfway, lobs a lovely long ball to Diaz near the D but he can’t control it and Stoke get the ball back.

36 Rovers are keeping the press on and the home supporters are baying their disapproval at Stoke’s lack of ambition. Great stuff!

38 A lot of poor passes going begging. Travis this time.

39 Buckley and Travis put in weak challenges in our midfield and Stoke move forward. Nyambe intercepts in the box and Lenihan boots clear.

41 We continue to hoof long balls down to Khadra. On this rare occasion we benefit as Khadra is fouled! The free kick comes to nothing, however, as Khadra receives and tries to beat one defender too many.

42 Rothwell receives on halfway and moves forward. He does a nice 1-2 with Khadra before feeding Pickering on the left side of the box. He crosses but it’s just too far ahead of Diaz. Nyambe chases and wins the ball and releases to Khadra but his cross is just too high. Nyambe receives again as we maintain the pressure and he wins a corner. Eventually it all fizzles out as Rothwell is caught offside.

HALF TIME: not a great game of football but I enjoy watching our home-grown players (and the other youngsters) earn their spurs. 

 

46 Lots of short passes as we work our way upfield until that one careless pass ends it all….Travis at fault this time. Stoke storm forwards. When the cross comes in Nyambe chests it down to Kaminski.

49 From a throw-in, Stoke work their way across field to their right wing. The winger cuts inside Pickering and Rothwell is ball-watching as the ball is squared to Sawyers just outside the D. His shot is low and may just have been going in by our left hand post. Kaminski got down well to save it anyway with a full length dive...but he’s injured himself! Corner!

50 The ball comes in and Nyambe is beaten in the air, it’s bouncing around until Wharton hoofs it downfield. The ball comes back and Vrancic on the wing teases Wharton as he approaches the box. Wharton can’t get an effective challenge in but he does enough to put Vrancic off and the shot, from the D, is well wide. Stoke are complaining that Wharton had the last touch. Goal kick.

51 Diaz controls the long ball and lays off to Buckley who tries to beat 2 men but is quickly dispossessed in the centre circle. Buckley chases after the ball and an attempted Stoke clearance hits him and bounces to Khadra halfway in the Stoke half. He controls the ball on his knee and runs forward with 4 defenders around him. Diaz is occupying 2 of them and, from the right edge of the D, he unleashes a fantastic shot low and hard into the back of the net. Out of the blue that one!

55 Kaminski hasn’t recovered from his injury so he’s off and Pears is on.

57 One of Rothwell’s trademark tackles from behind…..conceding a free-kick.

Nice tackle by Buckley on our right wing sends Khadra away but he stands on the ball and possession is lost. Stoke counter-attack. Wharton prevents the cross coming in but it’s a corner. 

All eyes on Pears! Thirteen men in the box! Pears runs to the front post to punch the ball out of play. Good lad. But it’s another corner! They take it short but stuff up and Travis runs it clear. He lays off to Diaz who pushes the ball well into the Stoke half and it’s a kick and chase against 2 defenders. Diaz may not be favourite to get there first but they have to foul him and it’s a free-kick 30m out. Good stuff, that got the fans screaming!

Rothwell puts in a great cross, Wharton goes up but it’s a fraction too high. It falls to Lenihan immediately behind him 1m from the byline, on the edge of the 6 yard box. He strikes the ball first time and I swear it’s going in until Chester, on the goal line, gets something on it to keep it out. Amazing! Lenihan and Diaz calling for a hand-ball penalty but they’re ignored.

61 Buckley wins the ball in Stoke’s half, drives forward and wins a corner.

67 Dolan on, Khadra off.

70 Rothwell puts a lovely long ball down the right wing for Dolan to chase…...Oh! Dolan is easily outpaced by the Stoke man. We don’t often see that! It looked as if Dolan was struggling!

71 Rothwell repeats the same pass to Dolan but this time he’s on his own. He gets a cross in but it’s headed away.

72 Rothwell off, Davenport on.

73 A few nice touches from Buckley recently. Here he flicks a throw-in for Dolan to chase to the byline but Dolan’s offside…...then he gets booked for holding on to the ball.

74 Nice threaded ball down the line from Nyambe for Dolan to chase and this time he isn’t out-paced by Chester. Dolan runs to the box, beats his man and is brought down. Yellow card for Chester. Well done. Pickering’s free-kick is too close to the keeper who collects easily.

78 Travis loses the ball in midfield and Stoke attack. It looks dangerous until Wharton puts in a fine interception off the toes of a Stoke man in our box. 

84 Lenihan takes a free kick just inside Stoke’s half. He flights it beautifully across field to Dolan who controls well and beats his man. He runs into the box but his shot is disappointingly well off target.

86 Buckley picks up the ball just inside the Stoke half, on the right. He draws 3 men towards him before sliding a perfect ball to Diaz in the box. He only has the goalie to beat, from 12m out, but the keeper saves with his knees. Very similar to the situation where he scored the scorcher against Bristol…..but not such a tight angle.

88 Pickering joins Nyambe, both being booked for time-wasting at a throw-in!

89 Buckley sets off on a run but is clattered midway in the Stoke half. Yellow card for Wilmot.

90 Diaz booked for time-wasting. SEVEN nervy minutes of extra time!

93 Stoke work the ball forward and from 40m Tymon whips in a wicked, Buckleyesque ball on to the penalty spot where Vrancic (I think) meets it as van Hecke challenges. Pears had started to come for the cross and was slightly wrong-footed but he makes a great save low down to put the ball over the bar. Van Hecke let the Stoke man get the wrong side of him but maybe managed to put him off a bit!

Lenihan heads away the corner comprehensively! He was fouled too. Rovers fans in full-voice now!

94 Diaz offside. Stoke launch the ball long, a cross comes in and Nyambe heads away. But it comes straight back…...Tymon on the Stoke left flights the ball to the far post where Fletcher rises to beat Wharton and heads square across goal …..it’s panic time in the 6 yard box as Davenport throws himself into the air and misses everything and van Hecke manages to kick clear. Stoke regain possession until Buckley robs Vrancic and sends Dolan scampering down the wing. Eventually Buckley runs it out of play near the corner flag.

95 Travis just fails to pick the pass to send Diaz clear. Rovers looking tired now and it’s boot it as far away as you can time!

A huge roar erupts as the Stoke fans disagree with the Man of the Match award!

97 Full-time whistle! The usual nerve-wracking final few minutes but I enjoyed that. Rovers are turning into a proper, likeable (and young) team but still lots of rough edges.

I’m not the first to make this observation, but this kind of insight (whilst subjective) I find utterly fascinating 👍🏻

[LeftWinger]

Just on Lenihan - it's also worth noting that we've only won 6 games in the last 3.5 years when he's not started (out of 30 games)

[Wheelton Blue]

12 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

Just on Lenihan - it's also worth noting that we've only won 6 games in the last 3.5 years when he's not started (out of 30 games)

Yet some posters think we can pull a replacement for Lenihan straight off the shelf in January!!!

[rigger]

6 minutes ago, Wheelton Blue said:

Yet some posters think we can pull a replacement for Lenihan straight off the shelf in January!!!

Wharton is already here. Within two more seasons I expect to see Ash Phillips challenging for that position. The club will hope Ayala will remain fit enough to fill in when needed, in the mean time.

[tonyoz]

1 hour ago, Herbie6590 said:

I’m not the first to make this observation, but this kind of insight (whilst subjective) I find utterly fascinating 👍🏻

Thanks Herbie, I do try to be objective, of course, but we all have our flaws! When I started doing this I didn’t use numbers, only the coloured stars. Then I thought I would experiment and try to be more quantitative by creating a scale where positive and negative contributions could be measured against each other. I mean I tried to make a +4 event as good as the -4 event is bad! For those interested I use the following guidelines to make my decisions as objective as possible:

+4.    Assist or creates excellent goal chance, wins penalty…………..goal saving block or tackle

-4.     Misses open goal or penalty………….concedes penalty or clear scoring opportunity

It can never be perfect but, over a full game, I hope it gives a fair reflection of a player’s overall contribution to the match.

[joey_big_nose]

Lenihan is an absolute top player for us, always has been. I've been surprised that we've been able to hold onto him okay. He's only ever really attracted premier league interest from Sheff Utd a couple of years back. He's good in the air, committed, physical, reasonably quick, leads, can get forward, chips in with goals. Only real major concern is his positioning where he gets caught out pretty often. But at our level I think we can live with it, and that's probably why he's still in the Championship.

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by joey_big_nose

[Wheelton Blue]

45 minutes ago, rigger said:

Wharton is already here. Within two more seasons I expect to see Ash Phillips challenging for that position. The club will hope Ayala will remain fit enough to fill in when needed, in the mean time.

Lenihan is key right now though, especially if Mowbray keeps with 3 at the back.

To replace Lenihan in January, with someone who could slot in, is a tall ask IMO 

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Wheelton Blue said:

Lenihan is key right now though, especially if Mowbray keeps with 3 at the back.

To replace Lenihan in January, with someone who could slot in, is a tall ask IMO 

I agree entirely. The point I was trying to make, was that if Lenihan does leave in January, I don't think he will be replaced. I think that the defence will be cobbled together with what resources that we already have. 

[bazza]

6 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Just on Lenihan - it's also worth noting that we've only won 6 games in the last 3.5 years when he's not started (out of 30 games)

In a way it reminds me of our great Prem days where we won most games with him in and were struggling most games with him out.  Who?  Mark Atkins.

[ossyian]

Yes it's not always the high profile players

 Every team needs a Mark Atkins style to win owt. He was our Vieira  or Scholes type really. He did it to perfection that season. He was our hard man in centre mid

 

[tonyoz]

7 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Just on Lenihan - it's also worth noting that we've only won 6 games in the last 3.5 years when he's not started (out of 30 games)

That is a cracking statistic!

5 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

He's good in the air, committed, physical, reasonably quick, leads, can get forward, chips in with goals. Only real major concern is his positioning where he gets caught out pretty often. But at our level I think we can live with it, and that's probably why he's still in the Championship.

He’s a leader alright…I also think he’s learnt a lot from Ayala. He does have a tendency to want to get involved with everything though so sometimes gets drawn out….but that too can often end up being positive as he rushes in to clean up up other people’s problems. Of course, when it doesn’t work, it’s not so good!

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, tonyoz said:

That is a cracking statistic!

He’s a leader alright…I also think he’s learnt a lot from Ayala. He does have a tendency to want to get involved with everything though so sometimes gets drawn out….but that too can often end up being positive as he rushes in to clean up up other people’s problems. Of course, when it doesn’t work, it’s not so good!

 

That’s his main failing - he’s too easily drawn to the ball. 

[tonyoz]

Just for fun…….here is an earlier effort for a Stoke away day……….some may remember it as the Peter Crouch show!

Oh! And look out for that man Lenihan!

 

 

Posted September 24, 2018 

A great team performance. Sure, there will be individual mistakes but it’s great to see the rest of the team put their bodies on the line to relieve the pressure!

An assessment of player performance v Stoke 

Each player was judged on the following criteria:

Instance of excellent play                                     *

Instance of decent/good play                              *

Instance of disappointing/poor play                   *

Instance of terrible play                                        *                                                       E&OE

 

Ratings

 

Raya                   *            **                                                    ****                               *

Nyambe            *             ********                                       *****                             *

Lenihan             ***         ******************                 ******                          *

Williams                            *****************                   **                   

Bell                                    ********                                        *****                            *                          

Smallwood        *             *******                                          **                        

Evans                  ***          ********                                        **

Bennett             **            **************                                                                  *

Reed₍₇₈₎              *              *******                                          **

Dack₍₈₃₎              **            ************                               ***                                  *              

Graham₍₈₃₎            *****         **************                           **                        

 

Rothwell₍₇₈₎                        **                                                                                             *

Brereton₍₈₃₎                        *                                                       *            

Armstrong₍₈₃₎                     *                                                       *            

 

Highlights and Lowlights

(A justification for the main ratings above)

 

6.             Bennett is filling in at left back but his short pass puts Bell under pressure. He gets the ball back and retreats dangerously into the box. His attempted clearance is poor and Stoke knock the ball back into the box towards Ince but Lenihan saves the day with a great interception. 

13.      Ince turns Bell inside out in the box and crosses dangerously. Fortunately Allen couldn’t react quickly enough and pushes the ball past the post. Goal kick and a real let-off!

21.          Some impressively persistent play by Nyambe when twice he keeps the ball in play and keeps the attack alive…..but Dack is closed down.

22.          Unnecessary bobbling back pass from Smallwood puts Raya under a bit of pressure and he slices the ball into the crowd. 

26.          Excellent multi-player move! Bell takes the throw, Dack nutmegs a Stoke man, nice interaction between Smallwood and Bennett and the ball is pumped into the corner for Graham. Graham does brilliantly to hold off his man and lay off to Bell, Bennett and Reed are involved again and finally Smallwood pushes the ball into the box. It’s deflected but Dack is on it, he holds off the defender and sweeps the ball into the net off the right post! 

30.      Outrageous but wonderful dummy by Graham. Nice, one-touch football by everyone!

33.      Noticeable that right now…..everyone is chasing everything!

33.      Also interesting here; one sloppy pass can lead to danger! Smallwood’s pass to Nyambe is just too short, he can’t control it, Reed tries to help but Diouf sprints away from them both. It looks dangerous but Evans and Reed and Nyambe all get back to crowd the Stoke man out. Real teamwork! The ball still comes back into the Rovers box, however, but guess who’s there to head away? Danny Graham! He then sprints out to slide tackle the ball into touch. Even TM is applauding!

35.      Nyambe fails to prevent the cross, Lenihan’s header is weak, Evans manages to prod the ball away, the ball comes back though. Evans wins the ball well but his pass puts Graham under pressure. He tries a dragback on the edge of the box and loses the ball! Panic time! Reed does well to harass the Stoke man out of the box but back they come. This time Williams does the clean-up. Phew!

37.      Stoke corner………….the ball is headed away by Graham but it sits up nicely for the Stoke man. Evans and Nyambe hurl their bodies into harm’s way and Evans blocks the shot! Bennett flies after the rebound and Stoke are forced back to the keeper. Great to see the commitment!

42.      At the moment, Evans is very noticeable because of his constant harrying.

43.      Bennett launches the perfect, long ball downfield, Graham springs the offside trap and he’s away. Beautiful, professional, one on one finish; sweeping the ball into the net. What a game Danny’s having!

45.      Graham shows great control as he lays off a long free kick to Bell. Williams hits a long ball downfield, Bennett controls on his chest then slides the sweetest of balls into the box for Dack. Dack squares the ball to Reed who manages to move his feet fast enough to put the ball in the net! 

Commentator’s quote “Surely that puts this game to bed!” Stoke fans’ boos echo round the ground.

49.         Bennett is dispossessed and the cross comes in. Great positioning by Lenihan to head behind for a corner. Goal-saving effort.

51.         Stoke corner. Raya comes but makes minimal contact. Cleaned up by Lenihan again.

52.         Fantastic commitment under pressure from Lenihan on the edge of the box as he hurls his head at a dangerous, incoming ball. The ref calls it a foul!!! Speechless! 

The free kick is punched away by Raya but it doesn’t leave the box and needs Evans and Lenihan yet again to throw their bodies at the incoming shot.

54.         Dack sticks in a foot to break up an attack. Graham carries the ball into Stoke’s half and lays an exquisite ball through to Dack in the D. His shot is saved and his follow-up hits the post. He’s gotta get one of those!

              Stoke swarm downfield, Bell doesn’t cover his man and the cross ping-pongs around. Williams and Bennett manage to frustrate the attack. 

59.         37 year old, 6’7” Crouch on! He has immediate impact heading down the first corner. Dack miskicks, Williams miskicks, then Dack falls over and the ball is fired over the bar! Blind panic!

61.         Bell is done on his inside again and Smallwood has to hurl himself forward to block the shot.

63.         Good collect by Raya as Allen crosses into the box.

69.         Berahino drops his shoulder and foxes Bell completely. More ping-pong until Smallwood smashes the ball downfield.

72.         Olés from the Rovers fans!

74.         For goodness sake! Another pointless overhit free kick from Raya straight to the Stoke goalie.

75.         Commentators are talking about the stream of Stoke fans leaving the ground. Am I imagining it……or are the Rovers players starting to look a bit complacent?

78.         A long ball into the box, Crouch beats Nyambe and heads down, Lenihan misses it, Berahino beats Williams to the ball and bundles it into the net. Raya is totally wrong-footed.

79.         A lovely ball into the Rovers box, floats over Lenihan, Williams tries to cover by throwing himself at the ball but Berahino crosses, Bell sticks out a leg but Ince scores. Flipping heck! Share the blame between that lot. Cool heads needed!

81.         Etobo skins Nyambe and gets to the line in the box. His cross is met by Crouch’s head 3m out. The ball hits Raya’s chest but I don’t think he knew much about it. Evans clears off the line and Lenihan boots it clear!! At least, that’s my take on it. I only have one camera angle! The stadium is on fire! Dack is injured. Pandemonium!

87.         Shawcross is winning every header since Graham went off!

89.         Long ball into the Rovers box, Lenihan pushes over Berahino. PENALTY!! Berahino smashes the ball against the crossbar!!!!!!!!!! 

As a sidenote…….. from the clearance, Brereton has the chance to do a Graham and relieve pressure but instead he falls over!

91.         Stoke corner…..Raya comes for it and catches………..Worth a * at this stage!

94.         Armstrong plays a nice ball out of defence to Rothwell………………Rovers have  2 on 1. Brereton makes his run but Rothwell’s ball is terrible and Stoke have the ball.

96.         Final whistle but I can’t see any huge beaming smiles…………….I think it’s just sheer relief!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Sounds like we endured a real siege in the second half.

[tonyoz]

9 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Sounds like we endured a real siege in the second half.

It was a cracker……..3-0 up and cruising…..that smug happy feeling. Then Crouch comes on and creates mayhem. 3-2 and they get a penalty! Lucky escape. Danny Graham at his most effective that night.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, tonyoz said:

It was a cracker……..3-0 up and cruising…..that smug happy feeling. Then Crouch comes on and creates mayhem. 3-2 and they get a penalty! Lucky escape. Danny Graham at his most effective that night.

I had it in my head it was a Saturday afternoon game ?