Championship - 22-23

[Sparks Rover]

I'm having nightmares about us miraculously reaching the play offs and Morton turning out in the starting 11 v Luton or someone....they'd kill him dead.

[booth]

1 hour ago, Sparks Rover said:

I'm having nightmares about us miraculously reaching the play offs and Morton turning out in the starting 11 v Luton or someone....they'd kill him dead.

Morton and Gallagher in the play offs 😩

If we did make the play offs I'd see it more as progress rather than any belief we could go up. Also a hope that next season JDT may get backed as it must be obvious to Gregg and co that if we had a good midfielder and a goalscorer or two, we'd be challenging for the automatics.

Fingers crossed this is like Souness's first "season" (it was actually only a few months) with Rovers where we had a squad littered with poor players, and the following season we actually go for it thanks to the club backing the manager and bringing in the required players/getting rid of the ones who aren't up to it.

[rigger]

 I have already got my Norwich ticket. My quandary is, do I get a Huddersfield ticket.

[roversfan99]

23 minutes ago, booth said:

Morton and Gallagher in the play offs 😩

If we did make the play offs I'd see it more as progress rather than any belief we could go up. Also a hope that next season JDT may get backed as it must be obvious to Gregg and co that if we had a good midfielder and a goalscorer or two, we'd be challenging for the automatics.

Fingers crossed this is like Souness's first "season" (it was actually only a few months) with Rovers where we had a squad littered with poor players, and the following season we actually go for it thanks to the club backing the manager and bringing in the required players/getting rid of the ones who aren't up to it.

Do you think Luton or Millwall fans have similar thoughts? Look at their squads compared to ours, are they massively different in quality?

[47er]

What's happening at Stoke? Glad we got that fixture out of the way, although we did get battered!

As for Luton, on the few occasions I've watched the on TV Amari Bell has played well!

if that's not good coaching and managing---what is it?

[philipl]

We got fortunate with other results.

But turned five games coming up against rivals into desperately must not lose fixtures.

[booth]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Do you think Luton or Millwall fans have similar thoughts? Look at their squads compared to ours, are they massively different in quality?

No idea, but I do know the two players I highlighted are massively lacking in quality for a play off push.

I find myself comparing the current squad to the promotion squads of 1992 and 2001, and both were far superior with notable strikers in both teams. Speedie, Newell and Wegerley, Jansen, Bent & Hughes - Brereton, Gallagher and Dack.

It's quite amazing this team is still in with a chance.

[simongarnerisgod]

we are still a way from actually looking like a promotion side,i reckon we are 3 players short,i am very optimistic that next season we will have a real go at automatic promotion if jdt is given the financial backing,we are not far away from being a really good side

[Upside Down]

9 hours ago, booth said:

Morton and Gallagher in the play offs 😩

If we did make the play offs I'd see it more as progress rather than any belief we could go up. Also a hope that next season JDT may get backed as it must be obvious to Gregg and co that if we had a good midfielder and a goalscorer or two, we'd be challenging for the automatics.

Fingers crossed this is like Souness's first "season" (it was actually only a few months) with Rovers where we had a squad littered with poor players, and the following season we actually go for it thanks to the club backing the manager and bringing in the required players/getting rid of the ones who aren't up to it.

That will not happen unfortunately. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Not signing a striker and the lad from Forest has crippled us.

[philipl]

Just seen chunks of Boro's defeat at Huddersfield. 

The Boro defending was extremely charitable putting it politely and we have to hope Coventry are in as generous a mood when they come to Ewood as they were playing Stoke onside yesterday.

Conversely, Luton slaughtered Watford.

Edited April 2, 2023 by philipl

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Not signing a striker and the lad from Forest has crippled us.

not really as we are still in the playoffs and still the window closed we are 7th in the form table with 5 wins, 4 draws and 2 lost. So has it crippled us? stats and results would say not

Championship - Form table | Transfermarkt

1 hour ago, philipl said:

Conversely, Luton slaughtered Watford.

good to see Watford doing so poorly. The owners get what they deserved now

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

26 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

not really as we are still in the playoffs and still the window closed we are 7th in the form table with 5 wins, 4 draws and 2 lost. So has it crippled us? stats and results would say not

Championship - Form table | Transfermarkt

good to see Watford doing so poorly. The owners get what they deserved now

My eyes yesterday said it had.

[chaddyrovers]

10 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

My eyes yesterday said it had.

based one game where we didn't that badly and deserved a point at least. 

Surely you based it on period of games not just one game

[Mattyblue]

We’ll see at the end of the season how much the January debacle has cost us. But it’s certainly a big ask to rely on 18-20 year olds alongside Travis to keep us up there, especially with seven games in 22 days coming up.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Mattyblue

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

based one game where we didn't that badly and deserved a point at least. 

Surely you based it on period of games not just one game

We needed some steel in central midfield and we have had  for a while. Plus we needed a predator. The one that flew through the keepers legs and across the goal was a classic example.

[chaddyrovers]

37 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

We needed some steel in central midfield and we have had  for a while. Plus we needed a predator. The one that flew through the keepers legs and across the goal was a classic example.

Put Garrett in then. 

on the striker I think we need someone with pace who will stretch the play and run in behind then if we want to bring in another striker then a different type like target man or fox in the box type. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by chaddyrovers

[Mattyblue]

‘Put Garrett in then’.

Yes, I suppose we can, but it is certainly a failure of recruitment that if want to drop a young loanee, we don’t have a single option to turn to in midfield that isn’t a young academy grad with a handful of games to his name.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Mattyblue

[jim mk2]

Garrett might develop into a decent player but he isn't going to get us over the promotion line at this stage of his career but someone like O'Brien who's been there and done it might have. That's the difference between staying down and going up. 

[roversfan99]

16 hours ago, booth said:

No idea, but I do know the two players I highlighted are massively lacking in quality for a play off push.

I find myself comparing the current squad to the promotion squads of 1992 and 2001, and both were far superior with notable strikers in both teams. Speedie, Newell and Wegerley, Jansen, Bent & Hughes - Brereton, Gallagher and Dack.

It's quite amazing this team is still in with a chance.

Comparing against different standards from different years. The side we had in 2001 was one that finished 19 points ahead of 7th, it was an automatic promotion chasing side in only its second season after relegation, full of Premier League quality. Now we are not even claiming to be chasing tbe top 2, just to get 6th in a poor league. You look at Millwall's side, Ryan Leonard, George Savile, Tom Bradshaw, Duncan Watmore, Luton with Amarii Bell, Jordan Clark who they signed from Stanley, a couple of forwards from Barnsley, they aren't sides packed full of great quality compared to us. Us finishing in the top 6 would certainly be a good achievement but it wouldn't be a miracle even allowing for transfer failings.

[DeeCee]

I'm slightly worried that when AW gets his chance he'll try to hard, if that's a thing? 

Sure you know what I mean 🤦‍♂️

[Hasta]

Relevant Good Friday fixtures:

Millwall v Luton (Sky 12.30)

Rotherham V West Brom (West Brom are just still in it)

QPR V Preston (As we’ve got to play Preston, we don’t want them getting too close)

Swansea V Coventry

Also if Burnley beat Boro they are officially up unless Luton win.

[Mercer]

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Not signing a striker and the lad from Forest has crippled us.

Sadly, IMO, self inflicted wounds.

[booth]

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Comparing against different standards from different years. The side we had in 2001 was one that finished 19 points ahead of 7th, it was an automatic promotion chasing side in only its second season after relegation, full of Premier League quality. Now we are not even claiming to be chasing tbe top 2, just to get 6th in a poor league. You look at Millwall's side, Ryan Leonard, George Savile, Tom Bradshaw, Duncan Watmore, Luton with Amarii Bell, Jordan Clark who they signed from Stanley, a couple of forwards from Barnsley, they aren't sides packed full of great quality compared to us. Us finishing in the top 6 would certainly be a good achievement but it wouldn't be a miracle even allowing for transfer failings.

Where did I say they weren't different standards?

But even so, in both of those squads we still had some poor players just as we do now, the big difference is that we had far superior first choice attacking options which is the point I was making and you seemed to miss.

[roversfan99]

13 minutes ago, booth said:

Where did I say they weren't different standards?

But even so, in both of those squads we still had some poor players just as we do now, the big difference is that we had far superior first choice attacking options which is the point I was making and you seemed to miss.

You said that it is "quite amazing that we are still in with a chance" which is what I disagreed with. Our squad is nothing special but compared to our direct rivals for the play offs, we are not noticeably if at all inferior in quality to those squads.