Championship - 22-23

[XLM]

9 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I don't think it is about luck and I don't think in the main that our confidence has led to any more of an attacking threat. We have also gradually lost our earlier ability under Tomasson in which our game management was excellent, indeed that has become a weakness. We had collected 5 points in 9 games prior to yesterday so I couldn't justify an opinion that we are know one of the top 6 sides in the league.

I think a lot of both seasons has coincided with Brereton and his form. Last season, he thrived in that 3 at the back formation and his injury really knocked us off stride and even when he returned he wasnt the same. This season his form has gone off the boil. The worry in both seasons is the inability of the supporting cast to step up. We need to not only replace him which will be impossible but also add more goalscorers and I fear aided with no money and a director of football with more questions than answers that the necessary attacking overhaul will not arrive.

We weren't the second best side in the league going into the world cup break. We put up some awful performances and got swept away by some crap teams. But somehow we were managing to win any game where we weren't blown out.

In the 4 games prior to yesterday we could easily have had 7 more points with the exact same performances, exact same games but with more luck or correct refereeing decisions in the last minute of each. Had those gone our way we'd be 4th. They didn't and on balance of the season I think that probably evened out.

Looking beyond the results I am confident in saying we are better now than we were at the start of the season. Better than we were when we were in second. That's the difference. The coach has actually improved the team.

Hopefully we'll get the chance to see that improvement bear fruit next season.

[roversfan99]

48 minutes ago, XLM said:

We weren't the second best side in the league going into the world cup break. We put up some awful performances and got swept away by some crap teams. But somehow we were managing to win any game where we weren't blown out.

In the 4 games prior to yesterday we could easily have had 7 more points with the exact same performances, exact same games but with more luck or correct refereeing decisions in the last minute of each. Had those gone our way we'd be 4th. They didn't and on balance of the season I think that probably evened out.

Looking beyond the results I am confident in saying we are better now than we were at the start of the season. Better than we were when we were in second. That's the difference. The coach has actually improved the team.

Hopefully we'll get the chance to see that improvement bear fruit next season.

The lack of recent thrashings is a fair point but equally in the first half of the season, the team managed games so well and that is not an ability that has remained. You can go through any historical games and say if x and y happened but the results ultimately are what matters.

Don't get me wrong, happy with Tomasson, want him to take us forward and there are certain recent developments to cling on. Rankin Costello playing as a marauding right back and Adam Wharton establishing himself being 2 stand outs.

It is a strange one, we have clearly started implementing a style, but the question is whether it will suit us. We don't get battered as much, and when we are on it we look better. But equally, we don't have the same level of control when in the lead. I also don't think we create many chances still in the most part.

[speeeeeeedie]

59 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I don't think it is about luck and I don't think in the main that our confidence has led to any more of an attacking threat. We have also gradually lost our earlier ability under Tomasson in which our game management was excellent, indeed that has become a weakness. We had collected 5 points in 9 games prior to yesterday so I couldn't justify an opinion that we are know one of the top 6 sides in the league.

I think a lot of both seasons has coincided with Brereton and his form. Last season, he thrived in that 3 at the back formation and his injury really knocked us off stride and even when he returned he wasnt the same. This season his form has gone off the boil. The worry in both seasons is the inability of the supporting cast to step up. We need to not only replace him which will be impossible but also add more goalscorers and I fear aided with no money and a director of football with more questions than answers that the necessary attacking overhaul will not arrive.

I'm with XLM; Rovers did get better as the season went on; cohesion, system, and confidence all improved. Although they weren't as the points don't lie. 

Rovers prior to Christmas were a topsy turvy team. Winning games by fluking it (Brum at home), playing awful in others and getting stuffed (Wigan away), no draws. All whilst playing ridiculously risky play it out from the back football. 

5 points from the last 9 was the undoing, yet Rovers looked the better side in every game bar Norwich at home.

Rovers were also better than Sheffield Utd in the cup. 

It's a real head scratcher. 

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, speeeeeeedie said:

I'm with XLM; Rovers did get better as the season went on; cohesion, system, and confidence all improved. Although they weren't as the points don't lie. 

Rovers prior to Christmas were a topsy turvy team. Winning games by fluking it (Brum at home), playing awful in others and getting stuffed (Wigan away), no draws. All whilst playing ridiculously risky play it out from the back football. 

5 points from the last 9 was the undoing, yet Rovers looked the better side in every game bar Norwich at home.

Rovers were also better than Sheffield Utd in the cup. 

It's a real head scratcher. 

My question would be whether transitioning into a possession side will indeed ever lead to more points over the course of a season.

I would say (obviously its subjective) but we do look more cohesive as a side passing it out now than when we started doing it. Less risks taken out the back, seemingly more possession and it looks smoother, but going up against sometimes more well resourced sides, will their quality not more than not show? And equally, I feel like (towards of the end of yesterday for example, when Millwall had to come back out, that 4th goal was superb) we are more threatening when when he hit teams on the counter.

[davulsukur]

"Young squad"

"Shouldn't have been anywhere near there in the first place" 

"Transition season"

Etc.

Sunderland were in for 18 days according to the comments.

No one is telling me this wasn't a bottle job.

[XLM]

I'm not sure I agree with us having less control when we've been in the lead. The two recent example of Preston and Coventry, they didn't look like they were going to score playing for weeks until the two fluke goals. Those could just as easily have happened earlier in the season but didn't. That's kind of what I mean about the luck evening itself out.

If we'd carried on as we had at the start of the season, with no progress and still ended up where we did, I'd be much less optimistic for next season.

I think the style we've adopted - or I'd argue what was always the plan and that we've started to look like we can execute on - does suit us. How many times in the last few years have we bemoaned not being able to break teams down who have come to Ewood for a point? I can see us working towards overcoming that and actually creating chances when we're dominating the ball. We're still good on the counter, but if you want to be a top side in any league that's rarely enough. It means you've always got to score early. Concede the first goal and you're screwed (as we were for 3/4 of the season).

[chaddyrovers]

28 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

My question would be whether transitioning into a possession side will indeed ever lead to more points over the course of a season.

Why wouldn't it? 

28 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I would say (obviously its subjective) but we do look more cohesive as a side passing it out now than when we started doing it. Less risks taken out the back, seemingly more possession and it looks smoother, but going up against sometimes more well resourced sides, will their quality not more than not show? And equally, I feel like (towards of the end of yesterday for example, when Millwall had to come back out, that 4th goal was superb) we are more threatening when when he hit teams on the counter.

City are possession based team but still hits teams on the counter through fast transition play 

[K-Hod]

I suppose the irony of our season, we were near the top of the league when probably not playing that well.

But then when we played a lot better and cohesively, it ultimately led to a lot less points…

[booth]

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

We had a 16 goal striker and still didn't make it.

Yes of course, we needed another.

Someone who actually played as a striker, not out wide, you know to nod those crosses in that Gallagher didn't.

It's not rocket science. 16 goals separated us from the play offs. Other contenders had two or three goalscorers they could rely on.

[roversfan99]

5 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Why wouldn't it? 

City are possession based team but still hits teams on the counter through fast transition play 

Exactly, City. Point being, do we have the players to be able to both dominate possession and convert that into wins? Until that happens, that question remains. Playing possession football does not always work and thus far, it hasn't improved our results.

[booth]

3 hours ago, phili said:

I see he is now saying it's never too early to gain promotion to the premier league, which is surprising after saying he had to calm Venky's down from going for a double promotion as we would be promoted too early in the journey. As we all know Venky's then lost interest.

What a total wanker. As I said at the time, he got cosy here with no interest of promotion. He was happy with mediocrity as long as Venkys were happy to pay him for it.

[DE.]

12 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

I suppose the irony of our season, when we were near the top of the league when probably not playing that well.

But then when we played a lot better and cohesively, it ultimately led to a lot less points…

Looking at it objectively, it all comes down to BBD's form. If it hadn't completely nosedived in the second half of the season we would have gotten over the line easily. He didn't even need to score another 14 - another 8-10 would have been enough. From January until the final game of the season he managed three goals. Scoring two more in the final game was far too late.

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, DE. said:

Looking at it objectively, it all comes down to BBD's form. If it hadn't completely nosedived in the second half of the season we would have gotten over the line easily. He didn't even need to score another 14 - another 8-10 would have been enough. From January until the final game of the season he managed three goals. Scoring two more in the final game was far too late.

Says so much about everyone else in our attack that hasn't had the quality to score either.

[chaddyrovers]

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

Exactly, City. Point being, do we have the players to be able to both dominate possession and convert that into wins? Until that happens, that question remains. Playing possession football does not always work and thus far, it hasn't improved our results.

I think we suit playing this way and we seen improvement how we play and look much better playing this way 

[roversfan99]

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

I think we suit playing this way and we seen improvement how we play and look much better playing this way 

How we look is subjective, results are objective and they haven't improved over the course of the development of our passing "style."

[DE.]

17 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Says so much about everyone else in our attack that hasn't had the quality to score either.

That's a big part of it too. With BBD reverting to BB we had nobody to step up. All we really needed was three or four more goals from anyone across our range of attacking options and it would have been enough. Instead the best we could ever manage was a single goal in almost every match from January onwards. When you look as goals conceded in that time we were doing fine, so the defence can't really take the blame. It's all on our piss poor attackers collectively failing to put the ball in the net.

Edited May 9, 2023 by DE.

[Darrenbot]

Playing pretty football and staying in the championship or fluking wins and getting promoted,i know which half of the season i'd like repeated for 46 games

[roverandout]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65527827

 

Cnut

[K-Hod]

4 minutes ago, roverandout said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65527827

 

Cnut

It’s been covered already, but the ‘it’s never too soon to get to the PL’ line was the kicker. The polar opposite of what he said when here, when the club wanted to get promoted in their own time…

That said, I don’t think that guy is the word you suggested. He’d gone stale here and a parting of the ways was the best all around, in fairness.

[AllRoverAsia]

7 minutes ago, roverandout said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65527827

 

Cnut

I so want him buried in Luton.

A mouthy bellend

Edited May 9, 2023 by AllRoverAsia

[roversfan99]

Again, I don't get too caught up in every word a manager said, they all follow the same script. He was probably saying things to try and reflect well back in India which in turn improves his job security. No way did he have loads of money on the table and said no. Conversely, he also said some nice things about our players here:

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/23510587.sunderland-tony-mowbray-admits-middlesbrough-blackburn-surprise/

[roverandout]

21 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

It’s been covered already, but the ‘it’s never too soon to get to the PL’ line was the kicker. The polar opposite of what he said when here, when the club wanted to get promoted in their own time…

That said, I don’t think that guy is the word you suggested. He’d gone stale here and a parting of the ways was the best all around, in fairness.

He's a grade A cnut. I couldn't find which thread it was discussed on so I put it on here. He used rovers to line his pockets then as soon as he was under pressure from a 'bigger' Club he changed his attitude 

[booth]

29 minutes ago, roverandout said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65527827

 

Cnut

Digging a hole, or is it the five years of shite he spouted?

[roverandout]

Just now, booth said:

Digging a hole, or is it the five years of shite he spouted?

He looks even more hideous in this picture 

[Exiled_Rover]

3 hours ago, davulsukur said:

"Young squad"

"Shouldn't have been anywhere near there in the first place" 

"Transition season"

Etc.

Sunderland were in for 18 days according to the comments.

No one is telling me this wasn't a bottle job.

You say bottle job, I say we've got the ghost of Brereton-Diaz, Gallagher, Hedges and Dolan upfront.