v QPR (h) - 30/7/22

[ItsRoverZ]

Honestly feels so f**King good to win and the football season is back!!! 

[Josh]

Hopefully just a case of it being the first game of the season but there was a tendency to pass the ball (usually a bad pass) rather than be more brave and run into the massive spaces in front of them. Hedges, Gallagher & Buckley did this a few times, Brereton on a couple of occasions too 

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

9 minutes ago, Darwen Rover 007 said:

Good performance given the players we have lost.

Hedges my man of the match, definitely felt like more Hernandez than a Hedges today!

Watched on the telly but thought Hedges was poor tbh - as was Gallagher.  Thought Dolan offered more when he came on.  BBD looked dangerous in flashes but wasn't involved enough.  

Pickering wasn't great and Kaminski was shaky.  The 2 CBS and Brittain did very well.

Midfield - tidy and great goal from Trav.  Buckley got better but was lucky to still be on the pitch after 15 mins. 

 

Overall then decent defensively but didn't think the forward players linked up well at all.  Team lacks creativity and pace.

 

Given the lack of signings, I'd have snapped your hand off for a win - so hats off to JDT.

 

As an aside, I struggled to see what JDT's philosophy is based in that game.  Looked disjointed to me. 

Still, it's early days.

 

 

[RevidgeBlue]

Great three points, some encouraging signs, but we'll have to play better as the season goes on.

Buckley played well but was a very lucky boy on 27 mins, already on a yellow he needlessly pulled someone back in the centre circle. The ref reached into his back pocket then realised he was already on a yellow and let him off. Most refs would have said "Tough shit mate!".

Thought Wharton and Ayala were the best two performers today, very impressive I thought. Travis and Brittain were decent, didn't realise Lewis had a shot like that in him. Thought Dolan was very good when he came on.

Negatives for me were Pickering, very shaky defensively and seems to have lost all his confidence when he gets the chance to go forward, opting to check back instead. And Gallagher, JFHC, even by his usual standards he was atrocious. Only JDT knows how he stayed on the pitch 90 mins. If I'd had a fiver for every time he gave the ball away I wouldn't need to work for the rest of the week. And the guy marking him was about 5 ft 8 and got the better of him nearly every time.

Just remembered: Thunderstruck before the game! Great stuff - keep it up!

[Butty]

You can’t knock three points on the opening day, delighted with that. Today showed though how much investment this team needs IF we want to have a go, if we’re happy enough being mid table plodders this season then I think that’s what this team will get. COYB

[simongarnerisgod]

very happy we hunted the ball down quickly when we lost it,still needs 4 players minimum imo

pickering is ok defensively but offers nothing go forward,no good in the modern game

impressed with brittain

not going to comment about gallagher out wide😡other than to say it`s f*****k stupid having a 6"4 c/f on the wing when 5"4 dolan is in the middle(who did very well when he came tbf)

[Sweaty Gussets]

 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Main plus points of the top of my head...

Ayala & Wharton easily our best centre back pairing since Dann & Hanley

Brittain (on this performance alone!) the most complete RB/RWB we've had since Emerton (actually reminded me a lot of Emerton in his build, style of play and energy levels)

Great goal for Travis obviously and generally very good display, he was absolutely exhausted by the final whistle

Hedges really good technical ability on the ball, didn't offer much off it but was always making himself available (technically got the assist with the nod down to Travis)

 

Overall we started off pretty slow and played deeper than im sure JDT wanted, but as the game went on we pushed higher and made qpr look very poor even though our passing was generally pretty sloppy(hopefully that's mostly just down to it being the first game back) for a first game of the season with a new manager that's only been here a month can't really complain, just need  to strengthen a few positions and we should do well.

 

One clear negative from me!   

If Jason Lowe did Left backs....  Harry Pickering.

(And I'm actually disappointed to say that because I thought he had more to offer, but on that performance I cant see it)

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Armchair supporter supremo

[Paul Mani]

Encouraging start….very obvious way of playing with a narrow, rotating front four with width from the fullback areas.

Standout performance for me was Hedges. Someone on here said he has a touch of the El Hadj Diouf’s about him and I fully agree. Could be a welcome surprise this season. Buckley, Wharton, Brittain, Ayala and Trav all very good. BBD and Vale fairly quiet whilst Pickering and Gally struggled all match.

JPvH, Styles, Szmodics, Morton and Bowler asap please!…and that’s before we lose BBD. We’ll need another two forwards to replace him! 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Paul Mani

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Reet enjoyed that this afternoon. Talking to those in the Black Bull pre-game, concerned at the loss of two good CB's, but Ayala, and Scotty were excellent. Brittain has something.

Up front a bit spineless today, and needed a corker from the Captain. QPR, save for hitting the crossbar early on, were fairly awful. 

You can see JDT wants one/two touch quick football. So refreshing after TM's turgid rubbish. I'll take that!

[joey_big_nose]

2 minutes ago, Butty said:

You can’t knock three points on the opening day, delighted with that. Today showed though how much investment this team needs IF we want to have a go, if we’re happy enough being mid table plodders this season then I think that’s what this team will get. COYB

I'd essentially say the team we put out today is as good as last season's. So by definition should be in the mix for the playoffs really. If we could add one real quality central striker then that would make a big difference. And then we know Ayala is going to spend a lot of time injured so we need backup there. Left back would be good. And some sort of midfield enforcer as backup for Travis as it's a big ask for Edun or Garrett to step up.

Ive heard quite a lot of people say we should expect lower table, mid table. But I don't really see why we can't continue to expect playoffs. The core of a good squad is there, with more young talent coming in and it seems money to spend.

[Giant]

15 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Just remembered: Thunderstruck before the game! Great stuff - keep it up!

Especially with the PA system on at full belt! Some good tunes to set up the win.

[Mattyblue]

6 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Please can the previous PA announcer be back in situ  🙏 

Prayers answered 🤲 

[tomphil]

Good effort today and good win against a side who'll be around the top 8 probably.

Bit too much of the possession obsession again though which doesn't suit a lot of our players although it covers the defence well.  Also a bit worrying a few of them looking so knackered the last ten mins in the first game !

Hopefully JDT gets to grips with these things as time goes on, can't complain though a nice 3 points already.

[Sweaty Gussets]

2 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

ve heard quite a lot of people say we should expect lower table, mid table. But I don't really see why we can't continue to expect playoffs. The core of a good squad is there, with more young talent coming in and it seems money to spend.

Agreed. In the Championship you can probably name the top 3 and bottom 3. The rest is up for grabs by practically anyone. No reason why we can't make the Top 6 if we manage to get 3 or 4 quality signings in in the next few weeks. 

[Armchair supporter supremo]

7 minutes ago, Giant said:

Especially with the PA system on at full belt! Some good tunes to set up the win.

That would probably be my biggest grip of the afternoon to be honest🙈  There's absolutely no reason for the music/pa system to be that fkin loud, you literally couldn't here the person next to you speaking, just completely unnecessary and mind numbing, drowns out all the atmosphere in the ground

Edited July 30, 2022 by Armchair supporter supremo

[arbitro]

Great start to the Tomasson era with lots of glimpses of how he wants us to play. Really good intensity, quick incisive passing and good movement. There were times when the levels we all want to see dropped off and QPR had a couple of decent spells but overall it was comfortable. The biggest thing for me was the collective work rate as every player put a real shift in. At the final whistle several of our players dropped to their knees in what looked like sheer exhaustion to me - exactly what I want to see from a Rovers team. For me Hedges was our stand out player but not far behind were Buckley and Travis. Our centre halves were generally comfortable in possession and dealing with the lively QPR strikers. But the result is the main thing and I'm genuinely enthused after what I saw pre season and today. Tomasson is clearly looking to play a certain way and it might take time but the early signs are for me really positive.

[Sweaty Gussets]

Radio Lancashire - Listen Live - BBC Sounds

JDT starts speaking about 54 mins in

Edited July 30, 2022 by Sweaty Gussets

[J*B]

Get yer player ratings in folks on the BRFCS match centre, sponsored by The Rovers Trust! Click the ratings tab on the below link:

https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/football/match/874672/blackburn-qpr

[Sweaty Gussets]

4 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Great start to the Tomasson era with lots of glimpses of how he wants us to play. Really good intensity, quick incisive passing and good movement. There were times when the levels we all want to see dropped off and QPR had a couple of decent spells but overall it was comfortable. The biggest thing for me was the collective work rate as every player put a real shift in. At the final whistle several of our players dropped to their knees in what looked like sheer exhaustion to me - exactly what I want to see from a Rovers team. For me Hedges was our stand out player but not far behind were Buckley and Travis. Our centre halves were generally comfortable in possession and dealing with the lively QPR strikers. But the result is the main thing and I'm genuinely enthused after what I saw pre season and today. Tomasson is clearly looking to play a certain way and it might take time but the early signs are for me really positive.

Good to hear. Great start to the JDT era. 

[Exiled_Rover]

3 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

That would probably be my biggest grip of the afternoon to be honest🙈  There's absolutely no reason for the music/pa system to be that fkin loud, you literally couldn't here the person next to you speaking, just completely unnecessary and mind numbing, drowns out all the atmosphere in the ground

I did some work experience with Creatv (the company behind Rovers TV) many years ago. I told them that at the time - you can't hear yourself think in the stands with how loud the PA system is.

Obviously I was ignored. They continue to turn it up to 11. 

[Exiled_Rover]

13 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

I'd essentially say the team we put out today is as good as last season's. So by definition should be in the mix for the playoffs really. If we could add one real quality central striker then that would make a big difference. And then we know Ayala is going to spend a lot of time injured so we need backup there. Left back would be good. And some sort of midfield enforcer as backup for Travis as it's a big ask for Edun or Garrett to step up.

Ive heard quite a lot of people say we should expect lower table, mid table. But I don't really see why we can't continue to expect playoffs. The core of a good squad is there, with more young talent coming in and it seems money to spend.

They can't put in that kind of shift twice a week. Quite a few players were out on their feet at 80 minutes - I think JDT left them on to get 90 minutes into their legs as QPR weren't really threatening. 

We need 3-4 quality additions if we want to do anything this season - LB is a glaring need. 

[arbitro]

I know we advertised recently for a Casual Scoreboard Operator but this bloke today took it literally. He kept the clock going for the additional two minutes at the end of the first half which he shouldn't, was doing the same for the additional three at the end of the game but unfathomably stopped the clock on 92.14.

[WacoRover]

I have to show my game shirt today:

Guess what, I’m wearing it again vs Swans! 

[alex l]

Pickering's confidence looked shot especially in the first half, but one thing I did notice which didn't help him at all is he had no option down the line. Diaz was immediately going infield when Pickering received the ball and nobody was running the channel. Early in the second half BBD ran the line instead and Pickering found him.