v Birmingham City (h) 22/10/2022

[joey_big_nose]

7 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Be a difficult team selection, unsure if Ayala is going to be fit but he would come in for Carter if he is. Szmodics pulled up just before going off plus he struggled on the ball the other night. Pickering coming back in may allow for more balance.

Kaminski

Hyam Ayala Wharton

Brittain Morton Wharton Pickering

Hedges Gallagher Brereton

Subs: Pears, Carter, Travis, Garrett, Szmodics, Dack, Markanday

With Carter in for Ayala if necessary.

Why would you want to go back to 343? With that lineup I can see us ending up being out muscled in midfield and the forwards isolated. 

Two wins on the spin with 352, surely we will stick with it.

That said I guess you could have the same lineup but drop Hedges into the middle three... I guess he could do a bit of a Rothwell tribute act thinking about it, playing on the  side of the CM three and carrying the ball? Quite like the sound of that....

                         Kaminski

                 Hyam Ayala Wharton

Brittain Hedges  Morton Wharton Pickering

                   Gallagher Brereton

[bigbrandjohn]

Dack’s back in. Tony has just picked him. 😉

https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/bradley-dack-blackburn-rovers-mowbray-25303006

[roversfan99]

19 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Why would you want to go back to 343? With that lineup I can see us ending up being out muscled in midfield and the forwards isolated. 

Two wins on the spin with 352, surely we will stick with it.

That said I guess you could have the same lineup but drop Hedges into the middle three... I guess he could do a bit of a Rothwell tribute act thinking about it, playing on the  side of the CM three and carrying the ball? Quite like the sound of that....

                         Kaminski

                 Hyam Ayala Wharton

Brittain Hedges  Morton Wharton Pickering

                   Gallagher Brereton

Szmodics seemed closer to the front 2 rather than the midfield 2, but Hedges could play as that number 10 I guess, I did consider that. Dack would also fit that role.

[WacoRover]

5 hours ago, Neal said:

Not been on here for a while so I'm not sure what the feeling is over Dack but for me, based on what I saw against Bristol City... He's miles off the first 11, it was genuinely like playing with 10 men. As unfortunate as it is for him and us that he's had those injuries let's not be too sentimental, if you're good enough and fit enough... You play. The manager without any sentiment (unlike Mowbray) obviously doesn't feel that he is. 

 

Tricky game this one but they were one of the worst sides I'd seen at Ewood last season. I'd like to see us control this one a little better than Boro and Sunderland but 3 points is my only concern. 

 

Rovers 2-1. 

 

I feel our man Dacky has lost a step. I’ve had both my knees operated on, and you’re definitely not the same afterwards. 

My feeling is, Dack is on the tail end of one career, and the beginning of another. I believe he will be a solid coach when his playing days are through. 

[moerpho]

Every time we meet Birmingham I can’t help but think of the Robbie Savage debacle. BIG CLUB! Still gives me a chuckle.

[Norbert Rassragr]

I still have a PS 2, and changed the Birmingham City kit on ISS Pro soccer 5 to have a shirt sponsor that says BIG CLUB. 

I'll have to check, but I don't think they actually won anything.

[WacoRover]

1 hour ago, moerpho said:

Every time we meet Birmingham I can’t help but think of the Robbie Savage debacle. BIG CLUB! Still gives me a chuckle.

I had to investigate, since I’m still a relative newbie. So, in Savage’s brief Rovers career, he scores once… vs Birm.
Outstanding 😂

[tomphil]

2 hours ago, WacoRover said:

I feel our man Dacky has lost a step. I’ve had both my knees operated on, and you’re definitely not the same afterwards. 

My feeling is, Dack is on the tail end of one career, and the beginning of another. I believe he will be a solid coach when his playing days are through. 

He might need managing differently and he might struggle with intense day to day training but there are ways around that.

Some are not taking into account he isn't 'just' back from injury he's played last season, pre season and in games this season. He's had some good spells, scored the odd goal and set up goals.

He's fit enough to play but he is being completely ignored and whilst yes we are doing well there is still desperate need for a player of his ability to be involved.  So this goes far deeper than just being a post injured player so it's about time there was some real honesty.

[islander200]

6 hours ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

The way he was limping off against Sunderland, I'd be amazed if we saw Szmodics at the weekend.

JDT said it was cramp with Szmodic or has there been more news come out?

[Admiral Nelsen]

21 minutes ago, islander200 said:

JDT said it was cramp with Szmodic or has there been more news come out?

I hadn't heard that to be fair, so that's good news. His hobbling in front of the BBE looked quite severe! So I was expecting a muscle strain. 

[joey_big_nose]

33 minutes ago, WacoRover said:

I had to investigate, since I’m still a relative newbie. So, in Savage’s brief Rovers career, he scores once… vs Birm.
Outstanding 😂

The background is Mark Hughes took over Rovers in 2003, and he had previously the Wales job. In that job he had formed a very positive opinion of Robbie Savage and thought he was exactly what Rovers needed when he joined us. At the time Savage was playing for Birminghan City and was one of their better players, loved Mark Hughes from working with him for Wales and wanted the move. He also was very money motivated, and I think the contract he was promised was about double what he was on at City.

Rovers made multiple approaches to Birmingham to sign Savage, but we were turned down. In the end Savage refused to play until he was sold, making the rather bizarre excuse that moving to Blackburn would get him "closer to home" - I think there was little in it. To be honest Savage behaved like a complete bastard, and if I'd been a Birmingham fan I would have hated him as they all do...

Anyway in the end Birmingham relented and sold him to us. I think their manager or chairman or someone made the comment that why would Savage want to move from such a big club like BC to a small club like Rovers. A bit odd as a) Birmingham City pull small crowds for a club in the second biggest English city, b) they've won absolutely f-all and spent most of their existence in the lower reaches of the football league. That's where the "big club" Birmingham City nickname came from! Still going strong nearly 20 years later...

[ben_the_beast]

5 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

The background is Mark Hughes took over Rovers in 2003, and he had previously the Wales job. In that job he had formed a very positive opinion of Robbie Savage and thought he was exactly what Rovers needed when he joined us. At the time Savage was playing for Birminghan City and was one of their better players, loved Mark Hughes from working with him for Wales and wanted the move. He also was very money motivated, and I think the contract he was promised was about double what he was on at City.

Rovers made multiple approaches to Birmingham to sign Savage, but we were turned down. In the end Savage refused to play until he was sold, making the rather bizarre excuse that moving to Blackburn would get him "closer to home" - I think there was little in it. To be honest Savage behaved like a complete bastard, and if I'd been a Birmingham fan I would have hated him as they all do...

Anyway in the end Birmingham relented and sold him to us. I think their manager or chairman or someone made the comment that why would Savage want to move from such a big club like BC to a small club like Rovers. A bit odd as a) Birmingham City pull small crowds for a club in the second biggest English city, b) they've won absolutely f-all and spent most of their existence in the lower reaches of the football league. That's where the "big club" Birmingham City nickname came from! Still going strong nearly 20 years later...

I remember the history well but in my head Big Club has become such a synonymous knickname for Birmingham i assumed fans of other clubs called them this as well. Forgot it was due to us buying Savage.

[garnersfags]

So, I think we should win on Saturday, esp with hopefully 500 more on the gate to back the team. 

My only concern is that Birmingham are the opposite to the last few teams that have visited Ewood. 

They have at least 2 forwards who will gleefully snap up the kind of chances created by Rotherham, and other teams who create good chances but luckily can't hit a barn door. 

What they are not as good at is defending and creating those chances for Hogan & Deeney. 

So, will be interesting. 

These are the games that the teams that are promoted consistently win, so we'll see. 

I really hope we get a few more through the turnstiles, it makes such a difference.

COYB.  

Edited October 20, 2022 by garnersfags

[RoversTilliDie]

Lets not take Birmingham to lightly this Saturday, we have an excellent record at Ewood. Win this one and were beginning to cement are place in the top 6.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Big club are the sort of team that can give us a hard time. They’ll probably let us have all the ball and previously that hasn’t suited us. I’d take a hard fought 1-0 or even a 2-1.

[garnersfags]

Increasingly this season we have grown slowly into games at Ewood, gradually asserting ourselves, and often overpowering teams in the 2nd half. Interestingly on Tuesday we almost scored the second too early, which allowed Sunderland to throw caution to the wind, which we struggled to contain for 15 min. We seem to learn game on game from these experiences, at home at least, and JDTs experiments have more chance of working with the 12th man/woman behind us. 

I really enjoyed Tuesday, I think we were all inspired by the work-rate (and now a bit of quality) of Hedges and Szmodics, so if they can add consistency to the mix, and we can re-inforce in January, we could have a good season. 

A hell of a lot of big 'ifs' there, especially for anyone who witnessed the preceding 4 or 5 genuinely impotent away debacles. 

The expression roller-coaster season is over used, but it exactly sums up our last few months. 

Interesting that the Mowbray return was over-shadowed by our pure interest in the latest edition of the 'project', although I enjoyed watching his increasingly resigned body language. 

Hedges, Travis, Morton, and Co. could now step up with the odd goal, and I am sooo keen for us to retain BB & Gally as a front 2, although this needs the wing-backs to provide constant width. 

I really can't wait.....

[Guest]

1 hour ago, joey_big_nose said:

The background is Mark Hughes took over Rovers in 2003, and he had previously the Wales job. In that job he had formed a very positive opinion of Robbie Savage and thought he was exactly what Rovers needed when he joined us. At the time Savage was playing for Birminghan City and was one of their better players, loved Mark Hughes from working with him for Wales and wanted the move. He also was very money motivated, and I think the contract he was promised was about double what he was on at City.

Rovers made multiple approaches to Birmingham to sign Savage, but we were turned down. In the end Savage refused to play until he was sold, making the rather bizarre excuse that moving to Blackburn would get him "closer to home" - I think there was little in it. To be honest Savage behaved like a complete bastard, and if I'd been a Birmingham fan I would have hated him as they all do...

Anyway in the end Birmingham relented and sold him to us. I think their manager or chairman or someone made the comment that why would Savage want to move from such a big club like BC to a small club like Rovers. A bit odd as a) Birmingham City pull small crowds for a club in the second biggest English city, b) they've won absolutely f-all and spent most of their existence in the lower reaches of the football league. That's where the "big club" Birmingham City nickname came from! Still going strong nearly 20 years later...

Yes. I never think of them as anything other than 'Big Club'. 

Nicknames stick in football circles.

[roverandout]

Big club's trophy cabinet 

 

 

[Silas]

We're World beaters at home against Birmingham in October dating back to 1922.

They've never beaten us. Record reads:

DWWWWWW

That irrelevant and useless fact gives me full confidence we're going 3 wins on the spin. 

2-1. 

[rigger]

I just want us to play well. If we do we will win.

[Displaced Rover]

I'd forgot that Arsenal handed them a league cup win. Was it Szczesny in goal?

[Mhead2]

The key thing in the Big Club and Robbie Savage was the distance from Ewood to Wrexham and Brum to Wrexham.

BUT the person most upset and had the ear of the Press was 'old Cabbage' himself STEVE BRUCE who at that time was Manager of Brum(I think he has manged every Greater Brum team in his illustrious career)

[tomphil]

If i recall so slapped was Steve's arse he pulled his son out of the academy at Rovers and possibly deprived him of a career here.

[simongarnerisgod]

1 hour ago, Displaced Rover said:

I'd forgot that Arsenal handed them a league cup win. Was it Szczesny in goal?

 glacial defender koscielny and the hopeless djourou certainly contributed😄,he gets loads of adoration does wenger but he certainly is guilty of signing some horrendous players

[tomphil]

Brum have sold 2k plus there is pay on the day.

Really odd bunch these lot they never used to bring many up here especially in the Prem but now they seem to have two or three thousand every visit.

They should have big support obviously but they are still an odd bunch, however it should see another 15k crowd which is good and the bigger the away support the more our lot and team seem to get up for it.

Rovers  1   Brum  1