v Reading (h) - 15/3/23, 7:45pm

[Irish_Rover]

Massive win last night, when you take into account the chances we missed and Reading getting back into it. Compared to past seasons around this time, we are definitely trending in the right direction form wise.

The thing that gives me the most hope is that we are coming into the business end of things in really good form. The amount of chances we had in this game, plus the chances we had against Sheffield United (and Leicester before that), a 3-0 score in all games wouldn't have flattered us (ok maybe 2-0 against the blades).

We are all having palpitations about missing the chances, but we are still creating those chances. You would think that if we keep playing as we are, something will click with the forwards and they will start putting them away more efficiently (Brereton has now had a couple after a barren spell, Gallagher had the two against QPR).
Compare it to earlier in the season where we we seemed to be fluking out every win we got, and there appeared to be zero plan or purpose to our play other than pass in triangles around our own 6 yard box!

Its impossible not be excited at this point in time. We were in the same position this time last year but you just knew it was inevitable we would drop out of the top 6. This year, we might just make it if we continue in the form we're in! Mind boggling when you think that most of us would have taken safety this season considering the players we had to replace!!

Edited March 16, 2023 by Irish_Rover

[BigUts]

10 minutes ago, Gav said:

Are you new to this site? 

He gets Rovers games wrong most weeks and thats a 2 horse race.

He managed to lose last night after he'd won.

You've more money than sense BigUts 🤣

Never fear @Gav I am being ironic 😁

[rigger]

9 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

We don't know how much they do and especially how much if at all Morton does but if they do, its counterproductive for them to be doing so. In the ground, there may be a bit of anxiety in general when we pass it in defensive areas but if he sees that as a burden at a half full Ewood then he will struggle going forward to do it at the top level.

It is his role but it is a specialist role and one that he has not had an entirely successful season doing, he like Buckley (for Morton, his first proper season and for Buckley the first in that role) has often struggled picking the ball up in dangerous areas. It takes spacial awareness, knowing who is around you, taking the ball in tight areas on the turn and moving it as quick as possible.

These are Adam Whartons strong points.

[Polky]

I still can’t get over Shane Long booting the ball into his own face following the offside call…idiot 😂

[windymiller7]

1 minute ago, BRFC_Polky said:

I still can’t get over Shane Long booting the ball into his own face following the offside call…idiot 😂

It's the first time I've ever heard a football crowd roar with laughter. It was so ridiculous we didn't even bother with 'what the f*ckin hell was that'! 😆

[Crozzy]

One thing I’ll say in Gallaghers favour having gone to both Stoke and last night, in both those games he’s been winning most of his flick on headers which is something we’ve not really seen. I’m sure JDT who was a striker is working on Gallagher to develop him, I think he’s starting to get better and better. I know last night he should have had a hat trick but he’s certainly moving in the right direction. 
 

He played a great ball to Szmodics in the build up to first goal and also got the assist for Hedges 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Crozzy

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 hours ago, Crozzy said:

One thing I’ll say in Gallaghers favour having gone to both Stoke and last night, in both those games he’s been winning most of his flick on headers which is something we’ve not really seen. I’m sure JDT who was a striker is working on Gallagher to develop him, I think he’s starting to get better and better. I know last night he should have had a hat trick but he’s certainly moving in the right direction. 
 

He played a great ball to Szmodics in the build up to first goal and also got the assist for Hedges 

Somebody has definitely been working on his heading with him this season. He’s won more flick ons recently than he has for seasons. I watched that lad who plays up front for Big Club at Ewood ( for got his name ) and he was the same. A real pain. They don’t always go where you’d like but they all have to be dealt with by the defenders.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

21 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

It's the first time I've ever heard a football crowd roar with laughter. It was so ridiculous we didn't even bother with 'what the f*ckin hell was that'! 😆

I was at a game years ago on a water logged pitch at Ewood. The game was called off at half time, there were pools of standing water all over the place. After about 1/2 hr our right winger crossed a ball into the box around a submerged penalty spot and it landed in the pool of water. Alan Gilliver, our No9 at the time, took an almighty swing at the ball. Just as he did a gust of wind came up and blew the ball away like a toy ship on a pond. Gilliver missed the ball completely, lost his footing, did a pirouette, and fell into the pool of water.

Everbody was pissing themselves, the crowd, both sets of players, even the ref !

Edited March 16, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Oldgregg86]

14 hours ago, superniko said:

What’s the tipple on a school night?

I usually find a fine brandy and ready brek gets them off to sleep nice and early 😂

Edited March 16, 2023 by Oldgregg86

[joey_big_nose]

43 minutes ago, Crozzy said:

One thing I’ll say in Gallaghers favour having gone to both Stoke and last night, in both those games he’s been winning most of his flick on headers which is something we’ve not really seen. I’m sure JDT who was a striker is working on Gallagher to develop him, I think he’s starting to get better and better. I know last night he should have had a hat trick but he’s certainly moving in the right direction. 
 

He played a great ball to Szmodics in the build up to first goal and also got the assist for Hedges 

Yeah he's definitely improved in the air. But a big part of it is two or three players are getting beyond him regularly at the point he flicks on so there are multiple targets, as opposed to him being totally isolated (or on the right wing) with no one to pick up the ball ahead of him.

I was never a big Mowbray hater personally, but it is very noticeable since start of Feb how many players we are committing forward. Way more than Mowbray ever did, way more than any manager we have had in years. And when you commit players forward it creates more options. I mean JRC is like Cafu, spends most of his time on the edge of the opposition box.

[Polky]

5 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Yeah he's definitely improved in the air. But a big part of it is two or three players are getting beyond him regularly at the point he flicks on so there are multiple targets, as opposed to him being totally isolated (or on the right wing) with no one to pick up the ball ahead of him.

I was never a big Mowbray hater personally, but it is very noticeable since start of Feb how many players we are committing forward. Way more than Mowbray ever did, way more than any manager we have had in years. And when you commit players forward it creates more options. I mean JRC is like Cafu, spends most of his time on the edge of the opposition box.

I’m loving Travis at the moment, dribbling past players and bringing the ball forward rather than going backwards. 
 

He’s starting to make more cute passes like the assist for Szmodics v QPR. You can see that most of the playing squad are improving under JDT’s management. Long may it continue!

[dingles staying down 4ever]

25 minutes ago, BRFC_Polky said:

I’m loving Travis at the moment, dribbling past players and bringing the ball forward rather than going backwards. 
 

He’s starting to make more cute passes like the assist for Szmodics v QPR. You can see that most of the playing squad are improving under JDT’s management. Long may it continue!

Having the full backs come into midfield does allow the likes of Travis to venture forward rather hold in front of the back four but likewise when we get caught in midfield it does allow the opposition to counter down the flanks more easily.

[LDRover]

Great result and I thought, apart from poor finishing, we played well.

The worry of Morton replacing Buckley was unfounded as he was obviously told to play it quicker and our intensity levels were right where they needed to be from the get go.

I wouldn't have made the subs JDT made but they were spot on and Hedges in particular was excellent.

Just 4 more wins needed now.

[DaveyB]

3 hours ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Morton passes backwards and sideways (and ducks out of tackles).

Wharton, Buckley (and Garrett) have taken the game by the scruff of the neck at times and driven us forward. As I said, it took 70 minutes for Morton to turn on the ball and run into the acres of space in the centre of the park (and even then seemed unsure what to do with the ball).

He's been a good loan signing because he's 'fine' and has been available all season, but at this point he should be 4th choice for the CM role.

Really don’t get all the criticism of Morton. He’s not been outstanding, but he’s certainly not as bad as you would believe if all you read was this site.

 I do think some of it comes down to the fact that he’s on loan and so therefore not really our player. Every other player in the team makes mistakes and gives the ball away, probably to a similar degree to Morton, but he seems to get criticised far more than most. 
An example of if from last night - at one point he misplaced a pass and a guy behind me started shouting, saying ’F’ing Morton, he’s always giving it away’, ‘Take him off’ etc. Fast forward a few minutes and Travis misplaces a simple 5-yard square ball intended for Morton and instead plays it straight to the defender - cue the same guy behind me ‘F**king Morton again - why’s he not getting that?’

[Cuppliance]

Great win last night. Still buzzing about it now. The thing that disappointed me was that we allowed Reading to gain confidence and get into the game. That confidence came from that fact that they should have been at least 3-0 down but found themselves still only trailing by 1. Not going to take anything away from Joe Lumley, he pulled off some great saves and kept his side in it. Still though, win is a win and being pegged back allowed us to show our character to take back the lead. Under Mowbray we would have got a draw at best in that fixture as he would of slouched and shrugged.

[Crozzy]

1 hour ago, BRFC_Polky said:

I’m loving Travis at the moment, dribbling past players and bringing the ball forward rather than going backwards. 
 

He’s starting to make more cute passes like the assist for Szmodics v QPR. You can see that most of the playing squad are improving under JDT’s management. Long may it continue!

Agree with this. Been so good since he came back into the squad 

[lraC]

8 hours ago, philipl said:

Watch the replay of that first half shot- there was late bend and dip which needed great reactions and iron muscles to keep it out. Obviously Pears didn't get as fortunate with the goal and shouldn't have been beaten where he was diving from but again look where it bounced and how hard it was struck. The Italian kid is a loanee from Chelsea.

Adam Wharton had been found out to an extent after that explosive start and hopefully is doing great work with the physio and video analysis. He will be a fabulous player.

As will Tyler Morton whom we forget is physically very slight yet is mostly holding his own in the bear pit that is the Championship midfield. You don't get a 5 year contract from Klop if you are not a bit special and in his quiet way he is showing he is if you care to look.

 

The Italian lad who scored their goal looked a good player. It was mentioned on Rovers TV that he was on loan from Chelsea and you can see he has star quality.

I think we have a real gem in Wharton and I am looking forward to him coming back into the team. I had a chat with Scott a whole ago and he said at the time, he did not consider himself the best footballer in his family. I also spoke to a youth team coach about him and he said how good a prospect he was.

For those who have watched him in the youth teams, I am sure you know better than I do, as I have only seen his appearances, in the first team, but I genuinely believe from what I have seen, that he is the real deal. 

[rovers11]

That was a huge win for us last night where we answered a lot of questions. I wasn't sure how we'd respond after a battering at Stoke and then when it went 1-1 I feared we'd drop 2 points. In the end, we obviously went onto win late on and both Norwich and West Brom dropped points.

We can now enjoy the quarter final knowing we'll still be in the top 6 next time we play in the league. 

 

[RoversTilliDie]

Great displays from Gally and Schmodics (who deserved the man of the match award). There were moans and groans all around me in the Blackburn end when Readi ng levelled things, then enter Ryan Hedges to score his first and the winning goal for Rovers. Its was all that was needed in his game and we might see more in future. The one good point we kept our heads up when they levelled and finished the job. Well done Rovers and what a priceless goal Hedges might be come the end of the season.

[joey_big_nose]

9 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

Great displays from Gally and Schmodics (who deserved the man of the match award). There were moans and groans all around me in the Blackburn end when Reading levelled things, then enter Ryan Hedges to score his first and the winning goal for Rovers. Its was all that was needed in his game and we might see more in future. The one good point we kept our heads up when they levelled and finished the job. Well done Rovers and what a priceless goal Hedges might be come the end of the season.

It was his third for Rovers... previously scored against Watford and Middlesbrough. 

[NeilInBristol]

6 hours ago, K-Hod said:

It was on his instagram story. I’d suggest it’s a storm in a teacup tbh. He went to Moorland School, where both Rovers and City academy products go. He probably knows some City academy products who he went to the game with, so it’s most likely not all that deep…

Ok fair thanks. I had wondered what JDTs comments were about. Probably all contributes. Hopefully we see him back stronger and more committed in the final run in 

 

[joey_big_nose]

1 hour ago, DaveyB said:

Really don’t get all the criticism of Morton. He’s not been outstanding, but he’s certainly not as bad as you would believe if all you read was this site.

 I do think some of it comes down to the fact that he’s on loan and so therefore not really our player. Every other player in the team makes mistakes and gives the ball away, probably to a similar degree to Morton, but he seems to get criticised far more than most. 
An example of if from last night - at one point he misplaced a pass and a guy behind me started shouting, saying ’F’ing Morton, he’s always giving it away’, ‘Take him off’ etc. Fast forward a few minutes and Travis misplaces a simple 5-yard square ball intended for Morton and instead plays it straight to the defender - cue the same guy behind me ‘F**king Morton again - why’s he not getting that?’

I guess the frustration is that he's not that different or better than what we have so people ask why do we have him. 

But equally when someone gets an injury like Buckley has to be able to bring in as similar a player as you are ever going to find is very useful.

My suspicion is given a run of games Buckley, Morton and Adam Wharton will all perform at similar "good but not brilliant" levels.

[Atko's Engine]

I've not read any of the prior comments yet, but what a massive win that was. With teams below us dropping points we now have a 5 point cushion to 7th, with all teams having played 37. So we can go.into the QF on Sunday full pelt, knowing our place in the top 6 will remain secure until after the international break.

That's a great position to be in and gives JDT freedom to select his possible strongest side. Sheff Utd played last night too, so both teams are equal in terms of recovery & prep time.

Turning to last night, I wanted a quick start & we got just that, but it didn't go to plan after that, albeit not for the want of trying. How that game didn't end up 4-0 or 5-1 I've no idea; a mixture of good keeping, poor decision making & bad luck combined to make it far nervier than we would have liked.

Szmodics was superb, what a signing he is turning into after a fairly mediocre & injury-disrupted start. He must be one of the first on the team sheet just now. Likewise Carter, was immense yesterday, but there were solid performances all round IMO. Pears looks proper at home, as does JRC - both were almost out the door in January! 

Top marks to the team for sticking at it and not panicking after the equaliser. And to JDT for getting what is surely max value out of a team of relative unknowns, journeymen & kids.

I'm so excited for Sunday now, wish I could be there but sadly can't be, so will cheer on from afar (probably behind the sofa!).

[Exiled_Rover]

4 hours ago, BRFC_Polky said:

I still can’t get over Shane Long booting the ball into his own face following the offside call…idiot 😂

I couldn't understand why Ince switched him to the right wing when he was giving JRC fits for the first half an hour.

[roversfan99]

Szmodics is a player who is in his peak years and wasn't guaranteed a place in the side of a terrible Peterborough side last season, their fans seemed happy to see him go. He was stand out in League 1 for them but struggled with the step up, having also not made the grade at Bristol City in his previous spell at this level.

His first half season was really underwhelming but his performances in recent weeks have not just been full of energy but also quality. His energy and intensity is infectious but he is a danger on the ball too.