v Hull City (h) 15/4/23 @ 19.45pm

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

This is Ball...put in back of Onion Bag.

[rigger]

2 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

This is Ball...put in back of Onion Bag.

Can you just explain that one more time ?

[Penwortham Blue]

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

I can't remember either. Can't remember our Centre Halves smashing in many headers off corners. Probably because it hasn't happened! Our corners, and set-pieces in general, are shite. 

Did we ever bring in the set piece coach we were looking to recruit ?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

The mentality of modern day BRFC…

’(Don’t) think big’

Nothing new there. Only Jack thought big.

[rigger]

1 minute ago, Penwortham Blue said:

Did we ever bring in the set piece coach we were looking to recruit ?

If we have, we have been robbed

[Mattyblue]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Nothing new there. Only Jack thought big.

The club in the 80s thought as big as was feasible - local businessmen doing all they could, and the fact we spent most of the decade knocking on the door of the top flight without a pot to piss in backs that up…contrast that with what these billionaires have overseen.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Mattyblue

[K-Hod]

I just don’t get why we won’t shoot. I know we’re awful, but Christ, no shots, no goals etc. Has anyone told JDT or any of our players that goals win matches?

[DE.]

2 hours ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

We have no divine right to finish above anybody, and both those clubs you mention have forwards who are scoring goals. 

If the forwards that the manager inherits aren't very good then there's not much he can do until replacements are brought in. We create opportunities, the final ball/finishing is just poor. 

It's nothing to do with divine right, that's just a lazy cliche used to avoid engaging properly. People make excuses about ffp, the squad, parachute payments, but none of them hold up when you look at many of the clubs around us who are in similar positions - Luton, Millwall, Coventry, Sunderland. They've adapted to their situations and made progress. If we go from being 2nd midway through the season to finishing below them I don't see how that can be spun as anything other than failure, but it was done often enough with Mowbray so I'm sure it will. That's not to lay the blame solely at the feet of JDT either, significant amounts of blame lie with the players, many of whom have track records of wilting under pressure, and our recruitment team who let everybody down in a massive way in January. 

There's still a chance to salvage the season. We're clinging to 6th despite losing momentum. Wednesday is now critical. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by DE.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I got back home at midnight so too late to post.  Here goes today. I’ve always said with Rovers that you can tell after ten minutes what sort of performances you are going to get. After ten minutes of walking football were Hyam ,Carter, and Pears had a little kick about of their own I feared the worst. Was I wrong ? That was a truly dreadful performance. Nobody came out of it with any credit at all. Did their goalkeeper actually have a save to make all game ? This was a weakened Hull team who are roughly mid table at best and we needed a win desperately. Yet the keeper can wear the same kit for the next match un washed.

Play like that again and we won’t win another game. Play-offs, we’re having a laugh.

Like 99% of people I was scratching my head at the starting line up. Why change the 4-3-3 that served us well at Hudds ? I don’t get it. Travis and Morton haven’t got what it takes to run a game but a three with Wharton in there have. The subs were WAY too late, especially Wharton. A brave manager would have made changes at half time, not with ten minutes to go.

Another thing that worried me was when Hull had a go in the second half how easily they broke away. Indeed right from the 2nd half kick off they had a well worked move that cut us wide open. If they had a striker playing they must have scored at some point, they got into some good positions second half. Fair play to them, they didn’t rollover and die like some other mid table teams might have done. The dingles have the players to take advantage of opportunities like that.

I could on and on about how bad we were, I can’t think of one real plus on show last night. We didn’t look a well coached, well set up team last night, it was pretty much a shambles. We wouldn’t have scored if we’d played whilst midnight.

Scores 

Pears 6, Nothing much to do. Part of a real mix up in communication that nearly led to a disaster.

JRC 6, Not his normal self, maybe he was tired after playing Hudds on his own in midweek.

Carter 6, OK, not great. Has too much to do when JRC goes down field.

Hyam 5, Looked shaky, as though he doesn’t enjoy the tip tappy keep ball game.

Pickering 6, OK, every team targets him with the high ball.

Travis 6, Tried hard as usual  but not really effective going forward.

Morton 5, Not mobile enough for me and no real presence in centre field.

Dolan 6, Put in the effort as usual but missed a real sitter. At the least he should have worked the keeper.

Szmodics 5, Works hard but for me he’s playing above his ability level. Too many poor first touches.

Gallagher 4, A truly awful performance. He’s gone backwards to the point he’s no longer capable of playing at this level or possibly the one below.

Brererton 4, Another really poor performance. Has he got a brain ? Their right back was running back towards his own corner flag with absolutely nowhere to go. What does BBD do - push him in the back ! ! Problem solved for the right back instantly.

Subs 

Hedges 6, Look bright for me and I like to see his left foot on the left. Put in a good cross that just eluded Leonard, who incidentally, was the only Rovers player in the box at that shit or bust moment !

Thomas 4, Every cross was easily dealt with apart from that greedy shot into the side netting.

Wharton and Leonard - hard to score off 10 minutes but both did good things in that time.

 

 

 
 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[BankEnd Rover]

5 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I got back home at midnight so too late to post.  Here goes today. I’ve always said with Rovers that you can tell after ten minutes what sort of performances you are going to get. After ten minutes of walking football were Hyam ,Carter, and Pears had a little kick about of their own I feared the worst. Was I wrong ? That was a truly dreadful performance. Nobody came out of it with any credit at all. Did their goalkeeper actually have a save to make all game ? This was a weakened Hull team who are roughly mid table at best and we needed a win desperately. Yet the keeper can wear the same kit for the next match un washed.

Play like that again and we won’t win another game. Play-offs, we’re having a laugh.

Like 99% of people I was scratching my head at the starting line up. Why change the 4-3-3 that served us well at Hudds ? I don’t get it. Travis and Morton haven’t got what it takes to run a game but a three with Wharton in there have. The subs were WAY too late, especially Wharton. A brave manager would have made changes at half time, not with ten minutes to go.

Another thing that worried me was when Hull had a go in the second half how easily they broke away. Indeed right from the 2nd half kick off they had a well worked move that cut us wide open. If they had a striker playing they must have scored at some point, they got into some good positions second half. Fair play to them, they didn’t rollover and die like some other mid table teams might have done. The dingles have the players to take advantage of opportunities like that.

I could on and on about how bad we were, I can’t think of one real plus on show last night. We didn’t look a well coached, well set up team last night, it was pretty much a shambles. We wouldn’t have scored if we’d played whilst midnight.

Scores 

Pears 6, Nothing much to do. Part of a real mix up in communication that nearly led to a disaster.

JRC 6, Not his normal self, maybe he was tired after playing Hudds on his own in midweek.

Carter 6, OK, not great. Has too much to do when JRC goes down field.

Hyam 5, Looked shaky, as though he doesn’t enjoy the tip tappy keep ball game.

Pickering 6, OK, every team targets him with the high ball.

Travis 6, Tried hard as usual  but not really effective going forward.

Morton 5, Not mobile enough for me and no real presence in centre field.

Dolan 6, Put in the effort as usual but missed a real sitter. At the least he should have worked the keeper.

Szmodics 5, Works hard but for me he’s playing above his ability level. Too many poor first touches.

Gallagher 4, A truly awful performance. He’s gone backwards to the point he’s no longer capable of playing at this level or possibly the one below.

Brererton 4, Another really poor performance. Has he got a brain ? Their right back was running back towards his own corner flag with absolutely nowhere to go. What does BBD do - push him in the back ! ! Problem solved for the right back instantly.

Subs 

Hedges 6, Look bright for me and I like to see his left foot on the left. Put in a good cross that just eluded Leonard, who incidentally, was the only Rovers player in the box at that shit or bust moment !

Thomas 4, Every cross was easily dealt with apart from that greedy shot into the side netting.

Wharton and Leonard - hard to score off 10 minutes but both did good things in that time.

 

 

 
 

 

I Actually think we started okay, but spot on with the rest of the post. 

[Sweaty Gussets]

22 minutes ago, DE. said:

It's nothing to do with divine right, that's just a lazy cliche used to avoid engaging properly. People make excuses about ffp, the squad, parachute payments, but none of them hold up when you look at many of the clubs around us who are in similar positions - Luton, Millwall, Coventry, Sunderland. They've adapted to their situations and made progress. If we go from being 2nd midway through the season to finishing below them I don't see how that can be spun as anything other than failure, but it was done often enough with Mowbray so I'm sure it will. That's not to lay the blame solely at the feet of JDT either, significant amounts of blame lie with the players, many of whom have track records of wilting under pressure, and our recruitment team who let everybody down in a massive way in January. 

There's still a chance to salvage the season. We're clinging to 6th despite losing momentum. Wednesday is now critical. 

You said we had 'no excuse' for finishing below Sunderland and Coventry but you want to pull me on a 'lazy cliche'. The irony! 🙂

I just don't think the attacking players are good enough. I also don't think they suit the way JDT wants to play. I also don't think JDT is blameless, but I do think he's done a lot in a short space of time. 

'failure' is also subjective. We've never been out of the top 8 all season. Is finishing 8th after being 2nd for a couple of weeks failure? A massive disappointment, yes, but failure? Seems harsh considering what he's had to contend with in January. The failure to sign a striker has killed us. 

 It's his first season in a league and country he doesn't really know and I think the club is making progress. He wants to play in a specific way and at the moment it's very hit and miss. I expect us to improve again next season. I never used to think that under Mowbray. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Sweaty Gussets

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

You said we had 'no excuse' for finishing below Sunderland and Coventry but you want to pull me on a 'lazy cliche'. The irony! 🙂

I just don't think the attacking players are good enough. I also don't think they suit the way JDT wants to play. I also don't think JDT is blameless, but I do think he's done a lot in a short space of time. 

'failure' is also subjective. We've never been out of the top 8 all season. Is finishing 8th after being 2nd for a couple of weeks failure? A massive disappointment, yes, but failure? Seems harsh considering what he's had to contend with in January. The failure to sign a striker has killed us. 

 It's his first season in a league and country he doesn't really know and I think the club is making progress. He wants to play in a specific way and at the moment it's very hit and miss. I expect us to improve again next season. I never used to think that under Mowbray. 

Watching that last night I don’t expect us to improve. He’s had all season and we still don’t really have a coherent pattern of play. It’s as you say all a bit hit and miss, we never look in control of games for any length of time. The biggest mistake you can make as a manager is shoe horning players into a way of playing that doesn’t suit their individual and collective skill sets. I think he’s made that mistake and it’s a fundamental error.

[Dolly blue]

Having had a few hours to reflect in last night’s non performance I am less angry but more concerned. If I’m honest would I either expect us or like us to be in The Premier League next season….No ! …apart from taking the money and running back to the Championship ..to possibly rebuild I see no merit in promotion.

With JDT at the front of operations ( on the field ) and Broughton and co at the running / admin side of things …we would be hammered every week .Now, I can take “ hammerings “ if we learn from it …We don’t ! 
 

Tommason …..Time and again dire selection, the fact he can’t / won’t play a midfield 3 when it’s crying out for it, continually slow build up from the back, sad  reliance on Brereton and Gallagher when neither is anywhere near good enough or  fit enough , and the final nail for me …what he says never matches what we do …..Teams mirror their manager ( Clough , Ferguson , Shankley , Kendall, , Hughes )……this one does …nice lads not a lot of idea .

Broughton …Mola ? Hurst ? Morton ? …and to top it all ..the non window in January due to incompetence …we don’t learn and with the current , non aspirational personnel at Ewood we won’t . Enjoy your Sunday !

[DE.]

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

You said we had 'no excuse' for finishing below Sunderland and Coventry but you want to pull me on a 'lazy cliche'. The irony! 🙂

I just don't think the attacking players are good enough. I also don't think they suit the way JDT wants to play. I also don't think JDT is blameless, but I do think he's done a lot in a short space of time. 

'failure' is also subjective. We've never been out of the top 8 all season. Is finishing 8th after being 2nd for a couple of weeks failure? A massive disappointment, yes, but failure? Seems harsh considering what he's had to contend with in January. The failure to sign a striker has killed us. 

 It's his first season in a league and country he doesn't really know and I think the club is making progress. He wants to play in a specific way and at the moment it's very hit and miss. I expect us to improve again next season. I never used to think that under Mowbray. 

I don't believe there is a good excuse for finishing below either of those teams, considering where we were at the mid-point. You obviously do, but they haven't had piles of cash or top tier players to call upon to close the gap, so for me yes, it would be considered a failure. Not "because 1995", just because we'd let a huge gap between both teams narrow to nothing. 

It's all hypothetical at the moment though, and I really hope we can pull out of this nosedive in the remaining few games. Over a decade and we haven't been in the Championship playoffs once. I don't think that's entitlement, it's something systemically wrong at the club which still hasn't been addressed. Whether JDT is the man to address it still remains to be seen. It may be beyond him or any manager, ultimately.

Edited April 16, 2023 by DE.

[rigger]

44 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

I just don’t get why we won’t shoot. I know we’re awful, but Christ, no shots, no goals etc. Has anyone told JDT or any of our players that goals win matches?

The thing that annoys me, is that pre-match we go through a training routine of pass and shoot from about 15 yards out. then during the game nobody does it. I wonder if it is the same in training. The players on the pitch must think along the lines of; Well we have practiced that all week, I know I'll try something different. 

[Ulrich]

1 hour ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

This is Ball...put in back of Onion Bag.

That's his problem, he's always trying to find an onion bag, it's the goal he needs to find. Metaphors are probably beyond him.

Yesterday? Just disappointing as we're slowly slipping out of the play off places

[Penwortham Blue]

59 minutes ago, DE. said:

It's nothing to do with divine right, that's just a lazy cliche used to avoid engaging properly. People make excuses about ffp, the squad, parachute payments, but none of them hold up when you look at many of the clubs around us who are in similar positions - Luton, Millwall, Coventry, Sunderland. They've adapted to their situations and made progress. If we go from being 2nd midway through the season to finishing below them I don't see how that can be spun as anything other than failure, but it was done often enough with Mowbray so I'm sure it will. That's not to lay the blame solely at the feet of JDT either, significant amounts of blame lie with the players, many of whom have track records of wilting under pressure, and our recruitment team who let everybody down in a massive way in January. 

There's still a chance to salvage the season. We're clinging to 6th despite losing momentum. Wednesday is now critical. 

Great post, spot on with analysis.

[RoversTilliDie]

1 hour ago, Penwortham Blue said:

Did we ever bring in the set piece coach we were looking to recruit ?

Spot on, sometimes were lost for ideas as to how to put the ball in the net.

[RoversTilliDie]

Rovers were booed off last night rightly so, but other teams around us are showing nerves slipping up.You could say it's a point gained on the day, were a point clear of 7th with a game in hand on 4 of our rivals. We need to get it right on the training ground and bring it to Ewood.

[rigger]

3 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

Rovers were booed off last night rightly so, but other teams around us are showing nerves slipping up.You could say it's a point gained on the day, were a point clear of 7th with a game in hand on 4 of our rivals. We need to get it right on the training ground and bring it to Ewood.

I am not convinced that we do anything at the training ground.

[Miller11]

Tomasson’s post match comments have pissed me off even more than I already was. I can’t recall a single time when he has come out after one of our many dreadful performances, held his hands up and acknowledged he got it wrong.

This, along with the fact he seems reluctant to make glaringly necessary changes until it’s far too late, suggest a massive arrogant streak. 

[Exiled_Rover]

8 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

Rovers were booed off last night rightly so, but other teams around us are showing nerves slipping up.You could say it's a point gained on the day, were a point clear of 7th with a game in hand on 4 of our rivals. We need to get it right on the training ground and bring it to Ewood.

Were they booed off?

I mean don't get me wrong, the Ewood crowd would boo their nan, but I don't recall any booing? They jeered / cheered when Brereton-Diaz was hooked, which was telling. 

[DE.]

Interestlingly when you look at the table after 23 games a lot of teams around the top end of the table have collapsed, even worse than us, whilst the teams who are now right up there and challenging were very much in mid-table. The playoff spots at that time were:

3. Rovers +1 GD 39 points
4. Watford +8 GD 37 points
5. Norwich +5 GD 35 points
6. QPR 0 GD 34 points

As of now Watford are 12th, Norwich are 10th and QPR are 20th. We've fared the best of all of the teams at the half way point by some margin. QPR have only gained 9 points from 19 ganes. 

Meanwhile, Millwall were 9th, Boro were 13th, Coventry were 14th, Luton were 15th. At the time we had a gap of 7 points on Millwall and 9 on the other three. We were more or less equal on GD with all of them, but our GD is now -2 whilst Boro (Carrick's first management job) are now on +28, Millwall on +9, Coventry on +9, Luton on +17. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by DE.

[Exiled_Rover]

9 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

Tomasson’s post match comments have pissed me off even more than I already was. I can’t recall a single time when he has come out after one of our many dreadful performances, held his hands up and acknowledged he got it wrong.

This, along with the fact he seems reluctant to make glaringly necessary changes until it’s far too late, suggest a massive arrogant streak. 

Didn't he just say that we needed to be more clinical in front of goal? Which was a pretty accurate reflection of the match (and sadly the season).

[Leonard Venkhater]

3 hours ago, arbitro said:

 

Rovers infuriate me at times. 

...at times lol