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

[tomphil]

The young thing is wearing thin now most of this lot were in the same position last season, we aren't the youngest squad in the league now and are midway in the top 8 of giving teens mins this season.

We are probably one of the highest in home grown players which is great but quite a few have a lot of games under the belt now and most of our key players are experienced.

Crowds at most grounds react to what they see on the pitch and as with earlier in the season JDTs style that hes reverted back to is frustrating.  That transmits itself into the stands and back onto the pitch yet you watch other teams in the top 6 or around it now and they are getting the ball forward quicker, playing with urgency and purpose.

The continental style and trying to score the perfect goal based on possession then 50 passes every time is not producing the results needed. When goals have come they've been often at the end of some spectacular moves but it doesn't happen enough we need to get the ball in the channels and in the box a bit quicker instead of constantly inviting pressure onti ourselves from the first min of games.

[Groundhog]

12 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Doesn’t matter how inexperienced you are if you are a player intimidated by Ewood you may as well give it up as a career…

It's not being intimidated it's just getting the jitters - and not having battle-hardened experience around you. The team that went up under Souness had a mix of youth and a spine of experience, Craig Short, Bjornebye, Gillespie, Hughes, allowing players like Dunn and Jansen to flourish.

 

12 hours ago, SuperBrfc said:

Accompanying all of the previous bottled moments, has been a seemingly constant "never mind lads, we go again next week", "It's a project/journey/process", and "nobody expects us to do x, y, z..." attitude about the place for years. That's why we bottle it in key moments, imo. Excuses are made for failure and potential reasons for failure are given by management in advance of us messing up! It's why I think a defeat tomorrow will end our season.

Speaking on Souness, listening to old interviews for Rovers and he says things like "we're going to try and win every game" "we don't care about others around us" the usual stuff but I'd love to hear that now.

[Groundhog]

11 hours ago, tomphil said:

The young thing is wearing thin now most of this lot were in the same position last season, we aren't the youngest squad in the league now and are midway in the top 8 of giving teens mins this season.

We are probably one of the highest in home grown players which is great but quite a few have a lot of games under the belt now and most of our key players are experienced.

Yeah we're definitely not young, our average age against Norwich was similar apparently, it's just we're a rag tag mix of experience, not many do or die games under our belts in this squad, we're not experienced in games where it's mattered, it's been a few years of zero expectations and the lack of pressure is showing, we never turn it on and we don't seem to have a 6th gear to pull a win out of the bag when it's on the line. Take Sargent for example, has played in the Prem and I thought he struggled, but that experience showed and he looked a different player against us.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Groundhog

[Mattyblue]

That’s just the way football crowds are. Part and parcel of being a pro footballer.

Plus, a lot of these lads are well into their twenties. We are struggling to hang on in there because as well as some inexperience we are an average side that has been hobbled by poor recruitment in key areas.

Those lads you mentioned were just better players all round.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Mattyblue

[tomphil]

2 hours ago, Groundhog said:

Yeah we're definitely not young, our average age against Norwich was similar apparently, it's just we're a rag tag mix of experience, not many do or die games under our belts in this squad, we're not experienced in games where it's mattered, it's been a few years of zero expectations and the lack of pressure is showing, we never turn it on and we don't seem to have a 6th gear to pull a win out of the bag when it's on the line. Take Sargent for example, has played in the Prem and I thought he struggled, but that experience showed and he looked a different player against us.

That's the mentality i thought had changed under JDT especially looking at the cup games but sadly it's ingrained in this squad.

He really needs to push it forwards in summer but without money he won't because the style of football he prefers needs quality.  That's part of the reason it only works sporadically not just the inconsistency of the players.

[DE.]

Mentality is definitely a key issue which needs to be addressed. We aren't going to be able to completely solve it by changing the entire team, as we simply don't have the money to do that, so it's something the coaching staff need to figure out how to solve. It's apparent not only in our regular late season collapses, but also in our inability to come back and win matches (or this season rarely even draw them) when we go behind. It's been going on for too long to be put down to coincidence or bad luck. 

8/11 of the team that started against Hull were either signed by Mowbray or have developed at the club during the period when this mentality has seeped in. That's obviously a concern. At the very least I think we need to sign a couple of genuine leaders in the summer who won't accept this kind of attitude from themselves or from their team mates. Championship versions of the likes of Roy Keane, Patrick Viera, or if we're going further back in Rovers history Todd, Savage, Dickov, Bellamy, Nelsen types. Players who may not be the most technically gifted (Bellamy excluded) but who absolutely hate losing and leave everything on the pitch.  

[Groundhog]

21 minutes ago, DE. said:

8/11 of the team that started against Hull were either signed by Mowbray or have developed at the club during the period when this mentality has seeped in. That's obviously a concern. At the very least I think we need to sign a couple of genuine leaders in the summer who won't accept this kind of attitude from themselves or from their team mates. 

100%. Imagine if we could sign some proper battlers, just 2, I want one of those players like Chris Martin who you'd hated against you but came away thinking I wish we had him. Unfortunately every team wants them. I'm just fed up of watching teams getting one over us by getting the basics right and using sheer graft and nouse. 

[roversfan99]

It seemingly doesnt "fit our recruitment model" to sign experienced players. Mainly because everything is done on the cheap with an overreliance on the academy to make up the numbers. I doubt it will change.

[islander200]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

It seemingly doesnt "fit our recruitment model" to sign experienced players. Mainly because everything is done on the cheap with an overreliance on the academy to make up the numbers. I doubt it will change.

Is Dom Hyam not experienced?Callum Britain experienced?Szmodic ?

In the past Ayala,Johnson,Downing etc