Championship 23/24

[chaddyrovers]

On 15/12/2023 at 17:37, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

They’d better off sticking with Mowbray.

Sunderland have been linked with replacing him for 8 months. Mowbray 

[Mercer]

On 15/12/2023 at 15:53, islander200 said:

Sky reporting Michael Beale set to be appointed Sunderland manager

Another overrated manager.  Just what has he done as a manager to qualify him for a job with a huge club like Sunderland!?

[roversfan99]

"Huge club."

They would have been better off keeping Mowbray who had done a good job there and had a look at their data driven recruitment team plucking sub par random youngsters from random places whilst getting rid of experienced heads.

[Mattyblue]

Plenty of bums on seats due to luckily being situated in a massive catchment area = ‘huge club’, obviously.

They’ve achieved the square root of feck all for 50 years… bit like their dear neighbours come to think about it.

 

[K-Hod]

Had a scan on PNE online earlier, to see what they were saying about Ryan Lowe.

One of their posters was advocating for Mowbray to be appointed there..

[Mattyblue]

Shame he’s managed all the north east league clubs (yep, all, err, three of them) so the poor bloke will have to travel again 🎻 

[wilsdenrover]

12 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Shame he’s managed all the north east league clubs (yep, all, err, three of them) so the poor bloke will have to travel again 🎻 

He’s only managed two of them.

[rigger]

5 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

He’s only managed two of them.

He's missed out with Hartlepool.

[Mattyblue]

9 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

He’s only managed two of them.

Ha, course he has!

Eddie didn’t do much in the Champions League, maybe he should hold out before trekking all the way back down here.
 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Mattyblue

[wilsdenrover]

27 minutes ago, rigger said:

He's missed out with Hartlepool.

Possibly below his level.

[Upside Down]

54 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

Had a scan on PNE online earlier, to see what they were saying about Ryan Lowe.

One of their posters was advocating for Mowbray to be appointed there..

Now that is a match made in heaven.

[SuperBrfc]

1 hour ago, K-Hod said:

Had a scan on PNE online earlier, to see what they were saying about Ryan Lowe.

One of their posters was advocating for Mowbray to be appointed there..

Seems like Mowbray's popular over there. A number of them are putting his name forward as their preferred choice. The usual stuff is being trotted out about him being a 'proper' football man, his teams playing attractive football etc.

There's one guy saying another plus point is that Mowbray doesn't talk bullshit in his interviews. Hahaha. Deary me. That poster is in for a big shock on that front if Mowbray ends up there.

Edited December 17, 2023 by SuperBrfc

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 hours ago, DE. said:

Despite Ipswich having been in top form for pretty much the entirety of the season thus far, the visit of Norwich was always going to be a tricky tie. The East Anglian derby hadn't come to Portman Road in five years, with Ipswich being stuck in League 1 for a prolonged period and Norwich having brief stints in the Premier League. Ipswich have been significantly better than Norwich so far this season, but hadn't beaten their neighbours since 2009. The curse seemed to be lifting as Nathan Broadhead put the home side ahead on 34 minutes, but goals just before and just after half-time by Jonathan Rowe put the Canaries in a familiar position of being in the lead against the Blues. Wes Burns equalised for Ipswich in the 60th minute, and they dominated the match from this point onwards, but were unable to further breach the Norwich backline and had to settle for sharing the points. Norwich are now four games unbeaten, having collected eight points from the last twelve, and sit in 10th place, five points from the playoffs. Ipswich remained in 2nd place, level on points with Leicester and eleven points clear of Leeds...

However, Leeds would now have an opportunity for the first time in five games to actually gain some ground on Ipswich. Having lost their last game away to Sunderland, a home match against lowly Coventry represented an excellent chance for Daniel Farke's team to close the gap a little. Considering Leeds play Ipswich at home on Dec 23rd, picking up three points here became even more imperative. Alas, despite going a goal up in the 58th minute, Leeds were pegged back in the 66th minute and squandered their opportunity to pull closer to Ipswich as the game fizzled out into a 1-1 draw. Daniel Farke bemoaned Coventry setting up to be compact and defensive, but whilst I'm sure he'd love every team to set up like Rovers last week, this is how teams without parachute payments get results against teams who do have them. Failure to win means Leeds are still ten points adrift of Ipswich in 2nd and Leicester in 1st, but Leicester have a game in hand on both clubs - played away to Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ on Monday. Coventry are 15th, with the second-most draws in the division behind Huddersfield. 

Sunderland had won their first two games under interim manager Mike Dodd, following the sacking of Tony Mowbray, but the honeymoon period came to an end at Ashton Gate as Bristol City beat the Black Cats 1-0. A 20th minute penalty decided a game which Sunderland otherwise dominated and arguably deserved at least a point from. Bristol City boss Liam Manning won't be feeling hugely sympathetic though, as he desperately needed a win having seen his side lose three and draw one of the last four matches. A win here lifts them to 14th position, whilst Sunderland fall outside of the playoffs into 7th place.

It was Hull City who benefited from Sunderland's slip-up, with the Tigers recording a comfortable 3-0 win over a lacklustre Cardiff City at the KCOM. Hull have bounced back from two defeats in a row by recording two wins in succession, lifting them back into the playoffs and putting them three points clear of Sunderland in 7th. The general poor form of the inconsistent teams below 6th means that Hull have a four point gap from Preston in 8th and a five point gap on Watford, Norwich and Rovers in 9th, 10th and 11th respectively. As far as Cardiff are concerned, four defeats in the last five matches has bombed them out of playoff contention, as they now sit six points from 6th position, falling to 12th place. Bluebirds Boss Erol Bulut admitted post-match that there was a gulf in quality between his side and Hull, and that he had put too much expectation on his team by previously suggesting they could be in playoff contention.  

Joe Edwards looked set to pick up three points as Millwall manager for the first time in six matches at home to struggling Huddersfield, with his side 1-0 up and the crowd baying for the final whistle as the game drew to a close. Their opponents, however, are the draw-specialists of the division and enhanced that reputation by salvaging a point with a 97th minute goal - and even worse for Millwall, it was a penalty, given for a handball against George Saville. The draw does very little for either team, with Millwall failing to win in nine of their last ten matches and Huddersfield only winning once in twelve matches. Such horrendous runs of form would typically see teams plunged into the relegation zone, but the quality of the bottom three has somehow been even worse, sparing both teams such a fate thus far. However, that could all change depending on the result of...

Sheffield Wednesday Vs QPR, taking place at Hillsborough. QPR would have been able to escape the bottom three in midweek had they beaten Plymouth at home, but a disappointing goalless draw kept them in 22nd. They had a second bite of the cherry here, with a win guaranteed to take them out of the relegation zone due to Millwall and Huddersfield playing each other. For the second time in a row, however, the Hoops spurned the chance to give themselves a huge psychological boost by taking themselves out of the bottom three. Things were going well, with QPR a goal ahead and the game coming to a close, but an 86th minute equaliser from Bailey Cadamarteri changed everything. Anthony Musaba would dramatically seal all three points for the Owls with a 94th minute winner. The result ends QPR's four game unbeaten run, and means Sheffield Wednesday have somewhat implausibly won three of their last four matches. Before beating Rovers a couple of weeks back, Wednesday had only won once all season. Now they've won four matches, but remain in 23rd. They pull to within four points of QPR, and six points of Millwall and Huddersfield - who thanks to this result continue to survive on the fringes of the relegation zone in 20th and 21st respectively. QPR stay in 22nd but lose some ground on the teams directly above them, going from one to two points adrift. Having had a huge opportunity to get themselves into a solid position with games at home to Plymouth and away to Wednesday, QPR instead still find themselves in trouble. If they'd managed four points from those two games, they'd be in 20th right now. Six points would have lifted them to 19th, ahead of Stoke. 

Daniel Ayala continued his one man mission to have Christmas and New Year off, as he got himself sent off for the second successive game. He's the first player to achieve that this season. At the point Ayala was sent off, Rotherham were already 2-1 behind away to Plymouth. Despite Ayala's 55th minute sending off giving his team mates far more work to do, the Millers found themselves level in the 77th minute and appeared to be on their way to earning a respectable draw against a Plymouth team who have a decent home record. In the end it wasn't to be, however, as Plymouth scored a 96th minute winner to doom Rotherham to yet another away defeat. They've lost nine of their eleven away matches and drawn the other two. Plymouth are in fact the only other team in the division not to have won a single away match, but they have the 5th best home record in the league, winning seven of their eleven home matches. Rotherham meanwhile aren't much better at home, only winning twice at the New York Stadium this season. This is why Plymouth sit in a relatively comfortable 16th place, in spite of their away form, and Rotherham are rooted to the bottom of the division, nine points from safety. 

Preston went 1-0 up against Watford after 27 minutes, and from that point onwards their afternoon became a nightmare. It was only 1-1 at half time, but a second half blitz from the Hornets meant that the game ended 5-1 in Watford's favour, as PNE boss Ryan Lowe saw his team crumble in embarrassing fashion. Not for the first time this season, either. It's a third home defeat in a row for Preston, who every so often look like the may be getting back to something resembling decent form before inevitably collapsing again. PNE have only picked up four points from the last twelve available and fall to 8th, four points behind Hull in 6th. Their GD of -10 is the worst in the division outside of the bottom four. Watford, on the other hand, are building up a head of steam with ten points from the last fifteen available pushing them up to 9th in the table, five points from the playoff positions.

Rovers failed to restore any pride to Lancashire, losing 4-0 to Southampton in a game we barely even competed in. We looked beaten from the first whistle and so it came to be, although as the game came to a close, 2-0 didn't seem quite so bad - especially considering we had been reduced to ten-men in the 55th minute thanks to Callum Brittain leaving his brain in the dressing room at half time. Unfortunately goals in the 97th and 99th minute piled on the misery for our poor, hardy away fans. Can't say we deserved anything other than what we got, so a big thanks to Venky's for leaving us in a position where we can only hope not to get utterly smashed by the bigger clubs in the division. We aren't even capable of fighting it out Sparky/Big Sam style. A third defeat in five sees us drop to 11th,  the gap to the playoffs increasing to five points. Southampton remain in 4th but are now level with Leeds in 3rd, both teams on 42 points. 

Michael Carrick's Boro put a three-game losing streak behind them as they fought for a 2-1 victory against Swansea at the Swansea.com Stadium. Another astonishingly creative name there. The Swans, still without a manager, were unbeaten in three, having won one and drawn one since Michael Duff's departure, but they tasted defeat here to bring that run to an end. It leaves Swansea sitting in 18th place, five points clear of the relegation zone. Boro move up to 13th, six points from the playoff positions. 

Sunday's match saw another managerless team in Stoke give a spirited away performance against West Brom, fighting to earn themselves a point in a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns. It was a second 1-1 draw in a row for caretaker manager, former Rover Paul Gallagher, which represents a small improvement over the four-game losing streak that former boss Alex Neil had departed on. QPR's defeat on Saturday means that the additional point pulls the Potters three points clear of the relegation zone. WBA's form has been rocky lately, with just four points gained from the last twelve available. They still hold on to 5th position for the time being, but Hull are now level on points with the Baggies. Both are some way behind Southampton and Leeds, though, so one would imagine it will be a fight for 5th and 6th between the remaining teams during the second half of the season. 

I will add Leicester's match against Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ here after tomorrow.

I agree with you about the lack of fight in recent Rovers teams. The “ fight “ went out of the door as the Chicken Chokers walked in through it.

[Upside Down]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I agree with you about the lack of fight in recent Rovers teams. The “ fight “ went out of the door as the Chicken Chokers walked in through it.

Along with any ambition to be anything other than mid table championship plodders.

Absolutely the worst owners in football. Deliberately relegated a top half premier league club and have made sure the club will never get back there.

[booth]

1 hour ago, SuperBrfc said:

Seems like Mowbray's popular over there. A number of them are putting his name forward as their preferred choice. The usual stuff is being trotted out about him being a 'proper' football man, his teams playing attractive football etc.

There's one guy saying another plus point is that Mowbray doesn't talk bullshit in his interviews. Hahaha. Deary me. That poster is in for a big shock on that front if Mowbray ends up there.

If he did go there he doesn't tend to start off too badly. So hopefully he doesn't go there.

But a year or two later it'll be hilarious.

[Ianrally]

1 hour ago, wilsdenrover said:

Possibly below his level.

Not below Brian Clough’s though

[SuperBrfc]

20 minutes ago, booth said:

If he did go there he doesn't tend to start off too badly. So hopefully he doesn't go there.

But a year or two later it'll be hilarious.

Yeah, he would probably do alright for them. I think he's a better manager than Lowe.

My 'in for a shock' comment was regarding that PNE poster saying Mowbray doesn't talk bullshit in interviews. It won't take him long at all on that side of it.

[Mattyblue]

Sounds like Steven Schumacher will be leaving Plymouth for the Stoke job.

[Polky]

2 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Sounds like Steven Schumacher will be leaving Plymouth for the Stoke job.

That’s him sacked in 18 months time, just in time to get the Rovers job when JDT walks at the end of his contract.

[Blow-in]

21 hours ago, SuperBrfc said:

Yeah, he would probably do alright for them. I think he's a better manager than Lowe.

My 'in for a shock' comment was regarding that PNE poster saying Mowbray doesn't talk bullshit in interviews. It won't take him long at all on that side of it.

Don't worry, said fan won't be able to hear his verbal wank from under their stone (where they live).

[Cherry Blue]

Hull City to sign 37 year old Billy Sharp. After leaving Sheffield United he went to LA Galaxy.

[roverandout]

We should have been In for him. A proper goal scorer 

[JHRover]

1 hour ago, Cherry Blue said:

Hull City to sign 37 year old Billy Sharp. After leaving Sheffield United he went to LA Galaxy.

That's the sort of short term but potentially difference making signing a play off and promotion targeting club would make.

Low risk, short term, add a bit to the wage bill but valuable experience and know-how.

Then compare to the ridiculous transfer business we've conducted over the last couple of years whilst sat just outside the top 2 but with reinforcements needed.

[davulsukur]

On 18/12/2023 at 16:25, Mattyblue said:

Sounds like Steven Schumacher will be leaving Plymouth for the Stoke job.

Just seen that has been confirmed.

[Polky]