"Fortress Ewood"

[rigger]

27 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Don’t get the comparison?

Wharton played plenty last season at only 18 as the manager obviously thought he was up to it. Phillips was even younger at 17, still had a few starts, but unfortunately for him he was behind a load of decent to very good Championship centre halves.

We have nothing up front and this lad at 24 still doesn’t get a kick. 

The comparrison is that of playing for the Rovers U23s which they mainly did, and Monchengladbach reserves.

[rigger]

3 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Did I miss something yesterday.  We started with Leonard and Szmodics up front. Last time I checked they were strikers.

Isn't Szmodic an attacking mid-fielder, who has been pressed into being a striker ?

[jim mk2]

16 hours ago, tomphil said:

It's crazy really because teams have to work hard to beat us but we are too easy to score against and piss weak at turning games or rescuing them.

For all the good stuff JDT has done we are still a powder puff team and it must be a while since Ewood form was so bad which isn't a good look for him. Mind you at most normal clubs the DoF would take those stats to the CEO or chairman and say we really need help. The CEO or Chairman would then present it to the owners and say look we are going to struggle here if we don't do something. 

Not here, don't rock the boat and just collect your wages.

 

Are we that hard to beat? But I agree that we are a "powder puff" team 

The Tottenham striker Son apparently labelled Spurs "soft" after their home defeat by West Ham last week and Tottenham are known in the game as "Spurs-y" because of their fragile nature and tendency to cave in under pressure, often against lesser teams.  

Should we be known as "Rovers-y" too?  We usually win when teams let us play our passing game but our nice, fragile lads often disappear in the face of many of the muck-and-nettles players and teams in the Championship - Leeds and Preston being recent examples.

Rovers-y Rovers. Sounds rather good, don't you think? 

[jim mk2]

9 minutes ago, rigger said:

Isn't Szmodic an attacking mid-fielder, who has been pressed into being a striker ?

Mike England was shoved up front in an emergency many years ago. But you'd never call him a forward, or striker in modern parlance. The way Szmodics plays the game isn't that of a striker by any definition.

[Mattyblue]

32 minutes ago, rigger said:

The comparrison is that of playing for the Rovers U23s which they mainly did, and Monchengladbach reserves.

They were 17 and 18 and still got in the first team in parts of the pitch in which we had options. JDT thought they had it, even at those tender ages.

This lad is 24, plays in a position where we are obviously struggling he can’t get on the pitch. 

It’s pretty clear why JDT won’t play him, he doesn’t think he’s up to it.
 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Mattyblue

[rigger]

5 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

They were 17 and 18 and still got in the first team in parts of the pitch in which we had options. JDT thought they had it, even at those tender ages.

This lad is 24, plays in a position where we are obviously struggling he can’t get on the pitch. 

It’s pretty clear why JDT won’t play him, he doesn’t think he’s up to to.
 

Again, I am not comparing the players, but the comparison of the German fourth level of football, and the English fifth level of football. I reiterate he was bought from a Bundesliga club. If he is not good enough for the Rovers, that is a reflection on the people who scouted him. In our situation we haven't got the luxury of not giving him a chance.

[Mattyblue]

Of course it reflects badly.

But if he’s not up to it, he’s not up to it, JDT has no issue in chucking players as we’ve seen throughout his time here, the fact he isn’t doing with this lad speaks volumes.

[rigger]

54 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Of course it reflects badly.

But if he’s not up to it, he’s not up to it, JDT has no issue in chucking players as we’ve seen throughout his time here, the fact he isn’t doing with this lad speaks volumes.

But is JDT not picking him because, the signing was foisted upon him, or because he is not as good as the players that are being played in the strikers positions ?

[Mattyblue]

The second one.

All players are pretty much foisted on him in this set up, alas this one was more desperate than the rest.

[chaddyrovers]

9 hours ago, Hasta said:

“We werent outclassed by Leeds and created more chances than them”

😂😂😂😂

 

So you honestly thought we were outclassed by Leeds then? 

[rigger]

5 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

The second one.

All players are pretty much foisted on him in this set up, alas this one was more desperate than the rest.

I hope you are right.

[Hasta]

44 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

So you honestly thought we were outclassed by Leeds then? 

I thought they clearly looked a level above us. They stopped us getting into any of the good positions around the box we normally do. We huffed and puffed but created nothing bar one header from a corner. Therefore, yes.

We looked far more dangerous against Leicester.

Do you seriously believe we created more chances than them?

Edited December 10, 2023 by Hasta

[rigger]

4 minutes ago, Hasta said:

I thought they clearly looked a level above us. They stopped us getting into any of the good positions around the box we normally do. We huffed and puffed but created nothing bar one header from a corner. Therefore, yes.

We looked far more dangerous against Leicester.

Do you seriously believe we created more chances than them?

Not to mention the final score.

[chaddyrovers]

13 minutes ago, Hasta said:

I thought they clearly looked a level above us. They stopped us getting into any of the good positions around the box we normally do. We huffed and puffed but created nothing bar one header from a corner. Therefore, yes.

We looked far more dangerous against Leicester.

Do you seriously believe we created more chances than them?

Not for me. They have quality forwards and that was the different between the teams as I said yesterday. 

We creating more than just that header. Brittain chance in 58 mins, Hill and Carter headers, Szmodics shot first half that was blocked

Edited December 10, 2023 by chaddyrovers

[Mattyblue]

They were obviously playing within themselves, they looked as if they could step it up whenever they fancied.

That’s what having players on the bench on 50k a week can do for you.

[Upside Down]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

So you honestly thought we were outclassed by Leeds then? 

The scoreline would suggest so.

[roversfan99]

We might have had more shots in the stats, im not sure but if we are including blocked shots and half chances then its probably a case of clutching at straws. Leeds had all of the proper clear cut chances.

Not sure Wahlstedt made himself as big as he could have for the 2nd.

[Leonard Venkhater]

8 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

 

Are we that hard to beat? But I agree that we are a "powder puff" team 

The Tottenham striker Son apparently labelled Spurs "soft" after their home defeat by West Ham last week and Tottenham are known in the game as "Spurs-y" because of their fragile nature and tendency to cave in under pressure, often against lesser teams.  

Should we be known as "Rovers-y" too?  We usually win when teams let us play our passing game but our nice, fragile lads often disappear in the face of many of the muck-and-nettles players and teams in the Championship - Leeds and Preston being recent examples.

Rovers-y Rovers. Sounds rather good, don't you think? 

In our house we've been saying Rovers are Spursy for ages.

Soft..powder puff, but easy on the eye= Mid-table/going nowhere..until manager /players leave and we go down?

[philipl]

might help getting a load of injured players back including Whitehall and Cirino and other youngsters cruelly cut down by bodies giving way. 

[tomphil]

Those youngsters mentioned are imo nowhere near good enough to step up, the academy production line was always going to hit the buffers.

[Mattyblue]

Nature of the beast. Some crops have some real talent in them, some not so much.

And that used to be fine, just the way it is, not a sure thing that top talent will come through each and every season.

But here our whole set up relies on it. Seems a very risky way to keep competitive in a league like this, but we are where we are.

[Displaced Rover]

We're seriously lacking in quality across the pitch but nowhere more so than upfront.

As was said in thee Middlesbrough match thread, JDT chucked Telalovic on to show everyone he's not up to it and subsequently he's been nowhere near the side. Classic panic buy.

That said - apparently his birthday is 23rd December so maybe he'll get thrown on and bang in a hat-trick as we finally come from behind to win a game at Ewood...

 

[tomphil]

We can't have a mindset running through the upper offices of the club that it's ok we can just step up another few from the U21s every so often.

Already seeing the flaws in that this season where some aren't ready to be starters and others really need to be on loan learning the ropes.

Also factor in we have Ennis and Tele on the bench every game serving no purpose whatsoever it's easy to see why we cannot turn games around. The flaws in our 'model' on and off the pitch are biting us this season every bit as much as a few key absentees, which happens to every club.

[G Somerset Rover]

More losses at Ewood by the end of December than we had in the whole of the 22-23 season.

[MarkBRFC]

7 home defeats by Christmas. Only matched by keans effort in 11-12.

Edited December 24, 2023 by MarkBRFC