v Coventry City (a) - 1/10/2024

[tomphil]

First off we've been over achieving so the wheels were always going to fall off at some point. Hopefully temporarily but i'm not so sure and the international break might come at a good time for us.

There was always a no show in us like that there always will be unless they spend some money on a bit more quality. Don't know what it is will rovers but regardless of manager they always save a few stinkers for midweek away games particularly in the midlands.

Gaffer got it wrong tonight iv'e said previously they way we play they should be starting the big lad up top in tough away games. Eustace would be better approaching some of these the way he did last season, despite the potential negativity it might bring from critics.

He's trying things with Dolan that didn't work with Mowbray years ago and in typical Tyrese fashion he plays himself into and then out of the starting line up. 

Yet again the push for Cantwell to start on the back of barely 1 decent half proved over the top, predictably. Some never learn but at least the pears haters got their bit when the game was already gone.

Bad night, it happens, need to freshen up Saturday with several starters tonight on the bench at Plymouth.

 

[Hasta]

3 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Didn't do anything of note and I wouldn't start him at Plymouth 

Looking like being the BRFCS man of the match.

[London blue]

"at least our shit goalkeeper returned to form and shipped another soft goal"

[Bethnal]

39 minutes ago, Old Codger said:

Erm, Plymouth beat Sunderland on merit at the weekend...

If there’s any team capable of losing to Plymouth, it’s us, but I honestly believe Rooney’s out of a job at Christmas. Most teams should be beating them handily. That journey from Sunderland is enormous, it will have come into play.

[islander200]

22 minutes ago, Bethnal said:

If there’s any team capable of losing to Plymouth, it’s us, but I honestly believe Rooney’s out of a job at Christmas. Most teams should be beating them handily. That journey from Sunderland is enormous, it will have come into play.

Only Wednesday have 

Both West Brom and Burnley only beat them by a single goal .

They have only lost once at home V Stoke 0-1.They seem to be doing a bit better under Rooney recently and going off the results so far this season it will be a tough game 

[roversinmyblood]

33 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

more the manor of the non performance that is annoying people,it was`nt bad it was f****k terrible,nothing worse for a fan that seeing your team get hammered due to lack of effort

I don’t think it was lack of effort, it was lack of quality. They passed poorly, tackled poorly and created nothing of note. We were out fought. 

[roversinmyblood]

29 minutes ago, London blue said:

"at least our shit goalkeeper returned to form and shipped another soft goal"

The second and third goals had deflections so maybe that played a part in conceding. 

[tomphil]

Until we finally learn to turn up to these types of games prepared to match the physicality then we'll keep losing them.

It's what undoes us time and again in this league no team that has a soft underbelly is successful.

[rigger]

2 hours ago, bluebruce said:

Bargain? How much are we getting paid to take them then?

It's only going to cost you £349.

[islander200]

Really poor from Dolan not only his involvement in their second goal but he also  should have played a better pass into Ohashi in the opening minutes after initially doing very well dummying the defender 

We go 1-0 up we come away with a draw at least, lucky it was only 3 in end by far our worst performance in quite a while 

Hopefully we can get a result v Plymouth and then use the international break to work on our attack find a preferred four who can work on finding chemistry 

I find it difficult to be overly critical of Ohashi as the lad is a finisher but the service has been pitiful last few games but I would be bringing in Gueye in as he was making it stick and getting the other attacking players involved in the game upto his sending off

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Didn't do anything of note and I wouldn't start him at Plymouth 

The other two lads out wide did things of note...in a bad way.

Are you seriously saying he shouldn't play ahead of Dolan (who, for the record, I like overall) after that performance?

[bluebruce]

30 minutes ago, roversinmyblood said:

The second and third goals had deflections so maybe that played a part in conceding. 

The second goal was in no way his fault. The third though, deflection or not that was a pitiful attempt at an easy save.

The first, I'm not saying he should have saved it as such, but he gave himself absolutely no chance with his positioning and jump. It was, at least, an easier goal than it should've been. Although, the marking was wank too.

[A Northern Horde...]

I thought the 'throw one in' mentality was a thing of the past?🫣

 

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

What service has Ohashi had to be honest in those games? 

I am not criticising his lack of goals in those 3 games.  

But his lack of all round game has been a factor in our disjointed attack. He isnt strong and he cant hold the ball up and bring others into play. He is quite slow and doesnt really offer an option in behind or in the channels. And technically his passes can often be loose and go astray.

I think he clearly is an excellent finisher when he gets the chance, but when he doesnt score he doesnt offer anything.

[Ghost7]

Who is supposed to be providing service to the forwards from the right hand side, and who is supposed to be providing service to the forwards from the left?

Carter and Dolan? Give it a rest.

Dolan is extremely inconsistent and largely a liability on the ball that takes too many touches or doesn't connect cleanly. Carter is a CB.

That aside they still should have done better tonight. Tronstad, Travis and about 9 others didn't play well.

[arbitro]

Not one player tonight comes out with any credit. Coventry didn't really have to get out of third gear and still won in a canter. We were slow in possession and out of possession, lacked any real aggression  and the decision making from every player was extremely poor. They looked like scoring from every set piece they had and this has been going on since the Derby game. It really needs sorting and Coventry had clearly identified this as a weakness. Dolan exasperates me. On Saturday he was really good - tonight  (an early run apart) he was the polar opposite. Did he forget that we had changed ends? To call it a schoolboy error would be an insult to schoolboys. Hyam went back to Mr Softy and allowed himself to be bullied and Baath was marginally better. The experiment of Carter at full back should have ended tonight. His positional play just isn't good enough to play full back. Tronstadt gave probably his poorest performance in a Rovers shirt and Travis looked so hesitant in possession. Cantwell must have had his eyes opened tonight as the pace of Coventry left him looking bewildered. Ohashi was isolated and in such a disjointed performance was feeding off scraps. The substitutes offered nothing. Pears' distribution was awful.

It's an interesting situation now for team selection for Saturday. Eustace has several big decisions to make but whoever is picked needs to show some fight and aggression. It seems already like the spirit we showed at Burnley has dissipated. 

[Aqualung]

6 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I am not criticising his lack of goals in those 3 games.  

But his lack of all round game has been a factor in our disjointed attack. He isnt strong and he cant hold the ball up and bring others into play. He is quite slow and doesnt really offer an option in behind or in the channels. And technically his passes can often be loose and go astray.

I think he clearly is an excellent finisher when he gets the chance, but when he doesnt score he doesnt offer anything.

A bit hard on Yuki to be honest. He isn't the only one who's passes go astray. Look at Travis tonight.... Bloody garbage in his passing and he's not the only one. It's the midfields job to supply to the forward players... And sadly that's not happening for whatever reason. 

No need to single out a new recruit in a new country, new language and new surroundings in such a short time. 

On to Plymouth. 

[roversfan99]

Social media is full of posts desperate to paint Rovers fans as desperate to moan and reeling in seeing us lose but I actually think tonight highlighted some concerns that were already there. You cant say our start hasnt been very good but suggestions of a play off push etc seemed premature.

After conceding 6 goals in 4 games, we have looked stronger in defence lately, but the 3 clean sheets have come twice in games where the opposition has had 10 men, and the third against an abject Bristol City side. We deserved praise for how we set up on those days but Pears has not been tested too often and he is never far away from a howler, over the course of the season he will cost us far more points than he earns us. We faced an attack with pace in it and our slow defence was run ragged, with Carter exposed as a centre back playing out of position, Wright tortured him.

We have scored a good amount of goals but it has felt more due to being clinical with a few wonder goals rather than as a result of a well balanced attack. There is an imbalance with many of our attackers wanting to all play in central areas, Cantwell is the most talented but he was a liability when he was further wide and has to be in the middle. The lack of pace was not addressed in the summer, Cozier Duberry looks to be a bit different to the rest in that he looks to commit full backs but even he is desperate to come inside. The likes of Dolan and Hedges will always have more ineffective games than effective and Weimann whilst being a cleverer player than either doesnt have the legs compared to when he was a real consistent threat at this level.

Up front we have 2 strikers signed for cheap from a relegated Belgian side and the Japanese league and we are still figuring them out. Ohashi is a mixture of brilliant composure in front of goal yet offers absolutely nothing else to the side so when he doesnt score, he may aswell not be playing. Gueye needs to prove that he can couple his physicality with a goal threat but both are still to show exactly how effective they are and how they can compliment those around them over the course of the season.

There is justifiably a lot of talk about the extra character in the side especially with more experience but I found todays performance to be a strong example of what we have seen in years gone by. A midweek away game where nobody really showed up and we were comfortably dispatched, by a side with quality but one that had been in terrible form.

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

A bit hard on Yuki to be honest. He isn't the only one who's passes go astray. Look at Travis tonight.... Bloody garbage in his passing and he's not the only one. It's the midfields job to supply to the forward players... And sadly that's not happening for whatever reason. 

No need to single out a new recruit in a new country, new language and new surroundings in such a short time. 

On to Plymouth. 

He is one player mentioned in a post about a number of players that prompted further discussion once I was asked about the comments made. Had I just come on and criticised him alone then you may have had a point.

I think questioning his all round play (whilst commending him on his finishing ability) is fair. He isnt fast, he isnt strong and he struggles to contribute when he doesnt score. Had I jumped to conclusions saying hes shit/he isnt good enough then again fair enough, but I didnt.

He obviously wasnt the only one to struggle tonight, basically everyone did.

[mick]

It’s the first league loss of the season. There’s a long season ahead and Eustace can’t let the team get into the habit of losing and finding it acceptable. A fresh team for the weekend. Let’s have a win and reestablish the confidence levels. Travis, Cantwell and Tronstad will be integral to making this team tick again. 

[Forever Blue]

5 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Didn't do anything of note and I wouldn't start him at Plymouth 

I said what he did in his brief cameo. But you’re right, after that performance he should stay on the bench cos Weimann, Cantwell and Dolan were fantastic 🤣

[M_B]

8 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

Did we try anything different? Just swapped Hedges for Cantwell. Otherwise much the same setup.

Cantwell didn't look anywhere near ready for that game, as with the suggestion of giving Cozier-Duberry his debut, I just never thought this game was the place to change anything. 

[ABBEY]

7 hours ago, roversinmyblood said:

The second and third goals had deflections so maybe that played a part in conceding. 

TO USE A GAVINSM....BUNKUM

that 3rd goal , yes deflected however the ball ended up where pears was expecting it or should i add any proper keeper  . 

his poppadom wrists have less movement than steven hawkins had when taking acid tabs.

1st goal his position and reflex were abysmal.

 

Edited October 2 by ABBEY

[roverblue]

Hopefully a blip rather than the start of a streak. Turned off at 2-0 but had been poor all over the pitch, couldn’t pass, stood off our men, lost every 50/50 etc.

Not targeting any one player they were all shit from what I saw that half. Start again and try and get a point away on Saturday.

Starting Gueye is a must in away games hopefully that lesson is learnt by Eustace. You need something for the opposition defence to worry about and an outlet.

[M_B]

7 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Social media is full of posts desperate to paint Rovers fans as desperate to moan and reeling in seeing us lose but I actually think tonight highlighted some concerns that were already there. You cant say our start hasnt been very good but suggestions of a play off push etc seemed premature.

After conceding 6 goals in 4 games, we have looked stronger in defence lately, but the 3 clean sheets have come twice in games where the opposition has had 10 men, and the third against an abject Bristol City side. We deserved praise for how we set up on those days but Pears has not been tested too often and he is never far away from a howler, over the course of the season he will cost us far more points than he earns us. We faced an attack with pace in it and our slow defence was run ragged, with Carter exposed as a centre back playing out of position, Wright tortured him.

We have scored a good amount of goals but it has felt more due to being clinical with a few wonder goals rather than as a result of a well balanced attack. There is an imbalance with many of our attackers wanting to all play in central areas, Cantwell is the most talented but he was a liability when he was further wide and has to be in the middle. The lack of pace was not addressed in the summer, Cozier Duberry looks to be a bit different to the rest in that he looks to commit full backs but even he is desperate to come inside. The likes of Dolan and Hedges will always have more ineffective games than effective and Weimann whilst being a cleverer player than either doesnt have the legs compared to when he was a real consistent threat at this level.

Up front we have 2 strikers signed for cheap from a relegated Belgian side and the Japanese league and we are still figuring them out. Ohashi is a mixture of brilliant composure in front of goal yet offers absolutely nothing else to the side so when he doesnt score, he may aswell not be playing. Gueye needs to prove that he can couple his physicality with a goal threat but both are still to show exactly how effective they are and how they can compliment those around them over the course of the season.

There is justifiably a lot of talk about the extra character in the side especially with more experience but I found todays performance to be a strong example of what we have seen in years gone by. A midweek away game where nobody really showed up and we were comfortably dispatched, by a side with quality but one that had been in terrible form.

Just being devil's advocate, and by way of scientific experiment, how many points has Pears gained us and lost us after 8 games?