v Portsmouth (h) - 15/1/2025

[Giant]

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

Now 2 goals in 25 matches for Gueye. That’s prolific in this team 

Classic comment Mr. MK2, love it.

[simongarnerisgod]

less said about the 1st half,it was a horror show

2nd half cantwell was as good as he was bad in the first

brittain was excellent,eustace has turned him into a top full back,he was always good going forwards,now it looks like he can defend as well

buckley still coasting through games,basically he can **** off for me

delighted for big mak,a clumsy footballer who`s attitide and work rate get him through games

[chaddyrovers]

Good win and clean sheet but we made it harder work then was needed. First half was awful. No tempo at all. Weimann should score  

We scored 3 good goals. Gueye's header was a good cross by Brittain. Brittain great striker. Weimann with tap up goal. 

Brittain well deserved man of the match

Eustace's Blue and White Army 🔵 ⚪️ 

[B16Rover]

29 minutes ago, BigBar said:

He is useful, raw as it gets and he will always frustrate no doubt but there is a role for him here. Side bar but how shite was Telalovic? Pape certainly a massive improvement on "that"😂

5 in 8 in Germany this year is Semir!

[BigBar]

4 minutes ago, B16Rover said:

5 in 8 in Germany this year is Semir!

Ha just had a look to see what division he ended up at ..says 5 in 13 which still by his standards isn't too bad....cheeky bid?😉

[RoverDom]

Good win and 4 winnable games coming up should see us hit 50 points a good while sooner than we were predicting at the start of the season. 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, Kei said:

No more goals now please otherwise the powers that be will see no need for a striker.

We need pace and trickery out wide more than we need a CF.

[had.e.nuff]

another good win only 8 points to safety, then lets press on and see what happens

[roverblue]

Called it. Although at half time would have never believed it was going to be 3-0 anymore. Big Mak and ACD changed the game let’s start with them next time.

[jny]

7 minutes ago, roverblue said:

Called it. Although at half time would have never believed it was going to be 3-0 anymore. Big Mak and ACD changed the game let’s start with them next time.

Big Mak needs to learn how to shoot with his feet

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

A game of two halves. The first half was awful, Buckley, Tronstad and Cantwell were playing more in our half than theirs. The passing was abysmal, we rarely strung more than two passes together. The experiment of playing Weimann up front was a flop. It’s not his game. Every long ball from Pears came straight back into midfield. 
The game changed with the subs. Big Mak came on and changed the whole dynamic of the match. The ball started stopping in their half. Once the goal went in we stepped up a gear and got on top. At 3-0 we put our cue back in the rack and gave the two new lads some minutes. That was fine but we lost our shape somewhat and the game petered out.

Scores

Pears 6 not much to do but nearly made a complete hash of a clearance by rushing out of his goal for no reason.

Brittain 8 M O M for me. Eustace has transformed this lad. He’s looking class at both ends of the pitch. Super goal just when we needed it. Sheareresque cross for Big Mak’s goal. The best crosser of a ball at the club. He has the complete range.

Hyam 7 steady enough, should have done better with the first half header.

Baath 7 hardly put a foot wrong.

Beck 7 would you want to play against him ? I wouldn’t ! Fast, hard, ruthless. We must have the best pair of fullbacks in the league.

Buckley 5 played himself out of the next match for me. Give JRC or Earnshaw a whirl there.

Tronstad 7 not at his best tonight. Great intervention in front of goal in the first half.

Cantwell 7 two great Tugay style balls and was involved in the goals but he was too deep in the first hour.

Dolan 5 ineffectual, too many pointless pirouettes on the ball that led to him losing the ball

Weimann 6 up front is not his best position. Inexplicably put a good chance in row Z. Got lucky with the goal, hitting it low into the space where the keeper was coming. Should have gone higher up the goal.

Hedges 5, anonymous apart from playing Beck into trouble after Cantwell’s great cross field pass.

subs

Big Mac 8 totally changed the game. Even when he wasn’t getting a clean header on the ball he made sure their centre halves didn’t either. Scored a headed goal from a really difficult angle.

ACD 6 good dummy for the goal. He’s too easily brushed off the ball when he runs into midfield. He should stay out wide and concentrate on just running at the fullback.

JRC 6 hardly in the game out on the left wing.

Forshaw 6 hardly in it apart from one passage of play were he cleared our lines with some good control and passing.

Sanderson 7 I like this lad already. He likes a tackle without a doubt.

So we take the 3 points and move on. Strangely I fancy our chances more at Oxford than I did tonight.

Edited January 16 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[...]

Eustace give us a wave! Class

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Now 2 goals in 25 matches for Gueye. That’s prolific in this team 

Two thumping headers too.

Maybe we should, y'know, cross more balls into the box for our 6'5" CF?

[Ghost7]

"Dolan 5 ineffectual, too many pointless pirouettes on the ball that led to him loosing the ball" 

Why oh why does he do it. It often feels like he's playing for some kind of miniature highlight reel. It's bad really bad. He should sign the deal and concentrate on becoming a better footballer. We gave him an opportunity at a level no one else would have.

A top performance by the team from 60 minutes onwards. Thought Brittain was outstanding throughout.

[Andy]

Yeah, the Dolan pirouettes are frustrating.
He'll do something good or create a bit of space, then shimmy back and forth for no actual reason - and the chance has passed.

I'm sure when he first broke though, he was more direct and had an output.

And that's why it's as frustrating as it is - he just needs a reset and to forgot the stepovers.

[onlyonejackwalker]

16 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

A game of two halves. The first half was awful, Buckley, Tronstad and Cantwell were playing more in our half than theirs. The passing was abysmal, we rarely strung more than two passes together. The experiment of playing Weimann up front was a flop. It’s not his game. Every long ball from Pears came straight back into midfield. 
The game changed with the subs. Big Mak came on and changed the whole dynamic of the match. The ball started stopping their half. Once the goal went in we stepped a gear and got on top. At 3-0 we put our cue back in the rack and gave the two new lads some minutes. That was fine but we lost our shape somewhat and the game petered out.

Scores

Pears 6 not much to do but nearly made a complete hash of a clearance by rushing out of is goal for no reason.

Brittain 8 M O M for me. Eustace has transformed this lad. He’s looking class at both ends of the pitch. Super goal just when we needed it. Sheareresque cross for Big Mak’s goal. The best crosser of a ball at the club. He has the complete range.

Hyam 7 steady enough, should have done better with the first half header.

Baath 7 hardly put a foot wrong.

Beck 7 would you want to play against him ? I wouldn’t ! Fast, hard, ruthless. We must have the best pair of fullbacks in the league.

Buckley 5 played himself out of the next match for me. Give JRC or Earnshaw a whirl there.

Tronstad 7 not at his best tonight. Great intervention in front of goal in the first half.

Cantwell 7 two great Tugay style balls and was involved in the goals but he was too deep in the first hour.

Dolan 5 ineffectual, too many pointless pirouettes on the ball that led to him losing the ball

Weimann 6 up front is not his best position. Inexplicably put a good chance in row Z. Got lucky with the goal, hitting it low into the space where the keeper was coming. Should have gone higher up the goal.

Hedges 5, anonymous apart from playing Beck into trouble after Cantwell’s great cross field pass.

subs

Big Mac 8 totally changed the game. Even when he wasn’t getting a clean header on the ball he made sure their centre halves didn’t either. Scored a headed goal from a really difficult angle.

ACD 6 good dummy for the goal. He’s too easily brushed off the ball when he runs into midfield. He should stay out wide and concentrate on just running at the fullback.

JRC 6 hardly in the game out on the left wing.

Earnshaw 6 hardly in it apart from one passage of play were he cleared our lines with some good control and passing.

Sanderson 7 I like this lad already. He likes a tackle without a doubt.

So we take the 3 points and move on. Strangely I fancy our chances more at Oxford than I did tonight.

Thanks for this. Very good summary.

[Herbie6590]

They’re back…vote for your POTM now…

https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/football/match/1216023/blackburn-portsmouth?tab=voting

[only2garners]

24 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

A game of two halves. The first half was awful, Buckley, Tronstad and Cantwell were playing more in our half than theirs. The passing was abysmal, we rarely strung more than two passes together. The experiment of playing Weimann up front was a flop. It’s not his game. Every long ball from Pears came straight back into midfield. 
The game changed with the subs. Big Mak came on and changed the whole dynamic of the match. The ball started stopping their half. Once the goal went in we stepped a gear and got on top. At 3-0 we put our cue back in the rack and gave the two new lads some minutes. That was fine but we lost our shape somewhat and the game petered out.

Scores

Pears 6 not much to do but nearly made a complete hash of a clearance by rushing out of is goal for no reason.

Brittain 8 M O M for me. Eustace has transformed this lad. He’s looking class at both ends of the pitch. Super goal just when we needed it. Sheareresque cross for Big Mak’s goal. The best crosser of a ball at the club. He has the complete range.

Hyam 7 steady enough, should have done better with the first half header.

Baath 7 hardly put a foot wrong.

Beck 7 would you want to play against him ? I wouldn’t ! Fast, hard, ruthless. We must have the best pair of fullbacks in the league.

Buckley 5 played himself out of the next match for me. Give JRC or Earnshaw a whirl there.

Tronstad 7 not at his best tonight. Great intervention in front of goal in the first half.

Cantwell 7 two great Tugay style balls and was involved in the goals but he was too deep in the first hour.

Dolan 5 ineffectual, too many pointless pirouettes on the ball that led to him losing the ball

Weimann 6 up front is not his best position. Inexplicably put a good chance in row Z. Got lucky with the goal, hitting it low into the space where the keeper was coming. Should have gone higher up the goal.

Hedges 5, anonymous apart from playing Beck into trouble after Cantwell’s great cross field pass.

subs

Big Mac 8 totally changed the game. Even when he wasn’t getting a clean header on the ball he made sure their centre halves didn’t either. Scored a headed goal from a really difficult angle.

ACD 6 good dummy for the goal. He’s too easily brushed off the ball when he runs into midfield. He should stay out wide and concentrate on just running at the fullback.

JRC 6 hardly in the game out on the left wing.

Earnshaw 6 hardly in it apart from one passage of play were he cleared our lines with some good control and passing.

Sanderson 7 I like this lad already. He likes a tackle without a doubt.

So we take the 3 points and move on. Strangely I fancy our chances more at Oxford than I did tonight.

It’s Forshaw Tyrone! Unless we’ve slipped Robbie Earnshaw in under the radar.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, only2garners said:

It’s Forshaw Tyrone! Unless we’ve slipped Robbie Earnshaw in under the radar.

Sorry ! My son will be laughing his head off. I’ve been calling him Earnshaw all night !

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, BigBar said:

Ha just had a look to see what division he ended up at ..says 5 in 13 which still by his standards isn't too bad....cheeky bid?😉

The 2. Bundesliga is a pretty good level. Probably on par with the Championship. Not sure he was given a proper chance here tbh, by manager or fans. But ultimately he didn't deliver so I totally get why he was moved on.

[bigbrandjohn]

2 hours ago, Adam C said:

My takeaway from the season so far is that it feels great to be firmly in the top 6 and not gherkin around mid table. If the venkys don’t back him then they can burger off. I heard from a good sauce that we’ll be strengthening the squad soon.  

It's a whopper to think we can still keep piling on the goodies. I am relishing it at the moment.

Big Mak makes a difference when he is served up. Even if he was on the other side of the counter when he served up his special. 

Mr Eustace you doing wonders with the economy menu.

I 'm loving it. 

Edited January 16 by bigbrandjohn

[Scoobydo]

32 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

The 2. Bundesliga is a pretty good level. Probably on par with the Championship. Not sure he was given a proper chance here tbh, by manager or fans. But ultimately he didn't deliver so I totally get why he was moved on.

It’s not on par with the championship

[DaveyB]

2 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

For 60 mins that was the worst we’ve played this season.

In fairness we were playing with a disadvantage for that period - Pompey kept passing the ball to each other whilst our lads clearly hadn’t been told they were allowed to do that!!

Thankfully it improved (although it couldn’t have got worse) and it was Gueye who really made the difference.
I get the frustration about the lack of goals from him, but I’ve never felt he deserves the amount of stick he gets on here. The lads a natural target man - wins flick ons, holds the ball up well - and given that we defend so deep he’s fairly crucial to how we play as he allows us to get out and to play in the opposition half occasionally. 

[roversfan99]

He gets so much stick because he is a striker who offers very little goalscoring threat, whatever you offer outside of that (and he does have games where the ball bounces off him etc) as a striker you will struggle to avoid criticism unless you offer a goal threat, its not something that can be easily dismissed.

Thankfully he did tonight by getting a goal with his head where he does show a threat, with his feet he is very poor in front of goal.

He definitely offers more as a sub than as a starter it seems. When he starts games he is often anonymous. When he comes on and we need a goal, sometimes just the chaos of a target man can lead to knock downs etc. Although tonight it wa a very skilled header. And if we are winning and he comes on, he (not always) can hold the ball up and get us up the pitch as he did at the weekend.

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, Scoobydo said:

It’s not on par with the championship

Can't find the more recent figures, but in 22/23 the 2.Bundesliga clubs had 785.7 million Euros in revenue. Championship clubs had £749 million. There's not much difference in the financial heft of these leagues, and there are only 18 clubs sharing that revenue in Germany. They're stronger sides than you think.