v Portsmouth (h) - 15/1/2025

[joey_big_nose]

12 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The trouble is both of Gueye and ACD are poor when they start a game. I think Eustace knows that. 

Id say Gueye is more of a confidence player. Id start him next game as his blood will be up.

When hes on it Gueye is so so good. He looked last night like he was in August. His shooting is really poor, but a lot of the rest his game is very rounded imo. He can win it in the air, find space, run in behind, link up play. A real nightmare for any defence. Kind of the ideal target man. But then sometimes forgets how to use his legs for a month or two. So weird!

[smiller14]

Not sure if I'm alone in this, but way before the penalty incident everyone is talking about there was a better shout for a penalty when Batth inexplicably pushed their lad when a cross came in. I'm sure it's been mentioned but we got away with that one imo. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 minutes ago, smiller14 said:

Not sure if I'm alone in this, but way before the penalty incident everyone is talking about there was a better shout for a penalty when Batth inexplicably pushed their lad when a cross came in. I'm sure it's been mentioned but we got away with that one imo. 

Yeah I saw that. I don’t what he was doing there. No need to do it, the ball wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.

Edited January 16 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[lraC]

3 minutes ago, smiller14 said:

Not sure if I'm alone in this, but way before the penalty incident everyone is talking about there was a better shout for a penalty when Batth inexplicably pushed their lad when a cross came in. I'm sure it's been mentioned but we got away with that one imo. 

I cringed, especially on the replay. 

I think we had a homer last night to be honest, but truly believe we were due one.

[norwichblue]

Can’t stop watching that second goal. Cantwell does brilliantly in tight space to beat two men to set up the transition to attack. That dummy from ACD left their defender in tatters. And what a finish from Brittain. We’ve scored some nice goals this season.

Wish I’d seen Dion’s contributions - I had to step out momentarily.

[DaveyB]

35 minutes ago, ... said:

What's the reason for Pears not taking a proper goal kick? He ends up hoofing it under pressure with no thought when he could of just taken it from the off.

The idea is that it spreads the opposition out because they have to have some closing down the short ball as well as being ready for the long one - which, in theory, provides more space to play in and gives you a better chance of keeping hold of possession (I think I saw a stat that nearly 90% of long goal kicks are turned over possession - although obviously some managers, such as Big Sam for instance, will take the view that even if you turn over possession it is at least in the opposition half and so if you can then win it back you’re in a better position than on the edge of your own box 🤷‍♂️)

Of course what happened in the first half last night (and not for the first time) is that our passing and movement is so poor that we end up just smashing it long to their defenders and conceding possession anyway

[Tugayisgod]

Fair play to Portsmouth as well, that was a decent following for a night match to see your side get beat. Probably not back till 4am 😳😳

[Dan]

1 minute ago, Tugayisgod said:

Fair play to Portsmouth as well, that was a decent following for a night match to see your side get beat. Probably not back till 4am 😳😳

Imagine the poor folk travelling back with the guy with the bell 🔔 😳

[roverblue]

5 minutes ago, Tugayisgod said:

Fair play to Portsmouth as well, that was a decent following for a night match to see your side get beat. Probably not back till 4am 😳😳

Best away support iv seen at Ewood in a long time, literally sang their hearts out from first minute to last regardless of the goals going in.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

49 minutes ago, roverblue said:

ACD completely destroyed Luton when he started just before Xmas and got MoM? I don't think either are world beaters but iv seen enough of Hedges to know he is a sub at best. Gueye is a bit of mystery, looks unplayable at times then a total donkey at others, but at least is a striker unlike Weimenn.

Then we went to Millwall who’d obviously watched the Luton game. They had the full back right up ACD’s arse, got physical with him, made him play facing his own goal and he was played completely out of the game. Subsequent opponents have adopted the same methods and up to now he hadn’t had an answer.

Edited January 16 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[philipl]

Seen the extended highlights.

Pears undoubtedly conceded a penalty immediately prior to our second but Bishop had been (and continued) diving in the box and wasn't carded for it.

The build up from the goal line clearance was sublime, particularly Cantwell not only getting away from two Pompey players tight to him but the pass he played through them was inch and weight perfect.

[roverblue]

11 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Then we went to Millwall who’d obviously watched the Luton game. They had the full back right up ACD’s arse, got physical with him, made him play facing his own goal and he was played completely out of the game. Subsequent opponents have adopted the same methods and up to now he hadn’t had an answer.

Think you are being too quick to judge his ability to be a starter personally, he has shown more than enough to be starting over players like Hedges.

[47er]

2 minutes ago, roverblue said:

he has shown more than enough to be starting over players like Hedges.

A low bar!

[Paul Mani]

9 hours ago, DaveyB said:

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. 

Mate, you won’t get any argument from me. I said within 10 minutes of seeing him make his debut vs Stockport that there’s a player in him and he’s FARRRR better than Sam Gallagher.

It’s taken time, but with his physical attributes, ability to hold the ball and win flick ons etc, he’s always going to be a handful. I also feel there’s a goal streak in him, that you get with strikers who aren’t great finishers but often get on a roll where they score 5 in 5 games.

One thing is for sure, if we can get the Makhtar Gueye, who turned up last night playing consistently, like that that for 70 mins a game, we will fuckin terrorise defences. 💪🏽

Edited January 16 by Paul Mani

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

11 minutes ago, 47er said:

A low bar!

Really low bar.
 Plus if we have Dolan and ACD in the same team we’re getting really short defending at corners and free kicks.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Paul Mani said:

Mate, you won’t get any argument from me. I said within 10 minutes of seeing him make his debut vs Stockport that there’s a player in him and he’s FARRRR better than Sam Gallagher.

It’s taken time, but with his physical attributes, ability to hold the ball and win flick ons etc, he’s always going to be a handful. I also feel there’s a goal streak in him, that you get with strikers who aren’t great finishers but often get on a roll where they score 5 in 5 games.

One thing is for sure, if we can get the Makhtar Gueye, who turned up last night playing consistently, like that that for 70 mins a game, we will fuckin terrorise defences. 💪🏽

Sometimes he’s surprising deft with ball at his feet and he can play a nice short pass. Unlike the one Hedges gave Beck in the first half.

Edited January 16 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[rovers11]

A fantastic result last night and dare I say the performance of a promotion chasing team. We didn't play particularly well or ever get out of first gear...yet we won 3-0. Subs changed the game and we just had that little but more quality than them.

We got lucky as it was a definite penalty for them. I still would have fancied us to go onto win though.

What a strange player Gueye is. He played like prime Drogba when he came on yesterday.

[Admiral Nelsen]

On Hedges - I've given him plenty grief both this season and earlier, but I think the last couple of months have shown how valuable he is out of possession. And let's face it, our good results have been a lot more about being hard to break down than doing anything especially impressive with the ball. 

He works hard and unlike Dolan/Weimann/seemingly Cozier-Dubbery, he has the legs and frame to get up and down the pitch easily. Obviously an upgrade would be nice but I think we have to recognise that his contribution can be a bit under the radar sometimes. 

 

Yesterday, I thought we were better in the first half than some are saying. It was a bit of a non-event, but we were easily the better team in the first half an hour or so and should've been two in front before they hit the bar with what was I think their first shot? Quite like what I saw from Buckley too - he wasn't brilliant by any means but in the main he was playing the ball quicker and didn't have too many 'Buckleyisms' of under hitting easy passes or dallying on the ball too long. Something for him to build on. 

[ossyian]

13 minutes ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

On Hedges - I've given him plenty grief both this season and earlier, but I think the last couple of months have shown how valuable he is out of possession. And let's face it, our good results have been a lot more about being hard to break down than doing anything especially impressive with the ball. 

He works hard and unlike Dolan/Weimann/seemingly Cozier-Dubbery, he has the legs and frame to get up and down the pitch easily. Obviously an upgrade would be nice but I think we have to recognise that his contribution can be a bit under the radar sometimes. 

 

Yesterday, I thought we were better in the first half than some are saying. It was a bit of a non-event, but we were easily the better team in the first half an hour or so and should've been two in front before they hit the bar with what was I think their first shot? Quite like what I saw from Buckley too - he wasn't brilliant by any means but in the main he was playing the ball quicker and didn't have too many 'Buckleyisms' of under hitting easy passes or dallying on the ball too long. Something for him to build on. 

Yes I agree with you on Bucko. Pretty poor in 1st half but he was instrumental in quickening the pace of the game in the 2nd half with his quick passing (and forward passes to boot -unusual from our mf this season)

[joey_big_nose]

2 minutes ago, ossyian said:

Yes I agree with you on Bucko. Pretty poor in 1st half but he was instrumental in quickening the pace of the game in the 2nd half with his quick passing (and forward passes to boot -unusual from our mf this season)

Yeah he had a mixed game. Like everyone missed passes but played some good ones too. WIth Travis coming back soon, Forshaw looking alright coming on and Cantwell seeming un-droppable he needs to step up the performance level against Oxford.

[windymiller7]

Has anyone got a clip of Dion 'introducing' himself to the Ewood faithful last night? Doesn't seem to be on any of the highlights I've seen, even the EFL extended version.

First time I can ever remember a new player coming on, making one simple pass then one crunching tackle and having the whole BBE singing his name. Loved it!

[LeftWinger]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Really low bar.
 Plus if we have Dolan and ACD in the same team we’re getting really short defending at corners and free kicks.

I thought this against Burnley. We had 10 corners and didn't seem to want to whip it in the box due to the number of short players we had in the side. 

[Exiled_Rover]

17 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

Has anyone got a clip of Dion 'introducing' himself to the Ewood faithful last night? Doesn't seem to be on any of the highlights I've seen, even the EFL extended version.

First time I can ever remember a new player coming on, making one simple pass then one crunching tackle and having the whole BBE singing his name. Loved it!

https://x.com/Rovers/status/1879853857850675591

[...]

2 hours ago, DaveyB said:

The idea is that it spreads the opposition out because they have to have some closing down the short ball as well as being ready for the long one - which, in theory, provides more space to play in and gives you a better chance of keeping hold of possession (I think I saw a stat that nearly 90% of long goal kicks are turned over possession - although obviously some managers, such as Big Sam for instance, will take the view that even if you turn over possession it is at least in the opposition half and so if you can then win it back you’re in a better position than on the edge of your own box 🤷‍♂️)

Of course what happened in the first half last night (and not for the first time) is that our passing and movement is so poor that we end up just smashing it long to their defenders and conceding possession anyway

Makes sense cheers pal

[RevidgeBlue]

Just seen the highlights - fantastic from Gueye goals 1 and  3 to provide Weimann with a tap in