v Middlesbrough (a) - 27/11/2024

[Hasta]

13 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

So that means he’s a poor player? I would say JDT deciding to stop bothering with a midfield and throwing everyone forward every time we had the ball might just have left him a tad exposed in the centre of the park as we hurtled down the league.

And also a competition between goalkeepers for who could make the worse howlers didn’t help.

Tronstadt is decent at this level. He’s stronger than he looks as well. He rarely comes out second in a tussle. I did say all last season, and stand by it, that I’m not sure he’s actually better than Trav, but fortunately they seem to work together. 

Edited November 29, 2024 by Hasta

[arbitro]

20 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Substitute "great" for poor and I'd agree.

I must have imagined us nearly going down last season with a 27 goal forward and Adam Wharton in the side!

I saw you were suggesting a new deal for Travis on another thread due to his good form. Travis himself puts a lot of his form down to playing with Tronstad. I honestly question your football knowledge sometimes with some of the nonsense you come out with.

[Herbie6590]

The BRFCS POTM against Middlesbrough in association with PSL Soccer Leagues is….

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, tonyoz said:

Batty was great for us. He tackled like a combined harvester but he also was always there to pass to when situations got tight. Class act.

Top player. I remember a game were he played left side of midfield to accommodate Sherwood in a midfield 4 and he was MOM. He was a better player than Sherwood as the 42 caps would indicate. 

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

So that means he’s a poor player? I would say JDT deciding to stop bothering with a midfield and throwing everyone forward every time we had the ball might just have left him a tad exposed in the centre of the park as we hurtled down the league.

I think JDT expected way more of his midfield than they were ever capable of due to his stubborness with one style and one style only in his second season.

Got lucky with Wharton and expected them all to be that talented and if not they had to learn to be.

Didn't work.

[arbitro]

The expectations of Tomasson and Eustace on players are different most likely due to the way they want to play. With the more expansive game Tomasson wanted to play certain players were simply not suited to it. Tronstad has found a niche position that suits him and Eustace down to a tee. And, as many have said  one of the real beneficiaries of this has been Travis.

[MarkBRFC]

4 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

David Batty was top class in 93/94, alas injury and then the first to leave the post title sinking ship meant we never really saw enough of him

Yeah he was brilliant, one of my favourite ever Rovers players even though like you say we only saw the best of him for a short time.

A lot forget that he pipped Shearer to be our player of the year in 93/94 too.

[roversfan99]

I think the main reason that RevidgeBlue doesnt like Tronstad is because of who signed him.

He hated Broughton with a passion. Not a member of staff im sad to have seen leave either, although as ever some was deflection for whatever reason away from the owners.

Tronstad is very good at this level at doing what he does. Easily one of if not our best player.

[booth]

9 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Tronstad isn't fit to lace Batty's boots. Im quite happy for everyone else to  have a love in about him but I still can't see anything about him whatsoever. Extremely over-rated. Poor man's Travis.

It was one of his slightly better games for the Club against Boro though.

Easy to forget what we had pre-Tronstad. Years of completely bypassing midfield.

[rigger]

8 minutes ago, booth said:

Easy to forget what we had pre-Tronstad. Years of completely bypassing midfield.

Tugay wasn't too bad. The axe did a decent job. Savage was ok.

[Upside Down]

16 hours ago, arbitro said:

I saw you were suggesting a new deal for Travis on another thread due to his good form. Travis himself puts a lot of his form down to playing with Tronstad. I honestly question your football knowledge sometimes with some of the nonsense you come out with.

Fixed.

[Paul Mani]

Sonny is the modern day Mark Atkins. Nothing flashy, sound technically, great engine, plays the simple pass and has a habit of being where he needs to be. To the masses, he doesn’t stand out. But to those with a keen eye, those who’ve played and his team mates, he’s fuckin gold dust!

Atkins played more games in our title winning season than Batty. He was the reason Sherwood was able to drift forwards, he covered the wingers, Ripley and Wilcox and shielded the defence. I’ll guarantee that the majority of our players rate Sonny as one of the most important cogs in the wheel. He, like Atkins before him, does all the things others don’t want to do. Then having done it he passes to a Cantwell or a Travis etc and lets them take the glory.

Batty was a good player, fwiw. But he never hit his straps at Rovers and us winning the league added a polish to his stint that in reality never was.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

1 hour ago, Paul Mani said:

Sonny is the modern day Mark Atkins. Nothing flashy, sound technically, great engine, plays the simple pass and has a habit of being where he needs to be. To the masses, he doesn’t stand out. But to those with a keen eye, those who’ve played and his team mates, he’s fuckin gold dust!

Atkins played more games in our title winning season than Batty. He was the reason Sherwood was able to drift forwards, he covered the wingers, Ripley and Wilcox and shielded the defence. I’ll guarantee that the majority of our players rate Sonny as one of the most important cogs in the wheel. He, like Atkins before him, does all the things others don’t want to do. Then having done it he passes to a Cantwell or a Travis etc and lets them take the glory.

Batty was a good player, fwiw. But he never hit his straps at Rovers and us winning the league added a polish to his stint that in reality never was.

A couple of points

1. How can you compare Trondstat with Atkins? Atkins scored goals where people will have chats about where you there when Trondstat scored?

2. The season before we won the title Batty was the best midfielder in the country, he was never the same player after the injury he had 

[roversfan99]

People often speak as if holding midfielders go unnoticed and its only those who understand football who appreciate him. Yet everyone bar RevidgeBlue (whose bias comes from not liking who signed him) really rates Tronstad so its not as if his role isnt understood. 

Extreme example but Rodri recently won the balon d'or to which the majority agreed with and hes a holding midfielder.

[Hasta]

20 hours ago, booth said:

Easy to forget what we had pre-Tronstad. Years of completely bypassing midfield.

 

19 hours ago, rigger said:

Tugay wasn't too bad. The axe did a decent job. Savage was ok.

The years building up to relegation to league one was the worst period. Season after season of J-Lowe and a lightweight partner. 
 

It was a lower level, but Smallwood generally breaking up and controlling midfields was what we had lacked for years. He just couldn’t do it back in the Championship. Tronstadt can.