v Leeds Utd (a) - 1/1/2025

[RevidgeBlue]

1 minute ago, M_B said:

He's started affecting games in a positive way. If he doesn't win the header today, we don't score.

If he doesn't bail his keeper out  at Wednesday, we don't win from the goal he scored.

If he doesn't head the ball down to Weimann, we don't score at the Dome. I could go on.

If Cantwell had as much involvement at both ends, we'd be happy.

I don't see why you have such a problem

Agreed.

Roverfan99 is worried about the possibility Gueye might turn out to be better than Gallagher who historically he has defended to the hilt. I think he already has more of an impact when he's on the pitch than Gallagher did. Not denying we still need better.

That's the biggest stretch I've ever seen attributing today's goal to Tronstad.

[rigger]

We've got our "Labore" back ! 

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

7 minutes ago, islander200 said:

Dissapointing results but I'd hardly describe them as season ending   A win in our game in hand v pompey at home would have us ahead of both Boro and West Brom 

We weren't the only side in contention for top 6 to have mediocre/poor results over xmas

We seem to be a bit of a streaky side.  Win a few, lose a few.  Regardless of the Dingle result, we will come out the festive period still in the play off race. Having played some of the top teams. 

Whether we stay in the race will be purely due to recruitment.  Any additional players could do with arriving sooner rather than later in the window.  

[roversfan99]

19 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Agree 100% but it's been mainly 0 or 1 conceded not 1 or 2.

Not over the last 4 games which was my point. We went from conceding 0 and winning games narrowly despite a lack of goal threat, to conceding 1 or 2 as we have in the last 4 games and our form turning as a result because we dont have the attacking quality to score more than the odd goal.

12 minutes ago, M_B said:

He's started affecting games in a positive way. If he doesn't win the header today, we don't score.

If he doesn't bail his keeper out  at Wednesday, we don't win from the goal he scored.

If he doesn't head the ball down to Weimann, we don't score at the Dome. I could go on.

If Cantwell had as much involvement at both ends, we'd be happy.

I don't see why you have such a problem

I think it tells you a lot when a striker has one goal in early January and people are scrambling around talking about "goal contributions" including knock downs for 30 yard half volleys to justify his improvement. 

As I said before, perhaps a useful sub in terms of if we are chasing a game and need a lump to win a header to pick up the pieces. Was terrible in his last start and offers no goal threat whatsoever. So I am not particularly appeased by this improvement.

6 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Agreed.

Roverfan99 is worried about the possibility Gueye might turn out to be better than Gallagher who historically he has defended to the hilt. I think he already has more of an impact when he's on the pitch than Gallagher did. Not denying we still need better.

That's the biggest stretch I've ever seen attributing today's goal to Tronstad.

I definitely havent "defended Gallagher to the hilt." I think when fit he is a below average bottom half standard Championship striker. Hardly a glowing endorsement.

I just think Gueye is worse even than Gallagher. You said you predominantly didnt rate Gallagher because of his lack of goals. In the 3 seasons prior to the last one when he spent much of it injured, he got 8 or 9 goals in each. Gueye has 1 so far in early January. I did question you on this the other day but you ignored it.

I also am not "worried" that Gueye will be better. It would massively please me.

[DE.]

27 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

This.

I think I and many others on here will lose it big time if he is not backed.Best manager since Hughes?

From my personal perspective it's a bit early to say that at the moment, but I do think he's the perfect fit for where we are as a club at the moment. Exactly the type of manager we need not just to survive but to make us better than the sum of our parts.

JDT did a pretty good job of this as well, for a while. On this date 2 years ago we beat Cardiff 1-0 and were 3rd in the table. Granted JDT went about things in a very different way to Eustace, but still, the table doesn't lie by the time you get to January. We were where we deserved to be (despite having, incredibly, already lost 12 games by that point).

The main difference for me is that, under JDT, it always felt fragile to me. Like something wasn't quite right, and if the wheels came off they would come off in a brutal way. I don't have that same feeling with Eustace - the highs may not be as spectacular, but the lows won't be as low either. There's a stability with Eustace, and his methods seem to suit our players more than JDT's style of playing did. Not only that, but we seem more resilient under Eustace. Under JDT (and before him, Mowbray) once we went a goal down you might as well pack up and go home, because we were done. Not so under Eustace, and that's credit to him.

[Old Codger]

33 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Agree 100% but it's been mainly 0 or 1 conceded not 1 or 2.

you cant concede 0 😉  (zero is a failure to concede!)

But the point was well made. Fine margins in this division separate the winners from the losers. We need to increase our firepower and maintain our stinginess in defence if we wish to continue flirting with a top 6 position.

Edited Wednesday at 20:08 by Old Codger

[arbitro]

I didn't envisage an adrenalin rush like I had when we beat them in April but today came quite close to it. We discussion on the way over what tactics we would use and we came up with a plan similar to what Eustace used. He doesn't complicate things by coming up with game plans which his players can't adapt to, he knows our limitations in that respect and keeps it without the boundaries of our capabilities. We really annoyed Leeds today with our game management, so much so I thought Farke was going to combust on the touchline. Defensively we were excellent and limited them to very little. Batth and Hyam quite rightly get huge plaudits today as do Brittain and Beck but in central midfield we were immense. I'm guilty of starting to take Tronstad for granted now such is the level and consistency of his performances. Beside him Baker was equally as effective as Leeds were second best in this department. 

Today epitomised what Blackburn Rovers are about for me. Graft, spirit, attitude, aggression and a degree of skill. Listening to the Leeds fans moaning about us as we waited outside the ground was music to my ears. We went toe to toe with them and won on points.

Plenty of rest now before Saturday would be my plan and then come out with so much controlled aggression they won't know what has hit tem.

[chaddyrovers]

20 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Ohashi doesnt look like he wil be fit but either way especially at home I would want more attacking quality. We didnt have any today as I expected with the line up but relied on organisation and a late set piece.

ACD maybe was deemed not to be able to start so many in quick succession but he actually gives us a threat. Cantwell should come in to if fit enough.

Eustace badly needs some money to spend on the attack. It isnt good enough and he is doing remarkably well to have us anywhere near purely on the defence. In the last 4 games as I said, we have been conceding 1 or 2 a game rather than 0 and that has been turning wins into draws and losses. You cant just expect to keep clean sheets every single game. 

That was always going to be team Eustace picked for this game. it was very clear he would go to Leeds, play deep, compact, deny them space and it was never going to be a game ACD would start in. Surely you could see that before the game? 

Eustace would have employed the same tactics today regarding of our transfer spend. 

Lets look at the 3 previous games, We conceded 2 goals to Sunderland after they changed tactics and look to play Roberts higher up on the right wing. They are 4th in the league. Millwall game, we had 10 men when we conceded cos Travis went off. Hull created very little and had we took our clear cut chances we won the game

Also just to add, Eustace and the players are doing a brilliant job this season

13 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

We’ve played possibly the best team in our division 3 times lately, twice away, and all they can show for almost 300 minutes is a very soft penalty.

Cos Eustace and players knew how to beat them and stop them being such a threat by playing deep, compact, deny them space in behind. 

[M_B]

19 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Not over the last 4 games which was my point. We went from conceding 0 and winning games narrowly despite a lack of goal threat, to conceding 1 or 2 as we have in the last 4 games and our form turning as a result because we dont have the attacking quality to score more than the odd goal.

I think it tells you a lot when a striker has one goal in early January and people are scrambling around talking about "goal contributions" including knock downs for 30 yard half volleys to justify his improvement. 

As I said before, perhaps a useful sub in terms of if we are chasing a game and need a lump to win a header to pick up the pieces. Was terrible in his last start and offers no goal threat whatsoever. So I am not particularly appeased by this improvement.

I definitely havent "defended Gallagher to the hilt." I think when fit he is a below average bottom half standard Championship striker. Hardly a glowing endorsement.

I just think Gueye is worse even than Gallagher. You said you predominantly didnt rate Gallagher because of his lack of goals. In the 3 seasons prior to the last one when he spent much of it injured, he got 8 or 9 goals in each. Gueye has 1 so far in early January. I did question you on this the other day but you ignored it.

I also am not "worried" that Gueye will be better. It would massively please me.

You do seem to do a lot of "scrambling around" yourself.

For some reason, you've taken it upon yourself to try to disprove any potential positive.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

That was always going to be team Eustace picked for this game. it was very clear he would go to Leeds, play deep, compact, deny them space and it was never going to be a game ACD would start in. Surely you could see that before the game? 

Eustace would have employed the same tactics today regarding of our transfer spend. 

Lets look at the 3 previous games, We conceded 2 goals to Sunderland after they changed tactics and look to play Roberts higher up on the right wing. They are 4th in the league. Millwall game, we had 10 men when we conceded cos Travis went off. Hull created very little and had we took our clear cut chances we won the game

Also just to add, Eustace and the players are doing a brilliant job this season

Cos Eustace and players knew how to beat them and stop them being such a threat by playing deep, compact, deny them space in behind. 

Our positional play in defence was outstanding today. Everybody knew where to play no matter what was going on around them. We limited a good side to a very debatable penalty. That would have been play on at the other end. What they call in boxing “ a home town decision “.

[Tom]

15 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Our positional play in defence was outstanding today. Everybody knew where to play no matter what was going on around them. We limited a good side to a very debatable penalty. That would have been play on at the other end. What they call in boxing “ a home town decision “.

I think the penalty is just about a penalty but I have real issue with the way he seemingly allowed himself to be influenced 

A few noticed after the goal as we all wheeled away in celebration Gueye went for a knee slide and went arse over tit, would love to see a full clip as his comedy knows no bounds 

I posted earlier that I’d love a battling draw and it was exactly that, a near perfect away performance against league leaders 

Edited Wednesday at 20:38 by Tom

[Andy]

You know, I was genuinely unconvinced by JE last season - the failure to win a single home game, some of those away performances and staying up by the width of a gnat's pube, on the last day.

But he's the real deal and I'm more than happy to be wrong, as it means we've been successful.

And we know that we'll have a team that will compete in the derby on Saturday, even if we don't take all 3 points.
Which is a lot more than we've been able to say for the last few gaffers.

Not backing him in this window is not an option, Venkys. Don't fuck this up.

[Scoobydo]

What a result, we’ve done an absolute job on Leeds there. Eustace is the most complete manager we’ve had in a long time. Is the playoff dream a reality?

[wilsdenrover]

10 minutes ago, Tom said:

I think the penalty is just about a penalty but I have real issue with the way he seemingly allowed himself to be influenced 

A few noticed after the goal as we all wheeled away in celebration Gueye went for a knee slide and went arse over tit, would love to see a full clip as his comedy knows no bounds 

I posted earlier that I’d love a battling draw and it was exactly that, a near perfect away performance against league leaders 

This just about catches the moment (1 hour 58 mins in) 

 

[Aqualung]

7 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

This just about catches the moment (1 hour 58 mins in) 

 

Can't help but laugh at Big Maks attempted celebration. 

[chaddyrovers]

34 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Our positional play in defence was outstanding today. Everybody knew where to play no matter what was going on around them. We limited a good side to a very debatable penalty. That would have been play on at the other end. What they call in boxing “ a home town decision “.

That just how good Eustace and his staff are at coaching this team but also the players understanding his tactics and positional understanding what is needed

[arbitro]

A message to Rodon (who was booed by Rovers fans after his comments about the way we play).

In two games against Rovers you have had around 70% possession in both games but dropped five points. The only goal you scored was a penalty. So it doesn't matter one jot how you play or what the stats are. The only thing that matters is the result and little old Rovers have done entitled Leeds twice in a few weeks.

Now cry about that.

[roversfan99]

42 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

That was always going to be team Eustace picked for this game. it was very clear he would go to Leeds, play deep, compact, deny them space and it was never going to be a game ACD would start in. Surely you could see that before the game? 

Eustace would have employed the same tactics today regarding of our transfer spend. 

Lets look at the 3 previous games, We conceded 2 goals to Sunderland after they changed tactics and look to play Roberts higher up on the right wing. They are 4th in the league. Millwall game, we had 10 men when we conceded cos Travis went off. Hull created very little and had we took our clear cut chances we won the game

Also just to add, Eustace and the players are doing a brilliant job this season

Cos Eustace and players knew how to beat them and stop them being such a threat by playing deep, compact, deny them space in behind. 

The tactics were essentially to get a nil nil draw. We had absolutely nothing in attack and that is because of a lack of resources. None of the attackers gave us a threat in attack, no goal threat, no out ball and no pace.

Eustace is working with his hands tied behind his back. To go to Elland Road with no attacking threat for reasons beyond him makes it even more difficult to go there and keep them out for a whole game when you arent threatening at the other end. The organisation was so good that not only did we keep them out for 85 minutes but we barely had a shot on our goal, and it took a debatable penalty.

We have scored more than 1 goal only 3 times in the last 17 games. That is ridiculously bad and it highlights the job Eustace is doing to have us anywhere near the top 6 purely on the basis of a solid defence. However it clearly means that it is very difficult to win games/get results unless you get a clean sheet. We have got plenty but its impossible to do it in every game, we havent in the last 4 games and because of that lack of ability to score goals we have only got 2 points.

ACD would have at least offered us a threat on the counter attack but I suspected that he might be rotated because hes never really played senior football and has tired in his appearances so far, so all 3 games this week felt like a stretch.

Eustace needs some money to actually sign some quality in attack. The job he is doing is so impressive but some quality, some pace and some goals would give our team an added dimension and less reliant on the organisation that is so impressive.

[simongarnerisgod]

12 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

Can't help but laugh at Big Maks attempted celebration. 

can you imagine the carnage if he scores a hat trick😂

[RevidgeBlue]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

We have scored more than 1 goal only 3 times in the last 17 games. That is ridiculously bad and it highlights the job Eustace is doing to have us anywhere near the top 6 purely on the basis of a solid defence. However it clearly means that it is very difficult to win games/get results unless you get a clean sheet. We have got plenty but its impossible to do it in every game, we havent in the last 4 games and because of that lack of ability to score goals we have only got 2 points.

Great post as a whole and whilst nearly everyone on here was aware of the general problem the statistic in the first couple of lines is still a fairly startling one which shows the enormity of the problem facing us without substantial attacking reinforcements.

[47er]

4 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Superb result in isolation. Great performance for a one off type of situation.

Unfortunately in the general scheme of things it's only two points from four games.

Badly need to beat the Dingles to get the show back on the road.

Best to look at it as 4 from 6 against Leeds and we don't have to play them again.

[booth]

48 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

Can't help but laugh at Big Maks attempted celebration. 

Couldn't stop laughing at that. Went for a knee slide and managed to go arse over tit.

Great header for the equalizer though. That's his special power, we should use it more.

[booth]

37 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

can you imagine the carnage if he scores a hat trick😂

He'll spontaneously combust.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

42 minutes ago, arbitro said:

A message to Rodon (who was booed by Rovers fans after his comments about the way we play).

In two games against Rovers you have had around 70% possession in both games but dropped five points. The only goal you scored was a penalty. So it doesn't matter one jot how you play or what the stats are. The only thing that matters is the result and little old Rovers have done entitled Leeds twice in a few weeks.

Now cry about that.

They’ve played us three times recently, twice at Elland Road. They’ve never really looked like scoring in all that time apart from the pen today. Nearly 300 minutes of football. That’s what he needs to be worrying about. I suppose when Rodon plays for Wales they’re never in a “ backs to the wall “ situation.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, booth said:

He'll spontaneously combust.

Gally would have been stood watching the ball go out of play.