v Middlesborough (h) - 4/4/2025, 8pm k/o

[arbitro]

18 hours ago, arbitro said:

Rovers 100 Club are sponsoring the match tonight and Rovers Community Trust are sponsoring the match ball. Suhail and his commercial team are really pushing the boat out tonight.

https://twitter.com/Rovers/status/1908184032900440279?s=19

Further to the 100 Club being match sponsors I had a call from a 100 Club member this morning to tell me they definitely weren't match sponsors.

From that I conclude that the marketing people have made this up to save face.

[davulsukur]

59 minutes ago, DaveyB said:

This is the issue with losing the game in the first 10 minutes, it allows perceptions of the overall performance to be skewed. 

I said to my lad as we were driving home that I knew exactly what the managers post match interview was going to be - “first half wasn’t good enough, but second half we played well, stats show we had more possession, more territory etc, this is how I want to the team to play going forward etc” - but all of that ignores the fact that we were 2-0 down and Boro’s second half gameplan was clearly to defend deep and hit us on the break (and, as someone else has already pointed out, even then they created the better chances and should have scored more). As we saw against Cardiff, if the game was in the balance in the second half, our performance would have been equally poor throughout the whole 90 minutes. 

There’s no discernible patterns or plan to how we play. At one point in the first half Hedges seemed to come in off the wing and be playing almost as an extra CM and Travis was having a go at him and telling him to go back out to the left - had he been told to go inside by the manager? If so, why did our captain not know about it, and if not, then why has he decided to take it upon himself to change his position? All the while VI just stands there looking bored with his hands in his pockets.
And then in the second half the same happened, this time with JRC moving into midfield and Hyam having a go and telling him to get back to RB. 

The players either don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing, or they do know and they’ve decided that they don’t want to - but either way it boils down to the clown in charge and it doesn’t end well 
At a normal club he’d be out of the door today and Lowe back in temporary charge until the end of the season, but instead we all know that he’ll be here for the full 3 years, probably with us at the bottom of league 2 when he finally leaves!!

We won't sack him, it won't be long before the excuse of Ismael not having the right players for how he wants to play/summer rebuild will be trotted out.

Not seen any evidence of this mythical high press Gestede keeps talking about either.

[chaddyrovers]

1 minute ago, davulsukur said:

We won't sack him, it won't be long before the excuse of Ismael not having the right players for how he wants to play/summer rebuild will be trotted out.

Not seen any evidence of this mythical high press Gestede keeps talking about either.

We press sometimes in the second half but I don't know what Ismael's game plan at the start of the game, why cant start games fast and attacking teams

[chaddyrovers]

11 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

We do not need David Dunn.

i respect your opinion, I just think we someone with some passion in that changing rooms to install that into this set of players cos Ismael and Whitehead aren't doing it 

6 hours ago, cesus said:

In isolation you can say first goal well hit, second goal wicked deflection. Same with Pompey, a well hit strike.

Your goalkeeper at this level has to be your equaliser with the well hit shots, otherwise I might as well be in goal and shrug my shoulders when the ball is in the net.

We look weak going forwards, clueless in defence and for 2 weeks running we have conceded the first shot on goal. I know the Cardiff game was a very early goal too, 1st or 2nd shot.

Pears had no chance with either goal. Conway's goal was good as I seen all season and the second one took a huge deflection off Batth

[simongarnerisgod]

33 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

i respect your opinion, I just think we someone with some passion in that changing rooms to install that into this set of players cos Ismael and Whitehead aren't doing it 

Pears had no chance with either goal. Conway's goal was good as I seen all season and the second one took a huge deflection off Batth

i thought hyam was slow in closing conway down and should have stopped him going through,good finish though,pears had no chance

[Ghost7]

and JRC extremely naive in his challenge.

[adopted scouser]

Send a taxi for Warnock now.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i thought hyam was slow in closing conway down and should have stopped him going through,good finish though,pears had no chance

that was JRC. 

Hyam went to close down their number 20

[toogs]

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

14 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

We do not need David Dunn.

i respect your opinion, I just think we someone with some passion in that changing rooms to install that into this set of players cos Ismael and Whitehead aren't doing it 

 

He’d tell us to get real. 

[simongarnerisgod]

5 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

that was JRC. 

Hyam went to close down their number 20

sorry,i stand corrected,still the same issue ,he should have been closed down and went through far to easily

[Exiled_Rover]

2 hours ago, toogs said:

He’d tell us to get real. 

Dunn? Have you heard him on BBC Radio Lancs? He's a Venky's apologist, he'd jump at the chance.

[Exiled_Rover]

7 hours ago, RoversTilliDie said:

Absolute shite, non existent attack, and useless Pears between the sticks. I don't think Guye or Ohashi are good enough for the Championship. How many times has Pears been beaten at the near post this Season. Last night was league 1 standard.

They both clearly are - what they don't get is any service. Hedges and Dolan are woeful football players. Buckley was a disgrace last night too.

[WacoRover]

7 hours ago, CambridgeRover said:

Travis has been awful since Eustace left, every game. He clearly doesn't fancy it any more

I was wondering what our Captain’s reaction has been. This, I do not doubt…he has not bought in to Ismails system. 

[simongarnerisgod]

4 minutes ago, WacoRover said:

I was wondering what our Captain’s reaction has been. This, I do not doubt…he has not bought in to Ismails system. 

along with the rest of his team mates!!!!!!!!! tbh it`s clear he`s on the way out  and will be sold this summer,ditto tronstadt and brittain,all part of val`s big rebuild😱

[onlyonejackwalker]

5 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

along with the rest of his team mates!!!!!!!!! tbh it`s clear he`s on the way out  and will be sold this summer,ditto tronstadt and brittain,all part of val`s big rebuild😱

I'm hugely disappointed in the players. Even if they dislike this manager conceeding within 5 minutes most weeks is totally unacceptable.

[M_B]

6 hours ago, davulsukur said:

We won't sack him, it won't be long before the excuse of Ismael not having the right players for how he wants to play/summer rebuild will be trotted out.

Not seen any evidence of this mythical high press Gestede keeps talking about either.

To be fair, everyone agrees that Eustace was let down in January, Ismael  has been left with a skeleton of even that squad.

[M_B]

1 hour ago, Exiled_Rover said:

They both clearly are - what they don't get is any service. Hedges and Dolan are woeful football players. Buckley was a disgrace last night too.

Dolan would be one of the  few I'd make an effort to keep.

[chaddyrovers]

7 minutes ago, M_B said:

To be fair, everyone agrees that Eustace was let down in January, Ismael  has been left with a skeleton of even that squad.

injuries haven't help but his attitude and demeanour on the touchline hasn't help him one bit  

[Exiled_Rover]

32 minutes ago, M_B said:

Dolan would be one of the  few I'd make an effort to keep.

I'd happily drive him to his next destination if there's a transfer fee involved.

[Riversider28]

32 minutes ago, M_B said:

Dolan would be one of the  few I'd make an effort to keep.

Dolan just flatters to deceive. He really shouldn’t be on the team sheet. 

[Tomphil2]

The players are looking for organisation and inspiration but appear to be getting neither, those were exactly the things Eustace and his crew brought.

Yes we were out of steam before he left but he'd have started grinding results again it's guaranteed.

I genuinely would not be surprised if we don't win one game again now.

[bazza]

Travis was one of few players who played their heart out. So was Dolan.

JRC is being played out of position. Buckley sprayed a few passes but where was Tronstad?  Gueye is an embarrassment.

Oh and Travers, their goalkeeper, was another (of many) to visit Ewood and show Pears how to catch crosses and shots.

But I'm nit-picking. The club is stuffed because of the Vs.

[M_B]

21 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I'd happily drive him to his next destination if there's a transfer fee involved.

And replace him with who?

I honestly don't know how anyone could watch us and not think we'd miss him, looking at the rest of the squad.

As I've said before, if he was for sale at another club, we couldn't afford him.

[RoversTilliDie]

4 hours ago, toogs said:

He’d tell us to get real. 

How about his son, up and coming in the under 21s.

[RoversTilliDie]

Ismaels record so far. W 0 D 1 L5  F 3 A 9.