Groundhog

I think playing the new boys early on is tough, the worst time to play them - their tails are up, they have nothing to lose and they haven't been mired by the slog through January that drags all the teams with thin squads down. I was dreading these two fixtures if I'm honest, actually felt sick with nerves on Saturday knowing what a defeat meant in the build up to the derby.

He's probably one of our most mysterious players of recent times. I get the feeling, and this is pure conjecture, that JE has said to Arnor that he has to play a certain way and reach a certain standard and he'll have a part to play. I don't think tracking back and being positionally perfect is in his locker, but he makes up for it with natural talent on the ball. I get the impression he has a great attitude though, he's suffered with injury and also perhaps has had to adapt his body, many times he seems to be playing "within himself". I think it's taken time for him to also adaprt to the rough and tumble of the league. But not once has he seemed to have ever moaned or downed tools. We take him for granted, but if you're an Oxford fan on Saturday you're putting the defeat down to the fact that Rovers can bring an Icelandic international off the bench.

We're one deep winter injury crisis from disaster - and we don't have any pace. The only difference with the bench is with options, not necessarily cover. We're also relying on Pickering and Brittain heavily, with only Duru as a like for like backup, and then needing to use JRC and Wiemann to cover all sorts of eventualities. We're just about scraping by, JE knows it.

First time seeing him play on Saturday. His enthusiasm and smile are infectious, can't help thinking that his very presence within the squad is worth it alone, regardless of first touch or shooting ability. Loved the way he was on Brittain's case after 2 minutes for a crap cross. Get it on his head, he seems to back himself. He feels like a player who I've seen play against us, making me say "wish we had someone like that". I feel like we've signed very similar players over the last 5 years due to our predicament, similar stage in their careers, similar temperament etc, similar backgrounds even - don't know about anyone else, but it's all about group dynamics - a character or someone from another country like Pape and Yuki can often give the others something to unite around, even take the piss out of when they pronounce words wrong in a friendly way and lighten the mood, take the pressure off. It probably sounds daft, but from my experience in working around Europe etc the best times have come from being around all sorts of people, backgrounds and nationalities, I've wanted to treat them better and impress them, rather than the same boring lot I see every day! Possibly a load of romantic bullshit but I feel it's true, you just need characters, a good dynamic and sometimes the team can manage itself... Time will tell, but so far so good. Just needs that league goal. I'm sure we'll have some dire games and some sublime ones. In a way JE has it easy - just tell him go to Turf Moor and score the winner and you'll basically be regarded as an utter legend by 30 odd thousand plus people for the rest of your life. Up there with the likes of Lee Williamson 🤣

I know it wasn't perfect on Saturday, but it dawned on me how long it had been since experiencing these once "normal" things: Going a goal behind and feeling like we could get back into this Actually standing up and cheering multiple subs on A sub coming on with experience, leaving me reassured "he'll know what to do with it" (Weimann) A winner, for us, in the last 10 minutes of a match, at Ewood Players looking like they might actually enjoy their jobs (Gueye & Yuki) A playing demanding a cross A headed flick on from a free kick or corner Madness. Though I admit our crossing was absolute shite, and good to see Big Mak haranguing Brittain after barely being on 2 minutes. My main concern was Dolan, I'm a fan of his, but having to cut in onto his right when he's got their fullback on toast kept holding up our attacks allowing their well drilled defense to get back - I would love to see him get to the by line and stand it up for Gueye. A lot of credit to Oxford, they got forward well and overan us in midfield, Tronstadt had a great game in terms of workrate, he's a real unsung hero but at times him and Travis were left marooned - it's been the one constant ever since AW left, we seem to get dominated in there.

I'd love it if someone had the balls to say this: that one of the main factors for Sammie having the season he had, is the fact that Rovers are a basket case off the field and wouldn't back the manager (JDT) with a striker, so HAD to turn Sammie into our main attacking threat. Not taking anything away from him, he's totally risen to the challenge, but if he'd been kept as a 10 behind two strikers he may have gone under the radar. He's been playing with Gallagher who's currently at £100,000 per goal...

JDT never had a plan B, that was the biggest issue - see Reading, Dingles, Sheff Utd last season away - I never felt like we prepared for the opposition. The No Tippy Tappy Podcast with Warnock is interesting in this regard, they talk about their dislike of this now common modern theme of managers having a footballing philosophy and wanting to impart a style of play onto a team regardless of the talent at their disposal, they both comment that you have to work with what you've got - possibly a reason why they've had long careers in lots of different clubs. Many fans, including myself, defended JDT for not being backed and not getting the attacking options he wanted, yet we still tried to go all out attack leaving massive gaps in midfield. JE comes in, has the same attacking options, the same lack of striker, and get's criticised for being too defensive and playing a supposed "boring" brand of football, I personally don't get the double standards myself and although some of the football under JDT was amazing, I'd take JE's brand of pragmatism any day. He's literally had the same team to work with yet some fans don't give him the same slack that they gave JDT, especially when it comes to attacking options. Fans bemoan the games at home we drew - take Coventry, if Sammie puts that sitter away we've won, JE can't control that, neither can he control Hyam's disaster at Bristol and Aynsley's against SW. If I had one main issue with JE is that he's made us too relaxed, perhaps a result of trying to take the pressure off too much, but he's dealing with a squad devoid of any confidence. I think Sheff Wed at home was the perfect example of that BUT at 1-1 before the errors, SW were looking rattled (everyone seems to forget about that) and our more relaxed approach was looking to pay off. Any of JE's decisions/approaches to me can explained with pragmatism and logic, whilst many of JDT's seem stubborn and rash to me. I saw a comment somewhere saying Eustace is "soft" and comparing him to Big Sam - if you listen to the Under the Cosh podcast, any time Big Sam is mentioned, almost every player says how great he was, his famous Dubai trips, giving them days off and time with family etc. If Allardyce does it, it's great management, if JE does it it's lack of backbone. Can't have it both ways. I think this is really harsh. I really believe that if Rohl, Harris or Cifuentes came to Ewood they would struggle too - just due to how disjointed our squad is and the lack of attacking options. We don't have the aggression, nor the bodies in midfield to play like those teams ended the season. I also don't think Eustace has less demanding standards due to where he played, look at someone like Mourinho - I think he walked into the dressing room saw a completely destroyed team with no clear direction, I think he got a sense of something not being right just by the "vibes" in the room, and quickly got something together to try and get some points. People can compare records on paper all day but the slide under JDT before he left was horrendous, no stats can accurately convey exactly what was going on in real life at that point. People say we were lucky and "stole" wins by parking the bus against Leeds and Leicester, but for me that was the only way with the options we had to get some points: soak up the pressure and use Sammie on the break. The jury is still out but I've got confidence him, forget what he says in the press- he's not being media managed and his post-match stuff for Brum wasn't any different, some are good at it some aren't, who cares.

Robbie Savage said on 606 that he's a fan of JE: "a great guy and that we'll do well next season" according to the blonde one.

My worst fear is the owners get involved with the transfer, slap an unrealistic figure on him and refuse offers a la Diaz, thus scuppering a dream move for the lad who's give his all for the club and it all turns sour. We end up with a pissed off Sammie on our hands until January and another disrupted squad.

Really good post that @JHRover Now that we've seen Ipswich and Luton go up, the argument that you need the parachute money to compete is looking somewhat shaky. What a surprise that both clubs have owners and managers who are completely aligned, on and off the field. Can you imagine us signing a player like Kiefer Moore in January last year under JDT, or even the Mowbray season before the decline? Just wouldn't happen. That's a normal footballing decision that normal well run clubs do.

Yeah there's been a few comments from him regarding our obsession with all things 1995... ...but that was funny to be fair to him... Interesting in the Sherwood episode he mentions Ipswich have removed all of their history and achievements from the walls of the ground, go figure... Maybe it is a thing, who knows? As a player maybe you do walk into Ewood and see the images of Jack lifting the Premier League, Shearer etc and think "how do I even compare to this". Sometimes you need to let people make their own history, I suppose it depends on the person - doesn't help when our owners seem to be actively halting any chance of achieving anything.

I really liked Warnock at Rovers, great player. That was a good listen, but odd that he seemed to be so very badly treated at every club, almost as if there's a common denominator...hmmm

yeah it's great innit? For the first, I still can't believe he carried the ball at pace for that long, my heart is still in my mouth over that last touch that just drags a tad, and looks like it's going to go under his foot - it still gets me. But the calmness of the finish is something else, to take it that early. Pure instinct. Some great footage here of the 2nd on Rovers insta, look at that away end...credit to you all, especially to whoever that is caning it down the steps at full speed 🤣 I believe the kids call it "limbs". I know it's been a shit storm of a season, and the club hierachy and owners are what they are - but they can't take away moments like that.

yeah it's pricey stuff I was referring to this interview by the way

I was just thinking of the Norwich game as they're in the playoffs. Yeah that's the point it turned - those two fumbles by Leo, set the tone, our collective arse went. That positive feeling we had when Adam scored after 5 mins feels an age ago. I do remember thinking after the home win against Birmingham that something wasn't right, that performance was an odd one, got away with it. The whole thing of not feeling comfortable, even at 3-0 up.

Dam, I'd forgotten about him, hardly pulled up trees has he? Hanging around with Obafemi hasn't done him any favours it seems.

I still can't get my head around the table after we beat Norwich 3-1 away. Madness. Another managed decline in the second half of a season.

This is our level now with the way our recruitment and finances are. Money buys you players who are consistent, 7 or 8 / 10 performances every game. It's the problem across the board, the lack of depth doesn't help either, as we're asking players to overperform every week, stretching their ability. Need to look at Ipswich, Luton and see how they do it...

Now the dust has settled and you can finally relax after what has been a horror show of a season, it sounds daft to say, but it's only really fully sinking in what this man has done for the club. For about 15 minutes on Saturday the club felt like it was knife edge, the trap door was open. Like a few have said, if we'd have gone down, we'd have stayed down for a long time - a financial disaster and a disaster for the fan base that we may have never recovered from. That run for the first goal, I keep re-watching it, he's literally single handedly kept the club alive (for now at least), it's bloody massive... The fact that he's a "very nice guy" too, a proper personality, makes it even better - he'll be sorely missed. Get the statue built, or surely there's a new cul-de-sac that needs a name? Or perhaps name the Blues Bar after him and make sure it sells Moretti on draft.

It was a typo, it's 19/1 I sincerely apologiese for any grievance caused as you where

You're right it would be odd, like I said it's just a waking fever dream I keep having. He's damned whatever we do, if we sit back we won't get as lucky as we did with Leeds, if we attack they'll just pick us off. We've just got to harry and press and work our arses off and let them know they're in a real game, bust a gut for one last time.

I feel Ayari cares in that he seems to have a point to prove, either for his own career or like in the last game, against his ex-teammates at Coventry. He seems to come on with the bit between his teeth. He's at an odd place in his career that lad, where does he go next?

I've watched him a few times too, to be honest it says everything about our season that often I've been more excited to see how he's got on. At first I couldn't bear it, like seeing your ex with someone else, but I just love watching the lad play. He's been played really deep compared to the role he was allowed to have at Rovers. It's almost like they've told him not to pass the half way line at times. I think he's been playing better and better each week, he seems to be running games from in front of his own back 4, and doing all the dirty work, he's also not afraid of a tackle and really works hard to win the ball back if he ever loses it. He may not have had many assists or action in and around the box, but it's usually his pass that sets the move going. The games against Newcastle and Fulham he started having more shots and was around the box more. The only issue I see is he seems to fade late on, and has been caught out being slow to track back a few times, but to be honest who hasn't.

Travis was literally brought in as cover for Morsey, same reason they wanted Gally to cover for Hirst, as mad as that last bit sounds. I like Travis, but am on the fence, I can't decided whether he would have helped or hindered us - he is more of a leader than anyone else in the team, he gets it (him and Sammie would have hauled a few games over the line I feel) but his temperament lets him down at times. Free from the shackles of JDT and the pressure of having to become technical box-box midfielder overnight, he maybe would have bossed the 2nd half of the season for us. He's a proper Eustace player for me. How many Champ teams do you think he walks into though?

My worst fear with this game is that he might buck the trend and actually try and go and win this one, compared to when he should have against Millwall, SW at home. I've got this worry that he'll think they won't be up for a fight, and it'll cost us as they'll raise their game. I've stuck a tenner on us to lose, Plymouth and Brum to win, and SW double chance at 90/1, as to me that seems a totally normal day in the madness that is this season's Championship. My bets never come off. It should be an easy game to get them up for, it's one game, one cup final to give it their all, in our hands, just give fucking everything for one game! What is playing on my mind is that after 15-20 mins there's a chance that Brum and Plymouth could be 1-0 up, and the players will hear about it and then start to wilt under the pressure, as we know they're well capable of doing.