I agree with TM, Groundhog Day! (Love that film). shaky start Lenihan gives away a penalty opposition miss.....lucky break Eventually we get on top......lots of neat football Dack scores we lead.........commentator talking about double promotion.......nothing to fear in this league. Opposition equalises last 10 minutes it’s another classic film.....”The Alamo” Raya pulls off a worldie in extra time. whistle blows and we all curse the ref.

For the penalty, he overcommitted, he knew he was beaten. He left his foot trailing.......just enough for the Forest guy to dive over. A symptom of the panic defending we’re experiencing all too often.

He wasn’t up to speed on a few occasions. He looked a bit lost for the first goal and was dispossessed dangerously in the area too. He couldn’t keep up with Defoe either. I don’t think he’s ready yet but he could bring something different when he’s properly match-fit. I remain optimistic.

Championship Trivia Quiz (Data from whoscored.com) 1. We have an impressive THREE players in the top 20 (out of 333 players) in the Championship ratings so far. Who are they? A bonus point if you get them in the correct order! 2. How many more Rovers players make the top 100? 3. We are doing well in the tackling stats so far. Who is our best tackler (3 successful tackles per game, on average). 4. We also have the 5th best pass interceptor too. Who would that be? 5. How about the Rover who rates 9th in the number of fouls given away (2.1 per game)? 6. Which former Rover is the best defensive “blocker” of the ball in the Championship? 7. You’ll like this one. Which Rover rates 5th in the number of times “dispossessed” per game (2.7). If you want a clue he is also rated 2nd in the “number of instances of bad control” per game (3.8)! Still not sure? OK, he's the only Rover to feature currently in the Championship team of the season. 8. How about the amount of possession per game for Rovers – more or less than 50%? 9. The last time Rovers were in the Championship, I remember this former Rover regularly rating in the top 2 best players overall. Today, he is still with the same high-flying club but is now rated 330th out of 333 players. Who is he? 10. Rovers also has a new “worst player”. Who is it? Answers 1. 9TH BD, 15TH CM, 17TH DL 2. None (Williams would be in there but he hasn’t yet played the number of games to qualify) 3. EB. 4. CE. 5. EB. 6. Hanley 7. BD 8. Less (48.7%) 9. Judge 10. AA 314th!

Oh? That’s how i record them.......chronological order.......but aggregate them for posting. My thinking was that it would be easier to absorb at a glance. Then i do the chronological bit via the text commentary. Thanks I’ll have a lttle think.

Thanks guys.

I-ve been having trouble formatting the **** . I do it all in "Word" normally …..and it all looks perfect on my PC. I then copy to BRFCS and the text looks ok but the * signs don't line up perfectly. So I dabble a bit to line things up. Then I look for any follow up comments on my ipad and usually notice that the formatting is no longer perfect...……...but not too bad. BUT last night I looked on my wife's iPhone...…………….and the formatting was embarrassingly awful! I decided to see what I could do. Any comments/advice/feedback from those guys who are interested in this stuff will be greatly appreciated! Let's try a couple of alternatives for the Bournemouth game. ONE ……….the formatting doesn't have to be perfect really: Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ******************* Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ********** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) ********************* ** Armstrong *************** Brereton(82) ************** Reed(59) ***** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) *** TWO A nett positive or negative contribution for an individual player could be obtained by simplifying ONE above, One * would be cancelled by one *. I mean his one excellent contribution would be cancelled out by one terrible contribution. Similarly, one poor effort * could be cancelled out by a subsequent "good" contribution * . This is what it would look like for the Bournemouth game (nice to see they are all positive overall with one exception!): Ratings Raya ******** Nyambe *** Lenihan *********** Williams ********** Bell ** Rodwell(59) **** Rothwell *********** Conway ************* Palmer(64) ************* Armstrong * Brereton(82) **** Reed(59) *** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) * THREE Another variation (Bournemouth again): Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ******************* Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ****** *** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) *********************** Armstrong ******** ******* Brereton(82) ********* ***** Reed(59) * **** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) *** Hmmmm. That one doesn't behave well either!

The feed was so poor, foggy and continually frozen and there was no commentary...…………...I nearly gave up - but I wanted to see how the new boys did! An assessment of player performance v Bournemouth Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya **** ****** * Nyambe ******* ***** * Lenihan * ************** *** * Williams *** ************** ***** ** Bell ******** ********* * Rodwell(59) * ****** ** * Rothwell * ************** **** Conway **** *********** ** Palmer(64) * **************** **** ** Armstrong ** ****** ***** ** Brereton(82) * ******* **** * Reed(59) * **** Butterworth(64) *** Travis(82) ** * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 0. Palmer holds off a couple of defenders and sends Armstrong down the wing with a nice pass. Armstrong lays on a beautiful ball behind the defence for Brereton who shows great composure to slide the ball past the out-rushing goalie. Offside! Just! 1. Great harassing by Conway wins the ball and he feeds Brereton who slips the ball to Armstrong who squares to Rothwell but he tries to do too much and the ball is lost. Rodwell struggles a bit as he tries to keep pace with Defoe. 2. Bell stumbles as he tries to tackle near the halfway line. The wing is open and Bournemouth flood forward. The ball comes into the box, Mousset is blocked by a typically brave Lenihan challenge…..he has another go but misses the ball completely….put off by Nyambe throwing himself in front of the ball I think! Bell miskicks……it’s the goalmouth panic we’re coming to expect! Eventually Rodwell becomes the first guy to get a decent contact on the ball since this paragraph started. 4. Bournemouth showing neat football as we can’t get near the ball……until Williams comes in with a robust sliding challenge in the box to put a stop to the fancywork. 6. Palmer carries the ball through midfield and feeds Armstrong on the wing. His cross is deflected and the goalie palms it straight to Brereton 1m out in front of an open net. He does a funny jump and somehow fails to score! 7. Brereton wins the ball well and the ball comes to Rodwell in our own box. He hesitates and is easily dispossessed by Ibe. More scary Bournemouth inter-passing before Williams and Lehihan clear up. 8. More fancy stuff………..Bell is nowhere near his winger but eventually manages to deflect his shot. Tipped over by Raya. From the corner, Williams is outjumped but Raya is well-positioned to catch the header. 11. Lenihan breaks up an attack and Williams picks up the ball and drives forward into the Bournemouth half before laying off nicely to Brereton. Excellent chase back to win the ball by Rothwell. 12. Excellent long ball from Williams down the wing to Armstrong. Some nice one touch stuff from Rovers now……..until Nyambe passes to the invisible man on the wing! Next comes the first goal. Most seem to blame Palmer for not tracking back but I’m not so sure we can put all the blame on him. Rodwell looks lethargic I think, Williams ends up marking no one. Anyway, there’s no one to stop Stanislas as the ball comes in and he is unmarked in the centre of the box. 15. Williams’ long pass is intercepted, then he sells himself with a poor tackle attempt. Palmer is completely done by Ibe and the cross comes in and Lenihan makes a goal-saving tackle 1m out. 24. Bell wins the ball and we get some good one touch stuff again from Rovers on the edge of their box but we can’t get a shot in. We are pinging the ball around impressively but can’t get in the box itself. 27. Rothwell drives forward but is dispossessed. Here they come! Williams and Lenihan clear up. Palmer wins the ball well and Rothwell sends a lovely ball down the wing to Armstrong. He runs into the box. Brereton screams for it as he arrives in the box but Armstrong goes it alone against 2 defenders and his shot is deflected into the side netting. A bit disappointing. Rothwell’s corner comes in, floats over everyone and falls at Lenihan’s feet 1m out! Unfortunately the ball bounces harmlessly off his leg into the goalie's arms. 32. I was just telling myself how well Palmer is playing when he is done comprehensively on the wing. The cross comes in and Raya makes a fantastic save from a Defoe header. Nyambe and Rothwell tidy up. 38. Exactly as in the Stoke game, Nyambe is taken to the line and rounded by the winger. Last time Crouch headed the cross against Raya. This time Raya spreads himself brilliantly and saves Defoe’s point blank effort. 47. Rodwell drives forward and slides a lovely ball through to Armstrong who pushes into the box. His shot is across the face of goal. Disappointing finish. 50. Lovely work by Palmer to feed Bell on the wing but his cross is poor. 53. Very nice one-touch from Rovers all over the park but it finishes with one too many fancy flicks from Palmer! 56. This time it’s Lenihan who is taken to the touchline and rounded, he brings the man down. PENALTY……soft one! Ibe sends Raya the wrong way. 58. Palmer heads on a long ball and Armstrong gathers well. It comes to Reed who curls one just past the right post. 61. Reed is beaten too easily. The defence is all at sea. Fortunately Bournemouth make a hash of a really good situation. 62. Brilliant, Conway robs Lerma and runs forward to unleash a great shot from just outside the box. Great goal for his 500th appearance! 68. A couple of bits of sloppiness from Armstrong when in good positions in the box in the last couple of minutes. 70. Good move. Out from the back, up to Rothwell to Brereton to Conway to Armstrong in the box but his shot is weak and easily saved. A bit of ping pong before the ball goes to Brereton who doesn’t control it fully but he’s clattered anyway and it’s another penalty! Armstrong scores off the post. 81. Good through ball from Conway to Armstrong in the box but he fails to control it! 82. Rothwell drives forward into the box. His attempted curler is blocked. 92. Williams, who has been great all night has a nightmare moment. As last defender (about 40m out) he slips and for some reason picks up the ball. Sent off! Lenihan heads out the free kick but not far enough and Bell is slow, the ball is crossed back and is headed against the bar. Raya saves the rebound brilliantly at point blank range again. 93. It’s a corner and Nyambe seems to be marking Wilson but in all fairness about 6 or 7 go up together, Wilson gets there first and deflects the ball past Raya.

Yeah, I didn’t make it clear. I don’t mean play it out exactly. There were “hints” at Stoke that Williams was capable of driving forward, carrying the ball into the Stoke half. I don’t want to overstate it.......I’m talking “hints” .......whether Williams is good enough is another matter. I gotta admit though, my opinion of him has increased significantly this season. He’s just been sent off for a dumb reaction apparently (haven’t seen it yet) so maybe I’m dreaming.

Fair enough, they are both young lads........but in the Stoke match, (I don’t know if you saw it) i was interested to see Williams carry the ball forward out of defence on a few occasions. That’s not something I’ve seen Mulgrew or Lenihan do very often. Watch out for it in the Bournemouth match if he plays.

Thanks Philip. I thought I was going to get zero replies! Oh blimey! Crouch frightened the life out of our defence, out of both commentators....and out of me! I do quite like him though! Hmmmm, it’s been interesting comparing Bell and Williams in the same team. Bell has been making too many mistakes; he’s very suspect when the winger cuts inside. Williams, on the other hand, has looked effective at centre back. I’ve been impressed with his commitment since he came back.

A great team performance. Sure, there will be individual mistakes but it’s great to see the rest of the team put their bodies on the line to relieve the pressure! An assessment of player performance v Stoke Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * ** **** * Nyambe * ******** ***** * Lenihan *** ****************** ****** * Williams ***************** ** Bell ******** ***** * Smallwood * ******* ** Evans *** ******** ** Bennett ** ************** * Reed(78) * ******* ** Dack(83) ** ************ *** * Graham(83) ***** ************** ** Rothwell(78) ** * Brereton(83) * * Armstrong(83) * * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 6. Bennett is filling in at left back but his short pass puts Bell under pressure. He gets the ball back and retreats dangerously into the box. His attempted clearance is poor and Stoke knock the ball back into the box towards Ince but Lenihan saves the day with a great interception. 13. Ince turns Bell inside out in the box and crosses dangerously. Fortunately Allen couldn’t react quickly enough and pushes the ball past the post. Goal kick and a real let-off! 21. Some impressively persistent play by Nyambe when twice he keeps the ball in play and keeps the attack alive…..but Dack is closed down. 22. Unnecessary bobbling back pass from Smallwood puts Raya under a bit of pressure and he slices the ball into the crowd. 26. Excellent multi-player move! Bell takes the throw, Dack nutmegs a Stoke man, nice interaction between Smallwood and Bennett and the ball is pumped into the corner for Graham. Graham does brilliantly to hold off his man and lay off to Bell, Bennett and Reed are involved again and finally Smallwood pushes the ball into the box. It’s deflected but Dack is on it, he holds off the defender and sweeps the ball into the net off the right post! 30. Outrageous but wonderful dummy by Graham. Nice, one-touch football by everyone! 33. Noticeable that right now…..everyone is chasing everything! 33. Also interesting here; one sloppy pass can lead to danger! Smallwood’s pass to Nyambe is just too short, he can’t control it, Reed tries to help but Diouf sprints away from them both. It looks dangerous but Evans and Reed and Nyambe all get back to crowd the Stoke man out. Real teamwork! The ball still comes back into the Rovers box, however, but guess who’s there to head away? Danny Graham! He then sprints out to slide tackle the ball into touch. Even TM is applauding! 35. Nyambe fails to prevent the cross, Lenihan’s header is weak, Evans manages to prod the ball away, the ball comes back though. Evans wins the ball well but his pass puts Graham under pressure. He tries a dragback on the edge of the box and loses the ball! Panic time! Reed does well to harass the Stoke man out of the box but back they come. This time Williams does the clean-up. Phew! 37. Stoke corner………….the ball is headed away by Graham but it sits up nicely for the Stoke man. Evans and Nyambe hurl their bodies into harm’s way and Evans blocks the shot! Bennett flies after the rebound and Stoke are forced back to the keeper. Great to see the commitment! 42. At the moment, Evans is very noticeable because of his constant harrying. 43. Bennett launches the perfect, long ball downfield, Graham springs the offside trap and he’s away. Beautiful, professional, one on one finish; sweeping the ball into the net. What a game Danny’s having! 45. Graham shows great control as he lays off a long free kick to Bell. Williams hits a long ball downfield, Bennett controls on his chest then slides the sweetest of balls into the box for Dack. Dack squares the ball to Reed who manages to move his feet fast enough to put the ball in the net! Commentator’s quote “Surely that puts this game to bed!” Stoke fans’ boos echo round the ground. 49. Bennett is dispossessed and the cross comes in. Great positioning by Lenihan to head behind for a corner. Goal-saving effort. 51. Stoke corner. Raya comes but makes minimal contact. Cleaned up by Lenihan again. 52. Fantastic commitment under pressure from Lenihan on the edge of the box as he hurls his head at a dangerous, incoming ball. The ref calls it a foul!!! Speechless! The free kick is punched away by Raya but it doesn’t leave the box and needs Evans and Lenihan yet again to throw their bodies at the incoming shot. 54. Dack sticks in a foot to break up an attack. Graham carries the ball into Stoke’s half and lays an exquisite ball through to Dack in the D. His shot is saved and his follow-up hits the post. He’s gotta get one of those! Stoke swarm downfield, Bell doesn’t cover his man and the cross ping-pongs around. Williams and Bennett manage to frustrate the attack. 59. 37 year old, 6’7” Crouch on! He has immediate impact heading down the first corner. Dack miskicks, Williams miskicks, then Dack falls over and the ball is fired over the bar! Blind panic! 61. Bell is done on his inside again and Smallwood has to hurl himself forward to block the shot. 63. Good collect by Raya as Allen crosses into the box. 69. Berahino drops his shoulder and foxes Bell completely. More ping-pong until Smallwood smashes the ball downfield. 72. Olés from the Rovers fans! 74. For goodness sake! Another pointless overhit free kick from Raya straight to the Stoke goalie. 75. Commentators are talking about the stream of Stoke fans leaving the ground. Am I imagining it……or are the Rovers players starting to look a bit complacent? 78. A long ball into the box, Crouch beats Nyambe and heads down, Lenihan misses it, Berahino beats Williams to the ball and bundles it into the net. Raya is totally wrong-footed. 79. A lovely ball into the Rovers box, floats over Lenihan, Williams tries to cover by throwing himself at the ball but Berahino crosses, Bell sticks out a leg but Ince scores. Flipping heck! Share the blame between that lot. Cool heads needed! 81. Etobo skins Nyambe and gets to the line in the box. His cross is met by Crouch’s head 3m out. The ball hits Raya’s chest but I don’t think he knew much about it. Evans clears off the line and Lenihan boots it clear!! At least, that’s my take on it. I only have one camera angle! The stadium is on fire! Dack is injured. Pandemonium! 87. Shawcross is winning every header since Graham went off! 89. Long ball into the Rovers box, Lenihan pushes over Berahino. PENALTY!! Berahino smashes the ball against the crossbar!!!!!!!!!! As a sidenote…….. from the clearance, Brereton has the chance to do a Graham and relieve pressure but instead he falls over! 91. Stoke corner…..Raya comes for it and catches………..Worth a * at this stage! 94. Armstrong plays a nice ball out of defence to Rothwell………………Rovers have 2 on 1. Brereton makes his run but Rothwell’s ball is terrible and Stoke have the ball. 96. Final whistle but I can’t see any huge beaming smiles…………….I think it’s just sheer relief!

That must do wonders for an already impressive team spirit! Did anyone notice how most of our lads seemed shell shocked at the final whistle? Or was it just almighty relief? It’s great to watch but imagine how intense it must be to play your part on the field. This is the best stuff i’ve seen in many a long while!

Amazing match! The crossbar has been MoM a few times this season. In the first half we looked like a real team. After Dack’s miss we fell apart. Still a lot to learn.

'There's a lot more to argue about this time.....but I tried my best! An assessment of player performance v Derby Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya *** **** ** Nyambe * ********** **** * Lenihan **************** '***** ** Williams ** *********** ***** Bell * ******* ****** *** Smallwood ********* ********** * Evans ** ********** ********* Conway(31) ** **** Dack * ****** *** ** Palmer(51) * ****** ********** Armstrong(63) ** ** **** Graham(31) * *********** ** * Bennett(51) * ** Reed(63) *** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 5. Rovers looking OK in the first 5 minutes but now Raya decides to take one touch too many on Williams’ backpass as Nugent closes in. His panicky clearance goes to a Derby man but he can’t make the most of it. 9. A Rovers attack breaks down and Derby surge forward. Bell can’t get anywhere near Derby’s Bennett and the cross comes in. Lenihan is in no man’s land and Josefzoon heads wide. 10. Derby pass their way through Rovers defence…..where is Palmer? Bell has too much to do and Williams is too far from his man. Mount blasts over a glorious chance. 10. Dack scuffs a long range shot. 13. Evans slides a nice ball through for Armstrong who drives into the box. Keogh challenges and it looks like a penalty. The ref disagrees. 14. A lovely long ball cuts through the entire Rovers defence to Nugent. Raya makes the save but Nugent was offside anyway. 16. Nyambe’s throw is too short and Raya is out of his box as Nugent runs in. Raya miskicks into the crowd. 19. Terrible free kick by Raya goes for a Derby goal kick! 20. Good crunching tackle from Williams breaks up a fluid Derby attack. 24. Excellent challenge by Palmer wins Rovers a goal kick. (don’t do that in the box too often Casey!) 25. Evans and Smallwood lose the midfield battle; Mount’s shot from distance is deflected over the bar. The corner is missed by everyone and the ball falls in front of goal. Lenihan and Williams both get in good challenges and Palmer hoofs it upfield. 26. Nyambe is done by the winger and the cross comes in, Bell heads into the D to Mount who’s shot is deflected for another corner! In it comes and Tomori running in at speed gets about a foot higher than anyone else…….but the ball skims off his head. The rebound comes back to him and he performs a bicycle kick from about 3m out. The ball hits Evans on the line and Williams lunges in to prevent the goal. Total panic stations! It’s interesting to re-read the first line of the paragraph to see how it all started! 29. Bell and Williams are taken apart in another attack as Bogle runs into the box but his shot is well saved by Raya. Conway presents the ball to Derby and they come again. The shot comes in and hits Williams’ backside, more panic and the ball is cleared long to Armstrong but, of course, holding up the ball is not his game! Here they come again! 30. it’s pretty hard to apportion blame each time as Rovers are all at sea. Bell is done again and Raya tries to take the ball but slides out of his box and has to release! As he hares back to goal, he flings himself horizontal to make another save! 31. When the ball goes out, Graham comes on for Conway. Palmer fails to get in a challenge as Bogle hits one from outside the box. Raya saves. 40. A bit quieter now but Bennett runs straight through midfield (Smallwood and Evans had both pushed higher into Derby’s half) and launches a shot that Raya helps round the post. 42. Bell is dispossessed on the wing but the dangerous attack fizzles out. 45. Miscontrol by Smallwood leads to another Derby attack but the cross is poor. 46. Smallwood stands off and the cross comes in, Bell heads clear. 46. Smallwood, Graham and Dack conspire to allow Derby in again! 47 Yet another poor pass from Evans. Bell is dispossessed again on the wing. Palmer clatters the Derby man for a foul. 48. Poor clearance by Lenihan ends up with Smallwood fouling the Derby man 25+m out from goal. Here we go again! The wall looks good but Mount smashes the ball over it and hits the bar. Raya was beaten. Nyambe does well to scramble the ball clear and win a throw in in the Derby half. 55. Bell is rolled by the Derby man but his shot is poor. 58. A hopeful long ball from Lenihan finds Graham who nods it into Dack’s path as he runs into the box. He takes it round the goalie but he’s forced wide and his shot hits the side netting. He usually scores them! 59. A lovely ball from Armstrong sends Evans into the box but his shot is very ordinary. 60. A nice ball from Dack to Armstrong on the edge of the box…..just offside! 61. More neat play from Derby and Lenihan intercepts well inside the box. 62. Good grief! Armstrong leaves the winger unmarked, he turns the ball in towards goal. Lenihan can’t get there, Williams tries to chest it, Raya flaps, 2 Derby men throw themselves at the ball, Smallwood makes some kind of contact and the ball ends up in Raya’s arms! 63. Bell is done again by the Derby man but Williams flies in to block his shot. 65. Smallwood’s pass is short allowing Derby to charge towards goal. The cross is cut out by Lenihan. 69. Awful pass by Graham sets up the Derby man for a long shot on goal…….weak effort. 71. A Graham and Dack interaction allows Graham a shot on goal but it’s weak. 72. Some neat interplay between Reed and Nyambe sends Reed into the box but his cross is blocked. 74. Rubbish free kick by Dack. 76. Nyambe does well to hold off the newly arrived Wilson in the box. Wilson dives claiming a penalty! 86. Nyambe and Williams fail to deal with Mount's long ball forwards. The ball comes back to Mount and his shot is a metre wide. Eventually the ball reaches Elliot Bennett who unleashes a shot from 30m……..just past the left post! 87. Poor pass by Lenihan invites more pressure. Fortunately Evans makes a great intervention.

I know what you mean but he slipped three times and two of those almost cost us! That's not acceptable for a top class defender. I don't think it's that simple Oldgregg86, as john.leigh pointed out in my Ipswich assessment; defenders tend to get more red stars because of the goal threat that arises from bad errors. Somehow bad shots on goal seem less catastrophic and I tend to downplay it a bit. I've tended to award orange stars unless the player pretty much misses an open goal or stuffs up a one on one. I have been thinking about it though. Interesting! But apart from that nightmare 5 minutes, Lenihan put in a bigger shift than anyone else (as he usually does!) I just wanted to acknowledge that as I seem to have hammered him on the match comments!

They were by far the best opposition I've analysed this season. Some very neat players. We played well I reckon.

A poor TV picture and no commentary made this more difficult than usual. An assessment of player performance v Villa Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ******* * Nyambe ********* *** ** Lenihan ******************** ****** *** Mulgrew *** ************* *** Bell ********* **** ** Smallwood(66) ********** *** Evans(57) ******** *** Bennett ** *********** ****** Dack *** *********** Armstrong(72) * ******* ******* Graham ** ************ Brereton(57) *** *** Reed(66) * ******** ** Williams(72) * * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 1. Bell is pushed off the ball by Grealish who then keeps the full back at bay as he sweeps down the wing to deliver a cross. A wee bit too long fortunately. 10. Poor corner by Mulgrew but the ball comes back to him and after some tricky footwork he delivers a wicked ball to the far post where Dack and Lenihan challenge but it looks to me like the Villa player heads it towards goal and the keeper saves on the line with his legs. The Rovers players claim the ball had crossed the line! 18. Excellent hold up play by Bennett as he receives the ball, holds off the defender then lays off inside to Smallwood. Yet another challenge by Bennett prevents a clearance on the edge of the Villa box and sets up an attack. 23. Amazing footwork by Dack from a throw in completely bamboozles 2 Villa defenders but he is outmuscled as he takes his shot and the ball runs through to the goalie. 26. Another great free kick from the wing by Mulgrew is headed into the net by Dack but it’s ruled offside. Whisker thin margin. 27. Initially Armstrong does well to take the ball and set off on one of his direct runs at goal. He is dispossessed but Bennett steps in and slides the ball into the box……..Armstrong misses badly but maybe he heard the offside whistle? 28. Lenihan falls over and the Villa man has a direct run at goal. He seems to stumble as Smallwood comes in to challenge! Strong claims for a penalty go unheeded. Tight call! 29. Lenihan is unchallenged but gives his clearing header straight to a Villa man. There is a dangerous attack but fortunately someone strays offside. 30. Blimey! This time Lenihan slices his attempted clearance into the sky and it drops on the edge of the box. After a bit of panic, Bennett does well to put the ball out of play. 31. Nyambe is turned every which way by the winger who gets in his cross. Raya plucks it from the air. 33. Rovers chasing shadows here! The cross comes in but Abraham’s header is easily saved by Raya. 36. Smallwood is done by Grealish. Evans can’t lay a glove on him either as he strolls right across the box. He lays it off but the incoming shot is weak. Scary! 38. Yet again Bennett’s persistence turns what should have been a simple Villa clearance into an attacking opportunity for Rovers. 43. Another excellent hold up and lay off by Graham. 47. A dangerous free kick comes in and Mulgrew’s man heads it on. Fortunately Chester, in a good position, heads over. 51. Evans wins a brave header but Smallwood miscontrols and that’s all it takes to send Grealish off again! Lenihan comes in with a clumsy challenge but the ball runs to Abraham. Mulgrew gets in a half-tackle but Abraham still manages a weak shot. Raya saves comfortably. Lenihan is booked………..if the ref hadn’t played advantage, Villa would have a kick in a very dangerous position! 53. A good ball by Smallwood is collected by Bell who attacks. He passes to Armstrong who puts in a great, first-time cross. Graham grazes the crossbar. 54. Another terrible throw in from Bell goes to a Villa man to set up a dangerous attack. Eventually Abraham’s header flashes past the post! 55. Abraham holds off Lenihan too easily and feeds Adomah in the box. Twice Nyambe fails to prevent him sending dangerous low crosses acoss the box. Bell fluffs his chance to clear but Armstrong boots it upfield eventually. 60. Armstrong puts in a decent cross and Brereton takes it down nicely on his chest and swivels but there’s too many defenders and the ball comes to the edge of the box where Smallwood’s shot is disappointing. 69. Nice ball by Reed sets up Nyambe for the cross but Graham can only get in a weak, off-target header. 70. Lenihan slips over again (that’s three I reckon!)…..leading eventually to a shot flashing past the post again…….probably off-target due to a desperate tackle attempt by Reed. 74. A tenacious run by Reed takes him into the box. He lays it back to Mulgrew on the wing who shows fancy footwork and crosses into the box. Panic erupts and Graham directs the ball towards the goal; Dack flicks it into the net. 83. A mishit Dack corner bobbles past 3 defenders, put off I think by Mulgrew’s run. Williams tries a shot but it’s blocked. Brereton collects but is tackled and goes down too easily. 91. Clumsy tackle by Reed gives Villa a free kick 5m outside the box. Raya seems satisfied with the wall but the strike beats him all ends up! (mind you, it was a cracker). I don’t understand why Nyambe was stood 2m away from the rest of the wall…….and he ducks out of the way! I don’t have the multi angle Sky camera analysis unfortunately. 93. A poor headed clearance falls to Reed on the edge of the box but his shot is well over the top.

Championship Trivia (Data from whoscored.com) 1. 1. Who are our three best rated players so far (out of 320 Championship players overall)? 2. And the 3 worst? 3. Who is the only Rover to have 2 Man of the Match awards so far? 4. Leeds has the highest pass success rate of 79%. Where do you think we stand? 5. Who do you think our best passer is? (Hint 85.2% success.) 6. We come first in the “number of long balls per game” ratings. How many on average? 7. I remember doing one of these trivia things pre-Mowbray; we came bottom in the tackling department. Today we’re second! How many per game on average? 8. Who is our only player in the Championship Team of the Season so far? Answers 1. 18th Mulgrew 7.4, 22nd Lenihan 7.37, 73rd Bell. (Note Dack 7.03 hasn’t played enough games to be included). 2. 307th Nuttall 6.15, 292nd Armstrong 6.27, 225th Nyambe 6.53. 3. Lenihan 4. 19th 67.9% 5. Dack 6. 87………………good grief nearly one per minute! 7. 20.7 8. Mulgrew

Sorry if you just opened this! Error on my part. I was just practising formatting! This is the second game I missed while on holiday. I couldn’t leave it out! An assessment of player performance v Reading Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * * * * Nyambe **** ****** **** * Lenihan ************ *********** ** Mulgrew ** ********* *** *** Bell * ******* ***** * Smallwood(45) * ******* **** Evans(76) * ****** **** Bennett *** ************* *** Rothwell *** *********** Armstrong(44) *** ** Graham ****** **** ** Conway(44) * *** * Samuel(45)(70) * **** * Nuttall(70) ***** ***** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 5. Bennett gathers the ball on the wing; Rothwell screams for the ball. Bennett squares the ball just outside the box and Rothwell hits the post. He smashes the rebound over the stand. 9. Tenacious work by Smallwood wins the ball and allows Armstrong to drive to the edge of the box where he unleashes a shot which the goalie does well to tip round the post. Graham gives the goalie a high-five! 11. Lenihan allows a long ball to bounce off his head and into the box. Raya is slow to get there and Reading score. 17. Lenihan loses out to Baldock who drives into the box. Nyambe seems scared to challenge and Mulgrew’s attempt is powderpuff! The ball bounces around and Lenihan finally clears. 24. Nyambe is out of position and a cross come in from the right. Lenihan and Mulgrew are missing and the Reading man has a free header. Raya makes a great save but the ball falls to Bodvarsson again for a tap in. 38. Bennett wins the ball and feeds Armstrong who charges towards goal. He is tackled and the ball reaches Rothwell who’s powerful drive is bravely headed over by Moore. Close! 45+1 Conway’s corner is poor but the ball eventually finds Smallwood who loops the ball back into the box where Lenihan heads it tamely to the goalkeeper. He could have headed back across goal where Graham was waiting. 46. Good chase back by Nyambe to win the ball from a Reading man in a dangerous position. 46. Evans wins the ball and chases it to the goal line where he does well to win a corner. 50. Bell slides a ball into the box and Bennett makes a beautiful run. He is brought down. Penalty! Mulgrew smashes it into the centre of the net. 60. Bell allows the winger acres of room to get his cross in but Nyambe makes a goal saving challenge. 61. Samuel in the D lobs a neat ball for Graham to run on to but it’s tight and he flicks over the top. He’s offside anyway. 74. High ball into the box by Nyambe is won by Nuttall under challenge by the goalie. The goalie is out of position and Bennett pops the ball towards goal; the defender, on his knees, saves with his body. Nuttall tries to follow up but he’s a whisker away. 74. Conway takes the resulting corner and Lenihan and Mulgrew challenge. The ball drops to the ground and in the resulting scramble Mulgrew is felled. Another penalty! This time Mulgrew stutters and curls it inside the left hand post. 77. Beautiful curling ball by Nyambe into the box for Bennett to chase, he crosses to Graham but his header is a bit disappointing. 81. Sloppy play from both sides ends up with a dangerous cross into the box. Nyambe clears up nicely. 83. Rothwell slips a lovely ball through to Bennett who lays it off to Conway. His cross is headed just over the bar by Nuttall. Hmm! should he have done better? Probably. 83. Mulgrew messes up his headed clearance in the D….it hits McNulty who gets in a shot but it’s wide. Mulgrew is claiming the ball hit the attackers’s hand. (True!) 90+5 Rovers trying to exert pressure. The ball comes to Nyambe on the wing, he miscontrols and Reading attack. It’s dangerous but Nyambe hares back to put a foot in! Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ****************** Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ********** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) *********************** Armstrong *************** Brereton(82) ************** Reed(59) ***** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) ***

Yeah, those chances where the player does brilliantly to get into a goalscoring position............and then misses a sitter........need 2 separate scores. One excellent, one poor. Having got into position though, he had to score i reckon.

I am pleased a few people showed interest in my last post so I was motivated to watch the Hull game for the first time. (I’ve been on holiday for 2 weeks). An assessment of player performance v Hull Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * *** Nyambe * ******* **** Lenihan * *************** *** Mulgrew ***** *** Bell * ********** ****** Smallwood *** ****** * Evans(76) ** ********** * Bennett * ***** *** ** Dack(58) **** **** * Palmer(65) * ******** ** Armstrong(77) ** ****** ** ** Graham(58) ******** *** Travis(65) ***** ** Rothwell(77) * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 1. Lovely ball from Dack to Armstrong 7. Dack slides a great ball through for Armstrong who should have scored. 12. Nice footwork from Palmer as he slides the ball into the box for Dack who wriggles past 2 defenders but the goalie goes down quickly to make the save. 17. A lovely run down the wing by Bell but his low cross is blocked. 18. A loose pass by Bell makes it difficult for Dack to control. Hull gather and attack, Evans slides in to avert the danger. 34. Smallwood decides to pass instead of shoot when directly in front of goal. Poor decision. 36. Bell throws directly to a Hull man……fortunately he miscontrols! 41. Armstrong slides a lovely ball to Bennett on the wing; he crosses perfectly into the path of the on-rushing Dack. 1-0, great move! 53. Nyambe wins an important tackle on the edge of the box and clears downfield. 59. An air-kick by Bennett in the box as a free kick comes in. Fortunately Raya collects. 62. Nyambe chases a lost cause to the touchline and manages to cross to Graham. The ball falls to Armstrong in front of goal. He swings and misses completely! 70. Bell wins the ball, Evans lays off a lovely ball to Armstrong who in his usual, single-minded way charges towards goal. The ball bounces off the goalies legs to the fast closing Bennett who somehow manages to put the ball past the post! How did he miss? 79. Lenihan heads Evan’s cross back into the box. Graham does well to get in a header but it’s straight at the goalie. 80. Evans wins the ball on the edge of the box and feeds Graham who scuffs his shot. 86. A Hull corner sees MacDonald beat Bell to the header which brings out a wonderful reflex save from Raya. Unbelievable! 2 points saved!

Thanks for the comments everyone. If you disagreed, that's ok...….I'm only human. I meant........it was the strategy of going all out in attack that failed, not really a criticism of Nuttall. I've looked at these incidents again but I'm still happy with my decisions. I couldn't see much of a push on Mulgrew……….but it's a difficult angle. Maybe Raya could have done better for the 3rd goal but he saved us from a more embarrassing scoreline so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Three times in the last two games, Bell has allowed the winger to turn inside him and unleash a decent shot on goal. Fortunately they went just wide or Raya saved. As for Williams, here are his ratings for the Ipswich game again: Report post Posted August 8 (edited) Williams ** *********** ***** You can read the full Ipswich post on about page 3 of the Football Messageboard. Interestingly, he was deemed our man of the match in that game by whoscored.com

That made me laugh. Watch it on the highlights!

Hi Philip...….you were quick off the mark I think you may have seen my unfinished effort.