22 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

I can second that. I lived in Wigan from the estly 90s and the town centre on a sunny day was a sea of cherry and white hoops.....very seldom you saw a football top. Whelan changed that.

To a point, although I think there have always been as many match-attending football fans than rugby fans, it's just that they were all at Old Trafford, Maine Road, Anfield, Goodison or a few (like me) at Ewood instead of at Springfield Park or the god-awful place they play at now. 

You're right that it's much closer now, all because of the investment of a wealthy Blackburn Rovers fan! 

Slightly off-topic for a Rovers forum, but moving away from Central Park to an identikit ground miles away from the town was an absolute sin.

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but Brennan has ended up signing another deal with Rovers

Bennett left back, Evans not in the squad so Rothwell in midfield.

Otherwise, as last week. Arma on the Bench, as is Smallwood

Just now, davulsukur said:

Aye it won't be easy but Wigan have been around the bottom of the table for most of the season.

I'll be honest, didn't realise their form was that good.

Not even conceded in 5, not bad going considering one of those games was West Brom away.

12 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

 

However I've just been reading a very good article in today's " Guardian " regarding Klopp at Liverpool. His strike rate regarding signings is a lot better than 1 out of 3. We all know you live or die by your signings as a manager. I'd expect the average Joe Bloggs to get as many right as they get wrong. The Klopps of this world will be up around 75% if not more. I would suggest that a strike rate of 1 success in 3 signings would get you the sack at most normal clubs.

This is fair, but equally Klopp has an unbelievably well resourced recruitment department, and even putting aside how easily Liverpool can attract players, he's got the depth and richness of scouting data which is well beyond that of most clubs, including ours.

I think Mowbray's transfer record is mixed, but certainly not poor. The big bucks spent on Brereton and Gally will rightly be talked about until they start living up to their price tags, but profits from Dack, Rothwell and Armstrong offset that for me. We won't make any money off the loans or players signed on a free, but there are loads of examples of players signed this season and last which have meant that we're continuing to improve. I think the first team has continued to improve, which is a pretty good measure of success of the manager's performance. 

Last thing I'd say too is that our targets have changed pretty substantially in a short period of time. We're rightly looking to get in the top flight now, but that doesn't mean that the signings we made to get us in the shape we are now like Smallwood, Samuel, P. Downing, Nuttall etc were the wrong calls, just that we've outgrown their usefulness. 

3 minutes ago, JoeH said:

It's not that Downing wouldn't be great at Left-Back. If you take the context of the full team away, sure I'd probably put Downing there, but I firmly believe taking Downing out of our midfield, with no Dack in the side, leaves us with a lack of creativity going forward.

I'm not completely unsympathetic to that - I rate Downing above Holtby as a creator of chances - but it is a way of getting both Holtby in a position where he might be more effective than last week and get Armstrong in the team too. 

5 minutes ago, JacknOry said:

Think some are underestimating just how quick Downing can be. One of my earliest memories of him this season that really stood out was him beating the likes of Nyambe and a few others when sprinting back towards goal. Forgot which match it was though. 

Downing has a football brain which is why he can easily adapt to so many positions. For me it is a no-brainer that he goes to LB on previous showings considering our depth in midfield to replace him and the lack of the same in that position. Bennett already gets targetted when playing on his favoured side and on his weaker side he will get rinsed. A young player making his debut will also struggle in a game we need to win against one of their best players who are fighting to stay up.

Downing all day, every day for me.

I don't quite agree that it's a no-brainer, mainly because I don't think that Bennett at left back is a disaster when we don't have a fit first team left back (accept that I'm probably in the minority on that one) and even though I think Downing is more than capable of doing a good job back there's still an element of risk moving him there.

That said, on balance I agree that it's probably the best move - it's the one I'd make anyway. 

1 minute ago, JoeH said:

I'm sorry but if a youth player who's usually playing in behind the striker, or as a winger, can play full back on his weaker foot and have a commendable game - then surely another youth players who's natural position is left-back, playing on his strong foot, isn't exactly a huge leap. If JRC could cope, out of position and on the wrong side, then Thompson could easily cope. Allowing Downing to play in his much superior position.

Downing will get run ragged by Jamal Lowe, he hasn't got the pace.

Got a hell of a brain on him though. Not saying that Lowe wouldn't give him a hard time, but he's coped excellently with coming up against wingers plenty quicker than him so far.

Maybe by having Downing making overlapping runs Lowe will be spending more time thinking about his defensive duties and less time running at the full back. 

12 minutes ago, JacknOry said:

Definitely Downing at LB for me if BEll, Williams and JRC cannot play. Get Holtby in midfield with Evans and Travis.

Side note - never been Evans biggest fan but kudos for the way he played after such a serious injury. 

Managing the squad will be a real challenge from now til the end of the season. I'm not sure that Evans can put in that sort of performance three games a week without picking up an injury, but if we can get 4-5 games out of him at that level then it could be the difference between getting in the top six and missing out. 

30 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Do we not need Downing's ability on the ball in centre midfield? 

Ideally, but then again this is a way to get Hotlby in the game more whilst getting Arma on the pitch too. I'd be perfectly happy with either scenario to be honest, but I'm thinking that having three left back injuries might be seen as an opportunity to reshuffle to get our best players starting elsewhere on the pitch.

If there's not improvement with the left backs, I'd be happy sticking Downing there, putting Holtby back in the midfield and starting Arma with Brereton and Gally up front.

Suppose Bennett to left back is the least disruptive option with Nyambe being fit.

17 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Why? He's not premier league standard at the moment. Brighton have a decent goalie who will probably stay with them if they stay up or go down.  For me, better the devil you know.  Walton has time and will improve

Believe Brighton have hinted that he'll be involved in their first team next season, might be wrong though.

I think that Walton is one of those loan signings that would be viewed differently had he been signed on a four year deal, rather than a season long loan. He has probably made one or two mistakes too many, and the PNE one in particular  was hard to take, but he obviously has a lot of the tools needed to develop into a good keeper. We've picked up plenty of clean sheets this season, and whilst that's quite a lot down to our centre back pairing, Walton needs credit too.

38 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

That late run in 13-14 was incredibly frustrating, draws with the likes of Yeovil, and then Sheff Wed after being 3-1 up.

That game at Hillsborough was horrible, genuinely not exaggerating in saying that was one of my worst days watching Rovers. 

Just had a look at their win at the weekend, Huddersfield had 70% of the ball! Hard to say whether that played into Wigan's hands or not, but they'll get a very different sort of game against Rovers. 

Can only see this being tight, with the odd goal probably being enough to decide it. I think we have more quality though, especially in depth. 2-1 Rovers. 

28 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

The fact that our form or results would have extrapolated to this that or the other is irrelevant and flawed. He came in with a difficult but not impossible task of keeping us up which he failed at. He came close but he failed. 

Another flaw regarding extrapolating results is you look at some of the teams we beat near the end of the season, Villa, Brentford etc, they had nothing to play for.

It would be flawed if you try to extrapolate our final position over a season, but I'm not.

I'm saying that claiming TM relegated us by 'stubbornly keeping Lowe as captain and playing him at all costs' is an incredible thing to say when 1) we were picking up a healthy number of points and 2) we were so thin on quality and numbers there that we didn't have anyone to replace him with anyway.

9 minutes ago, Stuart said:

This is also the guy who stubbornly relegated us by keeping Jason Lowe as captain and playing him at all costs that sealed our relegation. He is doing the exact same again with Bennett, it’s just that he has turned around the awful squad that Coyle ruined so we are fitter than we were. The fact that he has followed Coyle makes many people stick to the “it could be worse” support.

Apologies if this was a tongue-in-cheek comment, but otherwise that's an absolutely outrageous statement! Our form after he joined in February came in was just short of play off standard and it's not as though we had anyone to replace him with anyway!

4 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

I think James was terrible too. I know the media had an image of him which didn't help but from what I saw away from the hype he still looked pretty poor to me. England went from having a raft of great keepers of the Seaman, Martyn and Flowers era to a long period of absolute duffers. Not sure why this is really. 

Robbo was a pretty good keeper in his pomp, but the fact that he got around 40 odd caps in an era before being dropped in his 20s shows how the quality dropped off. 

No expert, but it does seem we still produce plenty of good young keepers but few kick on to be consistently at the top level. Going back a bit now, but there's been Carson, Kirkland, Hart, Foster, Butland, Forster and probably about half a dozen others who looked they could be the real deal and for different reasons either didn't develop or couldn't do it consistently. 

26 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Tony got most of his decisions right, including picking Corry Evans. The lad was outstanding. Having suffered a very similar facial injury to his I know how much bottle it takes to come back from, and to do it with such class and tenacity was wonderful to see. I thought Travis was equally immense. Brereton made a right nuisance of himself and deserved a goal really, maybe a few crowd-less games will do the lad some good? JRC slotted in well at left back, though the pattern of play meant that their dangerous winger was limited in his ability to expose JRC, and of course the lad had a perfectly good goal chalked off.

Credit where credit is due, Bennett had a very decent game, he kept it simple and was a lot more effective for it. Good tactic to replace the front three on the hour, particularly with the introduction of Arma's pace and DG's guile. 

Agree with all of that, but I think Evans in particular has completely changed my opinion of him over the last season or two.

When we were relegated I was more than willing just to let him go for nothing. He clearly had some ability, but he seemed so passive in games and never seemed to really impose himself on the opposition and was a bit of a soft-touch who flattered to deceive. I (probably wrongly) got the impression that he wasn't as bothered as you need to be at this level, maybe not helped by his injury record and towards the end of the Bowyer-era I had made my mind up about him.

He is still a player with limitations, but his form under Mowbray has slowly but completely changed my opinion on both his ability and his attitude, and dominating the midfield (with the excellent Travis) was so impressive given his injury.

Pleased that you mention Bennett as well. He's no world beater who shouldn't get into our strongest side, but Saturday's performance shows that he's more than capable of contributing as a squad player.

12 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

I get what you are saying @Admiral Nelsen and in many ways agree - especially on the fact that at present they are necessary - but they are still doing harm. The hands off management is still causing chaos as in no accountability or evaluation of how TM is doing, not least in appointing his own boss, which can only harm the efficiency and effectiveness of the club. There's every indication the dark forces are still here and at work in the club and a transfer policy seemingly where we can't spend on the defence or keeper! There is harm going on, just not on the scale of before. 

That said I agree that their more backseat approach is causing less damage (not none though) then when they are hands on and is less of a sore reminder to fans of what they have done. I'll also grudgingly say they are necessary for now. Like the metaphors I've used, we need the life support machine, we need someone to not let go and drop us off the cliff. That said a necessity for now doesn't mean we should forget what they have done - and are doing. 

 

This is all fair, and if I gave the impression that I think there are no ongoing problems with their ownership, then that was a mistake.

The main point I wanted to make (which probably got lost slightly) was that fans are still entitled to feel however they like about Venkys, even if there has been a marked improvement in their contribution over the last few years. As others have alluded to, there were questions posed by Alan Myers some weeks ago about how fans would feel about Venkys coming to Ewood for games, and whilst most comments were balanced there was the odd statement along the lines of "imagine still being bitter about them after so much time etc." Personally, I'm happy to recognise their apparent improvement and focus on the team, but I really didn't like the attitude suggesting that fans who took a different view were being unreasonable. 

Basically, I think questions about whether they are 'forgiven' or not really miss the point and are not important - but at the same time the fact that their ownership isn't the dominant issue that it was a few years ago is partially a result of how they have been doing a better job of shutting up and writing cheques. 

1 hour ago, TruRover said:

Personally the team I fear the most is actually Brentford. I know we’ve picked up 4 points from them this season but I think as a team they have grown as the season has gone on and I really wouldn’t be surprised if they break into the top 2. There a powerful outfit who play good football and theyve probably got the 2 best attackers in the league in Benrahma and Watkins. Meanwhile I think Fulham are flaky at the back and their manager makes poor use of the players he has available imo, and everyone knows Leeds are bottle jobs. So I’d be quite happy to see leeds in the playoffs in return for Brentford going straight up.

I agree, we had to be playing at our most intense level to get those four points. I wouldn't say that we were at out best going forward, but our pressing & defensive focus needed to be very strong to keep them at arms length.

As things stand I'd fear both Brentford & Fulham over two legs, but equally I think they're both a couple of injuries away from being vulnerable. Fulham especially, for a team with so many proven talented players they don't look the same team without Mitrovic. 

18 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

That said if they called it quits and walked away and we started free falling like Bolton I would still say one of the major benefits is we could hopefully get the club back under fan ownership, even of that meant bankruptcy and reconstituting the club. I wouldnt want that, but if it happened I would hardly be devastated either.

I won't pretend to have followed every twist and turn of the Bolton saga, but I think their case shows if anything how financial crises from poor owners doesn't necessarily empower fan groups to take over, even for a club with a reasonable fan base. There's always the chance that a Portsmouth-like situation could materialise, but I wouldn't be optimistic about that being the end result and would only even be possible after the club suffering a huge trauma beforehand. 

On Venkys, the biggest complement I can pay them and their behaviour over the last 3/4 years is that they have made it easy for fans to be pragmatic. They're not causing havoc by making bizarre recruitment decisions, and they're underwriting our massive losses. Forgiving or forgetting doesn't really matter in this context. They can just be tolerated/ignored as long as they're necessary and not casing additional harm to the club. 

Think Joe (who I like the look of) benefited in the second half from the dominant team display. They couldn't get Eliasson running at him nearly as much which was a worry in the first 45.

The lad deserves a pat on the back and to stay in the managers thoughts, but I'd be happier going into the Wigan game with a recognised left back, not overly bothered if it's Bell or Williams. 

Cardiff have defended very well and took their goals magnificently, but they've definitely had the bounce too. Take away the great saves and the strange Bamford offside, I've lost count of the number of times where the ball has come lose in Cardiff's area and just evaded a Leeds man. 

Cardiff deserve credit, but they had to ride their luck to win that game.

15 minutes ago, philipl said:

Well that was lovely despite Walton's awful attempt for their goal (strengthen those wrists again) and the ref howler denying JRC a perfectly good debut goal.

Credit to Mowbray. Everything he did - selection, tactics and subs worked to perfection. 

No players were weak but shout outs to Bennett- no loose passes or wild lunges

JRC- given run around early on but grew in stature

Evans and Travis were immense in midfield and Downing added the class

Brereton- what a shame his feet went when round the keeper with an open goal. In all fairness players were slipping all over the field and I think the ref was not making allowances either although Bristol City were niggly dirty.

Samuel gave them some frights when he came on. Arma missed horribly and then scored sublimely.

And Tosin is just different class. Fantastic goal to round off a commanding performance.

Well done lads.

Would fancy Wigan in front of a raucous away crowd but... 

Not so sure, it's been a while since that's counted for much away at their place!

Fully agree with the rest of your post. Whilst Evans is rightly getting plaudits, Travis again went about his job magnificently. That boy is a player. 

2 minutes ago, Stuart said:

Normal service is resumed.

Bennett is Mowbray’s version of Andrews under Ince and Lowe under Bowyer. Clearly not good enough but is “the manager’s man”. This is the kind of thing that ruins dressing rooms.

Ince and Bowyer got the chop. Mowbray never will.

We have three injured full backs who otherwise would have played. Bennett is a limited player, but is there anything to be gained by implying that he's so bad that he isn't up to being a reserve in the second tier?