Ansley Pears has taken his fair share of stick (from me as well) but that save was superb and he gets MOTM from me for that alone. We really did try our best to throw that away at the death, wtf were we doing for that counter?

Take a fucking bow Ansley Pears

He seems to be doing all the things you wouldn't expect really well (tracking back, winning the ball etc.) But all the things you'd expect him to do (passing, threading one through, putting in a dedrnt cross) he's been shite at.

Not much left on the bench to bring in and change a game either.

Gotta make some changes JE, we've lost the grip on this game completely now.

2 really poor goals to concede.

Brilliant from Ohashi right from kick off.

Hedges and Dolan showing exactly why they are so polarising. Moments of good work, undone by poor decisions a few mins later. Overall, a good half from us and we are now starting to frustrate Sunderland and forcing the game into a scrappy affair, which suits us.

Changes!

Merry Christmas Rovers fans! Hope you've all had a good one!!

It does happen but if he's that good surely a new manager would prefer to keep him around when the squad isn't that great. I'll bow to your superior knowledge on this one though. Hopefully he comes in and does the job. Wasn't that long ago that plenty on here were calling Trav a league one clogger tbf. But yep, it was a terrible decision to let him go out on loan but with the hierarchy we have here, it's not a surprise tbh.

Trav is a massive loss over the next few weeks. Not too sure on Baker, he's done OK as a sub and filling in for 1 game but there has to be a reason a struggling Stoke side loaned him out. Big test for us, a win really gives us the belief we're in contention but a loss opens up a 9 point gap between us and Sunderland. Feels like exactly the type of game Rovers normally lose. Let's see if JE has managed to instill any kind of back bone into the team. 0-2

Van De Ven is a good player but he's missed half of their games so far this season , they can't be relying on him to save them. They are better with him but the tactics are suicidal, they don't keep many clean sheets and generally concede too many goals in order to do anything. They are the highest scorers in the league and are currently sat 11th, closer to relegation than the title. Anyway, Ange stated that he "always wins things in his second year", so let's see if he can pull something out of the bag in a cup.

Spurs are hilariously shit. Absolutely rank at defending.

A tough championship away fixture if there was one! Normally I'd say a draw would be a good result but the boys are flying right now. Looking at the upcoming fixtures, we could really do with getting something here.

Good job we aren't a club with any ambition then.

Another one that can't handle it when his methods/tactics etc. gets questioned by the media.

He's just been sacked, unfortunately

The least surprising news ever. Conceding 2.5 goals per game on average over 16 games and conceded the most in the league. 2 wins from 16, just 9 points and 2nd bottom. Last 2 games have seen players fighting amongst themselves/coaching staff, O'Neil has completely lost the dressing room and is no way on earth turning that around. They've been horrific this season and any suggestions of giving him more time is laughable at best. Keeping Bournemouth up might have been a good effort but he ended with twice as many losses than wins, and after 100 games in management he's boasting a very average 31% win rate. Not sure why anyone's been raving about him. Highly unlikely to be a Premier league manager again anytime soon.

6 wins on the bounce. Absolutely unreal, another clean sheet to boot. Superb result and a game in hand on some of the teams around us.

No chance he's coming here, no. He'll end up at Boro, as they'll just pay the full wage + crazy loan fee.

Edit: double post

My brother in Rovers, there is always a chance.

Seems destined for the championship in January but looks like the entire league want to sign him.

Another absolutely superb result. We're a bit of a horrible team but that makes me love it even more. Genuinely thought the header came off the defender for our goal but hopefully it didn't and it's Big Mac's to take home. Delighted for him, though he played really well overall as well. Shout out to Barry Bannan as well, 35 years young but the bloke can play.