roversfan99

I think it will be over the course of the season. Otherwise we wouldn't be interested in a striker and you wouldn't have been fuming with the inability to bring one in.

He did get the initial team wrong, but the timing of the subs and how they were used won us the game really. I share your desire for a managerial change but you aren't doing yourself many favours looking at everything with such bias, he wasn't lucky with his subs and it wasn't a masterplan to make anyone look shit.

I am saying if he could be sacked tonight, interviews to follow for a replacement, would you consider that to be good or bad news?

I don't want him to be a target man, in fact I don't think that he is a central striker. We so often have no one in the box, if there was, it doesnt mean that we need to just aimlessly lob crosses in the air, but it is much easier to defend when no one is in the box.

Would you now not consider a managerial change until the season ends? Or would you still welcome one tonight if it was possible?

Amazing how 2 people watching the same game can see such different things. I thought he was appalling aside from one moment, a brilliant finish. The ball didn't stick with him, he didn't bring others into play, didn't offer a threat in behind, poor first touch, came wide too often leaving no one central to aim for, just generally very poor. Who I was with, those around me and even hearing people as I went down into the concourses or indeed everyone else on here have all said the same. Do you not think Rothwell is neutralised playing so deep, and when he does get further forward, he leaves too many gaps? Poveda is a wide player too by trade, not sure it makes sense to leave Butterworth out for fitness reasons (how will he ever be ready to start if he never does, surely that is a never ending cycle?) yet put Poveda and Gallagher back in from the start despite current muscular injuries?

@chaddyrovers Wouldn't it be better to swap Butterworth and Brereton around? As a central striker, Brereton proved why he is not suited to do that yesterday, similar to Gallagher on Saturday, his general game was very, very poor. Brereton has been better wide left, and whilst I appreciate that he would probably prefer to play off someone, Butterworth comes on in central positions and Mowbray said post match yesterday that Butterworth wouldn't ideally want to play out wide.

What is bizarre is that you would prefer to continue with a manager who you don't want to continue over a manager who you think is actively doing a "very good job" at another Championship club.

Barnsley seem to be struggling somewhat to adjust following the loss of their manager and captain but as with every game at the moment, it will be a challenge with our squad on Saturday. A lot may depend on the potential availability of the likes of Edun, Rankin Costello, Johnson, Poveda and Gallagher because if they are all out, our squad last night was so thin. I think we could do with a bit of freshening up for sure, the starting 11 last night didn't work. I would personally like to see Butterworth and Khadra start instead of Dolan and Buckley who were quiet last night. I would also like to see Rothwell play a bit further forward as he is limited by playing so deep. Ideally Johnson could return and give us some experience and physicality besides Travis, with Clarkson looking well off the standard required, failing that, perhaps Edun could make a debut in a central midfield role that he is very familiar with, failing that, I would go with Davenport who doesn't convince but gives us more stability. The back 4 and keeper should of course remain the same.

He was definitely hindered by his position last night, make no mistake. But in general, he has played central this season and aside from the first half of the first game, he has been anonymous. For me, his major issue is not even his physicality, its his lack of ability to impact upon games most of the times. He needs to do more to justify staying in the team. Even when a couple of chances came his way at Forest, his shots were timid and straight at the keeper. I even find Rothwell playing so deep to be puzzling, he is not one to protect the defence or control the game, but running at teams, that is where his strengths lie. I do get this idea about keeping an eye on the long term but Buckley or indeed anyone cannot be selected solely because he is contracted to the club beyond this season. 6 games into a season in which we have started fairly well, the aim has to be to win each individual game as it comes, not planning for next season. Buckley has to do more to warrant being a regular starter within that.

Absolutely not, but such a run will naturally then impact on the final league position, which was much further away both in points and 4 league places from the season before which itself was underwhelming, so that 15th place finish would be justification as proof that his job had become untenable and he had become stagnant, without needing to highlight specific runs of form.

I find the "2 in 17" focus to be bizarre really. A manager would never be praised on a focused run of wins, the only thing to judge on is the final league finish, which was 15th, and itself poor. Using soundbites of specific runs of form just discredits the genuine argument to get rid of him in my opinion. As much as the start to the season with a skeletal, under funded squad has been very encouraging.

The idea of a boo free stadium is a noble one but ultimately a totally unrealistic one. The boos are spontaneous builds up of frustration, it is not as if people are waiting to boo in a pre-meditated fashion, and it is not as if they can be reigned in because the team is young. Ultimately, many of these players come from a sanitised kids football environment and have to get used to the fact that the results really matter to those in the crowd who are desperate for that to happen, have spent good time and money to be there and will naturally voice their displeasure if they are being left frustrated. For the record, I didn't boo but I understood those who did after a woeful first half. And the players responded well in the second half, to which naturally the fans very much bought into. For what its worth, I thought the atmosphere even in the first half when the game was like watching paint dry was very supportive but it is impossible to expect a perfect reaction throughout the game.

Best footballer? And the team was imbalanced, Clarkson also looked lost further forward. He did not set the team up well, the first half was rancid.

I also said that he was the man of the match on Saturday too and played excellently.

Do well in the Prem is a bit of a stretch.

Important win against a woeful Hull side. 75 minutes of shite, especially the first 45, but 15 minutes in which we won the game looking a totally different team. Brereton showed tonight why he doesnt play centrally, his general performance was hopeless aside from a superb goal. Buckley and Clarkson are both pointless players that dont do really anything and should both be dropped. Rothwell was really poor in the first half and came to life in the second, hes being played too deep, and Travis was ok. Dolan was as poor tonight as he was good on Saturday. The 2 subs were excellent, I like the look of Khadra although he doesnt like running back too much. The back 4 were very good especially the middle 2, good to get that clean sheet at last.

Glad that Gallagher is out, but Buckley wide/false 9? Bizarre.

I never said that it can be done or indeed that I can do it. I also don't fully understand the full intention of the purpose of this thread. Mystery, confidential meetings aside.

I think Nyambe is miles ahead of Rankin Costello who I suppose isnt a right back but cannot defend one on one at all. I also think that whilst Nyambe doesnt have the best end product, his assist for the first on Saturday isnt the first in which he has powered through and played the ball back for a goal. The fact that he is an international is (like with Annesley) an irrelevance due to the fact that his national team is a footballing minnow. I think he is an average Championship right back, and definitely our best full back on what has been seen so far.

I agree with how you mention his hesistance, that very much sums him up so far, hesitant. His set pieces have been pretty poor and he has often played safe passes, indeed when he has got forward his crosses have tended to be loopy and straight towards the keeper. His goal was excellent both in how he took not the best pass from Brereton and also the finish and he is definitely technically better than Bell, he is much calmer on the ball whereas Bell rarely had the ball under control and often gave away needless throw ins. His or indeed any targeted left backs defensive ability shouldnt have been seen as less of a priority than his ability to go forward though. Our defensive record and inability to keep clean sheets is horrendous, is it 16 games? And that is with individuals (Ayala and Kaminski for example) impressing amidst that. I definitely think that he is better than Bell (and Douglas) but merely being better than 2 players who were awful is not the benchmark that should be set. I do agree with how quick people have been to try and big him up, not only on his reputation but perhaps also in the absence of many other signings?

I would definitely agree that he is an upgrade but the standard of Douglas and Bell was so low that it isnt really a barometer of success. I think technically he looks very tidy but he looks particularly slow on the turn and has been caught out positionally a few times. I think he will need to perform to a higher level if he is to ensure that he keeps his place in the team with Edun soon to be pushing him, I look at our defence/goalkeeper and individuals within it have received praise this season but as a team we are not keeping clean sheets which worries me. Definitely worth persevering with and an ok start but I do think the official website has gone well over the top with its praise, although no issues as I suppose thats it job to a certain degree.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2021/september/Pickering-I-m-learning-all-the-time/ I have seen a lot of praise from the official site and in the local media regarding Pickering in the last couple of weeks. "For those who turn up to Ewood Park not knowing anything about the Rovers squad, many would think that Harry Pickering's been a Championship regular for years. The 22-year-old full-back looks right at home in the second tier." What do people make of this? I personally think that he definitely looks better than the 2 incompetents of last season, but he is still a long way from convincing me.

There is too much focus on those in the middle, an underperforming manager, an incompetent CEO and middlemen who may give "advice." The people who need holding to account are those that have not attended a game in years and years and are in India.

To be fair, Robbie Savage would be probably the best midfielder in the League.