roversfan99

Raya did make quite a few mistakes last season and is an error prone goalkeeper, its easy to forget that and perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder. That said, replacing him with Walton on loan and renewing Leutwilers contract was an idiotic plan.

Rankin Costello has a hamstring injury and Buckley is suspended for another game.

Why would we sign a wide striker and persist with a tactic that doesnt work? And who is taking Mulgrew off our hands?

I expect to see Samuel, Johnson, Bennett and Gallagher somewhere. Probably for Rothwell, Brereton, Holtby and Davenport.

Thats what sets Dack apart and makes him our best player. For all of his skills and entertainment, he scores regularly because he knows where the ball will drop, so many scruffy goals. Even Armstrong I dont think is the best at anticipating chances. Rhodes was the master at it and Dack is not so far off. Armstrong has scored quite a few goals in recent months (well apart from in the break!) but long term the 25 yard screamers which he has 4 or 5 of arent a regular type of goals and he needs to be getting more scruffy goals. Even one on one when Armstrong goes through, he probably misses more than he scores.

I think its a little harsh to say "complete lack of ability" but hes certainly a player we can improve on. The pea roller was v Huddersfield and within his worst run of form, where he also made mistakes v Preston, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke and Barnsley.

When he has played up front he often seemed very reluctant to get into the box, I dont think he has that strikers instinct at all.

I don't know how you cannot blame him conclusively for that first goal. He came out and tried to catch a ball he was never going to catch, and spilt it into the strikers path. We certainly werent being hammered in that second half either. The game seemed destined for a nil nil, but even so it is still strange logic to think "well we would have conceded anyway."

I am unconvinced by my own line up, especially because I prefer Holtby to be as a 10. Rothwell would also be lucky to start again. I just think it gives us the balance of Downing at left back, we now have a threat with Armstrong, Brereton can hopefully run at people and link with Armstrong, and the 2 wide men would naturally come in and be overlapped. Its also a quite attacking and technical side and we are playing bottom of the league so we should be looking to dominate. I also think Chapman surely has to be one of 9 subs. I suspect Samuel will be shoehorned in out wide, Bennett will remain at left back, maybe Johnson in CM and probably a surprise somewhere else as well.

Tweaks are sometimes understandable but I do feel like whilst Mowbray has brought in some better technical footballers, we still dont have a strong identity, we dont have a consistent formation or any real balance to our squad. Mowbray has flirted with 3 at the back, hes flirted with this false 9 nonsense, but he needs to find a way whereby our better technical players can find a way to dominate games within a balanced team. I'd like to see us concentrating on our own style and perfecting that but I am unconvinced how we can do that. Even yesterday there were times when through the lines the likes of Holtby, Downing, Adarabioyo, Travis and to a lesser extent Brereton and Rothwell played some lovely passes quickly through the lines but the team didnt have the correct balance and we didnt carry any goal threat.

Definitely agree that there is no point chucking in someone who wont be first or second choice next season. But your logic regarding the first goal is very flawed, it was his fault that he clattered into his own player, and the performance of the team is irrelevant in the fact that he made an absolute howler that probably cost us a point. (Plus could have done better for the second)

Unless Bennett was sold, which he wont be, then he wouldnt be stripped of the captaincy, no chance. If his game time waned which again im not convinced by, then Lenihan would just naturally be captain in his absence.

I am not sure how much I subscribe to this theory to be honest. I think the way to go is not to keep changing dependant on opposition, we shouldnt for example have Armstrong up top one week and Graham the next to try and play really average teams at their own game, we should be trying to come up with a consistent way that we excel in, a balanced way in which we can play a style we are best at. Mowbray seems keen to make us into a more technical side, Adarabioyo, Holtby, Downing etc which is fine and I can understand but it is not done with any conviction, any balance, any consistency or any structure. An extreme example and not one for direct comparison but look at Leeds under Bielsa. Before he rocked up they were very much mid table fodder, now they have the strongest identity in the division that they play all the time and they are going to go up. Even players underachieving before his arrival like Alioski and Dallas have been converted into positions in which amidst a consistent system they now excel in.

The standard of this league really is overrated in my opinion which makes our stumbles a little more frustrating. There are probably 9 or 10 absolutely awful teams, including some absolute shockers, teams like Hull, Luton etc. Then looking up, you even look at the game today, a mid table side v a play off contender, both decidedly average and even above that, ourselves, Cardiff, Preston etc, is there really that much quality there? The standard of goalkeeping in the Championship really is abysmal too. Even many of the keepers in the top half are regularly error prone. It shouldnt take too much to find a competent goalkeeper.

The last 2, Joe Hart and McLaughlin, both of whom Nixon credited us with a strong interest, even repeatedly saying McLaughlin was close, have both been actively rubbished by the manager. No point listening to him!

Dont know if this is the best place to put it. But I really think at the moment we are at a crossroads in terms of naming our best side. I sort of understand the thinking behind this new elaborate formation to an extent but it needs to be binned, Holtby like Dacks influence is massively compromised when you ask him to essentially lead the line. Of course we have to try and get that unlikely 6th spot as long as we mathematically can but perhaps we also need to be trying to finally come up with a successful way long term to bring together an imbalanced squad. What formation do we play? We HAVE to play a number 10 because our best player is a 10 so theres little point planning a formation without him, plus Holtby is best as a 10, and even Buckley has had his only good game at Charlton as a 10. That sends you towards 4231 again but the problem is we have absolutely no competent players to play wide roles, and that leads to this wide strikers bollocks. This is where our previously imbalanced recruitment hits us hard. We already need a GK, CB and LB minimum defensively. We also need a real revamp in wide areas. Sadly with the current situation any hope of adequately fixing all of this is unrealistic. We need to come up with a way whereby we can use our technical players to dominate games, but still have that attacking threat. Looking ahead to Tuesday night, I think the most obvious change to make first is Downing to left back. Not ideal but in the absence of our 2 LBs hes the only option and a competent option at that. Id pick Davenport over Johnson (who again looks a busted flush) in CM, and Armstrong up top is an obvious one. Always reluctant to move Holtby but again when Dack is back he may need to go somewhere else anyway, maybe have Rothwell (so lucky to have another chance) coming in from the left, Holtby from the right giving us technical players at LB, Adarabioyo at CB, then the 2 CMs and ahead Rothwell and Holtby cutting inside to hopefully get us plenty of possession. Nyambe and Downing overlapping, and Brereton as a 10 off Armstrong? Walton Nyambe Lenihan Adarabioyo Downing Travis Davenport Holtby Brereton Rothwell Armstrong

Presumably O Hara can be back up to McLaughlin in Nixons post pandemic Rovers side.

One thing he definitely lacks is a ruthless attitude. He seems to make decisions partially out of over loyalty and partly out of fear of not being able to replace a player even if they arent up to it or arent needed. We saw last season, he gave an extension to Leutwiler even though he was awful in the games he played. He also offered contracts to Conway and I think a couple of others. Now Bells contract has been extended even though contracts and transfers are supposed to be on hold. Smallwood didnt need a new contract upon promotion but luckily that ends soon, and neither did Williams, Bennett or Mulgrew who now take up precious wages when none are up to it.

Buckley is suspended, last game v Barnsley.

Meanwhile, Amarii Bell has had his contract renewed and Elliott Bennett will remain as captain.

Mr versatile actually in this case means played in numerous positions regardless of being unable to play said positions. Needs to be moved on in the summer.

To be fair, it was a tendency Mowbray had finally eased on this season prior to lockdown, Bennett had started to start less yet post lockdown hes played in both full back positions prior to lockdown and the "pick 10 and put Bennett in the remaining place" policy seems to have returned with a vengeance. We arent flush with available options at left back I admit, but Downing has always looked very competent whenever he has played there. He reads the game well, Bennett doesn't. He anticipates danger, Bennett doesn't. He is left footed so adds that balance on that side. And he doesn't feel the need to try and win every ball straight away, Bennett's rashness gives away foul after foul and constantly hands the initiative to the opposition. Indeed Gallagher took over the mantle as Mowbrays pet and that tendency doesnt seem to be going away.

This speech worked.

I said about Gallagher earlier in the season when people said that the supply wasnt good enough that good strikers find chances as much as the othet way round. Its not even just to shoot, just to go forward in general. He did some great control on the left just inside the box in the second half. He then hesistated and pass the ball back. In the first half he got the ball to run one on one but his touch was too heavy and no chance arose. Rarely will a chance present itself like last week and although he was unlucky to slip his own touch put the ball behind him which caused it. 2 years, 7m, 1 goal, we shouldnt be excited by such minor flickers.

He did some great touches and dribbles but usually once he had done that he lacked bravery and turned back and played it safe. He also needs to take more risks.