[Archived] Rovers 2 Sunderland 0

[Flopsy]

thanks for that flash of insight - I blame the Walkers.

18500 on a wednesday night at 20:00 the day after one of the more expensive nights of the year against a rubbish team. Im impressed we got 18000

[gazsimm]

thanks for that flash of insight - I blame the Walkers.

18500 on a wednesday night at 20:00 the day after one of the more expensive nights of the year against a rubbish team. Im impressed we got 18000

384547[/snapback]

yes but its not enough for prem league team u don't see teams like Bolton ever getting a crowd of under 20000 for a league match. I bet if we were top of league the place wouldn't be empty to many glory hunters in football these days

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

great result for us last night to get us back on track for europe

shame about the crowd ,were have our fans gone i can't believe it we are playing some great football under Hughes but still we get small gates, thats why we will never challenge the top elite in the prem again cos we do not have enough money coming in from our gates.

384541[/snapback]

If the current gate trend continues gazsimm well be challenging for Europe infront of crowds of 12,000 come season end!!!!!!!!

[gazsimm]

If the current gate trend continues gazsimm well be challenging for Europe infront of crowds of 12,000 come season end!!!!!!!!

   

384550[/snapback]

i know we need to get the fans back in there seats sum how

[Uddersfelt Blue]

The Arsenal game will be a good test of how good our support is.

Attractive opposition

Moderate away following

Category A+ prices

Saturday 3-00pm kick off

Can go 5th above them if we win etc....

Anything above 25k will be a good gate.

Anything below 22k will be poor IMO

[trueblue]

btw- I think next season it's time to introduce a singing section in the Blackburn End!

384546[/snapback]

Is that with or without drummers Greggy ???

[G Somerset Rover]

Tugay looked class from the extended highlights I saw on sky. That pass for Reid was world class. Thought that Arca looked pretty good for Sunderland, if he could keep discilpined at left back then he could be a replacement for Gray.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

The Arsenal game will be a good test of how good our support is.

Attractive opposition

Moderate away following

Category A+ prices

Saturday 3-00pm kick off

Can go 5th above them if we win etc....

Anything above 25k will be a good gate.

Anything below 22k will be poor IMO

384556[/snapback]

Personally given our current turn out 22k would actually be reasonable - considering when we played United only 18k Rovers fans turned out. We need to reverse the erosion , but it won't happen over night. At least the club are putting out positive vibes for once - under Souness we would still be going on about getting a few points to avoid relegation rather than the far more positive approach under Hughes

[johnradfordsubbuteo]

It's ben alluded to already but the defence worries me still.

The guy on Radio Rovers said Todd was the best of our defenders - I thought he did little right defensively notwithstanding his contribution to the first goal. He was my not-the-man-of-the-match.

It's a tired debate but Z and Nelsen look the better bet overall.

Pedersen was patently unfit. Peter should not to be criticised I would agree, but he does seem to hug the touchline and disappear from games a little as a result, whereas Pedersen, with his experience, seems to come inside more to hunt possession to be able to infuence the game

[Radagast]

I'll watch the highlights when I get home tonight, but this was a good result whatever way you look at it - playing one of your bogey teams in the middle of a blip is never a sure thing, no matter how crap they are.

[pleasure]

great result last night (any win is great).

tugay masterclass. gonna shed a few tears when he salutes the crowd for the last time! did you see him in his towel? think he showered in his kit!

he's gonna misplace passes if the players around him dont give him the option that they should! usual suspects.

pong didnt improve on his WBA or EV performances. cant hold up/onto the ball. head down.

bit harsh on ped. he was nowhere near fit. sergio will be his eventual replacement (when he's sold) then we'll struggle to keep him

(check my sergio thread out from june/ always rated him).

the table makes good reading, but imagine where we'd be if bellamy had been fit all season and if we'dve beaten either WBA or EV!

id be overjoyed with 4 pts from the next 2 games. be just like rovers to beat arsenal and spurs and loose to villa and boro!

[murray92]

A few thoughts after the game yesterday:

BELLAMY - We see the best and worst of him. 2 well taken goals, and unlucky not to get a hat-trick with a great hit off the post - but another needless booking where he had NO CASE AT ALL. Mindless backchat, and also his winding up the Sunderland fans. I know I would go mental if Stead done it to us! Although he wouldn't.

TUGAY - Good game last night, 2 balls to Reid / Peter (2nd goal) showed he still has that vision. Please take a shot though! He seems much better as a "home" player than an away. At WBA and Man Utd recentley was guilty of giving the ball away cheaply. - How do we solve this though!

PEDERSEN - Notible by his absence and total lack of involvement. So inconsistant, although perhaps nursing an injury.

REID - He was god awful tonight! He can only play off that wonder strike at Wigan for so long. I reckon he has improved, but has limited ok games among stinkers!

TODD & GRAY have been poor of late also. Can Zurab play left back?!!!

Even against a poor Arsenal side by their standards we WILL get found out if we play like last night. A welcome 3 points but if they were a good enough side and more clinical we could even have had nothing.

[Hughesy]

Todd - Crap again i thought! Zurab should be playing instead of him.

Gray - Doing a decent job but sometimes he needs to stop pushing too far forward and getting caught out. A half- fit Pedersen had to cover for him too much last night.

Reid - 1st touch isnt ideal, however he doesnt shy away from a tackle and if he looses the ball then he always looks to try and win it back.

Tugay - Some good passes last night but he also gave the ball away quite a few times.

Pedersen - Half fit and it showed. Looked abit reserved like he didnt want his injury to flare up. Still it was his cross that we scored the 1st from.

Peter - Considering he is only young - his ability at crossing the ball from the wing & corners is top drawer. He does drift in and out of the game, but he is a proper winger who looks to stay on the wing and likes to have a go at full backs.

Bellamy - Unlucky not to get his hatrick. We look a different club when he plays

Pongolle - Looked like he was willing to put the effort in for the club and in the 1st half he was one of our better players. Once he has worked with our players for a few weeks i can see him being very useful for us!

[Blueheart]

Based on the appathetic efforts of the team against a 10 man Everton last Saturday and the boring unentertaining performance last night, can you blame anyone in the right mind in stomping up cash to come and watch these types of displays.

Until the public can be ensured to see some kind of entertainment for their money what do you expect but low crowds.

[bazza]

How strange all these mixed views are!

I enjoyed a good game. I thought Sunderland played very well for two thirds of the game before becoming tired and disheartened.

Reid, though out of position, played OK.

Toogs was superb. Peter is the first left winger to cross good balls since Wilcox. Zurab looked good in midfield; he's quite tricky with his footwork.

Micky Gray, I'm afraid, isn't good enough. He is very limited and regularly turns round and plays the ball backwards.

Gamst was too unfit to be played.

Otherwise, a good job done. I'm happy. Strictly no complaints from me.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Claptrap blueheart!

Rovers have the opportunity of going for Europe,the club deserves the full support of the town...it has little else to f'kin shout about.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Well 1864 I hope you where drunk when you posted.

Was debating before the game whether we should offer Tugay another 1yr contract - not because I don't rate him but because of whether time has caught up on him. I think last night answered it perfectly.

As per many this has got to be Hughes' biggest challenge so on the basis of using Tugay sparingly lets put in a bid for Nolan at Bolton. I'm sure at the end of this season we could be in a position to pay a better wage than Bolton along with being an attractive enough pull as long as MU don't step in.

Anyway back to the game -(note to Hughes - when Sunderland are officially relegated - 'ARCA').

Not the best but a wins a win yet we still looked a bit jittery. Thought Savage and Reid where poor until later in the game, but to be fair to Savage he did take a few whacks.

Pongo - Thought he started of quite brightly, has a good touch and appers to have vision but not use it and try's to do it all on his own - IMO seemed to think he could do the same as Bellers last night.

Zurab - thought he did ok when he came on in midfield.

Gray and Neill - although not outstanding and could have both cost us goals last night (and Todd) though they did alright in trying to up the attacking tempo coming forward.

Pedersen - clearly not fit

Sergio - very impressive

Somebody said earlier about the strange organisation Sunderland have about them, and I too feel a little sorry for them (and their FANS) beacause although you can see they are trying, they are clearly not good enough however they could in all truthness have got something from the game last night given the chances they had. Also I think the comment re Stead not scoring is understandable considering the team he is playing in.

So its of to Derby for a jolly and then bring on the Arse.

Come on Blue boys we are approaching the finishing straight - LETS GO FOR IT!!

[Presty On Tour]

Tugay looked class from the extended highlights I saw on sky. That pass for Reid was world class. Thought that Arca looked pretty good for Sunderland, if he could keep discilpined at left back then he could be a replacement for Gray.

384565[/snapback]

arca is a left back/left midfield.

said lastnight on the highlights that he is almost certain to leave when sunderland go down.

has mccarthy lost it, it sounded like it with his interview after the match.

why was he played behind kyle, looked much better whipping crosses in on the left and dualing with neil/reid.

could be a great signing for us if hughes was interested.

[gazsimm]

Based on the appathetic efforts of the team against  a 10 man Everton last Saturday and the boring unentertaining performance last night, can you blame anyone in the right mind in stomping up cash to come and watch these types of displays.

Until the public can be ensured to see some kind of entertainment for their money what do you expect but low crowds.

384586[/snapback]

are u for real we are playing some great football under Hughes unlike we did with Mr Souness. We are 7th in the prem league for god sake what more do u want

[greggyk]

to be fair- under Souness, we never had as poor a crowds as we do today. So it cant be to do with style of play as the reason why crowds continue to fall. Also, we seemed to be on TV a lot more in the Souness years compared to today. Maybe its to do with Big name players and managers.

Edited February 16, 2006 by greggyk

[Flopsy]

we played fantastic football under souness first 3 years, last 18months wasnt great.

We play okay football under sparky now, but nowhere near as breathtaking as the season we finished 6th

[Ozz]

Just to keep the thread off topic, unless you are a diehard supporter and feel the pain and the elation of say a 4-3 win over United than basically football today is absolutely rubbish, for want of a swear word. I don't blame any stay aways one bit.

[gazsimm]

we played fantastic football under souness first 3 years, last 18months wasnt great.

We play okay football under sparky now, but nowhere near as breathtaking as the season we finished 6th

384599[/snapback]

Hughes has got us fitter and stronger then Souness and the displays are starting to show under Souness i feared for the worse because the club were heading in an opposite direction in which we are heading under Hughes

How many people on this website actually go to the games

[greggyk]

Finally, someone said it!!!

Everyone seems to have forgotten how good we were under Souness for a couple of years! We are no where near reaching that level under Hughes(not his fault, we just have average players). We played teams like Arsenal,Man Yoo,Celtic and Chelsea off the park in certain games against them. We also used to create so many chances every game(even in his last full season) now we are lucky to create 2 a game.

The only reason why we are 7th is because the Premier League is so poor this season.

[Flopsy]

Mortgage rates gone up - as has fuel prices, both domestic and vehicular - it all takes a bite out of disposable income.

And Gaz, I do not deny that Sparky has got us fitter, Im just saying that our Football in the season we got promoted, our 1st season up and the 6th finish season was at times sublime. Due to the players we had, who are no longer with us. Our football this season under Hughes has been good, but not anywhere near the heights we reached at times with Duff, Dunn, Jansen, Cole and Tugay (sometimes Yorke - honest) all in the team.