[Archived] Sunderland 0-1 Rovers

[RevidgeBlue]

Have to agree with shillitoe on this one, unfortunately Williams and Souness seem to have brainwashed the support into depressingly low levels of expectation. its perhaps no wonder gates aren't picking up yet.

Gordon, you're always banging on about "income" - what could possibly be better for the club than a guaranteed 10m for the club from guaranteed CL qualification or a guaranteed 5m from UEFA participation?

Who cares if we don't qualify for the latter stages initially? It's all a learning curve, even ManUre had to go through that process many moons ago. We certainly wouldn't be humiliated, no matter who we play.

European qualification raises the clubs profile, makes us attractive to a better class of player, important with so many Bosmans about, and if we did do well it makes it less likely we will lose any players. At worst if we ever did lose one we would get more for them anyway.

A no lose situation as far as I can see.

[nonaynevernomore]

On the BBC prem predictor I predicetd Blackburns results and the final position was sixth. However, the Chelsea game wasnt displayed to predict.

In the paper Emerton got 8, but y'all saying hes crap. He seemed to do well when I saw it. ( first half footy first) and nearly scored with a header. He also nearly set up a goal for Bellamy. His confidence isnt going to get better being taken off all the time.

Edited March 26, 2006 by nonaynevernomore

[BRFC4EVA]

Im sorry, but anybody who is saying that Champs league would be bad for Blackburn at this point is totally off their trolley. I wouldnt give a monkeys if we lost all 6 games 5-0, that £15m plus would be a massive boost to the club. The buzz around East Lancashire would be amazing and big game, such as inter, ac, juve, barca, munich, real would see defo sell outs reagardless of how many they bring. The away trips would also be fabulous and something that we as a club could never forget.

The first town club to qualify for the Champions league without a finantual backer. Net spending of £900k would be some achievement.

Anyway, on to yesterdays game. I didnt go, it was a trip to far for me. Ive been to around 10 away games this season, yet have managed to miss our wins at boro, n'caslte and sunderland. Sounds like it was a hard fought victory but we edged a close encounter. Its a superb victory, cos we've struggled away from home and thats 3 wins in a row. On paper, we were favs for all 3 games, but to actually go out and do the biz is excellent. Im going to every single 1 of the remaining games this season, and if we can get another 5 wins under our belt i think we can get champs league!

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

For all those doom and gloom merchants about CL.

Given the miracles that MH has performed so far at Ewood - why can't he be the first Rovers manager to give us something to shout about in Europe ?

Look at it this way - if we get into CL :-

1. We keep Hughes a bit longer

2. We get more exposure

3. We keep Bellamy, MGP, Reid, Nelsen and any other player that the "big boys" are sniffing around.

4. Hughes gets some genuine money to buy some decent players.

The CL isn't necessarily boom or bust - top notch players can be brought in on loan - then released if we aren't successful.

For the club to progress we need further exposure - yes the ground will probably be half empty - but IF we qualified for the group stages and put in half decent performances we would be getting extensive national coverage with additional revenue from Sponsorship as well as CL money itself.

Also let us not forget - 6th to 4th is £1m in Premiership postion money alone

Edited March 26, 2006 by DavidMailsTightPerm

[JAL]

Went to Sunderland via car, parked in a office/industrial estate similar to the office blocks around Salford keys/Preston docks which was about ten minutes bus drive away from the ground - couldnt believe that Sunderland FC with the local bus company provide free... thats FREE park and ride scheme to and from the ground.

What an excellent facility this was for all football fans .....surely this is something Rovers should be looking into around the service station area.

Back to the game, Tugay was utter utter garbage and nearly cost us on more than one occassion for all the Tugay fans out there. Yes, we did miss Savage.

Paul Dickov and Shefki Kuqi might aswell have been playing for Sunderland so bad they were ....but our two centre halfs Nelsen and Zurab were supreme through out ...though Sunderland are very poor as waggy states, we were never in any trouble until Tugays backheader.

Edited March 26, 2006 by JAL

[Lee]

Seeing as this match thread has been thrown over to seating ideas, here is what I would do.

Darwen End lower turned into an unreserved singing section. It is such the most obvious answer to everyone's needs I really cannot see why no fan has suggested it properly previously.

Less fans are inconvenienced by such a move, fans have the choice to move to the aforementioned singing section rather than have it thrust upon them, plus it is unreserved and if it proves popular it also gives home fans a chance to outsing away fans for once.

Plus who knows, we might sell enough tickets so that the club doesn't have to allocate entire stands to away fans.

I'll repeat, it is only my thought, I've never discussed it with any colleagues because its not really my position to do so.

And for those fans who would complain about moving to the Darwen End, ask someone 30 years older which stands the hardcore Rovers fans were in.

[thenodrog]

Zigga Zagga Zigga Zagga Oi Oi Oi!

[Presty On Tour]

i'm well pleased with the result, the performance wasn't a classic but we got the job done and took home the 3 points

i thought when reid walked through their defence and pulled the trigger to put us 1 up there was a pasting on the cards and we could really give them lesson but fairplay to them, bottom of the league n all they came back at us 2nd half and if it wasn't for our grit and determination and nelson being outstanding again it could have all gone wrong.

[LDRover]

Although I don't agree with the negative vibes about qualifying for the CL, I can understand it to some extent. We certainly wouldn't fill the ground, regardless of the opposition and there's a good chance we could get dicked.

However, should we qualify and reach the group stages, and there's no reason why we shouldn't, that cash (£10 million or whatever it is) spent wisely would not only safeguard us as a PL team for the near future but could quite possibly turn us into a regular top 8 side.

Bearing in mind that most of us would have been happy with avoiding relegation every year this is an opportunity we can't pass up.

[Eddie]

Why is there a good chance we get dicked? We haven't been dicked by any of the good clubs so far this season. I also think we'd get a decent number in, I'd certainly travel anywhere to watch us play in the Champions League or UEFA cup, I've also got two friends who don't support Rovers but said they'd come along, I'm sure there are plenty others like me who are saying the same thing.

I could see us doing alright for ourselves in the Champions League, we won't win it, but we'll give a decent showing. The problem is getting there, we still have a few games to go and we have to win almost all of them to get that 4th spot and I still don't think we'll get it, but I'd be over the moon if we did.

[LDRover]

In theory Eddie I'm sure there's over 30,000 Rovers fans who say 'if we qualify I'll go'. In reality when the tickets are out they'll be saying 'why should I spend that when it's live on telly.'

In the words of Bruce Hornsby 'That's just the way it is'.

You're right on your other point though, we may not get turned over so badly, I'm just looking at the worst case scenario.

[Jan]

I think everybody has to start realising that we're dealing with Hughes, not Sourness now. And that there is a BIG difference between the two. Hughes is a manager in his first league job who hungers for success. Sourness was picking up a paycheck and didn't care how we did. ("lady luck"- has anyone noticed that you don't need luck when you play well??)

While under the last regime (in fact to be truthful all our previous regimes), absolutely NO care was taken over our European performances as they were simply a "distraction from the league", this certainly won't be the case under Hughes. Why? Because he's already said so. He's going out for European qualification and he's not the type to do that and then be under-prepared for the actual matches themselves. Just as we're doing in the league now, we'll know what we have to do and do it.

I must admit even I've been surprised at how vast the improvement has been. I mean I always knew that a decent manager could do better for us than our last one, but even I didn't dream that the players we had when Hughes arrived were capable, with a few key additions, of performing this well. Please lets not have a round of "well it shows that Sourness could spot talent" because even if he spotted it, he ruined it with his cruddy training methods soon afterwards.

I think the biggest change is that I believe that Hughesy AND HIS TEAM are capable of performing the analysis necessary to spot weaknesses in the opponents play. I always thought that Dean Saunders was just short of being an idiot whereas I don't think that Mark Bowen is. I also think that Mark Hughes is a cerebral manager whereas Sourness was all to do with emotion.

I think Hughes is a fantastic manager, which worries me because he's probably too good to stay with us in the long term, unless people out there start waking up and smelling the coffee. Although the supporters really don't contribute a huge amount financially, a lack of presence must be soul-destroying when the team's doing so well and putting so much in.

[Fife Rover]

This might mean that one of our better players whom we have cover for might be sold to help fund the new forward.

393493[/snapback]

Please God dont let it be MGP!!!

[Presty On Tour]

I think everybody has to start realising that we're dealing with Hughes, not Sourness now.  And that there is a BIG difference between the two.  Hughes is a manager in his first league job who hungers for success.  Sourness was picking up a paycheck and didn't care how we did.  ("lady luck"- has anyone noticed that you don't need luck when you play well??)

While under the last regime (in fact to be truthful all our previous regimes), absolutely NO care was taken over our European performances as they were simply a "distraction from the league", this certainly won't be the case under Hughes.  Why?  Because he's already said so.  He's going out for European qualification and he's not the type to do that and then be under-prepared for the actual matches themselves.  Just as we're doing in the league now, we'll know what we have to do and do it.

I must admit even I've been surprised at how vast the improvement has been.  I mean I always knew that a decent manager could do better for us than our last one, but even I didn't dream that the players we had when Hughes arrived were capable, with a few key additions, of performing this well.  Please lets not have a round of "well it shows that Sourness could spot talent" because even if he spotted it, he ruined it with his cruddy training methods soon afterwards. 

I think the biggest change is that I believe that Hughesy AND HIS TEAM are capable of performing the analysis necessary to spot weaknesses in the opponents play.  I always thought that Dean Saunders was just short of being an idiot whereas I don't think that Mark Bowen is.  I also think that Mark Hughes is a cerebral manager whereas Sourness was all to do with emotion.

I think Hughes is a fantastic manager, which worries me because he's probably too good to stay with us in the long term, unless people out there start waking up and smelling the coffee.  Although the supporters really don't contribute a huge amount financially, a lack of presence must be soul-destroying when the team's doing so well and putting so much in.

393835[/snapback]

jan thats the most honest post ive read in a long time and i agree with everything you have said.

hughes is hungry for success, 2 semi finals already at blackburn where souness calls them the mickey mouse cup. every fan loves a cup run.

souness in europe was a joke, hughes hopefully will be taken us on tour in the champions league if everything goes to plan.

and finally hughes has worked wonders since he has been here, i can see what your saying with the soul destroying at the lack of presence which is our biggest concern, i just hope that will change before it is to late

[Fife Rover]

Well said ozziejones.

Surely a cash turnstlile for an area (upper or lower) in the Darwen End should be feasible?

btw shillito........"Scared to excel and strive to get the very best." please dont confuse caution with fear.  Rem what happened when the Light Brigade played away in Europe and displayed a commendable lack of fear?

393554[/snapback]

Excellent suggestion for cash turnstile, and I can recommend Darwen End (upper) as a very good view, although difficult in some parts to see the big screen.

As for the Light Brigade; that was rather a long time ago, and they DID get annihalated.

[Fife Rover]

I can see where your coming from ozziejones, but consider how do you sort out seating from the turnstiles.

If it was a sit anywhere policy, not to difficult however with seats already reserved by season ticket holders, how do you implement sales of specific seats at the turnstile, without a link to the seating data base. Result queue at turnstile.

393569[/snapback]

Simple. You just do as most of the clubs in the SPL do; Most tunstyles are cash or season ticket (there are a few S/T only) and you pay your cash get a ticket without a seat number, go in and find yourself a seat. All the S/T owned seats hav e a large RESERVED sign on their backs. It works fine.

[Radagast]

I had a bizzare dream on Friday night where I was Steven Reid, walking around a big library for soem reason. I'll work on doing something similar for the Wigan game.

[philipl]

jan, that was a superb post.

It seems very few people in Blackburn have realised just what they have in the town. In fact hardly anybody on these boards recognise it.

[Fife Rover]

I think everybody has to start realising that we're dealing with Hughes, not Sourness now.  And that there is a BIG difference between the two.  Hughes is a manager in his first league job who hungers for success.  Sourness was picking up a paycheck and didn't care how we did.  ("lady luck"- has anyone noticed that you don't need luck when you play well??)

While under the last regime (in fact to be truthful all our previous regimes), absolutely NO care was taken over our European performances as they were simply a "distraction from the league", this certainly won't be the case under Hughes.  Why?  Because he's already said so.  He's going out for European qualification and he's not the type to do that and then be under-prepared for the actual matches themselves.  Just as we're doing in the league now, we'll know what we have to do and do it.

I must admit even I've been surprised at how vast the improvement has been.  I mean I always knew that a decent manager could do better for us than our last one, but even I didn't dream that the players we had when Hughes arrived were capable, with a few key additions, of performing this well.  Please lets not have a round of "well it shows that Sourness could spot talent" because even if he spotted it, he ruined it with his cruddy training methods soon afterwards. 

I think the biggest change is that I believe that Hughesy AND HIS TEAM are capable of performing the analysis necessary to spot weaknesses in the opponents play.  I always thought that Dean Saunders was just short of being an idiot whereas I don't think that Mark Bowen is.  I also think that Mark Hughes is a cerebral manager whereas Sourness was all to do with emotion.

I think Hughes is a fantastic manager, which worries me because he's probably too good to stay with us in the long term, unless people out there start waking up and smelling the coffee.  Although the supporters really don't contribute a huge amount financially, a lack of presence must be soul-destroying when the team's doing so well and putting so much in.

393835[/snapback]

Jan: You are so right! This is your finest post. It sums up a lot of the things I have been trying to say on this site for a considerable time, and obviously without your

ability to make the points stick.

It will be interesting to see how much better your post is received by some of the regular posters on here!

[thenodrog]

It seems very few people in Blackburn have realised just what they have in the town. In fact hardly anybody on these boards recognise it.

393887[/snapback]

I agree with the first sentence too ........even if it does carry a certain irony coming from such a distant source.

As for the second sentence just look at the %age of members (displayed on this mb) who only started watching in the Wallker era. They know nowt yet do they?

[Flopsy]

Theno, im sure if Phil was in the same country he would go to the games. Id pick on the ones in Blackburn who dont go, not those in different time zones.

Anyway Im sure this was a thread on us beating sunderland, isnt there another thread about attendances?

[thenodrog]

I merely commented that there was a touch of 'we dog worry sheep whilst I holed the tail' Flopsy!

I already mentioned on that thread that it's NOT supporters that are needed at the moment by BRFC as much as funding. And for that distance should be no object. Thanks to modern media technology enjoyment of the exploits at Ewood is not confined just to the terraces these days, but in the main paying for it still is.

Thats it now. I'll say no more on this thread

[Eddie]

I merely commented that there was a touch of 'we dog worry sheep whilst I holed the tail' Flopsy!

I already mentioned on that thread that it's NOT supporters that are needed at the moment by BRFC as much as funding.    And for that distance should be no object.  Thanks to modern media technology enjoyment of the exploits at Ewood is not confined just to the terraces these days, but in the main paying for it still is.

Thats it now.  I'll say no more on this thread

393959[/snapback]

Rovers World? That's the only other thing really.

[philipl]

Well, I still think Jan's post is worthy of a Grooby!

... and if 'drog adds up the numbers on the home page, 50% of BRFCS respondents started supporting in 1989 or earlier.

Incidentally, is 'drog auditioning as one of the miserable old gits?

Edited March 27, 2006 by philipl

[Yorick]

wrong post

Edited March 27, 2006 by Yorick