Rovers Vs. Pensioners

[Mr. E]

you have got to be kidding right?

Only Cruz and Bentley looked remotely threatening today.

I'm sorry but Cruz is only good against much poorer defenses, like Wigan's or the Arsenal kids. But against decent ones he can only hope to win a header or two and hold the ball up (for who I don't know). He's neither fast enough nor technical enough to get away from a defender, and on top of that misses the few chances we get. He gets tons more support than Benni because of his height, yet does a great deal less.

[John]

Cannot really judge Roberts on todays game - he was feeding on scraps when he came on.

Looking at the Axe and Benni on the bench, I get the feeling there will be some movement in January.

[Plastic Head]

Another very disappointing return from a game we should have drawn at least.

At least we look like were getting back to something like we where before the international break.

Friedel. No chance with the goal, a couple of good saves.

Emerton. Luckily no right winger to deal with but poor coming forward.

Warnock. Like Emerton, no-one running at him until the dire Wright-Phillips came on. Didn't get forward as much as he has.

Nelsen. Badly at fault for the goal, giving a poor pass forward and showed an alarming lack of pace.

Zura. Near perfect display, solid clean tackles, won all his headers and thoughtful distribution. Surely must keep his place. MOTM.

Gamst. Slowly improving but again wasted good situations.

Tugay. Poor/awful.

Reid. Seems to getting back to his best. Will be a massive boost to have him fit for the rest of the season.

Dunn. Best performance for a while but lacked end product.

Bentley. All over the pitch and looks a top class player now, but like Dunn was just short when it came to delivering the final pass.

Santa. Worked as hard as ever but fluffed a couple of good chances.

Roberts. Had no effect.

Chelsea are a million miles from Arsenal and ManU.

Advised bets. Man U to win Prem at 1.96

Bolton to be relegated at 7.6

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

First 20 minutes we were giving Chelsea a real headache and we were bossing the game,playing like we know Rovers can play...one chance and one goal from Cole and all the hard work comes to nothing!

Defence much better with Zurab....same again please for Citeh.We MUST start winning soon though or confidence is really going to nosedive

[Bobby G]

I would seriously like to know where has Nelsen's pace suddenly disappeared to during the last 2-3 games?

It wasnt as if he was fast but his acceleration off the mark was always decent over the first 10 or so yards and more often than not I recall his initial acceleration giving him a chance at making a last ditch tackle or clearance but he has been turtle-like during at least 2 instances which have cost us goals in recent weeks.

Very worrying.

Secondly, Zurab has always been impressive for Rovers and I found him unlucky to be behind Ooijer at the very least this season cause he has never let us down before. I liked him today after so long out and I think he should start the next game as well, or he would be extremely unlucky.

[sanlorenzo]

I'm sorry but Cruz is only good against much poorer defenses, like Wigan's or the Arsenal kids. But against decent ones he can only hope to win a header or two and hold the ball up (for who I don't know). He's neither fast enough nor technical enough to get away from a defender, and on top of that misses the few chances we get. He gets tons more support than Benni because of his height, yet does a great deal less.

What are you smoking? Santa Cruz presented all kinds of problems for Chelsea. Any luck and we would have beat them 3-1. Roque has great vision on the pitch and if he got any help up front they would have won. Roque plays for the team and not himself unlike Benni who only plays for Benni.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Gutted for the second time this week, we should have got a point from that. We had enough ball in enough good positions to make at least one of them count. The first goal again was crucial ( anybody care to tell me when we scored first last, I can't remember ). Chelsea got one and you could see from that point that one was going to be enough, we huffed and puffed but at the moment we can't blow anybody's house down, we're trying but the ball isn't running for us at present .I'm not knocking a good performance (we won't have to play Chelsea or Arsenal every week ) if we play like that at City we'll get a result.

Scores

Freidel 6 A couple of good saves but caught in no mans land for the goal.

Emerton 5 Not one of his better days, nothing going forward and the left wing was their " out ball " all afternoon.

Zurab 7 Looked good, must keep his place for City.

Nelsen 6 Still struggling against any sort of pace I'm afraid. Why does he go up for our corners ? Anybody know ?

Warnock 6 Better than the last two outings.

Reid 6 Still finding his feet, not the answer to our midfield problem.

Dunn 6 Ditto

Tugay 6 Too easily by passed, we need a " cruncher " to protect the " D " not a 36 yr old.

Pedersen 4 Iggy Pop wrote a song about him, It's like playing with 10. Thats not the title of the song.

Bentley 7 Worked his socks off but he lacks composure when the chips are down.

Santa Cruz 8 Class act, very rarely loses posession , always finds a man- plays the simple balls that build up pressure ( unlike most of the team) unlucky with the chances that fell his way. Having said that Joe Cole scored with one very much like the one he scuffed wide.

Subs Roberts ? Anonymous.

[Jordan]

I'm sorry but Cruz is only good against much poorer defenses, like Wigan's or the Arsenal kids. But against decent ones he can only hope to win a header or two and hold the ball up (for who I don't know). He's neither fast enough nor technical enough to get away from a defender, and on top of that misses the few chances we get. He gets tons more support than Benni because of his height, yet does a great deal less.

What on earth are you on about?? Santa Cruz is absolute class. 'He's neither fast enough nor technical enough to get away from a defender' - have you seen him play recently? He holds the ball up well and often turns the defender and beats them with his pace. He is extremely creative and makes runs into the channels which creates space for other players. Along with Bentley he is by far our best player.

[den]

Difficult choice for the man of the match. Special mentions to:

Reid. Great to see him getting back towards his best. He offers something different in midfield - someone who can find space on forward runs.

Zura. The defence looked so much more solid today. In fact didn't our run of clean sheets last season coincide with him and the admiral in the heart of the defence?

Bentley. Chelsea couldn't get anywhere near him today.

Santa Cruz. Slow, no technique? Hold your head in shame Mr E.

[Kennys Magic Hat]

I think part of the problem is that we get nothing like enough goals from central midfield. Not one of the ones we have runs past the strikers or can be relied upon to finish. Look at the goals we've been conceding recently from teams who have players who can do that: Cole; Eduardo; that Wigan bloke for their first.

Funny that, I always thought the above three mentioned players were wingers or strikers! Cole is a winger, as is Landzaat and Eduardo is a striker. Fair point though there's not enough goals or even a goal threat being shared around the team at the moment.

[Mr. E]

What on earth are you on about?? Santa Cruz is absolute class. 'He's neither fast enough nor technical enough to get away from a defender' - have you seen him play recently? He holds the ball up well and often turns the defender and beats them with his pace. He is extremely creative and makes runs into the channels which creates space for other players. Along with Bentley he is by far our best player.

But who is he "holding the ball up for" exactly? Because except for Bentley, it goes to waste every time someone else gets it. We created next to nothing, and the only clear chances were Santa's headers from the corners which he failed to convert. We need someone "selfish" like McCarthy who is going to do it all on his own and create something from nothing, because the other players are simply not good enough.

And I am mystified by Hughes' comments after the match. Again he is seeing positives in our performance, apparently "we have got back our confidence", etc. Maybe I don't have our priorities straight, but what exactly are we aiming for this season? If it's survival, than I suppose we are doing fairly decent. But if it's real progress (4th place and nothing less), then I don't quite see how this falls under acceptable.

[tcj_jones]

When Hilario made that save toward the end, I just knew our luck wasn't going to be in.

This was a really close game for me, hotly contested by both sides. I'm extremely happy to see that kind of drive, determination and commitment from the team, but quite dejected that we didn't get a point, which I feel would have been a fair result. Unfortunately, as Philip says, that was a professional performance by a team that can retain the ball, soak up pressure and hit you on the counter. We took the game to Chelsea, but they were strong defensively and well organized. If we'd have had a little more luck, we might have won that game.

Then again, Chelsea had their fair shre of clear cut chances. How on earth Lampard was left on the ball with hours of time, unopposed and in space on the edge of our box, I don't know! Both shots were brilliantly saved by Brad, but could so easily have been goals.

I really want Rovers to employ the same team and formation against City and play what was, for me, a hugely impressive, offensive, high tempo game. You could tell that the manager understood the importance of today's match and that the players really wanted to win.

Positives:

- I thought Zurab was excellent, far more solid than Nelsen has been of late. He's done enough for me to start against City.

- Pedersen showed a massive improvement on recent form.

- Bentley was outstanding.

- Friedel, once again, was outstanding.

[Paul Mellelieu]

A load of crap Mr E.

[John]

Mr E - think you need to go back to your anger management classes. We created plently of chances today, including hitting the post a couple of times. Chelsea's keepers made some class saves.

Against 'lesser' teams we would have won todays match quite easily, and Chelsea are one of the more resilient teams in the league (granted they were missing Terry & Drogba).

Your last comment with regards to real progress being finishing 4th and nothing less, get a grip mate. We finished 10th last season, so finishing in the top 6 this season would be a fantastic effort given our resources.

[1864roverite]

Looks like Mr E is taking E as an additive substance he is really talking crap.

Dont let him wind you up, he clearly knows nish about football.

Got over todays result and won a bit of dosh on the Real v Barca match as I got the score and first scorer on a double !!!!

Bring on City

[tcj_jones]

Oh yeah, did anybody else watching Sky Sports enjoy it when the camera switched to the Rovers bench and McCarthy and Mokoena's emotionless faces. After the way they've been playing and acting recently, it was really nice to see neither get a minute on the pitch.

[Kennys Magic Hat]

But who is he "holding the ball up for" exactly? Because except for Bentley, it goes to waste every time someone else gets it. We created next to nothing, and the only clear chances were Santa's headers from the corners which he failed to convert. We need someone "selfish" like McCarthy who is going to do it all on his own and create something from nothing, because the other players are simply not good enough.

Talking absolute crap Mr. Excrement, McCarthys performances of late have been pathetic, he plays for himself and not the team which is exactly NOT what we need at the moment.

Overall it was a good performance today and something to build on. With a bit of luck we'd have got a point. There were lots of positives to take from the match, although I wish Hughes could have motivated the players to put in this kind of effort against the lesser teams we've played lately. Hopefully they'll take this into the next three games which are much more winnable than today.

The only downside for me today was Dunn. He's very wasteful in posession, off the pace at times and also picked up a needless booking for a reckless challenge on Cashley Cole (even though he didnt touch him). He's good in the centre but not out wide, he hasnt got the legs anymore.

On the upside, Bentley and Santa Cruz were again excellent, Reid is back and improving with every game, even Pedersen was looking half decent for a change. The defence was also looking much more solid today with Zurab in there.

[Jordan]

Talking absolute crap Mr. Excrement, McCarthys performances of late have been pathetic, he plays for himself and not the team which is exactly NOT what we need at the moment.

Overall it was a good performance today and something to build on. With a bit of luck we'd have got a point. There were lots of positives to take from the match, although I wish Hughes could have motivated the players to put in this kind of effort against the lesser teams we've played lately. Hopefully they'll take this into the next three games which are much more winnable than today.

The only downside for me today was Dunn. He's very wasteful in posession, off the pace at times and also picked up a needless booking for a reckless challenge on Cashley Cole (even though he didnt touch him). He's good in the centre but not out wide, he hasnt got the legs anymore.

On the upside, Bentley and Santa Cruz were again excellent, Reid is back and improving with every game, even Pedersen was looking half decent for a change. The defence was also looking much more solid today with Zurab in there.

Indeed he was poor but he did make a brillant tackle on Kalou, I think, to stop what seemed to be a certain goal.

[tchocky]

Not a bad performance from us. At times we were playing some good football. Just imagine what Hughes could have done with a few footballers in the team that were just that little bit better/more gifted. Also, the main thing you notice about the top sides is how good they are at defending. We really need to shut up shop if we are to progress. And to those saying what a good shot that was from J.Cole- watch the slow mo replays: it hits big Brad in the chest on the way in...

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

A massive improvement, especially considering our opposition.

Zurab was solid, Emerton didn't do too badly, Pedersen seems to be improving, Santa was his usual self and Bentley did well.

I thought Tugay had a bad game, kept making rash challenges from behind and passing to Lampard.

Much improved, and unlucky to not take away a point or 3.

But who is he "holding the ball up for" exactly? Because except for Bentley, it goes to waste every time someone else gets it. We created next to nothing, and the only clear chances were Santa's headers from the corners which he failed to convert. We need someone "selfish" like McCarthy who is going to do it all on his own and create something from nothing, because the other players are simply not good enough.

Did you miss Bentley hitting the bar?

Or Reid hitting the bar?

[RevidgeBlue]

Excellent performance today, it's very dispiriting to come away with our sixth defeat in seven games having played so well. At least when you play badly and lose you can point to x,y and z and hope it is put right next game.

When you've played almost as well as you can, and still lose, it's difficult to know what to say. The main positive you can pull out is that if the team can maintain that standard of performance, results SHOULD start to improve. And by god they need to.

Positives:

Much better from Bentley in what imo has been an in and out season for him Excellent today.

Superb performance from Zurab considering his recent lack of match action. Should have earned his place in the side for the next few games, I would pair him with Samba.

Very encouraging performance from Reid

RSC excellent again, as tireless as ever, needs more support, whether it be Benni or from someone else

Quite a bit better from MGP in the last couple of games

Contrary to a poster above I thought Dunn also played well

Negatives:

Nelsen looks finished on recent form, desperately short of pace again today in an error strewn performance and skinned for the goal.

Ditto Tugay, thought he had an abysmal game today and his misplaced pass initially started the move which led to the goal.

The only other thing that struck me is the apparent inconsistency in recent team selection. Derbyshire had strangely never even featured in the 16 for a month or two then from nowhere was pitched straight into the firing line against Arsenal. Come today he's disappeared without trace again, not even in the squad. Similarly Benni was chucked on against Arsenal, tending to indicate he is the preferred choice off the bench. Today Roberts was given the nod. I also thought Savage had a very good second half against Arsenal but again found himself out of the side in favour of Tugay who hasn't played at all well in recent weeks.

A little strange but as everyone else has remarked, a much improved performance.

[Rovers_4_life]

I thought Tugay had a bad game, kept making rash challenges from behind and passing to Lampard.

We always struggle to play well when Tugay is not in the team, first half in particular we played pretty well, had lots of posession, created chances and should have scored goals, when Tugay went off we had nobody in the midfield who could dictate the game and our forward play. Tugay always wants the ball, comes from deep to collect the ball of the defence and enables us to play a passing game rather than a long ball aimed at Pedersen or Santa. None of other midfielers are good enough to fill his role when he is not in the team. Savage can't pass to save his life let alone spot a pass, Dunn is ok but the same player, Mokoena is again not quite good enough to spot a pass like Tugay and then execute it, Reidy is the closest we have but has got alot to prove if he is to get back to his best. We urgently need a replacement to Tugay if were going to keep progressing as we have done under Hughes. Admittedly Tugay is ageing and his performance do show it at times but even when not at his best he is still key to how the team performs.

As for todays game, we were unlucky, on another day we could have been 2 or 3 up by half time, if we'd taken our chances, it would have been a different game. Was impressed with Zurab, looked much more solid than Samba has the last few weeks.

[Presty On Tour]

surprised savage didn't play today as he is suspended for the citeh game and with fixtures coming thick and fast over xmas hughes needs to use the squad wisely.

i thought zurab was class today, played very well and looks the option to play left back in place of warnock who is suspended also against citeh unless ollson gets the nod.

joe cole gets right on my tits, he's a player you want to go out and just nail him!! he's ruined xmas now!!

[John]

Quite a fair match report from The Telegraph - also has some player stats near the bottom

[ABBEY]

not read any posts..GUTTED SHOULD OF GOTTEN SUMMUT