Rovers V Everton Preview

[Yorick]

And Collie, you're right about Everton playing to win. Result was fair in the end but Everton shaded it. Just glad we didn't lose.

Yes and probably collie would readily admit that the exact opposite applied earlier in the season at Goodison where we shaded the match, when Samba totally destroyed Andy Johnson as a goal threat and arguably our player of the season RSC gifted Everton a soft goal. We felt hard done by there just as no doubt Everton do this morning.

[brfcs5359]

RE: The Villa game and Everton game yesterday.

These have been the best two performances since before Larrisa. Not the right results but we looked organised, efficient. Knew what we were doing, or trying to do. Kept our shape and ***put the effort in***. Andre Ooijar, hats off to him. The Nelsen has been dragging us down. As a player, and importantly as captain whose shown a lack of experience as well as confidence. Ooijar had the defence, all four in line, racing out from the first minute to press the play, to force our midfielders upfield near our attackers. And we suddenly looked competitive, if not flamboyant.

However on key decisions we were lucky yesterday, as we were against Middlesbrough, either ineptitude of our opponents or poor refereeing in our favour. Never call Alan Whilie (and his officials) again!!! We should have lost. But we should have won at Villa as well.

However in both games we dominated possession. 61% yesterday according to MoTD ( I think when you get past 55% your beginning to dominate). In the second half I thought we had them on the back foot for decent spells and in the end got caught on breakaways. We actually look like a top 8 team competing with teams around us, which we haven't for 2 months+.

On yesterday's game. It was a great game for football. I thought one of the best. I thought both teams played very well. Player movement was excellent, matched only by the sharpness and organisation of defences. Both teams squeezed each other (which may have made it dour for neutral casual observer), until I thought Everton gave way in the second half resulting in the stats (61% Rovers possession) and pattern of play (Everton breakaways).

Clearly the triumvirate of Reid (holding), Bentley and Dunn (attacking) has changed the dynamics of our midfield. As at Villa, poor performances from Pederson and Derbyshire left our attack a bit lacklustre with just one up front. A big shout for Benni. Much maligned, he is not as lazy as people say, he has a languine style that does him no favours. He worked his socks off yesterday and pepped up our attack.

Dunn and Bentley, whilst hugely disappointing in the final third, or with their final ball have been hugely influential in our season. With those two our ball retention climbs sharply with their first touch and ability to retain the ball. I think Hughes needs to alter the forward three to find the key to beating Everton and Villa et al. Drop these two. Put Roberts up top with Cruz and Benni as the attacking midfielder in a diamond in the hole'. He has shown he will track back all the way to our box but unmarked and an in a unmarkable position he could cause mayhem and help Roberts and Cruz find space. Dunn and Bentley will have to be mindful of the wide positions and Warnock and Bert push up a little when the ball is on their side.

Very happy Rovers fan! Honourable mentions this week to Ooijar, Dunn, McCarthy.

[Yorick]

I'm not bothered whether we win or lose at present. We won't go down will we?

Again we were crap. Boring. The game was boring and dull. Dull and boring. Boring and dull. Why won't any players take someone on, try and beat them and create space.

Get crosses in and attack them.

This is the worst season I have seen since 1978-79. Thank god for David Bentley.

If Pedersen doesn't want to play football why not become a office cleaner, market trader, proffesional gay or something.

If Hughes wants football like this why not become Derren Brown and hypnotize people to sleep rather than torturing the wake.

Dull boring, boring dull. Uneventful rubbish.

I've probably seen 1500 home games or so by now and the last 6 are in the 10 worst.

Sorry but i'm fed up.

Eh? I really do not know where you are coming from. Honestly I dont. Personally I enjoyed the match. Not a classic but played hard and at breakneck speed providing gripping entertainment throughout. Everton play 4-5-1 normally away from home and we did the same to prevent their midfield taking control, it's not the most entertaining formation granted and the shortage of space does lead to mistakes and disjointed play but I was never bored for a minute.

[1864roverite]

Rovers head counbt for Arsenal is much smaller than first anticipated.

No Samba, Dunn or MGP and Nelsen injured. Emerton may be not there because of travel but on the plus side The Axe is back !!

[Alan75]

Rovers head counbt for Arsenal is much smaller than first anticipated.

No Samba, Dunn or MGP and Nelsen injured. Emerton may be not there because of travel but on the plus side The Axe is back !!

Heck is there any other good news that you'd like to cheer me up with

[adopted scouser]

We were bloody lucky to get a point yesterday. When they hit the post Brad didn't even move, Johnson's goal should have stood, and although he has a reputation for diving Zurab lifted him off the ground with his knee FFS.

Dunn's embarrassing handball should have been a second yellow and off, but he was left to head another certain goal off the line. Benni's pathetic fall to try and win us a penalty was again, embarrassing.

I could go on but I can't be arsed. Everton deserved all three, no question.

[Fife Rover]

I'm not bothered whether we win or lose at present. We won't go down will we?

Again we were crap. Boring. The game was boring and dull. Dull and boring. Boring and dull. Why won't any players take someone on, try and beat them and create space.

Get crosses in and attack them.

This is the worst season I have seen since 1978-79. Thank god for David Bentley.

If Pedersen doesn't want to play football why not become a office cleaner, market trader, proffesional gay or something.

If Hughes wants football like this why not become Derren Brown and hypnotize people to sleep rather than torturing the wake.

Dull boring, boring dull. Uneventful rubbish.

I've probably seen 1500 home games or so by now and the last 6 are in the 10 worst.

Sorry but i'm fed up.

You sound like the kind of person that appreciates a really exciting game of chess or tiddlywinks as a spectator sport.

Never mind this violent and boring game of football.

[Collie]

C'mon Collie get those toffee coloured shades off. Like so many others e.g. Young at Villa, Ronaldo, Joe Cole and the entire Arsenal team he has obviously swopped his boots for roller skates. Fast and skillful he is a handful but as soon as he senses that his marker is getting the upper hand he drops like a stone with his teammates, manager and supporters instantly screaming 'foul'. The supporters were crying 'penalty' at every opportunity so adeptly that I began to suspect that they choreograph and practice the art on long winter nights in Stanley Park. You won't see it that way of course but I don't really care. Also I like Cahill as a player but Wylie let him make a back for opposing players every time there was a ball in the air without ever seeming to spot it.

I thought the two teams reflected their managers character' perfectly today. Hughes was always full of hard work, tough, win at all costs honest enough player whilst Moyes was always a full of hard work, tough, win at all costs cheating sneaky git. Lets not forget that he learnt his trade under John Beck at Preston. Everton played well and hard but spoiled it by sneaky tactics of begging free kicks at every opportunity and unashamedly attempting to get opponents booked, and basically pressurising the ref from both on the field and off it. I dont know if its still carried out at Goodison but the last time I went there the ballboys had spare balls under their stools which were immedietely rolled to a player as soon as the ball went out of play whenever everton were behind. When Everton were in front the stools had little curtains that were pulled round to hide the ball so that a few valuable seconds were wasted whilst the ball boys retrieved the ball from the crowd and threw it a little distance from whichever player was taking the throw in. Not nice. Not in the spirit of the game but pure John Beck.

To be honest mate, I'm pretty speechless after reading that - I should take my toffee coloured glasses off, yet you've just launched in to an unbelievably biased rant which to be quite honest is a load of tripe?

The thing I usually like you Rovers fans for is that you're a decent bunch who can see both for and against your team, as demonstrated by the majority of posts I've read in this thread. I also feel a sense of solidarity with you what with a couple of my best mates being Rovers fans, and knowing the raw deal that you lot get off the media with regards to the way you play and being a "dirty team". I think it's similar to the way that Everton, and a lot of other unfashionable clubs outside the big 4 get overlooked and put down. Every football fan is biased, it's impossible to get away with that, but the way you seemed to view that game yesterday is ridiculous.

I thought it was a fairly contested game in general and it was best for the game that both teams ended with 11 men. As I said previously, Arteta was lucky that he didn't get sent off for his reaction to Pedersen's tackle but I would put that down to sensible refereeing to be honest, in the same way that the ref didn't give Dunn a 2nd yellow for that handball when clearly by the letter of the law he should have.

As for Johnson, again I'll ask the question - what did he do wrong yesterday? As someone else on here has already pointed out he did nothing other than end up on the deck when he was put there by strong defending (both fair and foul). The reason you'll probably find that our players and Moyes get so wound up and appeal when this happens is that we've been well and truly shafted by referees over the past 12 months or more when it comes to Johnson getting fouled due to this reputation which the media seem to have given him. I'm not denying he does go to ground easily but the only dive I can recall in yesterday's game was I think Emerton when Carsley admittedly made a daft challenge on him just outside our area, and Emerton took a pathetic dive despite no contact. Of course McCarthy as well threw himself to the floor rather than scoring from 6 yards out. Players dive these days - Everton players do it, Blackburn players do it. It's wrong and I don't like it, but it happens.

[rover6]

I'm not bothered whether we win or lose at present. We won't go down will we?

Again we were crap. Boring. The game was boring and dull. Dull and boring. Boring and dull. Why won't any players take someone on, try and beat them and create space.

Get crosses in and attack them.

This is the worst season I have seen since 1978-79. Thank god for David Bentley.

If Pedersen doesn't want to play football why not become a office cleaner, market trader, proffesional gay or something.

If Hughes wants football like this why not become Derren Brown and hypnotize people to sleep rather than torturing the wake.

Dull boring, boring dull. Uneventful rubbish.

I've probably seen 1500 home games or so by now and the last 6 are in the 10 worst.

Sorry but i'm fed up.

I think we are just making up the numbers for the rest of the season. As you say, we won't go down, but we're not going up with our current painfully inadequate central midfield and with a left winger who is consistently poor but has a contractual clause stating that he must play every game otherwise Mark Hughes must enter into a civil partnership with him.

To think that Gamst was once feared as a set-piece taker and a midfield goal machine. It's like trying to recall the days when Egil Ostenstad was a renowned Premier League striker.

Also, shouldn't we (and Hughes) accept that David Dunn is never going to be good enough as CM in a team aiming for top half/Europe? He has odd good games (villa) but overall it's just not enough. Talking about recalling better times - what about when David Dunn was arguably THE midield prospect of English football. It's sad.

Also, for all those get sanctimonious about dive-king Johnson, don't forget our team includes David Bentley - who falls to the ground with some panache.

[Scotty]

To be honest mate, I'm pretty speechless after reading that - I should take my toffee coloured glasses off, yet you've just launched in to an unbelievably biased rant which to be quite honest is a load of tripe?

The thing I usually like you Rovers fans for is that you're a decent bunch who can see both for and against your team, as demonstrated by the majority of posts I've read in this thread. I also feel a sense of solidarity with you what with a couple of my best mates being Rovers fans, and knowing the raw deal that you lot get off the media with regards to the way you play and being a "dirty team". I think it's similar to the way that Everton, and a lot of other unfashionable clubs outside the big 4 get overlooked and put down. Every football fan is biased, it's impossible to get away with that, but the way you seemed to view that game yesterday is ridiculous.

I thought it was a fairly contested game in general and it was best for the game that both teams ended with 11 men. As I said previously, Arteta was lucky that he didn't get sent off for his reaction to Pedersen's tackle but I would put that down to sensible refereeing to be honest, in the same way that the ref didn't give Dunn a 2nd yellow for that handball when clearly by the letter of the law he should have.

As for Johnson, again I'll ask the question - what did he do wrong yesterday? As someone else on here has already pointed out he did nothing other than end up on the deck when he was put there by strong defending (both fair and foul). The reason you'll probably find that our players and Moyes get so wound up and appeal when this happens is that we've been well and truly shafted by referees over the past 12 months or more when it comes to Johnson getting fouled due to this reputation which the media seem to have given him. I'm not denying he does go to ground easily but the only dive I can recall in yesterday's game was I think Emerton when Carsley admittedly made a daft challenge on him just outside our area, and Emerton took a pathetic dive despite no contact. Of course McCarthy as well threw himself to the floor rather than scoring from 6 yards out. Players dive these days - Everton players do it, Blackburn players do it. It's wrong and I don't like it, but it happens.

I agree with your assessment of the game as a whole and I thought Everton looked a good team yesterday. However, let's get this Johnson thing right. Andy Johnson has a history of diving. We've all seen it in the past and now he's paying for it. He's made his own bed and I have no sympathy at all for him.

Yesterday he was unlucky not to get his penalty, again his reputation probably cost him, but I thought there were other occasions when he went to ground far too easily. Bentley does the same for us on occasions, it's just that he hasn't got the same reputation as Johnson has yet.

[brfcs5359]

I think all the negativity is misplaced.

Rovers were excellent against Everton and Villa. Poor the previous 20 games. I think we have turned the corner. Hughes has got it right at last. Everton missed easy chances, should have had a penalty. We missed a penalty at Villa! How many dodgy penalties have we conceded? It even's itself out and Everton are right to complain, it was stonewall. Cruz should have bagged in the last minute and Rovers taken all 3 points. Arteta red carded for raising his hands. It all evens itself out.

On general play we marginally outplayed Everton. Everton may have promised much on the break but breakaway teams are teams who are inconsistent. We marginally outplayed Villa.

We are on the up.. Let's get 4 points from Arsenal and Bolton next...

[revolutionrock!]

I think the Pedersen baiting is getting a bit ridiculous. People in the Blackburn end were complaining about him for stuff that just wasn't his fault.

Admittedly his form has been poor but I don't think he was that bad today today (ceratinly compared to Derbyshire), his work rate was as good as usual and he put at least a couple of decent dead balls in which is an improvement on recent weeks.

Becoming far too much of a scapegoat which won't help his confidence.

How can you knock Derbyshire.

Hes a striker, whos being played on the right wing in the most ridiculious formation. We have a England international Right Winger yet we play a striker on the wing. Stupid.

Some prick next to me had a do at him for a bad cross. :unsure:

As for Pedersen , Freidel had many a word with him for being @#/?.

On another note i heard from a good source that Hughes actually made all the players stop in a Manc Hotel to replicate the "Away Day" feeling as we have been playing well away from home. That is stupid also.

[den]

I agree with your assessment of the game as a whole and I thought Everton looked a good team yesterday. However, let's get this Johnson thing right. Andy Johnson has a history of diving. We've all seen it in the past and now he's paying for it. He's made his own bed and I have no sympathy at all for him.

Yesterday he was unlucky not to get his penalty, again his reputation probably cost him, but I thought there were other occasions when he went to ground far too easily. Bentley does the same for us on occasions, it's just that he hasn't got the same reputation as Johnson has yet.

My Mrs asked me if Johnson had studs on.

[bob fleming]

Personally I enjoyed the match.

I did as well. We must be weird eh?

Worst since 1978/79 - good grief. "Everton are so much better than us" - that's right, that's why they've taken 2 points off us. Although we might have lost yesterday "on points" I'm sure we'd have got the decision from the judges at Goodison. But let's try and forget that one shall we?

People were talking in terms of going back to basics. We've toughed up and look a lot more solid with five across the middle and still people complain. We could have nicked it had "the best finisher at the club" swung his left boot at the ball when in on goal and not fallen on his arse.

[JAL]

I think we are just making up the numbers for the rest of the season. As you say, we won't go down, but we're not going up with our current painfully inadequate central midfield and with a left winger who is consistently poor but has a contractual clause stating that he must play every game otherwise Mark Hughes must enter into a civil partnership with him.

To think that Gamst was once feared as a set-piece taker and a midfield goal machine. It's like trying to recall the days when Egil Ostenstad was a renowned Premier League striker.

Also, shouldn't we (and Hughes) accept that David Dunn is never going to be good enough as CM in a team aiming for top half/Europe? He has odd good games (villa) but overall it's just not enough. Talking about recalling better times - what about when David Dunn was arguably THE midield prospect of English football. It's sad.

Also, for all those get sanctimonious about dive-king Johnson, don't forget our team includes David Bentley - who falls to the ground with some panache.

I'm certainly with you and adopted scousers assessment of the game yesterday, if only now we could blood some exciting youngsters into the team because after all Hughes and his team have been here for over three and a half years now.

As for David Dunn he should be sold come the summer and replaced by a newer sleaker fitter model, the current strength of the Rovers team isnt strong enough to carry Dunny any longer.

[Blue n White Rover]

Funny this but our defence is looking much more organised without Samba and Nelsen.

[JAL]

Funny this but our defence is looking much more organised without Samba and Nelsen.

Nelsen has been a nightmare this season,Samba had a wobble but i think hes recovered but Nelsen for me should be another one for the exit door come the summer.

[joey_big_nose]

Nelsen has been a nightmare this season,Samba had a wobble but i think hes recovered but Nelsen for me should be another one for the exit door come the summer.

Christ you would have everyone out! Nevermind the loyalty of footballers to the fans, the loyalty of the fans to the footballers is far more suspect!

Nelsen has got an injury problem. It is highly likely this is the reason that he has become so poor. How about we let him recover before kicking iut our captain and one of our best players?

ps. I do agree that Ooijer and Samba were very good yesterday. I am looking forward to them stabilising the defence over the coming weeks.

[Hasta]

Every game we have played at Ewood this year we have been second best. The fact only Coventry have beat is a surprising.

[B.R.F.C]

Some prick next to me had a do at him for a bad cross. :unsure:

Aye what a prick for daring to have a go at a Premiership footballer who couldn't cross a ball properly.

As for all the talk about our defence we are beginning to see how good a player Andre is. He had a shakey start with us and then had his injury as he was coming into form but he hasn't let that get to him. When playing in central defence you can see how much of class act he is in his work ethic, marking, organisation and general all round play. His performances for us of recent have been superb and current form warrants selection in the Dutch squad for the Euros quite easily. Another one of Sparkys bargains!

As for the game:

1st half-Yawn...4-5-1 vs 4-5-1

2nd half-More action in the opening two minutes of the half than there had been in the whole of the 1st half. I said pre match that a player of Bennis quality would prove to be useful against Everton and he made a major difference when he came on. Its a shame he wasn't on for the whole game because we might well have got something.

Standout players-Zurab, Oojier, Bentley and Roque again for me

All in all a decent point given that we didn't perform to our best.

[CAPT KAYOS]

My penneth...

I enjoyed the 2nd half but not the first, but only for the atmosphere it generated and the 'old style' football on offer, but I will still not accept the situation of only playing one up front at Home... expecially against Everton.

I do not understand the logic of the 5 men across midfiled at home, and if we see ourselves as being one of the contenders for the Champions League (ha! ha!) or one of the UEFA slots we should be taking the game to the likes of Everton and offering more than we have done for the last 3 months. One man up front with a winger who is astonishingly so out of form he would struggle to get into a 3rd Dividion side and with another who is effectively a very good goal poacher and finisher yet played out wide. In addition when we did actually get the ball SANTA was left on his own looking for peanuts .. I lost count of the number of times where the ball did go wide and there was only Santa in or around the box ...

As for those slagging Derbyshire I find it astonishing - didn't have a good game but he battled considering he isn't a winger..., blame Hughes on this one as yet again he plays him out the right ... when by his own admission post Sunderland away game he said is not very good at playing that position ffs He was taken on because he was spotted doing what he was good at and has shown already he can do in the Premiership - so why keep playing him on the wing ... how is that supposed to benefit him and allow him to develop.

I am beginning to see things happening that are very akin to when Souness had his meltdown and this worries me - we are literally starting with 10 men every game with 'Gamst' and he is becoming a liability - no wonder Warnock gets caught out of position so many times as he is carrying the workload for him. In addition, there where many a time yesterday when it was blatantly obvious that the players did not want to pass to him and didn't unless enforced.

As for the officials .... oh is that what they are - As they keep going on they play to the letter of the law - what aload of bollux. The ironic thing is I though it was better they did officiate like they did as it made more of a game.

However on the facts of it - Dunn should have been sent off ( although the first yellow should never have been) as well as Arteta, Fernandes should have had a least a booking. Both teams should have had a penalty - Everton's most blatantly, and how he did not give it can only be attributed to the ice skates of the circus tumbler Johnson, how the hell he gets anyway near the England set up is beyond me because without his pace IMO he is absolutely useless (just force him wide what's all you need to do). Benni's claim although he should have buried it and went down far to easy had his shirt pulled. There was nothing wrong with Everton's goal, however I think the offside is given for the inital start of the move when the ball is played forward and Johnson was in an offside position but still should have been given as how many times d you see thta happen anyway - however the ref did blow up when McCarthy was in a similar but didn't get the ball not so long before that.

Yes we got a point at the end of day, but for the 2nd successive game it was one we probably didn't deserve and IMO it is simply not good enough.

Everton showed why they are up there in their resillience, but that is still no excuse for the way we set out for the game.

Interestingly enough I have been reading about the Busby Babes in an article this morning and the thoughts of Duncan Edwards that where published into a book and is being re-released and this bit one says it all for me

' It's meant to be an attacking game, full of excitement power and grace.So keep it that way ...'

[John Howarth]

Can anybody else see why that goal was offside...I've seen the replay and can't see what was wrong...Just as well really..we don't get many decisions from Mr Wiley...

Looked to me a very good decision by Glen Turner. Johnson was in an off side position when the ball was played over the half way line, although not active. As soon as Vaughan played the ball to Johnson after winning the ball from Friedel, Johnson was then deemed to be off side in the second phase after now becoming active

[Fife Rover]

To be honest mate, I'm pretty speechless after reading that - I should take my toffee coloured glasses off, yet you've just launched in to an unbelievably biased rant which to be quite honest is a load of tripe?

The thing I usually like you Rovers fans for is that you're a decent bunch who can see both for and against your team, as demonstrated by the majority of posts I've read in this thread. I also feel a sense of solidarity with you what with a couple of my best mates being Rovers fans, and knowing the raw deal that you lot get off the media with regards to the way you play and being a "dirty team". I think it's similar to the way that Everton, and a lot of other unfashionable clubs outside the big 4 get overlooked and put down. Every football fan is biased, it's impossible to get away with that, but the way you seemed to view that game yesterday is ridiculous.

I thought it was a fairly contested game in general and it was best for the game that both teams ended with 11 men. As I said previously, Arteta was lucky that he didn't get sent off for his reaction to Pedersen's tackle but I would put that down to sensible refereeing to be honest, in the same way that the ref didn't give Dunn a 2nd yellow for that handball when clearly by the letter of the law he should have.

As for Johnson, again I'll ask the question - what did he do wrong yesterday? As someone else on here has already pointed out he did nothing other than end up on the deck when he was put there by strong defending (both fair and foul). The reason you'll probably find that our players and Moyes get so wound up and appeal when this happens is that we've been well and truly shafted by referees over the past 12 months or more when it comes to Johnson getting fouled due to this reputation which the media seem to have given him. I'm not denying he does go to ground easily but the only dive I can recall in yesterday's game was I think Emerton when Carsley admittedly made a daft challenge on him just outside our area, and Emerton took a pathetic dive despite no contact. Of course McCarthy as well threw himself to the floor rather than scoring from 6 yards out. Players dive these days - Everton players do it, Blackburn players do it. It's wrong and I don't like it, but it happens.

Well Collie as far as I am concerned you are absolutely spot on in this post of yours. What I saw on my TV on Footie First was an exciting and highly competitive game from both teams who both wanted to win it and weren't interested in a draw. Just like football should be (and used to be before the big money came along and ruined it).

I thought both sides played well in patches but were also stopped from playing well in patches by the sheer effort put in by the other side. It was no more a dirty match than you have to expect when the result is crucial to both sides, and I think taking everything into consideration, the way both sides played was fair enough and only to be expected. I also thought the Ref and his little helpers got a few things wrong, but generally speaking did an OK job. At least they annoyed both sets of supporters in equal ways, although I have to admit that this time Everton got the worst of the bad decisions (the chalked-off goal). If all matches were more like this and less of the tip-tap and "dont you dare come near me you nasty man" attitude (Arsenal) the grounds would be a bit nearer to being as full as they used to be 40 or 50 years ago.

[Fife Rover]

Christ you would have everyone out! Nevermind the loyalty of footballers to the fans, the loyalty of the fans to the footballers is far more suspect!

Nelsen has got an injury problem. It is highly likely this is the reason that he has become so poor. How about we let him recover before kicking iut our captain and one of our best players?

ps. I do agree that Ooijer and Samba were very good yesterday. I am looking forward to them stabilising the defence over the coming weeks.

Hmmmmm...... I thought Samba had a distinct look of Zurab about him yesterday.

[Whyoy]

As for those slagging Derbyshire I find it astonishing - didn't have a good game but he battled considering he isn't a winger..., blame Hughes on this one as yet again he plays him out the right ... when by his own admission post Sunderland away game he said is not very good at playing that position ffs He was taken on because he was spotted doing what he was good at and has shown already he can do in the Premiership - so why keep playing him on the wing ... how is that supposed to benefit him and allow him to develop.

I am beginning to see things happening that are very akin to when Souness had his meltdown and this worries me - we are literally starting with 10 men every game with 'Gamst' and he is becoming a liability - no wonder Warnock gets caught out of position so many times as he is carrying the workload for him. In addition, there where many a time yesterday when it was blatantly obvious that the players did not want to pass to him and didn't unless enforced.

Firstly on Derbyshire, being stuck out on the right wing isn't making the most of his talents. If he is to play then it must be in one of the central attacking roles. He hasn't got the physique or heading ability to play up front on his own, he should only be used when we are playing with two forwards down the middle. In my opinion he had a poor game yesterday.

Who then plays the right midfield/wing role? Emmerton's proved often enough he isn't up to the job so that only leaves Bentley who can take on the role and be an effective player.

With Bentley taken away from the midfield who do you play there. Other than Tugay & Reid we haven't got any other midfield players at the club with the talent to be effective there. Even worse, other than Pedersen we've no-one at the club that can play the left midfielder/wing role. We've two long ball strategies, one is to kick it long for Santa Cruz and the other is to kick it long for Pedersen. Pedersen's problem is a lack of confidence and the pack of critics that are continually on his back. The guy works his socks off even though he must know his form is poor.

As for Warnock carrying the workload for Pederson, I would suggest that it is often the other way round. Pedersen's more than willing to cover for the galloping major. Warnock looks to be a potential international full back because of the work that Pedersen does, but when he's not there as in Coventry at home this season, well......