Rovers V Everton Preview

[Dunnfc]

No you was crap you and the rest of your fans know that and all you did was pass backwards, the ref never helped with his inconsistant display blowing his whistle at every oppertunity and stopping both teams momentum.

[BRFC1995]

how can u give a goalkeeper a 6 rating when he has a clean sheet, does he have to go on a mazy dribble and bang one in from 25 yards to get a 10?

[Dunnfc]

how can u give a goalkeeper a 6 rating when he has a clean sheet, does he have to go on a mazy dribble and bang one in from 25 yards to get a 10?

He may have got a clean sheet but that was partly down to our superb defence.

Just two bad things that i remember from him:

Beaten for the free kick which hit the post.

Kicking was awful

a 6 is about right.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Two equally matched sides today I thought and yes, either side could have took the 3 points with their chances created.Stale first half but warmed up nicely on and off the pitch in the second with Ooijer my motm.....far from a dirty game

Best of luck for the rest of the season to yours collie,we have no beef with Everton but as usual with the ' BIG CLUBS' some of your fans let themselves down with the clueless sheep 'shyte ground no fans' chants

......That said Rovers fans gave as good as they took!

So its to the plastic palace that is the Emirates next with most of our defense missing

[den]

MOTM?

[Fife Rover]

MOTM?

Laters.

[JAL]

I hope you dont miss any of the Rovers goals tomorrow, people have the right to be sceptical but for me this game is horses for courses ideal for Blackburns thoroughbreds i'd be absolutely gobsmacked if this isnt going to be a favourable course for Rovers tomorrow.

Really looking forward to a positive MGP performance along with Dunny, Reidy and Bents cant wait.

What a dissappointment, the tactics reminded me of Steve Maclarens last game for England one up front high ball played upto Santa he heads it but theres no one there - just great.

What a massive dissapointment the whole of the midfield was until Tugay came on but hes no legs left in him.

Is Hughes upto the task?

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Good game, great atmosphere in the second half, if Roques flick on had gone in the roof would have come off.

We played good enough to justify a point although we were lucky with the free kick. The defence did well but we struggled to create a lot of chances. A good point and the second half was enjoyable enough.

Before someone slates Dunn for playing crap, he was on a yellow from early on so had to hold back a lot.

MOTM Ooijer or Zurab, both played decent. Emerton was his usual good mazy running self. Bentley looked a bit fed up and Gamst is clearly trying but just not fast/confident enough. Benni should have shot straight after he controlled the ball over the top from Roque but I got the feeling he was expecting to be clattered from behind and hesitated.

[Jordan]

We were fortunate as Johnson was marginally offside for the second the ball was played forwards in the first phase. Brad was stranded and there was just one defender between Johnson and the goal.

Shame Steven Reid had an off day. I thought Benni looked good when he came on and RSC looked better playing with Benni there.

Johnson looked superb- definitely the best English-born forward on current showing.

I personally thought Reid did ok in midfield. He was not given much space however he does look like he is getting back to full fitness.

I thought Johnson was crap...he is a cheating @#/? and would certainly not want him in the Rovers team let alone England. Would rather have Heskey.

[1864roverite]

Well it was not exactly pretty was it.

My main take on the game is the tactics employed by Rovers in what has to be one of the worst ever first halves in a game for a long long time.

Was it 4-5-1 ?

What position was Derbyshire meant to be playing ?

How far was the distance between MGP, RSC and Derbyshire everytime we ventured forward ?

Just where was the creativity in a tepid first 45 minutes ?

To go in 0-0 at half time led me to believe that we were to see a bright new beginning, I dont know why, maybe it was the scoreline from Wigon and Spuds who were both winning 1-0 at home.

As the teams re-entered the field of play there was no change. Disappointment all around.

The game continued in the same mould although within the first 45 seconds it could have been 1-1 or should have been 1-1, however, it remained 0-0.

A flurry of subs saw Rovers take off injured David Dunn before Derbyshire ws removed. I am still at a loss as to what he actually did during the game, maybe I missed something. Surely the worst game he will ever play.

The substitutions saw Rovers revert to 4-4-2 with Benni joining RSC up front, Bentley going wide and Tugay coming into the middle. A miracle happened, Rovers became an instant threat. A string of crosses nearly proved Evertons downfall but it wasnt to be, I missed the chance of RSC as I hobbled out of Ewood on my sticks. Sick to the stomach that yet again Rovers had not taken 3 points albeit from a team above us in the league, especially with City losing, Pompy drawing and wham also going down at WIGAN.

My view - Rovers fair far better 4-4-2 wise than 4-5-1, in particular at home against teams such as Everton. Oijer and Zurab coped far better than I imagined, it will be harsh to see them parted when big Chris comes back against Bolton. Derbyshire is never a right midfielder or winger in a million years. He doesnt tackle, he doesnt win headers, he cant cross and he did NOTHING but give the ball away all game. MGP was suitably just as awful, he cant do anything right and his mistakes nearly cost us goals in the first half when not tracking at corners and free kicks.

So then for me its 2 points dropped.

A suggestion for AJ. The man is a Ronaldo type cheat who goes down at the slightest contact, he probably is a cheat and I would go along with the manager who remarked as such earlier on in the season. I am going to send him a set of studs to help him keep his feet, rubber ones of course.

Impressed with Brad, Warnock, Zurab, Emerton and Oijer as back 4. MGP and Derbyshire were useless. Dunny and Reidy were steady but between them we need some creativity. Bentley is IMO not a central player he fairs far better out on the wing. RSC was great but had far too much to do on his own before being joined by Benni who looked lively.

Finally, that fat little get Wiley was pathetic referee wise. The worst performance we have seen all season. Booking a Rovers player comes easy to him although I do suppose we give him credit for not sending Dunny off for deliberate handball.

So we move to the Emirates (GULP). Just as Rovers arrive, they get 7 yes thats 7 players back from injury !!!

A win against all odds anyone ?????

[Hasta]

No you was crap you and the rest of your fans know that and all you did was pass backwards, the ref never helped with his inconsistant display blowing his whistle at every oppertunity and stopping both teams momentum.

Get real. If any side deserved to win it was probably Everton. If they were crap we were worse. The ref was awful all round, his biggest mistake being not sending Dunn off for a blatant handball.

Every move broke down when it reached Derbyshire because the guy is a goal poacher and not a winger.

[krislu]

After watching this game we can't complain about not being lucky any more.

1. Dunn should have been sent off, had a yellow card (a bit harsh) and then hits out at the ball with his arm

2. Crystal clear penalty not given for Everton, Zurab kicking Johnsen

3. Their goal should have stood, it was never offside or anything else.

We might have had a penalty as well, but on the replay we saw that Benni did go down way to easily.

All in all a poor performance, our team aint playing like a team at all. On an individual note, Gamst needs serious dropping and Derbyshire aint a winger.

[Hasta]

Offside? According to one Everton site this is the moment the ball was played to johnson. However I thought Vaughen got up off the floor and then passes to Johnson. Will need to see the video.

[1864roverite]

There HAS to be TWO Rovers players behind BRAD when the ball is played for it to be ONSIDE so clearly when Vaughan kicks the ball forward there are TWO Rovers players behind Brad and he should have been ONSIDE.

For me the cheating little get got what he deserved whilst Rovers got lucky

[Blue n White Rover]

Ried and Dunn just couldn't create any space at all, whilst Fernandes, Cahill/Arteta made loads, just shows how week our midfield options are.

Johnson's a cheating ####, when he knows he's got no chance of getting too the ball he falls down, mind you he did win alot of the corners.

Derbyshire needs to stay on the bench, should've bought Roberts on.

[Dunnfc]

Get real. If any side deserved to win it was probably Everton. If they were crap we were worse. The ref was awful all round, his biggest mistake being not sending Dunn off for a blatant handball.

Every move broke down when it reached Derbyshire because the guy is a goal poacher and not a winger.

Sorry Hasta il just stop voicing my opinion on a message board if thats ok with you

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Can someone tell me why the hell Friedel was out so far?!?! It's usually suicidal for a keeper to come out that far!

[Hasta]

Sorry Hasta il just stop voicing my opinion on a message board if thats ok with you

OK. And I'll try and stop having an opinion that differs from yours if thats OK.

[Dunnfc]

OK. And I'll try and stop having an opinion that differs from yours if thats OK.

I dont mind a different opinion because thats why we have them because other peoples are different.

You just sounded a bit sharp edged.

[Collie]

Lads, serious question......... what incident(s) is all this Johnson is a cheat stuff come from today?

I watched the game on tv today and can't recall an incident where he took a dive or anything, and I also know that Johnson has become a victim of a media led vendetta since last season. I hope you boys aren't just swallowing this BS and pointing the finger at him for no reason.

[joey_big_nose]

Can someone tell me why the hell Friedel was out so far?!?! It's usually suicidal for a keeper to come out that far!

Vaughan was away completely clear.

Everton are just a stonger team than us. They have got a huge amount of quality players in over the last two season. They, and Portsmouth, have to have one of the most powerful midfields in the business.

We did well when we switched to play 442 (Benni's best game for a while) but I think if we had started that way we could have been over run and murdered on the counter.

Our season hinges on Reid imo, he was okay today, but we need him to hit top form if we have hopes of the top six. Otherwise we just won't have the power.

[Hasta]

Lads, serious question......... what incident(s) is all this Johnson is a cheat stuff come from today?

I watched the game on tv today and can't recall an incident where he took a dive or anything, and I also know that Johnson has become a victim of a media led vendetta since last season. I hope you boys aren't just swallowing this BS and pointing the finger at him for no reason.

I think it gathered momentum when someone (Zurab) challenged AJ and put the ball out for a corner in the first half. It was a clean tackle but he went to ground a bit theatrically. After that he just seemed to be on the deck every 5 minutes.

[Dunnfc]

I think it gathered momentum when someone (Zurab) challenged AJ and put the ball out for a corner in the first half. It was a clean tackle but he went to ground a bit theatrically. After that he just seemed to be on the deck every 5 minutes.

Exactley, Johnson kept falling whenever he was tackled cleanly or when he was barged of the ball, he was just not going to get much change from Ooijer who pretty much had him in his pocket all match.

Hes too small to be playing on his own away from home imo, because today he had to scrap on everything im sure if you had Yakubu up there Johnson would have got on his flick ons etc.

[Collie]

Exactley, Johnson kept falling whenever he was tackled cleanly or when he was barged of the ball, he was just not going to get much change from Ooijer who pretty much had him in his pocket all match.

Hes too small to be playing on his own away from home imo, because today he had to scrap on everything im sure if you had Yakubu up there Johnson would have got on his flick ons etc.

I agree with you about him playing up front on his own, we miss Yakubu immensly at the moment and Johnson for all his hard work and his pace is not a huge threat.

I still think though that he gets a lot of stick for no reason. Thanks to the Sky Sports kind of football world we live in, there's suspicion on him every time he falls over now. He can't win.

[bazza]

MOTM?

Andre the dutchman. Pure class ( apart from that thunderbolt of a back pass that Brad had to head away)

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.