[Archived] Rovers V Coventry Fa Cup (replay) Preview

[den]

So Allardyce can't find that out in training? Or more to the point, can't watch old game tape and realise that Dunny has never been a wide player?

Some of Dunn's best games were on the left wing Eddie.

[Eddie]

When were they?

[PAFELL]

Allardyce is using the relatively unimportant games to try out players in different formations. Unlike Ince he didn't have the luxury of preseason to discover that Dunny can't play on the left, or Andrews and Simpson can't play at all.

Even so, we didn't lose- which was good.

You are probable right in saying BS was trying things out. Rovers do not have the money to go out and buy players and so BS has to try players in different postions when he is able to do so. This season the prem is the most important competition - survival being the key. Therefore BS rested players who had been on international games and tried some players. Though I am surprised he put dunn on the left and warnock in midfield, I would have thought it better the other way around. BS has also to think of the other games to come.

As I wasn't there I could only listen to commentry. But it sounded like Givet had a good game. Sadly tugay is really showing his age now.

[bobsterbrfc]

as a season ticket holder who didn't attend today, i am cheesed off i missed the cupid pitch invader! i hope this will be on the big screen at the next home game as sounds a very amusing incident!

[PAFELL]

So Allardyce can't find that out in training? Or more to the point, can't watch old game tape and realise that Dunny has never been a wide player?

Training and competition games are completely different. BS wanted dunn when he was at Bolton so knows what dunn can do. dunn has played some good games on the wing in the past.

[LDRover]

I was led to believe that passion and commitment were the hallmarks of an Allardyce team, having watched us come second best in every department to a mediocre but enthusiastic Coventry outfit I may have to revise that opinion.

We won very few 50 - 50's , hardly any second balls and looked yards slower than the opposition. Added to that we had the sight of our new manager showing similar passion by hardly venturing into his technical area and mirroring the 'can't be arsed' attitude (Samba aside) of his players. Then when you want him to change something on trots the perennially abysmal Keith Andrews to run into cul de sacs for half a hour - if Andrews is the answer, what the hell is the question ?.

I can't believe how much we've declined over 6 months, I thought this season would be tough but I couldn't see this coming. There's nothing for us at Old Trafford this weekend and as others have said in this thread, it could be our last visit for a long time.

I'd say we're 60-40 to go down now, attitude and sheer will to win could have been enough to keep us up, sadly I don't think we' ve got enough of it in this group of players.

[smithsblue]

We didn't lose today.

It was grim though.

Simpson and Treacy are chronic.

Andrews,Robinson,Warnock and Pedersen remain first team regulars.

Grella is a biting holding midfielder who is unable to pass or control the ball (despite the width of his calves).

And 80% of Rovers turnover goes on wages.

Coventry are dodgy for Rovers though.

The 5 - 2 loss at home to Coventry was a low point - just like last year esp.

The Andy Crawford goal vs Iain Wallace and his brown colleagues was good though as was Shearer header at Highfield Rd.

No-one on the pitch remembers half of this though - but that's the same everywhere.

None of this is of Allardyce's making.

Need to get past OT - try something new - as per Bolton second half and hope the wins come afterwards.

This has been a good news bad news sandwich as recommended at many a corporate training event.

[brfc_andrewtatt]

didn't dunny get his only england call up while he was playing on the left for us while duffer were out injured. i thought he did well in the first half, just a shame roberts were in the way every time he were in the final third. he produced more than pedersen thats for sure.

[Amo]

Did fairly well in the first-half, Coventry didn't have a sniff. Although I don't particularly agree with Dunn out-wide, himself and Carlos managed to slip around the back a couple of times. Santa Cruz could have doubled our lead before half-time, not to mention Roberts missed a clear chance.

Then in the second half, the team completely switched-off and Coventry were allowed to push forward. We appeared to lose all momentum, and our passing was poor.

I'm pleased we kept fighting to the end though, and hopefully we can take some confidence from a replay victory.

[Stonesrick]

Disappointing today and very nearly embarrasing. First half was ok but they did miss a couple of good chances as we did. Points to note:

• Warnock in not a central midfielder, he looked as though he was suffering from illness today, lethargic and the game passed him by
• Sadly the turkish maestro is no longer up to the pace at this level
• Givet looks a very good player and will play a part in the relegation battle
• Roque is starting to look more up for it and a lot sharper. If he stays fit we have a chance
• Worrying signs of when we were last relagated in which some players seem to have lost the plot
• The main positive from today is that BS will now know his best staring eleven from now until the end of the season
• I still think we have a chance but any more performaces such as today and we are in BIG trouble

[grizfoot]

Overall I'd say a draw was about fair. Rovers somewhat played this game the opposite way round to our usual course of play, we actually had a half decent first half for once. Dunn and Villanueva inparticularly were involved and looked dangerous. Santa Cruz and Roberts both had chances to add to our 1-0 led that Roque had given us early in the game.

Second half with Coventry kicking towards a good following of their fans they seemed to step it up a gear and closed us down and brought on an extra striker. Rovers couldn't seem to build any attacks or maintain possession of the ball for any period of time. Coventry started to win a number of cornesr and continued to press therefore it wasn't a suprise when they took the lead. Superb strike not much we could have done about it to be. Then at 1-1 with the Coventry fans going wild and the Rovers fans flat you felt Coventry had the momentum and if anyone was going to score next it was them.

However Givet seemingly had his first goal in a Rovers shirt only for it to be ruled out for a shirt pull according to the referee but I didn't see anything. Then enter the humorous moment of the game when a semi-streaker decided to have a walk about on the pitch. Must have taken at least a couple of minutes before he was finally removed (bear this in mind when we scored in deep injury time). Shorlty after Coventry took the lead through what appeared to be a chip from the Coventry player which left me wondering what the hell was Robinson doing, however it appears that it actually took a deflection threfore it may be a bit hard to put any blame on Robbo. Coventry then missed a golden chance to make it 3-1.

It wasn't until the 5 minutes of injury time was announced that Rovers started to attack. Wave after wave of attack with the odd goal-mouth scramble included made for a dramatic last 5 minutes. Rovers would have equalized if it wasn't for a superb last ditch tackle from a Coventry player. I thought that was it surely our chance has gone now. But then Treacy picked up the ball on the edge of the area, I was screaming for him to pass it to a unmarked Santa Cruz inside the area inside but in his wisdom he goes for glory and takes a tame shot which thankfully the keeper made a hash of and meant the big man Samba could slot it home to force a replay.

My Player Ratings:

Robinson - 6 - Had nothing to do, have to wait until I see the highlights to see if he could have done more to stop the second.

Simpson - 4 - Shambolic positioning and defending at times. Gave away the corner that in turn led to their first goal. Still improvement on his SUnderland performance, that's not syaing much though.

Zurab - 7 - Had Morrision in his back pocket.

Samba 7 - Was chucked upfront and got the whole important goal.

Givet - 7 - Another solid performance from Givet. He does like a good tackle.

Villanueva - 6 - Decent first half, totally dissappeared in the second.

Tugay - 6 - Not one of his better game, but still the best passer on the field.

Warnock - 5 - Went missing second half. He just doesn't work in centre midifeld.

Dunn - 7 - Looked lively first half with some good runs. Tired in the second and was subbed.

Santa Cruz - 7 - Quality finish for the goal, didn't do a lot else but limited service.

Roberts - 5 - Had a few good opportunites he could have done better with first half.

----------------

Andrews - 3 - I've stood up for him when he's come under critism on here before. But he was plain awful today when he came on for Tugay. He lost possession several times when he did get a touch of the ball that is. Summed up by a complete mis-control of the ball when Rovers were on the counter-attack in the dying second of the game.Still can't fault the lad's work ethic although I'm starting to believe thoose who say he just isn't good enough for a Premiership team.

Treacy - 6 - Did run at players down the left flank and delivered a good cross for Benni's offside goal but he lacks any sort of body strength which is a big weakness in his game.

McCarthy - 6 - Few nice touches but limited time to really make an impact.

[bazza]

Never been as angry with the team as I was today for a long time. No heart; no guts; no fight; no fire in the belly!!!

I wouldn't pay them in washers.

I'm very relieved that we got the draw and have another chance. We need to keep the FA Cup dream alive because IT'S THE ONLY SILVERWARE WE CAN HOPE TO WIN; and we have a good chance of doing so.

I'll bet you that Rovers play out of their skins at Old Trafford next week..........still won't get any points, though.

That's what p***** me off. Can't be arsed to play in t'cup v Coventry but become almost superhuman v Man Utd.

Simpson is rubbish

Dunn should be centre

Warnock is NOT a centre midfielder

Treacy played well and was the only one trying when he came on. He lifted the team. So slaggers get of his back.

Carlos played well all match.

Robbo wasn't at fault with either goal.............just watch MOD prove me wrong.

[CCFC_89]

Coventry fan here I come in peace just a few thoughts on the game.

Good to see on here some very honest comments on the game today.

1st half we didn't turn up despite having to very decent chances the early subs in the 2nd half changed the game for us, Leon Best the lad in the mask had probably his best performance in 1 and a half seasons with us.

Aron Gunnarsson the lad who scored the 1st is an 19 year old Icelandic kid who as you probably saw will go onto have a very bright future but we rely to much on him to hold us together.

Obviously gutted about the late equiliser but 1 question about Samba must he lead with his elbow with every challenge hes about 7ft as it is, your 1st goal I thought was a foul on our central defender but the header in the second half was harshly ruled out.

If Westwood had been in goal I don't think he would have dropped the ball for the 2nd but no point dwelling on that now.

Just a few questions though:

Do you think you will take many to the Ricoh?

Will you rest any players? and by the way will have our 1st team out next week!

[LeChuck]

Robbo wasn't at fault with either goal

Absolutely nothing he could have done to save those, I'm surprised people are suggesting otherwise.

[cn174]

Do you think you will take many to the Ricoh?

At an optimistic guess 800-1000ish? Might be slightly bigger than normal due to the fact it is our first trip to the Ricoh

[brfcs5359]

Shocking. Should have buried them first half. Second half we looked a poor championship side. The heart and desire were totally missing. RSC easily MoM but fed meagre crumbs.

Tugay - dreadful - past it.

Simpson - next stop League 2. Poor technique. Appraoches every situation like a bull and to kick it with his right foot regardless.

Kinish - weak against stong opposition. Didn't communicate with the quiet Samba enough. defence slacked and dropped off to deep (to sleep as well)

Givet - average. committed tackler - poor going forward. early signs - not good enough.

Roberts - a player that takes teams down with his missed chances - missed another one today - abysmal

Villeneuva - slowest player since jamie redknapp - needs a stanna stairlift to get him around the park. Great talent. Send him back.

Warnock. Jekyll & Hyde. Today sadly Mr Edward Hyde (literally). I wanted him to play CM but lost it there. Now I am not sure.

RSC - what can you say? Silk purse from a sows ear. Wasted at Ewood with this bunch of cloggers.

Andrews - championship player - defended him so far but he's going backwards and he's scared/lightweight passes it sideways too often under BFS.

Dunn - What on earth is BFS doing playing our best player out wide. he clearly looked p&&sed off about it.

Treacy - Rubbish so far. Beat his man and got 2 decent crosses in. Best performance so far. Still he ducked a few challenges, ambled around and gave it away & defensively clueless.

McCarthy - bless him. He's got a renewed sense of pride and an extra 10 inch on his girth. BFS warned him this week. Totally unfit for professional football. Now living off his skills and finishing. The goal he scored v Arsenal two season ago now just a fading memory.

BFS - Struggling now. Playing Dunny out wide shows BFS is not the messiah. In fact results like this won't inspire confidence and BFS might find the very last entry on his Premiership CV is BRFC followed by 20 years of scratching it in the lower leagues with his hu-flung-dung approach. If he carries on with dreadful performances (and team selections) like this it's Foxtrot Oscar Sam I am afraid.

We needed to get rid of 5 in the summer. Its now showing. BFS needs to get rid of about 7 and FGS bring Gallagher back.

[AggyBlue]

Absolutely nothing he could have done to save those, I'm surprised people are suggesting otherwise.

The usual Robbo slaggers will have a go no matter what he does.

[Tom]

Agreed on Robbo, as soon as we concede someone will mention he should have done better but in reality nobody would have saved those today.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Having seen the goals again, Robbo looks even more helpless than he did in real time. Nobody, Brad included, would have saved those in my opinion.

[brfcs5359]

The anti Robbo is partly anti-Ince hangover... that's all. I ignore it though he's not the best.

[rover6]

For the benefit of objectivity, if Simpson was bad defensively, the fact that a Villaneuva was wrongly positioned on the right flank, where he'd have offered little defensive support, must have contributed to that.

Also, Aron Gunnarson looks like some player. The man to finally fill the boots of David Thompson at Cov?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Just a few questions though:

Do you think you will take many to the Ricoh?

Will you rest any players? and by the way will have our 1st team out next week!

1,000 at the very best I would have thought....our players dont need a rest, they need a kick up the arse!

[JAL]

For the benefit of objectivity, if Simpson was bad defensively, the fact that a Villaneuva was wrongly positioned on the right flank, where he'd have offered little defensive support, must have contributed to that.

quote]

Both players are not fit to play for Blackburn Rovers.

[Paul Mellelieu]

Garbage again. I'm losing the will to live.

[Amo]

Both players are not fit to play for Blackburn Rovers.

I think that's a bit harsh on Carlos. The guy is one of the rare technically-gifted players we have, but he's being wasted out wide. He's also been in and out of the team, grabbing a few appearances here and there. Warnock and Andrews certainly aren't the answer in midfield.