[Archived] The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Of Wigan Away

[Hughesy]

Once again Chimbonda turned his back on the incoming cross for their goal

More importantly Nelsen was beaten in the air to concede a crucial goal AGAIN!!

[RIML]

More importantly Nelsen was beaten in the air to concede a crucial goal AGAIN!!

Again? How many other times this season has he been beaten in the air? I seem to remember Drogba in the Carling Cup, maybe in the 5-0 defeat at Chelsea I'm not quite sure, still Chimbonda just stopped and invited the cross.

[thenodrog]

Aslo, agree with this post 100%, except you can blame Sam for not having bought another CM in the summer and bringing in 3 RBs instead.

And I agree with that one although in fairness Chimbonda does put a decent shift in at Left Back.

[LDRover]

More importantly Nelsen was beaten in the air to concede a crucial goal AGAIN!!

Bit of a witch hunt you're conducting there Hughesy, conveniently forgetting Nelsen's vital winning header assist today.

Stop the supply and your last line of defence doesn't have to make a last ditch saving header, and I'm pretty sure that's what our expert manager pointed out post match too.

[cn174]

More importantly Nelsen was beaten in the air to concede a crucial goal AGAIN!!

Both are equally important. If the cross doesn't come in then there's nothing to deal with. It's something that you're taught when you're a kid - don't turn your back on the ball. He seems to do it quite a lot.

[thenodrog]

quote watty, on 26 December 2009 - 20:27 PM, said:

I am not setting foot in Ewood Park again until our excuse of a manager has left our club...He is destroying us.

EDIT,

if anyone wants a cheap season ticket PM me

Without Sam Allardyce , you would be watching championship football now !!! Who do you want as manager Paul Ince ???

And paying twice as much for your season ticket to boot watty. How does that grab you?

Stop spitting your dummy out ffs.

Both are equally important. If the cross doesn't come in then there's nothing to deal with. It's something that you're taught when you're a kid - don't turn your back on the ball. He seems to do it quite a lot.

I like Chimbonda but he does need to improve on that aspect. He turns his back and doesn't get up close enough to stop the cross or make em pass backwards.

[thenodrog]

Right Graham, personally I think that is the most ridiculous and ill thought out post on this thread and there are lots of them too. However I doubt you can be so gormless. So you've had your say at criticising the team and manager so now please tell us all the team and tactics that you would have employed today given the players available. Off you go.

Thendrog: pick another team.

Unlike Allardyce I wouldn't have this squad. To many are crap. I'd be picking from a squad of Nzonzis Nelsens Bellamys Santa Cruzs Dunns Sambas.

9 would start plus Kalinic and one other. You might have well as have had Doran than Selgado. van Heerden? Jacobson. Ollson is ten thousand times the player Andrews or Selgado are. What makes fans angry is it so obvious. Lets be honest, Givet, good player he is offers no attacking options.

You pick your best 11 and mould the tactics around them. Stupid thick managers like Allardyce will pick any crap player so long as it fits their fantasy tactics.

Benni played well today and is suited to playing at the top of a diamond BTW

Allardyce good riddance you are and alway will be totally useless because you do not understand the game.

You've just relegated your first post to second place in stupid post. Well done.

[Amo]

As for the central midfield issue at the beginning of the season we had Dunn, Grella, Emerton, Andrews, Reid and Nzonzi who are all capable of playing in the centre. Someone obviously didn't tell Big Sam that three out of thoose are injury-prone. mSix central-midfielders in theory is a good amount of central midfielders to choose from, but Big Sam somewhat had his hands tied having a number of players coming back from injury, with them not being a feasible option to raise funds to re-invest in the central midfield area.

Well said. I'm sure Sam couldn't cater for a new centre-midfielder when he had Dunn, Grella, Reid & Emerton all returning from injury. However, his faith in Andrews is becoming rather embarrassing now. Any man and his dog can see the guy is out of his depth. Would it really hurt to promote some fresh-faced youth from the reserves? Win/win situation, as far as I'm concerned.

[47er]

Bit of a witch hunt you're conducting there Hughesy, conveniently forgetting Nelsen's vital winning header assist today.

Stop the supply and your last line of defence doesn't have to make a last ditch saving header, and I'm pretty sure that's what our expert manager pointed out post match too.

The entire defence was all over the place at that point. Nelsen did at least keep his position but was left trying to mark at least two.Had a good game imo.

[Bing]

No two ways about it, we are watching absolute garbage week in week out.

Wigan were by far the better football team out there today. To even contemplate selling McCarthy is madness - our only player of genuine quality. I give it until the start of Feb before the fans fully turn on BFS.

[RevidgeBlue]

Stop spitting your dummy out ffs.

Said the man who threatened to give up his season ticket and take up golf on a SAturday when Ince was appointed?????

My feeling increasingly is that things aren't working out under big Sam which is a shame as I was a big fan of his before he turned up at Ewood.

EDIT: How much of that is the manager's fault and how much the owners is another debate entirely.

I'd probably tend more towards the latter than the former.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Said the man who threatened to give up his season ticket and take up golf on a SAturday when Ince was appointed?????

Already been pointed out RB which provoked a REAL dummy spit.

[bigbrandjohn]

Not quite as suicidal as many on the board. The key to a successful team is a consistent team,one that plays together week in week out with minor tweeks for different competitions.

We don't seem to have a team that we can say is our no 1 choice. Problem is that Sam also has to balance the fact that he is playing guys who may want out and he therefore has to play them to see if they are worth keeping or putting them in the shop window. Benni, Hoilett,Pedersen,Roberts etc may all go in this window for different reasons.

I dont think we will see Sam's team until after this window and maybe only after the summers contract/sick note clear out. Frustrating as it is we may have to be patient,hope for a good cup result and the comfort of mid table obscurity. This is still a work in progress. And for those who hanker after the good times,myself included i might add, we have to realize that history is not destiny. The world has changed and even average clubs like Fulham,Big Club, Wigan,Stoke etc are actually pretty good clubs. The bar has been raised.

[FourLaneBlue]

My feeling increasingly is that things aren't working out under big Sam which is a shame as I was a big fan of his before he turned up at Ewood.

He has taken us from 19th and 5 points away from safety to 12th and a cup semi final while spending how much exactly? Minus zero...

It hasn't been wonderful it is true but be honest...a year ago when he took over wouldn't you have been more than happy with that?

[No Nay Never]

Some might say it's down to Lady Luck cos in case you missed it Mark Hughes was sacked last week and is no longer in management.

Playing Devils advocate but whilst targets were apparently not met bad signings were also cited..... Lescott, Bridge, De Jong and RSC being much criticised.

What about Andrews blinding block from Hoilett?

yeah because he blocked it on purpose, whilst not good enough he showed more heart than anyone in blue and white by blasting chimbonda who clearly wasn't at the races.

[Athlete]

yeah because he blocked it on purpose, whilst not good enough he showed more heart than anyone in blue and white by blasting chimbonda who clearly wasn't at the races.

two poor teams.....

[No Nay Never]

two poor teams.....

A championship game basically as was Burnley Wolves last week !!

[Paul]

Samba had one cleared off the line, N'Zonzi and Andrews both fired wide from inside the area, Andrews also blocked a Hoillet shot that looked destined to hit the back of the net and McCarthy missed two from outside the area. Having said that the football was dire and I was glad to pick up a point. If we don't strengthen that midfield in January we're in for a long hard relegation fight. Dunn and Grella are good enough to keep us up (alongside the ever impressive N'Zonzi), but they can't be relied upon to stay fit.

We were sat in row M dead central behind the goal. Other than the Samba clearance, which was 3 feet from the line but would have gone in, none of the chances above threatened Kirkland at all. Now it's possible I'm being picky but a chance in my book is a shot on goal which needs some sort of effort from the goalkeeper. Kirkland was in trouble twice, for the goal and McCarthy's overhead kick. As for Sam suggesting this would go in 99/100 given McCarthy couldn't see Kirkland's position which was at most 3 feet directly behind him the chances of scoring 99 times with that shot are very remote. We are not creating enough serious chances, those that arise from good through balls or crosses into the box.

We saw a different game there then. I thought Salgado struggled with the pace of the game all day and I'm convinced his legs have gone. The booing was for Pedersen maybe?

I agree about the pace and his legs but when he has the ball he tries to do something with it, more than could be said for the rest of the midfield yesterday. When Salgado was subbed I think the booing was for the decision rather than the player, at the end it was for the performance.

Some might say it's down to Lady Luck cos in case you missed it Mark Hughes was sacked last week and is no longer in management.

Playing Devils advocate but whilst targets were apparently not met bad signings were also cited..... Lescott, Bridge, De Jong and RSC being much criticised.

What about Andrews blinding block from Hoilett?

I think Hughes has been treated badly at City, but it's not surprising he's been sacked. This is modern football and if you spend £££m you demand results. Some of Hughes' City signings were good, some were "marque" signings he may not have influenced and some "kid in a sweetie shop" efforts. I'd argue the signings you mention were more about the price paid than the player purchased?

I don't feel Andrews wanted to block that shot.

For me the disappointment yesterday was this; we should be winning away at Wigan, especially at Christmas with a big following. It was all nicely set up. We created very, very few chances in open play and in all honesty we can't do this. The big punt down field is desperate stuff to watch, I have no problem with the long ball but this is just "hoof ball." Again we played 4-5-1 with never more than three players getting forward which means we carry no threat to any defence. Di Santo was very poor and is either fed up with this system or can't play it, he's a good footballer but will not score goals for Rovers. My last point is Allardyce made no effort to change the game, Jacobsen for Chimbonda, who I like, was because he was having a poor game, Pedersen for Salgado was because Salgado was nackered and Roberts for Di Santo as Di Santo was achieving nothing. Going to 4-4-2 for the last 15 minutes might have led to something better.

[Paul]

He has taken us from 19th and 5 points away from safety to 12th and a cup semi final while spending how much exactly? Minus zero...

It hasn't been wonderful it is true but be honest...a year ago when he took over wouldn't you have been more than happy with that?

I see this arguement and have some sympathy with it however there is a big BUT...........it's quite possible Sunderland will beat us tomorrow they are after all a club who have been cited on here as one of those who are pulling away from Rovers and who we cannot expect to compete with. IF we lose at Ewood it's likely two from Everton, Bolton, Hull will overtake us and these sides each have a game in hand (Bolton two). Yes it's very tight in the lower half of the table but just as it's easy to climb to 9th/10th it's easy to slip to 18th/19th, there are not three clubs worse than us this year - from 12th downwards the pressure is on and a bad run would also see the 11th and 10th placed clubs in trouble. My concern is if we hit a bad spell between now and end February we will have real trouble digging our way out in the remaining matches.

Cup semi-final, two wins against lower league sides and a wonderfully entertaining draw. Good stuff but not marvellous.

The side lacks any real threat, there are some decent footballers but not enough to create a side which can really trouble the opposition. If we can't score goals our best hope is draws which may be sufficient to get to forty points. Is that enough? I'm not sure it will be...............and the football is dire to watch. If the football was good and creating chances I'd be more on the glass half full side, but the lack of chances, creativity and excitment leaves me worried. Still think we'll finish 16th but it's going to be a hell of a struggle.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

After a night contemplating yesterday's match with my mates Carl Sberg and Stella Artois, I can still only take a few positives out of the performance. Those being the performances of Benni and we did not get beat.

Negatives from yesterday was the midfield was incredibly poor and in the first half especially both full backs did get the run around. Those blaming just Andrews obviously have blinkers on because N'Zonzi contributed just as poorly. Our best central midfielders yesterday were Salgado and Benni who were not meant to be playing there. It is a crying shame that our most creative player is the player who needs to be on the end of the play.

Why does Holliett turn and lay the ball back to the full back when he has space to move the ball forward. EHD and Pedersen do the same but I put down to lack of pace. I suspect the answer is simply a tactic from Sam.

I know we have no money but the next month could well be the most defining in the club's history.

[jonv]

After a night contemplating yesterday's match with my mates Carl Sberg and Stella Artois, I can still only take a few positives out of the performance. Those being the performances of Benni and we did not get beat.

Negatives from yesterday was the midfield was incredibly poor and in the first half especially both full backs did get the run around. Those blaming just Andrews obviously have blinkers on because N'Zonzi contributed just as poorly. Our best central midfielders yesterday were Salgado and Benni who were not meant to be playing there. It is a crying shame that our most creative player is the player who needs to be on the end of the play.

Why does Holliett turn and lay the ball back to the full back when he has space to move the ball forward. EHD and Pedersen do the same but I put down to lack of pace. I suspect the answer is simply a tactic from Sam.

I know we have no money but the next month could well be the most defining in the club's history.

every month seems to be the one that will define us at the moment

[thenodrog]

Said the man who threatened to give up his season ticket and take up golf on a SAturday when Ince was appointed?????

Thank you for pointing out to the board the difference between foresight and hindsight Rev. One is a rare and valuable gift whilst the other is a much more common failing.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

every month seems to be the one that will define us at the moment

Yes but with the transfer window we desperately need to do something. Play with yesterday's team many more times and we'll be in those relegation places very quickly and heading to Deepdale next season.

[Inta Beaver]

2 questions

Why does Nelson crouch over when a cross comes in? He bends down and tries to hold the striker and by doing that he can't jump! He did the same against Crouch last week, he is not on his toes for when the cross comes in.

Why are we not sending 2 people out when teams play a short corner? I didn't go the game yesterday but noticed on MOTD, we did the same against Birmingham away, it is basic football and I think Sam and his coaches have told them to stay and fill the box, anyone who has played football knows that you can't allow the opposition 2 on 1!!!

[thenodrog]

I think Hughes has been treated badly at City, but it's not surprising he's been sacked. This is modern football and if you spend £££m you demand results. Some of Hughes' City signings were good, some were "marque" signings he may not have influenced and some "kid in a sweetie shop" efforts. I'd argue the signings you mention were more about the price paid than the player purchased? I DONT THINK ANY OF THEM ARE WORTH THE MONEY PAID FOR VARIOUS REASONS.

I don't feel Andrews wanted to block that shot. OBVIOUSLY.... I'M CERTAIN SURE THAT HE DIDN'T WANT TO BLOCK IT! HE WOULDN'T HAVE DONE EITHER IF HE'D BEEN WATCHING THE BALL AND NOT GAZING SKYWARDS IN MOCK ANGST! SECOND WEEK RUNNING THAT 2 OF OUR PLAYERS HAVE BEEN AMATEURISH ENOUGH TO PASS UP ALMOST CERTAIN GOALS AND SPEW THE CHANCE OF 4 POINTS TO BOOT. REM BENNY LAST WEEK WAS RUNNING BACK WITH HIS HEAD DOWN AND COMPLETELY MISSED GOMES GIFTING HIM AN OPEN GOAL. AMATEUR MISTAKES THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN BUT FOR A LACK OF CONCENTRATION.

For me the disappointment yesterday was this; we should be winning away at Wigan, especially at Christmas with a big following. It was all nicely set up. We created very, very few chances in open play and in all honesty we can't do this. The big punt down field is desperate stuff to watch, I have no problem with the long ball but this is just "hoof ball." Again we played 4-5-1 with never more than three players getting forward which means we carry no threat to any defence. Di Santo was very poor and is either fed up with this system or can't play it, he's a good footballer but will not score goals for Rovers. My last point is Allardyce made no effort to change the game, Jacobsen for Chimbonda, who I like, was because he was having a poor game, Pedersen for Salgado was because Salgado was nackered and Roberts for Di Santo as Di Santo was achieving nothing. Going to 4-4-2 for the last 15 minutes might have led to something better.

THATS GUNG HO ROY RACE STUFF PAUL. MOST CLUBS IN THE BOTTOM HALF AND AWAY FROM HOME ARE HAPPY WHEN AT 0-0 TO LET THE HOME CLUB DO THE RUNNING AND TAKE A POINT HOME....... BTW YOU COULD AT THIS POINT SUGGEST THAT IS WHY THEY ARE IN THE BOTTOM HALF.