[Archived] Villa Semi Final 2Nd Leg

[Boz]

Very proud this morning of my team; the players, the management, the supporters and all things Blackburn Rovers.

I was delighted that we gave it a go.

Well done!

Perhaps everyone might draw a line under everything that has gone on before now and really get behind BRFC as one, starting next Wednesday against Wigan.

[jim mk2]

Watching the 1st Villa goal again, Agbonlahor gave Nelsen no more than a nudge yet Nelsen collapsed in a heap. The question is why, because if he was looking for a foul he was playing a very dangerous game. Defenders have to be stronger than that. Dunn also failed to keep track of Warnock on the back post.

The 2nd goal should never have happened too. Hopeful lob over the top by Heskey, Samba on his heels and out of position and then compounds his errors by making a technically poor and unnecessary challenge in the area. Givet did the same in the FA Cup tie at Villa. Why do they do it ?

After that, the Rovers defence inevitably crumbled.

Samba's limitations have been exposed over recent months but I'm worried about the prospect of the combination of Givet and Nelsen in central defence in the next few games. Neither have physical presence or pace.

[JAL]

Didnt see the game but hearing we were 2-0 up and then lost 6-4 is very disappointing. We made Villa look good, 2-0 up should have been game set and match from our multi million pound paid players .

Then to hear Allardyce blaming the official is pathetic, especially when O'Neil correctly points out that they should have had two penalty's at Ewood park.

When Samba was sent off were was Robinson as Agbonlawhore raced in on goal ? was he rooted to the spot just like he was against Bent at Ewood, or Kalou in the quarters. Robert Green showed us only days before what you've got to do when somebody like Agbonlawhore races through on goal, out quick, make the goals smaller and bag your opponent up. Seems Mimms and Robinson just arent capable of figuring it out, if so, then BOTH should be bombed out of the club.

It was critical moment in the game obviously you've got to ask were was Samba and Nelsen when he got away, and how was the ball played through to him in the first place, but Robinson has shown alarming weakness when it comes to dealing with a one v one situation.

Just knew Brads understudy isnt a 'good un', just a pity we had our frailties aswell.

[thenodrog]

I was there and much of this post is nonsense. As for your attack on ABBEY I can only hope the admins/mods have a long hard look at it.

Don't be so bloody pathetic Paul. 'Running to teecher' should have been hammered out of you at school. That post might not have concurred withy your opinions but it was a decent post and it was hardly a viscous attack. Lots of people including Abbey have done far worse in the past and he certainly has broad enough shoulders and thick enough skin not to need your smarmy brand of protection. Abbey does over use capitals, he does attack others, he does wind folk up and recently he is seeking to damage BRFC at every possible opportunity in order to attack Allardyce and undermine his position. I know cos I did similar with that cockney clown Ince.

Why do you feel the need to protect anyone anyway? I've had far worse posts directed at me without a cheep from from you. Worst of all you were a member of admin for years and you never lifted one bloody finger in the face of much worse abuse except to ban me the minute that I inevitably retaliated.

[tonyoz]

Hmmm...I can't do the "Proud in defeat" thing; maybe I've lived in Oz too long. At the end of the day we have lost another semi-final. I can't put the blame on Samba though, his telescopic tackles are his trademark and they have got us out of trouble many times in the past. On this occasion he got the timing badly wrong but there you go.

Even after his indifferent performances over recent games, he is still the best defender we have in my opinion.

I have been a big MGP critic this season but he looked a different player in central midfield - could be something for the future here!

6-4..............what's that all about? It's a bit surreal innit?

[Hughesy]

Watching the 1st Villa goal again, Agbonlahor gave Nelsen no more than a nudge yet Nelsen collapsed in a heap.

YOU should of gone to fooking specsavers then mate - watch the BBC highlight where they zoom in on the offence. He clearly pushes Nelsen in the back with 2 arms (you say a nudge) - it then bounces through and onto Heskey's hand! Im sorry but you cannot blame Nelsen for that...im his biggest critic but that wasnt his fault. The 2 handed push could knock any player off balance if unexpected.

Didnt see the game but hearing we were 2-0 up and then lost 6-4 is very disappointing. We made Villa look good, 2-0 up should have been game set and match from our multi million pound paid players .

Then to hear Allardyce blaming the official is pathetic, especially when O'Neil correctly points out that they should have had two penalty's at Ewood park.

When Samba was sent off were was Robinson as Agbonlawhore raced in on goal ? was he rooted to the spot just like he was against Bent at Ewood, or Kalou in the quarters. Robert Green showed us only days before what you've got to do when somebody like Agbonlawhore races through on goal, out quick, make the goals smaller and bag your opponent up. Seems Mimms and Robinson just arent capable of figuring it out, if so, then BOTH should be bombed out of the club.

It was critical moment in the game obviously you've got to ask were was Samba and Nelsen when he got away, and how was the ball played through to him in the first place, but Robinson has shown alarming weakness when it comes to dealing with a one v one situation.

Just knew Brads understudy isnt a 'good un', just a pity we had our frailties aswell.

You didnt see the game......Enough said! You didnt see the Rovers spirit and the effort our boys put in. The game was swung by 1 cock up from the ref!

[jim mk2]

When Samba was sent off were was Robinson as Agbonlawhore raced in on goal ? was he rooted to the spot just like he was against Bent at Ewood, or Kalou in the quarters. Robert Green showed us only days before what you've got to do when somebody like Agbonlawhore races through on goal, out quick, make the goals smaller and bag your opponent up. Seems Mimms and Robinson just arent capable of figuring it out, if so, then BOTH should be bombed out of the club.

Not sure how you can criticise Robinson without seeing the goal.

In fact, he was doing everything correctly, standing tall in front of Agbonlahor and preparing for the shot only for Samba to make a stupid and unnecessary challenge.

Robinson had a fine game last night although questions have to be asked about the 4th (or 5th goal ?) from a corner when the ball was bundled into the net after no one challenged the cross in the 6-yard box.

[Silencio]

Samba's limitations have been exposed over recent months but I'm worried about the prospect of the combination of Givet and Nelsen in central defence in the next few games. Neither have physical presence or pace.

I'd be a bit worried about the 2 together because both are slow and one of them (Nelsen) is not really good enough.

[tonyoz]

Samba's limitations have been exposed over recent months but I'm worried about the prospect of the combination of Givet and Nelsen in central defence in the next few games. Neither have physical presence or pace.

Yes, I think we will miss the big guy. For some reason he has been below par recently - let's hope he can get his head together during his suspension.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Would have been nice too to have heard Big Fat Pam say how well his team played and all that etc....... instead of whinging about the ref

We've got another saying up here- " If the cap fits, wear it. "

[Kelbo]

What an idiot you are.

But anyway...

I can’t have all this ‘ref stopped us’ that’s come from the Fat Yam-Yam. Things have a funny way of evening themselves out in football. Last week we should have had two penalties, this week Agbonlahor puts his hand’s on Nelson’s back and no foul is given. That’s karma for you.

I’d be disappointed to be honest with Nelson for falling over. A big bloke like him should struggle to be toppled by a little fella like Gabby with a genuine push, so for him to topple over after only slight contact would aggrieve me. Was it a foul? Probably, but then again, you could have been coming to Villa Park 3-0 and not 1, but we didn't get the penalties and you didn't get the free kick.

We were woeful in the first half an hour and you really gave it a good go, making for some fantastic entertainment. A proper semi-final.

As for the comments about invading the pitch, that’s just supporters being pleased to get to Wembley, which is where every club wants to be. All the ‘small time’ comments seem like sour grapes.

Gabby should have been sent off!! The laws are quite clear, persistant infringement of the laws of the game, the ref blew up no less then 8 times for infringements from him, now if that is not persistant, tell me what is and he didnt even get a yellow, yet one foul from our lads and the yellows waved straight away!! As for the 'nudge' on Nelsen, every pundit on T/V saw it as a foul as did the commentator, the balls coming right on to Nelsens head, so why would he roll over and as the pundits said, that decision changed the game for Rovers were more likely at that stage to go 3 up than Villa score and with half time looming it would have been curtains for them!!

[JAL]

Not sure how you can criticise Robinson without seeing the goal.

Robinson had a fine game last night although questions have to be asked about the 4th (or 5th goal ?) from a corner when the ball was bundled into the net after no one challenged the cross in the 6-yard box.

True, it goes back to the two goals we conceded against Chelse cup, and Sunderland in the league were I thought Robinson showed schoolboy ability in dealing with both situations. Was linking this to how Green dealt with a similar siuation he faced on saturday at Villa Park.

Seeing another shed load of goals hitting the back of the net you begin to doubt the keepers ability luckily Fulham shot straight at him anywhere else and it seems to be in the back of the net.

[Silencio]

True, it goes back to the two goals we conceded against Chelse cup, and Sunderland in the league were I thought Robinson showed schoolboy ability in dealing with both situations. Was linking this to how Green dealt with a similar siuation he faced on saturday at Villa Park.

Seeing another shed load of goals hitting the back of the net you begin to doubt the keepers ability luckily Fulham shot straight at him anywhere else and it seems to be in the back of the net.

Your right JAL and I think replacing him in the summer should be one of the priorities. He is a poor goalkeeper, no doubt about it in my mind.

[JAL]

Gabby should have been sent off!! The laws are quite clear, persistant infringement of the laws of the game, the ref blew up no less then 8 times for infringements from him, now if that is not persistant, tell me what is and he didnt even get a yellow, yet one foul from our lads and the yellows waved straight away!! As for the 'nudge' on Nelsen, every pundit on T/V saw it as a foul as did the commentator, the balls coming right on to Nelsens head, so why would he roll over and as the pundits said, that decision changed the game for Rovers were more likely at that stage to go 3 up than Villa score and with half time looming it would have been curtains for them!!

When Nelsen fell, we still had Samba and Chimbonda there to deal with the situation, Allardyce has no credibility in blaming the ref !

[BuckyRover]

Give it a rest Jal. The reason he appears to make world class saves but still concedes loads is the fault of the defence.

He will be our keeper for many years, you should probably get behind him.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I'm not Robbo's greatest fan but I thought he did well last night. He couldn't do much about the first, made a good attempt at the pen. I was disapointed with the third, but we conceded plenty like that one even with Brad in goal. The fourth was deflected just inside the post, he lost out on a one v one with Heskey for the fifth and for the last Young put his shot right in the corner.

[jim mk2]

Give it a rest Jal. The reason he appears to make world class saves but still concedes loads is the fault of the defence.

He will be our keeper for many years, you should probably get behind him.

Agreed. We are lucky to have Robinson.

[Parsonblue]

When Nelsen fell, we still had Samba and Chimbonda there to deal with the situation, Allardyce has no credibility in blaming the ref !

Rubbish! The referee is paid to get those decisions right. You don't watch the game - by your own admission - but are an expert on everything that happened! Those of us at Villa Park saw it was a foul at the time and Sam was right to point out that the referee and linesman weren't up to the job.

[Silencio]

Give it a rest Jal. The reason he appears to make world class saves but still concedes loads is the fault of the defence.

He will be our keeper for many years, you should probably get behind him.

Are you sure he will be "our keeper for many years"? Allardyce was looking at alternative keepers as early as last January from what I remember and once he has cleared the real deadwood I would expect Robinson and Nelsen to be next on their way out. I would hope so because Robinson is at fault for a large percentage of our goals. Every keeper in this league is capable of making "world class saves" but few make as many mistakes as Robinson does...

[JAL]

Give it a rest Jal. The reason he appears to make world class saves but still concedes loads is the fault of the defence.

He will be our keeper for many years, you should probably get behind him.

'World class saves' I wish Bucky

Looking for more consistancy. The other point i'm trying to raise is, is Mimms the right man to improve Robbo ?

[G Somerset Rover]

The only thing I'd critisise Allardyce for in his post match comments is moaning about Agbonlahore/Milner's goal. He said it clearly came off both hands after watching numerous replays of the incident. It really didn't. It hit the guys waist area and unfortunately for us rolled in.

We were completely 'done over' in my eyes for the first goal, but I can't complain with Villa fans who say that perhaps they should have had a penalty in the first leg for Chimbo's hand ball.

That's football - it comes around and it goes around and this morning it is a bleddy bitter pill to swallow.

I'm still proud of the boys for last night, but lets hope as a team that we take heart from this and push on, starting with Wigan next week. I am extremely worried about our inability to stop the opposition from creating numerous chances against us, but I'd like Sam to adopt a philosophy somewhere in between that of George Graham and Kevin Keegan's. We look good, really good, when we attacked last night so lets see more of the same. Equally we look like rabbits caught in headlights when we try to contain teams - that's just not us.

[jim mk2]

Young put his shot right in the corner.

The 6th goal was a lovely piece of skill by Young.

Young has no left foot so Nelsen correctly covered his right foot as the forward moved into the area. Young then did a shimmy which threw Nelsen off balance and created a gap for Young to slot the ball into the corner.

Young is deemed to be having a poor season but he's tormented us this season.

[CrazyIvan]

I always saw this game as a one-off. A game where league position doesn't matter, prior form doesn't count and the players go on the pitch with just this game in mind. It was brilliant. I can't praise the players highly enough for fighting hard until the end against all the odds. Being a goal down from the first leg and then having a ref who ignored the most blatant of fouls for Villa to get back into the game was hard enough but with 10 men? They weren't in it until the Warnock goal because we'd dominated and Niko had scored two.

Big Chris made a mistake in tackling Agbonlahore. It's a simple as that and we paid the price for it. Anyone calling for him to be sold because of knee-jerk reactions (and there are a few!) need to get a life. Defenders make challenges and sometimes get them wrong. This one was bad but if you consider Givet's challenge on Carew in the FA Cup just a couple of weeks ago at the same ground and compare them, Givet's was way more idiotic.

So, given two goals each, we went into the second half. Big Sam stood on the touchline about to make a substitution and they scored the 3rd or 4th, can't remember which, but Dunn was a passenger at that point and we were effectively 9 men. They have their tails up and score the 5th. It was at this point most of us thought it would be a rout. So here's Martin Ollson in the box with his back to goal and the ball over his head. Overhead kick and we've scored again. Rovers were still fighting and Emo scores one. It's getting twitchy and you hear the Villa fans go very quiet. We're STILL singing and Rovers are still pushing. Unfortunately Young got free and scored the 6th for them. All this while we were still pushing forward and obviously tired from playing 4 games in 10 days and a lot of this game with 10 men. Surprisingly, Rovers fans weren't too unhappy in fact we were, and still are, immensely proud of our team.

I'm also very proud of the fans who were there singing and taking the mickey out of the Villa fans. (Sh1t support, my lord etc...) The song that really made me laugh, 'Heskey's sh!t, my lord, Heskey's sh!t' and the follow up to the Villa reply of 'Heskey's scored...' was 'He's still sh!t, my lord...'.

Genuinely, it was a game and a performance from the players that we can be proud of. Rovers never gave up.

It was one hell of a game.

(Our coach there and back was crap though! )

[JAL]

Rubbish! The referee is paid to get those decisions right. You don't watch the game - by your own admission - but are an expert on everything that happened! Those of us at Villa Park saw it was a foul at the time and Sam was right to point out that the referee and linesman weren't up to the job.

Its been pointed out that Ryan did go down a tad to easy, obviously the ref didnt buy it from the big Kiwi.

Rovers had players covering him. Because they failed to deal with it, we should repoint the focus on the referee. Just hope back in the changing room Allardyce is asking why they didnt deal with it rather than focusing on the referee.

[Hughesy]

Rubbish! The referee is paid to get those decisions right. You don't watch the game - by your own admission - but are an expert on everything that happened! Those of us at Villa Park saw it was a foul at the time and Sam was right to point out that the referee and linesman weren't up to the job.

The BBC commentators talked about Robbo for England, JAL talks about him going from Ewood for not being good enough The mind boggles.

It all boils down to 1 thing again - his replacement & who could we replace him with that isnt going to cost us a bomb & is going to be around for the next 8 years like him.

Its been pointed out that Ryan did go down a tad to easy, obviously the ref didnt buy it from the big Kiwi.

Rovers had players covering him. Because they failed to deal with it, we should repoint the focus on the referee. Just hope back in the changing room Allardyce is asking why they didnt deal with it rather than focusing on the referee.

YOU didnt see it!

First man Nelsen - Fouled

2nd man Samba - Handball by heskey

3rd man - let Warnock in....

2 fouls prior to the ball reaching Warnock!

As for the 4th goal - it hit agbonlawhore's elbow and changed direction (Was going wide) - therefore the ref & lino had to decide & again missed it!