[Archived] Rovers v Wigan

[den]

Apart from the 3 points the one thing that has to be taken from the last two games is that we have to continue with TWO upfront.

We haven't been playing with two up front.

We got hammered in midfield yesterday with 5 players in there. If we'd have gone 4-4-2 we could very easily have lost that game.

[thenodrog]

Definitely a push on Pedersen and from behind too, dirty *******

The free kick that lead to Wigan's goal, Gomez I think it was, was off balance and falling over before Jones was anywhere near him.

Clever if somewhat unsporting play. Gomez bought that by diving across Jones. Damien Duff bought one likewise for Fulham that brought their late equaliser v Villa.

Biggest prob with Jones was not getting tight to Roberts in the wall. If he had the free kick would have hit him. Whats wrong with linking arms in the wall to keep the wall together these days?

Edit: Just seen the highlights, great run from Chimbonda for Dunns shocking miss, I am one of Pascals fans on his day he is great, shame he is inconsistent

Great play by Dunn too to supply him. A brief glimpse of the old Dunny.

I, for one, would have gone mad if it had been given. Looked a definate shove on MGP from 12,000 miles away.

Wigan looked the better side, probably because that's what they are. Hardly Allardyce's fault, the fact that the likes of Wigan have better players than us is 100% the responsibility of The Walker Trust.

MGP should have headed that ball into the crowd for a corner rather than try and shield it for Robinson to collect. Amateurish defending. The old rule never to allow a ball to drop in the area still applies.

[thenodrog]

I think you will find the non-celebration was because he was scoring against his old team - and a club he got into the Premier League.

Sorry Alan I'm not having that. His statement to the press is just a load of old ######. Jason was only at Wigan for 2 years he's been here for over 4! We are his employer not them.

PLUS I've never seen any player come back to Ewood and not show delight when they score against us. It was a bloody sulk and thats that! Even MGP physically tried and failed to put a smile on his face in the ensuing 'celebration'. We know from previous experience that Roberts is a smacked arse when he's had his nose shoved out of joint by a manager.

Surely you don't believe everything you read in the press, do you?

So harsh, so harsh.

Roberts has always given 100% for Rovers, even when he's been brought in from the cold. He had every right to feel aggrieved this season, when Allardyce ditched him without as much as a squad number, despite failing to sign anyone who can do a better job. Lucky to be playing at this level? He was good enough to finish in a Top 10 side last season, and now he's back in the first-team. While far from the most gifted of strikers, Roberts really gets some unfair stick from his own fans. It's not his fault the club hasn't signed anyone who can keep him out of the side.

You obviously know what went on behind the scenes I take it? Care to tell us all?

[Majiball]

Drew 2 - 2 in cup away, replay at home now!!

Well done mate, here's hoping you can turn them over at home.

Bloody FC United.

We haven't been playing with two up front.

We got hammered in midfield yesterday with 5 players in there. If we'd have gone 4-4-2 we could very easily have lost that game.

I dunno. Wigans main weakness in their outfield is in the 2 centre backs. We may not quite have kept the midfield but we would have had good opportunity to exploit that area. But we would have had to play 2 deeper midfielders and have dropped Diouf MKII (from the wing) to make it work.

What happened to Ms Piggy???

[thenodrog]

You didn't watch AC Milan v Real Madrid last week then...

Which part of "I haven't watched Real at all" do you not understand Alan?

I did however watch the CL Final from last year though and I saw plenty there that night to back up my previous statement.

[RoyRover]

I haven't watched Real at all but I'd imagine they are a much more defensive outfit this season.

They aren't particularly defensive, just more solid defensively if you know what I mean. They've been playing some extremely open and attacking football over the past few weeks and have score a lorry load of goals.

As for our game, I saw the highlights of our game and it didn't look pretty, but a win is a win. We got lucky with both goals, as the keeper should have done a lot better with Pedersen's free kick and Roberts shinned effort barely scrapped in. But I couldn't give a monkey's, with the way we've been playing this season, we need all the luck we can get. I'm not looking forward to Spurs next week. We could get stuffed.

[MarkBRFC71]

I agree with 90% of that Den. That's why I'm muted with my criticism of the manager. I do have a problem with the way the players are being asked to play a certain style of football that doesn't seem to suit their abilities.

What worries me is that when you looked down the two team sheets, how many of Wigan's players would you pick over ours? Only N'Zogbia springs to mind. Yet Wigan pretty much dominated us for 90% of the game, and really should have won. We've enjoyed some large slices of luck this season (Pedersen's goal yesterday being the latest) - take those away and we'd be pretty much bottom of the league.

It's not all about the quality of player imo, it's as much tactics, motivation, coaching, and sometimes downright management ineptitude and stubbornness that have led to some pretty awful performances this season.

[Amo]

You obviously know what went on behind the scenes I take it? Care to tell us all?

Why don't you, since you're the one giving the character assassination?

[thenodrog]

So harsh, so harsh.

Roberts has always given 100% for Rovers, even when he's been brought in from the cold. He had every right to feel aggrieved this season, when Allardyce ditched him without as much as a squad number, despite failing to sign anyone who can do a better job. Lucky to be playing at this level? He was good enough to finish in a Top 10 side last season, and now he's back in the first-team. While far from the most gifted of strikers, Roberts really gets some unfair stick from his own fans. It's not his fault the club hasn't signed anyone who can keep him out of the side.

Why don't you, since you're the one giving the character assassination?

You seem to know why it happened. I know I don't. There must be a reason. If we read between the lines the liklihood is that SA wanted him out so he could bring in Piqquione or Popov or Lewandovski etc but once the window has closed to deny himself and the team the services of an available striker seems very odd. Maybe he wants him off the books by Christmas and this recent selection has been forced on him by Kalinic's poor season but if that is not the case then it must be a disciplinary issue. Surely you must agree? Or do you think that Jason Roberts is totally innocent and just forgot to send Sam a birthday card?

btw Always gives 100%? I'll not even go there Topman.

[nicko]

Sorry Alan I'm not having that. His statement to the press is just a load of old ######. Jason was only at Wigan for 2 years he's been here for over 4! We are his employer not them.

PLUS I've never seen any player come back to Ewood and not show delight when they score against us. It was a bloody sulk and thats that! Even MGP physically tried and failed to put a smile on his face in the ensuing 'celebration'. We know from previous experience that Roberts is a smacked arse when he's had his nose shoved out of joint by a manager.

Surely you don't believe everything you read in the press, do you?

You obviously know what went on behind the scenes I take it? Care to tell us all?

I didn't need to hear a Roberts quote to know what was happening in front of me. The minute he scored there was no flash of celebration and he deliberately played it down when his mates came over.

The same happened with a couple of players in other games yesterday - it's acceptable in my book.

Nobody could blame Roberts for being unhapy with his treatment this season. To take his squad number away and show him the door was a kick in the shorts. Funny he should now be your number one hope of a goal because Benjani can't stay fit and Wham Bam Diouf is hit and miss. Kalinic has not been seen since bottling it at Liverpool for 45 minutes.

Funny old game.

[rigger]

People keep compairing the Chelsea and Wigan results. I think it is far better to have taken points off Wigan, than off Chelsea, so in that case the last two results have both been acceptable.

[nicko]

Which part of "I haven't watched Real at all" do you not understand Alan?

I did however watch the CL Final from last year though and I saw plenty there that night to back up my previous statement.

So you didn't see Real play superb attacking football against AC Milan...and are basing your judgement on a tactical master class by Mourinho when he was coach at Inter...

You would have missed him sending on a winger for a right back and seeing him score the equaliser before being smart enough to send on a sub during the celebrations.

Mourinho is a class act.

But you stick to your pre-conceived opinions.

[RIML]

What worries me is that when you looked down the two team sheets, how many of Wigan's players would you pick over ours? Only N'Zogbia springs to mind. Yet Wigan pretty much dominated us for 90% of the game, and really should have won. We've enjoyed some large slices of luck this season (Pedersen's goal yesterday being the latest) - take those away and we'd be pretty much bottom of the league.

It's not all about the quality of player imo, it's as much tactics, motivation, coaching, and sometimes downright management ineptitude and stubbornness that have led to some pretty awful performances this season.

Wigan didn't create enough chances to win the game, if you think the N'Zogbia disallowed goal was a chance then look at this, he clearly had his arms all over Pedersen, stopping him from jumping for the ball, them he pushed him, the ref had a perfect view, correct decision.

Robbo made about three saves all of them were pretty much straight at him, Diame's effort was decent but Robbo equal to it and N'Zogbia flashed the ball across the face of goal, other than that they didn't look like scoring from open play, whereas we did score from open play (clearly onside) and Dunn should have scored late on. Wigan didn't deserve to win just because they had more possession and passed the ball better. We had the better chances and thoroughly deserved the three points.

[MeanGreenMachine]

I never seen so much ###### written by one person gordon. Wtf are you on?

Mourinho and SA from the same school of football management? Pull the other one. Wernt Inter the top scorers in the league while he was in charge?

Roberts didnt celebrate because he scored against wigan, a side that shown him some respect. Roberts has been mocked not only by the management but by a large section of the fans, bearing in mind he is the only striker we have with some quality who can create his own chances. I hope he leaves to get away from idiots like you who want to bang on and criticise everything he does.

/rant

ps give your head a wobble

[Hasta]

Wigan didn't create enough chances to win the game, if you think the N'Zogbia disallowed goal was a chance then look at this, he clearly had his arms all over Pedersen, stopping him from jumping for the ball, them he pushed him, the ref had a perfect view, correct decision.

Robbo made about three saves all of them were pretty much straight at him, Diame's effort was decent but Robbo equal to it and N'Zogbia flashed the ball across the face of goal, other than that they didn't look like scoring from open play, whereas we did score from open play (clearly onside) and Dunn should have scored late on. Wigan didn't deserve to win just because they had more possession and passed the ball better. We had the better chances and thoroughly deserved the three points.

We got the three points but didn't deserve it. Your picture doesnt tell the full story. Nzogbia is all over Pedersen because MGP suddenly stopped running for the ball and tried to block / shelter the Wigan player off. Had Nzogbia not put the ball in the net it probably should have been a free kick to them for obstruction! Robbos first save in the second half was a good one down to his left from a very good chance for Wigan. We carved only one clear chance in open play until Wigan had pushed everyone forward at the end. I'm not saying we deserved to lose but for long spells Wigan were the better side and should really have taken a point.

As for Roberts, the last two appearances just back up what I've said all along. He can make things, good or bad, happen. In just over 90 minutes on the pitch he has scored 1 and also got into a position to miss a sitter. The previous strikers this season have hardly been getting into the positions to miss sitters, let alone score. At the moment he is still the most effective striker we have got unless Benjani can stay fit top prove otherwise. We have no idea what went on in the summer between Roberts and Allardyce. However Allardyce seems to have made a disciplinary decision not to play Roberts only to have egg on his face and make a climb down come November when the 3 strikers he has brought to the club have proved to be no more effective.

[RIML]

We got the three points but didn't deserve it. Your picture doesnt tell the full story. Nzogbia is all over Pedersen because MGP suddenly stopped running for the ball and tried to block / shelter the Wigan player off. Had Nzogbia not put the ball in the net it probably should have been a free kick to them for obstruction! Robbos first save in the second half was a good one down to his left from a very good chance for Wigan. We carved only one clear chance in open play until Wigan had pushed everyone forward at the end. I'm not saying we deserved to lose but for long spells Wigan were the better side and should really have taken a point.

As for Roberts, the last two appearances just back up what I've said all along. He can make things, good or bad, happen. In just over 90 minutes on the pitch he has scored 1 and also got into a position to miss a sitter. The previous strikers this season have hardly been getting into the positions to miss sitters, let alone score. At the moment he is still the most effective striker we have got unless Benjani can stay fit top prove otherwise. We have no idea what went on in the summer between Roberts and Allardyce. However Allardyce seems to have made a disciplinary decision not to play Roberts only to have egg on his face and make a climb down come November when the 3 strikers he has brought to the club have proved to be no more effective.

Or he could have been positioning himself to head the ball

[John]

However Allardyce seems to have made a disciplinary decision not to play Roberts only to have egg on his face and make a climb down come November when the 3 strikers he has brought to the club have proved to be no more effective.

Roberts has been injured and not fit for most of this season hence why he has not been involved. He was not given a squad number because Sam was pretty confident another club would buy him in the window, which obviously never happened.

[AHoyle90]

Mourinho and Allardyce from the same school of Football, thats a cracker!

###### me

[bazza]

.....and whats your take on David Dunns miss at the end.

He's past it. A young Dunny would have buried it.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Does that matter at all? No. We lost. It was a good performance but one that doesn't count for a thing. Did it spur the team on today? Not in my book. The only thing that I can think spurred the players on in that game is that they had nothing to lose. I can't see how our o gracious manager had anything to do with the performance that day.

However...the Chelsea game showed that our players can play football...they can pass it around and create chances against the best. I've never doubted that. Fat bar steward simply knocks the confidence out of them in my opinion. They have the talent to play football and not sit back and take what they do. Yesterday we were up against a team you'd expect to comfortably play off the park...we didn't. We certainly didn't earn three points.

When you know what the team can produce but don't see it against a team of that stature and talent...it's only one man's fault in my opinion. His tactics worked by chance...and I haven't seen any post match interviews but I presume he's a mile high up his own ugly intestine right now.

Goal

Just checked Skysports.com and.....................no it wasn't.

[Exiled_Rover]

I never seen so much ###### written by one person gordon. Wtf are you on?

Mourinho and SA from the same school of football management? Pull the other one. Wernt Inter the top scorers in the league while he was in charge?

Roberts didnt celebrate because he scored against wigan, a side that shown him some respect. Roberts has been mocked not only by the management but by a large section of the fans, bearing in mind he is the only striker we have with some quality who can create his own chances. I hope he leaves to get away from idiots like you who want to bang on and criticise everything he does.

/rant

ps give your head a wobble

You do realise Roberts is terrible, right? I don't think he challenged for one ball whilst on the pitch. Not to mention his goal was a miss hit, again.

[den]

I dunno. Wigans main weakness in their outfield is in the 2 centre backs. We may not quite have kept the midfield but we would have had good opportunity to exploit that area. But we would have had to play 2 deeper midfielders and have dropped Diouf MKII (from the wing) to make it work.

We did exploit it - we won the game. 4-4-2 would amost have certainly allowed Wigan a freer run at our back four.

What happened to Ms Piggy??? - found out she was a trotters fan. Boom Boom.

[dubdubdub]

Just checked Skysports.com and.....................no it wasn't.

Dick

[MarkBRFC71]

We got the three points but didn't deserve it. Your picture doesnt tell the full story. Nzogbia is all over Pedersen because MGP suddenly stopped running for the ball and tried to block / shelter the Wigan player off. Had Nzogbia not put the ball in the net it probably should have been a free kick to them for obstruction! Robbos first save in the second half was a good one down to his left from a very good chance for Wigan. We carved only one clear chance in open play until Wigan had pushed everyone forward at the end. I'm not saying we deserved to lose but for long spells Wigan were the better side and should really have taken a point.

As for Roberts, the last two appearances just back up what I've said all along. He can make things, good or bad, happen. In just over 90 minutes on the pitch he has scored 1 and also got into a position to miss a sitter. The previous strikers this season have hardly been getting into the positions to miss sitters, let alone score. At the moment he is still the most effective striker we have got unless Benjani can stay fit top prove otherwise. We have no idea what went on in the summer between Roberts and Allardyce. However Allardyce seems to have made a disciplinary decision not to play Roberts only to have egg on his face and make a climb down come November when the 3 strikers he has brought to the club have proved to be no more effective.

Cheers Hasta, saved me the bother of replying since you've got it spot on. The disallowed goal should have stood (thankfully it didn't), and it was just stupid play by MGP. He seems to lack basic football intelligence at times, i.e. when to pass it short or when it needs to be cleared as far as possible.

[Ewood Spark]

Sorry Alan I'm not having that. His statement to the press is just a load of old ######. Jason was only at Wigan for 2 years he's been here for over 4! We are his employer not them.

PLUS I've never seen any player come back to Ewood and not show delight when they score against us. It was a bloody sulk and thats that! Even MGP physically tried and failed to put a smile on his face in the ensuing 'celebration'. We know from previous experience that Roberts is a smacked arse when he's had his nose shoved out of joint by a manager.

Surely you don't believe everything you read in the press, do you?

You obviously know what went on behind the scenes I take it? Care to tell us all?

John Stead didn't celebrate when he scored an equalizing goal for Sheffield Utd at Ewood several years ago.