[Archived] GAME THREAD - Hull City Home 12/13

[Ferrit]

Oh dear.....he's back.

They always come out of the woodwork when their hero manages to muster up a win. It's not very often.

I have never understood the fans antipathy toward Bruno. I saw him at Moracambe and Killmarnock last pre-season and thought he looked quite tidy

Some would say almost like a young Denis Irwin.

[Rover_Shaun]

I think you are very wrong, which is slightly worrying as it may well mean that we are stuck with Kean all season and, quite possibly, even into the next on the back of a successful promotion campaign.

The truth is that our squad is of superior quality to the vast majority of this league. Even with an incompetent manager employing terrible tactics and picking the wrong players we will probably have enough to beat most sides in this league.

More hope than reality as our team is just like Hull. A turgid pile of donkey plop

[ABBEY]

Awful. So, so boring.

Only the D.E sang really, and were the only ones giving Kean stick in a soulless, quiet, empty Ewood.

Mid table mediocrity written all over it.

Er no you wernt the only ones .

I was there and we were lucky, awful performance.

100% correct.

I have never understood the fans antipathy toward Bruno. I saw him at Moracambe and Killmarnock last pre-season and thought he looked quite tidy.

On tonight's game:-

Really enjoyed the victory. Hull attempted to 'park the bus' and it looked for a while that their tactics might succeed. The double substitution was the key to unlocking the puzzle ... with Murphy finding somebody on his wavelength in Gomez.

As for the atmosphere ... much better than the negativity of most of last season with the majority of the 'numpty brigade' giving Ewood a wide berth ... I'm sure this will help the young lads such as Fabio settle-in.

Ffs. Hull could , no should have have been 3 up by the time your heroes team mustered a shot on target!!!

You really are a lowlife .

Give over ... a lot of those 'gone AWOL' tonight would have been more interested in the result from Stamford Bridge than Ewood. Those who CARE where THERE.

Jhc we win a game and mr fan tastic appears.

[RoyRover]

All I know about this division is last night and I agree if Hull are typical it's there to be won. The problem for me is we showed no sign of the drive, desire and ambition I would hope to see in a promotion seeking team. We have to be much, much better, especially at home if there is to be any chance of getting the crowds to return. The performance was very poor and more likely to turn folk away.

Under Souness we had a young, vibrant and exciting side which battled for promotion. Now we have a very average squad, lacking real talent and no player to excite the fans.

Yes it appears promotion is there to be won but on the evidence of last night we won't take the opportunity. We don't have the players to do it.

Agreed. I think on paper we have a couple of players that give us an advantage over most teams. But in reality, we are a slow lacklustre team, with no direction and is continuing on from where we left off last season and the fact is that we aren't much better than Ipswich or Hull, while that tool stays in charge.

"The thing that I'm focusing on is wins and clean sheets.

We've managed to get a really good point on Saturday, a clean sheet today, scored a goal and I'm sure by the time we get another couple of victories the fans will be happy."

If Kean thinks a few wins will appease the fans and make us forget about all that he and Venky's have done and said then I've got new for you Steve. You could win the World Cup and we still wouldn't want you. You are not welcome at our club and will NEVER be accepted.

[Parsonblue]

Give over ... a lot of those 'gone AWOL' tonight would have been more interested in the result from Stamford Bridge than Ewood. Those who CARE where THERE.

I couldn't disagree more strongly with this remark. I was staggered with the number of hard core supporters - fans of 30, 40 and 50 years standing, fans who suffered the drop from the old First Division to the Third in the sixties and early seventies - who sit around me in the Jack Walker upper and who have not renewed. The club cannot afford to lose the hard core fans for without those fans the future is bleak. To suggest that those fans don't care is simply burying your head in the sand.

[Kelbo]

Just one point I think we should make here, I always believed teams winning games and playing badly could just have a chance of promotion, but we have Kean and as Robbie Savage stated on 5 live, up to the intoduction of Gomez, we had absolutely nothing and the first time their keeper had a save to make was well into the second half!!

There will be teams which I think will muller us this season!!

[Parsonblue]

I think you are very wrong, which is slightly worrying as it may well mean that we are stuck with Kean all season and, quite possibly, even into the next on the back of a successful promotion campaign.

The truth is that our squad is of superior quality to the vast majority of this league. Even with an incompetent manager employing terrible tactics and picking the wrong players we will probably have enough to beat most sides in this league.

I'm not convinced Eddie that this squad is strong enough to win promotion. It's nowhere near as strong as the one Kenny took us up with and is much weaker than the one that Souness had in 2000-01. There are key positions which look particularly weak and we haven't got the depth in reserve that is going to be needed, particularly when you have a number of players in their mid-30's. Two or three more experienced signings might make all the difference but thus far we've struggled against two sides who are hardly likely to finish in the play-off places. The big plus for me last night was the fact that Bruno got a game. He really struggled last season in the Reserves but it seems to have a bit more confidence and he's certainly been impressive in pre-season. Even though he wasn't in his favoured position when he came on I think he deserves a bit of a run to see what he can do.

[The Rover of Finland]

Does anyone really know why Vukcevic isn´t playing? He did play last midweek for his country and should be fit. He played just few times last season but did have some sort of a nose problem. The lad would be one of the best players in this league and yet we play Lowe in his position.

What about Mauro? He did have a bad game at Ipswich but he really isn´t a winger. He should play behind a striker and now there was Dunny who is almost done. Mauro wasn´t even on bench.

Ruben could also have played instead of Dunny but hasn´t been even on bench neither of matches. He did tweet last Friday that he is fit but not travelling.

Why doesn´t Henley get gametime? He did play well few times last season and should be a very good energic wing back in this level. The clown plays winger rather than Henley at left back and Bruno is ahead of him also.

Goodwillie didn´t make to the bench last night. He isn´t world beater but is an attacker which is what we are lacking.

Does anyone know what´s going on at the club? Are these players simply disliked by Kean?

[Gav]

Give over ... a lot of those 'gone AWOL' tonight would have been more interested in the result from Stamford Bridge than Ewood. Those who CARE where THERE.

Don't talk about of your backside man, you've posted some nonsense over the past 12 months but that takes the biscuit.

Just on the game itself, I didn’t go, I listened to the radio commentary, it was dire stuff by the sounds of things with Hull deserving a point, this is Hull for goodness sake, we’re in real trouble if they persist with this Kean in charge.

My mate text me last night

“I predict our current position is the highest position we’ll be in all year”

[eire3382]

So a lucky result in a match that could have went either way and against a poor side and kean thinks we are off on our promotion way.

We will be vey lucky to make the play offs and that is purely down to if the fat one is sacked.

We have to be realistic and say if we stay mid table this year then the players will have done well. They have little direction to follow and no tactics.

[Paul Mellelieu]

Just one point I think we should make here, I always believed teams winning games and playing badly could just have a chance of promotion, but we have Kean and as Robbie Savage stated on 5 live, up to the intoduction of Gomez, we had absolutely nothing and the first time their keeper had a save to make was well into the second half!!

There will be teams which I think will muller us this season!!

72 minutes for their keeper to make a save.

[Ossydave]

Well playing badly but still winning often reaps rewards but we aren't going to be so lucky every week. Hull were dreadful, I'm sure leicester won't be that poor.

Also got to ewood in record time and the queues at the bar were significantly smaller so stay away you rebels and leave us 'Rovers Fans' to it....

[Gav]

I'm not convinced Eddie that this squad is strong enough to win promotion. It's nowhere near as strong as the one Kenny took us up with and is much weaker than the one that Souness had in 2000-01. There are key positions which look particularly weak and we haven't got the depth in reserve that is going to be needed, particularly when you have a number of players in their mid-30's. Two or three more experienced signings might make all the difference but thus far we've struggled against two sides who are hardly likely to finish in the play-off places. The big plus for me last night was the fact that Bruno got a game. He really struggled last season in the Reserves but it seems to have a bit more confidence and he's certainly been impressive in pre-season. Even though he wasn't in his favoured position when he came on I think he deserves a bit of a run to see what he can do.

This squad is extremely poor Parson I couldn't agree more, that coupled with a very poor manager the signs are not looking great..

72 minutes for their keeper to make a save.

Very worrying indeed.

[RibbleValleyRover]

People seem to think it will be an easy division to get out of after seeing 2 games, methinks they are in for a rude awakening.

Listened to the game and I thought the performance was a typical Kean one. Couldn't keep possession, slow paced, far too deep at times and a pathetic all round performance. Wonder what we are going to do when Kazim Richards' goals dry up? Let's face it he's not an out and out goalscorer and those goals will eventually dry up.

Looking at the squad and the tactical acumen on the manager I'm confident to predict right now that Rovers will not get promoted,

[Rover_Shaun]

so stay away you rebels and leave us 'Rovers Fans' to it....

You are more than welcome to watch that snail paced load of dogcrap Dave

[Mercer]

I think you are very wrong, which is slightly worrying as it may well mean that we are stuck with Kean all season and, quite possibly, even into the next on the back of a successful promotion campaign.

The truth is that our squad is of superior quality to the vast majority of this league. Even with an incompetent manager employing terrible tactics and picking the wrong players we will probably have enough to beat most sides in this league.

I think this a a perception that many Rovers' fans suffer from.

We saw it on this MB last season and we are seeing it now.

I'm with Jim, we wont make top 10 unless Kean goes.

[1864roverite]

Greetings from Spain.

12500 Rovers fans ? Says it all.

Result made me smile Attendance speaks volumes.

KEANSCUM AND AGNEW OUT

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

72 minutes for their keeper to make a save.

Sounds familiar?..even more shocking when its in this p!ss poor league.

[Waggy76]

I think you are very wrong, which is slightly worrying as it may well mean that we are stuck with Kean all season and, quite possibly, even into the next on the back of a successful promotion campaign.

The truth is that our squad is of superior quality to the vast majority of this league. Even with an incompetent manager employing terrible tactics and picking the wrong players we will probably have enough to beat most sides in this league.

I do not think our squad is of superior quality at all , we do have an incompetent manager whose tactical acumen is zilch !!!!

Players like Dann , Goodwillie , Orr , Formica, Rochina , are very poor indeed ... Cannot comment on the portugese players except Nuno Gomez but I fear the worst ....Dunn by all accounts is finished , Murphy probably got 1 more season in him ...Last time we went down we good young hungry players Dunn , Duff , jansen etc I do not see anyone with half their ability in the team at present ...

People like Kean , Shebby , Agnew and to a lesser degree Shaw (not sure what he does , besides drawing a wage) should be hounded out of the club ...

[heysham rover]

My take on the game last night was that it was insipid dross. Hull came for a draw and showed abolsutely zero desire to make an impact on the game or go for the win. We looked fairly comfortable for the first 20 minutes and had it been for better cut back from Lowe and Nunes we could and should have been 2 goals to the good. Again late in the first half Markus made a terrible decision to shoot when he should have passed. Hull created very little and the only times they 'threatened' and I use that word lightly is when we decided to pinball the ball of our own players when a simple clearance would have sufficed.

Hull are supposedly promotion contenders, if that is the standard of our rivals then we should be grabbing this league by the scruff of the neck and really challanging. Playing 100's of passes across the back 4 and 3 holding players isnt going to strike fear into the hearts of other sides, Hull were happy to let us play in front of them last night as we looked devoid of any real creativity, showing very little ability to work the channels and get behind their back 4. CKR ran willingly and is a handful but he is clearly not a striker, his choice of run was at times poor and looked very isolated. We are crying out for a left back as Markus was terrible in the first half, he gave the ball away 4 times without being pressured, I wasnt impressed by Nunes who is in my opinion a flick merchant. He may have looked good on trial against oppo's who dont tackle but I fear his brand of play isnt suited to this league, step-overs on the halfway line get you nowhere.

On a positive note I was very impressed with Etuhu who I thought had an excellent game, the back 4 looked fairly comfortable. There are some positives to take in terms of players performances/abilities however it all hinges on having a manager who has tactic awareness, nouse and a general understanding of playing patters and the way in which to set a team up. Kean is sadly lacking in all areas.

[longsiders1882]

If Hull turn out to be a relegation outfit then you might be right. But not if they are representative of the general standard of the Division. It's impossible to overemphasise how poor they were after having watched Premiership football for the majority of the last 20 years.

On the evidence of the opening 2 games the Division is there for the taking with the addition of some firepower up front.

Ipswich were poor and should have been seen off by two or three goals but we allowed them to escape by sitting back in the second half. It's a characteristic of Kean's sides and will happen time and time again this season. The league isn't "there for the taking" because we don't have a proper manager and our old, tired team will struggle against young and hungry teams like Burnley. On the evidence of the Ipswich match and from I have heard about the Hull game I stick by my assertion that we will struggle to make the top 10.

I think you are very wrong, which is slightly worrying as it may well mean that we are stuck with Kean all season and, quite possibly, even into the next on the back of a successful promotion campaign.

The truth is that our squad is of superior quality to the vast majority of this league. Even with an incompetent manager employing terrible tactics and picking the wrong players we will probably have enough to beat most sides in this league.

I've probably got more experience of the Championship than you lads so let me try and put some perspective here for you.

Firstly I think this years league, on paper at least, looks as strong as it has in a decade but I wouldn't really put Ipswich and Hull as two of the obvious top 6 candidates. Additionally a lot of teams can take a few games to settle so I wouldn't start to judge just yet. Also you've a lot more games so losing a bit of ground early on isn't quite as problematic as it can be in the PL.

Your squad, again on paper, looks as strong as any and stronger than most. No reason at all that you shouldn't be competing at the very top of the league. That doesn't mean you'll win every game nor indeed that you won't lose unexpectedly to so called un-fancied teams (I'm hoping for two of those results myself). That is the nature of this league. Rarely is it 'there for the taking' but with your squad and the money you've spent you'd absolutely expect to be top 2 or 3.

I heard Robbie Savage on the radio last night saying he thought your squad was the strongest in the league, he pointed to your midfield triangle, he also said he didn't think Kean was the right man to lead you. If you have an Achilles heel then it would still appear to be sitting in the managers seat.

[glen9mullan]

4 points from 6, and have played badly both games. I'd take that at this stage as the mission has to be promotion.

Ipswich were really poor, I expected a lot more from Hull though as they were one of the best teams in the Championship towards the end of last season. They came for a point, grew in confidence as the first half went on, but had no cutting edge and Robbo had a comfortable evening.

At the other end we was not much better, 1 up front at home in the Championship is negative tactics, but play bad and win, I will take that all day long

Kean is not the man to take this team back up, and our squad has a lot of square pegs at present.

Ewood was rather quiet which can only be expected with the low crowd, was quite a good atmosphere in the Darwen end, both in the stands and on the concourse at half time.

Its nice to wake up today with 4 points, because this can be built on, but my early thought of the championship is the standard is very low, and with that it gives us half of chance

[broadsword]

We win a game and Venky's Spark rears his ugly little head again. How surprising.

[Rover_Shaun]

I'm sorry but I've never been able to take those people who ring radio phone-ins and say " I wasn't actually at the game but I listened on radio" seriously

I'm afraid if you choose not to go - and I don't blame you - your opinion on the 90 minutes action is worthless, however I might respect your overview of the general situation

Hogwash.

The radio fully conveyed that it was a disjointed load of old horsep1ss. I didn't need to pay Venkys to know exactly how we played thanks to the descriptive skills of radio commentators (not radio lancs)

[RibbleValleyRover]

I'm sorry but I've never been able to take those people who ring radio phone-ins and say " I wasn't actually at the game but I listened on radio" seriously

I'm afraid if you choose not to go - and I don't blame you - your opinion on the 90 minutes action is worthless, however I might respect your overview of the general situation

Ok i'll bite.

Care to point out what exactly I said was way off the mark in my analysis of tonight's performance based off forming an opinion by listening to the game on the radio. Was the performance dire? Did Rovers often sit far too deep during the game? Was the general attacking pace of the game slow?

Fair enough I won't post again on anymore of the game threads this season.