Academy & U21s

[Dreyski]

3 hours ago, bluebruce said:

Forshaw certainly was an absolutely pointless signing

Fleck 2.0

[KentExile]

Atcheson apparently taken off late with a head injury last night too

 

 

[KentExile]

Rovers U18s conceded 3 first half penalties but drew 3-3 away at Leeds U18s

Joseph (2) & Decandia for Rovers

Edited Saturday at 13:28 by KentExile

[arbitro]

Rovers u under 21's are at home to Leyton Orient tonight in the Premier League Cup. The game is being played at Lancashire FA HQ in Leyland and is free for season ticket holders.

Perhaps more in forlorn hope there might be a few first team squad players getting some game time. I use the word forlorn because in his tenure Ismael hasn't done so

[JPTSwindon]

Is this match on TV / online?

[KentExile]

2 hours ago, arbitro said:

Rovers u under 21's are at home to Leyton Orient tonight in the Premier League Cup. The game is being played at Lancashire FA HQ in Leyland and is free for season ticket holders.

Perhaps more in forlorn hope there might be a few first team squad players getting some game time. I use the word forlorn because in his tenure Ismael hasn't done so

Looks like Adam Forshaw won't be one of those, was taken off early last week and seems to currently be on holiday in Denmark

On the bright side, he is pictured cycling, so assume he is fit

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, KentExile said:

Looks like Adam Forshaw won't be one of those, was taken off early last week and seems to currently be on holiday in Denmark

On the bright side, he is pictured cycling, so assume he is fit

Maybe it's just me but I would have thought his rehabilitation and fitness levels would have been the priority. Having said that he is working for a manager who organised training the day before a game around his birthday celebrations.

Edit:

Mystery solved. What's good for the gaffer I suppose. 🤔

 

Edited yesterday at 09:17 by arbitro

[KentExile]

21 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Maybe it's just me but I would have thought his rehabilitation and fitness levels would have been the priority. Having said that he is working for a manager who organised training the day before a game around his birthday celebrations.

Edit:

Mystery solved. What's good for the gaffer I suppose. 🤔

 

What do we think are the chances that despite Atcheson likely being missing either due to a head injury or an international call up (if one doesn't stop him playing tonight, then the other will), Max Davies is also absent?

 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:34 by KentExile

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, KentExile said:

What do we think are the chances that despite Atcheson likely being missing either due to a head injury or an international call up (if one doesn't stop him playing tonight, then the other will), Max Davies is also absent?

 

 

As an office junior he won't be allowed time off 😀.

 

[bluebruce]

On 04/10/2025 at 11:36, KentExile said:

Rovers U18s conceded 3 first half penalties but drew 3-3 away at Leeds U18s

Joseph (2) & Decandia for Rovers

3 first half penalties is wild.

[KentExile]

Unlike Ismael & Forshaw, Davies is in work on his birthday 😉

score/update

 

[Torgeir]

Joseph 🔥

[simongarnerisgod]

i can`t understant this

why henrikson and sidnei ar`nt getting minutes and tyjon,who seemingly does`nt ever play for anyone,either send tyjon out on loan or put him in the first team squad,his development is`nt being helped by the current situation,he`s supposed to be the next big hope,the lad needs to play imo

[Tugayisgod]

11 minutes ago, KentExile said:

Unlike Ismael & Forshaw, Davies is in work on his birthday 😉

score/update

 

Good to see Joseph getting a run out at this level.  Physically he's a beast at u18 level , so it should be interesting to see how he goes on tonight. 2 up front with Boggan ?

[rigger]

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i can`t understant this

why henrikson and sidnei ar`nt getting minutes and tyjon,who seemingly does`nt ever play for anyone,either send tyjon out on loan or put him in the first team squad,his development is`nt being helped by the current situation,he`s supposed to be the next big hope,the lad needs to play imo

They all need to be played at a level that they can manage.

[Mashed Potatoes]

9 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i can`t understant this

why henrikson and sidnei ar`nt getting minutes and tyjon,who seemingly does`nt ever play for anyone,either send tyjon out on loan or put him in the first team squad,his development is`nt being helped by the current situation,he`s supposed to be the next big hope,the lad needs to play imo

Tyjon is with the England Under 18 squad this week.

[KentExile]

1 hour ago, Tugayisgod said:

Good to see Joseph getting a run out at this level.  Physically he's a beast at u18 level , so it should be interesting to see how he goes on tonight. 2 up front with Boggan ?

Yep, I think so, it looks like 4-4-2 to me with Powell left wing and Doherty on the right

other option could be Doherty or Boggan as a 10, and the other on the right , with Joseph up top in a 4-2-3-1, but 4-4-2 makes the most sense

Edit - it seems Boggan wide right, Doherty wide left and Powell as a 10 in a 4-2-3-1, nobody in the  midfield (Vare/Strich/Powell) strikes me as being naturally a sitting/holding type,

I will be interested to hear what those who were at the game think of the makeup of the side this evening

 

Edited 16 hours ago by KentExile

[KentExile]

6 hours ago, arbitro said:

As an office junior he won't be allowed time off 😀.

 

Do you have any idea what is up with Litherland and/or Dunn?  neither have played for the past few weeks

[KentExile]

1-0 up and Orient just gone down to 10

 

[KentExile]

Doherty, Boggan & Powell with the goals

[arbitro]

A win is a win and these have been in short supply for the under 21's this season so the objective was achieved but really they made hard work of it. I said after about 70 minutes that you couldn't tell that we had an extra player such was our lethargy. 

Going ahead and playing against the the men I expected much more but the play was quite insipid with very little intensity and far too often the easy option was taken. Orient deservedly equalised and Honour made a couple of smart saves and as the half time whistle went Batty, in an act of frustration volleyed the ball across the pitch. 

We toiled again in the second half but got the penalty which seemed to knock the stuffing out of Orient and the third came as a result of this although in between Orient did have another couple of chances which Honour dealt with.

The players were taken off the field twice during the match. On the first occasion it was just after we scored our second goal. Prior to the penalty being taken there was the usual gamesmanship and a couple of verbal spats. I wondered if something untoward had been said but just about as we were were entering stoppage time I heard the linesman telling a few players they were going off again.

Cue confusion as nobody had a clue what was going on. It transpired (I heard a steward talking) that there was a drone overhead and it was deemed (correctly in my view) unsafe.

 

[KentExile]

25 minutes ago, arbitro said:

A win is a win and these have been in short supply for the under 21's this season so the objective was achieved but really they made hard work of it. I said after about 70 minutes that you couldn't tell that we had an extra player such was our lethargy. 

Going ahead and playing against the the men I expected much more but the play was quite insipid with very little intensity and far too often the easy option was taken. Orient deservedly equalised and Honour made a couple of smart saves and as the half time whistle went Batty, in an act of frustration volleyed the ball across the pitch. 

We toiled again in the second half but got the penalty which seemed to knock the stuffing out of Orient and the third came as a result of this although in between Orient did have another couple of chances which Honour dealt with.

The players were taken off the field twice during the match. On the first occasion it was just after we scored our second goal. Prior to the penalty being taken there was the usual gamesmanship and a couple of verbal spats. I wondered if something untoward had been said but just about as we were were entering stoppage time I heard the linesman telling a few players they were going off again.

Cue confusion as nobody had a clue what was going on. It transpired (I heard a steward talking) that there was a drone overhead and it was deemed (correctly in my view) unsafe.

 

Was Powell actually playing as a 10, and Stritch & Vare as defensive midfielders, as shown in the graphic?

If so, it would possibly explain a lack of ability to control the game, Stritch & Vare look better further forwards to me, and Powell is a left back

Quite often this season, Dunn seems to have been playing in central midfield by himself, with 2 more attacking midfielders ahead of him, now it looks like he is injured alongside Litherland, as neither have played in a few weeks

Edited 2 hours ago by KentExile

[Parsonblue]

A win, against a more than impressive Orient outfit, is welcome after recent results.  However, if Orient's final ball had been better they could easily have got at least a point, even with ten men. 

I thought Brandon Powell was our best performer.  He seemed to have a roving commission and his pace and movement was a delight to watch. 

Orient looked a very skilful outfit.  Quick in attack, with one touch passes which left us struggling to keep up at times. A mixture of wayward shooting and a poor final pass let them down.

Honour looked confident in goal and made some decent saves.  He's a big lad but gets down well and seems to have good judgement.

Batty continues to be something of an enigma.  He ought to be a dominant figure at this level, with his experience, but at times looked disinterested and petulant.  He went missing when Orient scored and in my view needs a loan move for the second half of the season if he is to develop into the player we want him to be.

Up front, Joseph proved a handful in the first half before tiring after the interval.  He's still very raw but there does look to be potential there.

 

[arbitro]

13 minutes ago, KentExile said:

Was Powell actually playing as a 10, and Stritch & Vare as defensive midfielders, as shown in the graphic?

If so, it would possibly explain a lack of ability to control the game, Stritch & Vare look better further forwards to me, and Powell is a left back

Quite often this season, Dunn seems to have been playing in central midfield by himself, with 2 more attacking midfielders ahead of him, now it looks like he is injured alongside Litherland, as neither have played in a few weeks

Powell was playing wide on the left of a four. He was probably the pick of the bunch on the night.

Isaac Dunn was there but in a boot - a broken foot I believe. Litherland is injured but I'm not sure what it is.

Edited 2 hours ago by arbitro
Spelling error

[Parsonblue]

12 minutes ago, KentExile said:

Was Powell actually playing as a 10, and Stritch & Vare as defensive midfielders, as shown in the graphic?

If so, it would possibly explain a lack of ability to control the game, Stritch & Vare look better further forwards to me, and Powell is a left back

Quite often this season, Dunn seems to have been playing in central midfield by himself, with 2 more attacking midfielders ahead of him, now it looks like he is injured alongside Litherland, as neither have played in a few weeks

At times it seemed as if we were playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Frank Vare being the holding player.  In fairness, I thought the system was quite fluid and Powell was given a fairly free role.  I've always been a great fan of Powell from the first time I saw him with the Under-18s.  He has pace and despite his frail build, he's as hard as nails.  A really tough tackler and seems to have a football brain. 

At times Batty was popping up in a more central position when we were attacking and ended up being caught out of position when moves broke down.

As you say, injuries to Dunn and Litherland have caused issues in selection, but that's the nature of the beast with Under-21 football.  You rarely get the same eleven twice and we seem keen on switching players to play different roles.