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[roversfan99]

9 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I presume James McLean will start left mid tonight. I can't see him getting much change out of Nyambe to be fair as his main move is to try and kick it passed the full back and that's not going to get you far against Nyambe. He will keep going though, so need to keep alert. If Johnson or Travis get near him, we could have an incident though  

Thankfully one of the biggest bell ends in football is injured and thus cant score again v us. Played Powell left at the weekend.

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, DE. said:

These lads got smashed 4-2 by QPR on 15th Feb, beaten 2-0 by Preston on 12th Feb and also got hammered 4-0 by Derby on 31st Jan. Nothing to fear if we're positive and go for it from the off.

Exactly.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Played Powell left at the weekend.

The second biggest!

[Bigdoggsteel]

5 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Thankfully one of the biggest bell ends in football is injured and thus cant score again v us. Played Powell left at the weekend.

Ah ok.

I don't agree he is one of the biggest bell ends in football mind, far, far worse than him going around. He doesn't dive, I wouldn't say he is dirty. He miss times some tackles, but I would say he tries to play the ball. Why do you think he is a "bellend"?

To be honest though, whatever about him personally, I think he is useless. Headless chicken.  Maybe better if he was there instead of Powell. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[roversfan99]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ah ok.

I don't agree he is one of the biggest bell ends in football mind, far, far worse than him going around. He doesn't dive, I wouldn't say he is dirty. He miss times some tackles, but I would say he tries to play the ball. Why do you think he is a "bellend"?

To be honest though, whatever about him personally, I think he is useless. Headless chicken.  

Just very much a wind up merchant. When he comes to Ewood like most grounds there is always a pantomime villain aspect and I think he is a bit nasty at times too. Seems very arrogant too. Agree that hes not very good but I remember him scoring in the 4-3 win at the end of the season when we were going for the play offs under Bowyer, I remember him also scoring at the DW in a 1-1 draw, both for Wigan, so I am glad that he isnt playing.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

Just very much a wind up merchant. When he comes to Ewood like most grounds there is always a pantomime villain aspect and I think he is a bit nasty at times too. Seems very arrogant too. Agree that hes not very good but I remember him scoring in the 4-3 win at the end of the season when we were going for the play offs under Bowyer, I remember him also scoring at the DW in a 1-1 draw, both for Wigan, so I am glad that he isnt playing.

He snarls a bit alright, but he's not arrogant from what I can gather. Very down to earth and humble actually. To be fair to him he has been put in the position of "pantomime villain" due to his stance on the Poppy and the absolute savage, sectarian abuse he receives week in, week out because of this. If it was a black player, receiving similar abuse , it would be the biggest story in world football. Anyways, lets hope Nyambe can keep Powell quite. 

[WacoRover]

We’re currently 4th at the Championship, with 50 goals. We’ve allowed 40, which ranks us 9th (tied with PNE). +10 in GD.

Stoke has scored 43, tied for 16th, & allowed 53, tied for 19th. -10 in GD. True, they are in better form than before. But, Rovers are playing for something. They are playing to avoid something. 

If our lads can’t get up for this one, at home, I don’t know when we ever will. It will be hard-fought, tense, & at times doubtful, but,

2-1. 

 

[chaddyrovers]

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

At 2 nil up in the second half, standing mid game in the top 6, you wouldnt have taken a 2 all draw.

I felt frustrated that we had thrown away our 22nd and 23rd points of the season, a big concern of mine and passed up a huge chance to break into the top 6. I also felt very frustrated about their penalty. There is nothing wrong with being frustrated in such situations.

I have already explained why we drew that game. I'm more frustrated with shocking levels of performance by match officials in the championship then by Rovers performance in this game. 

Well since I am one of the few members of this site who actually thought we had a good chance of playoffs a few games even tho we have no Dack, Rothwell or Holtby. 

Now back to Stoke game, I think this will tough game. Stoke have good squad but we have the players to trouble them. I feel Stoke Key players are Allen and Campbell tonight. Our key players are Armstrong and Downing. 

[speeeeeeedie]

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I wasnt criticising the mentality of the players.  Perhaps its a result of years and years where we have spent most of the time ambling along in the Championship, often with outside chances of success without ever actually even breaking into the top 6, maybe people think it is unrealistic and unfathomable to suddenly start being ruthless, to start going to top 6 rivals and potentially winning games. I also think some people as @PeteJD13 says dumb down expectations purposely to ensure that if they are not met, there is that defence mechanism in place. There is nothing wrong with for example being frustrated not to be able to see out a 2 nil lead (not for the first time this season) against a top 6 side, especially when a portion of the blame is at the referees door. Its very difficult having been in that position to just coldly revert to, well I would have taken a point beforehand. Equally, when you play 5th bottom at home, and you want the top 6, you should expect a win, it goes without saying that it wont be easy, but a top 6 team would eat up an opportunity like that 9 times out of 10, if not more. Also, every match day, any dropped points will likely be capitalised on by our rivals, if we want top 6/promotion, we should view every game as winnable. I felt that there was an inferiority complex on here going to Brentford on Saturday. It is understandable but if we are to move from mid table fodder to promotion challengers as we seem to be doing, that mindset must change, we can beat anyone.

That dumbing down mentality is part of the culture of East Lancs. It's easier to start your disappointment off early rather than be optimistic and look foolish if it doesn't go as planned.

Each of the 12 fixtures Rovers have left need to be considered must win games. A home game against a bottom 6 team, albeit in good form, should be the first.

[Sparks Rover]

38 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I have already explained why we drew that game.

The font of all footballing knowledge

[JHRover]

It may well be tough but the sides that achieve things find ways to win when the pressure is on and there's a carrot dangling to close that gap and make a statement. 

Truth is that if tonight at home is the sort of fixture that causes panic and apprehension against a poor struggling albeit improved side then we are going to have a rough end to the season. The next two, Swansea and Derby, are more difficult fixtures yet we need a decent chunk of points from. Failure to win tonight puts huge pressure on those. I'd rather not be going to Derby under pressure to win, nor indeed v Leeds or WBA 

[1864roverite]

Tough game I will be trying to watch from a corona virus free bar in Tenerife??

[Bigdoggsteel]

I just checked the remaining fixtures for us, Fulham, Brentford and Bristol city. We have the best on paper. Which means we will probably be out of contention in 4-5 games. 

[oldjamfan1]

11 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I just checked the remaining fixtures for us, Fulham, Brentford and Bristol city. We have the best on paper. Which means we will probably be out of contention in 4-5 games. 

Would you just stop it now ha ha ha

[Bigdoggsteel]

6 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Would you just stop it now ha ha ha

I know, I know, it's pointless looking at this stuff... But as the Nottingham forest manager said in his interview after the game last night  "If we can't dream now, then when can we dream?" 

[WacoRover]

I’m dreaming of a playoff place; but, trying to look no farther than Stoke is hard to do! 

Must win tonight. That’s as far as I will go! 

[Fraserkirky]

24 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I know, I know, it's pointless looking at this stuff... But as the Nottingham forest manager said in his interview after the game last night  "If we can't dream now, then when can we dream?" 

Print that and put it up in there he changing rooms. Starting to get nervous, looking forward to team news 

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 minute ago, Yoogo said:

Nothing wrong with feeling good about supporting Rovers. Everyone's feel-good factor is at different levels.

Not to piss on your chips, though, but there are a few factors that I realise about our situation...

Even a win tonight still sees us two points off the pace, whereby we still need favours and it's not in our hands (yet). Of course, teams will drop off, but we could just as easily be one of them. Until we have a sustained period in the top six, I won't be letting my mind wander too far forward!

I think we also need to be wary of analysing our fixture list. We know that any team is capable of beating any team in this league without warning. Just look at last night's results. Did anybody really expect Luton to come away with anything against Brentford? Let alone win! There were some superb results, but we are still more than capable of falling into the same trap. Wigan, Barnsley, and Luton away... They are not givens by any means.

Our injury list (even when Rothwell returns) is still on the unfortunate side, in spite of our upturn in form since the turn of the year. Can we realistically carry on in the same vain for another two months or more? It's certainly a concern.

In spite of "concerns", this is the best I've felt as a Rovers supporter since Steve Kean took over at the club. It feels like the club has some order, and it's so much nicer to be talking about events on the pitch and the "can we make it?" stuff rather than all the crap that went before. Let's get past Stoke tonight, however which-way, and take it step by step. The mountain is easier to look at like that!

#COYB

Ah I'm not getting carried away,I think there is about a 5% chance of us making the play offs and roughly a 0.5% chance of us actually winning them. 

[Wegerleswiggle]

1 minute ago, Yoogo said:

Nothing wrong with feeling good about supporting Rovers. Everyone's feel-good factor is at different levels.

Not to piss on your chips, though, but there are a few factors that I realise about our situation...

Even a win tonight still sees us two points off the pace, whereby we still need favours and it's not in our hands (yet). Of course, teams will drop off, but we could just as easily be one of them. Until we have a sustained period in the top six, I won't be letting my mind wander too far forward!

I think we also need to be wary of analysing our fixture list. We know that any team is capable of beating any team in this league without warning. Just look at last night's results. Did anybody really expect Luton to come away with anything against Brentford? Let alone win! There were some superb results, but we are still more than capable of falling into the same trap. Wigan, Barnsley, and Luton away... They are not givens by any means.

Our injury list (even when Rothwell returns) is still on the unfortunate side, in spite of our upturn in form since the turn of the year. Can we realistically carry on in the same vain for another two months or more? It's certainly a concern.

In spite of "concerns", this is the best I've felt as a Rovers supporter since Steve Kean took over at the club. It feels like the club has some order, and it's so much nicer to be talking about events on the pitch and the "can we make it?" stuff rather than all the crap that went before. Let's get past Stoke tonight, however which-way, and take it step by step. The mountain is easier to look at like that!

#COYB

You haven't just pissed on my chips but I think your dog has too!!!?

I know exactly what you are saying though. It's hard to be hopeful supporting Rovers these days. 

I fancy us tonight but think Saturday might be a bigger test of our stature. 

[Wegerleswiggle]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ah I'm not getting carried away,I think there is about a 5% chance of us making the play offs and roughly a 0.5% chance of us actually winning them. 

So you reckon we are a 200/1 shot for promotion. I'll have a fiver please on that!!!

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, Wegerleswiggle said:

So you reckon we are a 200/1 shot for promotion. I'll have a fiver please on that!!!

4000/1!

[Bigdoggsteel]

14 minutes ago, Wegerleswiggle said:

So you reckon we are a 200/1 shot for promotion. I'll have a fiver please on that!!!

 

7 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

4000/1!

Ya,about that ? it's easier this way 

Just got the game on ifollow-sweet!!

[davulsukur]

[Sparks Rover]

I'd have kept DS in

[LDRover]

Hmmm, only one poster on here adamant, insistent even that Rothwell wouldn't start