Barnsley v Rovers, Wed 17th Feb

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I was texting my son after last nights game but he wouldn't reply. I could guess why. He's just replied now -

" That first half was as bad an half as I've ever seen, anywhere, not just Rovers ".

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, den said:

Gallagher might have been better playing central, but he’s still hopeless as a centre forward. He must be one of the worst we’ve ever had - and we’ve had some bad ones.

 

What makes it worse is we had a good look at him at Rovers. Then he had a really indifferent spell at Big Club before doing nothing back Southampton. There was no need to take the risk, for £5 million other options were available.

[den]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What makes it worse is we had a good look at him at Rovers. Then he had a really indifferent spell at Big Club before doing nothing back Southampton. There was no need to take the risk, for £5 million other options were available.

5 mill should have bought goals in this league. That would have made a huge difference to our league position.

Then add the 7 mill on Brereton and where would/should we have been?

Edited February 18, 2021 by den

[Blue blood]

9 minutes ago, den said:

Gallagher might have been better playing central, but he’s still hopeless as a centre forward. He must be one of the worst we’ve ever had - and we’ve had some bad ones.

Name me one successful rovers team that has had only one goal scoring striker? I mean, even 10/12 goals from a proper centre forward would have had us up there challenging.

 

Agree. Even 5 or so goals in a season but making 5-10 more for the team would be a massive difference. The problem with Gally isn't just the lack of goals it's his overall lack of contribution to the team/the way we play. 

Contrast this with Bereton in his very brief run of form. His style suited the team, helped us keep the ball and caused the opposition problems. Gally doesn't even add this. 

You can be limited and enhance a team - Kuqi and Roberts for example. Gally doesn't add anything, although in fairness out wide and right back he was always going to be up against it in this regard. 

 

 

[tomphil]

A lot of it comes back down to the money wasted on BB and Gallagher.

He's clearly shoehorning him in, although for me he looks better charging around and closing down up top that galloping up and down the wider position. You'd think though any manager worth his salt having attacking flair like Dack, Armstrong and Elliot would want a system that gets the best out of those 3.

Nightmares for moderate opposition defense especially ones exposed from a team pushing up like Barnsley do. He's terrified of that though, why not play a counter attacking style last night ?

Just typical Mowbray coming up with yet another system so he could shove in the City kid and Bennett and still find somewhere for the 5 million pound rod he's created for his own back.

Edited February 18, 2021 by tomphil

[Bigdoggsteel]

He has lost the players and his body language stinks. Get the Barnsley manager in. 

Thought Douglas looked decent last night. It's a pity our midfielders aren't as good on the ball as him, or Kaminski. 

[roverandout]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

My experience is of watching several Rovers teams that went out of the division at the wrong end. The one thing they had in common was players getting injured on a regular basis. I didn't know JRC and Johnson were back in  training. Call me a cynic but I'll be delighted if one of them doesn't go missing again before the end of the season.

The 99 team was a big example

[Ewood Ace]

42 minutes ago, 47er said:

Spare some sympathy for me then. I've been like this for months.

I've been like it since Leeds away 26th December 2018. 

[Ghost7]

Gallagher is a useful sub that needs selling when the opportunity arises. Any top 6 side in the division would see that. We're talking about him so much because Mowbray has been picking the wrong team for months now.

If he starts scoring in games off the bench as a centre forward, then give him the occasional start in the role. If not, he can continue to work on improving his first touch in the reserves.

[roverandout]

That last minute goal from Armstrong really irked me. A 2-0 defeat looks decisive. But a 2-1 defeat, Mowbray can play it off as a battling loss which it was a million miles from

[davulsukur]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

Spare some sympathy for me then. I've been like this for months.

Nar we won't get 70 points. Be lucky to hit 60.

31 points from 17 games to hit 70, never happening under Mowbray.

[Hasta]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

do you think it is really appropriate to post on here what Armstrong's girlfriend/missus has said after the recent problems with footballers being abuse online?

I agree with a lot of what you have posted post-match Chaddy although I am going to go off topic and pick you up on this.

If Arstrong's girlfriend has her profile set to public and is happy to comment  to the general public on her husbands footballing performance, then I'm pretty sure it's "appropriate" for that comment to be repeated on a football message board.

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Hasta

[Hasta]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I was texting my son after last nights game but he wouldn't reply. I could guess why. He's just replied now -

" That first half was as bad an half as I've ever seen, anywhere, not just Rovers ".

Don't get me wrong it was terrible. But as I said to my mate this morning, was it any worse than the first half against Middlesborough a few weeks ago?

The difference in that game was a good last 20 minutes of the second half and a goal that disguised that abysmal first half performance. As did kicking their lad in the eye.

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Hasta

[roversfan99]

4 hours ago, neophox said:

Think we will lose to lowly Forest on saturday and this mb will get to meltdown mode. Looking forward to it as it gets uglier around Mowbray. He comments is getting me provoked at the moment.

Why are you looking forward to it? We may well lose and all be a little more frustrated and angry yet Mowbray will remain in charge. What is exciting about that?

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

I feel so flat and annoyed that this season will not end in top 2 finish or playoff place. 

Yesterday performance wasn't good enough. But watching the game was dull and boring from start to finish. We didn't deserve anything from last night game. I like us playing 2 up front with Gallagher and Armstrong. Gallagher and Douglas was our best players. I did think the back 3 worked 1st half to a degree and I would like to maybe carry on playing it a couple of players changes. 

Armstrong took his goal well and Elliott's through ball was good. 

But the 2 goals were poor defending from not closing down or put a tackling in. 

 

Gallagher was appalling as always. First touch of a donkey and repeatedly lost the ball. Very much a teachers pet with the manager.

Views on dropping Nyambe from the squad?

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

He has lost the players and his body language stinks. Get the Barnsley manager in. 

Thought Douglas looked decent last night. It's a pity our midfielders aren't as good on the ball as him, or Kaminski. 

Why would he come here?

[booth]

1 hour ago, 47er said:

Spare some sympathy for me then. I've been like this for months.

For me, that time we signed a 19 year old kid who had barely played for a stupid amount of money when we badly needed defenders. It was at that point the penny dropped that Mowbray had a screw loose. I've tried to give the fellow a chance but he makes some spectacular blunders.

[Cuppliance]

4 hours ago, Richard Oakley said:

You are dismissive of the whole idea of dismissing Mowbray. You have a cavalier attitude to our losing three on the trot and, according to other posters, have not been playing well for a lot longer. You're quite content for us to be relegated, come the end of the season. You agree that we are playing relegation football, yet are unable to grasp that only a change of manger is capable of turning things around.

Mowbray's said he's aiming for 70 points, whereas 75 points is required, usually, for the playoffs. Mowbray has admitted the playoffs, which was the minimum acceptable standard at the beginning of the season, cannot be achieved under him. We will not end the season in the top 6, under Mowbray. We know that already, yet you're not on board with a change of manager, now.

I don't understand how you can say I'm dismissive of the whole idea of dismissing Mowbray when I said we should get a new manager if we don't make top 6. That's not being dismissive of the whole idea, more of middle point. I don't think we will make the top 6 but I can be proven wrong. I'm not content to be relegated, I just know we won't be relegated this season. We have too many points on the board and we would have to lose every game for the rest of the season. If he got sacked today I wouldn't be upset about it, I'd be more concerned about how these people pulling the strings would recruit the next manager.

[K-Hod]

I know it’s been mentioned a few times, but I honestly think he really crossed a line last night when he made the comment:

’we are the team we are, with respect to Blackburn Rovers, we haven’t been tearing it up in the premier league for a long time’.

Having previously said: ‘This is Blackburn Rovers, premier league winners. You have to have an ambition, you have to want to push on. I want to get this club to the premier league as fast as I can’.

I didn’t want to believe all the self preservation stuff, but he’s in the position where he’s blaming literally anyone and anything but himself. Cowardly.

[oldjamfan1]

1 minute ago, K-Hod said:

I know it’s been mentioned a few times, but I honestly think he really crossed a line last night when he made the comment:

’we are the team we are, with respect to Blackburn Rovers, we haven’t been tearing it up in the premier league for a long time’.

Having previously said: ‘This is Blackburn Rovers, premier league winners. You have to have an ambition, you have to want to push on. I want to get this club to the premier league as fast as I can’.

I didn’t want to believe all the self preservation stuff, but he’s in the position where he’s blaming literally anyone and anything but himself. Cowardly.

Absolutely 100% spot on.

[tomphil]

11 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

I know it’s been mentioned a few times, but I honestly think he really crossed a line last night when he made the comment:

’we are the team we are, with respect to Blackburn Rovers, we haven’t been tearing it up in the premier league for a long time’.

Having previously said: ‘This is Blackburn Rovers, premier league winners. You have to have an ambition, you have to want to push on. I want to get this club to the premier league as fast as I can’.

I didn’t want to believe all the self preservation stuff, but he’s in the position where he’s blaming literally anyone and anything but himself. Cowardly.

Every season he's changed the narrative to suit himself though. All the big bold talk and targets then when he realizes he and them are falling someway short again he flips it on its head.

We go from being this historic, ambitious big club with great owners and its sights firmly set on trying to get up the league. To little old Rovers with a strict budget, not much going for us other than to be happy to be where we are.

The man is oozing so much shite these days i'm surprised his clothes aren't hanging off his bones by now.

[Bbrovers2288]

1 hour ago, Ewood Ace said:

I've been like it since Leeds away 26th December 2018. 

I’m with Tyrone, warning signs were there in promotion season when in the majority we played poorly bar doing enough in short spells to win games. Great chance to get a brand of style with the team and used it to play loan folk out of position. Baffling really

[Richard Oakley]

1 minute ago, Carbz said:

I don't understand how you can say I'm dismissive of the whole idea of dismissing Mowbray when I said we should get a new manager if we don't make top 6. That's not being dismissive of the whole idea, more of middle point. I don't think we will make the top 6 but I can be proven wrong. I'm not content to be relegated, I just know we won't be relegated this season. We have too many points on the board and we would have to lose every game for the rest of the season. If he got sacked today I wouldn't be upset about it, I'd be more concerned about how these people pulling the strings would recruit the next manager.

Mowbray has already admitted we won't have the points to get into the playoffs. Your own words were if we don't finish in the top 6,  we should change the manager. We know we aren't going to get in the playoffs under Mowbray. Now. Yet you won't. You're not content to be relegated. If you want to keep Mowbray 'til the end of the season, you are content to be relegated. This , you realised and flipped to not being upset were Mowbray sacked today.

Losing every game until the end of the season is entirely too likely based on our performances over the past 3 games.

Now, you shift the goalpost to doubts about those doing the selecting of a new manager. That's not a reason to keep Mowbray.

[rovers11]

I think TM is certainly feeling the heat now. At the beginning of the season he was saying "we're blackburn rovers, we have to expect to be challenging for the top 6". Now the line has changed to "We're only blackburn rovers, we haven't been in the prem for years so we need to be realistic".

I agree that we haven't been a prem league force for years and we shouldn't expect to be challenging for promotion simply because we were once a very good prem league team. However, what we should expect is that a club with one of the most talented squads in the division  should be challenging for promotion, not 10 points off the pace. Do Cardiff, Barnsley, and even Reading have better squads than ours? 

I think TM knows the job is beyond his skillset but this is his last big payday. He's not going to give that up lightly. Would you? 

[Ghost7]

49 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Don't get me wrong it was terrible. But as I said to my mate this morning, was it any worse than the first half against Middlesborough a few weeks ago?

The difference in that game was a good last 20 minutes of the second half and a goal that disguised that abysmal first half performance. As did kicking their lad in the eye.

 

 

What about the win at home to Millwall? The last minute goal from Armstrong. Millwall could have easily won that game 4-1. It was an appalling performance, December 2 and a win. I couldn't believe we won it.

The previous game was Barnsley, we won 2-1 here is a quote from the site's match report Nov 28 "Although Rovers weren't at the races in the first half". He cannot get the best out of any squad, regardless of its quality.

We have been underperforming since November. The manager is simply crap, nice enough guy but absolutely terrible. He's making some of the most promising kids in the country look substandard.

Last season other clubs were envious of our squad, pundits admired the options and it was significantly better this year. How he hasn't been fired already is beyond me. As Nixon says he's well protected and the fans not being in the ground is helping him cover up some horrendous games of football.

Somebody higher up needs to intervene this week.

[tomphil]

I'd like to know just what this well protected is all about.

Maybe just having his mate as CE or is it deeper ?

Then again it is Nixon so might just be assumption the same as most of us.

[JHRover]

You learn a lot about people by how they react when under pressure (even if only limited or perceived) and their conduct during the difficult times.

Extreme end of the scale - Kevin Keegan- recognised the way things were going and threw in the towel at Newcastle twice, England and City, passing up millions in potential compensation because he was man enough to accept he was struggling and he wasn't going to hang around and let things deteriorate further.

Others let their teams do the talking and fight back with impressive results.

Some just refuse to do the decent right thing and hang on for dear life/ a pay off despite the clear signs. This is normally where a board of directors comes in as they take the decision out of the managers hands. Eventually. No such possibility at the good ship Rovers with captain Mowbray and his loyal assistants in tow.