v Swansea City (h) - 7/8/21

[Bigdoggsteel]

7 minutes ago, arbitro said:

It's really good to start with a deserved win with lots of pleasing aspects to admire. No disrespect to any Rovers players but Armstrong would have had a hat trick today and that is what I believe will bite us on the backside over the course of the season. The pressing game won it for us today as Swansea were over playing in the wrong areas time and time again. The work rate was good today as was the intensity with which we played.

As I said a win is a win but Mowbray worries me enormously. His changes resulted in players moving about and we lost some momentum with this disruption. It's simple for me, if you are comfortable in the game just go like for like and maintain the control you have by keeping the same system. In my book Mowbray handed the initiative to Swansea who could have stolen a point they didn't look like getting.

Worked all the same, but I take your points. We take the win and on we go! 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Bigdoggsteel

[Stuart]

17 minutes ago, Hasta said:

No he just anticipates it going into the corner and  steps to his left and the guy puts it straight down the mIddle.

Highlights - https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/12375694/blackburn-2-1-swansea

The save not long after was a cracking save though.

Fair dos, very odd that.

[Bigdoggsteel]

One of the defenders should have stopped that shot for their goal. It was poor defending 

[lraC]

31 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

If he's taking penalties 1000/1 is very high. He will get double figures 

I think so too. 

[Polky]

Very enjoyable afternoon, I thought Bucko, Travis and Rothwell worked really well together. Quite impressed with Ayala at the back, won pretty much every ball in the air. Roll on Tuesday 😬 

[alex l]

8 minutes ago, JoeH said:

@Sparks Rover Please tell me you can admit Bucko's played a blinder in that 1st half? I know you really don't rate him, but surely he's impressed you today?

The first half from Bucko was brilliant, as good an all round 45 I can remember from a rovers player. Lost count of how many times he nicked the ball or intercepted it, superb pass leading up to the goal, which we know he has in his locker. Lost his way in the second half, I think I once heard Tugay, on the rare instances he lost a ball, would spend 5 mins just playing simple passes to rebuild his rhythm. Bucko could have done with that. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

If he's fit, Ayala is surely the best centre half we have had since been relegated? What ye reckon? 

[roversfan99]

Really enjoyable to be back at Ewood today, it felt like we had never been away, there was a buzz and a good atmosphere and we witnessed a good match and most importantly a win.

I will say that Swansea at home is as easy a game as we are likely to face all season. Not only are they massively depleted without Woodman, Guehi, Hourihane, Ayew etc, but they seem to have downgraded in the dug out, Martin seems desperate to play what is nowadays deemed "the right way" to play football, and it played into our hands with their players especially their keepr unable to play from the back, a hungry and vibrant Rovers team had too much.

I know it won't be popular but Mowbray deserves credit for his game management today, his choice of midfield wont suit all games but it showed so much energy and he also got his subs right from as weak a bench as I can ever remember, including bringing on Carter, Swansea barely threatened. The one major question is the Dolan central and Gallagher wide right experiment, I still dont agree with it personally but Dolan does press better than anyone else and with him winning the penalty and Gallagher scoring, I suppose you cant argue with it today.

My main worry is that the team we put out does not have many goals in it, if we had Armstrong today I think that we could have chalked up a 4 or 5 goal tally as we did last year. Dolan's energy is infectious but he is still so raw and his shooting is particularly weak, he wont score many goals and simply cant be our striker going forward. Brereton and Gallagher both had limited involvements really and Butterworth was bright with a couple of excellent contributions although should have done better on the counter attack.

The midfield was very good in the main, Travis was very good, Buckley was superb in the first half (what a ball for the first goal) especially with his pressing yet horrendous in the second, a few "I told you so" type posts on here but simply he has never put in performance levels like that before across a whole game really, lets hope this is his season. Rothwell summed himself up with that miss at the end when a simple square ball seals the win, decision making is often poor, although his ability to drive forward with the ball is really important, overall the three did really well, Davenport was fine when he came on too. Ayala was very good and a contender for man of the match, if only he wasnt injured so often as him and Lenihan are proper defenders, both full backs were fine too, Kaminski made a horrendous error for the goal but made 3 decent saves aside from that.

 

 

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Enjoyed that. Great to be back and a good atmosphere. Hard to read where we stand at the end of it but can’t fault the effort or commitment. 

No one really stood out although I thought Ayala was a calming presence. Dolan was charging down everything and it was no surprise that we eventually benefited from it. 

We don’t look clinical and it hurts to see a natural striker in Gallagher marooned on the wing when Dolan is scuffing shots into the keeper’s arms. I’m taking it for what it is and not reading more into it.

Hope more fans gradually come back through the doors because if the team continues to play like that they’ll deserve the support.

[lraC]

16 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Where on the site do you find bets like that btw?

It was on Rovers specials, create a bet. I couldn’t believe the odds.

[Cherry Blue]

Outstanding by Rovers players and fans down at Ewood today. MOM for me was Kaminsky with a cool first half stop preventing Swansea on probably their first attach. Playing from the back like they did must have been talked about at half time and Donlan took advantage. 

Enjoyed being back seeing familiar faces and being part of the Blackburn End version of Sweet Caroline.  

[imy9]

5 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

If he's fit, Ayala is surely the best centre half we have had since been relegated? What ye reckon? 

It’s the hope that kills you! 
I would agree with you…but he will probably only pay 10 games this season!

[chaddyrovers]

23 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Well done chaddy, you've been waiting a fair while for that haven't you?

🙂

Yes I have. The last 18 months has been tough missing live football and not being there cheering your team on. Nothing beat it

[Bigdoggsteel]

8 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Really enjoyable to be back at Ewood today, it felt like we had never been away, there was a buzz and a good atmosphere and we witnessed a good match and most importantly a win.

I will say that Swansea at home is as easy a game as we are likely to face all season. Not only are they massively depleted without Woodman, Guehi, Hourihane, Ayew etc, but they seem to have downgraded in the dug out, Martin seems desperate to play what is nowadays deemed "the right way" to play football, and it played into our hands with their players especially their keepr unable to play from the back, a hungry and vibrant Rovers team had too much.

I know it won't be popular but Mowbray deserves credit for his game management today, his choice of midfield wont suit all games but it showed so much energy and he also got his subs right from as weak a bench as I can ever remember, including bringing on Carter, Swansea barely threatened. The one major question is the Dolan central and Gallagher wide right experiment, I still dont agree with it personally but Dolan does press better than anyone else and with him winning the penalty and Gallagher scoring, I suppose you cant argue with it today.

My main worry is that the team we put out does not have many goals in it, if we had Armstrong today I think that we could have chalked up a 4 or 5 goal tally as we did last year. Dolan's energy is infectious but he is still so raw and his shooting is particularly weak, he wont score many goals and simply cant be our striker going forward. Brereton and Gallagher both had limited involvements really and Butterworth was bright with a couple of excellent contributions although should have done better on the counter attack.

The midfield was very good in the main, Travis was very good, Buckley was superb in the first half (what a ball for the first goal) especially with his pressing yet horrendous in the second, a few "I told you so" type posts on here but simply he has never put in performance levels like that before across a whole game really, lets hope this is his season. Rothwell summed himself up with that miss at the end when a simple square ball seals the win, decision making is often poor, although his ability to drive forward with the ball is really important, overall the three did really well, Davenport was fine when he came on too. Ayala was very good and a contender for man of the match, if only he wasnt injured so often as him and Lenihan are proper defenders, both full backs were fine too, Kaminski made a horrendous error for the goal but made 3 decent saves aside from that.

 

 

I only remember him getting fouled and think it was him who played the sublime ball to Rothwell, which he should have scored or squared. Thought he did really well. 

When you have Dolan closing down from the front, it brings a different energy. A few have mentioned here we look a better unit and team without Armstrong and I would agree. Hopefully that deal gets wrapped up ASAP. 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Bigdoggsteel

[Miller11]

I didn’t expect that at all, and pleasantly surprised is a big understatement.

Buckley’s first half performance was incredible. Very confident this is the season he really marks his arrival. He absolutely bullied Grimes!

Great to see both Brereton, sorry, Diaz and Gallagher on the score sheet. Diaz would’ve had another with a better ball from Rothwell at the death.

No complaints about anything on the pitch.

It was good to be back, and very quickly felt like I’d never been away. Would’ve been nice if they’d cleaned the ground up properly and done a few repairs. The tannoy at the back of me in the Riverside has finally given up the ghost after years of threatening to do so.

 

[Ulrich]

We won, well chuffed as at best I thought we would draw. Still baffled by our front three setup was it SG on the left today? 3 points in the bag and a great way to start the season.

[roversfan99]

5 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I only remember him getting fouled and think it was him who played the sublime ball to Rothwell, which he should have scored or squared. Thought he did really well. 

When you have Dolan closing down from the front, it brings a different energy. A few have mentioned here we look a better unit and team without Armstrong and I would agree. Hopefully that deal gets wrapped up ASAP. 

There was one when Butterworth ran down the right and he had a pass on to Davenport, that closed off so he went himself with a weak shot at the keeper then lost it. The ball to Rothwell was excellent as was when he received the ball from Pickering heading a cross away, touched it drove forward and got a Swansea player booked. Makes sense to start him on Tuesday with a thin squad, I would also start Chapman and Carter and wrap the impressive Ayala in cotton wool.

It does, but I think with how Swansea played, Armstrong would have had 2 or 3 goals today, so depends what is meant by a better team. Although we do need it wrapping up as it doesnt benefit anyone for it to linger, we need to bring in some players ourselves.

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, Ulrich said:

We won, well chuffed as at best I thought we would draw. Still baffled by our front three setup was it SG on the left today? 3 points in the bag and a great way to start the season.

Brereton left, Dolan central, Gallagher right.

[Paul Mellelieu]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Great 3 points, suspect wins will be like gold dust this season.

TBF up until we scored the second that was better than almost anything we saw last season. Whilst you still suspect we'd do better with Dolan out wide and BB and SG central, Dolan's harrying and work rate was phenomenal, I'd have given him MOM despite a few wrong choice of passes and weak shots.

After we went 2 up we contrived to make very hard work of the remainder of the game. Terrible sub on 83 mins from Mowbray,  Carter for Dolan which pegged us right back.

Overall though very enjoyable, and very refreshing seeing the enthusiasm of the young lads instead of dollopers like Evans/Bennett/Trybull etc.

Butterworth looked sensational in a couple of bursts he did then looked puffed out after a 50 yard run.

Nyambe, what a player.

Even with these lads, we'd still do better with another manager.

Sure I saw RB clapping along to "TM's Blue and White Army."

[Roverinbelfast]

27 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

If he's fit, Ayala is surely the best centre half we have had since been relegated? What ye reckon? 

100% agree. He's a class act when fit 

[Paul Mellelieu]

A very pleasant afternoon and a northern Spanish white to accompany my whole sea bass and fennel. 

The match exposed the paper-thin nature of the squad, but shout-outs to the back four, to Rothwell and to the subs who all did well.  I don't know about Dolan or Buckley to be honest.  

Let's hope we can get a few more down the EP in forthcoming games.

[Angry_Pirate]

My takeaways.

1) I enjoyed that, not sure the dad with 3 kids sat in front of me did.

2) Swansea played the most pathetic and bizarre tactics (for a whole hour, then off and on till FT) that I have ever seen. Bewildering. Many teams would have been 4-0 up when it was still 0-0.

3) Buckley gets a clean slate this season for me, but let's calm down with calling it a career game. He was awesome for the goal and was good the first hour. Second half he was a little tunnel visioned. Still, I'll give him a strong 7.5/10.

4) We can't only score 2 goals when above average teams would have scored 6.

5) Rothwell definitely shot, and shouldn't have. Diaz was on the line and was almost an impossible angle.

6) Dolan, as a pressing forward, sign me up. But my christ I think I could hit a football harder with a snooker que using my weak hand. If he's going to wear the #10 and play the (false) #9, he needs to seriously get working on his shooting, power and decision making. Off the ball he gets a 10/10, on the ball he'd be lucky to hit a 5/10 for me.

7) Mowbray out.

😎 🔵⚪

Edited August 7, 2021 by Angry_Pirate

[roversfan99]

42 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

If he's fit, Ayala is surely the best centre half we have had since been relegated? What ye reckon? 

Was very good today, although id go for Hanley personally, got the player of the season in his final season here and is now a Premier League defender. Lets hope the 2 today stay fit as its the needed partnership behind a team full of energy but minimal experience.

[Roverthechimp]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

It's really good to start with a deserved win with lots of pleasing aspects to admire. No disrespect to any Rovers players but Armstrong would have had a hat trick today and that is what I believe will bite us on the backside over the course of the season. The pressing game won it for us today as Swansea were over playing in the wrong areas time and time again. The work rate was good today as was the intensity with which we played.

As I said a win is a win but Mowbray worries me enormously. His changes resulted in players moving about and we lost some momentum with this disruption. It's simple for me, if you are comfortable in the game just go like for like and maintain the control you have by keeping the same system. In my book Mowbray handed the initiative to Swansea who could have stolen a point they didn't look like getting.

Fair points but i thought bringing on Davenport was the right choice as Swansea had control of the midfield after their goal. Still wonder if it was planned "like for not quite like" swap with Buckley that was planned but got abandoned and,as you rightly point out, the changes caused a little confusion and loss of momentum.

Thought we got it back with Butterworth and i sort of agree with the decision to bring on an extra defender and with 8 minutes left as we were counter-attacking well.

[tomphil]

What is the craic with the Millwall tickets did anyone get to the bottom of it ?

Official site i gave up on a few years ago.

Will there be pay on the day ?