v Norwich (h) - Good Friday - 7/4/23, 3pm k/o

[G Somerset Rover]

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Terrible performance when we needed a big one. Tomasson has a real weakness in being able to get points from losing positions, when Norwich scored the ref may aswell have blown up.

It was exactly the same under Mowbray for the last two seasons of his reign (at least). Damning indictment of the mentality at the club IMO.

[Mike E]

Changed the game far too late.

Next game needs to be:

                  Pears

JRC  Carter  Hyam  Pickering

        Travis   A.Wharton

Thomas   Hedges   Dolan

                Szmodics

[1864roverite]

It’s not just on the shoulders of Morton the midfield was overrun every time they came forward and YET not a change was made. To wait until the 88th minute for the opposition keeper to make a save makes a mockery of what we are trying to achieve it really was an awful game to watch apart from Sammy who ran his legs off and was my motm. Rovers were frightened of any forward momentum and Carter was shockingly poor constantly doing a Lowe and passing backwards - I’ve had a chance to evaluate the game as I drove home and nothing changes my mind about the blame being with JDT - he knew Thomas can’t play on Monday so why not play him today ? We needed speed so why wait until it’s too late to put TD on? We saw Gally having a typically shit game so why keep him on? All in all a huge let down🤬🤬

[BankEnd Rover]

Only positive was A Wharton. I was just in Orr watching him and hopefully that’s the back of Morton (for the season). I mean everyone was shocking today but it’s just a crime that he’s playing ahead of A Wharton.

[sharpysharps86]

Woeful from start to finish. Morton and Travis as a midfield combo is just terrible. None of the starting XI come out of that with any credit. BBD is already in Spain by the looks of it too. Less said about Gallagher, the better.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

If Nob End take our playoff place they can cart me off to fcking Whittingham!!

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[G Somerset Rover]

2 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Only positive was A Wharton. I was just in Orr watching him and hopefully that’s the back of Morton (for the season). I mean everyone was shocking today but it’s just a crime that he’s playing ahead of A Wharton.

I know today was crap, but no need to bring up Bradley Orr to rub things in. 

[Exiled_Rover]

Well that's the playoffs gone I'm afraid. 

As I said when the January transfer window closed, our inability to sign a striker would be the death of us. Once again a good Championship striker scores a couple today at least - I can't fault Gallagher's effort, but his instincts, first touch and finishing are diabolical at this level.

As for their goals, they're just the symptom of playing two slow FBs - done for pace on the counter and clinically finished. Hopefully Brittain retains his place at RB now and they try JRC elsewhere. Sadly there's no replacement for Pickering on the bench.

[arbitro]

I was surprised when I saw the team at 2 o'clock with Tomasson's selection and my thoughts were that we won't press and allow Norwich to have the ball and play through the lines. To say Norwich were much better than us is a huge understatement. All over the pitch we were inept and inadequate. Normally reliable players just weren't at it, the basics were sadly lacking. Our collective decision making was awful and our safe play (anywhere but forward) was so frustrating when I saw countless opportunities to play a forward ball but the easy option was taken and every player (with the exception of Wharton and Thomas) did this. We didn't win second balls, hardly completed, looked weak and allowed Norwich to dominate us. With the two exceptions above every player should be embarrassed about today along with the manager. I have to reserve most of my angst today for Brereton who pulled out of a few challenges and was hardly ever in the right position defensively and offensively. He needs benching because to me he has downed tools. How he wasn't subbed is bewildering. Gallagher was also shocking in most aspects so when your two main goal threats are poor it's going to be difficult. 

Tomasson has some big decisions to make on Monday. For me Adam Wharton and Garrett have to start as midfield is an area where we are particularly weak. 

[Crozzy]

Just got home. 
This game very much reminded me of Stoke home last season, late in The season needing a performance, concede an early goal and never look like doing anything after. 
Players looked on completely different wavelengths to each other today. Can’t blame this one on Morton either. Everyone was garbage really besides Pears who couldn’t have done anything with the two goals. 

Think we should be playing Dolan personally instead of BBD. He is so lazy off the ball right now, doesn’t track back and when he does may as well not be there because he won’t go near anyone. A few times Gallagher and Szmodics pressed and they just went down our left because Brereton stayed. Szmodics had a right pop at him for it. 
 

Back to passing it around between Carter and Hyam, no urgency whatsoever going forward. Was very disappointed thing to watch after the quick paced football we’d been playing going forward for the last few weeks. Very much worry for Burnley game if we are going to play that slow going nowhere football

[lraC]

Just now, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

I know today was crap, but no need to bring up Bradley Orr to rub things in. 

Awe sounds a bit like orr, but I have to say, that guy was my least favorite player in my time watching Rovers. 

[Exiled_Rover]

36 minutes ago, Proudtobeblue&white said:

What an utterly gutless performance and a very hard watch. JDT got his team horribly wrong, Hedges/Morton were awful, if I had a £1 for every time Travis gave the ball away, I'd be in profit. We looked far better when Adam came on. The slide has started, the first half was horrific, and the tippy tappy shit at the back, passing back constantly. Norwich were better throughout.

You'd be in profit if you had £1 for every time Messi gave the ball away too.

[BlackburnEnd75]

We certainly need to freshen things up.

Whartons cameo highlighting what pretty much everyone already knew that he should be playing ahead of the gutless and regressing morton.

I'd drop Gally and play Brereton through the middle, but they don't seem to see that as an option. You could drop both as both have been poor for a while.

Kaminski back in for Pears. He's a better keeper end of.

You'd drop Hedges for thomas but he can't play vs Huddersfield. That and morton were the poor selection choices from JDT.

 

[roversfan99]

We had this same problem last season where we have a player who has agreed to go elsewhere in the summer yet our owners haven't learnt their lesson and again refused to sell.

That being said, we can't drop him because he is our likeliest goalscorer. He should play up front.

[tomphil]

Yes Morton is a bit of a scapegoat it isn't all his fault they were all mostly shite today and not for the first time considering what's at stake.

However persisting with him is having a constant negative effect on the way we play and it's pretty poor keep trying something that has never worked this season barring a few early games.  We badly lack quality in that area and they tried to do something about it before making a mess of that.

However there are options in the squad and as i said in another thread it isn't this style of football that has got us where we are. What we've seen today and many times recently, Stoke, Brum etc is the tactics that are letting us down time and time again they just do not work.

We are best pressing from the off and countering where we seem to be able to get a goal in front the either comfortably see it out whilst trying to add another.  Or he goes into panic mode too early and we defend our box like trojans for the last 30 mins.

It's worked though yet this tip tap continental style crap doesn't.

[Mercer]

5 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

If Nob End take our playoff place they can cart me off to fcking Whittingham!!

It closed about 30 years ago - plenty of new builds to look at round there though!

[RoversClitheroe]

12 minutes ago, 1864roverite said:

It’s not just on the shoulders of Morton the midfield was overrun every time they came forward and YET not a change was made. To wait until the 88th minute for the opposition keeper to make a save makes a mockery of what we are trying to achieve it really was an awful game to watch apart from Sammy who ran his legs off and was my motm. Rovers were frightened of any forward momentum and Carter was shockingly poor constantly doing a Lowe and passing backwards - I’ve had a chance to evaluate the game as I drove home and nothing changes my mind about the blame being with JDT - he knew Thomas can’t play on Monday so why not play him today ? We needed speed so why wait until it’s too late to put TD on? We saw Gally having a typically shit game so why keep him on? All in all a huge let down🤬🤬

The fully stitched pitch looked like it was broken up badly today 

[arbitro]

It was said by many that the awful January when we didn't sign a striker would come back and haunt us and it looks like doing. Cannon has six goals for Preston after joining in January and Archer has six for Middlesbrough. Have we collectively scored six goals since January in the league.

Saint Gregg has to own this failure.

[BankEnd Rover]

Just now, sharpysharps86 said:

Woeful from start to finish. Morton and Travis as a midfield combo is just terrible. None of the starting XI come out of that with any credit. BBD is already in Spain by the looks of it too. Less said about Gallagher, the better.

Yeap, I watched Diaz closely and he was never in the game. SS was screaming at him for most of the first half.

[Mashed Potatoes]

1 minute ago, arbitro said:

It was said by many that the awful January when we didn't sign a striker would come back and haunt us and it looks like doing. Cannon has six goals for Preston after joining in January and Archer has six for Middlesbrough. Have we collectively scored six goals since January in the league.

Saint Gregg has to own this failure.

We have scored 12 goals in the league since January.

[bigbrandjohn]

My God, that Warnock will be so up for doing us over. Need some hard cases in now. Kids that are up for it. Morton won’t be here next year. We have fulfilled our promise to Liverpool.
 

Bung in the home growns who will die for the badge.  

[arbitro]

Just now, Mashed Potatoes said:

We have scored 12 goals in the league since January.

Wow, thanks for that. So they have each scored 50% of our collective goals.

I think you got my point but you had to be a smartarse.

[Exiled_Rover]

11 minutes ago, Crozzy said:

Just got home. 
This game very much reminded me of Stoke home last season, late in The season needing a performance, concede an early goal and never look like doing anything after. 
Players looked on completely different wavelengths to each other today. Can’t blame this one on Morton either. Everyone was garbage really besides Pears who couldn’t have done anything with the two goals. 

Think we should be playing Dolan personally instead of BBD. He is so lazy off the ball right now, doesn’t track back and when he does may as well not be there because he won’t go near anyone. A few times Gallagher and Szmodics pressed and they just went down our left because Brereton stayed. Szmodics had a right pop at him for it. 
 

Back to passing it around between Carter and Hyam, no urgency whatsoever going forward. Was very disappointed thing to watch after the quick paced football we’d been playing going forward for the last few weeks. Very much worry for Burnley game if we are going to play that slow going nowhere football

The detractors are going to hate to hear this, but the downturn in form coincided with Morton coming back into the team to replace the injured Buckley.

For all his faults, Buckley is able to play on the half turn - I don't think I've ever seen Morton turn his marker. A. Wharton came on for the last 20 minutes and caused them all sorts of problems 'cos he's willing to pass, move and turn on the ball. 

JDT and Reijnierse have already determined that Travis can't play on the half turn - that's why whenever we're playing it out from the back now they have Travis either alongside Szmodics (running into space), or switch him with JRC. Sadly you can't hide both of your non-ball playing CMs. 

[Exiled_Rover]

7 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Yeap, I watched Diaz closely and he was never in the game. SS was screaming at him for most of the first half.

We played better with Dolan out there.

For me, JDT has got to be brave now and bench Morton for A. Wharton and bench Brereton-Diaz for Dolan. 

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, miqaayil said:

seriously i'd give leonard a go...can't be worse...

As evidenced by Vale's performances, he absolutely can.