v West Bromwich Albion (H) - 05/08/2023

[simongarnerisgod]

a wharton clearly not yet match fit

only negative from today is us trying to play to much from the back,it led to albions goal and drives me mad,overall it was a great performance and i was impressed by tronstadt who gives travis the license to get forward,we look to have found a proper centre forward in leonard,ok he missed two good chances but he`s getting in the right positions,another day he might have had the match ball

with 3/4 more players who knows what this season will become💓

[roverandout]

2 minutes ago, Emerald Isle Rover said:

Totally missing the point Iv said we need signings it’s clear we do but the way some fans have got on it’s as if the current crop are league 1 standard - today proved that wrong

I agree. Just need a couple more forwards 

[goozburger]

12 minutes ago, Cherry Blue said:

Fully agree with goosburger re A Wharton.

Goose Burger? 🤔😄An idea for McDonald's.

[philipl]

Has the crowd size been announced yet?

[Bohinen1983]

The most convincing of wins, but a win is a win. Last season we made a habit out of that so long may it continue.

I felt Dolans decision making was poor, one moment sticks out where he shot from a silly angle whilst Hedges was screaming for i unmarked inside him.

I also felt Wharton wanted too much time on the ball. He needs a rocket up his arse sometimes- I think he plays best when he doesn't have time to pick a pass.  Equally he played some lovely stuff, could have had two assists and he is still a kid, very talented just wish he'd play with more urgency and drive. 

Markanday allegedly has a great feet- I think his confidence is shot to shit at the moment so we're not seeing that.  However his workrate and tenacity is excellent and merits a place around the first 11, hopefully as time passes he'll gain more confidence. 

Back four good, Carter goes from strength to strength- got everything that lad.  Think he'll be more of a player than Phillips ever will.  Destined for a good career!

Travis was outstanding in my opinion along with Szmodic, great tenacity from both.

Leonard took the goal very well but looked a bit nervous at times- I'd perserve, I think he's going to be a cracking player- offers much more than Vale.

I think we're light in centre mid and up-top. If this is addressed, a creative driving force and a big man that can hold up the ball we'll cause teams a lot of problems.

[wilsdenrover]

1 minute ago, philipl said:

Has the crowd size been announced yet?

16,741 (2925 away)

Edited August 5, 2023 by wilsdenrover

[tomphil]

1 minute ago, philipl said:

Has the crowd size been announced yet?

16.700 ish with just under 3k WBA

[Sweaty Gussets]

I thought the back four were immense today, so much so that Pears had very little to do against  a WBA team with some very good Championship players in their team. 

I also thought Travis and Tronstad were very competitive in the middle of the park. Tronstad looks an intelligent player, he grew into the game and was making some very timely challenges, closing players down and generally stopping WBA from playing. Travis was excellent too. 

Szmodics was his usual self, working hard, cajoling his team mates and looking dangerous on the break. 

Dolan and Markanday worked tirelessly and both showed quality in patches, but you can see why we bought Siggy and why we need a RW. Dolan especially gets so much good ball in dangerous areas but invariably does nothing with it. I felt Markanday was the same, albeit he scored a very good goal. Markanday looked very lightweight out there (with the caveat that WBA were a huge team)

Special mention to Leonard who I thought was phenomenal up against two monster CB's. Never shirked a challenge, put himself about, scored a great goal and held the ball up really well. He looks a proper forward. 

Wharton came on lost the ball loads, played the 'pass of the season winner' in game 1, and then strolled around giving it away again!

I fucking love JDT. An absolute genius! Thought we controlled the game really well for the most part, apart from the first 20 minutes. 

Fantastic win.

 

[Exiled_Rover]

22 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Leonard held the ball up well and surprised me just how strong he was. 

My concern with Leonard has always been the physical side of things - he put that to bed today. He won't be matched up against two bigger, more athletic and physical CBs than the two WBA lined up with today and he ran them ragged - did anyone notice the frustrated kick one of them gave him at full time?

An outstanding performance - to the point where you wonder if he'd been given a chance in January last year whether we'd be starting our season next Saturday instead...

[Beanie01289]

8 minutes ago, roverandout said:

I agree. Just need a couple more forwards 

I'd say we could do with a cf and and a rw tho we do have markandy hedges and possibly at a push gally in there just want a striker who can help release the burden on Leonard but at the same time I'd not really want anyone blocking his potential as after today I think he might be a gem

[BankEnd Rover]

First half was poor I thought but my god that second half was very good to watch.

That back line was as good as I’ve seen play for a long time. All deserved man of the match and shout out to Brittain for his cameo.

Markanday did well but defiantly struggled in some parts but chuffed for scoring. Dolan came to light second half and linked well with SS.

My biggest shout is to Leonard. That first big chance he had second half would have been something if he scored. His hold up, and movement is up there with some of the best - can’t wait to see him develop!

My weekend starts tonight! Happy Saturday folks, buzzing! 

[JPTSwindon]

On 31/07/2023 at 22:12, JPTSwindon said:

That is a poor pre-season.

Rare sunny day, Leonard takes his chance, Rovers 1-0 and we are off!

It’s a decent squad… We just missed the play-offs, yes Diaz has left but he had tailed off. We have a young, hungry squad, the new signings will get fit and add some depth. Roll on Saturday.

Nice to see my faith wasn’t misplaced.

With injuries and a slower transfer window it’s an opportunity for certain players to take their chance and today they have with both hands. Great start to the season!

[roversfan99]

Very good way to start the season, I thought first half bar a couple of ruthless minutes we were quite passive and I feared after West Brom's early second half goal but we went up a gear after it and the second half was very good.

Defence was solid, the full backs are good at this level and I just hope Rankin Costello is ok, Pears had nothing to do with the centre backs doing a solid job.

It was a worry how often they picked up the ball behind our midfield, I thought Tronstad was underwhelming, he was a yard off the pace and kept giving it away. Wharton was sloppy at times but he is a special player, his pass to Leonard was Tugay-esque.

Travis for me was man of the match. There is a lot of nonsense about him not being a Tomasson player but he has played 40 of 46 league games he was available for under him and is key with Szmodics in us pressing, at Rotherham I would go with Wharton and Travis, we can't afford to lose our captain.

I seem to be in a minority in thinking that Markanday was poor, aside from a good finish he was so sloppy, kept losing the ball including for their goal. The subs improved us, Hedges wasn't perfect but he is a better player. Dolan was poor again, Szmodics was as busy as ever. Leonard definitely has something about him, the opposite of Vale. He missed 2 sitters but his movement creates chances and thats a big asset to have.

We need to really work on the set pieces, they look so off the cuff and end up back in our own half.

 

[Waggy76]

Excellent result today , very good 2nd half ..Could have won by more , we didn't just go into our shell, when WBA pulled a goal back .

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, superniko said:

Hedges is league 1 level. Dolan has no brain. We’re desperately short in those wide forward areas. 

Leonard missed two good chances, but looks a real player, some great touches and hold up play at times. Also positionally he gets in the areas to find those chances. 

Travis man of the match for me. Very solid, and better alongside Wharton. Closely followed by Hyam 

Leonard was the clear man of the match - he gave their two CBs a torrid time. Delighted he got the goal and disappointed he missed that gilt edged chance - hopefully that composure (he almost had too long to think about it) comes with time.

Hedges is a good Championship backup - good first touch, brings others into the game and a good athlete. Dolan is simply too slow for his style of play out wide - so is Markanday. Both would look better playing as a #10 (Markanday evidently has a great finish on him, so he'd probably be your choice of the two playing centrally). 

Carter was the better of our two CBs today I thought - if Phillips is worth £2m, I'd want £10m for Carter. 

[Mashed Potatoes]

6 minutes ago, tomphil said:

16.700 ish with just under 3k WBA

If that is correct it is well ahead of the 14,970 last season and suggests that the "diminishing fanbase" that some claim to have identified is anything but.

[Emerald Isle Rover]

34 minutes ago, goozburger said:

Brilliant determination and stamina from the lads to see that win through. I would have been happy with a draw. Three points on the opening day of the season to forget about the transfer window for the evening is most welcome.

On paper, West Brom have a better squad, and aside from some desperate moments after they clawed one back, I felt as though they gave up after Corberan was sent off. I assume they'll be without him on the touchline for the next game. That doesn't bode well for them if their performance and lack of workate thereafter was anything to go by.

As for the players...

Pears
Solid, but in reality, I don't think he had much to do. I think he's a bit vacant and lost, aerially, but he's good at helping the team play out from the back. Like it or not, it's a key part of how we play.

Rankin-Costello
Is it now OK to say he was his usual good self? He's certainly confident. I think it was right to substitute him because he looked knackered at that point. Perhaps an argument for handball for his goal-saving block, but if you don't put your body on the line, then you'll concede.

Carter
Solid. Excellent.

Hyam
A shaky moment in the first half against Asante, but otherwise solid.

Pickering
Like Pears, I think he is a bit vacant and lost, aerially, and as we've seen during preseason, he's very prone when up against pace. I don't think he was really tested on that, however. West Brom never seemed to go and skin him, which is their loss. I think this position is our most concerning.

Travis
His usual feisty self. I feel as though he's just entered the best years of his career because he's far more savvy than he was. At this stage, I think we need to put his part in the transfer window behind us and keep him.

Tronstad
Defensively good. I'm not sure he has much about him beyond that, however. He's a workhorse, but we are devoid of creativity with both him and Travis on the pitch.

Szmodics
Man of the Match for me. Having previously touted Hyam as our next captain, Szmodics is the one. He has both quality and work-rate. Was organising the players on the pitch throughout.

Dolan
He slowed played down too may times today, and made a few poor decisions on the ball when we were in an attacking move. He needs to "go for it" a bit more. He works hard, but he looks to be lacking a bit in confidence.

Markanday
An absolute nuisance to them with has pace and trickery. Delighted for him to get a goal. Hopefully it will boost his confidence and he can put last season behind him. Unfortunately, his mistake led to West Brom's consolation goal as he tried to dribble his way out in a dangerous position when he should have passed it. I expect he'll learn from this.

Leonard
One or two joked that he'll get a hat-trick today, and he could well have scored from two great opportunities in the second-half to do just that. What a player we might have on our hands here. Scored what turned out to be the winner, and got into some great positions which I'm sure he'll do better from in good time.

As for the substitutes...

A Wharton
Absolutely class on the ball. I don't think there is another player at the club that has the passing vision that he does. I say this with reluctance; he makes one or two mistakes on the ball that lead to dangerous counter-attacks. I noticed this last season, too. He's not the perfect player just yet, but he'll learn to cut these things out.

Hedges
I don't recall much one way or the other. He seemed decent without being outstanding.

Brittain
I think he had a good showing. He attacked well when needed, and did his job defensively.

I'm not going to look, but was that it for the substitutes?

So, Szmodics is my Man of the Match, and shout-outs to Markanday and, in particular, Leonard. The future could be very bright with those two around.

Overall, I'm buzzing with a really determined performance, the three points, and a good start to the season. Let's get that 'keeper signed, let's get a striker in to take the pressure off Leonard, and hopefully we can get some more season ticket sales done. That performance will have done no harm on that front, should any match-day ticket buyers be thinking about it.

Come on you blues!

Pickering was excellent today not sure if you just don’t fancy him as the starting Lb (which is fair enough as many other agree) but today not a foot wrong defensively 

[NeilInBristol]

excellent result

on par performance, must have been exhausting in the conditions and additional time in both halves, these guys are all trained to compete over 90-95 mins but both halves had 8+mins so we will see some slopyness.

 

Adam didnt have a pre season and it showed but he is class. Exciting to see him as a mainstay of our MF.
Same old same old with Dolan but we have under a month to get the new signings in 

no complaints, a very happy rovers fan.

[Exiled_Rover]

1 hour ago, roverandout said:

Hard fought win. Good start. Just need to invest in a striker

If Leonard continues to play like that, Ennis is half decent and Sigurdsson is what we think we is I'd invest everything in a quality RW.

[Sweaty Gussets]

I saw a bit of commotion at the BBE and heard the announcement at H/T...I presume some bellend chucked something at one of their players when they were taking corner? 

[tomphil]

2 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

If that is correct it is well ahead of the 14,970 last season and suggests that the "diminishing fanbase" that some claim to have identified is anything but.

Well QPR had barely half that last season i think so home turnout not too dissimilar. 

c9k ST holders v c7.5k last season will have helped and the 20 quid off early bird will have helped that proving discounts do work here.

First game of the season though so lets not get too carried away.

[Mashed Potatoes]

2 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

I saw a bit of commotion at the BBE and heard the announcement at H/T...I presume some bellend chucked something at one of their players when they were taking corner? 

Unfortunately that seems to be correct - in which case a life ban should be made.

[Beanie01289]

the major miss for leonard was the first and I actually think the slip from the west Brom keeper may have helped him as he was further over to the side that was being aimed at than he would have been had he not slipped making the angle much tighter.

[Mashed Potatoes]

1 minute ago, tomphil said:

Well QPR had barely half that last season i think so home turnout not too dissimilar. 

c9k ST holders v c7.5k last season will have helped and the 20 quid off early bird will have helped that proving discounts do work here.

First game of the season though so lets not get too carried away.

People get carried away in the opposite direction so I think the optimists who remain here can do so as well.

[Sweaty Gussets]

A very fair assessment.