v Rotherham (a) - 12/08/2023

[rock steady]

That corner right at the death probably should have been swung in, but we did indeed score from a short one, and I think our disallowed goal also came from one. Ennis should really have buried it himself, but he scuffed it so Hyam had to put it in and he was offside.

I do expect teams to get wise to it soon though, and actually mark Wharton when he is loitering outside the box.

Ideally, we would mix it up a bit and no go short every single time.

[Bbrovers2288]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

The new Speedie? 

Could Todd play the style of play we do? 

Yes we need 1 or 2 experience players but more important we need quality signings that fit into our style of play under JDT. 

If the 19 years old is the best penalty taker on the field at the time then he should take it

What style does a no nonsense centre back need to have chaddy, his job is to defend 

 

[Exiled_Rover]

26 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

I came across this on YT by a Rotherham vlogger. Decent quality match highlights from a different angle and super shots of the away end when Sammy scores.

A classic quote at 5.55

 

If I was the ref I'd be contacting my lawyers about that slanderous comment.

[ItsRoverZ]

Honestly yes the triple sub helped us get back into the game a bit, I feel like if they stayed with 11 men we don't draw this game.

We were so so poor for 70 minutes and let Rotherham bully us, Dolan (who I have defended in the past) has regressed and looks a league 1 standard player, no football brain.

Markandy on the other hand has a bit about him but still very lightweight and I don't feel like RW suits him, would like him centrally against Harrogate to see how he plays.

A.Wharton another assist but looked a bit sluggish at times, probably not up to speed and didn't help being marked out the game until they went down to 10.

Weird how JRC looks 4x the player Travis does in the middle of the park, Travis does a job but he's not technical enough for the role JDT wants him to play. 

Hedges really good when he came on, Leonard tried hard but wasn't in the game enough, Szmodics first half diabolical but 2nd half redeemed himself.

Worried about us getting caught out alot with some of these high balls over the top, apart from that Carter and Hyam pretty solid as was Pickering.

For me pick of the bunch was Ennis, a proper CF he looks like, good hold up play, has decent pace and linked up well, hopefully with more minutes his fitness and sharpness ups and he smashes it for us. 

All in all il take an away point, win at home and don't lose away always a good sign.

Onto Hull at home 

[rigger]

13 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

If I was the ref I'd be contacting my lawyers about that slanderous comment.

I thought in the first half the ref gave them everything.

[rigger]

5 minutes ago, ItsRoverZ said:

Honestly yes the triple sub helped us get back into the game a bit, I feel like if they stayed with 11 men we don't draw this game.

We were so so poor for 70 minutes and let Rotherham bully us, Dolan (who I have defended in the past) has regressed and looks a league 1 standard player, no football brain.

Markandy on the other hand has a bit about him but still very lightweight and I don't feel like RW suits him, would like him centrally against Harrogate to see how he plays.

A.Wharton another assist but looked a bit sluggish at times, probably not up to speed and didn't help being marked out the game until they went down to 10.

Weird how JRC looks 4x the player Travis does in the middle of the park, Travis does a job but he's not technical enough for the role JDT wants him to play. 

Hedges really good when he came on, Leonard tried hard but wasn't in the game enough, Szmodics first half diabolical but 2nd half redeemed himself.

Worried about us getting caught out alot with some of these high balls over the top, apart from that Carter and Hyam pretty solid as was Pickering.

For me pick of the bunch was Ennis, a proper CF he looks like, good hold up play, has decent pace and linked up well, hopefully with more minutes his fitness and sharpness ups and he smashes it for us. 

All in all il take an away point, win at home and don't lose away always a good sign.

Onto Hull at home 

I thought for most of the game our players were poor, against a really weak opposition, but as you say onwards and upwards

[LDRover]

What a pass that is from Wharton for the first goal. Sensational.

[Uddersfelt Blue]

Had a few hours and a couple of drinks to digest the result.

No way we deserved a draw. Until they had a man sent off we were under the cosh. Outfought, outscored and out of it. Ollie Rathbone would walk into our team. Swap him for Travis any day. And I’m not just saying that cuz his dad once bought me a pint! 
 

Why on earth do we spend an age passing (and pissing) around at the back? Trying to make sure everyone gets a touch before we get into their half. Rotherham had us sussed. Get it in the air and most of our team will never see the ball!
 

With the odd exception we were too cautious. Wharton playing like he’d not touched a ball for 6 weeks and too easily dispossessed. Dolan never once got past his defender to get a cross in. Turning back every time, but then he doesn’t have the pace and relies on trickery followed by the easy ball back. 
 

Travis is so frustrating. Yes, he’s not the most technically gifted but he can do a job yet he spends half the match being wound up by the opposition and reacting in a way that stops him doing his job. It’s no coincidence that when he has been subbed we seem to be more effective.

 

Szmodic, by his own admission had a stinker but he was determined to make up for it. So pleased for him, particularly with his second goal and celebration. 
 

Overall, it’s clear that we need someone on the left, is Siggurdson that man? 
But most of all we need some big guys, who don’t get easily bullied. 
 

 

 

[Give 'Em the Axe]

13 minutes ago, Uddersfelt Blue said:

But most of all we need some big guys, who don’t get easily bullied

Couldn't agree more. I feel as if that has been the case for quite some time.

Yeah, the lack of fellas who can stand up to it and give it back when it gets a bit physical is telling.

Just a sprinkling of physically tougher, aggressive type of players throughout the side would make a noticeable improvement I reckon. Especially when ya look back at a game like this one.

[simongarnerisgod]

adam wharton was fantastic in the 2nd half,ennis,hedges and jrc were as well

leonard did`nt really get into it as we were so sluggish in the 1st half

travis days are numbered,he snubbed jdt at the end,obviously offended by being hauled off,if he was`nt taken off,he`d have been sent off with the way he was behaving,especially with the madcap madley in charge,i think he`ll definately be sold in the coming weeks,jrc was streets ahead of anything travis can do,id`e play him in midfield from now on,britain is a fine attacking full back if a little indisciplined defensively

[Neal]

Ennis could be our Ollie Watkins... Very similar play style. High hopes for him. 

[jim mk2]

1 hour ago, ItsRoverZ said:

We were so so poor for 70 minutes and let Rotherham bully us,

It was a problem last season and it's going to happen right through this season too. Managers in this league know it and they know how to play against us

None, but none, of the team's problems have been addressed in the summer transfer window. We still lack physical presence and we're still at least 2 strikers short.

 

 

 

 

[DackDackGoose]

7 hours ago, Tricky said:

Just got back, great comeback, feel like we need to just focus on scoring more than we concede to win ffs, ala Liverpool... 

Let 's change it up next week and attack the fuck out of Hull. 

Gallagher

Hedges Szmodics JRC 

Wharton Travis 

Pickering Hyam Carter Brittain 

Pears 

Yes I'm still pissed... 

I'd play this, Brittain and JRC are a strong right side and just we're too weak not having trav/tronstad in middle, and Wharton seems to be only one that can unlock defences from nowhere. Would swap Ennis for Gally though. Still need a striker, i think Carter is very up to it. Can hedges play on left, doesnt seem super effective as an inverted winger.

[philipl]

4 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

It was a problem last season and it's going to happen right through this season too. Managers in this league know it and they know how to play against us

None, but none, of the team's problems have been addressed in the summer transfer window. We still lack physical presence and we're still at least 2 strikers short.

 

 

 

 

This is somewhat over the top.

We were very dominant, won a penalty and missed it and then gifted both Rotherham goals with mistakes I doubt either Szmodics or JRC will repeat (hopefully).

Three takes 

Dolan twice in front of an open goal neither had the athleticism nor presence of mind to put an awkward ball on the target. For a striker like JDT, that is far more likely to cost Dolan his place than his general poor decision making. I wouldn't write him off but he hasn't caused JDT any sleepless nights about what to do now Ennis is fit and when Sigurddson is fit. We haven't really seen those two and there are four more bodies in the Swag bag so jury is out on this transfer window which has 18 days left.

Wharton put in three brilliant tackles I didn't think he had in him quite apart from the assist for Szmodics first.

Ten men or not, last season no way would we have rescued a point from that game. For once our use of the ball stretched and exhausted the ten men which was great to.see too.  And boy we will be livid if one of our's gets a red like that Rotherham lad did.

Edited August 13, 2023 by philipl

[RoverDom]

7 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

A classic quote at 5.55

I haven't heard anyone use that for so long - I actually started to think it was something I'd made up when I used it the other day so I'm so glad to see this clip

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

It was a problem last season and it's going to happen right through this season too. Managers in this league know it and they know how to play against us

None, but none, of the team's problems have been addressed in the summer transfer window. We still lack physical presence and we're still at least 2 strikers short.

 

 

 

 

I was expecting us to sign someone with physical presence when we signed Tronstad. I know it’s early days yet and David Batty wasn’t very tall but I was surprised when I saw that we’d signed another pretty short player.

[arbitro]

8 hours ago, BlackburnEnd75 said:

So unproductive yet we scored one of our 2 goals from them....

That's exactly why I said mix it up. The issue for me, is that two corners aside at Fleetwood every corner we have taken has been short.

[Ricky]

The short corner in the 97th minute was pointless. It was pretty much the final kick and needed to be put in the box. Poor decision making to take that one short.

[chaddyrovers]

8 hours ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

What style does a no nonsense centre back need to have chaddy, his job is to defend 

Every player within the team has to fit the style even the keeper. Just listen to JDT and what he mentions about the style of play. Even when talking about Wahlstedt signing he mentions about understanding our style and playing it out from the back. 

7 hours ago, Neal said:

Ennis could be our Ollie Watkins... Very similar play style. High hopes for him. 

He has shown some quality in the last 2 games. Impress so far

[rigger]

3 minutes ago, Ricky said:

The short corner in the 97th minute was pointless. It was pretty much the final kick and needed to be put in the box. Poor decision making to take that one short.

Or the players might have thought, we keep what we have. A point away from home when we were 2-0 down, is not so bad.

[AllRoverAsia]

13 minutes ago, Ricky said:

The short corner in the 97th minute was pointless. It was pretty much the final kick and needed to be put in the box. Poor decision making to take that one short.

Especially as we had a tall alleged striker on the pitch at the time.

Instead we were running down the clock.

Brain dead.

[AllRoverAsia]

1 hour ago, RoverDom said:

I haven't heard anyone use that for so long - I actually started to think it was something I'd made up when I used it the other day so I'm so glad to see this clip

Yes, I'd not heard that one for a while.

When asked by the lad I expected the Dad to make a reference to liking sheep.

[jim mk2]

Guardiola’s Barcelona always took short corners. Worked the ball back to the centre halves and started playing their boring tikka talks stuff again rather than risk giving the ball away by hitting it long across goal. Dull as ditchwater and not what I want to watch. I used to turn the TV off

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

16 minutes ago, rigger said:

Or the players might have thought, we keep what we have. A point away from home when we were 2-0 down, is not so bad.

That’s my thinking as well. We’d got a point that looked very unlikely 20 minutes earlier. Chuck it in the mixer and you risk another Preston away style goal.

[Gav]

I've not looked, but I seem to recall us losing 3-0 away at Reading this time last season, so things are certainly much better 12 months on! 8 goals in 3 games with no recognised first team striker for much of the time, is something to make note of too.

The pattern of play has changed, much quicker in and out of possession, you can see that taking more time to develop as the season progresses, its great to watch at times.

The fans were superb yesterday, big numbers, but I have to mention the away kit, yes it gives the fans opportunity to sing "Yellow, yellow" but its a bloody awful colour!

Onwards and upwards.