v Sheffield United (a) - 3/5/2025

[DE.]

14 minutes ago, superniko said:

We had a drop to L1 as much as we all like to forget 😄 Ipswich went on a long run in the league and Bristol City prior to this year

I possibly used the wrong word, but I basically meant amount of years in the division in the last 20 years without getting into top six (regardless of whether those seasons are consecutive or broken up). 

[Michael123458]

All went to final day disappointment can’t believe it!!?? But onto next season now of course. Much better than last season. Close of course. Forget about it now for summer onto  next season thanks for this season rovers massive improvement RTID 

[neophox]

We had it in our own hands and even got help from Preston....not good enough! Disappointed 😞 

[wilsdenrover]

On 21/04/2025 at 17:00, wilsdenrover said:

We’re going to finish seventh.

🙁

[simongarnerisgod]

rovers will never go anywhere unless everyone has the same ambition and commitment,as it is at the moment,the fans ,players,coaching staff and manager want success,

the owners are abscent ,the ceo,his lackey gestede,the dodgy indian pasha and the other ***** want to just bobbing along collecting annual gratuities

that just is`nt working and never will,everybody has to be in together

[Bbrovers2288]

Obviously disappointing and frustrating, you start looking back at points lost here and there that would have been the difference but today highlighted the fact that attacking wise, we just aren’t good enough. Not enough difference makers in the team and we never put them under any sustained pressure, in fact they looked the more likely winners. We need a lot more quality if we are going to go anywhere near. 
 

as a side note, wasn’t that sheff Utd defender that scored against us on the verge of joining us and then hastily joined them even though they didn’t actually have the money to do so. Wee bit bitter about that. Still I’d rather they went up than Coventry who are my number 1 hated team these days 

[Exiled_Rover]

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

rovers will never go anywhere unless everyone has the same ambition and commitment,as it is at the moment,the fans ,players,coaching staff and manager want success,

the owners are abscent ,the ceo,his lackey gestede,the dodgy indian pasha and the other ***** want to just bobbing along collecting annual gratuities

that just is`nt working and never will,everybody has to be in together

That's the craziest thing - with all this disfunction behind the scenes (absent and now penny-pinching owners, self-serving clowns in the Board Room) we've still finished 7th twice in three seasons.

With the right leadership we'd be a PL club again.

[bluefred]

38 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

Toth 7 - solid display. Can't be blamed for the equaliser. Made some good saves. First choice next season ahead of Pears?

Ribeiro 4 - poor crosses into the box. Never looks a threat going forward. 

Batth 6 - did his job well enough, won his fair share of headers. 

Hyam 3 - poor again; is the main man to blame for the equaliser as Ahmedhodzic was allowed space inside the box for a tap-in at the far post. Won a few headers but the mistakes he has made this season have proved to be costly ones. Hopefully one of the coaches can show him a few clips and explain that you have to concentrate and follow your marker instead of being a ball-watcher all the time. 

Brittain 8 - good performance with his driving runs on the right flank. Looks a constant threat with his crosses and overlaps.

Tronstad 6 - solid together with Travis at the centre of the pitch

Travis 6 - solid just like Tronstad. Won his fair share of tackles.

Hedges 4 - worked hard defensively but never provides a threat going forward. Seems like the injury he picked up will keep him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks.

Dolan 4 - same as Hedges, works hard but his decision-making in final third is horrendous. Final game in Rovers shirt?

Cantwell 6 - worked surprisingly hard in winning the ball back on a few occasions. Front trio of Dolan, Hedges and Ohashi aren't good enough to make threatening runs that suits Cantwell's playmaking abilities, however. 

Ohashi 6 - worked hard, got a bit lucky with the goal as it took a deflection off the defender. Doesn't really suit him playing alone in a number 9 role as he's neither quick and/or strong enough to be a genuine threat. 

Subs:

Kargbo 3 (Hedges) - way off it. Constantly making wrong decisions in final third. A disappointing performance. 

Gueye 5 (Cantwell) - did OK. Didn't have much to work on with the limited time he got on the pitch.

Dennis 2 (Dolan) - horrible. Decision making was horrendous from his part. Doesn't even look fit? Instead of utilizing his pace, he opted for a pass on many occasions.

Woodrow (Travis) N/A

Forshaw (Tronstad) N/A

Overall team performance: 4 - not good enough; very passive in the first half with the team happily sitting in a mid- to low block trying to stay in the game for as long as possible instead of being proactive. Pressing up the field was not synced with the team being played through far too easily. Rode their luck with Hamer missing a good chance at the back post. Second half provided a good start with goal from Ohashi but the team never looked like they were in control. Equaliser came after a bit of a scramble inside the box with Hyam failing to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the far post. Very disappointing final 30 minutes as the team never really built up any momentum to get a decisive winning goal.

Valerien Ismael: 4 - poor choices/setup from a tactical perspective. Defensive approach in the first half followed by some strange subs (Forshaw/Woodrow for Travis/Tronstad) going into added time meaning that the team basically played with no midfield for the final ten minutes. Should've brought in Gueye way sooner to add a focal point inside the box for crosses. Failure to capitalise on the fact that Sheffield Utd. went down to ten men going into added time has to partially be blamed on the head coach as Rovers looked very disorganised and with no real plan.

 

Totally disagree with that marking of the players the only let down from those who played , was DENNIS a total waste of a sub ,glad that’s the last we will see of him . Done nothing since the day he arrived apart from get himself sent off .

[bluefred]

44 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

Toth 7 - solid display. Can't be blamed for the equaliser. Made some good saves. First choice next season ahead of Pears?

Ribeiro 4 - poor crosses into the box. Never looks a threat going forward. 

Batth 6 - did his job well enough, won his fair share of headers. 

Hyam 3 - poor again; is the main man to blame for the equaliser as Ahmedhodzic was allowed space inside the box for a tap-in at the far post. Won a few headers but the mistakes he has made this season have proved to be costly ones. Hopefully one of the coaches can show him a few clips and explain that you have to concentrate and follow your marker instead of being a ball-watcher all the time. 

Brittain 8 - good performance with his driving runs on the right flank. Looks a constant threat with his crosses and overlaps.

Tronstad 6 - solid together with Travis at the centre of the pitch

Travis 6 - solid just like Tronstad. Won his fair share of tackles.

Hedges 4 - worked hard defensively but never provides a threat going forward. Seems like the injury he picked up will keep him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks.

Dolan 4 - same as Hedges, works hard but his decision-making in final third is horrendous. Final game in Rovers shirt?

Cantwell 6 - worked surprisingly hard in winning the ball back on a few occasions. Front trio of Dolan, Hedges and Ohashi aren't good enough to make threatening runs that suits Cantwell's playmaking abilities, however. 

Ohashi 6 - worked hard, got a bit lucky with the goal as it took a deflection off the defender. Doesn't really suit him playing alone in a number 9 role as he's neither quick and/or strong enough to be a genuine threat. 

Subs:

Kargbo 3 (Hedges) - way off it. Constantly making wrong decisions in final third. A disappointing performance. 

Gueye 5 (Cantwell) - did OK. Didn't have much to work on with the limited time he got on the pitch.

Dennis 2 (Dolan) - horrible. Decision making was horrendous from his part. Doesn't even look fit? Instead of utilizing his pace, he opted for a pass on many occasions.

Woodrow (Travis) N/A

Forshaw (Tronstad) N/A

Overall team performance: 4 - not good enough; very passive in the first half with the team happily sitting in a mid- to low block trying to stay in the game for as long as possible instead of being proactive. Pressing up the field was not synced with the team being played through far too easily. Rode their luck with Hamer missing a good chance at the back post. Second half provided a good start with goal from Ohashi but the team never looked like they were in control. Equaliser came after a bit of a scramble inside the box with Hyam failing to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the far post. Very disappointing final 30 minutes as the team never really built up any momentum to get a decisive winning goal.

Valerien Ismael: 4 - poor choices/setup from a tactical perspective. Defensive approach in the first half followed by some strange subs (Forshaw/Woodrow for Travis/Tronstad) going into added time meaning that the team basically played with no midfield for the final ten minutes. Should've brought in Gueye way sooner to add a focal point inside the box for crosses. Failure to capitalise on the fact that Sheffield Utd. went down to ten men going into added time has to partially be blamed on the head coach as Rovers looked very disorganised and with no real plan.

 

Totally disagree with that marking of the players the only let down from those who played , was DENNIS a total waste of a sub ,glad that’s the last we will see of him . Done nothing since the day he arrived apart from get himself sent off .

[Tomphil2]

Ah well it wasn't to be it was a very long shot but they kept it alive to the very end we can't ask for anymore we just don't have enough in the squad.

Massive credit to all involved this season, mainly most of the players but also both head coaches and their staff and of course the fans. Its ended in disappointment but not tragedy and given the backdrop here and budget we'd no right to be anywhere near it really.

Sidenote whoever thought it was sensible to gamble 20/30k per week on loaning Dennis in needs firing on the spot i don't care who you are. A massive waste of money and squad place that was always doomed to fail and we cannot afford that, well done that's about half to three quarters of a million of the Wharton money straight down the toilet to add to the similar amount thrown away on Fleck last season.

Back the team not the regime.

COYB

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 15:41 by Tomphil2

[Heinz]

Also where was Dolan today? Trying so hard to get out of this club and get higher up, but in games like these where it really matters he is just invisible…

[simongarnerisgod]

2 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

That's the craziest thing - with all this disfunction behind the scenes (absent and now penny-pinching owners, self-serving clowns in the Board Room) we've still finished 7th twice in three seasons.

With the right leadership we'd be a PL club again.

it`s not even about promotion to me,it`s having a club thats well run,by people who have it`s best interests at heart,thats not been the case since the chicken abusers took over

[bluefred]

13 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

rovers will never go anywhere unless everyone has the same ambition and commitment,as it is at the moment,the fans ,players,coaching staff and manager want success,

the owners are abscent ,the ceo,his lackey gestede,the dodgy indian pasha and the other ***** want to just bobbing along collecting annual gratuities

that just is`nt working and never will,everybody has to be in together

We won’t do anything whilst these Indian ass holes are here period .

[CaptainBeanfart]

1-1 away to a team that finished on 90 points is not a disgrace. The damage was done in January, none of the signings helped the cause and meant we were unable to get results when injuries and poor form happened. Kargbo and Dennis were dreadful today, Woodrow barely involved. 

Only positive is that Ismael is obviously a competent manager. The concern is what players he has to work with in August. Huge (and frightening) summer coming up.

Edited Saturday at 15:30 by CaptainBeanfart

[DE.]

11 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

That's the craziest thing - with all this disfunction behind the scenes (absent and now penny-pinching owners, self-serving clowns in the Board Room) we've still finished 7th twice in three seasons.

With the right leadership we'd be a PL club again.

With moderately ambitious owners I absolutely believe we would have gotten into the playoffs at least 2 or 3 times since we were promoted back from L1 - even if the budget was essentially the same. In our earlier Championship years I even think top two was possible with the squad we had available - Rhodes, Marshall, Cairney, Duffy, Robbo, and so on. Venky's are just an albatross around the club's neck which always drags us down regardless of the manager or team available.

[M_B]

56 minutes ago, superniko said:

No last year we had Sheffield United with a deduction, Luton who aren’t notorious spenders and Burnley who had manager transition and which could have gone wrong all coming down.
The other way it was Oxford, Pompey and a skint Derby coming up as well as Plymouth still plodding along

It was as shit a league as it’s been for a long time, next year it will be tougher

There were many predicting a relegation fight, there weren't any as I remember tipping a play off chance.

[wilsdenrover]

I’ll take a tiny bit of consolation from the fact for those nine minutes Waggott and Pasha would have been shitting themselves.

[Penwortham Blue]

1 hour ago, TheKitGuy said:

It just doesn't make sense to me that the players can't get themselves up for a game like today. Should we of won and managed to go up, their whole lives would've changed 50% increase in wages I imagine etc etc... 

Some teams want it more 

Some owners want it more. 

Will be the same for a long time, a shadow of the club we used to be. 

Just so disappointing that all the results fell in, if we had just won the match. A decent team with squad strength but they did make 7 changes and unlike us, didn’t have any great incentive and so for my money, the players / managers have let it slip away today.

[M_B]

1 hour ago, JCRovers said:

Toth 7 - solid display. Can't be blamed for the equaliser. Made some good saves. First choice next season ahead of Pears?

Ribeiro 4 - poor crosses into the box. Never looks a threat going forward. 

Batth 6 - did his job well enough, won his fair share of headers. 

Hyam 3 - poor again; is the main man to blame for the equaliser as Ahmedhodzic was allowed space inside the box for a tap-in at the far post. Won a few headers but the mistakes he has made this season have proved to be costly ones. Hopefully one of the coaches can show him a few clips and explain that you have to concentrate and follow your marker instead of being a ball-watcher all the time. 

Brittain 8 - good performance with his driving runs on the right flank. Looks a constant threat with his crosses and overlaps.

Tronstad 6 - solid together with Travis at the centre of the pitch

Travis 6 - solid just like Tronstad. Won his fair share of tackles.

Hedges 4 - worked hard defensively but never provides a threat going forward. Seems like the injury he picked up will keep him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks.

Dolan 4 - same as Hedges, works hard but his decision-making in final third is horrendous. Final game in Rovers shirt?

Cantwell 6 - worked surprisingly hard in winning the ball back on a few occasions. Front trio of Dolan, Hedges and Ohashi aren't good enough to make threatening runs that suits Cantwell's playmaking abilities, however. 

Ohashi 6 - worked hard, got a bit lucky with the goal as it took a deflection off the defender. Doesn't really suit him playing alone in a number 9 role as he's neither quick and/or strong enough to be a genuine threat. 

Subs:

Kargbo 3 (Hedges) - way off it. Constantly making wrong decisions in final third. A disappointing performance. 

Gueye 5 (Cantwell) - did OK. Didn't have much to work on with the limited time he got on the pitch.

Dennis 2 (Dolan) - horrible. Decision making was horrendous from his part. Doesn't even look fit? Instead of utilizing his pace, he opted for a pass on many occasions.

Woodrow (Travis) N/A

Forshaw (Tronstad) N/A

Overall team performance: 4 - not good enough; very passive in the first half with the team happily sitting in a mid- to low block trying to stay in the game for as long as possible instead of being proactive. Pressing up the field was not synced with the team being played through far too easily. Rode their luck with Hamer missing a good chance at the back post. Second half provided a good start with goal from Ohashi but the team never looked like they were in control. Equaliser came after a bit of a scramble inside the box with Hyam failing to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the far post. Very disappointing final 30 minutes as the team never really built up any momentum to get a decisive winning goal.

Valerien Ismael: 4 - poor choices/setup from a tactical perspective. Defensive approach in the first half followed by some strange subs (Forshaw/Woodrow for Travis/Tronstad) going into added time meaning that the team basically played with no midfield for the final ten minutes. Should've brought in Gueye way sooner to add a focal point inside the box for crosses. Failure to capitalise on the fact that Sheffield Utd. went down to ten men going into added time has to partially be blamed on the head coach as Rovers looked very disorganised and with no real plan.

 

Stopped reading at "Dolan, same as Hedges".

Edited Saturday at 15:45 by M_B

[Bronzed A Donis]

21 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

That's the craziest thing - with all this disfunction behind the scenes (absent and now penny-pinching owners, self-serving clowns in the Board Room) we've still finished 7th twice in three seasons.

With the right leadership we'd be a PL club again.

In a parallel universe Eustace is celebrating a promotion powered by Wharton and Szmodics performances , Wharton is expected to join City for £50 million with a loan back to Rovers for the upcoming Prem campaign, the ambition to keep hold of them paid off and the money and hope is flowing back into the club.....

 

[JCRovers]

1 minute ago, M_B said:

Stopped reading a "Dolan, same as Hedges".

They're both equally bad going forward in my opinion. Dolan is energetic but his lack of football intelligence is frustrating. Another annoying trait of Dolan is that he possesses good acceleration in tight areas but doesn't have enough pace to beat his man at longer distances. Thought he was an exciting talent when he first broke through the team but it looks more and more likely that Championship will be peak level in his career. Hedges? Squad player at best.

[Tomphil2]

1 hour ago, JCRovers said:

Toth 7 - solid display. Can't be blamed for the equaliser. Made some good saves. First choice next season ahead of Pears?

Ribeiro 4 - poor crosses into the box. Never looks a threat going forward. 

Batth 6 - did his job well enough, won his fair share of headers.

Valerien Ismael: 4 - poor choices/setup from a tactical perspective. Defensive approach in the first half followed by some strange subs (Forshaw/Woodrow for Travis/Tronstad) going into added time meaning that the team basically played with no midfield for the final ten minutes. Should've brought in Gueye way sooner to add a focal point inside the box for crosses. Failure to capitalise on the fact that Sheffield Utd. went down to ten men going into added time has to partially be blamed on the head coach as Rovers looked very disorganised and with no real plan.

 

I think he's going to be one of those coaches i'm afraid a bit like TM tinkering, fiddling for the sake of it and just subs for mins and appearance fees to keep everyone happy.

Hes done some odd things in the short time hes been here so he's definitely another who it's in his DNA but at the end of the day they are just following the clubs remit.

 

[Bohinen1983]

Season imploded when we lost Batth..  What a difference he makes. Carter and Hyam just don't seem that compatible for some reason..  With him being in the final year of his contract I'd sell Hyam and bring in two other centre half's .. Loan out Wharton and let him get up to speed..

Buckley, JRC, Foreshaw, Woodrow and Pears should be moved on to generate some funds to re-invest..

Said it since we lost Rothwell, we need a ball carrying centre midfielder.. 

Dolan's going to need replacing and another striker...

Then we'll need all those squad players replacing as well.. 

Should be an 'interesting' summer...

We'll sell Brittain, one of Trav and Trondstadt, Pears and maybe even Hyam..

JRC and Bucko fill in those gaps- youth GK and the fit again Wharton steps up as back-up for Batth and Carter..  

[JCRovers]

35 minutes ago, bluefred said:

Totally disagree with that marking of the players the only let down from those who played , was DENNIS a total waste of a sub ,glad that’s the last we will see of him . Done nothing since the day he arrived apart from get himself sent off .

So you're telling me that Ribeiro, Hyam, Dolan, Hedges and Kargbo all had good games then? Setting the bar quite low there.

Zero investment in January, Eustace leaves, zero investment in the summer, Ismael leaves in December/January. Rinse and repeat until club is relegated and devoid of any sellable assets.

[yankfan]

Seeings as how I placed 100 quid on us being relegated at the start of the campaign, finishing 7th seems like a great accomplishment. However knowing where we were in January and what transpired since then this can’t feel like anything other than a let down. This should be viewed as a spring board into next season, but I can’t help be feel it’s a dive off the spring board to lower depths.