v WBA (a) - 9/8/2025 - The Big Kick-Off!

[Inferi]

I think lack of quality when attacking is the most worrying part. I think West Brom will be a mid table side and we created almost nothing. We should have had a penalty but still didn't deserve to get any points.

[JHRover]

2 minutes ago, KentExile said:

 

So, maybe around £20M over that past 3 seasons.  During that time, they have managed to keep their squad together, only really having to sell Conway & Scott to balance the books

Which is what we could and should have been doing with the £45 million brought in. Half on new investments, some on new contracts and the rest into running costs

Sensible. Sustainable. 

Instead the money has been used to help the owners avoid their financial restrictions brought about by their activities, they don't care what that means for Rovers.

We need new owners who can and will reinvest and won't make the club suffer from their legal issues.

[KentExile]

5 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Which is what we could and should have been doing with the £45 million brought in. Half on new investments, some on new contracts and the rest into running costs

Sensible. Sustainable. 

Instead the money has been used to help the owners avoid their financial restrictions brought about by their activities, they don't care what that means for Rovers.

We need new owners who can and will reinvest and won't make the club suffer from their legal issues.

I was just editing my post to say something similar

Edited 3 hours ago by KentExile

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, callumrovers said:

I disagree, all the lads that have come in are big lads bar de Neve. Miller and Axel look like they like to put it about. We also have Gueye and the new CB who is 6ft5. 

It’s never been about size, it’s all about what’s beating under the badge. Speedie had more aggression than all those wrapped up together and he wasn’t the biggest player on the pitch.

The big lads on the pitch never worried me, it was little nasty bastards you had to look out for. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Tyrone Shoelaces

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

3 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

The bright spot of the day was that as a traditional club, Albion always do a traditional programme and it's always of the highest standard.  Yesterday was no different and this season their programme is celebrating their 125th Anniversary at the Hawthorns, with various features on their wonderful history at that famous old ground.  Football is about memories, stories of past players and past glories and this programme is certainly carrying on that tradition in fine style.

Are Rovers producing a Matchday Programme to celebrate our 150th year...if not why not?

Sigh.

Edited 2 hours ago by SIMON GARNERS 194

[RevidgeBlue]

3 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

Reflecting on yesterday's trip to The Hawthorns, I have to say that I was hugely disappointed on the whole day out.  The M6 was its usual slow crawl.  The digital ticketing system didn't work - stewards having to get people in via tickets they seemed to have.  I had to go in behind the turnstile and the very helpful, but increasingly fed up steward, got me in via the turnstile operators door.  This, after my digital ticket was scanned correctly, but the turnstile refused to co-operate and move as it should.  Football clubs and technology really don't seem to mix well.

As the for the game it proved to be the very opposite of what I expected.  I had hoped we would come out of the gate with high press, high intensity and front foot football.  No such luck.  It was slow, backwards, sideways passing which never looked like getting the better of a decently organised but very ordinary West Brom outfit.

I'll pass comment on the new boys - the first game and all that - but I've always believed that Tyrhys would be a huge loss and yesterday I saw nothing to convince me otherwise.  Likewise Callum Brittain, who provided momentum to the attack which was sorely missing yesterday.

I've always felt that this season would see us finish in the lower half of the table and nothing I saw yesterday convinced me otherwise.  There's no disgrace in that for me.  There are a number of decent teams in the Championship with more resources.  West Brom had a decent crowd on yesterday and tickets weren't cheap - £27 for an OAP for an afternoon of mediocrity - but it illustrates just what we are up against.  

Listening to our head coach on the way home suggesting that a winger will be our only future addition to the squad is a worry.  We badly need a striker.  Yuki, I believe to be an excellent player who links up play and has the required work ethic for that role.  However, I don't see him as being a 20 goals a season man.  Without signing an additional striker, I think it may be in for a long hard season.

The bright spot of the day was that as a traditional club, Albion always do a traditional programme and it's always of the highest standard.  Yesterday was no different and this season their programme is celebrating their 125th Anniversary at the Hawthorns, with various features on their wonderful history at that famous old ground.  Football is about memories, stories of past players and past glories and this programme is certainly carrying on that tradition in fine style.

Your knowledge of the Club is more or less unrivalled Parson therefore I find it very depressing that you're seemingly so accepting of mediocrity (or worse). Why is it " no disgrace" to finish in the lower half of the table? If you're happy with that there's no point carrying on, might as well turn the lights off and lock the gates for good.

As you're well aware we've competed and finished far better than that in the pre Jack days albeit under better but much poorer owners and dare I say it, better managers.

Edited 2 hours ago by RevidgeBlue

[RoversTilliDie]

18 hours ago, Beanie01289 said:

rw striker and cm if trav leaves is a minimum one player is not enough

It's likely according to the LT, that will be half our team from last season sold.

[callumrovers]

22 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It’s never been about size, it’s all about what’s beating under the badge. Speedie had more aggression than all those wrapped up together and he wasn’t the biggest player on the pitch.

The big lads on the pitch never worried me, it was little nasty bastards you had to look out for. 

If you 6ft plus your not going to be getting bullied on the pitch. You can be small and aggressive but physically your not winning that battle against a player that is just as aggressive but is taller. I don’t know how you can make that assumption either when you’ve only seen cameos from all mentioned. From my limited knowledge of them, they are all aggressive high energy players.  

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, callumrovers said:

If you 6ft plus your not going to be getting bullied on the pitch. You can be small and aggressive but physically your not winning that battle against a player that is just as aggressive but is taller. I don’t know how you can make that assumption either when you’ve only seen cameos from all mentioned. From my limited knowledge of them, they are all aggressive high energy players.  

We got bullied yesterday with all our big lads on display.

[RoversTilliDie]

29 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It’s never been about size, it’s all about what’s beating under the badge. Speedie had more aggression than all those wrapped up together and he wasn’t the biggest player on the pitch.

The big lads on the pitch never worried me, it was little nasty bastards you had to look out for. 

We've some big lads in the team, we need a decent crosser of the ball, finding them in the box.

[RoversTilliDie]

2 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

We got bullied yesterday with all our big lads on display.

We got kicked off the pitch more like,  it took the incompetent ref some time, before he booked one of there dirty bastards.

Edited 2 hours ago by RoversTilliDie

[roversfan99]

4 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

If you dont think that was clear penalty then you are totally and utter clueless. You're embarrassing yourself 

I'm not doing another Hedges debate with you AGAIN FFS. Move on and stop shit stirring RF99. 

We need a right sided attacking midfielder in. Thought you agree. 

Then replacing any players that leave whether that Travis, Pears or Buckley

He played 2 weeks ago so is he fit or not? I dont know what the scans show

I definitely think we need far more than just a right winger and to replace any outgoings.

You now think that and have dropped previous requests because its what Ismael said will happen so you are parroting it.

It may have been a penalty, although he definitely exaggerated his fall to try and con the ref.

But I am more worried about our performance than pinning our issues on referees.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

We got kicked off the pitch more like,  it took the incompetent ref some time, before he booked one of there dirty bastards.

We haven’t got a player who’ll put a real foot in. Travis is the only one that is even near and yesterday he wasn’t  at it. They gave him a quietener early on after the ball had gone that they got away with.
That was one of the things I liked about Beck, he’d meet fire with fire and he didn’t take a backward step.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

I definitely think we need far more than just a right winger and to replace any outgoings.

You now think that and have dropped previous requests because its what Ismael said will happen so you are parroting it.

It may have been a penalty, although he definitely exaggerated his fall to try and con the ref.

But I am more worried about our performance than pinning our issues on referees.

If that “ tackle “ is at the home end of any ground 100% of the time it’s a given penalty. Who’d take it and whether we’d score from it is another story. My money would be on Ohashi.

[RevidgeBlue]

The season's a day old and Im already sick to death of highlighting the chronic lack of firepower in the squad. I was starting to think I was living in a parallel universe with many others saying "Nah, we'll be ok., we only play with one striker, so we've got enough, we just need another midfielder who can double up on the RHS and more centre back cover!"

Feel somewhat vindicated after yesterday, we were even more toothless than I expected. Actually thought West Brom were pretty poor, a really good side would have put us well and truly to the sword.

At least two half decent strikers needed to supplement the likely output from Ohashi and Gueye imo plus a decent RW to replace Dolan. Not even sure if LW is satisfactory either tbh,  De Neve looks miles off the required standard (very strange signing) and I still have the same view on Kargbo that I had within the first 30 mins of watching him play that he has pace but negligible end product.

The manager worries me greatly. Has assembled a very unbalanced squad and when are we going to see this high intensity pressing football he allegedly favours? Yesterday couldn't have been more slow and pedestrian if you'd tried and whenever we picked up the ball in the opposition half yesterday the ball invariably went sideways and backwards a couple of times.

Great in press conferences but on the basis of the 13 competitive games we've seen from him I think we're being sold a pup.

[RevidgeBlue]

20 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

We got kicked off the pitch more like,  it took the incompetent ref some time, before he booked one of there dirty bastards.

I must have been watching a different game. Other than the penalty which the referee got wrong ( and I dont suppose we'll be complaining when we get a soft one) I didn't think he did much wrong at all. Nor did I think it was an overly physical game. It's not a non contact sport yet, at least not in the Championship.

Have we turned into a team of whingers like Arsenal under Wenger?

[roversfan99]

47 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

If that “ tackle “ is at the home end of any ground 100% of the time it’s a given penalty. Who’d take it and whether we’d score from it is another story. My money would be on Ohashi.

I think it was probably a penalty, I suspect the main reason that he didnt give it was the unnatural way in which Ohashi threw him himself over.

One that VAR most likely would have overturned.

Either way, I come away more concerned about our team rather than aggrieved at the referee.

[simongarnerisgod]

34 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I must have been watching a different game. Other than the penalty which the referee got wrong ( and I dont suppose we'll be complaining when we get a soft one) I didn't think he did much wrong at all. Nor did I think it was an overly physical game. It's not a non contact sport yet, at least not in the Championship.

Have we turned into a team of whingers like Arsenal under Wenger?

he did let half a dozen fouls on kargbo go and a deliberate elbow on yushi was ignored,he had a poor game and imo he appeared to be guessing on most decisions

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

Ribeiro/Pickering  Mcloghlin, Hyam, Tronstadt,  De Neve/Hedges/Ohashi couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.. Trav is more bluster.

Only Axel/Miller/Abeliosu/Gueye  look like they might mix it a bit.  

Need a few more  hard players in there if we intend to physically bully boy our way through a season. 

[Tomphil2]

Whilst most of us think we were toothless iv'e seen quite a few Baggies fans saying they are pleased how they tried to play but we looked a solid well organised side who largely stopped them and we'll do ok again.

Seen a few also saying 'Dolan is a big miss for them'.

Edited 1 hour ago by Tomphil2

[RevidgeBlue]

17 minutes ago, Wing Wizard Windy Miller said:

Ribeiro/Pickering  Mcloghlin, Hyam, Tronstadt,  De Neve/Hedges/Ohashi couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.. Trav is more bluster.

Only Axel/Miller/Abeliosu/Gueye  look like they might mix it a bit.  

Need a few more  hard players in there if we intend to physically bully boy our way through a season. 

Wasn't Travis's best game yesterday but I thought he was the only one of the midfield who showed any heart or aggression. Showed how we'll be in even more trouble if we sell imo.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Miller looks to be one that can look after himself. Axel is too obvious. Gueye never gets the benefit of the doubt off the refs so he’s treading a fine line before he starts. Abeliosu got wrestled too the ground too easily for me.  I suppose we’ll see in the coming months who the fighters are.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

4 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Wasn't Travis's best game yesterday but I thought he was the only one of the midfield who showed any heart or aggression. Showed how we'll be in even more trouble if we sell imo.

They put one on him very early on that marked his card. One they got away with.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

I definitely think we need far more than just a right winger and to replace any outgoings.

You now think that and have dropped previous requests because its what Ismael said will happen so you are parroting it.

FFS, back to this crap again. Ismael told you straight yesterday he wants one more signing and anyone who leave can be replace. Sound like we hit our limit on wage budget and after we sign the Right winger we hit our limit. Maybe actually look at what has been said by Ismael, instead of going on your little soap box again about I want x and y and Z. We can't just keep adding players to our squad without getting rid of players we don't want

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

It may have been a penalty, although he definitely exaggerated his fall to try and con the ref.

The only person who doesn't think it was Penalty is you and you finding excuse after excuse not to agree with everyone who said it was a penalty. Moore got one yesterday for less contact Ohashi got. It was penalty all day long so I suggest you take those anti tinted Rovers glasses off

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

But I am more worried about our performance than pinning our issues on referees.

good for you, if we have got that penalty and scored it, it probably be a very different game after it. 

[Herbie6590]

The first BRFCS POTM this season is Sean McLoughlin for yesterday’s game against WBA.
Congratulations Sean…👏👏👏⚪️🔵