v Birmingham City (h) - 16/8/25

[Herbie6590]

The home league campaign starts with a fixture against big club…who are these days acting like a genuine big club.

After the Carabao Cup mishap how will the team respond? 

Recent encounters…

 

[Ricky]

We’re going to get absolutely battered. We’ve even given them 7000+ tickets so they can all have a lively day out

[sharpysharps86]

Can't see anything other than a Brum win sadly, even more so after last night. Wouldn't be surprised if it's another chaotic start like last night, and the Boro home game from last season.

Rovers 0 - 2 Birmingham

Predict that Ismael will go with this team:

                           Toth

Miller     Hyam      McLoughlin      Ribeiro

Hedges    Tavares   Tronstad      De Neve

                        Cantwell

                         Ohashi

 

Zero goals in that side. Shocking really. This doesn't even look remotely like a Rovers team to me anymore.

[JHRover]

The side that finished 7th in the Championship last season hosting a side that was in League One last season at home and yet most people expecting a resounding defeat.

Tells us about what sort of job has been done here this summer.

[RTM08]

0-3 minimum - we'll be chasing shadows.

[Tomphil2]

Iv'e seen nothing really so far that suggests anything other than a loss here they are everything we aren't, bright, vibrant, building, ambitious, i could go on.

This is the championship though so anything can happen and everything depends on us going in front instead of behind yet we are back to starting games like we are wading in treacle.

Even last season there was little evidence of this energetic pressing/countering style Ismael has banged on about but it's ok cried the usual suspects he'll have to get his own type of players in first, well........

Rovers  1   Tom Brady's 7k Glory Hunters  3

20,787

[...]

I'm worried. Not gonna lie. Last night we a had small glimpses of good play despite the individual errors leading to 2 goals. 

Be more confident having Hyam back in the rear end along with Ribiero.

I'd like to see Kargbo start this one ahead of De Neve. Also would like to see him cross with his left foot instead of cutting back and floating balls to the edge of the box.

Not going into it with much confidence but I think a busy home ground will up the ante and be that 12th man. 

(Cringe alert ⚠️ )

We're gonna have to really get behind them and give them extra incentive to get stuck in and work harder.

 

We go again.

[Tomphil2]

It'll be interesting to see how 'busy' the BBE end is after ST hikes and £35 match tickets in there just so they can fleece the Brum lot.

 

[TheRevAshton]

Haven't lost at home to them since 2013, and we've often given them a good hiding at Ewood looking at the OP.

Oh how that's drastically going to change...

0-4 Birmingham, if we're lucky. Will be surprised if we register more than 2 shots on target.

For what it's worth, i'd go with this lineup;

Edited 1 hour ago by TheRevAshton

[BlackburnEnd75]

                       Toth

Abeliosu.   Hyam.  Mclouglin.  Ribeiro

                 Tronstad. Tavares

Henriksen.     Cantwell.      Kargbo

                    Ohashi

Subs: Pears, Wharton, miller, Pickering, Buckley, Hedges, tyjon, De Neve, Gueye.

[TheKitGuy]

3-0 Brum will do a lineup in a bit. Lost all care for it to be honest. None of em play for the badge, surprised they're even here for the money! 

[Mercer]

1 hour ago, Ricky said:

We’re going to get absolutely battered. We’ve even given them 7000+ tickets so they can all have a lively day out

TBH, an absolute battering will give Pasha, Gestede and Ismael nothing to hide behind and the wider media might just start to take note of what is really happening at Rovers.

It's time the fans turned big time on the club and it's powers that be - Saturday would be a fine time to start should the expected battering materialize.

[MarkBRFC]

The most comfortable away game of the season for Brum.

2 up at least by half time while we struggle to get anywhere near there area.

Rovers 0 Birmingham 3

Rovers first effort on target in the 80th minute. 

[roversfan99]

8 minutes ago, Mercer said:

TBH, an absolute battering will give Pasha, Gestede and Ismael nothing to hide behind and the wider media might just start to take note of what is really happening at Rovers.

It's time the fans turned big time on the club and it's powers that be - Saturday would be a fine time to start should the expected battering materialize.

Why would a battering to heavily fancied Birmingham make a considerable difference to media spotlight?

They dont seem that arsed about whats going on at Wednesday. Even if we lose comfortably and there are a few chants, it wont make any difference in the media.

[OsloRover]

39 minutes ago, ... said:

Not going into it with much confidence but I think a busy home ground will up the ante and be that 12th man

Yes, but for which team?

[JCRovers]

At this point, I would just drop every single player who has a year left on their contract (Tronstad, Travis, Hyam, Hedges) and perhaps hand the captain's armband over to McLoughlin. Ismael seems to have lost their confidence in him anyway and needs to build an entirely new squad by the looks of it. This game comes way too early for us, fear a big defeat honestly.

                            Toth

Alebiosu   Miller   McLoughlin  Ribeiro

                Henriksson   Tavares

Kargbo             Ohashi           Cantwell

                           Gueye

This lineup have zero defensive cover in central midfield but it might be able to score a goal at least.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

If we improve 100% then maybe 1-1,if not then dominated and a 0-2 defeat infront of 7,000 piss taking 'won fook all' Brummies.

The thought of Kyogo bearing down on our defense frightens me to death.

20,450.

😟

Edited 19 minutes ago by SIMON GARNERS 194

[roversfan99]

26 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

At this point, I would just drop every single player who has a year left on their contract (Tronstad, Travis, Hyam, Hedges) and perhaps hand the captain's armband over to McLoughlin. Ismael seems to have lost their confidence in him anyway and needs to build an entirely new squad by the looks of it. This game comes way too early for us, fear a big defeat honestly.

                            Toth

Alebiosu   Miller   McLoughlin  Ribeiro

                Henriksson   Tavares

Kargbo             Ohashi           Cantwell

                           Gueye

This lineup have zero defensive cover in central midfield but it might be able to score a goal at least.

Where are the goals?

[MarkBRFC]

9 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

If we improve 100% then maybe 1-1,if not then dominated and a 0-2 defeat infrot of 7,000 piss taking 'won fook all' Brummies.

 

Won more than us in the last 20 years to be fair.

[...]

37 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

At this point, I would just drop every single player who has a year left on their contract (Tronstad, Travis, Hyam, Hedges) and perhaps hand the captain's armband over to McLoughlin. Ismael seems to have lost their confidence in him anyway and needs to build an entirely new squad by the looks of it. This game comes way too early for us, fear a big defeat honestly.

                            Toth

Alebiosu   Miller   McLoughlin  Ribeiro

                Henriksson   Tavares

Kargbo             Ohashi           Cantwell

                           Gueye

This lineup have zero defensive cover in central midfield but it might be able to score a goal at least.

Be interested to see ohashi and gueye swap places

[lraC]

I just hope we don't give away any comedy goals, as I do have a feeling we might.

Once we are behind that's it, so if they score though some sort of wonderful move or skill, it might be a bit more palatable then a goal from a long throw, or the keeper playing keepie uppies right in front of their strikers. 

[joey_big_nose]

Well... we've had lots of times where we look like we will get battered and then it hasn't happened. As supporters we tend to over interpret a good performance or a bad performance. So while I am also very concerned, I also know I have been here before and actually the opposite of what I expect has sometimes happened. So I cling onto that!

I agree that goals are going to be a big issue. Gueye looks very poor at the moment (gutting as for a while in the new year he looked brilliant but that is a loong time ago now), and Ohashi is busy and can finish but will not create things on his own.

Travis openly deciding to leave could be a bit of a wheels coming off moment. Will be very demoralising for the team, who currently mostly a group of bodies flung together who do not really know how to play together. With Travis out of the picture we only have Tronstad and Hyam who have more than 50 games in a rovers shirt and are definite starters. Cantwell, Riberio, Ohashi have had 20-30 games each. I guess Wharton, Hedges, Pickering and Pears have a lot of experience but they are not favoured as starting players. Then it's a bunch of totally new characters. We've lost hundreds of rovers games of experience with Dolan, Travis, Brittain and to a lesser extent Weiman and Baath gone.

I think it's really under-estimated how important it is for the players in the team to know each others abilities and qualities, and have time to figure out how to play with each other for the best results. Ideally turnover in the team imo should be 20% to 30%ish, but we are looking at 70%/80%.... 

Anyway we are where we are... what we are doing out wide is very concerning as De Neve and Alebiousu are wing backs not forwards, Hedges struggles, and Kargbo looks very talented but raw and prone to fading out of games. I would switch to a 343 as we don't have the wide players for 4231.

                                    Toth

                   Millar     Wharton   McCloughlin

Alebiouso      Tavares      Tronstad       Pickering

                                  Cantwell

                     Ohashi               Kargbo

 

Will watch in hope as often, especially early season, you can be surprised.

[BankEnd Rover]

Does anyone know of Tavares is out? Looked in some pain after that challenge...I really liked the look of him last night.