v Watford (a) - 13/9/25

[Tomphil2]

25 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

I don't know, as a similar languid style and likes to play one touch. Very reminiscent to Nzonzi for me stylistically. Just unfortunately he keeps losing the ball and missing tackles. 

That said, as others have mentioned, it does seem to be a pace of the game thing. Could improve over time. But I wouldn't have started him today, and wouldn't start him next week.

They could do worse than getting him watching some early Nzonzi games and coach him to get a foot in and keep it simple.

He needs to grow into Nzonzi but he's trying to be Patrick Viera .

[...]

3 hours ago, M_B said:

Aye, he did well. I was meaning the overall amount of Championship experience which we've lost, and brought foreign players in.

it was a major topic throughout the window. 

Oh hahaha I knew what you were on about I was on about the butchering of his name 🤣🤣

[Torgeir]

Carter deserves praise as well. Straight from the treatment room into the starting eleven and defended well and always on the front foot, just like his partner Wharton. A new constellation at the back and pretty new team altogether. Subs were sensible too.

[M_B]

27 minutes ago, ... said:

Oh hahaha I knew what you were on about I was on about the butchering of his name 🤣🤣

Aaah😂

[joey_big_nose]

26 minutes ago, Torgeir said:

Carter deserves praise as well. Straight from the treatment room into the starting eleven and defended well and always on the front foot, just like his partner Wharton. A new constellation at the back and pretty new team altogether. Subs were sensible too.

Carter has always been real quality when fit, could conceivably play in the Premier League. Just a question of how long he can stay off the treatment table.

The big unknown is how decent is Miller as a CB. My best guess is given Wharton and Carter's injury records Miller is going to get at least 10 games this season at CB. 

[roversfan99]

3 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Carter has always been real quality when fit, could conceivably play in the Premier League. Just a question of how long he can stay off the treatment table.

The big unknown is how decent is Miller as a CB. My best guess is given Wharton and Carter's injury records Miller is going to get at least 10 games this season at CB. 

He hasnt been in the last 2 years. When he has played, he has looked really shaky and error prone and often seemed to evade criticism which was unfairly put on Hyam.

I have always seen suggestions of the Premier League as unfounded but he has certainly shown before that he can be a good defender at this level and perhaps it was just those fitness issues that meant that he struggled to perform to his maximum during those 2 seasons. So the question is whether he can stay fit. Not only is it critical as he is our only natural right footed centre back but its also important to allow him to get some rhythm back.

[bluebruce]

Had to miss the game, on the way back from a gig in Bristol and just watched the highlights on Sky...buzzing tbf. Superb efforts from Morishita and Cantwell that could easily have gone in, yes they were from distance but promising we could start scoring pearlers again. Lovely for Mori to get his full debut goal and see his helicopter celebration. Thought Ohashi's pass to him was unreal, looks like they've already struck up an understanding. How did Morishita play in general?

These may be still the dark days of Venkys, and there's a lot of football to be played this season, but I'm gonna take the moments of light when I can!

[rigger]

What a day, Rovers with a great win, and "last night of the proms" after a load of ale. I still knew all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody.

[Exiled_Rover]

16 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Had to miss the game, on the way back from a gig in Bristol and just watched the highlights on Sky...buzzing tbf. Superb efforts from Morishita and Cantwell that could easily have gone in, yes they were from distance but promising we could start scoring pearlers again. Lovely for Mori to get his full debut goal and see his helicopter celebration. Thought Ohashi's pass to him was unreal, looks like they've already struck up an understanding. How did Morishita play in general?

These may be still the dark days of Venkys, and there's a lot of football to be played this season, but I'm gonna take the moments of light when I can!

Morishita looks a tidy, skillful, composed player. Plays with his head up.

He's slower than many of us thought he'd be though - maybe a step quicker than Dolan?

Gudjohnsen was the real eye opener I thought - looked excellent when he came on. 

[bluebruce]

17 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Morishita looks a tidy, skillful, composed player. Plays with his head up.

He's slower than many of us thought he'd be though - maybe a step quicker than Dolan?

Gudjohnsen was the real eye opener I thought - looked excellent when he came on. 

All sounds promising. If Mori is a step quicker than Dolan and plays with his head up, composed, and still has skill then he sounds like an upgrade.

Gudjohnsen will be riding a high from his goal against France. Hopefully he keeps that momentum.

[XLM]

53 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

All sounds promising. If Mori is a step quicker than Dolan and plays with his head up, composed, and still has skill then he sounds like an upgrade.

Gudjohnsen will be riding a high from his goal against France. Hopefully he keeps that momentum.

I'd 100% back Dolan over 5, 10 and probably 20 yards for pace. But other than that and being a bit lightweight, Mori looks a quality player.

Gudjohnsen looked very promising too. Looks technically good and gets the most out of his frame. Seemed a smart player too, same as Mori.

It bears repeating just how good Scott Wharton was today. Absolutely fantastic performance. Back with a bang on his first league start in nearly 18 months. Easiest MotM I'll ever give. Really chuffed for him.

[USABlue]

Had a bad night so slept thru first 25 minutes of the game but I thought it was a good all around performance.  A couple of players need to get better but could so many if us end up eating some pie of the humble kind.  Thiught we closed the game out better than in recent history I was certain we would concede late on, thiught Toth looked quite solid today too.

Have to wonder if they are figuring how much they can get for Scott already.

Edited 10 hours ago by USABlue

[Neal]

Gudjohnson looked like the sort of number 9 we need. Physical, looked after the ball, good movement. I love Yuki but he isn't a number 9 and never will be. 

[Exiled_Rover]

3 minutes ago, Neal said:

Gudjohnson looked like the sort of number 9 we need. Physical, looked after the ball, good movement. I love Yuki but he isn't a number 9 and never will be. 

Use him like Utd used to used Solskjaer. 

[BankEnd Rover]

After watching Gudjohnsen through the internationals, it's not surprise he made an impact. 

[roversfan99]

I think Ohashi is best suited to being a number 9. He likes to run in behind and he can use his body quite well.

I think because of his frame, its easy to assume that he would be more effective deeper (hes hardly got the physique of a typical old fashioned number 9) but I dont see what skills he has that would be better suited there. 

I just dont think he is anything special. Hes a decent Championship striker but hes not one that cant be improved upon or one youd have faith in really making the difference.

I liked the look of Gudjohnsen although he did have a specific job to do of helping to see a game out and he really did help in that. He has attributes that are really promising. That being said, the acid test will be what he offers in terms of helping us get more goals. 

[riverholmes]

2 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

Carter has always been real quality when fit, could conceivably play in the Premier League. Just a question of how long he can stay off the treatment table.

The big unknown is how decent is Miller as a CB. My best guess is given Wharton and Carter's injury records Miller is going to get at least 10 games this season at CB. 

In a way, reminds me of Martin Taylor. Could do a job and technically decent, hence, sometimes going to RB. However, pace (and injuries) will be a issue when getting to the top echelons.

[speeeeeeedie]

A very good win. Rovers were the better team. 

I said it after the last win but Cantwell is a class above most in the Championship.

I thought that Gudjohnsen should have had a penalty.

I'll look back later to see if the reason is known but the kit choices were very strange. 

The match commentator I had said that Tronstad is off at the end of the season. He's going back to Scandanavia. 

[arbitro]

In all honesty I would have taken a draw before the match as I was worried about our centre back pairing and their lack of game. Well I got it completely wrong and the cornerstone to the win was Wharton and Carter who were both excellent. I call it proper defending, head it, kick it and physically dominate your opponent. They did that in spades and I was particularly pleased for Scott who has had a torrid time with injuries. His post match body language in front of the fans looked quite emotional.

Yesterday we were pretty much everything I want us to be. Full of energy, aggressive and playing quickly. Aside from a short spell in the first half when Watford had a good in midfield we were dominant. Ismael was smart with his substitutions I thought and although we went to a back five (I actually predicted he would just after we scored) but we still looked dangerous on the counter.

There were lots to admire about yesterday and collectively we looked good but aside from our centre halves I thought Hedges and Cantwell were really good. Hedges in particular gets some unfair criticism but hopefully his start to the season will change some minds. Cantwell is thriving with the responsibility of the captain's armband which looks like a masterstroke from Ismael.

What struck me yesterday was that there seemed to be a togetherness about the squad despite losing some strong characters recently. Certainly Ismael was as buoyant as I have seen him at the end of the match as he came over to the fans.

We have only concerned one goal away from home so far which is a real feather in Ismael's cap as he seems to know how to set us up to play on the counter. Perhaps that tactic might suit us at home.

[Herbie6590]

3 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

A very good win. Rovers were the better team. 

I said it after the last win but Cantwell is a class above most in the Championship.

I thought that Gudjohnsen should have had a penalty.

I'll look back later to see if the reason is known but the kit choices were very strange. 

The match commentator I had said that Tronstad is off at the end of the season. He's going back to Scandanavia. 

 

[Herbie6590]

Don’t forget to vote for your POTM…LINK AT THE TOP OF THE THREAD 👍

[KentExile]

20 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

Don’t forget to vote for your POTM…LINK AT THE TOP OF THE THREAD 👍

We can't give ratings for TGH or Gudjohnsen, is that an easy fix?

[chaddyrovers]

49 minutes ago, arbitro said:

In all honesty I would have taken a draw before the match as I was worried about our centre back pairing and their lack of game. Well I got it completely wrong and the cornerstone to the win was Wharton and Carter who were both excellent. I call it proper defending, head it, kick it and physically dominate your opponent. They did that in spades and I was particularly pleased for Scott who has had a torrid time with injuries. His post match body language in front of the fans looked quite emotional.

Yesterday we were pretty much everything I want us to be. Full of energy, aggressive and playing quickly. Aside from a short spell in the first half when Watford had a good in midfield we were dominant. Ismael was smart with his substitutions I thought and although we went to a back five (I actually predicted he would just after we scored) but we still looked dangerous on the counter.

There were lots to admire about yesterday and collectively we looked good but aside from our centre halves I thought Hedges and Cantwell were really good. Hedges in particular gets some unfair criticism but hopefully his start to the season will change some minds. Cantwell is thriving with the responsibility of the captain's armband which looks like a masterstroke from Ismael.

What struck me yesterday was that there seemed to be a togetherness about the squad despite losing some strong characters recently. Certainly Ismael was as buoyant as I have seen him at the end of the match as he came over to the fans.

We have only concerned one goal away from home so far which is a real feather in Ismael's cap as he seems to know how to set us up to play on the counter. Perhaps that tactic might suit us at home.

Great to hear those comments. 

Seen some online videos of Ismael's post match celebrations with the fans. 

Agreed with comments about Hedges and Cantwell performances this season

When he went 3 at back I thought Ismael was wrong to change it but he wasn't and I was. 

What did you think of Tavares and Taylor-Hickman performances?.

[Parsonblue]

Another great away day.  This was the perfect away performance in so many ways.  On the front foot from the start, high energy, quick attacking moves, robust tackling.  Defensively we were excellent.  Carter and Wharton provided the rock on which we could build.  Scott was my Man of the Match, a truly outstanding performance.  

Cantwell looks a different player this season season.  He links up play in the opposition half so well and the move between himself, Ohashi and Morishita that led to the goal was pure class.

In midfield, Tarvares showed some flair for passing but is clearly a work in progress.  Tronstad was he usual solid self and how we will miss him when he returns home in the summer.  However, a special word again for Ryan Hedges who continues to be a workhorse.  Val seems to have got the best out of Hedges and he now looks an automatic choice for that position.

Morishita looks a real player.  Intelligent in his movement, good control and packs a fierce shot.  He looks a real find as does Gudjohnsen on this display.  Strong, mobile and plenty of skill he looks like another player who will be a real addition to our ranks.

Of course, it's still early days, but there are some very promising signs at the moment and much to be encouraged about. 

[arbitro]

2 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Great to hear those comments. 

Seen some online videos of Ismael's post match celebrations with the fans. 

Agreed with comments about Hedges and Cantwell performances this season

When he went 3 at back I thought Ismael was wrong to change it but he wasn't and I was. 

What did you think of Tavares and Taylor-Hickman performances?.

Tavares had a little spell in the first half when he got sloppy in possession but overall he did a good job. It was difficult to make a judgement on Gardner-Hickman given the amount of time he played but having seen him play against us several times I think he will be an asset to us with his Championship experience.