v Portsmouth (a) - 13/12/25

[rigger]

4 hours ago, RoversTilliDie said:

I've changed my mind, I'll be at the Millwall game, next home game. I said I wasn't going again, after the disappointing Oxford game. It's in the blood, Rovers till I die.

So you stuck by your convictions, for two days.

[JCRovers]

4 hours ago, davulsukur said:

Ismael has got a slight problem on his hands now, as he's already praised the impact of Cantwell and has recently been signing the praises of Mori. He's probably going to have to try and accommodate both of them. If Cantwell is fit to start (don't see why he wouldn't be now), how will he line up so get them both on the pitch?

---------------Pears

-----Miller--McLoughlin--Pratt

Alebiosu----------------------Ribeiro

--------Tronstad---Cantwell

---------------Mori

------Gudjohnsen--Ohashi

I think that's what he'll end up doing.

That lineup is unbalanced in central midfield and Ribeiro is unable to cover an entire flank on his own, as shown in the last few matches where Ismael has changed his position in-game from wing-back to left center back. 

Sorry to say this but Ismael is more or less forced to make a formation switch here to make it work somewhat with Hedges out injured. Either Ohashi drops to become a secondary striker behind Gudjohnsen or Cantwell starts. Central midfield is a f*ing mess right now; risky to start Baradji as well due to lack of match fitness but I would give him at least 45-60 minutes here if he can manage it. Tronstad will probably not be able to play more than 30 minutes or so.

4-2-3-1    

                   Pears

Alebiosu  Miller  McLoughlin   Ribeiro

               Baradji    TGH

Morishita      Ohashi         De Neve

                Gudjohnsen

Subs: Cantwell, Tronstad, Tavares

In possession (final third): 3-2-5 with Alebiosu moving forward, Morishita cutting inside from the wing and Ribeiro staying in a back three.

Out of possession: perhaps a standard 4-4-2 with Ohashi leading the press with Gudjohnsen?

 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by JCRovers

[Elrovers]

Alebiosu has made it to the final squad for Nigeria. Will be a big miss in this busy period. I pray to god that Nigeria don’t go through to the knockouts

[davulsukur]

23 minutes ago, Elrovers said:

Alebiosu has made it to the final squad for Nigeria. Will be a big miss in this busy period. I pray to god that Nigeria don’t go through to the knockouts

Confirmed now by the club.

[NeilInBristol]

7 hours ago, Elrovers said:

Alebiosu has made it to the final squad for Nigeria. Will be a big miss in this busy period. I pray to god that Nigeria don’t go through to the knockouts

That’s good for him

avoid the chaos and carnage that ensews the club

he’ll be sold soon enough, sadly

[MarkBRFC]

15 hours ago, islander200 said:

You said Preston would bully us over the pitch aswell

Trying to predict how games will go in the championship is nigh on impossible

Our recent form isn't bad considering the injury issues we have,  our last 9 games 4 wins 3 draws and 2 defeats 

Seeing the squad at the start of the season I expected us to be in the bottom 3 most the season and eventually get relegated.I think we have done alright certainly recently not to be thinking we are going to get beat in every game. Ipswich and Wrexham were both decent performances, we probably would have gone on to beat Wednesday and Oxford was a deserved draw.

To be fair I think we can win tomorrow.

I just don't fancy us in the games after, especially with our injury situation, you just know Cantwell will "break down" again soon. Alebiosu going to afcon is a huge blow too.

Would love to be wrong and come out of that batch of games with some breathing room, but we'll see.

[Herbie6590]

This raises many interesting questions…👀

[davulsukur]

14 hours ago, JCRovers said:

That lineup is unbalanced in central midfield and Ribeiro is unable to cover an entire flank on his own, as shown in the last few matches where Ismael has changed his position in-game from wing-back to left center back. 

Sorry to say this but Ismael is more or less forced to make a formation switch here to make it work somewhat with Hedges out injured. Either Ohashi drops to become a secondary striker behind Gudjohnsen or Cantwell starts. Central midfield is a f*ing mess right now; risky to start Baradji as well due to lack of match fitness but I would give him at least 45-60 minutes here if he can manage it. Tronstad will probably not be able to play more than 30 minutes or so.

4-2-3-1    

                   Pears

Alebiosu  Miller  McLoughlin   Ribeiro

               Baradji    TGH

Morishita      Ohashi         De Neve

                Gudjohnsen

Subs: Cantwell, Tronstad, Tavares

In possession (final third): 3-2-5 with Alebiosu moving forward, Morishita cutting inside from the wing and Ribeiro staying in a back three.

Out of possession: perhaps a standard 4-4-2 with Ohashi leading the press with Gudjohnsen?

 

 

Completely agree with the midfield pairings but tbh, I'm yet to find a midfield pairing I do like.

Tronstad has to be 1 of the 2 in any pairing but:

Sonny & TGH: Best we can do at the moment. Not enough creativity between them.

Sonny & Forshaw: As above but with slightly less energy as Forshaw hasn't got the legs anymore.

Sonny & Taveres: Just the worst pairing. They both end up occupying the same space. Taveres is the opposite of the high workrate of TGH.

Sonny & Montgomery: Montgomery has the energy and work rate but has gotten lost in games to an extent and also has the same lack of creativity as TGH.

Sonny & Baradji: Feel like this will be the one for a few months at the end of the season before Sonny leaves in the summer and we're back to square 1.

[Silas]

20 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

This raises many interesting questions…👀

2 weeks before Xmas feels like a hell of a time to discover I'm not real. 

Then again, if I don't exist, then Venky's don't exist too right. Every cloud. 

[KentExile]

27 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

This raises many interesting questions…👀

 

It would explain the strange views of one or 2 online

 

How much would it cost for Venkys/Pasha/Rudy to buy a few hundred pro Venkys "bots" to post on twitter/LT/here?

Edited 6 hours ago by KentExile

[Old Codger]

2 points from a possible 9 in the last 3 fixtures (albeit one abandoned) tells the depressing story - the trajectory is clearly swinging downwards and the fixture pile up, pitch problems on wet days, long term absentees from the matchday squad and a general air of doom and gloom means...  feck all in this league.

We could do with a couple  of sublime Alebiosu / Gudjohnssen combos tomorrow, and a cheeky Mori or Yuki top up to crown another 'unexpected' positive result for Roving Rovers on the Road. 

More likely it seems like the wheels will finally bounce off and we will be left careering towards oblivion.

Not feeling the 'we can beat this lot' vibe at all.

Pompey in circumstantial capitulation 1 Rovers in Rampant Renaissance Running Riot 3

Pomp up the volume 3 Raggedy Rovers 0

Pomp my Rovers Ride, I'm all at sea 0 Realistic Reflection of Resources 0

COYB!

Oh, and to those who think I'm an AI bot..I say, oh bondage, up yours!

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Old Codger
A bot, I'm not, a body I've got,

[B16Rover]

1 hour ago, Herbie6590 said:

This raises many interesting questions…👀

ChAIddy

[Lancaster Rover]

We could play with two 10's in a 3-4-2-1. Cantwell and Mori coming in as the 10's with One of De Neve or Ribeiro giving the width in the 4 alongside whatever combination of TGH, Tronstad, Baradji and Forshaw is fit. The lone striker a tough one as Andri scores but Yuki presses

[RevidgeBlue]

2 hours ago, KentExile said:

 

It would explain the strange views of one or 2 online

 

How much would it cost for Venkys/Pasha/Rudy to buy a few hundred pro Venkys "bots" to post on twitter/LT/here?

Imo there's no way at all they havent already done that on the LT.

[StHelensRover]

Looking at the three fixtures of 

Sheff W
Oxford
Pompey

I would have preferred 9 but accepted 7 points from those matches, given the unpredictability of the division. The fact that we've now only got one point from them because the replay is probably months off, is making me panic. Tomorrow is the toughest match of those three and if we don't win we're sucked right back in. That game in hand will linger over us for ages now and nothing is guaranteed from it. That game in hand against Wednesday might come when we're in real trouble and there will be so much pressure on it. The last 15 years has shown that we never turn up under pressure.

I have a feeling tomorrow will be an ugly draw, 0-0 or 1-1. Not great for either side.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by StHelensRover

[RoversTilliDie]

15 hours ago, Elrovers said:

Alebiosu has made it to the final squad for Nigeria. Will be a big miss in this busy period. I pray to god that Nigeria don’t go through to the knockouts

I don't think I'll read the Lancashire Telegraph again, it stated last week, that Alebiosu wasn't in the final squad. I think they make it up as they go along.

[KidderStreetNoise]

Is there anyone travelling to the game tomorrow morning that wouldn't mind speaking to talksport?

[davulsukur]

3 hours ago, KentExile said:

 

It would explain the strange views of one or 2 online

 

How much would it cost for Venkys/Pasha/Rudy to buy a few hundred pro Venkys "bots" to post on twitter/LT/here?

Don't think they were bots as such but there were definitely some people who had clearly been paid to be Pro-Venkys, ultra positive about the club early in the season.

Remember having an "argument" with one about Eustace being a better manager than VI. He was on my case a lot when Derby were below us but dropped off quickly after Derby got their act together.

[joey_big_nose]

I am a bit confused who is actually available on this one? I would really consider going four at the back as I think without Hedges on the left 352 to doesn't really work. And that's going to get even more difficult when Alebiousu goes away.... And we can give one of the strikers a bit of rest. 

A thought that has occured to me is if we should go 433? Might suit us a bit better than 4231. 

                              Pears

Alebiousu      Miller      McCloughlin    Riberio

              TGH     Tronstad   Cantwell

        Morishita     Ohashi    De Neve

Subs : Michalski, Pratt, Pickering, Baradji, Henricksson, Tavers, Gudjohnsen, Gueye, Tyjon?

[KidderStreetNoise]

1 hour ago, joey_big_nose said:

I am a bit confused who is actually available on this one? I would really consider going four at the back as I think without Hedges on the left 352 to doesn't really work. And that's going to get even more difficult when Alebiousu goes away.... And we can give one of the strikers a bit of rest. 

A thought that has occured to me is if we should go 433? Might suit us a bit better than 4231. 

                              Pears

Alebiousu      Miller      McCloughlin    Riberio

              TGH     Tronstad   Cantwell

        Morishita     Ohashi    De Neve

Subs : Michalski, Pratt, Pickering, Baradji, Henricksson, Tavers, Gudjohnsen, Gueye, Tyjon?

That back 5 is terrifying