v Millwall (h) - 20/12/25

[Roverthechimp]

40 minutes ago, lraC said:

I watched the game on Rovers TV from my home in Spain. I found it a bit strange on commentary that it was stated that it looked like the pitch had benefited from some work being done on it. I don’t know if it has or not, but given that the supporters who watch the game that way have all paid a subscription and it is Rovers own channel, why were the commentators not told either way, so that they could pass this on to the fans? Surely it isn’t a secret.

If word is spread that some work has been done without them having to actually do anything then they (Pasha/Gestede or whoever the hell is this weeks "head of operations") will be absolutely bloomin delighted!

My reaction is that it was cutting up - IF any work has been done then i would suggest it would have been minor vertical aeration with knives. Looked a bit similar to a golf course after that operation and it will cut up more in the short term but will only help with draining providing there isn't a compacted layer underneath or the actual drains are insufficient/partially blocked

Cost - a few quid or 2 places in a VIP box for a local greenkeeper

[Herbie6590]

Your BRFCS POTM is Yuki Ohashi…👏👏👏

[DE.]

2 hours ago, KentExile said:

Even if they are easy finishes, he is in the right place to put them away, we have had numerous strikers in recent years who do not have that instinct

He offers very little apart from goals, but if he was a more complete player, we wouldn't have him

This is exactly it. Gudjohnsen just has that striker's instinct. He knows where to be and the movement needed to get there. Gallagher simply does not have this, and he'll never be a proper goalscorer as a result. Mowbray shunted him out on the right to try and make use of his work ethic, but even then his technical limitations made him fairly ineffective. 

It was rare that I felt Gallagher didn't put the effort in, but during his entire tenure here it never felt like there was a position he was truly comfortable in. I think his best bet would have been as part of a two up top, but we rarely played that way. 

Edited 7 hours ago by DE.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

30 minutes ago, DE. said:

This is exactly it. Gudjohnsen just has that striker's instinct. He knows where to be and the movement needed to get there. Gallagher simply does not have this, and he'll never be a proper goalscorer as a result. Mowbray shunted him out on the right to try and make use of his work ethic, but even then his technical limitations made him fairly ineffective. 

It was rare that I felt Gallagher didn't put the effort in, but during his entire tenure here it never felt like there was a position he was truly comfortable in. I think his best bet would have been as part of a two up top, but we rarely played that way. 

I had the feeling he was an athletic type of lad that was “ manufactured “ into a footballer. He’d no six sense in the penalty box, he always seemed to be back on his heels when chances cropped up.

[Wheelton Blue]

Off pitch stuff aside, I enjoyed being on Ewood yesterday. It was a nice change walking back up LBR with a smile.

We played half decent, deservedly won, and the paltry few in attendance got behind the team.

[chaddyrovers]

11 hours ago, ageoftherover said:

How many years did we have hard-working, non scoring center forwards and sat here wishing we had a bloke who'd just stick it in the net? We finally have one and there's complaints about the rest of his game?

Said it before, but a player in this division who is the complete package doesn’t stay here for very long. Gudjohnsen is a very good player at this level.

Ohashi and Gudjohnsen just works as partnership. Gudjohnsen stays centrally and has decent link up play and knows where the goal is. Ohashi, works his socks and runs the channels and has 6 goals for the season. 

Gudjohnsen has 7 goals and Ohashi has 6 goals for the season, probably looking around the 15 goals each for the season

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Seems to be a few people saying that but he didnt look injured, just knackered. I dont think he went down the tunnel for treatment either but may be wrong and not seen anything post match.

He is very limited in his all round game, but he does have a natural instinct for being in the right place at the right time and can finish which justifies his place in the team as its the most important part of being a striker.

he was down a couple of minutes injury before he went off, nothing major hopefully. 

[MarkBRFC]

15 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

he was down a couple of minutes injury before he went off, nothing major hopefully. 

He was last one off the pitch yesterday after the game and was moving fine, so hoping he's ok. 

[chaddyrovers]

3 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

He was last one off the pitch yesterday after the game and was moving fine, so hoping he's ok. 

Yes he was, maybe it was slight knock or something. But he is important to how we play with the 2 second strikers

[only2garners]

I thought that we played OK yesterday but have played better and lost this season. We got lucky with both goals, although it was inevitable that Ohashi would eventually get a goal by harassing defenders. But we were still comfortably better than a woeful Millwall side.

I didn’t realise until after the game that Millwall substitute Caleb Taylor is Martin Taylor’s son.

[simongarnerisgod]

1 hour ago, Wheelton Blue said:

Off pitch stuff aside, I enjoyed being on Ewood yesterday. It was a nice change walking back up LBR with a smile.

We played half decent, deservedly won, and the paltry few in attendance got behind the team.

it`s very satisfying to send away fans home miserable,even better when they face a long journey home🙂

[DE.]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I had the feeling he was an athletic type of lad that was “ manufactured “ into a footballer. He’d no six sense in the penalty box, he always seemed to be back on his heels when chances cropped up.

I think there was a player there in SG. His attributes could have been moulded into something useful. Not necessarily a traditional footballer but certainly a thorn in the side of the opposition. Allardyce could have made something out of Gallagher. He just needed someone to teach him how to use his build effectively and what positions to take up during specific passages of play. I don't think Mowbray or JDT were the right kind of managers for him. Eustace might have been, but by that point he was injury prone and his time here was coming to an end. 

[chaddyrovers]

 

 

[KentExile]

10 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

 

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/december/21/paul-proud-of-academy-debutants/

[chaddyrovers]

29 minutes ago, KentExile said:

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/december/21/paul-proud-of-academy-debutants/

 

 

 

[aletheia]

8 hours ago, NeilInBristol said:

great thing about our club they haven’t ruined (yet) is our academy

Keep your fingers crossed.

[RTM08]

2 hours ago, only2garners said:

I thought that we played OK yesterday but have played better and lost this season. We got lucky with both goals, although it was inevitable that Ohashi would eventually get a goal by harassing defenders. But we were still comfortably better than a woeful Millwall side.

I didn’t realise until after the game that Millwall substitute Caleb Taylor is Martin Taylor’s son.

I think I agree with that. I don't think we were troubled by Millwall really but by the same note we rarely create chances unless they are gifted to us. If we can improve in that area I think we'll be fine, but it'll take more than this result to convince me we're safe.

2 hours ago, DE. said:

I think there was a player there in SG. His attributes could have been moulded into something useful. Not necessarily a traditional footballer but certainly a thorn in the side of the opposition. Allardyce could have made something out of Gallagher. He just needed someone to teach him how to use his build effectively and what positions to take up during specific passages of play. I don't think Mowbray or JDT were the right kind of managers for him. Eustace might have been, but by that point he was injury prone and his time here was coming to an end. 

Under Coyle SG was reasonably good and I'd hoped on his return he was going to kick on but we never really played to his strengths. I don't think it helped that we paid a relative fortune for him and then played him out of position for years - that money on him and Diaz could have been used much more wisely (Diaz came good but then we fumbled the sale). 

[DE.]

20 minutes ago, RTM08 said:

Under Coyle SG was reasonably good and I'd hoped on his return he was going to kick on but we never really played to his strengths. I don't think it helped that we paid a relative fortune for him and then played him out of position for years - that money on him and Diaz could have been used much more wisely (Diaz came good but then we fumbled the sale). 

The £5m fee was certainly a bit of an albatross around Gallagher's neck. If we'd bought him for £500k you'd say he did quite alright for us over the years. £5m though, especially back then, was a lot of money and at this level should mean somebody able to come in and have an instant and sustained impact. But yeah, playing him out of position likely held his development back quite a bit. He was never going to be an effective wide man. He didn't have the skillset for that. He should have been coached in how to use his frame to good effect up top. He was never going to be a lethal scorer, but he had the potential to be a nightmare for defenders to deal with. Instead he just drifted into mediocrity before injuries done him in towards the end. 

Diaz would have been worth the £7m to Venky's if we'd sold him for profit (and it's down to pure incompetence that we didn't). From the team/fans pov I'm not sure he was ever really worth that. He did have two very strong half-season purple patches, but when he lost confidence he was hopeless. A £7m player in the championship simply can't be a confidence player, they have to be effective regardless. When he was lacking confidence he barely registered a goal or assist for multiple games. You'd also expect a £7m player to be able to pull a team up by the bootstraps and he didn't do that either. If the team played badly, so did he. 

Again, if we'd paid less for him you'd say he did alright for us in the end. £7m for two half season purple patches, though... not so much. With that said, some fans made a lot of money from his 20 goal half season, so I'm sure they consider him a success! 

[because of boxing day]

Loved the way Ohashi knocked the second one in from 1 yard to qualify for his goalscorer's bonus.

There's no dosh for an OG!!

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

11 minutes ago, because of boxing day said:

Loved the way Ohashi knocked the second one in from 1 yard to qualify for his goalscorer's bonus.

There's no dosh for an OG!!

 

He earned the right to tap that in because nothing is a lost cause as far as Yuki is concerned.

[M_B]

8 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Seems to be a few people saying that but he didnt look injured, just knackered. I dont think he went down the tunnel for treatment either but may be wrong and not seen anything post match.

He is very limited in his all round game, but he does have a natural instinct for being in the right place at the right time and can finish which justifies his place in the team as its the most important part of being a striker.

He was taken off with an injury, he came off holding the back of his thigh, and we all know what that indicates. 

Edited 56 minutes ago by M_B

[Comfortably numb]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

 

 

What's also great is that quite a few of the academy prospects are Rovers fans as well, so they hopefully have an even greater desire to do well.

Off the top of my head Litherland, Dunn, Higgins and Lister are fans, I'm sure there are probably more.

Nothing better than seeing one of your own playing for your club

 

 

 

 

 

[wilsdenrover]

1 hour ago, because of boxing day said:

Loved the way Ohashi knocked the second one in from 1 yard to qualify for his goalscorer's bonus.

There's no dosh for an OG!!

 

Just imagine if it had been Gueye chasing after it.

Hearts would’ve been in mouths 😁

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

13 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Just imagine if it had been Gueye chasing after it.

Hearts would’ve been in mouths 😁

 

He’d have stopped the ball, got down on his knees, and headed the ball in.

[M_B]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

He earned the right to tap that in because nothing is a lost cause as far as Yuki is concerned.

Two more Japanese fans near us holding their Ohashi shirts up yesterday, adding to the one against Wednesday.

Yuki obliged with a goal on both occasions.