[Archived] Rovers 0 Spurs 1

[tsnuf]

I also agree with bellamy11...

Especially in the "play Nissa at centre-back or not at all" point. I think Gray or McEvely would be better choices at left back..

I can't say it was a horrible performance. We defended well up until the goal, someone should've been marking Keane.. but we do need to replace either Gally or Dickov with one of our taller strikers. I'm hoping for Stead next match...

I think there are worse teams than us, but we definitely need to improve the squad in January to ensure safety.

[thenodrog]

a successful partnership simply MUST be found between any combination of the more technically gifted forwards at the club Boothroyd/Gallagher/Stead/Jansen.

You criticise Dickovs performance Rev but the worst player on the park and by a considerable distance (much worse even than NEJ) was Gallagher. I may be proven wrong in the fullness of time but imo he is out of his depth in the Prem. Sure he pulled the save of the match out of Robinson but that apart he contributed next to FA. The thing that endears him to the fans can only be the fact that he lived in Shad. Which in itself provides a strange contradiction....... how does a lad from Shad manage to shirk and duck out of so many 50:50 situations? Dickov was finding it tough enough against the Tottenham 'Globetrotters' but the task became impossible once he had been booked.

imo so many are bitterly criticising the Rovers but very few on this board appear willing to give Spurs any credit for what I thought was a very professional performance. I was very impressed with their work rate and commitment......... something that Spurs are not really known for. They set out to contain and frustrate us comfortable in the knowledge that they have 2 of the best strikers in the Prem and that sometime during the 90 mins those two would be likely to grab a goal against the worst defence in the Prem. And so it proved. As soon as they went 1-0 up on came Gardner and they played 5 at the back and stopped our attacks from the wing completely. Job done!

I do feel that we would have had a better chance 3 weeks ago when they appeared to be playing to get Santini removed. Now Jols in like most new managers he's got em 'up for it'. I doubt that he'll make many fans from the Spurs traditionalists who like to see good football but he'll certainly get em closer to Arsenal in the Prem.

We are a poor team, Spurs do have more talented players in important areas, we only got beat 1-0. Lets all try to keep things in context.

[thenodrog]

Why have Flitcroft on the bench?We couldve have De Pedro or MGP.We are AT HOME!

If Gallaghers effort had gone in and we were left defending a 1-0 lead with 30 mins left to play subbing Tugay with Flitcroft would have made perfect sense. Or maybe you think that Jol would still have gone with 5 at the back in that instance? Try to think things through.

[den]

Good post Theno.

We shouldn't get carried away too much. Too much of when we win we're good - when we lose we're terrible.

I think the truth is, we're much better as a side than we were. Unfortunately, we were so poor, that even a percievable improvement means we are still poor.

As everyone says, we need to stay off the bottom 'til the new year and hopefully strengthen then.

If we can't stay off the bottom, then it might be too late. There is hope though, where there wasn't a month ago.

[Atty]

I don’t think we played that bad yesterday, we have played alot worse then that this year and got a good pasting.

Tottenham where solid at the back and we could not break them down and they hit us on the counter attack with there quick players like Kean and defore.

The problem for us we are conceding soft goals by giving the ball away at the wrong times of the game. Against Fulham we did not do that and we won yesterday if we would of kept hold of the ball it proberly would have been a draw. Also we don’t create chances against a well-organised defence team like Tottenham as we are not playing with any width and if the crosses do come in we have no height and presence in the box like other teams have. We should be playing to our strength like playing Bret on the right and bring gray back to left back as nissa is not a full back. I think Steven Reid is playing well at the moment but he not left footed and cant play on the left and I think Bret more effective on the right then left he cause problems when he runs at defenders which Steven Reid doesn’t do but that doesn’t excuse what them two brain dead people sat behind me think about him and the rest of the team if it was up to them we would only have 3 players on the pitch and Hughes would have been sacked by now we don’t kneed fans like that they may be entitled to there opinions but they don’t need to let everyone else know around them what they think.

I don’t think rovers will go down but its going to be a long hard season but they need us to get behind them.

[thenodrog]

I think Steven Reid is playing well at the moment but he not left footed and cant play on the left and I think Bret more effective on the right then left he cause problems when he runs at defenders which Steven Reid doesn’t do but that doesn’t excuse what them two brain dead people sat behind me think about him and the rest of the team if it was up to them we would only have 3 players on the pitch and Hughes would have been sacked by now we don’t kneed fans like that they may be entitled to there opinions but they don’t need to let everyone else know around them what they think.

Here endeth the longest sentence in messageboard history!

anyone care to translate it for me?

[SouthAussieRover]

Feeling really really optimistic about this one for the first time in a season and a half.

4-0 Rovers.

Unlike Simon some of us werent so optimistic

[Big A]

NEJ's a very good centre back, as he has proved time and again.

When was that then?

Most times he's played in central defence actually. Playing people in their proper positions helps a lot.

[USABlue]

No predictions, just a few comments. We all are well aware of Rovers habit of the big let down after good performances, right? Well, to me this is a real acid test for Mark Hughes, have we really turned the corner? Make no mistake this is a big big game for us.

I have no doubt the stay away fans who are borderline at the mo', their eyebrows are beginning to raise and they are saying to themselves " Mmmm, maybe this lot have something going"

It is imperative, absolutely vital that we do not suffer a let down this weekend. This will be the third week in a row we have been on telly, one was a stirring comeback, one was a sound and emphatic beating of Fulham.

We must win this, the armchair Rovers fan watching on the box may just get stirred up enough to go and watch. If we blow it he will pop another can drop back in his comfy chair and say " Aaah I knew it, same old bloody Rovers"

Well are we predictable or are we predictable. This is the biggest disappointment of the season so far for me I feel totally gutted with this loss. Infuriated even.

[mjs]

NEJ's a very good centre back, as he has proved time and again.

When was that then?

Most times he's played in central defence actually.

I am still struggling with that.

[bellamy11]

NEJ's a very good centre back, as he has proved time and again.

When was that then?

Most times he's played in central defence actually.

I am still struggling with that.

No, they're right. You must be confusing yourself with thoughts of him at left back. Or in your imagination.

[RoyRover]

NEJ has been playing well in the centre of defence, but hasn't played well at left back. I don't know why Hughes is playing him there, when we have Gray and McEveley. Johannson can fill in at lef t back, if there are others out injured, but there aren't and by playing him there, it only affects the team.

[greggyk]

Maybe he's been played there because he had a fantastic game playing left back against Fulham.

But at home, we need someone who can go forward, and Michael Gray is that man. I have a feeling that Nissa will be kept at left back for the Palace game on saturday.

[Rovermatt]

I think Steven Reid is playing well at the moment but he not left footed and cant play on the left and I think Bret more effective on the right then left he cause problems when he runs at defenders which Steven Reid doesn’t do but that doesn’t excuse what them two brain dead people sat behind me think about him and the rest of the team if it was up to them we would only have 3 players on the pitch and Hughes would have been sacked by now we don’t kneed fans like that they may be entitled to there  opinions but they don’t need to let everyone else know around them what they think.

Here endeth the longest sentence in messageboard history!

anyone care to translate it for me?

Indeed, breathless stuff.

[roversWASmylife]

NEJ has been playing well in the centre of defence, but hasn't played well at left back. I don't know why Hughes is playing him there, when we have Gray and McEveley. Johannson can fill in at lef t back, if there are others out injured, but there aren't and by playing him there, it only affects the team.

Exactly.

In recent games, Nissa has proven that he should be played at centre half.

As a player in the last year he has come on a great deal, physically he's a lot stronger than he was and he's more aware of others around him.

He's not a left back, it's clear. He hasn't got the pace or skill to get forward as a left back.

But we're still giving away goals and that's the biggest concern, we gave the ball away sloppily in Spurs half but in my opinion we should have got a tackle in on Brown before he got into our box.

[BRFC4EVA]

A dreadful game played out between 2 poor teams. We deserved a point out of the game, because to be honest Spurs really werent up to much themselves. Very frustrating, a point would have been so much better, keeps the run going and the momentum going. I thought Emo looked much better when he moved to the right hand side and really took on their left back. As for Tugay, yes he played well at Fulham, but as i, and many others feared he couldnt keep that level of performance up against Spurs. It was his lack of pace which led to the Spurs goal with brown breaking clear. 2 steps forward vs fulham and now 1 back vs spurs. Still, we are clear of the zone and must look towards the next game at Palace on sat.

P.S Watching the pictures afterwards i really think the club needs to look at its pricing policy for the Jack Walker upper stand. There was huge gaps all over the place whereas the lower tier was full.

[joey_big_nose]

The difference between us winning and losing yesterday was Michael Brown's run to set up the goal and our wingers getting no space behind their fullbacks. Tottenham's discipline won that match, against other sides (even the spurs of three weeks ago) we would of been extremely effective.

Jim and Rev etc. all moan about how they see no commitment in the team, I do not see how they could have possibly been disappointed on that front yesterday.

[vyeo]

we should have got a tackle in on Brown before he got into our box.

tugay tried hard to, then drew out when he realised that the best he could have done was hack brown down. no doubt it'd have been his second yellow and he'd have been off again. i'm sure if he hadn't already been booked, he would have brought brown down, drew the card, and stop the immediate threat.

that said, our defenders actually ran into each other. nissa and todd i think, when brown was clearly running out of breathe. if they hadnt ran into each other, one could have got a tackle in too.

[92er]

I enjoyed the posts from Philipl , Scotty and Revidge Blue.

As we left the ground we overheard someone say, " Same old ****e."

I thought Spurs tried to play at a higher tempo that the Rovers without creating much.

We were awful. No quality, no tempo, nowhere near enough effort.

Bothroyd started quite well but later seemed to be falling out with team mates.Gallagher might not be Premiership quality but he offers more goal threat than Dickov.

[speeeeeeedie]

The result was a shame, a draw would have been better as it was a very drab game played by two sides short on confidence. We could have done alot of good with a win, yet as the rest of the bottom 3 lost we stay were we are. A win at Palace will be wonderful.

My pointers on the performance are varied. I'm one who constantly has a go at Lucas Neill but I thought he played very well yesterday, if he could maintain that kind of performance I'll be happy. Todd was good, he should be in the side every week, Nissa isn't bad but has the pace of a rhino. My main probelm now is Craig Short, he's too slow and I honestly think he feels that he has to do everyithng he can to make up for his lack of confidence in his fellow defenders. He has been around a long time and knows what to do but tries to do too much. I faulted him for this at Southampton and he did the same yesterday. After Brown had tired himself out Tood had the first forward covered but Short came rushing over leaving the gap for Keane to run into, if you look at replays you'll see those two stood right next to each other when Keane shoots.

Midfield never got going, Spurs played compact and didn't let Reid and Emo get going. Tugay or Ferguson didn't do that badly.

Up front is where we will struggle all season. We have Dickov who works his socks off but doesn't have the quality to get more goals, too many times he'll make a stray pass or mis control it. Gallagher didn't look interested and Bothroyd was out of sorts. I wonder what will happen when Stead gets fit? I think he can do a job but he needs confidence. This was the real difference in the side. They had Keane and Defoe; two very good internationals, who looked dangerous, when they wear out they bring on Kanoute. People on here got miffed when Lawrenson and Marsh made comments that we have nothing up front, but they are right, we have no real threat.

In January we need a new centre half and a striker, but they will cost money. Offload Amoruso and his big wage, as well as Matteo, I'm sure he's on a load too. Gray can go as well.

We won't go down, Hughes is slowly turning things his way. It will be another bad season hovering around the bottom, losing when we should win and winning games we should lose. We've now won only 5 of 27 at home, fortress Ewood has crumbled. Crowd issues are a big factor in performances, the East Lancs moan moan moan attitude spills over very easily to the players and makes for bad experiences on home soil. Roll on Christmas.

[RevidgeBlue]

a successful partnership simply MUST be found between any combination of the more technically gifted forwards at the club Boothroyd/Gallagher/Stead/Jansen.

You criticise Dickovs performance Rev but the worst player on the park and by a considerable distance (much worse even than NEJ) was Gallagher. I may be proven wrong in the fullness of time but imo he is out of his depth in the Prem. Sure he pulled the save of the match out of Robinson but that apart he contributed next to FA. The thing that endears him to the fans can only be the fact that he lived in Shad. Which in itself provides a strange contradiction....... how does a lad from Shad manage to shirk and duck out of so many 50:50 situations? Dickov was finding it tough enough against the Tottenham 'Globetrotters' but the task became impossible once he had been booked.

Not sure if I agree with that entirely tnr, No matter how far Gally is off the pace of the game on occasion I always feel he is capable of turning the game with a moment of inspiration or scoring a vital goal - as almost turned out to be the case yesterday with that fabulous save forced out of Robinson.

As for Boothroyd, not entirely sure about him yet. He has all the physical attributes, has fabulous close control and shows some sublime touches. Yet sometimes I get the impresssion he is a non scoring forward as it were.

[RevidgeBlue]

Jim and Rev etc. all moan about how they see no commitment in the team, I do not see how they could have possibly been disappointed on that front yesterday.

I didn't say anything about lack of commitment yesterday. I would say we were "flat" as opposed to "uncommitted" under Souness.

The one thing that did disappoint me in the second half was the fact that Neil/Reid/Emerton had several promising situations down the right but none of the forwards appeared prepared to take a gamble to get on the end of anything.

[RevidgeBlue]

P.S Watching the pictures afterwards i really think the club needs to look at its pricing policy for the Jack Walker upper stand. There was huge gaps all over the place whereas the lower tier was full.

Excellent point.

I usually sit in JW upper and the bit near me seems reasonably well populated therefore I assumed the rest of the stand was the same.

Was in the Riverside yesterday and was shocked at how empty JW upper was.

Shows price does have some impact as JW upper is the only area of the ground with no concessions.

[des]

we lacked a bit of spark, the pace of the match was also down compared to our last game.

To break dowm teams you need a center half who can both defend and feel at ease ob the ball, at the monment we do not have one. Our full backs must learn that they final pass is not up tp the mark and our center halfs are not much better. Time and time again thre final ball was poor is not very poor.

The forwards can only play with either the ball at their feet or play along the floor into space, so why do we play the long high ball from the back ?

could it be that, thats the only pass that they can make.

all in all roll on the next matchm the good thing is that evryone near us also lost

[1864roverite]

someone got it right with the headline of Will the Real Rovers stand up !

I have chewed and chewed over the weekend and serioslt the best thing about the game was the idiotic fella behind us complaining about standing up when we came forward towards the Blackburn End. What a complete prat, say no more !

Seriously, yes Scotty we are in a dire situation only tempered by the fact that our main rivals have all lost this weekend.

Rovers now have to win some vital games, Palace and Everton as well as Newcastle need to produce some points before the xmasa period ends, bolton away swiftly followed by villa also needs to produce some points.

We now have some must win games

norwich - h

wba - a

portsmouth - a

palace - h and a

city - h

bolton h and a

any others will be bonuses to our cause.

Its sad really thinking about how we can achieve safety so soon in th eseason.