joey_big_nose

Well Tronstad has been fantastic but the other two really struggled.

We work so hard for a goal then give it away for nothing...

Hes a good technical player if you dont get tight to him and let him combine with others. But he is one of the weakest one on one players ive seen. Needs to get down the gym. TBH Gudjonsen has a similar problem. Cant get any change out a duel in the air or on the ground.

Tronstad is playing so well, but getting so little from Montgomery and Mori. Definitely want to see what Baradji offers.

Seems we have the good version of Pears. Great save. Looking at the pattern of the game its very even in the middle of the park, but PNE have much more promising chances.

Montgomery is struggling I think. Ive liked him as a sub but hes getting bullied here. Missing TGHs travis like vibe.

Fair play Pratt seems to be doing okay. Decent in the air, played some decent balls, hasn't been rattled by the press.

Sorry I realise @KentExilewas posting previous page. Do you or anyone else have a view on Pratts quality? I dont think hes got anywhere near the first team before so this seems a real stretch?

I think Ismaels view is you need more height than Pickeing and Riberio which is sort of defensible. No idea how good Pratt is. Where is @KentExile?? But thay we have as many left backs as centre backs (4 of each) is absolutely hilarious/depressing.

Um, I do frequently!

I think one thing that can be said is Wharton and Anderson have the benefit of the game in England evolving in a way that suits their style. Scholes never really got to play as a deep playmaker until late in his career. Earlier he was played more as a number ten or (ludicrously, particularly for England) on the left which didn't make the most of his talents. His team mate Carrick also suffered from the national team not really understanding the importance of that role. He just wasn't picked at all when in reality his skillset was what was missing the most from the England team at that time. Tuchel gets it, and he is prioritising playing a natural deep playmaker over more experienced and lauded names, as he knows you need someone who can control a game in the middle of the park.

Fair point

I agree we need to pick up points, but we've seen enough of Rovers over the last five years to know we are actually more likely to get points from the better resourced teams for reasons it is hard to work out. Id put it more generally that we need around 50 to stay up, but safer at 55. So half way point Id aim for 30 minimum. To get that we need 14 points over the next 10 games... Feels doable. Even if we manage only 10 we are still probably outside the bottom three. The JDT strategy of risking more in our style and going for wins and accepting losses over draws is the better bet imo. Hard-fought draws give the illusion of stability but actually quite corrosive in terms overall points per game.

When was the last time that a January transfer has made much of a difference to Rovers? Usually we don't sign them till right at the end of January and then - even if they seem good on paper (Giles, Thomas, Dennis) they never really get up to speed. Best we have had in recent years is probably Forshaw, Ayari and Chrisene which is hardly a big endorsement.... That said our defensive options are so stretched we could really do with a Chrisene type loan just to have extra bodies. I guess I would go all out to bring in experience to bolster the thin areas of the squad (every position except left back and number 10, but starting urgently with centre back...) and focus on players who can come on 1st January.

Ismael cited the size and pace of Derby as the issue and he felt Hedges would be better at coping than either Riberio or Pickering. And tbh, while we were well beaten on Saturday in other areas, Hedges seemed to handle BBD and his general defensive role well enough. I dont think Pickering or Riberio playing instead would have made much difference. Agree it must be very depressing for Pickering and Riberio. Ismael is a very physicality focussed managed, and I think he is not a fan of those two.

What's the injury situation here? My guess... Toth - out Wharton - out Kargbo - out Carter - back? Cantwell - back? Baradji - no idea With Cantwell if hes back I wouldnt be that adverse to giving him a go up top alongside a striker. We are running the two we've got into the ground, and Cantwell has a bit of physicality this season. Something like Pears Miller. Carter. McLoughlin Alebiouso. TGH. Tronstad. Hedges Mori Ohashi. Cantwell Means we at least have a recognised striker on the bench which i think we need to close games out.

Yeah, this is when things start to get real... only position where we have any depth is left back/ left wing back where we have four players covering that area... Every other position. I guess a few options at number 10 (Cantwell, Mori, Henricksson). But every other position if someones out then we're playing someone out of their preferred role.

Agree, but equally cant really think of anything else we could have done much better either. If we cant get in behind a team we really really struggle to fashion anything. You could see Derby were completely unfussed about giving vast numbers of corners and throws as they were so in control of set pieces.

Thats part of what makes him a good manager. Looks at every angle to minimise the oppositions chances, including slowing the game up and wasting time. His record of retaining a lead once his team gets ahead must be very good everywhere he goes. Struggles much more if his team goes behind, but we didnt manage to get anywhere near that today unfortunately.

Neither of the headers were on Hedges side. Obviously if we had some proper defenders that would be better, I was more saying using Hedges ahead of Pickering or Riberio.

He had a free header on the penalty spot which he did very poorly with. The way Derby were playing he had no space to work with and they completely physically dominated him. I dont think we have anyone in our squad who can physically compete with powerful centre back. Its the sort of striker we need to find in January. Gueye should be that player but I have to agree he just gets worse and worse and worse.

One thing that did look surprisingly okay was Hedges at LCB. If we did that again I could live with it. He was pretty decent defending on the deck and in the air, and as youd expect offered a bit driving forward with the ball. BBD was on his side and did nothing. That said might be that Derby just didnt really attack much in open play all game, relied on set pieces, so not really tested.

Well we came back into it way more in the second half than I thought. But Derby were the most defensively dominant team I have seen at Ewood this season, and they've bought the right sort of forward players who can work on not very much support to make the system effective. Despite a bad start I think theyll do really well this year. If we come up against sides who play like that every week we are buggered as we arent getting any change out of a side that plays that deep and is that physical. Even Alebiouso who has had every player hes come up against on toast was marginalised today. Luckily most in the Championship come out more and give more space. Despite our defence being ravaged by injuries it was the lack of any decent strikers in the air that did us. Must have had 20+ corners and long throws and made virtually nothing from them.

To be honest the attacking players are identical, all the changes are in defence/defensive midfield We miss Tronstads passing certainly. The main factor though is Eustace is a very smart manager , and has setup his defence and tactics really well to nullify our routess to creating changes.

Derby have managed to score two without conceding any chances to us at all... Their two big lads up front can work off very little so they dont put anyone forward, while i dont think weve fashioned anything decent despite pushing more and more into the attack. If we get a point in here it will be a truly amazing result.