Its obvious in this 343 the partner for Tronstad at CM is a really key player. Loads of ground to cover, needs to play on the half turn, has to find a good forward pass in the few opportunities they get. I don't think since losing Adam we have that, at least till Buckleys back.

Question I've got is why when we take off Dolan instead of replacing him with the totally ineffective Sigurdsson why not play an extra CM? Ayeri I guess.

Makes us more more robust, better to hold onto the ball, and I really dont think we lose anything going forward as Dolan and Sigurdsson got nothing out of them anyway....

Useful point anyway, though considering where we were on 25 mins quite disappointing.

9 minutes ago, Bethnal said:

Kinell, Brittain is a real head-scratcher… such a strange footballer that he can go from two assists in the Stoke game to absolutely dogshit supply in the two following games. How do players - who train with footballs for hours each day - not master the ability to kick a ball?

Thought Brittain was awful against Brum but been okay today. Its Dolan/Sigurdsson and Fleck / Garrett who have been the major issues IMO.

I thought this is the sort of scrappy physical game that would suit Garrett but hes looked a yard off the tackle let alone passing. 

Whats frustrating is the two goals were soft and ones that the back three and McFadz  signing were supposed to stop. 

We looked so comfortable but suddenly on even terms.

Just now, AspRover said:

Gallagher is actually a natural and pretty decent support striker - we used to say he has to play through the middle, but I think the reality is he needs to play through the middle with a strike partner. Sam and Sammie is a very good front line.

Quite smart what we've done... Put Szmodics up top and Dolan and Gallagher in the two number 10 roles.

Works much better than Gally up top at Brum.

1 minute ago, moerpho said:

I think I might get that birthday present I was hoping for! 

My birthday too!

2 beers deep, aiming for 8.

3 very slow cbs, we will be playing quite deep I guess. I hope Fleck is very creative player. The burden will be on him to find the right passes for the front three. No buckley on the bench either so if it isnt working not sure what we do....

Well we look much more physically competitive now, and started well against Birmingham. But as time wore on Birmingham should have scored 3 or 4, all coming from poor mistakes from us. Lucky to get out with a 1-0 loss.

We're getting caught in age old trap of as we get more defensive how do we create chances? We're not going to to commit players forward in the numbers we did under JDT (and so we shouldn't as we were getting battered). It's really down to the front three to make something happen, with a bit of support from the wing backs and one of the centre mids. 

Could do with Buckley coming back to help with the forward passing from midfield. If he's available I would start him instead of JRC. Not sure what state Fleck is in or really much about how he plays, but if the manager thinks he should come in will be interested to see how he can help us going forward.

1 hour ago, Ossydave said:

Should be an interesting encounter, I think the result could set the tone for the next few weeks as well, a win really would be huge.

Truth being told, I think we completely surprised Stoke with our tactics on Saturday. If they'd done their homework based on JDT setting the team up, which they must have done given the timings, it's no wonder they were a bit baffled. Brum will have a bit more of an idea, although we're likely to change things up again with Eustace in full control.

Make no mistake though, a loss puts us back in the relegation mix. I fancy Hudds to pick up a point or 3 against Sunderland and can also see QPR beating Stoke. Brum have lost 3 on the bounce but all 3 came away from home, they're better at St Andys.

Going for an entertaining 2-2 Hedges and Szmodics bagging for us.

I think personally Eustace has probably had a hand in the signings of Fleck and Fadz and input into how we setup on Saturday. Just a hunch. But JDT was on his way out, Broughton knew that and probably sounded Eustace out about what he wanted.

Id be really surprised if we change anything against Brum. Will be exactly the same I think

5 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Agreed. Just read that interview with Brittain. Certainly seems like the players weren't 100% on board with what JDT wanted them to do.

I imagine they were on board  when it was going well, then after sixth/seventh horrendous result in a row started to question how we were playing. Always the way.

I guess by the time we went to West Brom away and JDT was still telling them they need to overload the channels, recycle the ball instead of crossing it in etc there would have been some very skeptical and dejected expressions in the dressing room.

I hope Eustace has a flexible approach. Certainly seems that way from his writeups.

Crikey... sounds like the rumors of JDT losing the dressing room were right. Brittain's quotes very dismissive of Tomasson's style and approach.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/24112995.blackburns-change-approach-dressing-room-discussions/?fbclid=IwAR1GbSE7IDB1Kou34GQVjeTu0u5Bony-ivCCcdyFcsUUTC71wmWcGtE53do

5 minutes ago, Commondore said:

Hell of a trio for a team set up to press and counter attack, almost like playing with three Paul Dickov. Then again, while I think Sammie has proven he's the real deal, both Gallagher and Dolan need to spend less time injured (probably a lost cause in Gallagher's case) and Gallagher's sometimes atrocious controlling of the ball will always hold him back. 

Yeah they must be the hardest working front three in the division. All of them absolutely ridiculous in how much ground they cover.

Think Dolan and Gallagher in a two with Szmodics in behind will suit both of them very well. Theyre both players who thrive off covering a huge amount of ground, and the 4231, 433, 343 all limited them to playing in more narrow channels as other players in their space. Szmodics goal scoring might suffer a bit conversely as he is pushed back into midfield - though he got one on Saturday.

7 hours ago, tomphil said:

A point worth noting with the change of tactics yesterday we didn't really miss Adam.

Can guarantee if JDT was still here we'd have played the same, lost and bemoaned the missing presence of the 'on the turn' specialist.

I hope Eustace doesn't turn us just into a long ball side we just need to add the ability to mix it up and vastly improve set pieces at both ends.  

As for GB i assume his focus now will be on finding Leo and Tel some football somewhere else in a few months time.  I still think he'll be off  in summer but personally i'd prefer to see the DoF model carry on for enough time to give it a chance with a head coach who can maybe identify the basics first and build from there.

Yesterday was a start but lets not expect miracles.

Yes agreed. We shouldn't put everything that JDT did in the bin... In the right circumstances its effective.

Id like us to have a deep 352 counter attack as our default (to minimise our absolute Achilles heel of conceding early) but able to change to a 4231 possession game as an alternative when the original setup isn't working.

Exact same team I am sure.

Tactics obviously big difference to the Tomasson era, but also having Dolan, Gallagher, Hedges, JRC, Pears back and Chrisene and McFadz  coming in from transfers has completely changed the dynamic of the side. Weve gone from being quite soft and struggling to impose ourselves to becoming a team who will outwork most sides and physically compete.

I feel quite positive about our chances.

If we're playing relatively direct that will suit Travis down to the ground. 

Bet Eustace wishes he had Trav instead of Ayeri. Thats the trade we made at the start of Jan....

Even if Ayeri is decent weve got Szmodics, Moran, Markanday and even Buckley after that number 10 role. In terms of proper grafting centre mids its just Tronstad and JRC can do a job, and Fleck if he is fit.

44 minutes ago, CD_93 said:

36% possession. Big shift.

Yeah, night and day compared to how we played under JDT.

We get a bit of a bonus at the moment - new manager bounce and totally new way of playing will bamboozle how other teams setup. Stoke with the high line obviously thought we were going to stay playing the Tomasson way and they could compress us, so were not ready for how direct we were.

Need to get the points on the board in the next few games before other teams start to adjust.

An interesting thought is I wonder how long Eustace was on the radar with GB and if he had any input direct ot indirect into the McFadz and Fleck signings. Both not very JDT...

3 minutes ago, KentExile said:

4-2-3-1 with JRC in CM I guess, not sure about McFadz in a back 4 though

Could be 352 with Chrisene playing LCB and Hedges LWB?

They tend to order the side correctly on the tweet so Hedges listed before the CMs suggests he is at LWB.

1 hour ago, Paul Mani said:

Just opinions.

I quite like Dolan at wing back. I’ve seen him play there a couple of times and it helps him focus on what he’s good at, getting up and down. Again, just my opinion but I’d like to see JRC further forward. He has more goal threat than any of our wingers or forwards bar Szmod.

As for Moran, I’m just not having him. He’s weak, slow and for a technical player seems to struggle placing 5yrd passes. He’s played a lot and not delivered. Another who’s probably dodged more criticism because of the off field stuff.

While hes got the work rate - Dolan's too head down for me to play wing back, and hasn't got much of a deep cross on him. Hes much more focussed on beating his man than getting the ball in.

Just now, RoversClitheroe said:

With all that pace we have on the counter

Yeah I know... But dont think we have any other option. We are not going to keep being so offensive.

@J*B was Eustace incoming the thing discussed on Wednesdays panel that no one could talk about?

Seems like Eustace has been in the picture for a couple of weeks, so Id be surprised if he had no input into the setup at all. I imagine he has already met with Lowe and DJ.

My expectations is that we bin all the super offensive stuff, sit deeper in numbers and break quickly. I am sure Eustace will have already diagnosed that the first step is stop conceding so many chances and goals.

8 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

John Eustace is the next Blackburn Rovers manager - confirmed

Link? 

It's a a total sh!tshow at the club, but getting the new manager sorted in the background has been one positive at least. Knowing how chaotic things have been I was wondering if we would have been drifting along for weeks.

6 minutes ago, Neal said:

In the position we're in, if Sam Allardyce says yes... YOU PICK UP THE FECKIN PHONE. 

There's no way we could offer Allardyce what he would want in terms of financially, backroom, etc. Total non starter.

Well Eustace has not got much professional league experience, but in his short term managing Birmingham (15 months) he came out on top in a relegation battle and got Birmingham into the playoff spots (albeit with a classic Championship 2 point gap to 11th, which puts it into perspective)...

So seems a better fit than JDT is to the current situation we are in. He seems a reasonable choice in the circumstances. I can't see too many others with the right experience of a relegation battle.

On his CV Alex Neil would also be a good choice I think, although his time at Stoke recently is a worry...