19 minutes ago, RoverCanada said:

 

 

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE

Haha. I thought that.

Go with rigger is my advice

57 minutes ago, JohnGo said:

What was really good to see was his replacement Wharton. I thought he had an excellent second half, looked comfortable on the ball and had a good engine on him. Where was Garrett, has he gone with the first team?

Agree about Wharton, looked very good. Is he Scott's brother?

Garret was at the game, watching from behind the goal.

This is always worth a look. A front three of Sellars, Garner and Kennedy would be interesting in the modern game. Scotty would probably beam us up from the number ten role these days. 

He went off at half time. I noticed that he looked trim physically.  Quiet game. Tidy but unspectacular.  I commented to my son how quiet Johnson is. I would have expected him to be dominant verbally if nothing else but he never said a word. 

I noticed that Spurs manager is Wayne Burnett, ex of this parish.

I'm at the game. Bradley Johnson is playing. No real standout performances at the halfway stage. Johnson scored direct from a free kick. 

If nothing else, a takeover by the Issa brothers might double match day attendances. There is certainly a very large, untapped demographic in the town who have never set foot in Ewood.

2 hours ago, JoeH said:

"no influence on the game" - Sparks.

Here's a compilation of just his interceptions & closing down from this season. Ignoring the lovely passing & other aspects of his game.

 

 

Thanks for posting this JoeH. I'm glad my eyes aren't deceiving me. I suspect Buckley's tackling and interceptions compare favourably with his teammates this season. 

I'd like to think he could turn into an influential, Simon Barker type in time to come.

Very interesting tonyoz, thank you for the time you spent on it.

Our defence fares particularly well. Surprised to see how Lenihan compares to Ayala; especially so after the latter's goal.

Pickering comes out top of the pops, and the double substitutes are both staking a claim for a starting place on Saturday. 

Great stuff, thanks.

8 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Deep and central in midfield means you need to be able to defend and help the defence...

Bucko couldn't tackle a fish supper.

Isn't it funny how we watch the same games but see things so differently.

I see Buckley making interceptions due to his ability to read the game. I also see him win the ball from his opponent with his habit of sliding on his left knee and gaining possession with the right foot. I am too lazy to put any effort into researching this but I'm sure my eyes aren't deceiving me. 

I think that one of the main factors in our decent start to the season is the quality across the back five. The infamous "defenders are coming" has actually happened. I am very happy with four of the five and wouldn't swap any of them. I still maintain that Lenihan is not a natural centre half and I would love to see someone else, maybe Carter, or Wharton when fit, alongside Ayala for a few games. Lenihan has never faced a genuine challenge for his place which isn't good.

Also to Mowbray's credit, he has assembled a young, fearless set of lads going forward. They can be exciting to watch. He looks to be finally jettisoning this 'big man playing wide' debacle which has hamstrung us for so long. 

Buckley plays best in a deep role. He receives the ball from his defenders much better than Travis is able to. He can play on the half turn and dictate the game from deep. My worry about his performances this season are that he seems to be turning into a stats man. He plays the short, unadventurous ball too often rather than the risk/reward style that I prefer to see from gifted players such as him.

This easy option, short ball stats builder is something that Jason Lowe used to do. I find it cynical and unhelpful to the team effort. It slows play down and irritates spectators. Buckley is one of the very few really good passers of the ball in the squad. Our style this season seems to be wanting to get the ball forward quickly which is great. I would much rather see Buckley doing the 40 yard diagonals than Lenihan. Moving him about isn't helping him. He can be a timid lad and can play within himself if feeling anxious.

Put him deep and central, give him lots of the ball and allow him to be creative. Free up Rothwell from the defensive side which Buckley is much better at anyway. This looks to be a poor division and I now believe we have a fair chance to be contenders with the right formation.

Kaminski

Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Pickering

Travis Buckley

Dolan Rothwell Khadra

Brereton

1 minute ago, El Tombro said:

Disagree with your entire opinion of Buckley because he'll be a good 'un for us in time, but Clarkson has been eaten for breakfast on the two occasions I've seen him.

Agreed. Buckley is at his best centrally in a deep midfield role, receiving the ball from defence with the game in front of him. He can spray his passes around from there and pull the strings. I would personally pair him with Travis and allow Rothwell to play higher, but also centrally. 

16 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Oh, what's sky sports arena? Balls, thought it was on the red button.

It's a main game on Sky Sports Arena but it's also on the red button as normal on Sky Sports football

I think it may well be a similar situation to the Ben Marshall one a few years back. Fabulously talented player with a huge amount of natural ability but a terrible attitude, so you bend over backwards and try everything you can but ultimately you can only be let down by them so often before cutting them loose.

There was always a whiff of the bully about Keane; both as a player and latterly a manager. Footballers in the last decade have become even more snowflakey and entitled. I can't imagine young players wanting to work for a man like that and I can't see Keane adapting sufficiently to avoid upsetting the precious little darlings. 

I could only envisage a couple of hundred or so fans at Ewood wanting to stand. 

Anyone under the age of about forty has probably never been on a terrace so might not understand its appeal. Most people in their forties, fifties and upwards probably prefer to sit these days and I can't see it as a generally popular option for the vast majority of our female supporters. 

Ten or fifteen years ago might have been the time to do this but it may be too late now, once the novelty has worn off.

6 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

It’s not a rovers player but a rovers refrence. I think it’s in a beetles song ?

The Beatles track 'A day in the life' from their 1967 Sgt Pepper album was inspired by this Daily Mail article. Not a Rovers reference but a Blackburn one

Ossie's Dream, Chas and Dave

14 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Is it straight to penalties after 90 minutes if its a draw tonight?

Yes, apparently so.

I love this lad. He's the real deal.

Armstrong might just find himself back as a Championship player in 12 months in any case. I can see Palace coming down this season. Norwich too.