2 hours ago, rigger said:

First game I am going to miss this season as I cannot get time off work. What a ridiculous mid-week fixture.

No complaints about the red button from me for this one!

7 hours ago, old darwen blue said:

Yet again I am astounded by your managerial insite J. You really are in the wrong job. 

Definitely right about the second bit mate ?

1 minute ago, DE. said:

Great. So why bring him on as a winger and move Dack into the striker role then? Mogga seems to think striker and winger are synonymous for some reason. 

I think Mowbray’s logic was that we needed an outlet for the ball to stick to after Graham went off and he didn't trust Brereton to be able to do it. I can't think of any other reason. Personally I would have brought Rothwell on at that point on the wing and moved Armstrong central for the ball over the top. His pace terrified Leeds all day and I think he would have scored as a striker.

The team we finished with....

                            Raya

Bennett.   Lenihan.   Rodwell.  Bell

Armstrong Smallwood. Reed. Rothwell

                             Dack

                             Graham

........looks a lot better on paper than the starting line-up.

In fact it looks the strongest team we have put out all season. 

If Mowbray can find the confidence to unleash us a little bit, this team can make the playoffs . I don't advocate dropping Mulgrew or Evans necessarily but it is always good to look at other options.

Certainly food for thought.

Baz Rathbone's "The smell of football " is very funny and entertaining. He is a real character Baz and his book has loads of good Rovers memories as you would imagine. His Russell Coughlin anecdotes are worth the admission price alone. 

3 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I wonder who the most athletic is? 

I bet it's Evans , even though my first thought was Lenihan, Bennett or Nyambe 

Danny Graham? ?

My bet is Bennett but any of those you mention are a possibility. Maybe Bell too

Very early days for Ben. It can't be easy for a nineteen year old making a move in any circumstances. My initial assessment of him is that he looks to be more of a Shearer than a Ripley

A Brereton, rather than a  Brotherston.

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Cheers,  could you expand a bit on Rodwell please? Was he center of a back 3? 

I was only able to watch the first half but Rodwell looked lean and fit. He talked non stop and organised the back line very well. 

In truth he had very little to do but looked comfortable and classy. He effortlessly robbed the lone striker of the ball a couple of times and his distribution was simple but effective.

On one occasion he burst forward with the ball and looked dangerous. He is quick and still looks like a younger player.

He won't have an easier time than this but I was very encouraged by him.

51 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Two good poachers goals there. A great kit with proper shorts not like today's beach wear. Davison was looking handy for them until Keeley quietened him.

Classic 80's kit.

Classic 80's chant from the Blackburn End 35 seconds into the video too. 

Probably best not to suggest resurrecting that one for our modern audiences!

Palmer will be up for starting this one as he will know Derby well.

I would bring Garns back for a guaranteed 5 (five) goal haul.

Thirty five years ago to the month ?

Bell for me every day of the week.  However Mowbray seems to have the same blind spot with Williams that he has with Smallwood, namely that if they are fit, they will play. How many could have honestly predicted he would bring Williams on against Villa?  Not many I'd wager.

I respect Mowbray tremendously but he can be frustratingly bloody minded. He couldn't wait to bring him on!

We won a corner over on the Riverside in the last few minutes. It should have been played short to Dack or Graham to allow them to kill the game with their ball shielding skills, but no one showed for it and it was pumped in the box with possession inevitably squandered. 

No game management whatsoever.

5 minutes ago, LDRover said:

Hope I'm wrong on this but I think we've been sold a pup in Brereton. Movement was poor, ball retention poor and was lacking in pace and strength. Got to hope he improves..and fast.

Think Brereton picked up a knock when he turned and shot in the box. He seemed to struggle to shake it off for the remainder of the game, hence seeming a bit sluggish.

I have a horrible feeling that Mowbray will start Smallwood, but will have Dack on the bench,with Reed, Brereton and Rothwell also failing to make the starting eleven.

Hope I'm wrong!

1 hour ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

Judge Jeffreys, I presume!

Haha. I wouldn't have hanged him.

maybe chuck a bit of rotten fruit at him.

1 hour ago, david brent said:

I think it’s a bloody good job you’re not a magistrate then! 

The prosecution case was that he was accused of criminal damage (a charge that was ultimately dropped). When he was told by the police officer he was going to be arrested, he “shoved” the officer once and ran off, before being arrested further down the street. 

He pleaded guilty to assault pc at the earliest opportunity.

A man of no previous convictions.

Full time employment in a promising career. 

Never in a million years did it warrant an immediate term of imprisonment.

He has however subsequently taken the mickey with the Community Order and he could easily have gone down yesterday. He benefited immensely from Mowbray’s eloquence and a sensible District Judge. 

 

All good points David.

However, shoving an officer and running off would be classed as resisting arrest, not the more serious charge of assault on a police officer.  It is likely that some plea bargaining took place and Dack accepted the charge to avoid a costly trial, safe in the knowledge that a minor sanction would be imposed.

Police officers are just like you and I. Ordinary lads and lasses drawn from society to do the job we don't want to do.  They are Mums and Dads, our daughters etc. Not there to be assaulted. Mandatory jail is the only satisfactory outcome in my opinion when a person assaults a police officer (which Bradley admitted).

I think I would be a bloody good Magistrate! 

The person I feel most sorry for here is Mowbray. As if he has nothing better to do than attend Court to beg leniency for the imbecilic Dack. 

 I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if we are revisiting this thread in two months time when Dack is up before the beak for the fourth breach; because in all honesty, I have absolutely no expectation whatsoever that he will ever complete this unpaid work. 

I suspect he may be in jail by Christmas (which is precisely where I would have sent him if I had been the Magistrate sentencing for the police assault). 

If all this true then I'm afraid that Bradley is a bit of a moron.

To answer the original question, the red button is a game changer for me personally and I can't honestly see a situation in which I would favour a long midweek trek over a lazy night in front of the telly with a fridge full of lager.

My apologies if this has been posted already but the match is apparently being streamed by Bristol for a tenner.

2 hours ago, old darwen blue said:

Mowbrays babes! Doesn’t it look good?

Tony's toddlers

Was chuffed to bits when he got man of the match. Fully deserved and will be a huge confidence boost to the lad.

Love that post, thank you! 

3 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I like Dack loads , he's been great for us , he's like a breath of fresh air at Rovers. Having said that he's not fit to lace Best's training shoes never mind his boots. The bloke was up there with Cruyff, Greaves, Di Stefano, Eusebio, the geniuses of 1960's football.

Dack's the latest cult hero, he reminds me a lot of Tony Field in the way he's idolised by the fans. Let's hope he doesn't get snaffled up by a Premier League club as Field was.

I love that you put Greaves in there. He was before my time but I idolise him as a footballer. He devotes a page of his autobiography to extol the virtues of Bryan Douglas who he obviously rated extremely highly, which was lovely to read.

Regarding Dack, the first time I saw him play for us I remarked to my son that he physically reminds me very strongly of Best. Same colouring, body swerve and running style. Not as mobile, but if you put the famous Fulham versus Hereford game from 1976 featuring Rodney Marsh and Best into YouTube, Dack is strongly reminiscent of Georgie at that time. 

You are of course quite right about him being unfit to lace Best' s boots, but in all honesty not many were. Absolute genius.

Absolutely love Bradley by the way!

3 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

He looks so like Paul Heaton of the Housemartins and Beautiful South in that pic.

Soon to be old red eyes if he doesn't get that wound seen to.