49 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I don't mind the way he wants to play and I see it as work in progress as a team. Similar how Farke did it in first season at Norwich where it took time and a season of transition this might be. I like my team pressing high and I would like to much more of this unless we a team like Swansea where we had to play differently and won the game. 

I think our tempo of passing has been far too slow and we need to use Callum Brittain much way in an attacking outlet. He is a good crosser of a ball, so we need to use him more. Reason why I would like Hirst up front and BBD coming in from the left to finish of those crosses and score goals from it.  

 

IMO - this was part of the problem last night - we pressed high with the front four, but when they were bypassed they had acres into which to pass. Throughout the whole match we played far too deep - which in turn disconnected the midfield from the forward players. By contrast, Cardiff pressed as a team - which contributed to our poor performance.

You are right about the tempo - IMO both midfield players contributed to that by hanging onto the ball for too long - though to be honest, given we had four forwards, they seemed to have limited options to pass forward.

If we are to continue passing from the back - we seriously need to work on giving the receiving player options. Ayala held onto the ball for far too long, but I think this was due to lack of options. There is also nothing wrong with mixing it up - not certain if Cardiff got nervous - but we looked far better in the last 10 mins when playing a little more direct.

Overall Dolan had a poor match - but it was nice to see him releasing the ball far quicker (most of the time) - so obviously JDT is getting through to him.

You can see glimpses of what he is trying to do - but I think JDT has to mix it up a little. 

4 minutes ago, yankfan said:

He also said we need to give the fans something to cheer for…sure as shite this can’t be what he means. 

Must admit I didn't think he meant the Cardiff fans 😉 

I do wonder if we are playing Dolan up front so he can fit in Kipre's back pocket.

We are sitting far too deep

Just now, chaddyrovers said:

nothing wrong with talking to BBD whether he wants to sign a new contract here or whether he wants to sign pre contract with Spanish club and leave next summer or want to leave in January for PL club. I still think he will move to Spain next summer with a club like Sevilla or Valencia 

But it would be amazing if he showed a bit of loyalty to the club that paid his wages when he would have struggled to get in the San Marino side - let alone Chile. Not holding my breath though - even if we offered a big wage increase and reduced minimum fee.

Interesting to see which Rovers will turn up - and which formation.

I would be tempted to rest Ayala and possibly Gallagher - there is also arguments to rest some of the midfleld. Normally don't like swapping and changing - but with so many matches in the run up to the World Cup - it would be sensible to rest players periodically.

Just now, Miker said:

We are so, so lucky.

These subs have been dreadful. Why we would bring Carter on for Hedges when we have a RB on the bench, and why we would bring on both Szmodics and Hirst on instead of Dack, and why we would leave Morton on when Buckley is available is baffling.

If we manage to stuff this up in the next 2 minutes I will be pissed.

Carter makes sense - as they would go long in the remainder of the game - the rest meh

Looks like Pickford will be No1. Pope distribution has been shocking in both matches - and now that mistake

22 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Mount is coming on WE'RE SAVED

Lol - hindsight

Can't believe we are 2 down - both Maguire mistakes. 

Sorry 2-1 down

7 hours ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Good pace! Really. Pace is Never something that springs to mind when i think of Sutton

You must have watched a lot of Norwich then because there's no way you could judge that from the few cameos he played back there for us

I said good pace - not that he was Bellamy quick. You obviously thought he wasn't that good when you watched him play centre half for Rovers. The game is all about opinions - I thought he had potential to be an excellent centre half. 

1 hour ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Defenders where still allowed to have a battle and get stuck with real tackles then, plus most clubs still played a lot of long balls and crosses so if you where a big tall tough lad with good heading abilty you where already 2 thirds the way to being a good Premier league cb

TBH - what IMO made Sutton a potentially very very good centre half wasn't  just his heading ability. He also had good pace, excellent distribution and good positioning.

54 minutes ago, rigger said:

So are you saying that you would start Ash Phillips up front for the Rovers now. You don't need to quote other players.

I did start by saying I agree that Philips current position is centre half. I was just pointing out that players sometimes start in one position - but end up in another. It would be interesting to know whether he has ever been deployed as a striker in his short career. 

1 hour ago, rigger said:

And that means absolutely nothing, in relation to Phillips.

I agree - but history is littered with players switching - Hendry played up front initially in his career, Sutton as a centre half and Warhurst centre half, before centre forward and then Dalglish converted him to centre midfield (where, but for injury, I think he was probably potentially the best box to box midfield player in the country)

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

Probably after Rovers scored 7 against them when he was in defence 😂

I remember turning out as centre half for Rovers during a centre half shortage - for the match I saw him play there it was probably one of the best centre halves performances I have seen at Ewood. Of course that may have been short lived if he had reverted full time to centre half - but there was enough in those few matches to suggest he had more chance getting in the England team as a centre half than he did centre forward.

4 hours ago, bluebruce said:

Today we had 61% possession, lost 2-0. Bristol 63%, lost. Stoke 71%, lost. Reading 65%, lost 3-0. Dominating possession, but it's the wrong kind and we can't play it well just like recent previous seasons. Sheff U is the only defeat where we had less possession (44%).

We beat QPR with 49%, Swansea 3-0 with just 29%, WBA with 40%, Watford with 46% and Blackpool with 55%. We did have wins with high possession (74% and 68%) in the cup but against inferior lower league opposition.

A very strong pattern that matches with previous seasons, in fact so far it exceeds them. I'd suggest we're still a stronger counter attack side than possession-based.

IMO possession stats for a whole match are very misleading. Virtually every team in the Championship when ahead sits back, let's the opposition have the ball and tries to hit them on the transition (or on the break in old money terms). This leads to some misleading possession stats.

Interesting reading opinions - which see saw as much as our performances and results.

As many predicted - 2nd half we struggled against a more robust team. If the early chance had gone in, we probably would have won (which seems to be the way for most teams in the Championship).

Though I am already sick of hearing about the "project" - we do have to give JDT time.

48 minutes ago, RoversTilliDie said:

Dolans got to play apart against Luton, his pace gave the Watford defence problems. I Would stick with the same 11 to start with, reward for their performance against Watford. Then bring on fresh legs in the 2nd half.

Who would be a manager - keep as is, and we put another tired performance and JDT will be asked why he didn't bring in fresh legs. Alternatively, he freshens up team, we lose and he gets asked why change a winning team 🙄 

Despite our inconsistencies my glass is half full - irrespective of the team, optimistic we will get a draw or win (that's done it 🤣)

2 hours ago, 47er said:

Its a second chance for people who didn't buy one at the start of the season to buy a season ticket now for the rest of the season.

It caters for people have been impressed by our start and think it might continue under JDT. As such it should be commended.

Had the Club introduced this at a lower cost per game than "full" season tickets there would have been an outcry from existing holders.

Let's see how many are shifted.

That doesn't close the argument on the cost of season tickets, they are too high but have to be reduced from the start of the season, not now.

 

Spot on !

3 minutes ago, wanderingrover said:

Same team, although there may be logic in playing Hirst over Dolan to stretch the game a bit

Most likely score is 0-0 but I'm feeling a 1-0 win. Ayala with the winner - how ironic after playing up top last time out at Kenilworth.

As good as Dolan was on Tuesday - I would also consider Hirst instead. 

Possibly consider Wharton in midfield (just for fresh legs).

16 minutes ago, JoeH said:

Watford are the type of team we'll have a great chance of beating this season. Much like Blackpool and Swansea and dare I say it.. Burnley too. They want to play out from the back. We pressed well, forced them long and our back three are going to win first contacts all day. Davis coming on made a bit more of an equal fight out of the game, but tactically we just had their number.

Teams like Bristol City, who sit in and don't try to beat the press with intricate short passing detail, they're much harder for us to handle.

I do wonder whether the Bristol City game would have been different if last nights team had been available. Luton will possibly give a better pointer.

Wow

1 hour ago, ben_the_beast said:

Diaz still has a clumsy element to his game. I'm sure things like this are what make some clubs doubt his ability and whether he was worth the investment this summer just gone.

What I think they have missed is the mentality of the guy. Its why I have faith he'll be a success at a higher level. We've all seen his rise, he's overcome his own self doubts and consistently he doesn't hide. His exploits with Chile showed that.

Even if he moves to a Premier League club and struggles, he strikes me as a person who will always find a way, whether that were in football or elsewhere. And I'm sure we'd see, 6 or 12 months down the line, a very good Premier League player. My opinion is he's a top player and a top bloke, both likable but with a gritty determination not often seen in todays game. 

Totally agree - he plays football with a smile on his face, and despite all the transfer rumours still put in 100% - which is great to see.

He could make himself a legend by signing a contract extension (even with a release clause), and protecting the clubs investment (and support when he was c***) - but I can't see it.

On 02/09/2022 at 14:21, arbitro said:

Tackling is more about timing than brute strength. With the game changing so much and less physical contact allowed there are a lot less hard, physical challenges. Wharton put in two excellent tackles on Bowler with a second or two. He won both cleanly and fairly with very little contact on Bowler. 

That's the main reason I don't buy into the 'too small' thinking. 

You are partly right about tackling - but when going shoulder to shoulder, or challenging in the air, size does matter. Also, when putting a team under pressure - physical presence does play a part - a block tackle from Bradley Johnson is going to disrupt most players more than one from Buckley.

I think the other aspect is experience - more experienced players put in challenges that they get away with, little elbows here and there, little shirt tugs etc. 

The obvious answer - don't come when it is snowing.