I think I fixed it!

Oh, calamity! That was hard to watch. Our talismanic players: Dack, Graham, Bennett were unable to exert any positive influence and Sheffield U gave us a football lesson all over the pitch! We didn’t have a single “purple patch” during the game. An assessment of player performance v Sheffield Utd Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ****** Bennett ************** Lenihan ****************** Williams ********************* Bell(69) ************* Reed ********** Smallwood(45) ********** Evans ***************** Armstrong ************** Dack ************* Graham(55) ****** Mulgrew(45) *********** Brereton(55) ***** Rothwell(69) **** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 4. Evans, under no pressure, dithers on the midway line, miscontrols and is dispossessed. Big danger but Bennett flies back to get a foot in. Lenihan clears. 5. Sheffield corner. The ball reaches a totally unmarked Sharp who somehow manages to scuff his shot and Williams clears away. God knows who was supposed to be marking him? This is very similar to the corner v Forest; we didn’t have defenders in the half of the box closest to the corner taker. Sharp just ran into that space and should have scored! 10. That’s about 15 passes sideways between Rovers’ players just inside our own half. We get nowhere so Williams hoofs it upfield to no one! 21. Another terrible pass from Smallwood, he has to foul the guy to make amends. 23. Another Sheffield corner. Bennett scuffs his header, Evans clears. 24. We can’t get away from our own box! Sheffield have the run of the place. Another shot comes in and a good save from Raya. 26. I can’t record all of these but this is typical…….Reed, then Smallwood, then Evans challenge unsuccessfully in midfield and they are all left for dead. The ball flashes across the face of Raya’s goal…………….but Sheffield regain and come again! Sharp’s glancing header flies over the bar! Also typical, the goalkick is high towards Graham but he has 2 giants stood on his toes……………only one possible outcome. 28. Armstrong runs down the wing challenging 3 defenders……….. again only one possible outcome. Depressing to watch. Total lack of attacking flair/inspiration throughout the entire team. 30. At last! A lovely ball from Dack into the box for Armstrong but, faced by 3 defenders he dribbles round himself and then lays it out to Bell. His cross falls to Dack but he miskicks. Reed tries an acrobatic volley but it’s blocked for a corner. As in the Forest game, it’s taken 30 minutes for Reed to earn a positive rating. Oh blimey….now he’s just fluffed the corner! 32. Awful ball into the box by Armstrong. 34. Lovely ball by Reed to Bennett on the edge of the box, he squares to Dack but he scuffs his shot and it’s deflected. Williams gets his head to the corner, Smallwood squares to Evans but his attempted chip is well over. 36. Bennett slips as he tries to clear and it’s dangerous but never fear, Lenihan’s here with an effective challenge. In midfield and again Smallwood and Evans put in weak tackles and the Utd man runs on. 38. Sheffield Corner and O’Connell outjumps Lenihan comprehensively. Raya blocks on the line. Williams clears. Under the cosh here. 40. Bell and Dack lose the ball, McGoldrick unleashes a curling shot from the edge of the box, Raya tips it over! Graham gets his head to the corner but Fleck’s shot comes in from the edge of the box. Raya saves again. 45. Mulgrew on. Evans wins the ball well and Williams crosses to Armstrong who heads on to Dack but his header is over the bar. 48. Same old. Sheffield cut us to pieces on the right wing. Eventually Reed and Bennett block Fleck’s goal bound shot. From the corner O’Connell outjumps Lenihan and Evans again to head over the bar. 57. Nice flick into the corner by Bennett and Brereton beats 2 men and returns the ball for Bennett to cross. A good aggressive challenge for the ball by Bell under pressure but his header is wide. Bell claiming he was held. 62. Good run down the wing by Armstrong and a neat pass to Bell on the edge of the box. Bell returns to Armstrong but is shot is blocked and he was just offside anyway. 64. Bell receives the ball on the edge of the box and shows good skills to turn and feed Brereton who shoots from the edge of the box but a challenge takes all the sting out of it and the goalie collects easily. 65. Duffy skips past Williams and Reed, nutmegs Evans to Fleck who slips the ball to McGoldrick in the box. Bennett fails to stop the cross……………Sharp is running in, Williams blocks him but Sharp gets to the rebound first to score. 69. Good run and great cross from Williams to Brereton at the near post but he heads wide. He should have scored. 71. I like it. An input of energy from Rothwell as he bursts across the field passing to Dack. He runs to the edge of the box but his shot is not one of his best and is deflected for a corner. 74. Terrible backpass by Brereton sends Sheffield pouring forward again. Williams puts in a good challenge. 77. Sharp pulls away from Mulgrew and as the cross comes in there’s no one to challenge and he heads in from I yard. 79. Rothwell drives forward past 3 men and lets fly from outside the box. Well wide……..but still! 84. Good grief…….Rothwell runs past 5 men but is dispossessed by the 6th. It’s OK to pass sometimes Joe! 84. Beautiful long ball along the floor in to the edge of the box by Williams to Armstrong but his first time shot is straight at the keeper. He was never gonna beat him from there. 88. Hmm, Dack wasn’t interested in challenging for that one. Williams isn’t tracking back and the ball is played into the box for an unmarked United man but Raya is there again! It’s not safe though, in it comes again and Williams heads clear to Dack but he is dispossessed. Final whistle. Well they have won 4 away games now….that is impressive.

This time I’ve done separate ratings for each half (That’s the best I can do tom!) Ratings Raya |*** Nyambe(58) ***********|*** Lenihan ***************|******** Downing(58) ***********|******* Bell ***************|******** Reed ************|********** Smallwood *********|********* Evans(74) ******|*** Bennett ***********|*********** Dack ************|********** Graham ************|********** Rodwell(58) |******** Armstrong(58) |********* Rothwell(74) |*****

OAn assessment of player performance v Forest Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya *** Nyambe(58) ************** Lenihan ************************ Downing(58) ****************** Bell *********************** Reed *********************** Smallwood ****************** Evans(74) ********* Bennett ********************** Dack ********************** Graham ********************** Rodwell(58) ******** Armstrong(58) ********* Rothwell(74) ***** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 4. A bit of Forest pressure and Nyambe runs it away from the box but he is dispossessed. Here they come again. Good pressing all round relieves the pressure. 6. Again Nyambe loses possession on the wing and we lose momentum. 7. Forest corner. Lenihan and Hefele go up at the far post. Lenihan was pulling his shirt and the ref gives a penalty. MISS! We get lucky……. Flipping heck Darragh, I love your commitment but this is ridiculous! 12. Dowling dithers on the halfway line and is robbed. Grabban has a straight run into the box but there’s good old Lenihan with a successful challenge but it’s a corner. 14. Good hold up play by Graham, Dack sweeps the ball to Nyambe on the wing……but he is dispossessed again by Lolley. The nice move breaks down. 19. Bennett chases back as always and wins the ball. Evans dithers and is dispossessed but it goes for a Rovers throw. 20. AGAIN a Rovers player dithers on the ball and is dispossessed. This time it’s Bell on the wing and we’re lucky that the Forest ball into the box is too far from Grabban! Sloppy work all over the pitch! 23. I’ve just realised……I’ve read a lot of praise for Reed on the forums. He hasn’t touched the ball yet! (well once!) 25. Well, well. The first decent move of the game. Graham chests down a long ball expertly to Dack……then it’s good quick passing between Reed, Evans, Nyambe and Dack launches the ball into the box for Graham who does really well, under pressure, to volley the ball coming over his shoulder on target. Goalie saves. 28. This is more like it! Nice ball into the box by Bennett, met by Dack 10m out but his header is straight at the keeper. Dack ghosted in there but the finish wasn’t up to his usual standards. 29. Beautiful head on by Graham into the box but the goalie gets there just before Reed. 30. Great chance. Reed showing his worth here. Robs the defender and the ball is picked up by Smallwood who lays a beautiful ball into the box for Graham…..he only has the goalie to beat….he waits for him to commit and then pushes the ball past him. But that hesitation allows Colback to appear from nowhere and somehow head the ball off the line for a corner! The commentators are giving Danny advice here but that’s harsh. Unbelievable clearance. 39. Nice throw in from Bell into the box to Bennett who controls with his chest then does an overhead kick, Reed gets a foot in and the ball comes to Dack near the penalty spot. He hits the bar! Rovers well on top here but they need to score! 45+1 One more simple, sloppy pass again nearly proves disastrous! Nyambe and Smallwood are involved. Forest attack but VERY luckily the final cross is over Grabban’s head. The goal kick comes back; Downing beats Grabban to the header but it’s not far and Grabban pulls away from Downing as the ball loops back. Grabban puts it in the net but he’s offside. Just! 45+2 One of those satisfying, crunching tackles by Lenihan breaks up another dangerous attack after Downing had slipped. Bell pumps the ball forward and (while everyone else is thinking about their cup of tea) there’s Bennett charging down the field making the goalie miskick for a throw. 46 Terrible pass by Smallwood in his own half…..straight to the Forest man but Forest can’t capitalise. The sort of pass that can lose a game! Why is no one challenging for that Forest throw? A dangerous ball comes into the box but it’s well cleared by Downing. Another special moment by Graham, holding up the ball under pressure. The only way they’re going to get that ball is by fouling him. So it’s a free kick! 49. A blocked clearance from Lenihan finds Cash who drives forward and pumps the ball towards an unmarked Lolley in the box, Bell isn’t close enough. Fortunately the cross isn’t perfect and Raya is well-positioned to dive and collect. 51. A Rovers free kick is headed clear and Forest stream forward. Nyambe is done by Lolley, the cross comes in, it’s headed back across goal and Grabban nets! Excellent, counter-attacking goal. 54. Smallwood misjudges his header when the Forest goalkick is fired forward. It skids off his head and, all of a sudden it’s danger time as Lolley turns Nyambe inside out (he’s got to know that Lolley is all left foot so he has to be more aware). Downing is perfectly positioned in the box to head the cross for a throw in. 55. Again, that one moment of sloppiness courting disaster! Downing clears up nicely in the box to Nyambe who tries to be too clever, slips and is dispossessed. Eventually the ball comes to Lolley, who beats Nyambe again but there’s Downing again, in the box to clear up. Hmm, Downing’s not as bad as people suggested now that he’s warmed up a bit. Oh wait! Smallwood just passed straight to a Forest man outside the box but his shot whistles past the post! 56. For crying out loud! Now Bell has just done a Nyambe; trying to play too much football near the box. There’s Lenihan again, last man standing! It’s Downing off, Armstrong on. But Nyambe is distressed and doesn’t make it clear that he too needs to come off! TM has to send Rodwell on. No choice! 60. Rodwell’s first action. He goes up for a header, it looks simple but he fluffs it. He chases back though and wins the ball but then slices into touch. A bit rusty? 61. Forest knocking it about nicely. The ball comes into the box, Rodwell can only deflect it but Smallwood clears up. 63. Commentators both moaning. Bell throws in field directly to a Forest man! It’s Lolley driving forward through an empty midfield but there’s that man Lenihan on the edge of the box with an effective challenge. Eventually Rodwell clears. Armstrong, daydreaming is dispossessed in midfield but the Forest man’s shot from distance is weak and straight at Raya. Great long, crossfield ball by Bennett to Dack who controls well and lays off to Armstrong in the corner of the box, who first time curls the ball over one of the tallest goalies in the league and into the top corner of the net. “Goal of the season” says the commentator. What do you mean he didn’t mean it? He gets * anyway! Ewood is awake! 66. Another fantastic, forward, crossfield ball by Bennett to Dack in the box. He controls superbly and turns 2 defenders inside out. Colback runs in to help and Dack’s shot is blocked but Colback has taken Dack thigh-high. It sure looked like a penalty to me! 68. Good free kick from Dack from 25m. Goalie helps it round the post. Reed takes the corner and Lenihan’s header has power but it’s directly above the goalie’s head and he saves. Graham flicks on the next corner but it hits a defender and bounces clear. 70. More great football from Rovers. Bennett, Graham, Smallwood and Armstrong do well and finally a bobbling ball in the box is headed towards goal by Dack but there’s no power and it’s into the goalie’s arms. 72. Fantastic, long, through ball by Armstrong to Graham in the box. He goes for goal, it’s past the goalie but there’s no power and the defender easily gets back to collect. Dack was available square! 73. It’s still on! Bell through to Graham again in the box but this time he does cut it square perfectly and Dack nets from 1m. Commentator: “No reason why we can’t get double promotion this year. No team in this league scares me” The place is rocking! 76. Lenihan wins yet another header and Dack is on the ball on the halfway line. He turns the defenders inside out and lays a gorgeous through ball into the box for Armstrong. The goalie comes and Armstrong bottles it, he pulls out of the challenge. What a chance! 78. Forest throw in and Dack looks knackered; he doesn’t challenge or chase. Nice ball into the box for Lolley; Rodway rushes in but Lolley is past him. Rodway leaves a foot trailing…….. just enough for the Forest man to dive over it. PENALTY. Raya dives the right way but it’s a goal! 83. Free kick across field but it’s a loose pass by Bennett near their box and it’s enough! Forest punt forward and Lolley drives into the box and unleashes a powerful shot from a tight angle. Raya has to make a good save. Lenihan had been tempted upfield for the free kick so our reliable “last man standing” was missing. No one else does that job quite like him! He’s giving somebody a rollocking! 84. Bell is exposed as Dias runs at him. Reed doesn’t see the danger of an unmarked Lolley and doesn’t move to cover him. Lolley then dribbles past Reed easily but Rodwell gets his foot to the very dangerous cross. It’s fired in again…..over Rodwell’s head but Grabban heads wide. Free header for goodness sake! 86. Reed dispossessed in our own half but Rothwell comes in with a tackle. 88. Dack too tired to reach Smallwood’s pass. Defending very deep now. Forest corner. Crowd quiet. The ball falls near the penalty spot. Rodwell blocks the shot but it’s driven back in. Hefele deflects the ball inches past the post. Very very lucky! 91. Unnecessarily risky throw by Bennett right across the edge of our box! Rodwell scoops clear. 92. Lolley given the freedom of Ewood again. He lobs in the ball into the box. The usual extra-time panic ping pong ensues. Goal saving challenge by Bennett. I honestly thought he’d scored! Corner headed away by Graham, another corner though. 93. Well, that should have been Goodnight Irene! From the Forest left, the corner comes in. There are ZERO defensive players on this side of the box, except Bennett on the post! Guedioura comes strolling into the middle of the box and has a totally free header. How he put it past the post I’ll never know. He bursts into tears. We definitely don’t deserve to win this! Graham was nearest to him but it seems harsh to blame only him!

Armstrong: “I didn’t mean it. It was one of them where I’ve just tried to put it into a dangerous area and it’s looped over the goalkeeper. I’ll take it," the 21-year-old said to iFollow Rovers after the game”

I agree with TM, Groundhog Day! (Love that film). shaky start Lenihan gives away a penalty opposition miss.....lucky break Eventually we get on top......lots of neat football Dack scores we lead.........commentator talking about double promotion.......nothing to fear in this league. Opposition equalises last 10 minutes it’s another classic film.....”The Alamo” Raya pulls off a worldie in extra time. whistle blows and we all curse the ref.

For the penalty, he overcommitted, he knew he was beaten. He left his foot trailing.......just enough for the Forest guy to dive over. A symptom of the panic defending we’re experiencing all too often.

He wasn’t up to speed on a few occasions. He looked a bit lost for the first goal and was dispossessed dangerously in the area too. He couldn’t keep up with Defoe either. I don’t think he’s ready yet but he could bring something different when he’s properly match-fit. I remain optimistic.

Championship Trivia Quiz (Data from whoscored.com) 1. We have an impressive THREE players in the top 20 (out of 333 players) in the Championship ratings so far. Who are they? A bonus point if you get them in the correct order! 2. How many more Rovers players make the top 100? 3. We are doing well in the tackling stats so far. Who is our best tackler (3 successful tackles per game, on average). 4. We also have the 5th best pass interceptor too. Who would that be? 5. How about the Rover who rates 9th in the number of fouls given away (2.1 per game)? 6. Which former Rover is the best defensive “blocker” of the ball in the Championship? 7. You’ll like this one. Which Rover rates 5th in the number of times “dispossessed” per game (2.7). If you want a clue he is also rated 2nd in the “number of instances of bad control” per game (3.8)! Still not sure? OK, he's the only Rover to feature currently in the Championship team of the season. 8. How about the amount of possession per game for Rovers – more or less than 50%? 9. The last time Rovers were in the Championship, I remember this former Rover regularly rating in the top 2 best players overall. Today, he is still with the same high-flying club but is now rated 330th out of 333 players. Who is he? 10. Rovers also has a new “worst player”. Who is it? Answers 1. 9TH BD, 15TH CM, 17TH DL 2. None (Williams would be in there but he hasn’t yet played the number of games to qualify) 3. EB. 4. CE. 5. EB. 6. Hanley 7. BD 8. Less (48.7%) 9. Judge 10. AA 314th!

Oh? That’s how i record them.......chronological order.......but aggregate them for posting. My thinking was that it would be easier to absorb at a glance. Then i do the chronological bit via the text commentary. Thanks I’ll have a lttle think.

Thanks guys.

I-ve been having trouble formatting the **** . I do it all in "Word" normally …..and it all looks perfect on my PC. I then copy to BRFCS and the text looks ok but the * signs don't line up perfectly. So I dabble a bit to line things up. Then I look for any follow up comments on my ipad and usually notice that the formatting is no longer perfect...……...but not too bad. BUT last night I looked on my wife's iPhone...…………….and the formatting was embarrassingly awful! I decided to see what I could do. Any comments/advice/feedback from those guys who are interested in this stuff will be greatly appreciated! Let's try a couple of alternatives for the Bournemouth game. ONE ……….the formatting doesn't have to be perfect really: Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ******************* Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ********** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) ********************* ** Armstrong *************** Brereton(82) ************** Reed(59) ***** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) *** TWO A nett positive or negative contribution for an individual player could be obtained by simplifying ONE above, One * would be cancelled by one *. I mean his one excellent contribution would be cancelled out by one terrible contribution. Similarly, one poor effort * could be cancelled out by a subsequent "good" contribution * . This is what it would look like for the Bournemouth game (nice to see they are all positive overall with one exception!): Ratings Raya ******** Nyambe *** Lenihan *********** Williams ********** Bell ** Rodwell(59) **** Rothwell *********** Conway ************* Palmer(64) ************* Armstrong * Brereton(82) **** Reed(59) *** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) * THREE Another variation (Bournemouth again): Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ******************* Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ****** *** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) *********************** Armstrong ******** ******* Brereton(82) ********* ***** Reed(59) * **** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) *** Hmmmm. That one doesn't behave well either!

The feed was so poor, foggy and continually frozen and there was no commentary...…………...I nearly gave up - but I wanted to see how the new boys did! An assessment of player performance v Bournemouth Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya **** ****** * Nyambe ******* ***** * Lenihan * ************** *** * Williams *** ************** ***** ** Bell ******** ********* * Rodwell(59) * ****** ** * Rothwell * ************** **** Conway **** *********** ** Palmer(64) * **************** **** ** Armstrong ** ****** ***** ** Brereton(82) * ******* **** * Reed(59) * **** Butterworth(64) *** Travis(82) ** * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 0. Palmer holds off a couple of defenders and sends Armstrong down the wing with a nice pass. Armstrong lays on a beautiful ball behind the defence for Brereton who shows great composure to slide the ball past the out-rushing goalie. Offside! Just! 1. Great harassing by Conway wins the ball and he feeds Brereton who slips the ball to Armstrong who squares to Rothwell but he tries to do too much and the ball is lost. Rodwell struggles a bit as he tries to keep pace with Defoe. 2. Bell stumbles as he tries to tackle near the halfway line. The wing is open and Bournemouth flood forward. The ball comes into the box, Mousset is blocked by a typically brave Lenihan challenge…..he has another go but misses the ball completely….put off by Nyambe throwing himself in front of the ball I think! Bell miskicks……it’s the goalmouth panic we’re coming to expect! Eventually Rodwell becomes the first guy to get a decent contact on the ball since this paragraph started. 4. Bournemouth showing neat football as we can’t get near the ball……until Williams comes in with a robust sliding challenge in the box to put a stop to the fancywork. 6. Palmer carries the ball through midfield and feeds Armstrong on the wing. His cross is deflected and the goalie palms it straight to Brereton 1m out in front of an open net. He does a funny jump and somehow fails to score! 7. Brereton wins the ball well and the ball comes to Rodwell in our own box. He hesitates and is easily dispossessed by Ibe. More scary Bournemouth inter-passing before Williams and Lehihan clear up. 8. More fancy stuff………..Bell is nowhere near his winger but eventually manages to deflect his shot. Tipped over by Raya. From the corner, Williams is outjumped but Raya is well-positioned to catch the header. 11. Lenihan breaks up an attack and Williams picks up the ball and drives forward into the Bournemouth half before laying off nicely to Brereton. Excellent chase back to win the ball by Rothwell. 12. Excellent long ball from Williams down the wing to Armstrong. Some nice one touch stuff from Rovers now……..until Nyambe passes to the invisible man on the wing! Next comes the first goal. Most seem to blame Palmer for not tracking back but I’m not so sure we can put all the blame on him. Rodwell looks lethargic I think, Williams ends up marking no one. Anyway, there’s no one to stop Stanislas as the ball comes in and he is unmarked in the centre of the box. 15. Williams’ long pass is intercepted, then he sells himself with a poor tackle attempt. Palmer is completely done by Ibe and the cross comes in and Lenihan makes a goal-saving tackle 1m out. 24. Bell wins the ball and we get some good one touch stuff again from Rovers on the edge of their box but we can’t get a shot in. We are pinging the ball around impressively but can’t get in the box itself. 27. Rothwell drives forward but is dispossessed. Here they come! Williams and Lenihan clear up. Palmer wins the ball well and Rothwell sends a lovely ball down the wing to Armstrong. He runs into the box. Brereton screams for it as he arrives in the box but Armstrong goes it alone against 2 defenders and his shot is deflected into the side netting. A bit disappointing. Rothwell’s corner comes in, floats over everyone and falls at Lenihan’s feet 1m out! Unfortunately the ball bounces harmlessly off his leg into the goalie's arms. 32. I was just telling myself how well Palmer is playing when he is done comprehensively on the wing. The cross comes in and Raya makes a fantastic save from a Defoe header. Nyambe and Rothwell tidy up. 38. Exactly as in the Stoke game, Nyambe is taken to the line and rounded by the winger. Last time Crouch headed the cross against Raya. This time Raya spreads himself brilliantly and saves Defoe’s point blank effort. 47. Rodwell drives forward and slides a lovely ball through to Armstrong who pushes into the box. His shot is across the face of goal. Disappointing finish. 50. Lovely work by Palmer to feed Bell on the wing but his cross is poor. 53. Very nice one-touch from Rovers all over the park but it finishes with one too many fancy flicks from Palmer! 56. This time it’s Lenihan who is taken to the touchline and rounded, he brings the man down. PENALTY……soft one! Ibe sends Raya the wrong way. 58. Palmer heads on a long ball and Armstrong gathers well. It comes to Reed who curls one just past the right post. 61. Reed is beaten too easily. The defence is all at sea. Fortunately Bournemouth make a hash of a really good situation. 62. Brilliant, Conway robs Lerma and runs forward to unleash a great shot from just outside the box. Great goal for his 500th appearance! 68. A couple of bits of sloppiness from Armstrong when in good positions in the box in the last couple of minutes. 70. Good move. Out from the back, up to Rothwell to Brereton to Conway to Armstrong in the box but his shot is weak and easily saved. A bit of ping pong before the ball goes to Brereton who doesn’t control it fully but he’s clattered anyway and it’s another penalty! Armstrong scores off the post. 81. Good through ball from Conway to Armstrong in the box but he fails to control it! 82. Rothwell drives forward into the box. His attempted curler is blocked. 92. Williams, who has been great all night has a nightmare moment. As last defender (about 40m out) he slips and for some reason picks up the ball. Sent off! Lenihan heads out the free kick but not far enough and Bell is slow, the ball is crossed back and is headed against the bar. Raya saves the rebound brilliantly at point blank range again. 93. It’s a corner and Nyambe seems to be marking Wilson but in all fairness about 6 or 7 go up together, Wilson gets there first and deflects the ball past Raya.

Yeah, I didn’t make it clear. I don’t mean play it out exactly. There were “hints” at Stoke that Williams was capable of driving forward, carrying the ball into the Stoke half. I don’t want to overstate it.......I’m talking “hints” .......whether Williams is good enough is another matter. I gotta admit though, my opinion of him has increased significantly this season. He’s just been sent off for a dumb reaction apparently (haven’t seen it yet) so maybe I’m dreaming.

Fair enough, they are both young lads........but in the Stoke match, (I don’t know if you saw it) i was interested to see Williams carry the ball forward out of defence on a few occasions. That’s not something I’ve seen Mulgrew or Lenihan do very often. Watch out for it in the Bournemouth match if he plays.

Thanks Philip. I thought I was going to get zero replies! Oh blimey! Crouch frightened the life out of our defence, out of both commentators....and out of me! I do quite like him though! Hmmmm, it’s been interesting comparing Bell and Williams in the same team. Bell has been making too many mistakes; he’s very suspect when the winger cuts inside. Williams, on the other hand, has looked effective at centre back. I’ve been impressed with his commitment since he came back.

A great team performance. Sure, there will be individual mistakes but it’s great to see the rest of the team put their bodies on the line to relieve the pressure! An assessment of player performance v Stoke Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * ** **** * Nyambe * ******** ***** * Lenihan *** ****************** ****** * Williams ***************** ** Bell ******** ***** * Smallwood * ******* ** Evans *** ******** ** Bennett ** ************** * Reed(78) * ******* ** Dack(83) ** ************ *** * Graham(83) ***** ************** ** Rothwell(78) ** * Brereton(83) * * Armstrong(83) * * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 6. Bennett is filling in at left back but his short pass puts Bell under pressure. He gets the ball back and retreats dangerously into the box. His attempted clearance is poor and Stoke knock the ball back into the box towards Ince but Lenihan saves the day with a great interception. 13. Ince turns Bell inside out in the box and crosses dangerously. Fortunately Allen couldn’t react quickly enough and pushes the ball past the post. Goal kick and a real let-off! 21. Some impressively persistent play by Nyambe when twice he keeps the ball in play and keeps the attack alive…..but Dack is closed down. 22. Unnecessary bobbling back pass from Smallwood puts Raya under a bit of pressure and he slices the ball into the crowd. 26. Excellent multi-player move! Bell takes the throw, Dack nutmegs a Stoke man, nice interaction between Smallwood and Bennett and the ball is pumped into the corner for Graham. Graham does brilliantly to hold off his man and lay off to Bell, Bennett and Reed are involved again and finally Smallwood pushes the ball into the box. It’s deflected but Dack is on it, he holds off the defender and sweeps the ball into the net off the right post! 30. Outrageous but wonderful dummy by Graham. Nice, one-touch football by everyone! 33. Noticeable that right now…..everyone is chasing everything! 33. Also interesting here; one sloppy pass can lead to danger! Smallwood’s pass to Nyambe is just too short, he can’t control it, Reed tries to help but Diouf sprints away from them both. It looks dangerous but Evans and Reed and Nyambe all get back to crowd the Stoke man out. Real teamwork! The ball still comes back into the Rovers box, however, but guess who’s there to head away? Danny Graham! He then sprints out to slide tackle the ball into touch. Even TM is applauding! 35. Nyambe fails to prevent the cross, Lenihan’s header is weak, Evans manages to prod the ball away, the ball comes back though. Evans wins the ball well but his pass puts Graham under pressure. He tries a dragback on the edge of the box and loses the ball! Panic time! Reed does well to harass the Stoke man out of the box but back they come. This time Williams does the clean-up. Phew! 37. Stoke corner………….the ball is headed away by Graham but it sits up nicely for the Stoke man. Evans and Nyambe hurl their bodies into harm’s way and Evans blocks the shot! Bennett flies after the rebound and Stoke are forced back to the keeper. Great to see the commitment! 42. At the moment, Evans is very noticeable because of his constant harrying. 43. Bennett launches the perfect, long ball downfield, Graham springs the offside trap and he’s away. Beautiful, professional, one on one finish; sweeping the ball into the net. What a game Danny’s having! 45. Graham shows great control as he lays off a long free kick to Bell. Williams hits a long ball downfield, Bennett controls on his chest then slides the sweetest of balls into the box for Dack. Dack squares the ball to Reed who manages to move his feet fast enough to put the ball in the net! Commentator’s quote “Surely that puts this game to bed!” Stoke fans’ boos echo round the ground. 49. Bennett is dispossessed and the cross comes in. Great positioning by Lenihan to head behind for a corner. Goal-saving effort. 51. Stoke corner. Raya comes but makes minimal contact. Cleaned up by Lenihan again. 52. Fantastic commitment under pressure from Lenihan on the edge of the box as he hurls his head at a dangerous, incoming ball. The ref calls it a foul!!! Speechless! The free kick is punched away by Raya but it doesn’t leave the box and needs Evans and Lenihan yet again to throw their bodies at the incoming shot. 54. Dack sticks in a foot to break up an attack. Graham carries the ball into Stoke’s half and lays an exquisite ball through to Dack in the D. His shot is saved and his follow-up hits the post. He’s gotta get one of those! Stoke swarm downfield, Bell doesn’t cover his man and the cross ping-pongs around. Williams and Bennett manage to frustrate the attack. 59. 37 year old, 6’7” Crouch on! He has immediate impact heading down the first corner. Dack miskicks, Williams miskicks, then Dack falls over and the ball is fired over the bar! Blind panic! 61. Bell is done on his inside again and Smallwood has to hurl himself forward to block the shot. 63. Good collect by Raya as Allen crosses into the box. 69. Berahino drops his shoulder and foxes Bell completely. More ping-pong until Smallwood smashes the ball downfield. 72. Olés from the Rovers fans! 74. For goodness sake! Another pointless overhit free kick from Raya straight to the Stoke goalie. 75. Commentators are talking about the stream of Stoke fans leaving the ground. Am I imagining it……or are the Rovers players starting to look a bit complacent? 78. A long ball into the box, Crouch beats Nyambe and heads down, Lenihan misses it, Berahino beats Williams to the ball and bundles it into the net. Raya is totally wrong-footed. 79. A lovely ball into the Rovers box, floats over Lenihan, Williams tries to cover by throwing himself at the ball but Berahino crosses, Bell sticks out a leg but Ince scores. Flipping heck! Share the blame between that lot. Cool heads needed! 81. Etobo skins Nyambe and gets to the line in the box. His cross is met by Crouch’s head 3m out. The ball hits Raya’s chest but I don’t think he knew much about it. Evans clears off the line and Lenihan boots it clear!! At least, that’s my take on it. I only have one camera angle! The stadium is on fire! Dack is injured. Pandemonium! 87. Shawcross is winning every header since Graham went off! 89. Long ball into the Rovers box, Lenihan pushes over Berahino. PENALTY!! Berahino smashes the ball against the crossbar!!!!!!!!!! As a sidenote…….. from the clearance, Brereton has the chance to do a Graham and relieve pressure but instead he falls over! 91. Stoke corner…..Raya comes for it and catches………..Worth a * at this stage! 94. Armstrong plays a nice ball out of defence to Rothwell………………Rovers have 2 on 1. Brereton makes his run but Rothwell’s ball is terrible and Stoke have the ball. 96. Final whistle but I can’t see any huge beaming smiles…………….I think it’s just sheer relief!

That must do wonders for an already impressive team spirit! Did anyone notice how most of our lads seemed shell shocked at the final whistle? Or was it just almighty relief? It’s great to watch but imagine how intense it must be to play your part on the field. This is the best stuff i’ve seen in many a long while!

Amazing match! The crossbar has been MoM a few times this season. In the first half we looked like a real team. After Dack’s miss we fell apart. Still a lot to learn.

'There's a lot more to argue about this time.....but I tried my best! An assessment of player performance v Derby Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya *** **** ** Nyambe * ********** **** * Lenihan **************** '***** ** Williams ** *********** ***** Bell * ******* ****** *** Smallwood ********* ********** * Evans ** ********** ********* Conway(31) ** **** Dack * ****** *** ** Palmer(51) * ****** ********** Armstrong(63) ** ** **** Graham(31) * *********** ** * Bennett(51) * ** Reed(63) *** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 5. Rovers looking OK in the first 5 minutes but now Raya decides to take one touch too many on Williams’ backpass as Nugent closes in. His panicky clearance goes to a Derby man but he can’t make the most of it. 9. A Rovers attack breaks down and Derby surge forward. Bell can’t get anywhere near Derby’s Bennett and the cross comes in. Lenihan is in no man’s land and Josefzoon heads wide. 10. Derby pass their way through Rovers defence…..where is Palmer? Bell has too much to do and Williams is too far from his man. Mount blasts over a glorious chance. 10. Dack scuffs a long range shot. 13. Evans slides a nice ball through for Armstrong who drives into the box. Keogh challenges and it looks like a penalty. The ref disagrees. 14. A lovely long ball cuts through the entire Rovers defence to Nugent. Raya makes the save but Nugent was offside anyway. 16. Nyambe’s throw is too short and Raya is out of his box as Nugent runs in. Raya miskicks into the crowd. 19. Terrible free kick by Raya goes for a Derby goal kick! 20. Good crunching tackle from Williams breaks up a fluid Derby attack. 24. Excellent challenge by Palmer wins Rovers a goal kick. (don’t do that in the box too often Casey!) 25. Evans and Smallwood lose the midfield battle; Mount’s shot from distance is deflected over the bar. The corner is missed by everyone and the ball falls in front of goal. Lenihan and Williams both get in good challenges and Palmer hoofs it upfield. 26. Nyambe is done by the winger and the cross comes in, Bell heads into the D to Mount who’s shot is deflected for another corner! In it comes and Tomori running in at speed gets about a foot higher than anyone else…….but the ball skims off his head. The rebound comes back to him and he performs a bicycle kick from about 3m out. The ball hits Evans on the line and Williams lunges in to prevent the goal. Total panic stations! It’s interesting to re-read the first line of the paragraph to see how it all started! 29. Bell and Williams are taken apart in another attack as Bogle runs into the box but his shot is well saved by Raya. Conway presents the ball to Derby and they come again. The shot comes in and hits Williams’ backside, more panic and the ball is cleared long to Armstrong but, of course, holding up the ball is not his game! Here they come again! 30. it’s pretty hard to apportion blame each time as Rovers are all at sea. Bell is done again and Raya tries to take the ball but slides out of his box and has to release! As he hares back to goal, he flings himself horizontal to make another save! 31. When the ball goes out, Graham comes on for Conway. Palmer fails to get in a challenge as Bogle hits one from outside the box. Raya saves. 40. A bit quieter now but Bennett runs straight through midfield (Smallwood and Evans had both pushed higher into Derby’s half) and launches a shot that Raya helps round the post. 42. Bell is dispossessed on the wing but the dangerous attack fizzles out. 45. Miscontrol by Smallwood leads to another Derby attack but the cross is poor. 46. Smallwood stands off and the cross comes in, Bell heads clear. 46. Smallwood, Graham and Dack conspire to allow Derby in again! 47 Yet another poor pass from Evans. Bell is dispossessed again on the wing. Palmer clatters the Derby man for a foul. 48. Poor clearance by Lenihan ends up with Smallwood fouling the Derby man 25+m out from goal. Here we go again! The wall looks good but Mount smashes the ball over it and hits the bar. Raya was beaten. Nyambe does well to scramble the ball clear and win a throw in in the Derby half. 55. Bell is rolled by the Derby man but his shot is poor. 58. A hopeful long ball from Lenihan finds Graham who nods it into Dack’s path as he runs into the box. He takes it round the goalie but he’s forced wide and his shot hits the side netting. He usually scores them! 59. A lovely ball from Armstrong sends Evans into the box but his shot is very ordinary. 60. A nice ball from Dack to Armstrong on the edge of the box…..just offside! 61. More neat play from Derby and Lenihan intercepts well inside the box. 62. Good grief! Armstrong leaves the winger unmarked, he turns the ball in towards goal. Lenihan can’t get there, Williams tries to chest it, Raya flaps, 2 Derby men throw themselves at the ball, Smallwood makes some kind of contact and the ball ends up in Raya’s arms! 63. Bell is done again by the Derby man but Williams flies in to block his shot. 65. Smallwood’s pass is short allowing Derby to charge towards goal. The cross is cut out by Lenihan. 69. Awful pass by Graham sets up the Derby man for a long shot on goal…….weak effort. 71. A Graham and Dack interaction allows Graham a shot on goal but it’s weak. 72. Some neat interplay between Reed and Nyambe sends Reed into the box but his cross is blocked. 74. Rubbish free kick by Dack. 76. Nyambe does well to hold off the newly arrived Wilson in the box. Wilson dives claiming a penalty! 86. Nyambe and Williams fail to deal with Mount's long ball forwards. The ball comes back to Mount and his shot is a metre wide. Eventually the ball reaches Elliot Bennett who unleashes a shot from 30m……..just past the left post! 87. Poor pass by Lenihan invites more pressure. Fortunately Evans makes a great intervention.

I know what you mean but he slipped three times and two of those almost cost us! That's not acceptable for a top class defender. I don't think it's that simple Oldgregg86, as john.leigh pointed out in my Ipswich assessment; defenders tend to get more red stars because of the goal threat that arises from bad errors. Somehow bad shots on goal seem less catastrophic and I tend to downplay it a bit. I've tended to award orange stars unless the player pretty much misses an open goal or stuffs up a one on one. I have been thinking about it though. Interesting! But apart from that nightmare 5 minutes, Lenihan put in a bigger shift than anyone else (as he usually does!) I just wanted to acknowledge that as I seem to have hammered him on the match comments!

They were by far the best opposition I've analysed this season. Some very neat players. We played well I reckon.

A poor TV picture and no commentary made this more difficult than usual. An assessment of player performance v Villa Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ******* * Nyambe ********* *** ** Lenihan ******************** ****** *** Mulgrew *** ************* *** Bell ********* **** ** Smallwood(66) ********** *** Evans(57) ******** *** Bennett ** *********** ****** Dack *** *********** Armstrong(72) * ******* ******* Graham ** ************ Brereton(57) *** *** Reed(66) * ******** ** Williams(72) * * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 1. Bell is pushed off the ball by Grealish who then keeps the full back at bay as he sweeps down the wing to deliver a cross. A wee bit too long fortunately. 10. Poor corner by Mulgrew but the ball comes back to him and after some tricky footwork he delivers a wicked ball to the far post where Dack and Lenihan challenge but it looks to me like the Villa player heads it towards goal and the keeper saves on the line with his legs. The Rovers players claim the ball had crossed the line! 18. Excellent hold up play by Bennett as he receives the ball, holds off the defender then lays off inside to Smallwood. Yet another challenge by Bennett prevents a clearance on the edge of the Villa box and sets up an attack. 23. Amazing footwork by Dack from a throw in completely bamboozles 2 Villa defenders but he is outmuscled as he takes his shot and the ball runs through to the goalie. 26. Another great free kick from the wing by Mulgrew is headed into the net by Dack but it’s ruled offside. Whisker thin margin. 27. Initially Armstrong does well to take the ball and set off on one of his direct runs at goal. He is dispossessed but Bennett steps in and slides the ball into the box……..Armstrong misses badly but maybe he heard the offside whistle? 28. Lenihan falls over and the Villa man has a direct run at goal. He seems to stumble as Smallwood comes in to challenge! Strong claims for a penalty go unheeded. Tight call! 29. Lenihan is unchallenged but gives his clearing header straight to a Villa man. There is a dangerous attack but fortunately someone strays offside. 30. Blimey! This time Lenihan slices his attempted clearance into the sky and it drops on the edge of the box. After a bit of panic, Bennett does well to put the ball out of play. 31. Nyambe is turned every which way by the winger who gets in his cross. Raya plucks it from the air. 33. Rovers chasing shadows here! The cross comes in but Abraham’s header is easily saved by Raya. 36. Smallwood is done by Grealish. Evans can’t lay a glove on him either as he strolls right across the box. He lays it off but the incoming shot is weak. Scary! 38. Yet again Bennett’s persistence turns what should have been a simple Villa clearance into an attacking opportunity for Rovers. 43. Another excellent hold up and lay off by Graham. 47. A dangerous free kick comes in and Mulgrew’s man heads it on. Fortunately Chester, in a good position, heads over. 51. Evans wins a brave header but Smallwood miscontrols and that’s all it takes to send Grealish off again! Lenihan comes in with a clumsy challenge but the ball runs to Abraham. Mulgrew gets in a half-tackle but Abraham still manages a weak shot. Raya saves comfortably. Lenihan is booked………..if the ref hadn’t played advantage, Villa would have a kick in a very dangerous position! 53. A good ball by Smallwood is collected by Bell who attacks. He passes to Armstrong who puts in a great, first-time cross. Graham grazes the crossbar. 54. Another terrible throw in from Bell goes to a Villa man to set up a dangerous attack. Eventually Abraham’s header flashes past the post! 55. Abraham holds off Lenihan too easily and feeds Adomah in the box. Twice Nyambe fails to prevent him sending dangerous low crosses acoss the box. Bell fluffs his chance to clear but Armstrong boots it upfield eventually. 60. Armstrong puts in a decent cross and Brereton takes it down nicely on his chest and swivels but there’s too many defenders and the ball comes to the edge of the box where Smallwood’s shot is disappointing. 69. Nice ball by Reed sets up Nyambe for the cross but Graham can only get in a weak, off-target header. 70. Lenihan slips over again (that’s three I reckon!)…..leading eventually to a shot flashing past the post again…….probably off-target due to a desperate tackle attempt by Reed. 74. A tenacious run by Reed takes him into the box. He lays it back to Mulgrew on the wing who shows fancy footwork and crosses into the box. Panic erupts and Graham directs the ball towards the goal; Dack flicks it into the net. 83. A mishit Dack corner bobbles past 3 defenders, put off I think by Mulgrew’s run. Williams tries a shot but it’s blocked. Brereton collects but is tackled and goes down too easily. 91. Clumsy tackle by Reed gives Villa a free kick 5m outside the box. Raya seems satisfied with the wall but the strike beats him all ends up! (mind you, it was a cracker). I don’t understand why Nyambe was stood 2m away from the rest of the wall…….and he ducks out of the way! I don’t have the multi angle Sky camera analysis unfortunately. 93. A poor headed clearance falls to Reed on the edge of the box but his shot is well over the top.

Championship Trivia (Data from whoscored.com) 1. 1. Who are our three best rated players so far (out of 320 Championship players overall)? 2. And the 3 worst? 3. Who is the only Rover to have 2 Man of the Match awards so far? 4. Leeds has the highest pass success rate of 79%. Where do you think we stand? 5. Who do you think our best passer is? (Hint 85.2% success.) 6. We come first in the “number of long balls per game” ratings. How many on average? 7. I remember doing one of these trivia things pre-Mowbray; we came bottom in the tackling department. Today we’re second! How many per game on average? 8. Who is our only player in the Championship Team of the Season so far? Answers 1. 18th Mulgrew 7.4, 22nd Lenihan 7.37, 73rd Bell. (Note Dack 7.03 hasn’t played enough games to be included). 2. 307th Nuttall 6.15, 292nd Armstrong 6.27, 225th Nyambe 6.53. 3. Lenihan 4. 19th 67.9% 5. Dack 6. 87………………good grief nearly one per minute! 7. 20.7 8. Mulgrew

Sorry if you just opened this! Error on my part. I was just practising formatting! This is the second game I missed while on holiday. I couldn’t leave it out! An assessment of player performance v Reading Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * * * * Nyambe **** ****** **** * Lenihan ************ *********** ** Mulgrew ** ********* *** *** Bell * ******* ***** * Smallwood(45) * ******* **** Evans(76) * ****** **** Bennett *** ************* *** Rothwell *** *********** Armstrong(44) *** ** Graham ****** **** ** Conway(44) * *** * Samuel(45)(70) * **** * Nuttall(70) ***** ***** Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 5. Bennett gathers the ball on the wing; Rothwell screams for the ball. Bennett squares the ball just outside the box and Rothwell hits the post. He smashes the rebound over the stand. 9. Tenacious work by Smallwood wins the ball and allows Armstrong to drive to the edge of the box where he unleashes a shot which the goalie does well to tip round the post. Graham gives the goalie a high-five! 11. Lenihan allows a long ball to bounce off his head and into the box. Raya is slow to get there and Reading score. 17. Lenihan loses out to Baldock who drives into the box. Nyambe seems scared to challenge and Mulgrew’s attempt is powderpuff! The ball bounces around and Lenihan finally clears. 24. Nyambe is out of position and a cross come in from the right. Lenihan and Mulgrew are missing and the Reading man has a free header. Raya makes a great save but the ball falls to Bodvarsson again for a tap in. 38. Bennett wins the ball and feeds Armstrong who charges towards goal. He is tackled and the ball reaches Rothwell who’s powerful drive is bravely headed over by Moore. Close! 45+1 Conway’s corner is poor but the ball eventually finds Smallwood who loops the ball back into the box where Lenihan heads it tamely to the goalkeeper. He could have headed back across goal where Graham was waiting. 46. Good chase back by Nyambe to win the ball from a Reading man in a dangerous position. 46. Evans wins the ball and chases it to the goal line where he does well to win a corner. 50. Bell slides a ball into the box and Bennett makes a beautiful run. He is brought down. Penalty! Mulgrew smashes it into the centre of the net. 60. Bell allows the winger acres of room to get his cross in but Nyambe makes a goal saving challenge. 61. Samuel in the D lobs a neat ball for Graham to run on to but it’s tight and he flicks over the top. He’s offside anyway. 74. High ball into the box by Nyambe is won by Nuttall under challenge by the goalie. The goalie is out of position and Bennett pops the ball towards goal; the defender, on his knees, saves with his body. Nuttall tries to follow up but he’s a whisker away. 74. Conway takes the resulting corner and Lenihan and Mulgrew challenge. The ball drops to the ground and in the resulting scramble Mulgrew is felled. Another penalty! This time Mulgrew stutters and curls it inside the left hand post. 77. Beautiful curling ball by Nyambe into the box for Bennett to chase, he crosses to Graham but his header is a bit disappointing. 81. Sloppy play from both sides ends up with a dangerous cross into the box. Nyambe clears up nicely. 83. Rothwell slips a lovely ball through to Bennett who lays it off to Conway. His cross is headed just over the bar by Nuttall. Hmm! should he have done better? Probably. 83. Mulgrew messes up his headed clearance in the D….it hits McNulty who gets in a shot but it’s wide. Mulgrew is claiming the ball hit the attackers’s hand. (True!) 90+5 Rovers trying to exert pressure. The ball comes to Nyambe on the wing, he miscontrols and Reading attack. It’s dangerous but Nyambe hares back to put a foot in! Ratings Raya ********** Nyambe ************* Lenihan ****************** Williams ************************ Bell ****************** Rodwell(59) ********** Rothwell ******************* Conway ***************** Palmer(64) *********************** Armstrong *************** Brereton(82) ************** Reed(59) ***** Butterw’th(64) *** Travis(82) ***