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tonyoz

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Everything posted by tonyoz

  1. The stats shown on the broadcast were: possession - Rovers 34% Cardiff 66% clearances - Rovers 41 Cardiff 5!!!
  2. PLAYER WATCH v Cardiff City (A) Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers Kaminski *** * 6 Nyambe (75) ************ *** 10 Lenihan ******************************** ************* 29 Wharton *************** ******** 11 van Hecke **************** ***** 18 Edun *************** ********** 10 Travis (83) ******** ****** 4 Buckley ******* **** 1 Rothwell *********** ***** 10 Khadra (64) *** ***** -1 Diaz (77) ******* ******* 0 Gallagher (64) ****** **** 3 Ayala (77) ** * 1 Johnson (83) 0 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) No crowd for today’s match and an early kick-off. Let’s hope it’s a better performance than last time out! 05 Nothing much happening; we’ve had a decent share of the ball so far but we’ve given it away too often. Cardiff are a big side. Nyambe has just won a corner but Rothwell didn’t get it past the first man! Lenihan gives away a cheap foul. 07 I like it. Van Hecke shows how to track a winger and make sure he doesn’t get his cross in. Corner though. Oh! According to the commentators, Cardiff have scored 46% of their goals from set-pieces! Let’s see what happens. Hmmmm Nelson heads over the bar. He beat Edun and Lenihan to the ball! 11 Edun miscontrols the ball from a throw-in and it’s danger. Harris goes past van Hecke, in the box, too easily and fires in a cross to the far post. The in-flying Collins misses it by a whisker! Lucky escape there! 13 A nice little lay-off by Khadra to Rothwell near the centre-circle and he’s on one of his runs, leaving 3 men in his wake. From 23 yards, just right of centre, he strokes a beautiful, curving ball just inside the right post. Great goal, not a lot of power but perfectly placed. 15 That’s a second nothing foul committed by Lenihan. It’s another dangerous high ball for the big Cardiff men to attack. Ralls beats all 3 of our centre-backs but it falls weakly to Kaminski who gathers easily. 16 The second failed attempt at a long crossfield pass by Diaz. 21 Some nice football from City ends up with Edun blocking the cross, conceding the corner. I think that’s the first set-piece we've won as van Hecke heads away. He’s doing well. 24 having applauded Lenihan for weeks I have to point out that he’s having a bad one so far; beaten in the air, giving away 2 sloppy fouls and now misjudging his header in a dangerous position! Ahh! He gets chance to make amends immediately as he challenges the winger and it’s another corner. Kaminski comes for it but his punch only reaches Vaulks on the edge of the D. His powerful volley comes back, Kaminski is beaten but Travis, 2 yards from the line, manages to get his body behind the deflected shot. It was going in! We’re not dealing with these set-pieces at all! Oh! Dear, now it’s a long throw into the box! It’s 5 men head-tennis before Diaz attempts some kind of overhead kick and just about gets away with it! Finally Wharton gets it clear. 26 Now van Hecke gives away a foul 8 yards inside our half. Lenihan gets it away. Another long throw comes in and Lenihan is there first again. That’s more like it…..but we still can’t get out of our box effectively! 31 Yet another dangerous cross comes into the box. Van Hecke gets a slight but important touch and Edun is able to clear. 34 Now it’s Khadra’s turn to be dispossessed. Khadra, Buckley and Diaz in particular are struggling to have any impact on the game against a physical Cardiff side. Travis is pretty much of a mixed bag too. 37 A nice move involving Harris and Collins sets Ng up for a shot from the edge of the box but it’s scuffed and is easily saved by Kaminski. We’re just not in it at the moment! That’s another misdirected Diaz pass! 40 Khadra runs down yet another blind alley and loses the ball instead of laying it off. It’s poor play from Rovers since the goal. 41 Van Hecke is beaten by Harris and has to pull the City man back. Yellow card. More danger. 42 Now it’s Travis with the poor ball. Cardiff come again. Van Hecke gets his head in, then Rothwell gives it away close to our box. Wharton is beaten too easily, Travis can’t get his foot in and eventually another shot flies in from the edge of the box and Lenihan blocks. City are still passing it around with growing confidence. 44 Khadra then Travis give the ball away again! 45 We make a rare foray forward and Edun drives ahead from the centre-circle. He lays it square to Buckley who, with no one in front of him, decides to try a first time shot from 27 yards. It’s scuffed and straight at the keeper. Another bad decision (it’s getting a bit of a habit for John around the box!) as he could have taken a touch and thought about his options. He would have had a better shooting opportunity or Diaz was waiting on the left. 46 Now Edun gives the ball away needlessly. Seconds later he fouls the City man and it’s another dangerous free-kick, on the wing and close to the box. It results in a bit of ping pong before the ref blows the whistle. 45 It’s back to where we were. Cardiff on the attack. Ralls goes past Lenihan too easily and his shot is deflected behind for a corner by van Hecke. The cross is missed by Wharton but it falls kindly and it’s cleared. 47 Within one minute Travis wins the ball well…..but then later gives it away ridiculously easily. Cardiff attack and Lenihan half clears. Nelson beats Nyambe to the byline and his floated cross finds Drameh beyond the far post. His looped header is gathered above the head of Harris by Kaminski. This is garbage so far this half! Lenihan is given a warning by the ref for holding up Ralls a little earlier. 49 Now Lenihan commits another needless foul, allowing City to launch the ball into our box again! Oh, it’s taken short but this time Travis fouls just outside our box. Again it’s short but the cross from their left comes in finally and I think Nyambe got a slight touch and Lenihan hoofs clear. We still can’t get out of our half though. And we can’t retain possession either as this time Rothwell puts in a poor pass. There’s a temporary sense of relief as Cardiff run the ball out of play. 52 Harris skins Lenihan on the wing and he drives on to the box but van Hecke dispossesses him nicely. Nyambe is the next man to give the ball away cheaply. 55 Another poor Lenihan challenge earns him a yellow card. The free-kick is 30 yards out, on our right. It skims off a Rovers head and we win a throw. 58 Lenihan shields the ball over the byline as Ng clatters him from behind. Nasty stuff. Nyambe gets involved in some pushing and gets a soft yellow. Ng gets a much more deserved card too. It must have been close to red! 59 Buckley on the right wing crosses into the box. Diaz has 2 men near him but manages to get a weakish volley in from 14 yards. It’s deflected wide for a corner. Rothwell’s cross is too high for Lenihan. 62 Diaz carries the ball forward but he’s on his own with 3 defenders and tries an ambitious shot from wide and outside the box. It’s well off-target. 64 Khadra off, Gallagher on. Two Cardiff changes too. 67 A Cardiff long throw results in head tennis before it goes out for a corner. Oh wow! A storming Nelson outjumps Wharton and Gallagher comprehensively and his header is going in low inside the left post until a diving Kaminski reaches out a paw to push it clear. It’s even more impressive as Collins was attempting to follow it over the line! Brilliant from Kaminski. 69 A Lenihan interception reaches Gallagher. He turns into the box and there’s a collison and Gallagher is floored. No penalty…….looked like clear obstruction to me! Another poor Rothwell pass kills our momentum 71 A nice run and pass to Nyambe by Gallagher. There’s no one to meet Nyambe’s cross though. Gallagher may not be the prettiest footballer but he’s made a difference since he replaced Khadra. We’ve spent more time in the Cardiff half. The real Lenihan has reappeared too! 72 Another horrible foul by a Cardiff man, this time on Wharton. 75 Silly jump-in type tackle by Nyambe earns him a second yellow, so he’s off! There’s a big challenge ahead! 77 Diaz off, Ayala on. Lenihan goes to right full-back. Diaz wipes his nose on the palm of his hand, then on his shirt, then he high fives Ayala, then high fives more Rovers’ folk on the pitchside. I mean, I’m just saying! 78 Kaminski comes out confidently to collect a high ball into the box. 82 Rothwell picks up just outside our box and finds a nice pass to Buckley on halfway, he slides it nicely inside to Gallagher and he’s on the charge. He returns the ball to Buckley in the D. He could have shot but he tried to return to Gallagher and it’s behind him and the good move collapses. 83 Johnson on, Travis off 84 Davies beats Edun all ends up and takes the ball to the byline. His cross comes back off the outside of the near post and Edun can hack away. 85 Davies gets past Edun again. Fortunately Lenihan is in the centre of the box to clean up as the cross comes in. Van Hecke loses the ball to Ralls near our right byline. The cross comes in and thankfully, Edun is there to challenge the City attacker brilliantly on the penalty spot. Lenihan hoofs away. Gallagher picks it up and drops his marker. Rothwell is trying to catch up. Sadly Gallagher’s attempted pass is intercepted. 88 Lenihan’s playing particularly well since he moved to right back. Gallagher gives away a daft foul midway in our half. Yellow card. Wharton clears but it’s another long throw! A nervy 4 minutes of extra time! It’s more head tennis around the 6 yard box. It comes to Ralls 12 yards out he controls on his chest then volleys the ball towards goal but van Hecke blocks….with his head I think. Another one that was definitely going in! Finally Edun blocks a cross and concedes the corner. Edun is first to the cross and Buckley hooks it downfield. Back it comes but Lenihan is strong and City foul him. 92 Davies beats Edun to the line again and his accurate cross is met full-bloodedly by Ayala. The final whistle goes and, somewhat unbelievably, it’s another clean sheet. It’s gonna be a big night up in Hull on Wednesday. Onwards and upwards.
  3. I just checked the BRFCS poll…….they have Wharton 7.8, Lenihan 7.7. Whoscored.com have them neck and neck too……Wharton 8.1, Lenihan 8.0. Now that’s spooky!
  4. PLAYER WATCH v Huddersfield Town Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers A change this week....first half scores are in purple, full game in black. Kaminski * * (3) 1 Nyambe *************** ****** (14) 16 Poor second half! Lenihan ****************************** ****** (10) 37 Wharton ******************************* ***** (14) 38 van Hecke ********************* ***** (18) 24 Pickering (67) **************** ** (12) 21 Travis **************** **** (17) 21 Faded as the game went on Buckley (72) ************** ******* (8) 10 Good first half hour Rothwell ************************** ********** (5) 27 !!! Khadra (62) *********** ** (14) 13 Diaz *********** *** (7) 16 Gallagher (62) ****** * 9 Edun (67) ****** *** 5 Dolan (72) ** ** 2 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) It’s stopped raining but the guys are out with their giant squeegee mop to dry up the pitch. It looks pretty waterlogged from here! A draw will send us into an automatic promotion spot! 01 Oh yes! The ball holds up in the Town half, Pickering steals the ball and is fouled for his trouble! 02 This time Khadra steals the ball and he’s away. He slides it to Buckley inside the box, to the right, but his shot is well blocked by the defender. We’ve still got the ball and Lenihan, on the right wing, slips a neat little pass into midfield to find Khadra. There go the dancing feet again as he dribbles into the area past 3 men but his cross from the byline is blocked out for a corner. Rothwell’s corner came to nothing but we still have the ball and Town can’t get anywhere near it!............until Pickering fouls a defender. 05 Buckley receives the ball in the centre circle and threads his trademark pass through the defence for Khadra to run on to. He takes it to the right corner of the 6 yard box but his powerful shot skims the crossbar. The pace of Khadra is a real asset. 07 A lot of Huddersfields’ passes are going astray. This time it’s the keeper’s turn to kick the ball straight into touch! 08 It’s incessant Rovers pressure until Rothwell stands on the pass, loses the ball and Town stream forward……until their man stumbles over the ball! Wharton gives the ball to Buckley in the centre circle, who effortlessly beats his man and drives forward. He decides to try a shot from 25m but it’s blocked. Too ambitious I think John! Travis picks it up and sends a neat little chip towards Diaz but the defender manages to head out for a corner. 13 Rothwell takes a free kick from the left wing, midway in the Town half. It’s over everyone as all scurry backwards. It lands just in the 6 yard box and van Hecke is first there; he may just have got a very slight touch but it goes, undeflected, straight into a very relieved keeper’s hands! This has got to be the most dominant first 15 minutes we’ve had at Ewood this season….but no goals to show for it yet. 17 Diaz offside. 21 Oh my! It’s a rare attack from Huddersfield as Sinani takes it down their left wing. Our defenders are rushing to get back. His cross is excellent and Thomas gets on the wrong side of Pickering to dive low and direct a powerful header, from close range, towards goal. It hits Kaminski…I don’t know how much he knew about it but it’s a crucial save. Then there’s confusion about how to clear the ball between Wharton and Kaminski before Nyambe hoofs it clear for Khadra to chase. 29 Travis reads the situation well and puts in a death or glory water-sliding challenge in the Town half to win the ball, Diaz picks up and heads for goal. He goes past Lees on the edge of the D, but the falling defender leaves his leg out and Diaz stumbles but keeps his feet. He runs into the box and Pearson comes in from the side to make a big body to body contact and Diaz, still unsteady from the first challenge, falls to the ground. The Lees contact was a foul but outside the box, the Pearson “shoulder charge” was dubious but he got away with it! Huddersfield charge forward with some nice interplay as the Rovers defence rushes back. It arrives to that man Sinani again but this time on their right wing. He goes past Wharton with ease and delivers a low cross from the byline. Fortunately van Hecke is there to put the ball out of play. The Rovers players surround the ref, complaining about the injustice of it all! 30 Diaz picks the ball up near our box and carries the ball almost the full length of the pitch before winning a throw in line with the edge of the Town box. Good stuff, he gets a big round of applause. 35 Huddersfield are right back in this game, knocking the ball about with much more confidence but Rovers hold their defensive shape. It all ends in a Huddersfield corner. Mowbray gets a yellow card for lambasting the ref’s performance - now there’s some display of passion for the doubters! Nyambe clears from the corner with a good defensive header. 38 A lazy challenge by Buckley, deep in our half, earns him a yellow card. 42 Holmes leaves Rothwell for dead on the wing and passes to Sinani 25m out but a sliding van Hecke puts him off enough for him to balloon his shot. 43 Lenihan on the wing slides a nice long pass to Khadra’s feet, just outside the box. He squares the ball to Buckley but his attempted pass to Diaz was poor. Buckley’s influence has waned considerably as the game’s gone on. 47 Van Hecke commits a foul in a dangerous area, 25m out. Diaz heads clear. 50 Pickering wins a corner and Rothwell takes. It’s Pickering who manages to get his head there first but it’s very crowded and it’s over the bar. Lenihan congratulates Harry as if to say “what are you doing here?” 56 Wharton plays a nice long pass to Diaz but he’s offside! 58 Some nice interplay by Rovers ends when Khadra is dispossessed just outside their box. He hasn’t had the best of times since that first half hour! Rovers win a free kick, central but over 25m out. As Rothwell addresses the ball it becomes clear that we are in sore need of a “shot on goal” dead-ball specialist! He doesn’t try a shot - his cross goes straight into touch! Such a waste! 60 Lenihan disrupts Huddersfield’s possession on halfway and Buckley passes to Diaz on the left wing. Ben drives on impressively, past several defenders, to the edge of the box before squaring to Nyambe. Ryan is in nosebleed territory and is easily dispossessed….disappointing end to a nice move. Now there’s a great long ball downfield directly to the feet of Holmes and he’s away, sprinting towards the box. Pickering, at full speed, can’t catch him but maybe does enough to put the Town man off. Holmes fires into the side netting from the right corner of the 6 yard box. A close call! 62 Khadra off, Gallagher on. 63 Lenihan wins the ball on the right wing and passes crossfield to Diaz near the far corner of the 6 yard box but he can’t quite get there! 64 Rothwell picks up midway in the Town half and drives to the box where he squares to Nyambe who tries a left-footed curler from just inside the box but Ryan blots his copybook by bisecting the goal and the corner flag! He’s been fine defensively but, as an attacking wing-back, he’s struggled today. 67 Pickering off injured, Edun on. Jordan Rhodes on!!! 69 Huddersfield pressure! Thomas does Edun comprehensively and fires a cross in from the right edge of the box but Wharton is there to clear for a corner. The Huddersfield fans are loud! The corner is cleared without too much drama. 72 O’Brien is becoming more and more influential, stroking the ball around in midfield. Buckley off, Dolan on. Good applause for John. 75 Nyambe wins the ball and is fouled just outside the D (what’s he doing there?). It’s 25m out to the left of the box and again we’re left rueing the absence of a Mulgrew type shot picker. Rothwell puts it harmlessly over the bar. We all knew what was going to happen sadly. 77 Lenihan plays a beautiful field length ball to Dolan’s feet and he wins a corner. Rothwell’s cross is straight into the goalie’s arms. His set-pieces today have been disappointing. The keeper’s long kick upfield has set up a foot-race between Dolan and Thomas. Dolan wins out and passes back to Kaminski, so Thomas clatters him with a flying lunge from behind. Very nasty, Dolan’s team mates are incensed. Thomas is lucky it’s just a yellow! 82 This time Rothwell’s corner is a good one and Gallagher gets his header on target but it’s cleared by a defender 1m from the line! Now a long ball towards O’Brien sets up a race between him and Nyambe. Nyambe stumbles but keeps his feet as they go neck and neck into the box. It’s good perseverance by Ryan who finally gets a crucial foot in. Edun is able to clear to Diaz on halfway. He passes forward to Dolan on the left wing but he mis-controls and it’s all for naught. 84 Yellow card challenge by van Hecke shifts the momentum. Nobody looks like scoring today. Wharton gets the sponsors Man of the Match award just as he wins another header! 88 Rothwell threads a lovely long pass down the wing for Diaz to chase. He attempts to cross from near the byline but the keeper plucks the ball from the air at the near post. Nyambe was charging in just behind him! I haven’t seen Rothwell so involved for a long time! 92 Diaz controls well and drives square across field 30m out, he passes to Rothwell who feeds it to Edun on the wing. Edun crosses low and, unbelievably, it goes through everyone to Gallagher 10m out but the defender’s there too and his attempted shot is blocked into the air for the keeper to collect. 94 Clumsy (not quite Fulhamesque) challenge by van Hecke. It might have been a second yellow if it wasn’t the last minute! It’s a dangerous position, on the left wing 35m out. In it comes and Kaminski comes for it and misses and van Hecke hacks it clear. The whistle goes.
  5. Here is the latest “average scores” chart. Most players have so many scores now that the odd exceptional (or atrocious) performance makes hardly a dint in his average.
  6. It’s the leadership he’s showing that impresses me most. Those blood and thunder aerial challenges at the end of this game were inspirational.
  7. Maybe…..but not so far as you’d think I reckon. I’ll post an updated chart later. No one has ever scored more than 40 before. I think he’s really come of age this season………helped by the experience of partnering and watching Ayala.
  8. PLAYER WATCH v Barnsley Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers Kaminski **** ** 5 Nyambe ************* * 17 Lenihan ***************************** *** 45 Wharton ****************** ***** 17 van Hecke ************** *** 20 Pickering ***************** ***** 19 Travis **************** ********** 5 Buckley (84) ********************** ******** 21 Rothwell (84) ******** ******* 6 Khadra (63) ***** * 11 Diaz ************ ********** 4 Gallagher (63) *** *** 1 Edun (84) ** * 2 Dolan (84) * ** -2 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) 02 Oh dear! Two Barnsley men clash heads in Rovers half and the ref blows up immediately. Buckley fires a great ball into the right channel for Khadra to chase and he hasn’t heard the whistle, neither has the defender. Khadra outpaces him impressively to run clear and from just inside the box he puts it past the goalie on his near post. Painful for Khadra to swallow….and the Rovers fans but I left the ratings in there. Somebody turned the volume up! 09 Nice long ball from Wharton to Diaz on the left wing but he’s offside. 12 Not a lot happening. Barnsley are a bit sloppy in their own half but they have some good players. Travis has been ineffective so far. Rothwell has hardly touched the ball! 14 A nice Barnsley move sees Styles take a shot from just outside the box. Kaminski dives to his right to parry the ball away. It comes back to Palmer but his shot from 20+m is well over the bar. 17 A nice clearance pass from Lenihan to Buckley who spins delightfully away from his close marker and squares to Pickering who takes it on. Eventually the previously anonymous Rothwell gathers on the left wing halfway in the Barnsley half. He does a wide 360 degree turn and passes back to Pickering….but keeps running. Pickering returns the ball and Rothwell is away from 2 defenders and he storms into the box. He’s only got the goalie to beat but his shot from 10m goes across the goal, hits the right post and bounces back almost along the goaline. Barnsley clear. 20 Some nice intricate play around our box by Barnsley sets up a chance for Palmer again, Rothwell’s challenge is poor but the shot is blocked by Wharton and Pickering clears. Barnsley don’t look like a bottom of the table side here. 22 A nice long ball from Lenihan finds Diaz on the left wing. He drives inside but his attempted shot was a Brereton special…..row Z. Van Hecke robs a Barnsley man midway in their half and Buckley picks it up and glides past the startled defenders. He’s into the D and with only the keeper to beat he puts it narrowly past the right post. Bad miss after the hard work had been done! Is it going to be one of “those days”? 23 That’s a terrible pass by the defender straight to Buckley. He releases a perfect pass for Rothwell to run on to 30m out. He takes it to the edge of the box and this time there’s no mistake, he plants the ball low into the right side of the net! 27 Another neat pass from Buckley finds Nyambe in a bit of space and he manoeuvres into the box and tries a left footed curler but it’s Ryan and his shot curls comfortably past the far post. 35 Khadra receives the ball midway in Rovers’ half and he sends Buckley free and clear with a wonderful through ball beating the offside trap. He slows down at the edge of the box waiting for Diaz to arrive but, when he tries to set Ben up, his pass is too weak and a Barnsley man gets a foot in. Bad, bad miss…..Buckley should have kept going and shot himself or, at least, put decent weight on his pass. Ben deserves credit for his run! Chances are going begging and Barnsley aren’t out of this yet! To make matters worse, the resulting corner is hit straight into touch by Rothwell. 36 Diaz does really well to keep Pickering’s long pass in play and he’s off into the box. His shot from just to the left of the 6 yard box is parried away. Good play from Ben. Eventually Khadra gets the ball on the wing 30m out and his cross into the box almost reaches Pickering who had made a good run. The keeper gathers. 41 Lenihan fires a great long ball from the right wing to the edge of the box where Diaz is lurking. Although Ben brings it down well with his chest, his shot is saved by the keeper. He was offside anyway! We need that second goal! 44 Some good approach play by Barnsley and the right winger goes past Travis too easily and crosses from the byline but Wharton is in position to clear. Then Lenihan jumps in on halfway to make an interception. He has the perfect chance to send Diaz clear but his pass is blocked and the moment has gone. Barnsley come again! Pickering has 2 men to mark on his own and one of them manages to get in a cross from the byline. Lenihan has managed to get back and blocks it in the 6 yard box but it hits Wharton and deflects back towards goal. It’s panic stations as Van Hecke, Wharton and Rothwell fail to clear. After more bobbling about, the ball comes to Morris just inside the box. His shot is deflected by Nyambe on to the right post…….the ball runs agonisingly back along the line and a baffled Kaminski can’t stop it rolling over the line just inside the left post! Let’s hope we don’t rue those missed chances…..as so often in the past! 47 Some all-round good play by Lenihan since the re-start. This time his crossfield pass into the box reaches the on-coming Rothwell just outside the 6 yard box, but his attempted left-footed volley is best forgotten. 49 A dangerous moment there. Everyone seemed happy to let Diaz deal with Brittain on his own to the left of our box. The result was Diaz was all at sea and a cross came in, headed away by Wharton at the near post. Diaz gets a chance to send Khadra away but his pass is poor. 51 Buckley collects a Wharton pass and, with 3 defenders around him, he launches a beautiful ball over the top of the defence for Diaz to chase. Ben turns into the box but his shot is blocked by a defender. Buckley gets it back from Pickering and shoots from 25m but it’s weak and the keeper gathers easily. 55 Some good possession by Barnsley since the break. 59 Another long crossfield ball from Lenihan straight to Diaz who heads it on into the box for Pickering to chase. His shot is blocked but he wins a corner. It’s taken short and, between them, Rothwell and Pickering stuff it up completely! 61 Khadra takes a shot from distance but it comes down with snow on it. He’s done nothing this half! 63 Khadra off, Gallagher on. 64 Lenihan dispossesses a Barnsley man in the centre-circle and Buckley manages to slide the ball for Diaz to chase on the left wing. He takes it to the edge of the box but his touch is awkward but never mind he still lashes it low across goal and into the bottom right corner of the net. 20 goals for Ben and party time for fans who had the big bet. All the subs mob Ben, then the rest of the players join in. Great stuff. 66 Unnecessary, crude yellow card challenge by Lenihan. 74 Buckley starting to look tired now. 80 More Rovers looking a bit lethargic now as Barnsley have some nice possession. 82 Yellow card for Gallagher being careless with his elbow! 84 Buckley and Rothwell off, Edun and Dolan on. 85 Edun gives a soft free kick away midway in our half. Wharton heads clear. 87 Kaminski booked for time-wasting. All the centre-backs are playing well! 90 A Barnsley man passes back straight to Gallagher 35m out. He takes it to the edge of the box and unleashes a powerful shot but it’s too near the keeper and he parries away. He’s hurt himself in the process! Corner. 91 Another short one and another embarrassment. This time it’s Dolan passing 1m to Gallagher and then it’s back to Dolan who’s offside!!! Lenihan wins another towering header on halfway and it goes over the entire defence setting Diaz free. He heads into the box and with the goal at his mercy, he blasts the ball wide from 12m with his left foot. That was a sitter! 93 That’s 3 dominant headers by Lenihan in as many minutes! Styles goes past Pickering too easily then squares to Morris on the edge of our box. His shot hits Wharton. Travis makes a weak attempt to clear but it falls perfectly for Styles 22 m out and his shot rockets just over the bar! Wow! Lenihan gives Travis a rollocking! The final whistle goes.
  9. Aye, I had a weekend away so I was a bit behind. Harry was well involved and others covered well when needed but I noticed a couple of instances in the last game too. I still like him though. Thanks you sir!
  10. PLAYER WATCH v Birmingham City Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers Kaminski ******* ** 8 Nyambe ******************** * 29 Lenihan **************************** ******* 37 Wharton ************** ***** 15 van Hecke ******************* *** 24 Pickering *********** ***** 7 Travis **************** * 27 Buckley (62) ************ **** 18 Rothwell (74) **************** ***** 16 Khadra (69) ********** * 19 Diaz *********** ** 22 Gallagher (62) ******* * 8 Butterworth (69) ** ** ***** 3 Johnson (74) *** ** 2 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) Well, what’s it to be……A very Merry Christmas or the, all too familiar, moaning about what might have been? Third place is up for grabs. Can you believe it? Here we go! Oh! Orange and green for Birmingham….Aussie viewers would recognise the unappealing Bunnings colour scheme! 00 Kaminski wags his finger at Aneke after his half-hearted attempted leap over the Rovers keeper! 05 A fantastic long ball from van Hecke, inside our half to Nyambe midway in theirs, on the wing. Nyambe lets the ball glance off his chest past the defender and his trademark burst of speed sees him accelerate into the box. His square pass, intended for Diaz, is weakly pushed out by the diving keeper to Buckley, 10m out, who gratefully strokes the ball into the net. First of the season for John. What a start! Pathetic goal-keeping though! 17 Rothwell’s corner is flapped at by Sarkic, our friendly opposition keeper, and it falls to Wharton near the penalty spot but it’s on his right foot…..and his snap-shot is 1m wide. Decent chance! 19 Sunjic fouls Diaz twice in as many minutes! 20 Lenihan is winning all the high balls so far. 21 Khadra receives near the centre circle and spins, leaving his marker for dead. He runs towards the D and slips it to Rothwell on the charge in the box but he’s well covered by the defender and the ball is deflected to the keeper. 25 A free kick is played to Khadra halfway in the City half, on the wing. He whips in a vicious cross. The goalie rushes out, van Hecke holds back on a potential header forcing Sarkic to flap again and the ball goes to Buckley outside the D but his hurried shot goes well wide. This is a poor, poor goalie! Birmingham look poor…..or maybe we are making them look poor. For Rovers, no obvious weaknesses around the park so far. 28 Some nice interplay between Khadra and Nyambe earns us a corner. Rothwell takes it and Friend does well to get to the high ball just before van Hecke but it’s another corner. Lenihan can’t quite get there this time. 30 Nyambe is playing noticeably further upfield than he has recently. He’s doing well too, some nice touches. 31 Oh! Now he’s won a corner on the right! It’s taken short by Rothwell to Khadra, who finds Travis in the box. He shimmies and passes to Buckley 14m out. His shot is blocked and it falls to Lenihan 8m out but, under challenge, he spoons it over the bar. 32 Kaminski stubs his toe as he attempts a routine clearance and it goes to Aneke 25m out. He lashes a powerful shot against the crossbar. Kaminski was a spectator! 40 Some nice Rovers play sees Rothwell disguise a nice infield pass but he then ruins it all by playing the next ball backwards, directly to the feet of Aneke in the centre circle. It’s dangerous but Buckley challenges from behind and it’s a yellow card challenge! Rothwell’s fault though! The free-kick is played to their right wing and the City man takes it to the line, evading Diaz too easily but his cross is poor and lands on top of the net. We were a bit lucky there but it just goes to show how one careless pass can shift the momentum! 42 Another nasty foul by Sunjic on Buckley and it’s a well-deserved yellow. Rothwell fires it deep but Lenihan’s header is over the bar. Slightly disappointing. 48 I don’t like this….it happened in the last game too! Pickering allows the winger to advance and get a good cross in. Another City man beats Wharton to the ball and heads it on across goal, Kaminski desperately throws himself on the ground but he and 3 others miss the ball and it runs wide on our right. The whistle goes…….blimey! Even though Rovers have been much the better side, Birmingham have had chances to equalise! Nyambe is getting back to his best I think. Diaz has done nothing yet…………..but!! 47 A nice crossfield pass from Buckley finds Lenihan who launches a good ball into the right channel for Khadra to compete with the full back. The keeper rushes out and just manages to hold the ball inside the box…….his whole body (except his fingertips) is outside the box! Clown football from Sarkic again. 48 Buckley picks up the ball near halfway and tries to put Diaz through but the pass isn’t good enough. Never mind, the City man stuffs up and Diaz gets the ball anyway! He slips it to a fast running Rothwell. He takes it into the left side of the box but his shot is saved by the keeper at the near post. 50 Rothwell is lucky to get away with another of his misjudged “from behind” challenges. 51 Again the City winger goes past Pickering, gets to the byline and puts his cross in. This time Kaminski gathers comfortably. Nevertheless Pickering has to stop this route of attack! Again, from halfway, Lenihan curves the ball behind the defence for Khadra to chase. Again the keeper comes but this time the ball is perfect. Khadra gets there first, knicks the ball past the keeper, he’s still got a bit to do but he keeps his cool, leaves 2 defenders on their backsides and coolly taps the ball into the net. Right out of the top drawer that one! Magnificent! 53 Aneke catches Kaminski again! It looks a bit foggy down at Ewood. 55 Following a Rovers’ corner, the ball is returned to Rothwell on the right. He whips in a great ball, just missed by Khadra at the near post and by Diaz on the line! It needed the slightest of touches but it’s not to be this time. 58 Rothwell picks up a loose ball in the City half and slides it forward perfectly for Diaz to carry into the box. He looks to have miscontrolled it but the defender is beaten and our mate Sarkic takes Ben out. Penalty! Sarkic helps again by diving the wrong way as Ben converts his shot low and to the left. 62 Buckley off, Gallagher on. 64 Incredible dancing feet by Khadra on the left touchline. He bamboozles one and nutmegs the other in a telephone box……He pays the price as the retribution is swift. Free kick. Chants of “sign him up!” are loud and clear! Rothwell’s cross is straight into the keeper’s arms. 67 A nice City ball down the channel sees the Birmingham man get the better of Pickering again, who ends up on his backside. It’s big danger as he runs into the box but there’s Lenihan at the near post to clear up. Rovers burst downfield again. This time it’s Rothwell driving it forward. It fizzles out in the end but I love the way we can shift rapidly from defence into attack with this team. It’s great to watch. 69 Khadra off, Butterworth on. Standing ovation! 70 Pickering plays a nice ball to Butterworth 35m out. He shows great control, spins and strokes the ball into the 6 yard box for Nyambe but the defender was always favourite. Nevertheless Nyambe keeps it in and Rovers pass it around freely. Birmingham can’t get the ball! 71 James goes past Rothwell too easily and Butterworth brings him down 23m out! The shot goes through the wall but Kaminski goes down to parry. The ball is in the air and Butterworth gets a heads on it allowing Kaminski to gather. 73 City launch a long ball and Wharton is beaten in the air. Some nice interplay sets up a chance for Jutkiewicz in the box. His shot is well saved by Kaminski low to his right. Lenihan hoofs the ball downfield. 74 Rothwell off, Johnson on. 76 Butterworth wins the ball in the middle of City’s half, towards our left. He drives away from Sunjic and from 22m throws his whole body into a full-blooded shot on goal. It bounces back off the top of the bar! Wowee! 78 Midway in the City half Johnson chips an inch perfect ball to Butterworth in the box. He squares it along the 6 yard line, everyone is haring back towards goal and Pedersen deflects the ball into the air and past his keeper. Diaz gratefully heads the ball into the net from zero metres! It’s all too easy. What’s going on? 80 Johnson gives away a foul 30+ m out. The wall does its job and van Hecke punts an accurate long ball for Diaz to chase. 84 There’s some nice Birmingham play before a lovely cross from their right wing sails across the box but the unmarked James, arriving at the far post, puts it just wide. A bit of a let off. I’m afraid it was Pickering who failed to prevent the cross again. 85 Butterworth is dispossessed in our half but Gallagher rushes back to help. 87 Nyambe, high up on the wing, beats his man beautifully and squares to Diaz on the right edge of the box. He tries a preposterous chip towards goal but it skims the top of the crossbar. Amazing! That is a man full of confidence! 93 The final whistle goes. FIVE clean sheets….for the first time in 25 years apparently. Another great team performance. According to whoscored.com, Lenihan had 77 touches in the match. The closest to him was on 47! That’s some effort. It's all going well. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! Third place; beam me up Scotty!
  11. Wharton and van Hecke are growing into their roles brilliantly. Pears has endeared himself too. I’d noticed that connection too. Blimey, looks like I’m stuck with it!
  12. Thanks Tyrone. I’m gonna cut it down a bit in future though. I’ve been getting a bit carried away recently with the good performances
  13. PLAYER WATCH v Bournemouth Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers Pears ********* ** 19 Nyambe (71) ************ ** 13 Lenihan ******************** ******* 22 Wharton (66) ********** *** 13 van Hecke ************************ ****** 35 Pickering ************** *** 22 Travis ************* *********** 6 Buckley *************** ******** 18 Rothwell ******************* ***** 28 Khadra (54) ****** **** 4 Diaz ************* ****** 13 Gallagher (54) ************ * 17 Ayala (66) ******* * 11 Johnson (71) *** 5 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) Just over 10,000 fans here to watch this one. It’s a massive test but good luck to the Rovers fans who managed to make it! 03 Rothwell steals the ball in the centre circle and storms forward. He lays it off down the wing for Khadra to chase but the defender is across quickly and we win a throw. 05 A brilliant long ball by Lenihan from the edge of our box over the top of the Bournemouth defence and Khadra has beaten the offside trap and gets the ball under control. He has 2 men on him on the right side of their box. He’s trying to dazzle them with quick feet but sadly he’s dispossessed. 06 Bournemouth launch their attack and we’re running backwards. It goes out to their right wing but Rothwell is tracking back. He flies in at pace to stop the momentum and concedes a throw in. Well done. From the throw Rothwell allows his man to get a cross in from near the corner flag but van Hecke is in position on the 6 yard box and blocks it out for a corner. All the Rovers players are in the box! It’s an in-swinger but Pears goes up confidently to collect. He rolls it to Khadra’s feet but it’s too tight, the throw isn’t accurate enough and a Bournemouth man gets his foot in. It’s another attack but Buckley steps in and pinches the ball. 08 Pickering stops the winger getting his cross in but, from the throw, there’s a neat 1-2 and, this time, Pickering can’t stop the cross and the ball bounces near the penalty spot. Luckily, it’s behind everyone and we escape. They still have the ball though and another cross comes in….from their left this time. Lenihan heads away but it falls to Cook on the edge of the box and he volleys a rocket at a goal but Wharton gets his body in the way. Diaz wins a throw to relieve the pressure for a second or two. Phew! 10 Buckley picks another pocket near the centre circle and now we are on the attack 4 v 3! Buckley slips it left to Diaz who, first time from the edge of the box, tries to curl the ball into the top far corner with the inside of his right boot. It’s too high! 13 Wharton fires a beautiful, long crossfield ball to Nyambe on the wing. He takes it forward and slips it to Travis on the edge of the box. Travis shoots low, it’s on target but the defender blocks the ball out for a corner. The corner’s headed away and Christie sends both Lenihan and Wharton the wrong way and feeds Anthony on the right wing. Everyone is rushing back but he goes past Travis with ease and the cross comes in. It’s a good clearing header by Pickering, in the 6 yard box, behind for a corner. Lowe was lurking. Pears gives him a pat on the back. Interesting how Lenihan and Pickering swapped positions there as the attack developed! The ball comes in and no one gets a clear header. It’s bobbling around and Pears is quick to fall on it. 16 Solanke’s feet are too fast for Lenihan who drops him in the middle of the Rovers’ half. 18 A long period of Bournemouth possession but they’re not really getting very far and Pickering and van Hecke break it up on the edge of our box. Van Hecke is fouled. 20 Khadra wins a soft free-kick in the middle of the Bournemouth half. The big guys come up. Rothwell makes a sly, quick, flat pass to Diaz who runs behind the defence, into the box. His cross is deflected and then cleared but only as far as Rothwell who feeds Pickering on the left wing. He puts in a great cross from midway in the half and Lenihan, on the penalty spot, gets up to head downwards. The keeper dives low to make a good save but there’s Diaz to chip the rebound, away from the keeper’s fingertips, over him and on to the bar. The rebound hits a defender on the line and nestles in the net. Unavoidable own goal! Bournemouth are claiming Diaz was offside. It’s hard to tell from the cameras but…….sorry! The Rovers fans are in full song. 22 I’m not sure if my eyes are deceiving me but I swear our soft midfield underbelly has gone! Rothwell is certainly putting himself about more than usual. Buckley is pressurising well around the centre-circle too. Travis’s performance so far is a bit mixed but still energetic. Lots of Bournemouth possession again but Rovers’ pressing prevents any danger until frustration draws a poor long ball which runs for a throw near the corner flag. 28 A poor touch by Rothwell on the left wing hands the ball to Bournemouth. Anthony slides a lovely ball into our box…….Wharton, Travis and Pickering can’t get a touch on the ball and Christie makes it all the way to the 6 yard box. He flicks a shot on target and Pears goes down and spreads to make a brilliant save with his knee. The ball comes straight back and van Hecke provides the necessary, agricultural clearance. Christie gets the ball back and puts a nice, high cross on to the penalty spot. Four players go up and Lenihan manages to poke the ball away. Solanke falls over and claims a penalty! All that stemming from Rothwell giving the ball away! 29 Buckley commits a pointless foul on halfway and the attacks resume! Rothwell wins back the ball. 30 Christie slides another nice ball to Solanke on the edge of the box. Nyambe and Lenihan are in close attendance and Solanke goes down claiming a penalty. Anthony shoots but it’s blocked and Lenihan clears. Hmm! What was I saying about that soft midfield underbelly? It’s back I think. 34 Bournemouth are still dominating possession but Lenihan puts in a hard challenge on the edge of our box and the ball flies downfield for Khadra to chase. There’s only Cook between him and the goal. Khadra tries a shot from the D but Cook blocks and Khadra fouls. 39 More Bournemouth possession but Rovers are keeping them quiet, disrupting each move. Pickering, who’s doing really well puts in another good challenge conceding a throw but killing the attack. 40 Diaz challenges from behind in our own half and it’s a booking! 43 More good, patient pressing forces the mistake for a Rovers throw. Rothwell this time. 44 Rothwell, in the centre-circle releases the perfect through ball for Diaz to chase. He takes it into the box but the defender does well to get his foot in and Diaz is forced back and the impetus is lost. It’s Bournemouth’s turn and Lenihan does well to block the cross into the box…..corner. Nyambe gets up first and heads clear convincingly. 47 Christie has the ball just in our half and Buckley comes in from behind and wins the ball but it spurts rapidly downfield ………falling perfectly for Solanke who suddenly has a clear run into the box and it’s 1 on 1! He tries to put it past Pears from 12m but the goalie gets down low to make a great save with his left hand. Big let off…..especially at this stage of the match! Lenihan drops his opponent 25m out. The free kick is a direct shot on goal but Pears gathers it confidently. The whistle goes. Pears had almost nothing to do last match……..but not today. Well done. In fact everyone has worked hard to put in a real team performance! You can definitely grow to like this team! 46 A nice Bournemouth move leaves Buckley, Khadra and Nyambe chasing shadows. A cross comes in and Wharton heads clear. Another cross but from the other wing and van Hecke heads clear. Buckley tidies up and Diaz runs it downfield to ease the pressure. He’s dispossessed by 3 defenders eventually and here they come again. It’s ping-pong on the edge of the box and van Hecke’s attempted clearance hits Solanke’s foot and the ball rolls past Pears’ left post. It’s raining apparently. 49 Twice in 2 minutes van Hecke makes a vital interception as Bournemouth keep up the pressure. This time he thwarts 25 million man Solanke. Now Christie tries from 25m but it’s a weak shot and Pears saves easily. 51 Travis wins the ball just in their half and Buckley takes it on. He tries a shot from 20m but it’s immediately blocked and cannons away. A Buckley tackle from behind concedes a soft foul. 52 Rothwell goes through the back of Solanke in the middle of Rovers half. It goes wide and Anthony does Diaz at the byline - his dangerous cross comes in. Van Hecke gets his head to the ball twice. 54 Khadra off, Gallagher on. 55 A Rothwell corner is met by Lenihan but it’s just past the left upright. It was an opportunity. 56 Bournemouth corner and Marcondes is whipping up the fans! It’s nicely headed away by Gallagher. He’s made a difference in the short time he’s been on. 58 Buckley wins a corner. Rothwell takes it short to Buckley who tries to curl it in - it almost catches the keeper napping but, in the end, is comfortably saved. That man Christie slips a cute ball into the box for Marcondes. He takes it to the right-hand byline and leaves Travis and Lenihan on their backsides and out of the game. He squares the ball to Solanke at the left post and Gallagher slides in with an outrageous goal-saving block 2m out! Rothwell is able to run the ball upfield for a breather! 59 Wharton commits a foul in a dangerous area - 30m out and central. Ohhhhhh! This is not good for the nerves! The free-kick is looped over everyone and Solanke gets some kind of heel flick on the ball, up into the air just in front of Pears. Pears comes for it but another attacker jumps in front of him and completely confounds him. He misses the ball. Van Hecke manages to hook it clear for a moment…….but back it comes and there’s prolonged head-tennis on the edge of our box! Finally Rothwell runs it away. He passes to Diaz on the left wing and he’s brought down in full flight for a free-kick. Yellow card. It all ends up with a van Hecke attempt which comes down with snow on it on to the roof of the net. Gallagher put him off! 63 Wharton jumps in to intercept and Buckley picks up the ball, beats his man and glides into the centre-circle where he releases an exquisite pass for Diaz to run on to. Three defenders are trailing behind and it’s one on one! He’s 8m out but the keeper pulls off an excellent save with his left foot. Ben should have scored! He deserves some credit for his run. It’s a Rothwell corner on the right. Van Hecke runs to the near post to meet it and, from 8m out, hammers his header into the top corner of the net. Stunning! Van Hecke sprints away….no one can catch him as he slides, on his knees, eyeballs bulging, towards the Rovers fans. He almost jumps over the wall to join them! His teammates join in the celebration! 66 Wharton off…..injured, Ayala on. 68 A hard cross comes into the Rovers’ box. Van Hecke (who’s moved to the left of the back 3) misses it completely and it hits an attacker and bounces out for a goal-kick. 71 Nyambe off injured, Johnson on. Mowbray tells Buckley to go to right back. 76 Travis fails to prevent a cross into the box but Ayala boots clear. 82 Good defending all over the pitch is keeping Bournemouth quiet. Players are high-fiving each other to acknowledge each other's contributions. Good stuff. 83 Some nice interplay between Travis, Gallagher and Johnson leaves Diaz with a run on goal. He moves into the left side of the box and his left-footed shot is on target but it’s saved. Pickering can't stop a cross coming in but Ayala is there to clean up. Pickering has been much quieter this half. 84 Solanke outsmarts Ayala before the Spaniard uses all his strength and experience to outmuscle the Bournemouth man. Van Hecke goes sliding into a tackle 30m out. It’s two-footed, mis-timed and a yellow card. Diaz is telling him to focus. The shot comes in and Pears gets down well to parry the ball away from his right post. Bournemouth shift the ball central and a shot comes in. It’s deflected but Pears has it covered. He’s doing well! Scott Parker has been whinging all game! 89 A nice pass from Rothwell to Diaz and he wins a corner. 90 6 minutes of extra time! 91 The camera pans to the Rovers fans…….they’re all very happy! 92 Rothwell earns a pointless yellow card. 94 Christie goes past an exhausted Travis but Lenihan sticks his head in the way of his shot. Buckley can’t stop the cross but van Hecke is strong and heads away. The final whistle goes……what a great all-round performance. Perhaps the most enjoyable of the season. Maybe it’s on!
  14. This is my running model. Just a reminder that for any given match, a player must be on the pitch for 60 minutes to be included. Part games are scaled up to 90 minutes. Swansea and WBA not included as I don’t have access to the videos.
  15. The conditions called for big, committed guys at the back and happily we had those today. I like watching them. I must admit I haven’t always been his biggest fan but he was good today. I was particularly impressed that he used his aggression right from the off. Like you say…..just what we needed.
  16. PLAYER WATCH v Preston North End Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: +5 GOAL +4 Excellent play +3 Very good play +2 Pleasing/good play +1 Decent play 0 Routine stuff -1 Sloppy play -2 Disappointing/poor play -3 Very poor play -4 Terrible play -5 Own goal The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. Ratings Key incidents per player = coloured stars Overall contribution = numbers Pears ** * 3 Nyambe ********** **** 13 Lenihan ***************************** ******* 39 Wharton ********************** ***** 29 van Hecke ****************** **** 24 Pickering ********** ** 16 Travis ************** ***** 16 Buckley (65) *********** ******* 10 Rothwell (84) ************* **** 12 Khadra (75) ********* **** 7 Diaz ************** ** 24 Johnson(65) ********** * 17 Dolan (75) * 1 Edun (84) * * 0 Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings given above) Absolutely atrocious weather at Ewood today; the rain has been falling for hours and is still lashing down. The pitch is pretty much water-logged and every bounce of the ball causes a highly visible splash. Every pass is in danger of falling short as the ball is held up by the soggy surface. 00 First long throw from Riis into the Rovers box. An attacker beats Travis and Lenihan to the ball but his header loops high and safely into Pears’ hands. These long throws could be dangerous in these conditions. 03 Great ball behind the Rovers defence from Evans on the Preston right wing puts Browne clear just outside the D. Fortunately the pitch holds the ball slightly and Lenihan and Nyambe manage to get back. Browne avoids them and is still in control but his shot is scuffed wide and rolls harmlessly by the left post. 04 It’s noisy down at Ewood. For the second time, Khadra tries to be too fancy and is dispossessed. It’s not the game for that kind of stuff! 08 Lenihan rushes to take a free kick near the half-way line but it’s blocked by Browne who hasn’t retreated 10m. Wharton tries to clear up but heads the ball back to Browne’s feet. It’s dangerous but van Hecke intercepts the attempted through ball and clears downfield. 11 Preston’s long ball game is causing Rovers problems. Evans puts Lenihan under pressure but again van Hecke tidies up. 12 Rothwell, who’s been very quiet, robs an opponent midway in the Preston half and he’s haring towards the left side of the box. He checks his run, the full-back slips and Rothwell slides the ball to Travis in the D. He is slow to react and a defender comes in to challenge making Travis scuff his shot badly. That was a chance but probably the water held up the ball more than Travis anticipated? 13 I think this is the first time Pickering has touched the ball with purpose! He’s far upfield supporting Khadra with determination and blocks the ball out for a throw-in. A Preston pass holds up in the water near half-way and Diaz is on to it. He beats Cunningham and runs into the right side of the box. He attempts to square the ball across the 6 yard box but it’s deflected and Buckley picks it up near the byline on the left. This time Cunningham outjumps Diaz as Buckley’s cross comes in and Preston clear. Lenihan applies an unnecessary agricultural challenge to Browne on the Preston left and gets a yellow card. 19 Most of the recent play has been in Rovers half. We can’t launch any decent attacks and Preston keep to their successful long ball strategy. 20 Wharton wins his aerial challenge and Khadra just leaves Buckley a bit short with his touch but Buckley slides into the challenge and wins the ball. Rothwell picks it up and fires a nice long low pass out to the jet-shoed Khadra to chase on the wing, 10m out. Khadra beats his man and puts in a good cross but the defender gets in front of Diaz and heads to Buckley on the penalty spot. He can’t control it first time but recovers, does a drag back, creates space and fires towards goal…….Commentator Warren Lucy’s groan can be heard on Bolton Road as Buckley’s left -footed effort is well and truly scuffed along the floor gently to the keeper. 22 The rain’s slackened apparently but Rovers are playing too much intricate stuff. This time van Hecke leaves his pass short and Preston re-gather. Eventually Preston press forward and a ball into the box is intercepted by van Hecke but he simply passes to McCann just outside the box. Happily his shot is well off-target. 28 For the third time in as many minutes, Lenihan intercepts decisively and fires the ball forward and we end up with a throw-in deep in Preston territory. 29 He’s there again, 3 headers in ten seconds! More sustained Preston pressure. We just can’t exert any control, losing most of the second ball contests. Another Riis long throw. It bounces around in the box until Rothwell blocks and it’s a corner! And here’s a training ground move as the corner is hit low to the near post for Evans to flick a shot in. Great reaction save from Pears as he dives low to his left and manages to gather the loose ball before anyone else can react. Good save! 35 Preston attack from a free-kick on their right and Pickering can’t stop Evans crossing into the box but it’s too long and the attack fizzles out. 37 Travis commits a foul in the middle of Rover’s half. The free-kick comes in and Nyambe is beaten in the air. The header drops near the penalty spot and Travis rushes to clear but again Preston are first to the loose ball. Eventually another cross comes and Evans gets there before van Hecke but he can’t get good contact and it’s well wide and a goal kick. 42 We earn a free-kick near halfway on the right. At last we send up the big guns…….Lenihan and van Hecke but Rothwell sends a low flat ball down the wing for Diaz but it all falls to pieces as Preston easily clear the poorly directed ball. What a waste! To make matters worse, Buckley passes straight into touch! Lenihan and van Hecke splash back dejectedly to our half. 43 Stranger and stranger! Van Hecke wins another aerial challenge but before Rothwell can collect, he’s obstructed by the ref who stops play. He then decides to give the drop ball to PNE with no obligation to return the ball to Rovers. Mowbray is apoplectic and is shown a yellow card! Amazing stuff! The crowd are fully awake! Another free-kick presents Earl with a shooting chance from the edge of the box but it’s high. 46 Half time: A barrage of high balls has kept our 3 centre-halves on their toes. Fortunately they’ve coped well so far but Preston are on top and we have to find some answers second half! 60% possession to PNE! 45 Well, this is better immediately! Van Hecke to Nyambe to Buckley to Diaz down the right wing. Diaz gets a cross in but the defender heads clear. More nice stuff as Buckley wins his challenge and slips a delightful ball through to Khadra at the left corner of the box. He beats the first man but not the second. Disappointing end - he tried to do too much again. 48 Pears puts a free-kick straight into touch! 49 Another long throw from Riis and van Hecke heads away but only as far as McCann - his shot is blocked away. Earl returns but Pickering gets in a nice interception, Buckley flicks a lovely ball down the wing for Khadra who races forward but is challenged and has to settle for a throw. Unfortunately it all comes to nothing in the end with a poor Lenihan cross straight into the goalie’s hands. 52 Pickering takes a throw to Buckley near the left corner flag. He’s closely marshalled by 2 defenders but manages to scoop the ball past them to Khadra who immediately crosses to find Diaz on the left corner of the 6 yard box. Ben’s glancing header is of the highest quality and the ball whistles into the net near the right post. Pure quality from start to finish! The crowd are on their feet. EIEIEIO! 55 Wharton fouls a Preston man midway in the Rovers half on their right. Whiteman delivers a wicked cross behind everyone and it’s a relief to see the ball go out of play for a goal kick. 57 Lots of half challenges around the Rovers box until Pickering finally gets in the important challenge to end the messing about….goal-kick. Good stuff from Harry! 58 More nice work from Evans sets Riis free on the left wing. He turns Lenihan inside out before delivering a quality cross into the 6 yard box but Pickering is there again to make the crucial intervention. Finally we get a goal-kick. 63 Lenihan wins a couple of headers but Evans takes him out on the second one. Rovers players charge in to protest. Van Hecke gets pushed over and as he jumps to his feet seems to catch Cunningham accidentally with his head. Now he falls to the ground! Oh dear! Van Hecke can’t believe he’s being booked! 65 Buckley off, Johnson on. It’s not been ideal conditions for John but he’s getting a great ovation. Johnson is in immediate action as he wins two robust aerial challenges. I like it. We get a throw in. 68 Nyambe holds off 2 defenders and runs to the box where he is scythed down….no foul!! Then Travis commits an innocuous foul and is booked! Go figure! Another Riis long throw, Johnson gets up and Lenihan clears with a bicycle kick. A cross comes in from Riis and this time Wharton plants his body between the goal and Evans…Evans falls over and claims a penalty….dream on! 70 Nice interplay on the left wing between Rothwell, Pickering and Khadra and Harry wins a throw near the corner flag. 71 Khadra wins a corner. Rothwell delivers and Johnson’s header is blocked but Johnson recovers the ball and passes back to Rothwell who puts his head down and…..runs the ball out of play! Johnson has made a real difference since he came on with his physicality and energy (yes really!) here his sliding tackle forces an error. Pickering is much more involved too. A bit of sustained pressure from Rovers. 75 Diaz wins a corner. Khadra off, Dolan on. A huge cheer for Dolan. 82 A bit of Preston pressure around our box. Earl on the left plays the ball against Nyambe’s outstretched arm………..big claims for a penalty but thankfully they are ignored! Evans is booked! Huge let off! 84 Rothwell off, Edun on. 87 Another aerial challenge won by Lenihan, Pickering chases it and lofts a long ball to Diaz on the left wing. Diaz uses his strength and controls well, he beats his man brilliantly and storms towards goal. With the inside of his right boot, he tries to bend a shot from the edge of the 6 yard box but the keeper goes down at the near post to save. Dolan can’t quite get there but it falls to the unmarked Travis on the edge of the box. He has plenty of time but his shot is awful and flies high and wide! 90 Panic ping pong in the box until Pears falls on the ball. Van Hecke claps him on the back and Travis slaps his hand! Prepare for more nervous nineties! (5 minutes). 91 Edun gives away a free-kick on our left wing. The high ball comes in and van Hecke is beaten in the air, more ping pong, it’s off Lenihan’s knee then finally Nyambe clears acrobatically from the edge of the box. Diaz sprints to apply some pressure on the Preston man who is forced to pass back to his keeper. More seconds consumed! 94 Rovers throw and Johnson lobs a long ball for Diaz to chase. He’s offside but he keeps chasing the ball and a lot of time is run down! 95 Preston fire one last chance into the box and Johnson heads clear. He’s been a really effective sub today….The whistle goes and the players embrace. Big lap of honour. It’s been a hard match to assess. Too many disjointed incidents and not a lot of quality due to the conditions. I did my best.
  17. Lenihan named in Skybet team of the week. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2021/november/30/lenihan-named-in-the-sky-bet-championship-s-team-of-the-week-/
  18. You’re right……time plays tricks when you’re old! But it was midnight kick-off here!
  19. Errrrrrr! I got night match in my head….I’ll see if I can find out!
  20. It was a cracker……..3-0 up and cruising…..that smug happy feeling. Then Crouch comes on and creates mayhem. 3-2 and they get a penalty! Lucky escape. Danny Graham at his most effective that night.
  21. Just for fun…….here is an earlier effort for a Stoke away day……….some may remember it as the Peter Crouch show! Oh! And look out for that man Lenihan! Posted September 24, 2018 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!
  22. That is a cracking statistic! He’s a leader alright…I also think he’s learnt a lot from Ayala. He does have a tendency to want to get involved with everything though so sometimes gets drawn out….but that too can often end up being positive as he rushes in to clean up up other people’s problems. Of course, when it doesn’t work, it’s not so good!
  23. Thanks Herbie, I do try to be objective, of course, but we all have our flaws! When I started doing this I didn’t use numbers, only the coloured stars. Then I thought I would experiment and try to be more quantitative by creating a scale where positive and negative contributions could be measured against each other. I mean I tried to make a +4 event as good as the -4 event is bad! For those interested I use the following guidelines to make my decisions as objective as possible: +4. Assist or creates excellent goal chance, wins penalty…………..goal saving block or tackle -4. Misses open goal or penalty………….concedes penalty or clear scoring opportunity It can never be perfect but, over a full game, I hope it gives a fair reflection of a player’s overall contribution to the match.
  24. Yes, the system gives only an indication of the contributions, positive or negative of each player. BBD can score a couple of goals and do little else of merit all game……so his overall score will be lower than you might expect. It’s still a fair reflection of his overall contribution………. so it’s not the whole story. I try to comment on all incidents of significance in the game. You can see above that Travis had a mixed bag. He didn’t feature in many serious attacks or critical defensive efforts.
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