Blue blood

10 minutes ago, Blow-in said:

Feels like Oxford are gone with Wednesday, Norwich are too good to go down and will pull away. 

So, us vs Portsmouth?

Yes as suspected Oxford are really struggling. A poor appointment wont have helped either.  Good news is its likely only 1 space to play for/avoid. Feel theres a few teams it could be and a poor appointment from West Brom means its no certainty it'll be us whatsoever. Portsmouth and Charlton also in the mix with small squads and Norwich aren't out of the woods either. 

Mixed bag today. 

Portsmouth hammering is great. Reduces their GD significantly too which may be crucial. 

Oxford lost again which is also good. 

Unexpected point for Charlton which isn't ideal but the real kicker is Norwich winning. Puts them back in the mix to escape. 

Mind you would we have taken w good results, 1 meh and 1 poor one from our rivals before the game? Of course its a terrible strategy relying on others but that is what we are reduced to. 

9 minutes ago, DE. said:

Looking increasingly like it's going to be between us, Portsmouth, Oxford, Charlton and Norwich for the final two relegation spots.

Charlton are on a horror run of form at the moment, they were looking pretty decent up until a couple of months ago, but they have fallen apart lately. 

Portsmouth are struggling but they have beaten both us and now Charlton recently, and if you're beating the teams in and around you, then that gives you half a chance. They'll be down there until the end, but they've got fight. 

Clement has dragged Norwich out of their death spiral, but they're still dropping a lot of points. A big January for them - invest a bit of money and I expect they'll claw their way out of it. Fail to do so and it'll be a nervy ride for them until May.

Oxford will have to make a very, very good hire to stay up. Curious to see who ends up there. They won't have much to spend in January, so they'll need to get in someone who can work with what he's got. Very difficult task. 

Our biggest concern, by far, is that we can't beat any of the teams in and around us. None of them. Unless a miracle happens and we spend well and wisely in January, we're going to be in for a tough few months. We really have to pray that when key players like Gudjohnsen and Morishita come back that they stay fit - and that Alebiosu also remains injury-free when he returns from international duty.

Exciting times, right Rudy? 

Good post. Only thing I can say which is encouraging is that all 4 of the other teams really do have a good case for going down. You've covered it well and I'd say all 4 other teams should be very worried. 

Oxford I think are sunk. Rowatt is a good manager and if he was struggling then I doubt there's a better hire that Oxford will get to turn things around. Saw their game vs Preston randomly and I do think they play worse stuff than us. For me even with our dire ownership Id put Oxford well ahead of us to go down. Lots of the players are League 1 quality still and they overachieved getting up so I think they are bound to go. 

No idea what has happened at Charlton after such a promising start. And from what I recall of Portsmouth this season and last a lot hinged on fitness of key players. If they keep them fit I think they'll stay up just but if they don't I would say they are very likely to go down

Norwich clearly have someone who is clueless in charge and we know ourselves how dangerous that can be. And whilst their form isn't as abject as before it certainly isn't good. Amd they've a few points to make up as well. They've played the change the manager card and it doesn't seem to be yielding great results. Given the cluelessness of those making transfers there I don't think they've too much cause for optimism either. 

Still reckon we'll be ok. Mainly because  there's only 2 places to play for/avoid and im very confident Oxford will take one of them. Given how neglected and mismanaged we are those are good odds having to be better than just one of those 3 other teams. Keep our best players and im confident we will do that. 

After how many years of being dumped upon by Venkys I don't buy Ismael's latest comments - other than the fact its embarrassing. Offering the January transfer money to pay for the pitch is like a parent saying we'll pay for the kids food with the money we were going to spend on their clothes. Both are needed and its a farcical situation to be in. Owners who never hesitate to sign a cheque? A couple of words too many in that sentence. 

Cue another hodge-podge sticking plaster on the ground and a convenient excuse to continue to underinvest in the squad. The downward spiral continues. 

3 minutes ago, DanielMB said:

But we have been told our squad is stronger than last season. 😐🔫

Yes but even before the season panned out as it has, it was clearly obvious it wasn't (I know you are being sarcastic and don't think it is mind!) 

Mind you it could be stronger than it is by playing our left backs,  even as subs. And by playing anyone but Guye up front... 

For me its a triple fault/blame game. 

1) Ref - very erratic to the point that it had an impact on the game. Commentators said worst refereeing they'd seen in ages and whilst it's not the sole reason it contributed to our defeat. 

Not that this excuses the team because the next two issues solidly are on us. 

2) Game management. You don't have to have played in the championship to clock how to see out a game. Its not rocket science from pub leagues to the premiership. Even if it is experience and mentality our manager is meant to y'know instill those things in the players. For so many late goals and this not to be addressed is negligent on the managers part. Oh and not subbing on a left back when we have 2 adequate ones is also criminally stupid. 

3) A weak squad. Surprisingly our first 11 or 14 seemingly can go toe to toe with most teams in the division.  We are seeing that on a weekly basis. The problem is a third of our squad really isn't of tje required standard. That most of the below standard players are recent additions is appalling and a huge inditement of Gestedes inability in the role. Not since Kean days have we had so many obviously below par players. A worrying sign. 

On 26/11/2025 at 22:56, RevidgeBlue said:

Good to see you posting Blue Blood, I'm amazed you think we look "comfortable" though.

Wednesday obviously look like they'll take up one of the relegation spots. You might argue the same about Oxford to a lesser degree.

After that Id expect Sheff Utd to finish above us and it wouldnt take much for Norwich to suddenly click either.

Are we significantly better than either Swansea or Portsmouth?

Our home form will be crucial. If we can't sort that out I still think we'll go down.

thanks Rev. 

Maybe it is overconfidence on reflection but I think it is founded on us 

a) being in a lot of games. We've not looked vastly out of place in many games. Sure, thats sometimes being as bad as the opposition, but we don't look vastly inferior. And

b) we are doing way better than I thoihjt we would. Given the exodus of talent and experience and the paper thin squad i figured we would do a lot worse than we have done. As it is, we're still picking up points and aren't struggling like Wednesday are (which outside of the penalty points, was form i thought we would replicate). 

Another game where we got a point, and could/should have got more, adds to the optimism. That said I can see that there is a strong case to argue the opposite too,  especially when considering Venkys self sabotage as well. 

So yes, maybe overconfident, but its certainly not the certainty I feared with all the changes. And with only 2 spots to play for - which is huge - and some weak teams around us I think we'll still stay up. 

Good review @DE.

Think that echoes my thoughts of not being too concerned desspite todays loss. 

As younsay Oxford and Portsmouth haven't really kicked on and though I rate Rowett, having the lowest budget in the league is making it tough. Neither team look comfortable yet in this division. 

Sheff Utd have a lot of quality so you feel they'll get out of it sooner or later. But the rest I feel are well in the "race". Don't think Swansea or Norwich have done well in the manager stakes and feel that could really haunt them. West Brom seem to be sneaking the way down the table. Tonight's last minute draw will be a huge blow to them. Think they'll get out of trouble too especially if they appoint a seasoned hand. But its a nice mix of teams down there keeping us somehow looking comfortable of staying up. 

After Rovers wearing me down to apathy this season, watching the Preston game revived my interest somewhat.

My biggest question is how on earth are those two performances from the same team? We battered a team in the playoffs yet laboured against a struggling team. Against Preston we played some fantastic football and looked fairly threatening. Today... 

Looking back across the two games as well as being gloriously (horrifically) inconsistent. On reflection though there are probably a few consistencies within our inconsistency. 

1) We aren't ruthless enough. Against Preston we should have won by more. When on top we should get more goals,  when we are struggling we create little and don't have any "something out of nothing"/take the one chance we have.  In wins and losses it feels like we lack a clinical edge. 

2) As everyone knows and has said the squad quality is poor. Too many who aren't cut out for this level making us overly reliant on our best 11 to always be fit and performing at their best. We can't afford to have so many passengers in the squad and the substitutions significantly lower the quality of the team. 

3) We don't seem to defend crosses too well. Preston in their sole 20 min spell had a free header their CB should have got on target. Today was a shambles. Definitely something to work on. 

Not sure #2 is redeemable with Venkys and mid-season.  But 1 and 3 surely can be worked on.

On 27/08/2025 at 01:54, bigbrandjohn said:

Playing devil's advocate here. Toth plays a double header in Hungary and gets injured.

We are shipping out our  first choice keeper who had a solid spell in between his calamities. 

We are left with a rookie in goal who did not cover himself in glory in his recent first team outing. Is Pears really a third choice?

Mowbray thought Raya was suspect. We all thought Walton was suspect and he had a decent career away from us. 

Pears is howler prone but he has also been a match saver. I think we are leaving ourselves dangerously thin on the ground if Toth gets injured. 

Agree we need him or someone else experienced as a number 2. He's had a few good games but wouldn't call him a match savers. 

Walton was auspect, he was awful. And if you look at his career since after a short stint upwards its been massively downhill. Not good enough. 

Like most of Rovers decisions we are playing with fire not utilising an experienced number 2. At least the number 1 isn't pears which is a small mercy. 

13 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

No. No it isn't.

It was sarcasm. I'm delighted. 

24 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

How long before Amorim comes under pressure?

Talks a great game, been allowed to sign some good players but............

This is what gets me. Most of the players they have are talented and have shown they can do it at other clubs. Granted theres a few plodders but even excluding the new £200 million strike force,  last season they had some good players. Everyone just seems to get worse there. Shows how rotten the club is. It's a shame... 

1 hour ago, DE. said:

Wonder what the philosophical post-match nugget of wisdom will be this time. 

We won't get beat 6-0  again. Inspiring stuff. 

An utter fraud as others have said. If his philosophy doesn't work with Rangers having a massive budget over all but one of the other teams,  then you can't see him having success or his plan working anywhere. 

1 hour ago, Upside Down said:

Well we played two seasons without an actual goalkeeper so I don't see the harm in it.

Which two are those? Because Walton, Steele and Pears all fit that description.

16 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

the last meeting of the fan group coalition  and the rovers hierarchy ended in acrimony and the club attempted to disguise the minutes of the meeting and put out a censored version of it,couple of the fans group coalition wer`nt having any of it(fair play to them) and in a podcast it was explained what really went on,the podcast is actually on the this forum.makes an interesting listen,it  illustrates what the fans are up against,the club behind the scenes is a toxic mix of poison.apathy and incompetence

Thanks. Appalling behaviour. 

Where is the podcast?

23 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

having listened to the fans forum  minutes fiasco,i believe pasha is capable of such,he seems like a wounded animal and they are  quite dangerous 

Missed this. What was the minutes fiasco?

On 12/08/2025 at 12:42, paullarrygher said:

Mental it wasn't done years ago, but is the plan to honestly have Michalski at number 2 this season? The lad hasn't even played a minute of National League and we're one injury away from having him between the sticks for a few months.

 

That's Rovers for you. Fans think we can't do worse than X, Venkys say hold my beer. 

Seen it time after time. We definitely need a no 2 with some decent experience but bet we won't get one. 

My big worry is that we say the defence is fine and solid but so far we are averaging conceeding 2 a game. If that's the strongest part of our team...

5 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

What’s strange about it?

I think they tried to avoid "big" games between title contenders on the first week. Im sure I've read that somewhere. 

7 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

Karbgo had a great chance second half. Had he scored that we are talking about 2 nil win and the team playing with tactical plan and it clean sheet

I mean this logic is as stupid as our defending from that corner. Are we really using what doesn't happen - as in doesn't actually exist- as the argument for us being decent/good? The mind boggles? 

Where to start? It doesn't guarantee a 2-0 win for certain, and where do we end with the hypotheticals? If the corner hadn't been crap we'd have got our second? If Cantwell stayed on he'd got a hat-trick? I get I am over egging the pudding but to defend a team with something that didn't happen (and even if it did wasn't a certainty as to what would follow) is Venky-esque. Ludicrous. 

On 12/08/2025 at 23:32, StHelensRover said:

These two awful performances have given us chance to see the whole squad in action.

I just went back and looked at the squad we went down with in 2017.

If those two sides (2017 and 2025) were playing each other this weekend, I don't think there would be much between them. That side we went down with had 12 goals for Graham and 10 for Sam Gallagher in it, I can't see us having two players who hit double figures this season. Grim.

Interestingly the 2017 squad had a lot of attacking talent but little to no defensive ability especially after the sale of our two centre backs. 

This time it seems the reverse very limited attacking talent with a solid defense (including defensive mids.) That said once we've continues to ship off any assets even that ok defence might be in question as well. 

Both have hallmarks of a ton of players being shipped in and out and a manager of questionable aability.Both seem to have gaping holes in certain areas of the squad. 

Sheff Weds realistically means that there will only be two places left to avoid and I think there's enough other teams that will struggle. So its not nailed on but my word we will be in the mix. 

2 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Why,?

Came with a massive reputation but done the square root of jack shit since he's been here.

Tonight included.

One thing I will say in his defence (albeit also been underwhelmed) is that generally his vision in part relies on the intelligence of others to do good runs and show some smart movement. Since there's a fair few players low in the football IQ stakes it's no wonder we don't use him to his potential. 

28 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

The first 4 fixtures look pretty rough to me.

Don't fancy us against WBA/Birmingham/Norwich.

Hull, it depends how well they take to their new manager I suppose.

Edit: Dire fixtures over Christmas. Middlesbrough and Sheff Wed away. Have to wait until Jan 1st for a home game.

I'm not sure if I can ever remember that happening before.

I'm less worried by our start. Hull were poor last year and Norwich and West Brom have under achieved the last few years. Whilst bigger names in this division and historically they've challenged well thru haven't pulled up any trees the last couple of years. 

It's the finish that worries me. Can't see us getting much out of it and they're teams that likely will be around the top. 

23 minutes ago, ... said:

That final run does NOT look fun.

That was my initial reaction too. It looks a rough ending. 

What annoys me about Buckley is that what he can do and bring can't really be taught. Some of his vision stuff is fantadtoc.

But the stuff which is basic and can be taught he doesn't do. That three different managers haven't drummed it into him doesn't auger well but there's definitely a case of what could have been with the lad.