3 hours ago, rigger said:

A lot of people are saying that Coventry robbed our spot in the play-offs. There is nothing to say, that even if we had held on to a win against Coventry, that we would have beaten Millwall. All ifs and buts. The one thing that is a fact, is that it was the Rovers who didn't get enough points over the season.

Unfortunately I can't argue with the fact that Rovers finished 1 point behind Coventry. 

But I can argue that Rovers were robbed against them at home. It was cruel. Although the self-inflicted cock up at PNE 4 days later was worse.

If's and but's makes the game what it is.

5 hours ago, philipl said:

Big thanks for Daniel Ayala.

An absolute rock when fit.

Agree.

His fitness record was known before he arrived and it carried on as per.

54 appearances over 3 Championship seasons (potentially 138 games). Not good enough.

City were superb last night. Unstoppable. Real could not cope with the intensity. Kroos and Modric looked their age.

I heard a stat on the radio earlier. After 10 minutes City had completed almost 130 passes. Real Madrid had 13. 

City are strong favourites against Inter Milan, and they should be.

I don't think that Inter will do anything other than defend like Italian teams and aim for a goal on the break.

On 11/05/2023 at 12:20, ben_the_beast said:

It depends if Leao is back for the second leg. He blows hot and cold, but when he's on form he is unstoppable. I see him as Milans only chance of a comeback.

He was cold yesterday. 

It may all have been a different outcome had Brahim Diaz had scored early. It was a golden chance. 

After that Inter did what they needed to do. 

15 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Martin Tyler has produced some great moments in the commentary box. His voice is a touch of nostalgia - remember him screaming “Gerrarddd” long before the Aguero moment

I personally think that VAR and the sanitising of the game has ruined it for him. You can tell he is always waiting for the late call or the VAR check. And the game is far less dramatic for it - it stops you from getting lost in the moment. Most PL going fans that I have spoken to say the same

When he goes it will be a sad moment in football. But every dog has its day and all that 

Personally, Peter Drury is my favourite commentator. The man is a poet 

He is great. He does the weekly flagship games over here. NBC got him after Arlo White left for the LIV golf lucre. His partners are Le Saux or Lee Dixon, with both of them joining Drury quite often.

3 minutes ago, DE. said:

Unfortunately for Leicester, they are a bit rubbish and Liverpool have regained their form from last season, albeit far too late for anything other than a late top four run. Leicester will just need to try and keep the scoreline respectable. 

They were OK for the first 15. Liverpool struggle to break down teams who sit in. Leicester's plan was somewhat working with 2 midfielders covering, then Liverpool scored after an Alisson boot up field and it's been one way traffic ever since.

3 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Keown lashing out as he's distraught that Arsenal have imploded.

Tyler the easy target ... and that's good news for any cat that may have been near.

I have to say Tyler is still imho a top commentator and I can't accept the ageism being shown him. Basic rudeness.

Martin Tyler is commenting the Leicester-Liverpool game on US TV. It's him and Jim Belgin. I've not noticed much. He is the same Martin Tyler I've been listening to since I was a kid. If anything he sounds a bit hoarse. 

2 hours ago, roverandout said:

I think neville is quite neutral.  Carragher on the other hand is very biased 

Carragher does Champions League her with Thierry Henry and Micha Richards. Both he and Richards aren't shy about their club allegiances. They play if off well. 

The semi final first legs are over. 

Real v. City was an interesting one. For the first half an hour Madrid let City have the ball and stuck 2 on Haaland. Then they scored, and were the better team until De Bruyne equalised. After that it was stalemate.

Madrid don't seem to care what is thrown at them but if Guardiola doesn't do anything daft City should go through. 

In the other tie Inter blew AC away in the 30 minutes. It should have been 3 or 4 and over with by half time. I can't see Milan scoring 3, there will be lots of typical Italian defending and antics from Inter next week. 

There were a lot of ex Prem players on the pitch in Milan. It looks odd to me who grew up watching Football Italia on Channel 4. The best players used to leave Italy when they were past their peak. Now it seems to be the opposite. Dzeko and Mkhitaryan to name 2. 

59 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I don't think it is about luck and I don't think in the main that our confidence has led to any more of an attacking threat. We have also gradually lost our earlier ability under Tomasson in which our game management was excellent, indeed that has become a weakness. We had collected 5 points in 9 games prior to yesterday so I couldn't justify an opinion that we are know one of the top 6 sides in the league.

I think a lot of both seasons has coincided with Brereton and his form. Last season, he thrived in that 3 at the back formation and his injury really knocked us off stride and even when he returned he wasnt the same. This season his form has gone off the boil. The worry in both seasons is the inability of the supporting cast to step up. We need to not only replace him which will be impossible but also add more goalscorers and I fear aided with no money and a director of football with more questions than answers that the necessary attacking overhaul will not arrive.

I'm with XLM; Rovers did get better as the season went on; cohesion, system, and confidence all improved. Although they weren't as the points don't lie. 

Rovers prior to Christmas were a topsy turvy team. Winning games by fluking it (Brum at home), playing awful in others and getting stuffed (Wigan away), no draws. All whilst playing ridiculously risky play it out from the back football. 

5 points from the last 9 was the undoing, yet Rovers looked the better side in every game bar Norwich at home.

Rovers were also better than Sheffield Utd in the cup. 

It's a real head scratcher. 

26 minutes ago, Hasta said:

To be fair I felt we got what we deserved at both Luton and Coventry. We only had 3 shots on target across both games. They were two of those early seasons games where we had a load of possession around our own penalty box, got caught out a few times and failed to really create much going forward. Fortunately we cut those kind of performances out in the second half of the season.

As for Boro at Ewood, they had already equalised before Buckley bounced the ball off their guys bonnet. I remember because they scored that quickly in the second half I hadn't got back up to my seat.

Agree with the wider point though. Had we snuck in there I wouldn't be partcilaulry fearful of any.

It was a strange season.

Christmas Day was the halfway point of the season with 23 games played.

Rovers were 3rd. 39 points, 13 wins, 10 losses, 0 draws. +1 GD (27, 26).

I thought performances improved after Christmas but results were worse. Only 30 points earned over the same amount of games.

Second half; 7 wins, 7 losses, 9 draws. -3 GD (25,28).

A similar amount of goals for and against in both halves.

2 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Two last minute equalizers v Cov and Nob end......could have been so different folks.

Szmodics or Dolan against Luton. Hirst (or the ref allowing the goal) against Cardiff too. There are more as well. 

It's a shame but a team with a negative goal difference will always struggle to make the playoffs.

Bad referring decisions, missed sitters, drab draws, and spineless defeats all contributed to 7th place yet ultimately all of this falls at Venkys feet. 10+ years of abjectly bad ownership meant that Rovers started the 22-23 season already behind due to the combination of the late appointment of JDT and Broughton, and them having to deal with a threadbare squad left to its own devices.

Then they allowed whoever messed up the January window to stay in situ.

There is hope for next season. Rovers have some good young players. A goalscorer, a clever head in midfield, left back, and probably a keeper are minimum requirements. 

1 hour ago, Groundhog said:

I know he's been mentioned above but our striker woes have got me looking back at Jason Roberts all misty eyed. I know he'd have one great game, then sulk for 5, but what we'd give for someone who could do this:

...and whoever "Rovers 95" is on Youtube, thanks for uploading all these clips, great to see.

It is an indictment on Rovers current status. Roberts was ridiculed regularly on here. His finishing was woeful. However, if he was up front for the 22-23 team we'd be looking at automatic promotion. 

1 hour ago, davulsukur said:

I'd say City will be a pasting. Might get a draw against Newcastle, they do slip up every so often. West Ham is winnable and so is Spurs but in reality they're probably looking at 1 or 2 draw's and 1 win from that set of fixtures. Would 4 or 5 points be enough for them?

I had a look at some prior season's final tables. 35 looks like it will be enough. Over the last 10 years only 3 teams have been relegated with 35 or more; Newcastle had 37, Wigan, 36, and Hull 35, with Newcastle's being the most recent in 2016.

I said last week that Chelsea's win again Leicester in March has saved them from being involved. I doubt that they'll win another game but 39 points is enough. 

26 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Chelsea picked the wrong front 3 tonight. Should have picked Havertz, Felix and Mudryk instead. Aubameyang isn't good enough for PL level. did nothing all night apart from take the kick offs. 

Chelsea need to sort out quickly who they want as their next head coach and announced it. Might just settle everything down. 

Chelsea have enough players in their first team squad to field 3 teams. It matters not which 11 steps onto the pitch. All 30 odd of them are shorn of confidence, and they are working with a temporary manager who's not up to it.

They've lost 6 in a row. It's Bournemouth away next who have won 5 of 7. I'm sure the betting odds will favour a home win.

Lampard should never be given another Premier League job, and at this juncture I'd be hard pressed to advocate for him at League One level. 

Starting Aubameyang was baffling. Maybe he thought that because Arteta bombed him out he'd go out and show what he can do. Wishful thinking. It also showed that Arteta, a good manager, did right by getting rid of him.

Chelsea's owners have their own set of problems, but they have enough cash to fix it, if they listen to the right people.

The board's prevailing tactical thoughts at half time are either Brereton or Dolan off, with switching their positions next up.

I'd take Dolan off. He's too lightweight, and Luton's best opportunities have come when he loses it - although Brereton has done it a couple of times too.

Brereton down the middle, Dack in behind. Hedges to find a final ball. 

Rovers should be 2 up. 

4 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

Odious club, I wish them nothing but failure.

Why? I don't know anything about them.

1 minute ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Leeds look doomed, they get battered most weeks. Their next two games are Man city and Newcastle. 

I was writing the same. Their defending is comical. 

Southampton look cooked too, Newcastle ran all over them in the second half. It didn't help that Southampton's subs were terrible. Walcott scored an own goal, and Maitland-Niles slipped twice to allow Wilson to score the 3rd.

3 minutes ago, Blue blood said:

Is it no goals and no wins for Lampard now? I get 2 games were against Real but even so it's pretty poor going. He's making Potter look good there and not even a modicum of new manager bounce. 

Refs still want Liverpool to get into Europe. 

City are strolling to the title. 

Good win for Forest as it's really hotting up in the relegation battle. A much needed win. 

Chelsea's win against Leicester 2 months ago now looks like it was a 6 pointer. They have just enough points to be above the fray. 

Liverpool were on the right end of 2 VAR decisions. Bowen was offside. As to the handball, it hit Thiago's arm twice, but it fell into the VAR clear and obvious error grey area. If it had been given it wouldn't have been overturned either. 

Forest had a very good win. They missed a pen and went 1-0 down too. 

City-Arsenal is men v. boys. Arsenal have been outclassed. 

4 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Watford can’t make it (as we’re playing Millwall)

Ah, Ok. I did wonder. 

9 hours ago, philipl said:

Sheffield United v West Brom tonight.

Home win promotes Sheffield United giving Luton less to.play for when they come to Ewood and means West Brom can't catch us IF we win our two matches.

Lots of permutations as to who will get 5th and 6th.  

Here is who everyone has to play. Coventry are the only team who's fixtures are against sides who aren't in the hunt (Boro are already assured a playoff spot).

5             Coventry City                    44           +10        66           B’ham (H), Boro (A)

6             Sunderland                       44         +10          65           Watford (H), PNE (A)

7             Millwall                             44         +7            65           B’pool (A), Rovers (H)

8             Blackburn Rovers             44           -3            65           Luton (H), Millwall (A)

9             West Brom                       43           +8           63           Sheff Utd (A), Norwich (H), Swansea (A)

10           Preston North End           44           -8            63           Sheff Utd (A), Sunderland (H)

11           Norwich City                    44           +5           62           WBA (A), B’pool (H),

12           Swansea City                   44           +3           62           Hull (A), WBA (H)

13           Watford                           44           +1           59           S’land (A), Stoke (H)

4 hours ago, Penwortham Blue said:

I thought we played well last night but the old issues killed us, the final pass, poor crossing, no one brave enough to take a shot on and the beyond dreadful set pieces. We are so bad that corners and free kicks provide us with no offensive benefit at all, it is just woeful.

I really like JDT, he has done well but just hasn’t been given the tools to do the job, the January window fiasco was criminal.

I had to laugh during the second half that every time there was a corner the crowd really started making some noise. I wondered what for as there was no chance one would amount to anything. They were either hit too low and didn't make it past the first man, or looped in high for an easy catch or clearance. 

If Rovers have a set piece coach his CV needs to be looked at for misrepresentation.

The game had 0-0 written all over it until Carter decided he fancied a dribble, lost it, and their sub scored a cracker. It was over after that. Rovers have struggled to score lately, and it's much much worse trying to come from behind.

As others have said Jack Cork should have been sent off. Either 2 yellows, or a straight red for the second tackle. Alas it was not to be. Although, if he had gone off Burnley would have shut up shop and Rovers wouldn't have been able to break through anyway. It's not much solace but Burnley are going to get a good few shoeings next season. Kompany has a job on his hands.

The threadbare squad was let down badly by the off field management team not signing enough players, both last summer, and in January. Young academy are a great success story but a team isn't getting out of the league with them alone. They need older heads to help, and there aren't enough of them. They were also let down by the lack of sorting out Brereton. He should have either signed a contract or shipped out when he said no. He's been poor but is relied on as he can play. 

Rovers have been very unlucky over the season - last week was the worst - and now need 2 wins against solid, gritty, well drilled teams. Let's see what happens.

Rovers are awful at set pieces. They never look like scoring from one.

Far too many free kicks are wasted. 

I've seen headlines today linking Vincent Kompany with the Chelsea job. 

He may well turn into a good manager but 1 season at Burnley wouldn't convince me to hire him.

From the first post. Here's the state of play with 4 to go;

Stoke (A) Lost 

Reading (H) Won

B'ham (A) Lost 

Norwich (H) Lost 

H'field (A) Draw 

Hull (H) Draw 

Coventry (H) Draw 

Nobbers (A) _____

Dingles (H) _____

Luton (H) _____

Millwall (A) _____

1 win in 7. Hardly play off form. However, destiny is still in Rovers hands despite a difficult set of fixtures to end the season.

I predicted 73 points. 3 wins will get to that number, and probably a playoff spot.