Tugayisgod

Details on the trialist

Timeline on the pitch situation from Trevor Wilkins. The last comment from him is pretty telling ..... Rovers’ head groundsman Trevor Wilkin has provided a timeline of events and the reasons leading to Saturday’s fixture postponement against Portsmouth. The game was called off at 11am by referee Farai Hallam, who deemed the Ewood Park surface unplayable following torrential overnight rain caused by Storm Bert, with further wet weather forecast right through until kick-off. Trevor, who has worked for the club for over 40 years, said: “The week leading up to the fixture had given us a mixture of rain, heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures, all of which were dealt with effectively. “The forecast was for a storm to arrive Saturday morning, with strong winds and heavy rain clearing as the day progressed. In readiness for the storm, the pitch was cut on Thursday, then we spent all day Friday punching holes into the surface at a depth of five inches, giving the pitch a fighting chance of draining. “Today’s pitches are designed to accommodate vast amounts of rainfall, but unfortunately ours cannot cope with the rainfall that fell on Saturday, which was in the region of 35ml. “Another major factor, which has historically troubled the drainage of the pitch during heavy rainfall, is the outlet for the pitch drainage that runs directly into the River Darwen, which is clear for all to see by the side of the footbridge at the Blackburn End. “On Saturday, the river rose to just below the level of the footbridge, leaving the outlet for the pitch totally submerged in water, thus not allowing any pitch water to escape. The club will address this issue shortly with the Environment Agency to discuss a plan of how to address this issue once and for all. “Following discussions with Steve Waggott on the morning of the game, we met with both managers and the referee on the pitch at around 10:50am. Given the forecast and the fact that you could see all the holes full of water, it was unlikely to improve and the game was called off by the referee. “I stayed at the stadium until after 3pm to see what the pitch would have been like at kick-off and it was indeed waterlogged. I checked the river and the level was nearly above the footpath. “Another issue we face is we are restricted to the depth that we can aerate the pitch in fear of puncturing the undersoil heating pipes. We will use a machine leading up to this weekend’s fixture against Leeds United that injects compressed air below the surface to alleviate any deeper compaction. “Days like Saturday are few and far between, but when they arrive we are at the mercy of the weather. In my 43 years at the club, this is still the best surface that I have worked on. “I am confident going forward that if we can address the River Darwen issue, in conjunction with the AIR2 machine, we will find ourselves in a much better position until a reconstruction of the entire pitch can be signed off, which of course would require significant investment.”

Depends I suppose on what you (or Rovers) term as a big sale. I would imagine anything around £3m -£4m would be given serious consideration

True, but he doesn't seem to be getting much game time at Cambridge so maybe doesn't bode well.

Could possibly be looking at him in case we get any bids for Carter ? Can't see Fadz being offered another year, although Batth probably does deserve an extension. That would leave Hyam, Batth and Wharton when he returns, so a younger cb probably makes sense. Highly rated at Reading, here's one fans view : "This might sound paradoxical, but the biggest praise I can give Bindon is that I very rarely leave the ground ranting and raving about how good he was. It’s almost expected now that he’s going to put in a 7/10 performance. And to be able to say that about a 19-year-old (yes, I’ll keep reminding you of that), in just his second season in professional football is nothing short of astounding. He just never seems to put a foot wrong, he rarely gets caught out of position and he seems to always be one step ahead of his opponent - not in terms of his feet, but in his mind. His footballing intelligence and awareness of where he needs to be and when is second to none when comparing him to most centre-backs we’ve had in the past decade. Things like heading a ball away from a corner, or clearing your lines from a cross, are so unappreciated because they’re just expected of defenders, but you can only do that if you’re in the right place and your positioning is spot on - and Bindon is more often than not that man."

Honestly think the last 2 games have been out best 2 performances of the season. Wednesday we came up against an inspired keeper, but no stopping us today with 3 great goals. Travis outstanding, having to play on the edge knowing you're a yellow card away from suspension , credit to him. Shout out to Pears as well , who for me has done nothing wrong recently ( in fact most of the season) 💙🤍

Fucking Trav has been unreal today

Someone was asking a couple of weeks ago whether this lad had signed from Accy Stanley. Now confirmed https://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1250037432?-11198:839

Also Wolves supposedly interested in the Watford No 8 ( the Georgian lad ), who was their best player by a mile yesterday. Ran the show for them Valued £15m - £20m

No January transfer thread yet but Nixon posting this. I wish 🙏 🙏

I watched the Watford game as well the other night and agree, apart from the first 10 minutes where the keeper had a nightmare, they were Leeds' equal in my opinion. The thing that really struck me was the pace they have throughout the team but especially in wide areas. That will undoubtedly give us problems so in view of that my team reflects the protection that will be needed down the flanks. Don't think for a minute this will be the side though Pears Brittain. Baath. Hyam. Pickering Tronstad. Travis JRC. Cantwell. Beck Gueye/Ohashi

Noticed Dunnys lad came on in the 2nd half, don't know how old he is but can't be more than 16. Looks fairly slight but that didn't stop him putting himself about and seems to like a tackle. Left footed as well, with a lot more hair than his dad !

Watching Leeds v Watford with a view to Saturdays game. Leeds 2-0 after 6 mins , keeper had an absolute shocker for both goals

Shrewsbury v Exeter it is then on Sky. That was a complete waste of time. Embarrassing

Goalkeepers 😲😲

Realize this won't be the team tomorrow, but maybe going forward , and getting both Yuki and Gueye into the same side , means a change of formation to ,3-5-2 (or 3-4-1-2 if you like. Something like this Pears/Toth Carter. Batth. Hyam Brittain/ACD Tronstad. Travis. Beck Cantwell Yuki. Gueye Dolan and Hedges also could cover either wide position It's the only way I see both strikers playing together?

I suppose the there are two main questions about tomorrow's team. 1) Who plays LB if Pickering isn't fit enough to play. Presume he would stick with Hedges or maybe Brittain if has recovered. 2) Does Cantwell start. ? My feeling is he will be on the bench again

I suppose the there are two main questions about tomorrow's team. 1) Who plays LB if Pickering isn't fit enough to play. Presume he would stick with Hedges or maybe Brittain if has recovered. 2) Does Cantwell start. ? My feeling is he will be on the bench again

Harvey Higgins, looks like the secret is out https://www.facebook.com/share/r/Z1RN4sfW5Y3qHJSJ/

Really is a wide open league this season, don't see anybody running away with it like Burnley did a couple of seasons ago, they are not the team they were by a long shot. Also thought Dembele for them was completely anonymous, hardly touched the ball before being hooked due to the sending off.

Handled the man advantage much better than last week. Cantwell will be something to watch when he is fully up to speed Have to say Trav was my man of the match today, absolutely gave everything today, he is transformed under JE. Tronstad as ever, just plugging holes wherever they appear. Dolan also great today COYB 💙🤍

Emphatic result as you would expect with the team selected. ACD must have played himself into contention for a start on Saturday,whilst Cantwell kept it simple, one great shot apart from the edge of the box that hit the post that Duberry converted. Toth not surprisingly had nothing to do so impossible to judge him today although he looked comfortable enough on the ball. With Atcheson and Litherland the future of the central defence looks really bright for years as long as we can hang onto them

2-0 AcD

1-0 Tyjon