A Texan in Rovers’ dressing room

My trip to Ewood, September, 2019

Meanwhile, we’re 15th on the table... with a goal diff of +8 lol

Y’all have covered the major needs well, those out of contract, etc, so I will give a hearty, “amen” to all that has been said. The only thing I would say to a “total rebuild” is, that’s an expensive proposition for anybody, let alone this club. I think if we got a new manager, and re-signed 2-3 of those needed, with 1-2 permanent additions, most of us would be excited, the ol’ blood would be pulsing strongly again for the blue & white. I stood by him a long time-maybe too long: The fly in the ointment would be TM staying... we’ve seen enough of mid-table, at best. It’s going to take a new man with fresh ideas and to generate some excitement to pull us up anywhere from 6th-12th. A new manager, who can recruit soundly and make tactical decisions, with a personality, would mean a lot to the club.

It’s getting harder and harder to find anything positive to say. Our players give a good effort, but they aren’t getting much help from the manager or coaches. And then there’s the injuries. Enough said.

Bah

Let’s go! its 1:45 PM, and a warm 79 degrees in Texas...

Good!

Lineup is a 4-3-3? Elliott, Rothwell & Travis all on bench. Hmmm

One more thing, & I will shut up... 10-man Rovers got a point at Brentford, in 2-2 tie on December 5. The man sent off- Lenihan, who gets his 200th appearance in a Rovers shirt today. The goals? Rothwell (19’) & Davenport (87’).

I have to admit, the patchwork defense, with two loaners, hasn’t been that bad... vs poorer clubs. The trouble has been our goal-scoring, particularly, vs better teams. Against teams in the top-6 right now, we have scored 12, and allowed 21- with two games to play (Brentford today; @Norwich). Our record in those 10 games is 1-2-7. Are we a midtable club? Definitely. but we’ve played the majority of tougher teams. These last 9 games, hopefully, we will see a few wins, and get ready for next season.

Yeah, that might be the reason for lack of posts on this thread, nobody realizes we play tomorrow... or a poor effort from your thread starter! 🤨

Rovers gave me a win on my 59th birthday Vs Lions, and a point vs high-flying Swans, mid-week. This ol’ Texan will take a stab at predicting the 11... Same as the last two outings. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Arte et Labore, c’mon, you Blues! 2-1.

I love our young guys. Their performances might be a bit erratic sometimes, but they will gradually smooth out the wrinkles.

A good result over a promotion-chasing side. I picked 1-1, so I certainly cannot complain. Good performances all over the pitch.

Good start, keep it up, lads...

Yeah, I figure this season, maybe one more at Ewood. Nice career at this level, but he is 34 in a month.

We need to see Johnson get back to his player of the month form (September?)

No Branthwaite, Armstrong or Holtby. I forget about Ayala being on the squad- useless lump. They are a solid team defensively, I think 1-1 might be the best we could hope for.

True; if so, with the difficulty Liverpool is having scoring, they would’ve been trying to take back Harv Elliott already.

I don’t think we accept the failures; we accept the hand we’re dealt- for now- and hope for a managerial change, some incoming players to take us closer to being in the playoff mix, & re-sign those players who can help bring about success. I said it before and I’ll say it again, we have a nice young nucleus of players on which to build. Good times are ahead, hopefully in the not too distant future.

I would not be dissatisfied with this result.

I would strive to play as many as possible who will be here next season, but that would not keep me from playing Elliott. We need his passing & creativity (tied for 2nd in assists behind Toney). If JR-C is fit, play him more minutes vs swans. I have my doubts we can win, but a tie is possible. Play the 11 that have the best chance to be successful.

I agree with TS... a Rovers win is a big event to me, worth getting excited about. Besides, we have a great, young nucleus of players... the right manager would love this team. Lots of promise for the future!

Honest question by a Texan who is still trying to figure out the English game... So, today was Mowbray’s plan B - or just a madcap attempt by him to throw 11 on the pitch to find something-anything- that works? I’ve watched American tackleball 50 years, and finding effective substitutes is nothing new. You always have to get backups ready, and the next generation of players... but, Rovers are fairly young, other than Johnson & one or two others. Tonys efforts at putting forwards and wingers in proper position seems to be good-intentioned buffoonery, at best. Basically, It’s taken him 2 1/2 months since our last strong performance to put an effective 11 on the pitch. So, was today skill and footballing acumen on TM’s part, or luck?