Angry_Pirate

????? Mowbray Out!

Gallagher making amends for the last time he played against Preston for Rovers. Time to get a few quick on a Preston win to secure the result! ?

I feel sorry for those travelling (I've got better things to do!) I always want Rovers to win BUT... This might be a game where if we're going to lose, I wouldn't cry if Preston hammer us and it would get this "Mowbray Out" train up to speed in the terraces. Big loss and I fucking hope the fans give him the shit he deserves "We might get beat and they might be better than us!" Fuck off Tony.

The more times I see the 2nd Huddersfield goal the more annoyed I get at the "quality" of Walton (not his fault) and the whole Raya fiasco (100% Mowbrays fault). Positives: Going forward I'd like to see Nyambe stick at RB, and a midfield 5 of Downing -Travis in the middle behind Holtby - Dack - Rothwell. Could be the makings of an exciting team... when we get an exciting manager, of course.

Not caught up on the last 10 pages so apologies if I'm coming across like a broken record. Dismal from the 14th-96th minute. We lost 2-1 against a team that came for a 0-0. Again. I haven't seen time wasting quite like that in a while... maybe we're all just annoyed that we cannot time waste effectively unlike every other team in world football. We got what we deserved after the first 1/6th of the game. Why is time wasting only a bookable offense in added time? Good job we sold Raya because of his poor kicking and loaned Walton for his great penalty box presence. Cunningham was poor, he has a great cross on him but I lost count how many times we had an entire left side open in the first half and hes holding hands with Derrick and not getting forward. Dare I say a game for Bell. Also, it was his daft foul that set up the winning goal. Never realised how one footed (or shit) Gallagher was. Johnson and Downing are getting worse by the day. Dack played for the shirt today. Travis was the only on who actually "played" for the shirt. Dominic Samuel is now a RWB? As the old saying goes "If you dont shoot... you'll probably play for TMs Rovers".

Honestly I've not been this pleased with a signing since Brett Emerton and (later) Benni McCarthy. I was going to say "excited", but I'm a grown man now and no longer care anywhere near as much as I did 16 & 13 years ago, and we're also no longer a European chasing Premier League team. But I'm as excited as I'm going to get. Cracking interview too! Already has a chant and will become an instant fan favourite I'm sure!

Hopefully that is kind of the point. ?

Buzzing!

I'd say with almost 100% certainty that Smallwood is gone when his contract expires summer (not sooner). Sounds obvious I've heard his attitude is beginning to stink up the place (he "apparently" point black refused to play in the Lancs Cup match last week when the likes of Nyambe, Chapman and Graham etc played). He is on the contract of his life, has already refused to go out on loan and will be taking said wage for the next 9 months before he plateaus into lower L1 next season. No chance he gets a new deal at present... rightly so. His one year improved extension has simply been a disaster. Next summer we will have Evans as our only "proven" cm who isn't either possibly too old (Johnson, Downing) too inexperienced (Buckley, Davenport, Rankin-Costello) or likely to be desired elsewhere (Travis). Holtby is a must sign if available, feasible.

No brainer, if he's as good as we think/hope/remember, sign him. Downing is on his 1 and (probable) only season. Dack (and Lenihan) are (most likely) in thier last season Graham is (most definitely) in his final season Rothwell (might well be) fed up and asked to leave after this season Smallwood (99.9%) gone after this season (hopefully January) Johnson has (maybe) another season or 2 in him Gallagher, Armstong and Brereton are strikers (not wingers) Bennett is now (apparently) a RB After this season our midfield is probably left with Evans, Buckley, Butterworth, Rankin-Costello, Davenport, Chapman, Johnson and Travis (if we can keep him)... ie, Yuk. We also need money saved to buy a GK, CB (replace DL) and LB since we dont own any good ones. Holtby on a "free" and a 3 year deal should be a no brainer... especially since Mowbray loves a settling in period for (most) new signings and by god will we probably need him come January/August 2020.

Comfortable 2-0 win in the end where we missed 3 clear chances and took our foot firmly off the gas last 15. 2nd half much better than the 1st (Buckley a passenger?) and defended most of it well (we did have 5 defenders and Johnson tbf). Bennett maybe had his best game of the season - he also wasn't at RB all game and did miss a very good chance. Rothwell... how he isn't in the XI I don't know. Dack ran the 2nd half. Tosin seemed okay but had very little to do. Mahoney was pony. ?

Absolute paint drying football here at home with Mowbray. A footballer should make it 2-0 there... unfortunately for us the chance fell to Elliott Bennett.

Ahh wonderful, the crabs are back.

Absolute Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Manager has zero clue how to field an XI and probably can't even spell "tactics". Gallagher on the RW is beyond a joke now for me. So dull. Mowbray is holding us back.

HT. What an unbelievable snooze fest, as always. 6 games in, 1 first half goal (penalty). Tony Mowbray is a boring manager. Could literally buy a (second) half season ticket and you'd probably miss 3 Rovers goal. And for christ sake, leave someone on the half way line when defending set pieces. We have zero counter attacking threat. Yawn.

?

Harsh considering Nyambes "chance" was alongside two teenage youth players and the crabs in midfield. Put Nyambe in the first XI and see who is better. We have some real leadership finally, Bennett simply isn't needed as he was in L1. Good win, I wish we could show a bit more desire to get a 2nd and use our brains a bit more. That stat on the Lenihan-Williams partnership is staggering, positive.

Williams, with a header, inside the six yard box ????

Sam Gallagher, what the actual fuck.

This TV coverage is awful. Lingering on close ups time and again when attacks are happening... Going to be punished if keep giving the ball away cheaply. 2-1 defeat as it stands for me if we dont sharpen up.

Something Walton is good at ??

Didn't realise the Venkys hired an actual chicken as manager... 12 months from now (Assuming TM is still manager) this team will (most likely) no longer have Lenihan, Dack and Graham, plus Rothwell and Nyambe if they have sense, not to mention all the out of contracts, mid 30 year olds and loanees. The time was now.

Reading not looking like the relegation fodder of last year... could even be a dark horse for playoffs (based on 1 game viewing). But where did they get £12m for Joao and Puscas plus the money for (probably) expensive loans for Maizga, Pele, Ejaria and Rafael, not to mention the wages for Morrison and Adam. It's not like they sell out their stadium or have parachute money... hmmmm. Could have been 5-0 to Reading quite easily.

Not read the general consensus but for me that was a dogged, forgettable victory against a terrible Middlesbrough (they never impress me ?) in a game which will be quickly forgotten. Glad Mowbray came out and said it was all about 3 points and not performance... as that was a poor football match. But shows our team (whichever XI Mowbray pick) is good enough (by default) for mid table. 2 points: 1) Walton is a clear downgrade at GK for me, seems like a cross between Jason Steele and Jake Kean. We won despite of him and his time wasting. 2) Bennett was actually okay defensively, but my god what a liability he is on the ball... within 3 minutes he had gift wrapped TWO Boro counter attacks. He also kicked passes straight out of play enough to make even Raya haters blush. He was very harshly booked though and did win us a few corners and make some good tackles. Much improved, but still too poor to be starting. Big 3 points, no chance of playoffs but maybe we might not be in the relegation battle we feared.

For some daft Mowbray reason, our back 4 this season seem to have our full backs standing on the last man (of their defence) as far wide as possible, when our own defender have the ball. That is neither Bennett's or Nyambe's fault. Look at the pass Bennett made for Charlton (where he was stood) and where Nyambe was stood for the first Oldham goal when Smallwood passed to an Oldham player (again). Both nonchalantly hanging out at RW. I predict it has been done to give Downing a "free role" to move from the right and all in all it has left us so open down our right, it's criminal. I agree with many comments... Let Nyambe play (and defend) at RB and play an actual RW like, I dunno, Harry fucking Chapman. The best and probably only (football related) compliment I can give Bennett right now is he isn't the worst player on our team... Smallwood reminded us that on Tuesday. Watch it tomorrow... Bennett will go and stand at RW when Cunningham/Bell has the ball, for no reason. The manager is, has been, and will continue to be the problem.