Great result yesterday. First half we were the better side, though I felt 2-0 perhaps flattered us a tad. But JE's tactical masterclass meant we used that cushion v well 2nd half by sitting tight, being organised, not pressing hard & letting them have the ball in areas that couldn't hurt us. It was very efficient, even with some players out, & just what we needed before the Christmas glut of games. Shoutouts to all the back 5 who were immense, to ACD for his industriousness & abundance of talent, to Ohashi for his selflessness & to Gueye for his sheer presence, enthusiasm (and assists!). As for Matt Smith, I've finally made my 14yr old daughter jealous of me being at Ewood! She loves him, even has a lifesize cardboard model of him in her bedroom; I "Doctored" it last night...

John Eustace is a Legend.

Class goal that from back to front again, this time at pace (unlike Cardiff) & involving some great vision, bravery in possession, one touch positive passing and direct running from some very oft-maligned players (Pears, Dolan, Hedges & Brittain), plus Tronstad & Cantwell.

I've not been on here in a while numerous things have gotten in the way of late. But I just want to say that I think this is the best team we've had for a long time in terms of fight, spirit & togetherness. Everyone has each other's back, the camaraderie is there to see. What a special mmanager Eustace is, he's getting the best out of bargain basement signings, players unwanted elsewhere, journeymem loanees & academy graduates. Dolan was immense today, I know he is frustrating but he has something different to most other players, and he us still only v young. Eustace pulled off a masterstroke with Cantwell, he's getting better every match, the way he shields the balls & works in tight spaces is awesome. Pears has really shown some grit too, aside from some dodgy kicking today he is proving himself to be as good now as Kaminski was imo. And Travis, well, just wow. He's turned into a proper leader, by example & on attitude. He must be an absolute bugger to play against, & the way he dealt with Dolan re the dispute over the penalty (both during the dispute & after it had been scored) was so mature. I am really starting to love this team. It's not perfect & there are weak links, but I absolutely trust Eustace to sort these out if given time.

Got to say I thoroughly enjoyed that yesterday. It was a thoroughly organised, composed & professional display with a smattering of Japanese gold dust!! A couple of individual errors and a 5 minute spell aside, we were dominant throughout and never really looked in any danger. Our pressing was top notch (as illustrated by the first 2 goals) and there seems to be a real sense of collectiveness in the squad, including from the manager down the the coaches, player & academy set up. All down to Eustace and, perhaps, Gestede? I'm trying not to get carried away, but what a tremendous start to the season, which has made many observers sit up & take notice. Goals from all over the place too; right foot, left foot, headers, screamers & tap ins. A very strong bench with options (and more besides who weren't available today like Gueye, Pickering, Brittain, Wharton & Leonard). Last word for Yuki, my oh my what a find! 5 goals so far; a cheeky chip, a glancing header, a brave diving header, right foot top bins, left foot top bins, and no shortage of hussling & harrying in between. Soon it'll be Shearer referring to him as Mr Ohashi if he carries on like this, what an impact he's had!!

Kudos to Eustace, based on this from Cantwell: https://www.rovers.co.uk/sponsors/header/macron--new.pnghttps://www.rovers.co.uk/sponsors/header/WR.pnghttps://www.rovers.co.uk/sponsors/header/venkys.png 20 minutes ago Club “The manager gave me a feeling that the others didn’t" By Blackburn Rovers FC Todd Cantwell says talks with John Eustace were crucial after the exciting playmaker was lured to Rovers from Glasgow giants Rangers on deadline day. The 26-year-old, who has multiple promotions from the Sky Bet Championship on his CV, returns to English football after an 18-month spell north of the border at Ibrox. Norfolk-born, Cantwell progressed through the ranks at local club Norwich City, going on to feature over 100 times for the Canaries, which included two seasons playing in the Premier League. After a half-season loan at AFC Bournemouth, which ended in a third promotion from the Championship, Cantwell made the move to Scotland, playing European football with Rangers and totalling 14 goals in 64 outings for the club. Rovers managed to fight off competition for the midfielder’s services, with the new boy admitting Eustace’s influence was key to him heading to East Lancashire. “It’s nice to get it done and you have to be patient as a player when you’ve been in the situation I’ve been in,” he said to RoversTV after penning a three-year deal at Ewood Park. https://images.webapi.gc.roversservices.co.uk/fit-in/1000x1000/e0331d60-66fd-11ef-9316-cbeb1d2afa36.jpg “I had a few to pick from and this felt right from the moment I spoke to the manager. “I’ve spoken to a few managers over the last few weeks and I think there’s a lot to say for going with your heart. “The manager gave me a feeling that the others didn’t, ultimately. I feel it’s the right place to be at with a club who I’ve always enjoyed playing against, a club with a big history and with a lovely stadium. “I was looking for a new adventure and the interest came from a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I spoke to the manager here, I really wanted to see the proposal and what we could get done. “It’s an important time in my career," he admitted. "There’s a lot of noise around me and there are a lot of things that I want to show. “It’s a very respected league and there’s not many easy games to play in, which is exactly what I’m after. I want to play as well as I can for as long as I can and show everyone the real me.”

Haha, it's true though, he can pull off decent saves, he just should perhaps pull off more whilst being less error-prone & rash in possession. He has the agility & skill sets to be a decent 'keeper imo, that's what's so frustrating. Anyway today's looking like being a happier day than we've had for a while, let's not take the gloss off it now (that can wait until tomorrow... 👀)

Agreed. But then so too did Leo, & you could put together a good reel for Pears too I'm sure... Hopefully this guy is the real deal though!

The perfect answer, let's just leave it there!!!! (Roles?? Don't you mean barms?!)

Much higher; 957 (not inc mod deletions)

This made me laugh....

So him & Maguire can stick pins in a Waggott voodoo doll together. Brierley will be joining them soon before 11pm tomorrow.

Like I said earlier, get the signing completed & THEN do the media!!

But Szmods wore No.8?!?!

Sod the media stuff, get the deals confirmed then do the media!! I'm clearly too old for modern football ways...

Is that a tease or wishful thinking??

Re Cantwell's style of play, it's similar to Adam Wharton from what I recall. If he wants to, he can pick the ball up on the half turn, run with the ball, shield it, draw fouls, pick out killer passes. He also has a decent dead ball delivery. I referred to him as Todd Cant(playvery)well the other day, which was harsh. Clearly he's had problems but perhaps he can benefit from the "big fish in small pond" concept to keep him grounded, and from the oft-quoted team spirit there is at Ewood & Brockall for which JE also has a reputation of fostering.

A couple of dabs of tippex will do the job, if the budget will stretch that far.

That may be true, but the lad's barely had chance to settle in, he's only v young. Not aiming this at you but some folk seem to think that if a player hasn't "stood out" within 3-4 games of arriving then they're a dud. I think it's a modern trend in life generally, emanating from the accessibility & immediacy of most forms of media nowadays. But folk have lost the ability to be patient & instead react to things in a knee jerk fashion. See Szmodics, Pedersen, Tronstad even for good examples of slow burners...

Disappointing performance & result of course, but yet again there's some major overreaction by many on here imo. Sell JRC? Sell Buckley? Sell Hyam?? Madness, we're already threadbare as it is!! And blaming Pears for tonight (and indeed for Oxford's goal) is just mental. Clearly the players were below par tonight; that happens sometimes, especially with a much bigger game on the horizon. Clearly also Eustace will regret making the changes he did, but remember that up to now this season his changes have been excellent; he's not gonna get it right all the time, especially when the squad is light. Everyone needs to calm down & not get carried away with wins or distraught re defeats. ALL the issues we have lie above the players & above Eustace.

Owen Beck could be promising based off a quick google. Not sure I'm that enamoured about Todd Cant(playvery)well though. Hope I'm wrong if he pitches up.

I'm no petrolhead, but Mazdas are far superior to Toyotas imo. There's much more pizzazz about Mazdas; Toyotas are boring. I loved my 323, and the MX5 & RX8 are generational classics. So in that context, I'd rather stick with Pears. Anyway, tranfers...

I'm a lawyer here in England, trust me it is not beneficial to us for claims to drag on in my line if work, as not only are we only paid if the litigation succeeds, but also we are by definition only paid at its conclusion, which can be many years from initial instruction. Very rarely will courts makes interim orders for costs. Can't speak for India, mind...

Didn't see the game, have only seen highlights, but reading this thread during the match & immediately after reads like the last rights!! Norwich finished in playoffs last season, we've taken a point off them at home. By all objective accounts I've read, a draw was a fair result on the balance of play. Some of the criticism Brittain has had is ridiculous. He's not perfect & of course got caught out yesterday, but he's in the championship. His overall contributions are more positive than negative & he really offers some dynamism imo. Really happy with the new boys, look like proper players that give options. As for Yuki: Oh Yuki you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind hey Yuki, hey Yuki (to the tune of Hey Mickey - ribbed off Facebook, tbf) Oh and by the way, the whipping boys of this season (according to many on here after last Friday) beat Middlesbrough yesterday...