I thought we played well for the period between scoring our first and half time...that was about it really. The referee didn't help with his intent to be centre stage for the SKY cameras, missing a foul for us in the build up to their equaliser being his biggest crime. Our biggest crime was short corners and not reacting to the fact that their main weapon was playing on the break. I understand wanting to change the angle etc etc but a short corner that goes wrong leads to a quicker break than a conventional corner, as we saw for 0-1. I'm not rating our chances at Brum on Tuesday 

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

I haven't read everyone comments or even seen the goals but my thoughts are:-

Thought we played some excellent play today, Some good movement and short passing. Rovers played 4-2-3-1 with Armstrong as the main striker but he just didn't stay centre but use his movement

Holtby and Downing was different class. Johnson and Tosin a liability.

Nyambe did ok but just imagine if we had got Sam Byram as I wanted in the summer.  

Felt after they scored we struggle after/. I didn't understand why he took Holtby off or to bring on Gallagher. I would bought on Rankin Costello instead. Moving Armstrong wide just upset the balance of the team. Poor decision. 

I don't see how Graham come have on for Downing and who would have played with Johnson in centre mid. 

 

Tosin oozed class throughout when on the ball, always looking for feet rather than lumping it up to our vertically challenged forward line, like Lenihan would have done. 

I thought Tosin was outstanding today. Not once did he launch the ball forward aimlessly, he looked for the best pass constantly. I'm no fan of playing three at the back but if that's how we have to accommodate him then so be it. 

I'd have taken a point before kick off and I'm happy with one now! Cardiff were in the Premier League last season, we matched them and could have nudged it in the end with our late chances. 7 points from 9, three clean sheets on the bounce. I'm not complaining 

Just now, bluebruce said:

No you're right, it's been a sustained process for quite some time now. You didn't think this antipathy has arisen overnight, surely? There have been big question marks since at least the close of the January window. Longer for some, but the way that window ended was the start of deep concern for me.

I'm as frustrated as anyone about the lack of defensive additions both in January and the summer but I think a lot goes on behind the scenes that Mowbray cannot be blamed for. To give him credit he has worked for a regime that demands trips to India, provides a below par business structure at the club and then funds are delayed at the crucial point of transfers. Lambert walked out due to similar issues and many managers would'nt work under a Venky's style ownership. If a genuine improvement on Mowbray was available and (crucially) willing to come then I might be interested, however I can't see us being able to improve on him at the moment. 

7 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I think you're underestimating the turning tide on Mowbray. Today is must win in a lot of people's eyes because people are getting thoroughly fed up with Mowbray's decisions. Both in the market and on the pitch. We've lost our first two games and nearly got humbled by Oldham. Faith is being lost. We have tough games on the horizon and risk being cut adrift early after all that promotion talk.

At home to another out of form side is the best chance we have to arrest this slide and restore some faith. A draw will merely be a stay of execution.

I suppose there is a difference between a must win for the club and a must win for the manager. I'm still cautiously supporting Mowbray. He doesn't become a bad manager overnight. 

I fail to see how today is a 'must win' game. There are 43 matches left after today with 129 points to play for. Preston started last season abysmally and were well down on us after 10-15 games, and yet they just sneaked above us in the end. All I want to see is more defensive solidity, I'd probably take a 0-0 as progress made (I'd rather not witness a 0-0 this afternoon but I wouldn't be devastated by one). The only 'must win' games are the ones where a defeat or draw would make it mathematically impossible to achieve something (safety, promotion, play offs etc). 

18 hours ago, Stuart said:

Just been trying to find a worse away kit. The green Zebra kit runs it close but I still think this is the worst.

The one kit missing from this is the 96-97 away kit...the yellow and dark blue number with the Rovers badge artistically interpreted and splashed down the front of the shirt and shorts. I personally liked that one a lot...much rather our badge chopped into arty pieces than the Umbro logo!

That's a Theresa May's Brexit of an away kit. Nobody likes it, nobody voted for it. My 10 month old son could produce a better design on his dribble bib. Abomination! 

Just now, DE. said:

Yeah, I remember noting last season that there was some significant differences in our home and away stats. If Mowbray could crack setting us up away from home then we would legitimately be in with a shout of the playoffs. We seem to struggle when teams come at us, as opposed to playing at home where we are under less pressure and find it easier to settle.

I think that's probably true. When you think about it, since Mowbray took over I can hardly remember us being played off the park at Ewood. There's been some bad results (Doncaster, Wimbledon, and the string of 1-0 defeats last season) but we were competitive in all of those matches. Contrast that with regular defeats under Coyle and it's fair to say Tony has turned Ewood into...if not a fortress...at least a difficult place to go. 

Ok, so maybe Hoban was a bad shout. Looking at the home any away stats from last season, we actually had the joint fifth best home defence, conceding 21, significantly fewer than Norwich who I think shipped 35. Could it not be argued that the way Mowbray sets us up away from home may be just as influential as the players available to us? I'm not sure myself but I think it's worth debating. 

If we are flirting with the idea of bringing in out of contract midfielders like Butterfield and Adam then why not apply the same logic to defenders. Tommie Hoban has been released by Watford, he's still only 25, knows a lot of the lads and when fit (not often sadly) he looked decent. I'm not suggesting he should be our first choice centre back but he certainly adds to the pool of established players like Mulgrew, Lenihan and Williams. He might turn out a dud but I wouldn't imagine he'd cost the earth 

Very happy with Gallagher's return. His goal against Wolves stands out for me. We now have a plethora of early to mid-20 somethings who have the potential to develop into even better players: Gallagher, Brereton, Dack, Rothwell, Armstrong, Travis, Lenihan, Nyambe...and that's before you consider the likes of Buckley, Butterworth and Magloire who are even younger. Add this to the experience of Graham, Johnson, Downing, Evans and Mulgrew and I think we've got a good balance. I wouldn't be averse to Adam signing either for the same reasons. Sort out the keeper situation and sign a commanding defender and I think we'll have had a very good window 

Gordon Greer came back. Sorry to remind you all of that 

The best goalkeepers have a quality that is much harder to quantify than saves and costly mistakes...it's their ability to marshal a back four and develop confidence in the whole unit. The key to this is communication. Sadly, I feel this is where Raya is lacking. He undoubtedly has ability and indeed makes spectacular saves, and has saved us many points, but I never feel the whole unit is secure with him behind them.

Having said that, he remains our best option of the keepers on our books. If Raya is to be sold we must sign a replacement beforehand. Of all the names banded about I'd probably prefer Ruddy, mainly for his stature. There does seem to be a lack of obvious alternatives though 

https://images.app.goo.gl/prQeYehQMEZAhUJZ8

96-98 home shirt for me. 

Butterworth reminded me of Kevin Gallacher and I think we'll see a lot more of him. Buckley impressed in flashes too...he made a few errors because he was trying things, which is a good sign. I think he made more forward passes in 30 minutes than Jason Lowe did in 200 games 

We are comfortable in mid-table with three games to play. We have achieved this with predominately the same squad that won promotion from league 1. During our recent bad run the home defeats were all close and could quite easily have gone in our favour. We were toe to toe with Norwich, Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Preston, all four teams challenging for promotion and lost 1-0 in each. Only the Stoke game was a bad performance and even in that match we probably deserved a point. We have competed with the best in this division and have played some excellent attacking football at times. Defensive injuries have hurt us and yes, not strengthening in that area in January looks like an oversight however we've got through it. 

My point is, I'm more than happy with Mowbray. Challenging for promotion this year was unrealistic and to have been in the play off mix at one point should be seen as an achievement in itself. After the revolving doors approach of recent years it has been a breath of fresh air to have an honest bloke in charge given the time to develop a team capable of moving in the right direction. No manager will be perfect and we all have our gripes from time to time but I'm happy with Mowbray. I've been a much happier Rover since he took charge 

We've had some cracking clashes on the pitch in recent decades. The good: Roberts' last minute Weah winner, Corry Evans' thunderbolt, Dunny waltzing through the entire defence, Sam Ricketts' no danger own goal.

The bad: Roberts and McCarthy having late penalties saved, the infamous 'Kean out' defeat, a 0-0 under Ince where I seem to remember a rather portly Robbie Fowler making his debut and doing a passable impression of a garden gnome.

I think we'll fall behind tomorrow then power through to a 3-1 win. 

1-0 v Newcastle in 95, possibly the reason why I've looked older than I am for many years...thankfully fitbits with heart rate monitors were about 15 years from invention 

5-0 v Villa in 1998, 3 for Gallacher and I seem to remember even Ripley got in on the action. Savo Milosevic spitting at the Villa fans

1-0 v Liverpool, Tugay putting Gerrard on his arse

2-1 at Bolton with Roberts scoring a Weahesque winner in the last minute. Legging it back to Horwich Parkway and jumping on the train to find plenty of home fans thinking the game had finished 1-1

3-2 v Wolves in 2011, feels wrong including a game with the clueless one in charge, however the first 45 minutes and the atmosphere in the Steve Bull stand...the surreal sight of both teams downing tools with a few minutes to go!

The worst:

0-3 v Everton, Flitcroft's very short-lived debut as Kanchelskis tore us a new one 

0-1 v Bolton circa 2005, 2 missed penalties, frustration personified 

1-2 v Bolton in 2012, the atmosphere, the realisation that we were probably doomed, Nigel Rep-Coker scoring...the pits 

0-3 v Wigan (twice), under Coyle and Ince. Poisonous atmospheres at both, schoolboy defending ditto (although that might be an insult to schoolboys!)

Bellamy v Boro, Flowers v Newcastle are the two that stand out for me. Honourable mention goes to Adam Henley for his marking of Raheem Sterling in the 0-0 at Anfield in the cup a few years back

As for the worst...Kevin Davies v Newcastle (not even able to take a crucial penalty and leaving it to Jeff Kenna to miss), Danny Murphy v Peterborough and I seem to remember an abysmal performance from Keith Treacy in the FA Cup against Coventry.

Only counting games I was at, otherwise Duffy at Cardiff would romp home