sharpysharps86

Interesting fixture for Burnley away at West Brom tomorrow night. Two sides struggling to score goals at the moment. Looks like Sheffield United have stepped it up a gear or two in recent weeks. Can see them, Sunderland and Leeds in a battle for the top 2 while the rest scramble for the playoffs. The table is looking more and more congested every week. Just 5 points between 8th and 21st! Makes the importance of tonight's game even more so, as just a couple more bad results could see Rovers slip way down into the bottom half of the table. Crazy, crazy league this.

Feels like a change of system is needed, but I'd be more tempted to play Pickering as a left sided CB than stick Fadz in from the start, simple because he's played so little football this season. Still, he was always a rock last season whenever called upon.

Must win game, and I think they'll just about manage it with a 2-1 win. Ohashi is due a goal, and Cantwell to get his first in Rovers colours. Cannon for Stoke.

That was their first win in 5. Granted they'd also only lost 1 in 5 in that spell, but I'm not sure you can call it a purple patch either. Either way, a win is simply a must because Cardiff (who we play on Saturday) are definitely on a good run.

I would too like to see Ohashi playing alongside another forward. Who would you drop? Cantwell is the only creative player that looks like he can make something happen, but shifting him out wide doesn't really work. Equally I'm not sure playing him as a CM would work as he's somewhat of a luxury player to have in the side. If not 442 then its either a narrower 4132 or a 352, which I'm not sure we really have the depth at CB right now to risk. I suppose you could put Pickering as a left sided CB and play Beck and Brittain as wing backs. I wonder if playing Ohashi wide left is an option. Its a conundrum, but there's no doubting they need to try something different.

Well he can start by dropping at least one of Hedges and Dolan.

Yeah that was pretty sobering. Sheffield United showed their quality and didn't really have to get out of 2nd gear. Rovers huffed and puffed until the 2nd goal went in and then seemed to go out of their way to try and concede a few more. Positives: Cantwell is very good, didn't have the best of games but still stood out from the rest. He actually tries to play the ball forwards most of the time whereas most others seem utterly incapable or scared of doing so. Ohashi work rate and always wanting the ball is to be admired. Pears had a pretty good game overall. Negatives: They don't look at all like scoring anytime soon. That NEEDS to change on Wednesday night. JRC shocking clearance for the 1st goal. Gueye becoming more of a hindrance than a help. Needs a goal...or to just do something in general that actually benefits the team. Dolan at his absolute worst for the most part today. He is like the Antony of the Championship, all the little step overs and turns that only seem to serve the purpose of slowing down and nullifying Rovers own attacks Hedges, he's just not good enough is he. Runs about a fair bit, but lacks any kind of bravery. Case in point being the chance in the first half, just launch yourself at that and its at least an effort. The subs seemed to completely nip any chance Rovers had in the bud quite instantly. Buckley comes on for Travis and plays like its a league cup game against a League Two side....I guess that's just his level. Gueye as mentioned above is a problem rather than a positive right now. No amount of grinning can change that. Other subs did so little that they aren't worth a mention. There is absolutely no shame in losing to Sheffield United, a team with a far bigger budget and with some genuine premier league quality, or at least top 2 in the championship quality (Hamer coming off the bench, I mean that says it all). This game does not define the season and tells us all what we already knew as to how far Rovers are off threatening the playoffs / promotion spots...but the games against teams of a similar standard that we have coming up in Stoke and Cardiff are crucial. Meh.

Toughest test yet at Ewood, suspect it'll be our first home defeat as well. My preferred team: Pears JRC Batth Hyam Beck Travis Tronstad Dolan Cantwell Sigurdsson Ohashi Dunno why, but I just feel like Cantwell and Siggy playing alongside each other could be magic. Hopefully Harry Leonard makes the bench, it'll be good to see him back on the pitch soon. Ultimately though I think Sheff United will just have too much for Rovers to deal with so I'll go with a narrow hard fought 1-2 defeat.

The point I was making was that you put your hands up in the air then you give the ref an opportunity to give a pen. I'm not saying I think it was a pen, I think it was extremely harsh...but I can understand why it was given in the spare of the moment. If hands are not in the air then there's no chance of a pen...and yes, defenders do tend to try and defend with their hands behind their back. Appreciate Hedges was caught off guard by the ball rebounding off a Watford player, but again, just don't give the ref an opportunity, especially at this level where the officials are so very poor.

Thought a draw was the fairer result today, and the stats seem to back that up. Watford never really looked like scoring in open play, while Rovers missed the best chances of the match. Disappointing to come away with nothing. Wasn't too disappointed with how Rovers played either. It was a typical stubborn away performance that we've seen a few times now under Eustace. Sometimes those kinds of performances result in a draw or even a 1 nil win...today it didn't happen, c'est la vie. The pen feels like it could have gone either way. I can understand why it was given, but equally I bet that this season there will be several instances of similar incidents where no pen is given. Ultimately though, Hedges shouldn't have had his hand up in the air. All in all, this is where Rovers are at. They're a mid table side, currently punching a bit given the league position. I remain pleased with what Eustace is doing, and I think we'll have a fairly stress free season. Today doesn't take away from a good start to the season, but they do need to start picking up more points on the road to not become totally reliant on home form.

Aside from the fact that Preston blew the 3 goal lead, it's worth mentioning that top of the table Sunderland lost at Plymouth.

Yeah last seasons squad was clearly inferior compared to this seasons, but JDT didn't do himself any favours whatsoever (no ability to adapt, falling out with players). I'm much happier with Eustace in charge, who seems far more equipped for the Championship, and seems way less toxic.

My apologies, I didn't trace back to your post that Chaddy quoted from. You're right, it wasn't just down to JDT's style of play, it was also down to his lack of ability to adapt to different situations. A proper manager / head coach who doesn't have Man City cash to throw at it would know to adapt to the strengths of his players, not just relentlessly try the same thing again and again with players that weren't good enough to play that style.

Not many Championship sides will win 6 in a row at home. I'm pretty sure most Rovers fans would've taken 4 points from the last 2 games after losing 2 in a row before the break. It's just annoying that we have two very tough games next up.

Spot on. Its amazing how short people's memories are. JDT and his entertaining football nearly got us relegated in the end. I'd take what Eustace is doing over what JDT did every day.

Crucial win yesterday, when the result mattered far more than the performance after 2 defeats on the spin. Even more important to get those 3 points when you look at the next 3 games. 2 teams above Rovers in the table and one not too far behind. We could easily be looking at 3 defeats in a row, but hopefully not. Nice to be in the top 6 but its so tight, anyone from Burnley down to Watford could be top after a couple more games. Still, 10 games in, I don't think any of us expected to be 6th. 16th would've been a more realistic expectation!

I think with Sigurdsson, for me at least, it's that I think he and Cantwell could play really well together and create some chances. You mention Ohashi looking lost up front on his own, and I think a large part of that is down to the sides inability to create chances for him. Hedges and Dolan can't be trusted to be consistent in creating chances. Just my thoughts though, I appreciate that other's won't agree. When Brittain is back, I'd be tempted to try him further forward with JRC at right back. Brittain, despite his flaws defensively probably has the best crossing ability in the side. The cross for the Ohashi header against Norwich being a solid example. Agree that there is a lot riding on Cantwell, but it's something he should be thriving on to be the main man at a club. There is no doubt that the last two games haven't been good enough, but I still feel that JE is the man for Rovers at this current time. After last season, getting near the playoffs is really just a pipe dream. I suspect some fans started to get carried away after a 7 game unbeaten start to the season, but right now Rovers have all the makings of a mid table Championship side. We'll probably spend some time in the bottom half as much as we do the top. I'm ok with this given the circumstances that the club currently finds itself in, but it's when the players put in absolutely dire performances last the last 2 games that isn't acceptable.

Yeah that was pretty poor again, and yet we nearly nicked a point. Typical Rovers in a lot of ways. Its seems that Rovers are to Obafemi what Gallagher is to Middlesbrough. Always seems to score against us. Regardless of the last two games, its been a good start to the season. Disappointing that the two defeats have come back to back though, and the drop in performances is a bit alarming. I feel like the great start to the season prior to these two defeats had raised expectations a touch. Rovers are never getting close to that top 6 over the course of the season, but equally they shouldn't really be in a relegation fight either. Mid table is where they should be ultimately. The players at the club are just far too inconsistent to maintain good results over the course of a full season. Pears (although made some good saves today), Hyam, Pickering, Dolan, Hedges are all far too inconsistent for anything better than mid table. I do hope that JE has learnt some lessons from these last two games and discovered more about what his best starting 11 is. Providing there are no injuries during the international break, I'd like to see this be the starting 11 against Swansea: Toth JRC / Brittain Carter Hyam Beck Travis Tronstad Coz-Dub Cantwell Sigurdsson Ohashi Ok so Pears hasn't dropped any massive clangers yet this season but it's still Pears and I just don't rate the guy. Carter at RB needs to stop now, that experiment should be over. Get JRC or Brittain in there, depending on opposition. Beck naturally in for Pickering. Cozier-Duberry has done more than enough in his sub appearances to justify starting ahead of Weimann, who is far better suited as a sub anyway. Cantwell in the middle behind Ohashi is a an upgrade on the inconsistent Dolan. I'd rather see Sigurdsson on the left than either Dolan or Hedges right now.

Plymouth have turned a corner with Rooney it seems. Won't be easy at all, they have some talented players. I think JE will stick with Pears for now, but if it goes badly then I can see him preparing Toth to come in after the 2 week break. What I would go with: Pears Brittain Carter Hyam Pickering Travis Tronstad Coz-Dub Cantwell Sigurdsson Gueye 2-2 draw.

Good, solid win in the end, helped massively by QPR's sending off and the half time change of Cantwell for Pickering. It was the right call from JE and it changed the game in our favour. Prior to the sending off it had 0-0 written all over it. Was important to win this with two away games next. We never do well at Coventry and Plymouth have now picked up a couple of home wins so going to their place won't be straight forward at all. Thought Dolan had a better game, but Hedges was fairly poor. Ohashi struggled in the first half to get any kind of service and likewise, Gueye didn't really have too many moments to make a nuisance of himself. Felt very much like we were content to see it out at 2-0 by the time he came on. On we go. I'm thoroughly enjoying Rovers so far this season with JE at the helm.

Another tough to call game but one that is there to be won given QPR have had such an indifferent start to the season. Last season was our first home defeat to them in a really long time so I'm hoping we can correct that on Saturday. Feels like a game for Gueye and I'd like to see him and Ohashi play together from the start. Dolan was poor yesterday, so doesn't really deserve to retain his place in the team IMO. Wouldn't be surprised to see a few changes. Predicted team: Pears Carter Batth Hyam Pickering Travis Tronstad ACD Ohashi Hedges Gueye Going for a narrow 2-1 win. Gueye to bag his first league goal hopefully.

Poor game, but despite having the extra man advantage for a large period I'm quite content with the point. Preston look like they're going to really struggle for goals based on that performance. Rovers were poor, and yet quite possibly could have nicked it had Dolan's chance gone in. Fine margins. Another solid defensive display, and a 2nd clean sheet in a row. We look a tough side to score against right now, and limited Preston to long ranged efforts. The main criticism is that we didn't take the game by the scruff of the neck when they went down to 10. Felt that Dolan could've been hooked a lot earlier as he was not having a good game at all. Would've liked to have seen Cantwell and Cozier-Duberry get more game time. Also, why are we persisting with short corners AFTER bringing on Gueye?? GET. IT. IN. THE. MIXER! Shame we'll lose Beck for 3 games but I felt the ref did an good job at handling both red cards. Osmajic should get a lengthy ban, he seriously lost his head. 10 games minimum I'd have though. Unbeaten league run still intact. QPR are having an indifferent start to the season so next Saturday is definitely winnable at Ewood.

Despite Rovers great start to the season, this is the Championship where anyone can beat anyone. Plymouth beating Sunderland last weekend is evidence of that. This will be a tough game and Heckingbottom will have PNE up for it. I have a bad feeling that we'll struggle in this one and come out of it with a narrow defeat. Pears had a very good game against Bristol City so he's due another clanger, and I worry that it will cost us here. Really hope I'm wrong but I'm just used to Rovers not turning up in derby games for the most part. As for the team, there's no real need to change a winning side unless there's an injury, but chucking Cantwell in from the start might well be worth it here: Pears Carter Batth Hyam Beck Travis Tronstad Hedges Cantwell Dolan Ohashi

Bristol City always a tricky one for Rovers. They got thumped at the weekend to Derby, so this is a more than winnable game, especially at home. Obviously Gueye will be out so a change will be needed there. Think Cantwell will start on the bench given his lack of game time recently. Drop Pears. Predicted line-up: Toth Brittain Carter Hyam Beck Travis Tronstad Weimann Dolan Hedges Ohashi Rovers 2-1 win. Ohashi and Weimann with the goals.

IMO Moran was the right player at the wrong time for Rovers. Clearly has talent but he was never going to play in his best position due to our reliance on Szmodics. He was often shunted out wide or on occasion played CM where he got bullied about a bit.