GHR

90 minutes of absolutely nothing remarkable whatsoever. Why do I do this to myself?

Aye, not buzzing about this one either. I'll still be watching out of habit but in all honesty I am genuinely most interested to see if we can actually get any worse!

I hear The Heat Is On playing at Oakwell. No chance at Rovers!

On the Barnsley commentators tonight who are not too bad. Getting increasing tired of the Rovers iFollow commentary.

Good lad. Refs have put up with player's abuse, scheming and cheating for years so it's good to see one standing their ground not taking any grief. Turns out Drysdale's in the RAF, so that may account for something!

For me it was the same as after we beat Bristol City post-lockdown - I spent the next few days believing we were onto something then watched it gradually fade over the next month!

On your last point, Brentford away perhaps? Didn't get off to the best start but I was genuinely impressed at how we managed to walk away from that with something, especially when we've seen just what Brenford can do since.

Slough Town's joint-manager has said he's embarrassed to be associated with the League and Southport have called them the gift that keeps on giving. Proper football that is, give me that all day before the pristine, water tight PR statements you usually see these days. Such a shame though that this isn't a laugh, it's literally clubs trying to keep themselves alive. Tonbridge Angels have already said they'll go under by the end of the month if the situation continues. The National League hardly covered itself in glory finishing up last season but this has just been a shambles from start to finish. What it really needs, like all the protests and outraged levied at Fifa, the FA, the EFL and whoever is someone (i.e. a club) to stand up and actually resign, or organise a mass disobediance, or whatever. More power to them if they do.

And very well taken again judging by a video doing the rounds on Twitter before. Good to see one of ours go on loan somewhere and make a real impact!

It's so frustrating, he'll have an odd game, usually off the bench these days, where he makes a genuine difference (see the quick thinking v. Luton last week), but he'll then spend the next four or five games completely anonymous or absolutely crocked. Still a hell of a player (at this level anyway) on his day, but I fear as he gets older and no less prone he's basically spent at the level and consistency we require for a genuine promotion push. In a weird way, my complete and utter belief that we would not win today on account of our nosebleed / glass ceiling past has actually made this loss hurt a bit less than usual. I would love to know just what gets into their collective mindset when the top six is within touching distance, I am utterly baffled by it. If we were twelfth with nowt to play for we'd have won 3-1 today I'll bet.

Very impressive to score 9 goals in 3 league games last month and only have 2 points to show for it. They managed a 4-4 at the Valley amidst all that too! It would be interesting to know just how much 'home advantage' at all levels is diminished by lack of crowds.

Two well taken goals today. Good to see him getting what seems to be a proper opportunity rather than his fleeting appearances for us of recent months. Best of luck to him.

I only watch the actual 90 minutes on it these days. Sick of the commentators going through the pre-match / half time analysis etc. only to be interrupted by the same string of adverts on repeat every thirty seconds. Mind you, there's not even commentary so far on mine!

Stumbled across this the other day on Twitter, right up my street so I would have bought it regardless of the Lancashire content but it is a nice touch, as is the free P&P for BwD! Good to see this kind of thing still going, and indeed new titles emerging - there are some cracking smaller scale football mags and fanzines out there, and often times they make for much more interesting reading than the the bigger outlets. Look forward to receiving it!

I'd also let Gallagher go if we got something half close to resembling what we paid for him, as much for his sake as ours. I would genuinely love to know what he makes of his current utilisation at Rovers; he's only a couple of years of his theoretical peak as a forward so he hardly has the time to waste. At present they have the longest continual run in the same league of any of the 72 EFL teams I believe. They've done a remarkable job of establishing themselves.

I agree entirely, I apologise if my post came across as blaming our groundsmen; as you say they are trying their best having been dealt an abysmal hand and we all know who is ultimately responsible. In an ideal world they'd be asked for their honest assessment of the pitch, and the club would furnish them accordingly. We can but dream of that at Venky's-era Rovers...

As with most things with this club over the past decade or so, if you didn't laugh you'd cry. Mind you, given it's state on Saturday anything more than a thimble of water falling was always going to jeopardise tonight. The thing is though, there seems to be almost a malaise about it. We should have treated the very apparent worsening condition with all the haste we'd have treated a structural deficiency or broken utility. Instead we've let it get to the point where it genuinely resembles a farmer's field and rendered it unusable. We've still got a good two months of patchy weather yet too. Shambolic negligence.

Under normal circunstamces, football for me is in person or nowt - I am happy to watch streams at present as there is no viable alternative; but once things ease up again I won't be spending my weekends waiting for a two hours to stare at my laptop in. I accept everyone is different and certainly the younger fans these days are by and large as Joe says; but that absolutely breaks my heart. For me, football is as much about the tangible experience as the 90 minutes on the pitch - the trek in all weathers down Livesey Branch Road; contemplating if Swansea away on a Tuesday night is worth two days' leave off work; trying to find a decent pub on away days. The day that goes I think I'll get a new passtime!

The only positive in any capacity today was that it was free to watch. The saddest thing for me is that even with all of the firepower we had at our disposal off the bench, I never genuinely felt we had the capability to produce that moment of magic to get back in the game. Elliot then Dack obviously came very close, but aside from that briefest of flurries across the 90 minutes we never once knocked on their door. Arma came on and vanished into thin air. Brereton I fear has lost a little spark since his injury, though I am sure it'll return. Elliot is unfortunately looking increasingly wasted with us: that kid is a mile above anyone else on his day. Dack looked like a man who'd not played for a year. I love Dolan and the lad has scores of potential, but I fear right now he is still a bit undercooked, being rapid and skillful is only of use when it creates meaningful chances. I would love to know what instructions the substitutes were given today, or what the lads were tipped off about at half time. It seemed to me we just brought on more and more people who have increasing ability to score as the game went on, with little regard for how they actually fitted together in cohesive tactics. The only other point worthy of mention today was that Stewart Downing was pissed off when he was substituted. That outburst of anger and whatever else to me is worth a thousand "We go again next week [pointless emoji" tweets afterwards. It has been said on here a lot, but it is completely true: how we miss the likes of Todd, Short and Savage - not the most naturally gifted of players but ones who would have died if it meant three points.

Part of the usual media drive to blather about the 'Magic of the Cup', until the big boys enter then they can promptly forget about it and focus on (usually) foregone conclusion tat like Man United v. Watford or whatever.

I see iFollow has interpreted us as Douglas at LB, Bell at RB and Trav instead of Johnson at CB!

In fairness, he has height, boundless energy and an ability to make himself awkward...

Johnson had two shockers near the end, the cross which looked more like a rugby conversion and one right at the death where he skied it. It is true of others also but both Johnson and Holtby seem to have a weird consistency where they either have a worldie or are invisible, they're either a 9/10 or a 4/10 and never anything else. I would love to know what inspires one form or the other to turn up - certainly for Holtby I want to know why his form has fallen off a cliff since autumn.

They are indeed. It's not everything they say, but, as an example, right at the tail end of last season when we needed something daft like three straight wins and about four other teams to implode, at full time they still went on about how the play-offs were still an outside chance. Their opinions obviously, I just think on occasion they're in a considerable minority no matter how you divide up our fanbase. I guess at times it just feels like they state Club-approved sentences rather than what the most honest and popular assessment actually is. You're point about Warren is very fair, you do notice sometimes Neil trying to very gently stop him saying something!

I was watching Ayr v. Morton before Rovers tonight and the difference between Ayr's duo and ours is night and day. No bias, no hypothetical scenarios to justify comments ('If x happened when...'), praise for the opposition and criticism for themselves where needed, an insightful co-commentator who actually has a deep understanding of tactics and the opposition. I don't dislike either of the regular Rovers commentators but they wear very thin after a while. I'd love to know what they really thought sometimes!