JCRovers

If Ismaël wants to play a more expansive/attacking football next season, then he probably needs to break up the double defensive pivot in Tronstad and Travis. Works really good in a mid- to low block system and in trying to keep a clean sheet but the downside is that it doesn't offer enough men going forward centrally during transitions or counter attacks. Looking at the squad briefly suggests that there's an imbalance with a lack of good, left-footed players across the pitch. Wharton, Pickering/Ribeiro and Hedges are all decent as backups but they're either struggling with injuries or doesn't possess the athletic profile (lack of pace/mobility) that the head coach wants. We can't have slow players at the back if we want to start pressing higher up the pitch. You might ask: why trying to balance the number of left- and right footed players? The answer is that it enables players to attack space on both sides of the pitch more effectively. I've seen many times this season where our attack breaks down in final third because a player gets "trapped" on the wing with his weaker foot and is forced to stop his run and turn to play a pass backwards instead (e.g. Dolan or Kargbo running all the way to the byline on the left hand side). On that basis, I would probably switch formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 and go for the following transfer strategy: Sell (4): Pears, Hyam, JRC, Buckley Buy/loan (6/4): - Experienced goalkeeper as backup to Toth (permanent) and as replacement for Pears - Athletic left-footed center back (permanent) that goes into starting XI and as replacement for Hyam - Athletic left back (loan) that preferably goes into starting XI (like Beck did) - Athletic right back (permanent) as backup to Brittain and as replacement for JRC - Defensive midfielder as backup to Tronstad (loan) - Two left-footed central midfielders (one on loan, one permanent). Permanent signing should be good enough for starting XI and act as replacement for Buckley - Left-footed pacey winger (permanent) that goes into starting XI - Right-footed pacey winger to compete with Kargbo (loan) and as replacement for Dolan - Physical & mobile striker with good aerial presence to compete with Gueye (permanent) Of course everything comes down to money available for the summer so I wouldn't bet on this being probable/realistic given what has happened in previous transfer windows.

Fear a relegation battle to be honest. Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester coming down plus money-spending newcomers in Birmingham and Wrexham means that the league will likely become tougher next season. If we don't start well and have a fifteen or twenty point cushion away from relegation spots heading into January, then we're in trouble. We all saw the collapse at the turn of the year with a fragile squad once key players got injured due to the intense match schedule. In addition, if we can't get Travis, Tronstad and Brittain to sign new contracts or replace them properly if they're sold, then we're pretty much doomed for season 26/27 anyway. So yeah, my expectations aren't particularly high given how the owners and board have treated the club for the past fifteen years.

Of course everyone can make mistakes, including Batth. But Hyam seems to be making them more often which I've tried to point out, hence my criticism towards him. We conceded 48 goals this season, a massive improvement on last season's 74. Which kinda goes to show the remarkable job Eustace did given the limited budget and squad at disposal. The signing of Batth on a free proved to be a really good one: Games played: 35 Wins: 15 Draws: 6 Losses: 14 Goal difference: 38-33 Number of clean sheets: 13 (37 % of all matches) Average goals conceded per game: 0,94 Games not played: 11 Wins: 4 Draws: 3 Losses: 4 Goal difference: 15-15 Number of clean sheets: 2 (18 % of all matches) Average goals conceded per game: 1,36 Hyam was part of the defence that conceded 74 goals last season. You can argue loss of form, injuries, tactics etc. as reasons behind it, but there's no doubt in my mind that he has benefitted massively from having Batth next to him this season in terms of racking up clean sheets.

Fair enough, I respect your take on him. For my part, I've seen enough and would like to bring another central defender in during the summer window.

Haha, good one :)

Might be true. I only looked at the second half of the season. Hopefully Pears gets sold and we bring in an experienced keeper as backup to Toth.

Watch the highlights again and make your own opinion instead of listening to a journalist. Yes, these are all my own, subjective takes as to where the fault lies. But it doesn't change the fact that Hyam is directly involved or in close proximity to situations that leads to goals conceded. Coincidence? The way I see it (and this has happened many times), is that he appears to 'give up' on many occasions only to have a deflated look once the opposition scores. As if he couldn't do anything about it. To me that's either a sign of a player not willing to sacrifice himself for the team or he's simply not good enough to be starting in the first place. You would have thought that at 29 years of age with vast Championship experience that he would grow and become a leader for the team and help the likes of Carter etc. Instead, he has to rely on the leadership and experience of Batth to drag him around the pitch and tell him where to stand and who to mark. Without Batth next to him, he's completely lost.

Funny how some on here are defending Hyam so I took some time to research the goals we've been conceding during the second half of this season and where the defensive errors lie: Hyam (8 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 8 vs Sheffield Utd. 3/5 failed to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the back post for 1-1 (final result). vs Cardiff 15/3 #1 doesn't follow his man when running back to the box, forcing Carter to cover near post and JRC being in a 1 v 2 situation at the back post for 0-1. #2 failed to pick up the movement of Meite, allowing the striker to ghost behind and time his header ahead of him for 1-2 (final result). vs Stoke 12/3 misplaced pass in a dangerous area, leading to a transition for 0-1 (final result). vs Swansea 22/2 #1 despite having a five-yard advantage, he was still beaten for pace in the transition (1 v 1) and couldn't prevent Peart-Harris from scoring for 0-2. #2 failure to scan the pitch for threats, allowing plenty of space for Cullen inside the box to make it 0-3. vs Coventry 21/1 fails to cut off passing angle/ pick up marking as Thomas-Asante score from a tap-in for 0-2 (final result). vs Leeds 1/1 caused the penalty for 0-1 with a sliding tackle inside the box. Ribeiro (4 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 2 vs Watford 26/4 part of a zonal marking system? tried to reach the ball at far post by backing into the situation but got easily beaten in the air as Pollock timed it way better for 0-1. vs Millwall 18/4 failed to prevent Ivanovic from getting away a shot inside the six-yard box for 1-1. vs Sheffield Wed. 8/4 beaten easily in the air from a floating corner, resulting in a simple tap-in at the opposite post for 0-1. vs Derby 8/3 caught way out of position, forcing Hyam to close down opponent on the left flank and leave central defence exposed for 0-2. took a free kick in offensive area moments before but didn't manage to run back. poor tactical setup? Pears (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Derby 8/3 passively stands at the goal line instead of having a more forward position at the free kick, resulting in him reacting too late for the second ball when trying to come out and punch. Subsequently misses the punch which leads to an open goal for 0-1. vs Preston 31/1 failed to cover near post as Potts scored a consolation goal at the very end. JRC (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs Middlesbrough 4/4 tried but failed to intercept the pass being the last man in defence, leading to a 1 v 1 against goalie and an easy goal for 0-1. vs Coventry 21/1 easily beaten in the air as Simms heads it in from close range for 0-1. Tronstad (2 mistakes leading to goal). Points cost: 1. I'm discounting the Norwich game since they were down to ten men. vs Norwich 1/3 failure to close down Crnac just inside the penalty box for 0-1. Rovers played with ten men at that point. vs Burnley 4/1 failed to pick up the run from Flemming who heads it in for 0-1 from close range (final result) Hedges (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs Swansea 22/2 failure to prevent Vipotnik from taking a shot inside the six-yard box for 0-1. Pears slow to react as the ball barely had any speed. Carter (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Portsmouth 29/3 failure to follow Murphy as he plays one-two's with a teammate to get through on goal for 0-1 (final result). Beck (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 0 vs QPR 4/2 a bit unfair to be solely blamed since he was mismatched against Frey for 0-1 (height disadvantage). also, no player marking the near post despite free kick being close to the corner flag. ACD & Buckley (1 mistake each leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs QPR 4/2 ACD fails to pick up the run at the far edge of box, allowing a free header into the six-yard area. Scramble ensues before Colback scores from just outside the box for 1-2 (final result). Buckley failing to see Colback's run behind him. Sanderson (1 mistake leading to goal). Points cost: 1 vs Bristol City 25/1 caught sleeping as Wells ran in behind before taking a deflected shot for 1-2 (final result). --- As you can see, Hyam is by far the worst offender when it comes to critical defensive errors (i.e. errors that directly leads to goals and dropped points). Second worst is Ribeiro. Hyam is a poor passer, doesn't pick up marking / scan the pitch for dangerous movements and lacks severely in pace. A complete liability in my opinion which has been shown time and time again this season, especially when Batth doesn't play alongside him.

My squad review: GK: Toth, Pears Sell Pears and get an experienced GK as backup to Toth CB: Hyam, Wharton, O'Riordan, Batth, Carter Sell Hyam, offer Batth a new one-year deal and get a left-footed center back since Wharton has struggled with injuries. LB: Pickering, Ribeiro Position looks good in terms of depth and experience, yes. But it's still a weak area that lacks pace and directness when Beck returns to parent club. I would have Beck back on loan in a heartbeat if possible. RB: Brittain, Montgomery, Duru, JRC Need to tie Brittain down on a contract beyond 2026 as he's a key player. Montgomery was a positive surprise in his appearances given that he normally is a midfielder. Feels like Duru needs another loan before being able to compete for first team spot. I would sell JRC and get an athletic right back as cover for Brittain. DM: Tronstad, Travis, Garrett, Forshaw Need to have both Tronstad and Travis sign new contracts that extends their stay beyond 2026. Garrett needs another loan by the looks of it. I would not offer Forshaw an extension and get one experienced defensive midfielder on a permanent to provide backup and another on loan maybe. AM: Cantwell, Weimann, Buckley I would offer Weimann a one-year extension despite his injury issues. Buckley needs to be sold; his career has stagnated for the past two seasons. Think Ohashi could do a better job dropping a bit deeper to AM position and combine with the lone striker so not sure we need strengthening in this position. LW: Hedges, Kargbo Kargbo need to show a lot more next season in terms of improving on his decision-making, otherwise this position looks rather weak. RW: Dolan, Markanday Dolan will most likely leave so we need to bring in a pacey right winger as replacement and maybe a backup on loan. Markanday might need another season in L1 before being able to compete. ST: Gueye, Ohashi, Leonard Need a new striker, preferably a physical, mobile one with good aerial presence. Gueye has shown to perform well at times as target man but is inconsistent. Ohashi is decent as pressing forward but lacks pace to be a genuine threat in transitions or counter attacks. Summary: Sell (4): Pears, Hyam, JRC, Buckley Buy/loan (8): experienced GK, left-footed CB, loan in a LB (preferably Beck again or someone similar), athletic RB, two DMs (one permanent and one on loan), pacey RW, and a mobile, physical ST

Managers / head coaches Eustace 9 - overachieved with a limited squad and budget. Would've gotten us into playoffs if not for the lack of investment and commitment from board/ owners in January. Ismael 6 - horrible start but has saved his face somewhat in the last 5-6 matches. Still have my doubts whether he's the right man for the job. Board / owners 0 - no further comment needed other than they need to get out of the club. Players Overall rating: 8 - tipped for relegation at the start of the season but finished 7th in the end. Proved to be hard to break down when working together as a unit defensively. The chaos that unfolded in January with the lack of investment and Eustace leaving derailed the season. Individual player ratings: GK: Pears - 5, Toth - 6 DR: Brittain - 9, JRC - 4 CD: Hyam - 5, Batth - 8, Carter - 5, Wharton N/A, Sanderson - 4* DL: Pickering - 6, Ribeiro - 5*, Beck - 9 DM: Tronstad - 9, Travis - 8, Forshaw - 5*, Baker - 6 AM: Cantwell - 6, Weimann 6, Buckley - 4 LW: Hedges - 5, Kargbo - 4* RW: Dolan - 6, Dennis - 3*, Cozier-Duberry - 4 ST: Ohashi - 6, Gueye - 6, Woodrow - 4* * = January signings; some have had limited game time so hard to give a fair rating Best Rovers players of the season: Brittain, Tronstad, Batth, Travis and Beck. Underperformers of the season: Dennis, JRC and Buckley. Feels like JRC and Buckley have both taken a step back this year; perhaps time for them to move on.

I make judgements based on 46 games, not 6. He's out of contract in the summer and knows that he'll attract interest in the Championship if he puts in one or two good performances before transfer window opens. Does that make him a consistent performer or a good player all of a sudden? No. Given that contract negotiations have stalled for over 18 months, the club should've sold him last summer to avoid another one going basically for free. But then again, that money would've just disappeared into a black hole like the fees recovered from Szmodics and Wharton.

So you're telling me that Ribeiro, Hyam, Dolan, Hedges and Kargbo all had good games then? Setting the bar quite low there. Zero investment in January, Eustace leaves, zero investment in the summer, Ismael leaves in December/January. Rinse and repeat until club is relegated and devoid of any sellable assets.

They're both equally bad going forward in my opinion. Dolan is energetic but his lack of football intelligence is frustrating. Another annoying trait of Dolan is that he possesses good acceleration in tight areas but doesn't have enough pace to beat his man at longer distances. Thought he was an exciting talent when he first broke through the team but it looks more and more likely that Championship will be peak level in his career. Hedges? Squad player at best.

Toth 7 - solid display. Can't be blamed for the equaliser. Made some good saves. First choice next season ahead of Pears? Ribeiro 4 - poor crosses into the box. Never looks a threat going forward. Batth 6 - did his job well enough, won his fair share of headers. Hyam 3 - poor again; is the main man to blame for the equaliser as Ahmedhodzic was allowed space inside the box for a tap-in at the far post. Won a few headers but the mistakes he has made this season have proved to be costly ones. Hopefully one of the coaches can show him a few clips and explain that you have to concentrate and follow your marker instead of being a ball-watcher all the time. Brittain 8 - good performance with his driving runs on the right flank. Looks a constant threat with his crosses and overlaps. Tronstad 6 - solid together with Travis at the centre of the pitch Travis 6 - solid just like Tronstad. Won his fair share of tackles. Hedges 4 - worked hard defensively but never provides a threat going forward. Seems like the injury he picked up will keep him sidelined for at least a couple of weeks. Dolan 4 - same as Hedges, works hard but his decision-making in final third is horrendous. Final game in Rovers shirt? Cantwell 6 - worked surprisingly hard in winning the ball back on a few occasions. Front trio of Dolan, Hedges and Ohashi aren't good enough to make threatening runs that suits Cantwell's playmaking abilities, however. Ohashi 6 - worked hard, got a bit lucky with the goal as it took a deflection off the defender. Doesn't really suit him playing alone in a number 9 role as he's neither quick and/or strong enough to be a genuine threat. Subs: Kargbo 3 (Hedges) - way off it. Constantly making wrong decisions in final third. A disappointing performance. Gueye 5 (Cantwell) - did OK. Didn't have much to work on with the limited time he got on the pitch. Dennis 2 (Dolan) - horrible. Decision making was horrendous from his part. Doesn't even look fit? Instead of utilizing his pace, he opted for a pass on many occasions. Woodrow (Travis) N/A Forshaw (Tronstad) N/A Overall team performance: 4 - not good enough; very passive in the first half with the team happily sitting in a mid- to low block trying to stay in the game for as long as possible instead of being proactive. Pressing up the field was not synced with the team being played through far too easily. Rode their luck with Hamer missing a good chance at the back post. Second half provided a good start with goal from Ohashi but the team never looked like they were in control. Equaliser came after a bit of a scramble inside the box with Hyam failing to pick up Ahmedhodzic at the far post. Very disappointing final 30 minutes as the team never really built up any momentum to get a decisive winning goal. Valerien Ismael: 4 - poor choices/setup from a tactical perspective. Defensive approach in the first half followed by some strange subs (Forshaw/Woodrow for Travis/Tronstad) going into added time meaning that the team basically played with no midfield for the final ten minutes. Should've brought in Gueye way sooner to add a focal point inside the box for crosses. Failure to capitalise on the fact that Sheffield Utd. went down to ten men going into added time has to partially be blamed on the head coach as Rovers looked very disorganised and with no real plan.

Pathetic, barely created a chance against ten men throughout the entire 8 minutes of added time. Not good enough, simple as that. Kargbo and Dennis continously making wrong decisions in final third; some 'significant' signings that. Now watch the team collapse in the summer with all the outgoings.

Bring Dennis, Kargbo and Gueye in now. B*rnley and Preston leading. Have to go for it and add some energy and pace final 30 minutes.

I would rate us a 50/50 chance of claiming top 6 now if we win on final day: Bristol City - to draw or lose vs Preston Coventry - to draw or lose vs Boro Millwall - to draw or lose vs B*rnley Two of the three outcomes above need to happen. Likeliest ones are probably Millwall and Coventry dropping points. Hopefully the team realise that a draw isn't enough and that they attack from the very start of the game. Can't be passive and start playing after conceding a goal like they did against Watford. Sheffield Utd have nothing to play for on paper and are likely going to rotate their squad to improve match fitness for some players and rest key ones to avoid any injury risk.

Bloody hell. So we're gonna rely on f*ing B*rnley to do us a favor in the final game vs Millwall while Boro have to get a point or win against Coventry? Whoever wrote this script have to be insane...

Third time Walsh has been sent off this season. Managed to get a red merely two minutes after coming on as a sub against Oxford and was sent off against Rovers as well in our 2-0 win at home. Don't understand why the manager picks him to start knowing that he can cause trouble for his teammates at any point.

Hahaha, spot on impression. Club is a clown show to say the least. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if we finish seventh again.

Last two matches: Bristol City: Leeds (A), Preston (H) Coventry: Luton (A), Middlesbrough (H) Middlesbrough: Norwich (H), Coventry (A) Millwall: Swansea (H), Burnley (A) Rovers: Watford (H), Sheffield Utd (A) Frustrating that we always seem to pick up form at the very end of season when it's all but too late. We need six points, Millwall need to drop points in one of their remaining games and Coventry have to lose against Luton and draw against Boro on the final day. That horrendous five-game losing streak against the likes of Cardiff, Stoke, Derby and Portsmouth is really looking nasty right now, almost unforgivable given that a more pragmatic approach in those games would more than likely have secured valuable points.

My predictions for the summer: - Brittain, Travis and Tronstad will refuse to sign new contracts due to the spectacular implosion this season. In order to avoid another disaster (i.e. losing out on transfer fees like they did on Brereton Diaz), club has to seriously consider selling & replacing all three before window shuts. - Dolan will leave for another club in Championship, probably Derby should they stay up. - Cantwell is likely to hand in a transfer request or try to force himself out in some fashion. Also doesn't look the type of player that fits into Ismael's "plans". - Don't think neither Forshaw nor Weimann will be offered new contracts unless they are willing to lower their wages. If you ask me, club pretty much needs to sign a whole starting XI to compensate for all the imminent and upcoming departures. You can bet that the primary targets will be cheap loans and freebies at the start of the window to then try to get a last-minute deal for some mediocre player before it closes. If they couldn't offer Eustace any guarantees, what makes one believe that Ismael will be handed any transfer money all of sudden? It's just naivety/wishful thinking as always.

Christ. Even if only half of this is true, it would prove just how badly run this club is. SW rumoured to be retiring or leaving soon starts to make sense when SP/RG seems to have been going against him in many of the decisions made. I have no doubt that RG will be the next CEO and owners' right hand in terms of loyalty. Problem is he is clearly unqualified for the position; him pushing hard for VI is just one example, having disagreements with JP on transfer targets is another. Starting to believe that there's some kind of incentive/ bonus payment for board members if they manage to keep spending within the budget set by owners at the start of each season. This would explain why there never seem to be any transfer money left to spend come January and the infamous "botched" transfer moves all happened during this period as well. SP is looking like the real gatekeeper behind all these blockages; an act of evil for sure. Said it before that a downgrade of the Academy from Category 1 will spell the beginning of the end for the owners as it will drain the club of whatever small amount of talented players that comes through the ranks, and thus the value of sellable assets will slowly head towards zero. Would be kinda ironic if SP were to be the one that makes a horrible cost-cutting decision that will ultimately lead to owners being forced to sell the club...

Some can argue that he actually did supporters a "favor" by walking out mid-season for a club in the relegation zone. It made national headlines and revealed to everyone what an embarrassing state our club is currently at. You can call Eustace whatever you want but at least he demanded certain standards to be adopted from his employers on how to run things.

Tell supporters who wants to attend any of the remaining games of the season to bring inflatable snakes... #expressyourself As for myself, I'm done spending money on a club that I have supported for 30 years until new owners are in place. 15 years of this madness is a long enough time already. New owners, new board, new manager, new beginning.