15 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

I didn’t realise he was that short 😬

I didn’t either, he did ok under the high ball today.

19 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Travis must be exactly the sort of player Eustace rates. I imagine he will be keen to bring him back in.

Can see Trav going unless we get a decent offer.

I presume that should read - Can’t see Trav going unless we get a decent offer ? 

1 minute ago, Bethnal said:

Hyam (currently iffy), McFadzean (currently old), Wharton (currently injured), Carter and O’Riordan. We need at least one for next year, if we’re planning to play a back 3.

I’m prepared to be patient with Hyam, I’m not 100% sure he wasn’t carrying the after effects of that injury he had. However if we were to sell him I’d love to see Hill back. He’s hardly played since he went back to Bournemouth. 

6 minutes ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

Can’t say I did no, did he have any goals or assists? Bear in mind we were his second loan and he didn’t get many minutes here as with his first loan ,  I’d suggest he wasn’t setting the heather on fire in training either

Moran, for all the hype he came with , he was massively underwhelming, he wasn’t trusted by management either when we needed a goal or some magic. Reminded me of that lad we had, jack payne? Neat and tidy enough but you wouldn’t go into battle with him. We needed more from him 

I liked hill

i would have chrisene back as he was athletic and that’s what Pickering ain’t 

 

Yeah, Hill looked the part but we are probably better off for centre halves than any other position.

6 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Do you think he could play there in a back four?

Mm, possibly. He’d have to muscle up a bit. I’d have no problem playing him there in an injury crisis. I don’t know when Hyam cried off but I suspect Pickering was moved over to centre half very late in the day.

1 minute ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

His record was that he inherited a team that had gained just 5 points from the previous manager's last 11 games - a spiral clearly leading to relegation - and was charged with the brief of ensuring that we were not relegated, a task which he has successfully accomplished. Hardly the grounds for criticism, I would have thought.

If we have to take a similar collection of players to the Dingle Dome next season I’d rather be going with Eustace than the last manager that took us there. At least we know we can grind out results now if need be.

1 minute ago, Ossydave said:

You saw nothing in Ayari? He will go somewhere next season and do a job, if he plays. Much like Moran.

Agree on Chrisene I really liked the look of him, better than Pickering IMO

I thought Pickering looked good as a left sided centre back. He’s decent in the air, reads the play pretty well and has a good line in left footed clearances.

25 minutes ago, arbitro said:

It's been a long, long time since I loved a Rovers player like I love Sammie Szmodics. The season he has had is up there with the Shearers for me as he has pretty much single handedly kept us up. We should all be eternally grateful to him.

In all honesty I didn't think we would get anything today and would have to rely on other teams inadequacies. Our angst was even greater during the game as very few people in the stadium could get a phone signal to keep tabs on the other games. We heard that Wednesday had scored then Plymouth and then Birmingham. This is it now, we all know what is coming and we will drop into the bottom three any time soon for the first time this season. We were quite stunned but the Rovers fans kept at it and I sure were inspirational. Can we hang on, there is a long way to go but we are defending exceptionally well. Then Szmodics gets the ball out wide and keeps going and going, looks up and there is nobody to pass to. He opens up his body and passes the ball into the net. Unbridled job abounded amongst the Rovers fans. His second goal will live long in my memory primarily because if was like slow motion. Did he really celebrate before he put it into the net? That's it, we're safe now and we really enjoyed the moment. For a few minutes we forgot about the Indians, Waggott, Kean, Anderson and all the shysters that have besmirched our great name for 14 years as we bounced about and hugged each other. This is what Rovers means to us and they can't take that away.

As at Leeds Eustace got it right with his set up and tactics. Well done to him and the players who showed they care and have some pride. Lots of heroes in yellow today but my last word is for Szmodics. Fanbloodytastic.

That first goal was great. I didn’t know Sammi was that quick. He didn’t panic and shoot early but took it in close before threading the needle between the keepers left hand and inside of the far post. I classic image that will stay with me forever.

16 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Would infuriate me. 

Refused to back JDT but would back Eustace.

Be the most Venkys and Waggott thing ever.

Don’t worry, they won’t be backing anyone.

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Genuinely, who would you bring on?

Neither JDT or Eustace wanted to play Telalovic. Markanday is shite. Hedges has been injured all year. Leonard has been out injured for months. Moran is mentally back in Brighton. 

It's all well and going for the win, but not if you're bringing on sub-par footballers. 

Just look who we had on the bench today capable of influencing the game. Let me just list the bench - Wahlstadt, O’Riordan, Koumetio, Buckley, Moran, Garrett, Timon, Telavic, Ayari.
A dodgy keeper, two totally in-experienced centre halves, Buckley, OK, Moran and Garrett, bit part players, an apprentice centre forward and another centre forward who might as well be an apprentice. Ayari , OK 

Football now is a squad game, you have to have players who can change the direction of the game, we haven’t got any.

Then people expect us to go to the Champions and give them a football lesson.
 

1 minute ago, Penwortham Blue said:

I’ve not liked the football or some of the tactics but John Eustace has achieved what he was brought in to do. He starts with a clean slate from me, Swag and the incompetents certainly do not !

That’s how I feel. It’s been a real season to forget for all sorts of reasons. I think the guy deserves a chance. He kept his nerve today in a massive pressure match. Especially in the second half when we were staring into the abyss given every other result was going against us.

1 minute ago, superniko said:

Fair fucks to Waggott. That bus does look swanky. Purple lights and everything. 

Well, nobody who’s earned that trophy before has earned it more than Sammi That was a prodigious effort. He’d no right to score that first goal - the defenders were favourites - but he did !

11 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Fantastic result today and a relief to not end a dismal season in relegation.

Leicester played into our hands, they didnt look arsed at all and our tactics were very much sit in the 18 yard box and thump it away whenever possible, Szmodics again the man to break away twice and save us as he has done all season.

Some of the individual performances were excellent in defence. Pickering potentially man of the match, Carter had another slip up but otherwise was good as was McFadzean, Pears also made a superb save and managed to avoid chucking one in. 

Fair play to Eustace today, to win today and at Leeds were 2 fantastic backs to the wall results. Still dont think he is the man to take us forward as you cant just rely on sitting really deep without an attacking plan but he deserves credit today. It will be him in charge so the whole squad needs gutting, difficult with likely a minimal budget, we have to keep Szmodics and we need to totally change our approach. Its all well and good getting an occasional brilliant result as an underdog, but we need to have a plan to attack rather than the rugby tactics. Winning home games has to be the base of any success and Eustace hasnt won a single one.

 

I’m not Pickering’s biggest fan but I thought he was really excellent today playing as a left sided centre back. It could be that’s his best position. His lack of real pace isn’t shown up as much there and he’s facing the play more than at left back.

James Ray - If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody

47 minutes ago, roverandout said:

You could say the same about Leicester tbf

I thought Leicester gave it a good go from half time until we scored. 

5 hours ago, harryhealless1928 said:

Ive said it before and Ill say it again. Super Sammie Szmodics is easily in the 50 greatest Rovers players of all time going back 3 centuries. Yes Tugay & Alan Shearer did it at the top level but they were surrounded by good or great players. Sammie had to do it in a poor team ,pulling them all up by his own bootstraps. 

As poor as Brittain & Pears have been this season at least they turned up today.

Markanday & Hyam need releasing on frees.

JE at least kept us up,Ive no confidence JDT would have done with "non-defending"..

So the "bad to watch"football with clean sheets can work....good work Daz/Persil Eustace !!

Everybody turned up today, even the lads on loan. I’m just thrilled for the fans who’ve followed Rovers away through thick and thin. They deserved that.

7 hours ago, M_B said:

Agree completely. 

It's been a grind, but any coach who can get 6 clean sheets in 17 out of our team deserves the chance for a fresh start next season. 

To get this set of players up to a win 1-0 away at Leeds and 2-0 away at Leicester ? Nah, let’s  sack him and play football managers Russian Roulette again.

Just now, BankEnd Rover said:

Correct but Travis won’t accept being 2nd choice.

It’s a 16 a side game now not 11 a side. Not having adequate subs to bring on has got us on the brink of relegation.

48 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

I’ve been on a cricket field all afternoon. Couldn’t stand the strain. What a relef. Well done Sammie Szmodics

Henry V, Act IV, Scene III Jim.

1 hour ago, neophox said:

We won with a back four 🙂

Really ? Not how I saw the line up.

12 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Possibly other than the Academy which seems to do well; that may be an area of the club in which the owners don't interfere.

Yes the academy is our one success story. How long for is in the lap of the gods.

9 minutes ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Just hope the players are all fired up for this and we at least go down fighting if it happens. 

If we sit back and try playing for a draw but they still knick a goal and we go down that would be unforgivable and Eustace would have to go. (and I've been in favour or on the fence about Eustace up until today) 

I first saw us go down in 1966 and I’ve seen several relegations since then. I don’t recall us going down fighting ever.

No element at the club is set up for success. It’s as simple as that.

5 hours ago, Paul Mani said:

This is no more Eustace’s fault than it is Ten Hag’s fault at United. Both clubs are rotten.

Rovers are in a process of ‘managed decline’. The budget gets cut every year, and it shows…in the stadium, around the ground and on the pitch. I saw a table this week showing that only Rotherham had a smaller wage budget than us this season.

Eustace has a good name within football. He’s well regarded by some of the old pros I know and you will struggle to find a fan of Birmingham or Kidderminster who have a bad word to say about him.

I’m not advocating him and the jury is still out for me but, Blackburn Rovers make it hard for any manager on the planet to succeed. Look at the January window for example. We had won one game since November and they loan out the club captain, sell the most prestigious talent we’ve had in recent history and then buy no one and ‘forget’ to press send on the American Striker we wanted to sign. Add this to last Summers clusterfuck, the O’brien fuck up the January before then and the Rothwell for Dembele and Jed Wallace the January before that, and you’d be forgiven for thinking someone at the club actually wants us to go down. They haven’t made it easy for any manager…that’s for sure.

Im relaxed-ish about today. Because honestly, the curve we’re on means even if we survive, it’s only a matter of time before we go down.

Hope change is around the corner. 

10/10