Excellent second-half recovery last night so credit to Sheron who must given them a rocket at half-time and credit to the players for the fight-back.  After a dreadful first-half the second-half showed plenty of spirit and fight.

I thought Charlie Weston was excellent in midfield and completely overshadowed the lad from Brighton who was fairly anonymous before being withdrawn at half-time.  Pears looked decent on his comeback and hopefully will quickly be restored to the first team.  Batty, after a shocking first-half, looked more like the player he can be in the second-half.

The disappointments for me were Ennis - who really does look poor - and Markanday.  Both need to go out on loan and try to get regular football.

12 hours ago, Andy said:

Pears apparently at fault for both goals.

Anyone who genuinely thinks he's any better than Leo has a very, very (very) short memory.

Disagree that Pears was at fault.  It was appalling defending that cost the goals not the 'keeper at fault.  At the end, with Reading pressing, he made some excellent clearances from corners.  Can't get back soon enough for me.

Getting into the hat for the next round is the only thing that matters in the cup.  It was an entertaining game, particularly in the second-half.  However, on the downside, it was disappointing to see how easy our defence was ripped open  in the first half.  We simply can't keep giving away these easy goals.  This is something JDT has to sort out sooner rather than later.  Don't mind if it's a change of personnel or system, but something needs to change to make us more solid at the back.

Pleased that Leonard scored as it will boost his confidence.  The lad does get into good positions in the box and hopefully will start to convert a higher percentage of the chances he gets.

Once again, today showed just how much we rely on Szmodics.  I can't believe that there aren't clubs looking at him in this window.

Whilst I'll wait to see what these two new kids are like, I must say that it's a very uninspiring start to the transfer window.  We lose an experienced Championship player to a team well set to get a play-off place, at the very least, whilst we bring in a couple of kids who are unlikely to start games once players return to fitness.

It's utterly depressing that we have become a development club - seemingly for other club's players as well as our own - rather than one looking to challenge for a play-off place.  Mid-table at best this season I fear but could easily get dragged into something worse if results don't improve.

JDT continues to say he wants experienced players bringing in and yet again he is given two youngsters to develop instead.  Two youngsters who will return to their own clubs in the summer and in the meantime block to development of our own youngsters.

It seems the manager wants one thing and the director of football delivers the complete opposite. 

At the end of the day the only style that matters in football is a winning style.  Fourteen League defeats already would suggest whatever our style is it certainly isn't delivering wins on a regular basis.  JDT knows that to win games you needs experienced players which is why he keeps going on about it at every opportunity.  It's a pity that nobody seems to be listening to him.

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Why change the team style just for Travis? 

Perhaps because we've lost 14 games already so clearly the present style isn't delivering results on a consistent basis.  We are crying out for experience so hopefully there are experienced players coming in and not just more kids to develop.

34 minutes ago, rigger said:

Both boxes ticked by Batty, yet he seems further away from the first-team than ever. What has happened there ? 

His form has been awful this season in the Under-21's.  Seems to be going backwards for some reason.  Totally overshadowed by Duru at right-back who looks the part and is getting the bench at senior level.

9 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

 

Would you go back to 2 wingers who can beat a man and bang in a cross over the boring pass-pass modern game? I would.

Nothing better than watching two good wingers delivering crosses into the box for a centre-forward to finish.  Shearer and Sutton didn't do too badly from the service off Ripley and Wilcox. 

1 minute ago, Gav said:

Football today is all about keeping possession at all costs Parson, hence why every club in the land now plays out from the back. I've been watching football for many many years and the football today is nothing like I've ever seen before, if only for the possession side of things, its obviously much quicker too. 

It's always been the same Gav.  Spurs great team of the early 60's played a possession based game.  As for the speed of the game, it seems to me that in many ways it's played at walking pace with sudden bursts of speed injected at key moments.

I've loved watching the way JDT is trying to get our players to play but ultimately, football is about winning and possession on its own will not achieve that.  The basics of the game never change.  The ability to defend well and keep a clean sheet whilst creating and taking chances at the other end are constant fundamentals which this season we are struggling to get to grips with.

14 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Football has moved on from then when it's about movement, skills, passing the ball to feet and playing good football now. 

 

Chaddy, how has football moved on from what Tyrone was describing?  I suspect I'm of a similar generation to Tyrone and the football that Jack Marshall produced in the early sixties was all about movement, skill and passing.  There isn't one player in the present team who would have got anywhere near the first team in the early 60s.  At present we have nothing that comes close to matching a forward line of Fergie, McEvoy, Pickering, Dougie, Harrison, for skill, flair and goalscoring thrills.   

Another frustrating afternoon at Ewood.  I love the football we play but, ultimately, the only way fans will return on a regular basis is with winning games.  Seven home defeats in the first half of the season is a difficult sell to fans - no matter how cheap the tickets.  At the end of the day those who aren't die-hards, want to see winning football - not unique to Rovers, it's the same at every club.

Personally, I think we've been fortunate with the previous manager and the present one.  Mowbray did a good job steadying a club that look beyond hope and JDT has built on that and produced some superb football over the last eighteen months.

Recent results have simply highlighted the threadbare nature of our squad.  It's all very well relying on an Academy to produce players but it's unrealistic to expect the Academy to produce three or four players every year who are up to the required standard.  Looking the bench in the past three or four games shows just how unrealistic that aim is.

We are crying out for some experienced, older heads, to help the younger players and in particular to help see out games when we are in a winning position.  A couple of 29 or 30 year-olds who've been around the block would make all the difference to this squad. 

Until we get the right mix of youth and experience I think we will continue to struggle for consistency.  Young players are still learning and will make mistakes - Leo being a good example yesterday.  He made some excellent saves but, ultimately, two errors late in the game cost us.

With little or no money available in January it's difficult to see how things change.  At the moment we are a decent mid-table Championship team but no more than that.  Financially, we are falling further and further behind from the club's who have realistic chances of a top six finish.

Nonetheless, congratulations to all concerned in helping to get the crowd figure up yesterday.  It was a great effort.

I think recent games have illustrated just how important Dolan is to the way we play.  At the time of his injury he was in terrific form and linked so well with Szmodics and Moran.  The three of them created chances with their quick interplay.  Also Dolan led the press in a way that Leonard isn't able to do because he is a different type of player.  In recent games both Moran and Szmodics seem to be dropping deeper and deeper and therefore have less impact on the game in terms of attack.  Again, it just illustrates how limited the options are for JDT - especially as two of the summer signings Ennis and Telalovic seems well short of the standard required at the moment.

Sadly, we are paying the price for starting the season with such a small and inexperienced squad.  Many of the players are now running on empty - both mentally and physically - after so many games without the chance to rotate players.  I fear for us over the Christmas period unless we can get some of our injured players back,.

Yesterday we were outplayed from start to finish by a better team with far more resources than ourselves.  I think JDT has worked wonders with the limited resources available to him but, sadly, I'm sure he knows that promotion is really a pipedream at the moment.  We are what we look - decent Championship team that sits comfortably in mid-table but no more than that.

Tried to buy my usual seat, as a season ticket holder, online.  It all went well until the checkout.  Ticket master didn't recognise my login details - even though I was already logged onto the Rovers site.  It asked me to create a new password.  Which I did and then tried to login with the new password and again it wouldn't accept it.

Eventually I rang the ticket office and a very helpful lady allowed me to buy the ticket over the phone and then emailed the ticket for me to print out at home.

There are so many issues with this system - doesn't cater for anyone without IT facilities or a smartphone.  However, even then the technology clearly isn't reliable.  I still can't workout how printing paper tickets at home is going digital or helping the environment.

I thought we did well in the first half but looked tired both physically and mentally in the second-half.  Understandable really given the lack of options.  I thoroughly enjoy the football that JDT has us playing but am realistic enough to know that the play-offs are a non-starter with a squad this small. 

I always felt that Leeds had another gear they could go to if needed and in the end I thought they played within themselves after the second goal.  Looking at their bench compared to ours and it shows just how difficult this League is in terms of trying to compete over a season with the clubs with money and decent squads.  Once again, our bench looked very weak in terms of changing a game with none of the subs making any impact when they came on.

Having no money to spend in January is a frustration but a fact of life.  I've lost count of the seasons I've followed Rovers when we've had to sell before we could buy.

I thought this game illustrated just how important Dolan is to the way that JDT plays.  We missed his energy and the high press he brings to the team.  Leonard is a totally different type of forward.  In the past couple of months Dolan has linked up well with Szmodics and Moran and that was missing today.

I thought today illustrated just how thin we are as a squad.  The bench was made up of Under-21 players with only Garrett and Markanday having experience at senior level.  In many ways it just seemed a game too far for a group of players who looked shattered at times.

Today was poor but JDT has worked wonders to get these players into the position we are in.  We are crying out for a bit of experience in key positions but, sadly, that costs money which we don't have.  

7 minutes ago, 47er said:

He's also played a big part in these cockups at the heart of defence when we play it about within a few yards of our goal.

We could have conceded 2 from this early in the first half. Can we not?

Agree. At the moment he doesn't convince as a player ready for the Championship.  He's young and has time to learn but for me looks like another development project rather than a senior 'keeper.

Long day yesterday with a 4am start, but a fantastic performance and result.  A real gave of two halves in terms of performance.  First half we played some wonderful football and in the second, when we went down to ten men we showed grit and character.  Everything you want from a team.

I thought Szmodics, Dolan and Moran were superb as an attacking three in terms of their movement and eye for the pass - not to mention the finishing of Szmodics and Dolan.

My only concern remains the goalkeeping position.  Leo looks a bundle of nerves on crosses and too many of his saves bounce off him into dangerous areas.  I think this is going to become an increasingly problematic position for Rovers unless we can bring in a relatively cheap and experienced 'keeper.  At the moment, neither of our senior 'keepers looks the part for me. 

No complaints today as I thought we were beaten by a better side.  Swansea moved the ball at pace and with purpose.  Their passing was crisp and they got the ball into dangerous areas which caused our defence problems.

It might have been different if we had taken the chance in the opening minutes - a perfect ball from Dolan which JRC and Brittain completely missed.

After the opening 15 minutes, Swansea took control with Grimes running the game in midfield.  Their front men were quick and always looked dangerous.

Too many of our players were slow and wanted too many touches which Swansea didn't allow.   As on Tuesday, Sigurdsson offered very little and it was no surprise that JDT said Sigurdsson and Brittain were removed for tactical reasons.  However, the changes didn't really work either.  

I think today highlighted just how threadbare our squad is becoming and with no likely reinforcements in January, unless there is a massive turnaround in the financial situation, mid-table looks the best we can hope for. 

4 hours ago, arbitro said:

Wharton played 45 minutes, Garrett 90 minutes and Ennis 60 minutes.

Rovers were well beaten by a bigger and stronger Accrington side who fully deserved their win. In truth Rovers were poor and apart from Ennis scoring twice I can't find any positives. Players continually conceded cheap possession through carelessness and three of Accringtons goals could be attributed to Rovers basic errors. Ennis aside I don't think anybody impressed the watching Tomasson although Adam Wharton going off at half time could be an indication that he will play on Saturday but he was generally lethargic in his play with the occasional glimpse of his ability. 

To be honest, a number of our younger lads are still a long way off being ready for the first team.  As you say, Stanley thoroughly deserved their win and looked the better team.  Although Ennis took his goals well, he still looks some way off being fully match fit.  Missing so much of pre-season is bound to tell and they need to get him up to speed as soon as possible.

I must admit that Wharton's form is a worry.  I wonder if the lad is struggling with the pressure that is being put on him to play every week and be the key playmaker.