Mattyblue

My dad always says we had a better side in ‘70. Alas an injury to Gordon Banks and the rest is history...

We’ve had many a manager that have taken poor form into a new season. I won’t mention the bald one as I’ll get the ‘YOU CANNOT COMPARE OUR TONE TO HIM!’. But Souness, Kidd, Hodgson, Mackay, Harford off the top of my head.

Want him sacked or just worried, opinions don’t just reset because it’s August

Just now, Harry The Bass said:

I’m sure you’ll find one particular poster predicted Evans on the wing yesterday MB

Ok, that’s ‘many predicting Smallwood and Evans would be back, is it?

Nobody said Smallwood and Evans would be the two.

Johnson had been repeatedly praised by poster after poster. 

If you have a problem with perceived negativity, fine, but be accurate.

It is a valid point. Just making a general point about ST sales v ST holders.

3,500 walk ons as in reality we have 9,500 issued STs that are counted in the crowd figure. Waggott has just decided to ignore the 1,000 complimentary STs that are always handed out and just talk about STs sold this summer.

The 8,500 figure has led to much confusion and has led to a lot of hand wringing, as it sounds much lower than usual, but in reality we have sold our usual Championship amount post 2012.

I recognise that Chris Martin fella. Goes everywhere following the team, spending thousands presumably. 

That is fairly mild criticism to me. You need a thicker skin as a footballer, surely?

The only time I’ve been impressed with Bennett was when he went in the middle with Smallwood in League 1. He didn’t particularly stand out wide at that level.

In this league, he won’t get in the side in the middle as we have better players, he’s anonymous wide and appalling at right back. 

Should be a squad player at the very best. ‘Top pro’, ‘manages the dressing room’, ‘part of a close knit group’, all well and good, but it’s a ruthless business, all about improving and evolving the team constantly, if you can’t cut it, you can’t cut it.

Personally think 14,000 was a decent enough crowd for a mid table second division club, a town club with a small catchment area, a club that has treaded water (at best) for nearly a decade. Crowds are now a fair bit higher than they were 2/3 years ago. The support is doing their bit for not a lot of improvement on the pitch. Not embarrassing in the slightest.

What embarrasses me is Rovers fans who won’t defend our crowds against no nowt idiots on social media and in real life. 

We had 16,000 on the opening day in the PL against Fulham in 2005/2006. THAT was embarrassing.

Shame a few of those who popped down to see how we are progressing probably won’t be back for a while...

Lenihan gets away with it because he’s the best of a bad bunch.

He’s always looked like a converted midfielder to me. Often out of position, dives into tackles- that would be great in the Travis position, breaks up play, but can be fatal at centre half. Terrible distribution, not particularly dominant in the air.

Obviously he stays in the side, he’s the least of our worries back there, but a symbol of how bad we are defensively if he’s the lynchpin.

Bennett obviously went searching for tweets about himself because he’ll have known he was bloody awful.

Seasons often start with players given a chance too many and they quickly disappear from the side, I’m thinking all the way back to the days of Dominic Matteo et al.

So normal circumstances that would be it for the likes of Mulgrew and Bennett, alas I doubt it this time, TM just isn’t the ruthless type. 

39 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Well we had almost 13000 home fans on today looking at the figures. Not brilliant but moving in the right direction. 

Shame about the performance and result. A good start and some optimism might have seen us build on those figures but a lot will have gone home disappointed.

Not far off a thousand more than turned up for Millwall last season. Though that was the 2nd game of the campaign.

Around 2,000 up on the opening game against Norwich in the 2016/17 season.

So obviously a sign of optimism... alas typical Rovers to perform like that!

Tosin in, Mulgrew out is a start, Charlie’s done. 

But we have serious issues at full back and for me they will totally derail our season if he doesn’t wake up ASAP.

Just now, Paul Mani said:

No nearly means he’s nearly good enough and I think I could give him a bit longer.

He’ll never be good enough, he just doesn’t have it, sorry.

And if we are going to stick with Bennett at right back then we can wave goodbye to anything resembling a decent season.

Fairly clear to me they won’t be getting a point deduction for Brentford.

Fair enough, precedent set.

Just now, Paul Mani said:

I think he lacks conviction. He nearly does all of those things well but mostly falls short. 

Bennett and Mulgrew are TRULY awful. Nyambe needs to ask for a move if he’s considered a lesser RB than Bennett. 

‘Nearly’ doing something isn’t good enough. If anything he’s getting worse.

Just now, DE. said:

Those quotes really are damning. Somebody in the press needs to play this to him and ask what's changed? Judging by today's match absolutely nothing.

Of course they won't. It'll be "hard luck Tony, played well today, just couldn't quite get going", "yeah we played well but Travis wasn't good enough and Rothwell was terrible when he came on, at fault for the second goal was the lad, destroyed our momentum. Brilliant performance from Benno though, if we had eleven of him on the pitch we'd be right up there lads, I'm telling you".

At our level ‘the press’ is Rovers in house media, Sharpe and Bayes from Radio Lancs... Andrew Neill, they ain’t.

Just now, Paul Mani said:

See now I still think there’s a player in Amari’i Bell

Nowhere near good enough for this level. Can’t defend, terrible control, can’t use the ball offensively.

Yes pace, but nothing else a full back needs.

Just now, Sparks Rover said:

He's a wing back really I think.

Is he? Bloody bad ‘un, whatever he is.

Left back surely? Amari’i Bell must be one of the worst full backs we’ve had in 30 years.

Get the sentiment. But be realistic, he’s well ensconced at the club. Close relationship with Waggott and the owners.

No chance he goes anytime soon, even if he oversaw a relegation.

59 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Wonder if Bolton will miraculously have some players available today who weren't with them yesterday? Shady dealings from the League to enable them to play their games? 

Yep. Three new signings.

Charlton, similar club to us in many ways, operate buses to the Valley from across Kent, as like us much of their fanbase has moved from its origins, south east London for them, the town of Blackburn for us, further afield.

Presumably most of the 1,000 complementary STs will be in the JW?

As will complimentary match day tickets?

Just now, Paul said:

 

As for the last sentence. It keeps people happy 

You haven’t read it then?