I prob shouldn't join this chat, but as well as we battled, their keeper didn't have a save to make, despite all our decent build-up play. Our 5 attempts on target were not worth the name. Toothless doesn't come close to summing up our recent damming run of fails. Sorry, I know we out-fought them tonight....

I agree with the opinions on here that we have bottled it by failing to win for sooooo many games at such a vital stage of the season, but I also agree that we enjoyed and dominated the game for an hour, although I think that was much to do with our twelfth man. I honestly believe the brilliant support was partly an outpouring of frustration following such a barren, self-destructive, capitulating run of winless games, just really unforgivable, and partly deriving from a total 180° turnaround in our substitutions policy, which directly contributed to the loss of 6 points and an FA Cup semi. Oops, that's what happens when you avoid the forum following such a disappointing run, then jump back on at such an booze-related, emotional moment. I agree 2 wins will def get us over the line, but to say we are not the form team is the biggest understatement since Roy Hodgson stated 'we are not a glamour club, us...(burp)'. Oh well, I'm really enjoying our vastly improved playing out from the back style(tonight not the best example), and of course, Adam Wharton.... Onwards.... Keep the faith, tonight was electric...

That's massive for us if they can hang on or sneak a win. Good for us to be in touch with 4th place, if not 3rd....

Some of us have very quickly forgotten our relative dip in form from the Burnley game until Feb, and for me the only criticism of any players (taking Stoke out of that equation) since mid-Feb is their finishing of often very simple chances. Criticising our midfield when they have created numerous good chances for our misfiring forwards, seems really shortsighted. It isn't long ago that we were nervously passing it around at the back, and taking forever to get past the halfway line, and just not creating any chances for Dack and BBD. Since Dack and Diaz were injured, we have played a different, faster, more dynamic game, and created, usually, loads of clear chances. It us not Morton or Buckley's fault that we're not scoring 4 every game. A few on here would have played Garrett ahead of Morton, and in my opinion we would have been much less forward thinking, as you will see as soon as 'terrible' Tyler is injured. I really can't fault us in 4 out of every 5 games at the moment, and that is promotion form. If we can just find that composure in the box to score 2 or 3 when we're on top, that will be the icing. I'm happy.

Ok, Morton was 'terrible', so who would you have played instead of him, as I assume you wouldn't select a player who you know is likely to be 'terrible'. Buckley got the same amount of criticism not long ago, so who would you play instead of Buckley and Morton? No doubt you will say Wharton, who is a year or 2 behind the other 2, and did not show any more consistency than JB or TM. Morton, like it or not, played a big part in what should have been a 4 - 1 victory, just as he did at Leicester. JDT doesn't want him to break forward, or thread every ball between the centre-backs. He does exactly what the manager wants, and he orchestrated, alongside the brilliant Travis, what should have been a comfortable victory. I also didn't feel like he allowed Reading many easy opportunities. The criticism is not consistent with his performances, I really don't get the agenda against Buckley and Morton. They have guided us brilliantly to a top 6 finish, which would have been top 4 if their mates could finish their numerous chances. Many of us can see this, and celebrate it. Am looking forward to the reasoned responses...

Just as I think Buckley is a really good player, in spite of many wanting him out of the club, Morton is also a good player, in spite of many of us wanting him sent back to Liverpool. I do not want Garrett playing instead of either of them. All 11 again played well tonight. We cannot keep wasting 5 golden chances per game, however my hope that each of the culprits will surely improve their finishing with sooo much practice, has not come to fruition. Composure in the box is what we should be focusing on, for hours and hours. Good performance tonight, and very good win. With our game in hand against Burnley, we can only expect a point to be gained, so it is still so tight for that valuable 6th place. Without Morton though, my prediction is that we'll come 7th, so his fitness and consistency is vital. Phew, what a game....

Wow, v quiet for a season-defining match night. Am hoping to walk down to Blues, but the weather putting me off. Will also put off quite a few walk-ups, unf. Can we start tonight like we did against Sheff U & Leicester, or will it be Wigan and Stoke? Do the basics and we win. Unf, this is still a v big if.... Come on, boys ! ! !

Phew, thanks for recovering 👍

Did anyone try for the 100? Wasn't showing at 2.15, unsurprisingly....

Yes, they seem more interested in how it looks on tele than in the general, all-round atmosphere. If all full-price adult Riverside tickets were £5 less than the cheapest BBE/JW ticket, I genuinely think we would have bigger crowds, as well as better atmos. This also needs to be reflected in ST prices. Come On You Mighty Blues! Only 6 hours to go!!!!

If the Luton game has anything on it, there will be 16,000+ Rovers fans there. Tonight's deal was to increase the home attendance from 11 to 13,000+, which it has done. It's vital that the team has the backing to get over the line tonight, as has happened in a couple of tight games. The extra attendance, in my opinion, will help to do this. It could be vital. What we really need to do is make the Riverside £10 for all remaining games, which would make for a better all round atmosphere, but tonight and the final 5 game package, is likely to be the end of promotions. I do have a sneaking feeling, tho, that they will find a way of adding 3000 to the Luton gate, esp if we need to win it.... Massive game tonight, COYB!!!!

Buckley is a real blow, and brings into sharp focus the Broughton O'Brien debacle. Morton will come in, but so little cover now that he'll have to bring Wharton (A) in from the cold. About time. Broughton has done absolutely nothing of merit since he arrived. It really didn't mean enough to him to personally get those transfers over the line. Will now quite possibly break our season....

This is a really good point, and not good news for them, as I think they can only play one way, as they showed there last season. They were a disgrace. Good that the ref will feel under pressure to penalise correctly and consistently.

Yes, I agree. But when he starts in midfield, he is sooo much less effective. As we saw to our cost on Friday, full backs moving into midfield can cost us goals away from home, but I think its really works at home, so if JRC is fully fit, he plays at FB/WB. This game is a big chance for JDT to release the shackles and overwhelm a poor team.

All tickets £10 or less. ALL AREAS! Cheaper to go than stay at home ! ! 🤣⚽️🥳

Yep, agreed, but Sunderland win or a draw are both beneficial results for our nervous play-off push. This result shows how poor we need to be to drop out of the play-off places. I'm not tempting fate, but any improvement we can make to our goal difference on Wed could be pivotal.... Come on, TM....

Literally no different than Wigan, Cardiff, Reading and all the other non-weekend evening away capitulations. We look like we don't want it. Not one performance in 45 minutes. Summed up by Dolan's decision to almost duck when he KNEW the goalscorer was behind him. And if Stoke want to play the same way in the 2nd half, the boy will be presented with a hat-trick. Every single player has given the ball away. For some reason we were/are not ready.... Men against boys. Hope it's reversed in the 2nd half, but Neil has us in his back pocket. Big 45 now....

Well, I think this team selection will satisfy 80% of fans, which is all we can ask for. Think we are 50/50 in terms of Pickering v Brittain. Both playing well. I agree that Brittain is one of the best full-backs in the division, and will be our 1st choice going forward, but Harry deserves his place after Saturday. This game is the unstoppable force v the immovable object, although Stoke are still well and truly in the midst of their inconsistent period, whereas we have entered a spell of impressive consistency. That should mean we win or draw, and a win would cement our belief that we are heading to Wembley twice. Oops, that slipped out. COYB!!!!!!!

Hope so. Looking good so far. May be another sales boost at 10pm tonight....

Massive game. One win from our 1st visit to the new Wembley. Tickets on sale on Wednesday. The footballing authorities have made it more difficult for 5000 Rovers' fans to get there, but the club have made a generous offer of discounted coach travel, se be there we will! Was it March '93 that a young Jason Wilcox was selected to take the 1st penalty in the shoot out following a 2 - 2 draw at Brammall Lane in the cup quarter final? Took me years to get over that decision, in fact I'm still not over it 🤣

Good post. So, there is no way of getting to the quarter final on public transport. Sure the FA'S sustainability policy will be fully in line with that. The inevitable clause stating that sustainability concerns should only apply when financial and TV priorities allow, should get them off the hook on this one. If there is a train strike on the Saturday, there may be no quarter final game where fans can get home via public transport. Fulham fans may be able to get back to London, but not to south London. I'm sure this will be noticed and mentioned, but there is a good chance there wasn't a single mention of this in the planning of the fixtures. Pitiful. And it WILL have some impact on the away teams' chances of progression. Please could someone start a Quarter Final thread. Cheers.

My prediction is that if he plays the team that won on Tues, we will play well for 90 min. If we replace Morton with Buckley, and bring in JRC, we will also play well for 90 min. If we bring in Thomas or Diaz, my prediction is that we will play less well. It's about shape, and energy. Sure I'll be reminded of this at 2.30.... 100% commitment for 90 min, and we'll be fine. COYB !

The difference being that we have played much, much better since we lost our 'better' players....no senior players have been rested. Just like after the Fulham debacle last season, when TM accidentally found the perfect winning formula, I think the same thing has happened for JDT following the loss of Dack and Diaz. Whereas TM didn't look the gift horse in the mouth, I worry that JDT will stubbornly return to the Diaz/Gally on the wing tactics, which I guarantee, will fail. If he does that, I believe that it will be another catastrophic decision, up there with changing the formation against PNE when we had won SIX HOME GAMES IN A ROW.... So, let's reign in the god-like plaudits for the manager until we see the team selection at 11.30 tomorrow. Sounds dramatic but that decision will be pivotal in terms of our promotion chances. I'm nervous. COY mighty B ! ! !

Apologies for getting back to tomorrow's game but the Diaz position is a tough one. He undoubtedly needs a rest, mentally and physically, as he hasn't played well since October and, for me, didn't justify his place. In addition to that, I really don't think we can play like we did on Tuesday with BB in his usual position. It just does not work. If he plays in Gally's position, it might work, and I'd back him to score at least one of those sitters. I'd leave him on the bench for a week or two, and let him get angry. Nice problem to have. Whodathoughtit??? 🥳

What this ongoing discussion highlights is that we just need someone, anyone, to score one in three simple chances, just hit the bloody target. Tuesday highlighted that more than ever. Hopefully Gally and SS will now have the confidence to support TD in the scoring stages. For me this is all we are now missing, now we have Diaz as our secret super-sub...