10 minutes ago, alcd said:

Pears looked like a rabbit in the headlights.His distribution in the first half was dreadful - slow telegraphed throwouts putting the recipients in immediate trouble. Does not command the area or anything really. Still Tony has done his old mate a favour....

JRC can't defend and has no pace to recover. Nyambe must be thoroughly pissed off watching that.

Douglas is no better than Bell.

Lenihan looks broken. Rubbish at both defending and distribution. 

Evans must be the worst player I've seen in a blue and white shirt in 55 years. He offers absolutely nothing.

Gallagher couldn't trap bag of cement. 

Apart form that all good.

Here we are again. The scatter gun approach to a Rovers loss. You mention 6 players who are in your opinion useless and in the case of one of them the “worst player you’ve seen in 55 years!” Such nonsense. Congratulations to Reading tonight for a very professional performance. They deserved the 3 points tonight. They are playing well with great confidence which is so important in professional sport.

The goalkeeper change was hugely significant and probably caused the otherwise untroubled defence to be anxious especially after the early goal which was very unfortunate. Lenihan and Williams did not perform well.

Johnson was missed in midfield but credit has to go to the opposition for stifling our creative players.

Armstrong is still the leading scorer in the division and could have had a couple more! We continue to create chances within a game and I’m convinced we’ll win more games than we lose.

Im as disappointed as any fan tonight but I’m still optimistic for the season ahead.

Can people please post the score rather than engage in coded responses! 

Can see why Herr Klopp allowed Elliott to join us as Mowbray’s tight pressing game and quick on the break style suit his player’s development. We are so good to watch at the moment and the new players today gave us an extra slice of quality.

27 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Thats even worse.? 

Sheff Wed had started on 0 we would be 15th....

Not forgetting the hone loss to bottom 4 team who couldn't beat rotherham....

Are you being deliberately obtuse? I don’t understand what you’re on about. Do we even support the same club? 

4 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

If you are counting sheff wednesday then they are better off than us by a point as they have gained 8 this season so far.....

7 points above Wycombe and 9 behind Resding alteady.....

You dress it up how you want mate but 3 defeats in 7 is poor in this league.

I am of course counting Wednesday as they are currently bottom of the league with -4 points which is 11 points below our figure of 7.

You again are wrong in saying we have 3 defeats in 7 as we have played only 6.

Im not “dressing it up” at all and I believe 2 wins is a poor return at the moment but one statistic that we can agree on and be delighted with is that we are the top scorers with 12 goals which suggests that we can be optimistic once our influential players return.

7 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

We are closer to the bottom than top.  We let goals in for fun.  No way are we gong to push for promotion as it stands.  Defence is toilet

To be pedantic but your opening sentence is wrong. We are 9 points off the top and 11 points off the bottom.

Your posts remind me very much of my dad’s comments when he used to go down to Ewood saying to us that Rovers were going to get beaten today and if they did then he would come home saying he was proven right but if they won then deep down he was chuffed to bits but out loud he would say Rovers were lucky!

But it’s a great mental attitude to adopt as you’re always right; a prophet of doom and gloom or a secret admirer of a Rovers revival!

27 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

The last 2 matches I've watched cost £10 each. Don't know why but tonights game v Watford cost £7.

 

It says £10 on the ifollow link. Where have you seen £7?

4 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

We’ve lost half our fanbase because we left the PL and had disgraceful owners taking the piss out of the fanbase, we had 20,000 ST holders in 2010 under that seeming ‘long ball Bolton Bastard’.

I’m not sure we’ve ever had 20,000 ST holders in a season! I would love to be proved wrong but are you sure of your facts?

I know I’m a positive person but today’s deals have totally blown me away! I could never have envisaged such personnel arriving and even getting Mulgrew to sign for Fleetwood!

I’ m sure every club wants to strengthen during the window but I can’t think of another club in our league who has done as well as us.

Time for a little bet on the top 6 at least.

31 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Really poor performance, seemingly as soon as we came up against a well organised outfit we didn't have a clue how to break them down.

The stand out performers in recent weeks Dolan, Holtby, Brereton and Rothwell didn't get going and I thought Armstrong was poor again, in a game that scrappy you have to take your odd chances when they come.

Most worrying for the future was the fact that Mowbray seemingly couldn't wait to withdraw Brereton and Dolan and reintroduce the useless Gallagher back into the fray.  A bit of a wake up call after the last 2 games.

I think it’s unfair to call it a “poor performance”, Rev. I thought we played some good stuff at times against a very competitive Cardiff side. A draw was the least we deserved and I still have high hopes for the season ahead. I think in Kaminski and Ayala we have a lot of experience at the back to allow our talented youngsters to showcase their skills.

We played well in spells today but our finishing was poor. Armstrong should have scored, Gallagher and Rothwell too. Not too disheartened.

Just seen that the Issa brothers from Blackburn have bought Asda from Walmart. It’s a new name to me but I wondered if they support the Rovers? Could have a chat with the Venkys!

4 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Ray just almost made a tackle - -  by the corner flag and followed that up with an atrocious goal-kick and almost conceding.

I hope would be suitors are not watching

 

He’s actually the team captain tonight! They are currently winning.

10 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

Just watched the whole game back. What a tremendous performance. We really should have scored a few more.

When I think back to the games in June post lockdown when we were playing 433 but getting beat by Millwall and Wigan etc and compare to how we are playing now it's  night and day. Everyone feels in the right role (no Bennett at left back, or Holtby as false nine), losing Graham and Downing allows us to press properly, and obviously Dolan is a vast upgrade compared to Gallagher or Samuel on right wing.

Kaminski - is exceptional with his feet. Like a third defender, classic sweeper keeper. He retains the ball so well compared to any keeper we've had in the Championship. Looks like he could be better than Raya to me but let's see how it goes.

Williams - much maligned but won everything and used the ball so well when he had it. Looks a top defender. Ayala will struggle to get in.

Lenihan, JRC, Nyambe, Bell - all had decent games with very little to do. Lenihan had one exceptional block at the start of the game.

Rothwell - phenomenal all-round game. Looked Premier League class. Huge engine, put his foot in, pressed relentlessly and also used the ball excellently. A complete peformance. Left side of a 433 is the perfect role for him. Could be a big season for him.

Holtby - neat, keeps things moving, always provides an option. Has defence splitting passes in him, superb one for the fourth goal. Looks much better in a deeper role than in the front three.

Johnson - physically dominant. Used the ball well under pressure (which has always been his weak point, but he was very composed). Two well taken goals, first was a thunderbolt. Because everybody is working their nuts off to close down his lack of mobility is not exposed. 

Dolan - clearly destined for the top. As obvious a first rate player as when Duff and Phil Jones first turned out. It's incredible Preston let him go. Are they on drugs?

Armstrong - finishing was poor but still very dangerous. Got a good goal. Should really have got a hat trick.

Brereton - I have really thought he is useless since he's been at the club. In fact I think I called him "the worst player I have ever seen for Rovers". However I am beginning to see that I was wrong about that. In the quite unusual niche of his game he is becoming very effective. He beat his full back in probably 70% of duels yesterday. Physically dominated him, outpaced him. Yes his shooting was generally poor but he did create Dolans goal off the post. Crucially he held up and layed off the ball well. Gave it away very infrequently, and won a ridiculous amount of free kicks. If he can find some shooting boots he could come good. You know what I realised - he is basically Emile Heskey.... 

Derby were woeful, and despite being thrashed by us in the first 15 minutes seemed to stick with the same tippy tally football where we just hounded them. Daft.

I love the way our front three and midfield three swap around positions and the full backs play as wingers while the GK forms a back three with the CBs. It's total football nicked straight from Liverpool and it's actually working for us. Absolute madness.

Really really looking forward to Cardiff. Same team, Nyambe for JRC who will be injured I suspect. Let's enjoy this season, it's going to be a lot of fun. Reckon when we play a decent team who like to be direct things will get tougher, but lets trust this system and players and ride it out even if we get a few poor results along the way!

Oh - and huge kudos to Tony for implementing such a radical plan. And all this with Dack, Travis, Gallagher, Evans out. Wow.

Excellent post. In agreement with all of that. For supporters of a certain age could Dolan be the modern Bryan Douglas? It was amazing watching his movement and quick feet. I think he’s probably quicker than Dougie. What an asset we’ve got!

I hope we can maintain that intensity throughout the season because it’s thrilling to watch.

I’m glad Bell had a better game but what about the gloves! In September?

20 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Now is the time to persuade s couple of good players to sign.  Cunningham for me at left back, bollocks to cardiff. 

Can’t wait to see Cunningham v Dolan next week! Who’ll come out on top? Unless he’s signed for us in the meantime.

Jeff Stelling has been very complimentary about us. 13 shots on target first half. 

Just now, Darwen Rover 007 said:

Maybe a separate post to discuss Raya / Walton specifically 

Couldn’t agree more Darwen!

Knew it wasn’t transfer related but I had to write it. Apologies.....!

Now any positive transfer news?

2 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

iv`e never seen a worse keeper ever,he`ll be playing non league football in a few seasons time,even that will be much for him

It must be my dislike of reading unfair criticism of professional footballers that has prompted me to respond to this post.

Christian Walton played every match last season for us which is a testimony to his fitness, his attitude and to the fact he had the full backing of management and coaching staff.

He also was on loan at Wigan and he couldn’t have done too badly as they retained him for a second season. I think Paul Cook was a pretty demanding manager.

Walton has also achieved international recognition playing for England at junior levels.

Where has he gone on leaving us? To Brighton in the Premiership whose manager Graham Potter will be assessing his progress after his awful injury in his first game with them. I wish him well.

11 minutes ago, S8 & Blue said:

Unpopular opinion but I think Bennett could be ok in the midfield 3

I will tell you something I noticed yesterday is how much of a team man Bennett is. After the final whistle he went to nearly every player saying well done and pump fisting. He was as thrilled as the rest of us about that performance. He must be great in the dressing room keeping people motivated. I know he gets pelted on here by some posters but for me that showed he’s a Rover through and through.

7 hours ago, Stuart said:

How is it that players at other clubs can play game after game after game and don’t need to be dropped or tested ‘to protect them’? Is it Ewood Park that he’s afraid of? If so we’d all better enjoy Tyrhys Dolan while we can.

Lack of a settled team leads to inconsistency and a lack of a settled back four leads to indecision and conceding goals.

I’ll take Mowbray at face value that it was Wycombe and we didn’t need to be quite as defensively-minded but we shouldn’t be shuffling the pack every game.

Derby will be a big test for the manager. Let’s get into that top 6 early on and put ourselves under pressure to stay in the mix for top 2. Anyone can beat anyone in this division, momentum and consistency are key - starting with the attitude of the man in the dug out.

To be honest I thought it was excellent man management. He managed to describe him as a super athlete whilst telling him he wasn’t starting! 
I do think with such a truncated close season players’ fitness and bodies need careful scrutiny.

You can’t say other club managers don’t do what Mowbray did as you have no idea how they operate. There are so many factors that affect selection.

I’m pretty sure our back four will change throughout the season especially with Ayala and a possible left back to challenge Bell as well as knocks, loss of form and yes the opposition.

2 hours ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

Tony Mowbray still has his ability to spot a good player.

To be fair his Academy coaching staff were the ones who persuaded him to get him in but that to me shows a very healthy management structure where the club manager trusts the advice of his staff.

It also shows that any player who shows the right attitude in training will get a shot of first team action. 
Dolans arrival seems to have had a positive effect on Chapman who had a terrific cameo when he came on.

Yes you’re right, missed him out! I loved his direct running.

Great all round performance today. It was Mowbray’s 700th managerial game as well so pleased he has this win to celebrate. 
Arma MOM but so many pleasing aspects from today. Dolan, Williams, Johnson and Holtby caught my eye. 
 

There was an article about Carroll in the paper this morning suggesting he was lucky not to be red carded on Saturday as he’s starting the old flying elbow routine when he’s jumping for the ball. I was only thinking who out of our CB’s would relish the fight against him.

I think Magloire might struggle. Maybe Williams again? If It’s Lenihan then I hope he doesn’t get a facial injury! Assuming of course that Bruce picks him.

14 minutes ago, Bohinen 22 said:

He is a moron for not improving our defence for over three years. I stand by it. Same mistakes made. Same kind of game lost. And let’s not pretend he is the perfect manager for giving youth a chance . See his shoddy treatment of Chapman.

I really take exception to your use of the word “moron”. Do you actually know what the word means? 
By the way our manager does give youth a chance. It’s up to them to prove they’re up to the job.