Herbie6590

Some Worthington Cup memories coming up...first of all, the road to Cardiff...

This suggest that we could have 1960 FA cup final style collar ?

Duplicate thread

Here's the table after that Norwich game...

His LinkedIn profile needs a bit of attention...

Norwich come & frustrate...

I've just looked at 3 Championship club websites....no season tickets on sale at any of them...small sample size but...

Need to get back on it...Wimbledon at home possibly not the fixture you would choose...

A tough away game and concerns that the jitters might be starting...

An absolute humdinger this one...always felt like a crucial game & so it proved...

Yeah....?

BRFCS Twitter

https://fcbusiness.co.uk/news/in-focus-roboticket-smart-seating-allocation-to-increase-attendance-under-social-distancing-rules/

An early column this week - due to print deadlines it has to be submitted before the Luton game...so here goes... Reading Between The Lines There is no doubt that season 2019/20 will always be associated with an asterisk. A season that started, as so many do, with optimism and hope has unfolded in a somewhat stilted fashion; with some highs and lows along the way, causes for optimism and pessimism, celebration and commiseration. Saturday’s fixture with Reading was almost the perfect microcosm of the season contained in two handy forty-five minute episodes, with barely time for refreshments in between. Throughout this disjointed season, Rovers have managed to string together a number sequences which stoked the fires of optimism, only to follow up with self-inflicted trauma at inopportune moments. Right from the off, back to back defeats to start, succeeded by back to back victories; six games without a win in September/October, eight games without defeat in November/December; one defeat in ten during January/February, one win in six pre & post lockdown – with streaks like that, a sponsorship from Danish bacon must be a shoo-in. Saturday afternoon started with Rovers vibrantly on the attack right from the whistle – Brereton as one Twitter wag put it, “keeping up his amazing sequence of scoring in every season he plays for Rovers...” followed by Armstrong, who doubled the lead from the edge of the area to give Rovers a two-goal head start in just six minutes. Reading seemingly mastering the happy knack of pinning Rovers back into Reading’s own penalty box. What could possibly go wrong? Reading introduced a plot twist to the script by pulling one back with a peach of a free-kick and an entertaining half closed at 2-1. All the goals scored with an economy of effort from the only three shots on target. The second half saw the energetic and impressive Rothwell cut in, shoot from distance and via a deflection, restore the two-goal lead. Once more, what could possibly go wrong? Well let’s not fault Rovers for their creativity and ingenuity in playing Reading back into the game. Two goals in four minutes followed and parity had been restored in the time it takes to hard boil an egg. Young Carter was certainly being introduced to “the Rovers way”. With time running out and all the substitutes used, inspiration was to come from two of them. A rare sighting of the lesser-spotted Harry Chapman yielded a superb cross to the far post, met with vim and vigour by Sam Gallagher and Rovers’ lead was restored. Thankfully with little time even for Rovers to concede once more, the Ewood season ended with a morale-enhancing home win. No post-game lap of appreciation was forthcoming sadly for the benefit of the appreciative cardboard cut-outs. Rovers once more between 3pm and 5pm, revealing a heady mix of defensive frailties, midfield creativity and attacking potency that have in turn fuelled disappointment and excitement from August to July. The encouragement that resonated most of all was the sight of seven academy graduates on the field at full time and the oldest player in blue & white being the 26 year-old Darragh Lenihan. A glimpse into the future? Well perhaps, though there many potential pitfalls that aspiring professionals must avoid to have a successful and fulfilling career. One thing for sure, Rovers’ financial position means that their reliance on growing their own is substantial and this was an upbeat note upon which to sign off at Ewood. Whether the likes of Buckley, Carter, Magloire, Rankin-Costello, Wharton and Vale can be the backbone of a successful Championship side is as yet open to debate but how wonderful would it be for a Rovers equivalent of the “Class of 92” to bring success home? The season will close finally on Wednesday night with a visit to Kenilworth Road as Rovers take on Luton Town for the first time since 2007, when a Mark Hughes side containing debutant Chris Samba and double goal-scorer Matt Derbyshire, fired Rovers to a 4-0 victory. There is little riding on the midweek outcome for Rovers but pride, Luton though require the three points to keep alive their survival prospects. Such is the nature of modern-day football, the big matches that will determine the final placings will take place not on the pitch, but in the courts as the likes of Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and most pertinently, Wigan Athletic, are appealing the threat of points deductions by the EFL. I’m not sure that Rovers academy is yet producing the next generation of barristers, but perhaps it’s an avenue worthy of further investigation?

Things you love to see....??

Well look who’s on Twitter @arbitro ?

Ipswich come to Ewood & depart after a good old-fashioned beating...

The moment that swung the title race ?

Still can't believe that goal was disallowed...

No Wembley glory this year...perhaps next season ?

Tricky Trees at home...

Call me a cynic but I bet that the 1875 membership scheme is revamped to capitalise on this. Platinum, Gold & Silver memberships giving appropriate priority for match tickets with season tickets only on sale once restrictions are lifted...

BRFCS chats with a former referee, Rovers fan and contributor to the BRFCS forum, Tony Leake. Ian Herbert poses the questions. Listen closely for the Souness, Allardyce, Mimms and Ronnie Moore stories. A real insight into the life of a man in black. View full record

Rovers Season Peters Out Into Consolidation Having entertained the division’s best side last week and emerged very much as second-best; the midweek win at Cardiff provided a welcome fillip and with it, a source of optimism for the visit of the division’s second-best team, West Bromwich Albion. Hopes of the play-offs now a vague arithmetical possibility, as opposed to sporting probability, Tony Mowbray named an unchanged team from the Cardiff game and hoped for an unchanged result. On the side-lines, Tony Mowbray sported the polo shirt and suit combination oft-favoured by golf club captains on prize-giving day whilst Slaven Bilic carried himself with the demeanour of a visiting law professor whose energetic, exuberant lectures are renowned throughout the faculty. Intriguingly, Bilic actually was a lawyer and is apparently fluent in four languages. This gives him ample opportunity, either to apologise to Laurent Blanc in his mother tongue for scandalously cheating him out of an appearance in the World Cup final of 1998 or at least advocate enthusiastically for a commuted sentence. Sporting a kit resonating with FC Nantes overtones, it was Albion that looked like sophisticated European campaigners. The Brazilian Pereira and former Burnley favourite Austin proving to be quite the handful, combining on more than one occasion to threaten and then with the help of Krovinovic, finally to deliver the opening goal their endeavours deserved. Bilic meanwhile on the touchline, no doubt studying the fine print of Pereira’s loan deal contract, looking for a water-tight “option to buy” clause. Rovers struggled to make a lasting impression the opening forty-five, the best chance falling to the normally oh-so-reliable Danny Graham, but not on this occasion. A tame, close-range header finding the keeper Johnstone, in the middle of his goal, rather than the vacant space either side. The second-half started in a similar vein to the first, Pereira probing, then forcing a low save from Walton, the rebound falling to Krovinovic, who somehow hit the post rather than the gaping, largely undefended goal as Walton lay prostrate and helpless. It was to prove a costly miss as Albion failed to capitalise. Bilic at this point seemed to be enthusiastically demonstrating the various ways he would like to litigate against his players for non-performance clauses. A brave quadruple substitution from Tony Mowbray invited scorn as the act of a desperate man... “Boss, we have to do something...” “Very well...THIS is something...let’s do it...” But in his defence, it worked exquisitely. Gallagher showed energy, strength and awareness in equal measure to deliver a neat pass inside for Rothwell to finish with the minimum of fuss; all square, all to play for. Albion’s O’Shea forced another low, diving save out of Walton who kept out the swerving effort with what appeared to be his nose. No, nez, never as Francophone Rovers fans might say...possibly. There was still time for another of the gang of four substitutes, Holtby; to find Gallagher with a delightful through ball. A first time pass inside fell to the feet of the fifth replacement, Davenport, but he could only fire his shot straight at Johnstone. Danny Graham could empathise. Still time remained for a sequence that would normally be seen only in a testimonial, or as a choreographed move at a Harlem Globetrotters match. Rothwell, Holtby, Gallagher all having a chance to get a shot away instead repeatedly and comically dribbled, passed and dozy-doed their way across the Albion area like an energetic country-dancing outfit. Finally, Holtby tried unsuccessfully to backheel it in from the six-yard box. A point just enough to keep a theoretical dream alive, but the reality dawned that nothing less than three handsome wins from hereon in would sustain the improbable play-off place. A visit to the New Den has been a relatively happy hunting ground for Rovers over recent seasons but in the absence of fans, it seemed that Rovers were struggling to find a catalyst to spark a performance. A bright opening soon petered out and Rovers’ consistent use of non-full backs in the full back role was to cost them, as a cross via several deflections eventually found its way to the on-loan Mason Bennett, who slotted home to give Millwall a lead that they had threatened for some time. Rovers huffed and puffed and posted some deeply impressive possession statistics but the one stat that matters most resolutely stayed at “nil”. Tony Mowbray threw on his full complement of substitutes with the result that the team at one point seem to consist entirely of creative midfielders, each aiming to create something for a central striker that didn't exist. It was the same, lame game that had been on show at Barnsley, albeit with a tad more endeavour, but as for cutting-edge there was none. Just two games left now and perhaps a chance to experiment with some of the much-vaunted youngsters now nothing is at stake. A season of consolidation is not necessarily a bad thing, but with the futures of so many players still uncertain and post-COVID finance challenges, the next six weeks could be the biggest challenge that Tony Mowbray has faced at Ewood, handling relegation to League One included.

Start it ???