I was away last week  and couldn't go yesterday , saw Villa match in a bar Majorca ....5 points from the last games is a very good haul.....More than I thought we would get ! Onwards and upwards strange league this one , I do believe anything can happen this season  !

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Just like the Dingles. I bet somebody on here they'd finish higher up in the league than Rovers but I can't recall who it was.

I was thinking Cook could be their next manager in waiting especially if they go down , not sure he could keep them in the Prem though if Dyche walked or was sacked !!

44 minutes ago, den said:

Bring back a few memories for you Tyrone. 

 

My uncle went to that game and he was never the same after it !!

14 hours ago, K-Hod said:

Paul Cook is still an absolute thunder @#/?, but to be fair, Wigan have taken to this division like a duck to water...

They are defensively a much stronger unit  than us ....

not a lot up front but scored a good goal last night and usually they only need one !

23 minutes ago, philipl said:

Great preview!

Bristol City beat Swansea City 1-0 then best us 4-1.

Stoke City beat Swansea City 1-0 then play us...

Let us all hope not ...

Stoke are better than their league position suggests in past seasons we have been masters at giving teams a helping hand who are struggling   , could be a difficult afternoon..

3 minutes ago, bazza said:

At the Victoria ground I watched David Mail pull the mud from his studs before lashing in a penalty which gave us a 1-0 win.Was that in the 1970s? 

I wasn't there that day , could have been late 80s , year after they beat us to end 23 game run poss...

I first went to Stoke in 78 when Howard Kendall as playing for them and we lost...Once went to Victoria Ground at New Year high scoring draw in 80s ....Cannot remember us winning there at all !

Seen us win at West Ham Pearce scoring late winner midweek game...

Leicester yes, we had just signed Livingstone and Dobson 3 -1 I think....

I have never been  but don't think or record at either Bristol club is very good !

7 hours ago, K-Hod said:

We never seem to win there, it's currently going to be a ball ache to get there, it's on TV, it's also £30 despite the latter, their fans have an obsession with us and seem to have manufactured a rivalry with us (the pre-match announcer said 'it's derby day here' the last time I went), they sacked off the reciprocal ticketing arrangement and they rip us off to sit in that hideous bowl of a ground of theirs. 

With all that being said, I'll probably still go......

Said this before far more  trouble v Bolton ...than any other club , I was there in 73 Sir Rogers finest hour and when they went up in 78 ......

1 hour ago, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

At the start of the season I had intended to put a bet on Rovers getting promoted and Burnley relegated. A long shot on Rovers - but I always felt Burnley would be at risk due to the extra commitments of Europe. However - now they have been knocked out I expect them to pick up enough points to avoid relegation.

Huddersfield and Cardiff are probably down now ! So only one place up for grabs , Brighton , New castle , Burnley and someone to fall through pack !!

1 hour ago, PeteJD13 said:

They need all the money they can get !

Not from me , watch it on Sky ..

Obscene amount of money , for televised game !!!!

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

No offence mate but don't start with the 'move on' shite. Try contributing instead. 

Maybe so but it was a bloody free kick ...

22 minutes ago, blueboy3333 said:

Mowbray had a game plan and it was a couple of minutes from working perfectly. It's pretty much always the same game plan but still...?

We were cautious and set out to nullify Villa's players. I thought it worked really well (the odd Lenny head rush notwithstanding) and then we started to grow into the game. Similar to the Brentford game in many respects and very nearly the same outcome. Smallwood and Evans had a thankless task tonight against a good Villa midfield but they stuck at it and battled away. I thought they both protected the back 4 very well. Reed had a bit more forward thrust about him when he came on and looked a good addition. Definitely a different type of player to both Evans and Smallwood. Bennett was Bennett!

I'm really not sure what Armstrong brings to the team. He constantly loses the ball and isn't suited out wide. I thought he was poor again.

Nyambe and Bell were very good. Mulgrew composed and unruffled. Lenny a proper warrior if a bit impetuous. 

Having watched their goal again Raya should hang his head in shame. The wall is a disgrace, it practically invites their player to put it where he did. Sunday League goalkeeping.

Brereton - £7m??? hmmmm!!!! Smallwood looked quicker. 

Graham was good, held it up well. He's a bit like Kevin Davies used to be for Bolton. We play a lot of long balls to him and it's his job to keep it. He does it very well. 

the Dack/Jedinak battle was brilliant to watch. I thought Jedinak was just starting to shade it until Dack's brilliant finish. 

Positives: We look very solid as a team and will out battle anyone. 

Negatives: the lack of a genuine winger and the fact we get so few players in the box in open play.

A good point nonetheless and bodes well for a solid mid-table finish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brad Friedel best goalkeeper I ever saw had a weakness in organising a wall ...The free kick was perfect , move on ! Also last kick of the match and no room for error ...

Rather good free kick if you ask me!!!

6 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Scouting who and where? Theres not a hidden gem or 2 hidden away who can compete with Spains midfield.

Henderson for all the grief you gave him is our only good central midfielder. He had a superb season at Liverpool, plays quite a lot of forward passes for someone in his position and had an impressive World Cup in which I felt the media started to appreciate him more. Southgate playing how he does, Henderson as a pivot with Alli and Lingard either side advanced of him is for me an admission that we cant control games in there so its him saying lets try and at least enforce our own strengths, playing between the lines, and giving Henderson at least the respite of a third centre back behind him.

I do think he got it wrong tactically yesterday in that he needed to compromise on the above, play one number 10 and give Henderson a bit more help against 3 top class central midfielders, and Isco sat inside helping them. One way would have been to put Dier next to him, someone who basically would have been there to stop, without being able to impact the game on the ball. My choice would have been Will Hughes as I said, ticks all the boxes, good on the ball, technically good, fiesty, young, in excellent form. Shelvey is I think injured but for me he would have been shown up. Wilshire is in poor form and has done nothing to deserve a place, Lewis Cook isnt in Bournemouths team, Maddison is a number 10 so that wouldnt improve the situation, Delph hasnt played for ages either, Loftus Cheek hasnt warranted a place for me and again is more of a 10, as is Barkley who again struggles for game time. Foden is one who is always mentioned to be fasttracked but hes barely played senior football. Winks another with injury issues and hardly any experience of senior football. Mount maybe a bit more deserving after his spell at Vitesse. For all of these names though, Spain would still have dominated yesterday. Spain, like a few other teams, Croatia being one of them, have midfields far superior not only to our own but to most. When you play them its important not to play them at their game, you need to instill your own style on them.

For me the frightening thing yesterday was the subs bench. Only Sterling really missing who may have been available and we try to change the game by bringing on Eric Dier and Danny Welbeck.

The bottom line is , we over achieved in the World Cup due to a good draw.!!!

The substitutions gave Bristol a big lift not sure who they were but it lifted the crowd !!

Started both halves very slowly !! 

Nyambe and Lenihan very poor , saying that we should have scored more than 1 in 1st half ... Armstrong very poor also !!

32 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Big clamour for Bruce’s sacking on their forums.

With new owners, possibly a new manager in time for our meeting?

Monsieur Henry , I presume !

1 hour ago, Swanson said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/4551026/tottenham-west-ham-monitor-walsall-teenage-starlet-mitch-candlin-professional-contract/

Will he ever play for us or a new Jimmy Corbett?

No idea, time will tell ....

47 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, Mahon was via Wigan.

So has it ever happened? We are worse than Boca and River plate or Celtic and Rangers! 

Marshall Burke in 1981 ???

Johnny Price ???

Adam Blacklaw ???

19 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Think this match against United is going to be huge for Burnlah. Big teams seem to hate going t'Toff, so the result could be a good indication of the sort of season they'll have; win or draw, and Dyche might just have his team set right for the season; lose, and I think it's a full-on battle against relegation.

Would be interested to get views from @sympatheticclaret and @longsiders1882 - I may be well wide of the mark!

I think the game is huge for Senor Mourinho , a loss and he is gone !

8 minutes ago, islander200 said:

Its not out of choice though is it?We have a number of players injured 

I am not getting at Mowbray , we have genuine injuries..Most managers  nowadays change teams for cup ties , whether they need to or not !!

I always think , picking a weakened team gives the manager an excuse !!!

26 minutes ago, Hanks said:

Having already declared himself Bankrupt, can HMRC still get money off him?  According to this BBC article they are still after him  - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/45322276

Good...

The thing that puzzles me , why didn't they strengthen the squad during the summer ??? 

Maybe it's the keeper change cos they are leaking goals , which is surprising...

If Rodwell can and still wants to play football , he will be a very good player for Blackburn Rovers...

Time will tell , I have my doubts but look at Kevin Davies for Bolton