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philipl

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Everything posted by philipl

  1. Never mind the content, stylistically the club statement reads like an obituary.
  2. Updating my extrapolations of current form and narrowing it down to Millwall downwards assuming everyone else is safe. Last 5 games pro rated plus an added 3 points for playing Rotherham. Millwall 63 points QPR 54 points Sheffield Wednesday 53 points Stoke 51 points Plymouth 51 points Rovers 49 points Huddersfield 47 points Birmingham 44 points So compared with the last time I did this we climb one place to safety. But in the run in, games against fellow strugglers and Rotherham are: Millwall 3 Rovers 1 Plymouth 4 Stoke 3 QPR 3 Birmingham 3 Huddersfield 3 Sheffield Wednesday 3 And games against the 9 clubs in the play-off and promotion shake down (Preston upwards based on the game in hand) Millwall 2 Rovers 5 Plymouth 2 Stoke 3 QPR 3 (last 3 games) Sheffield Wednesday 3 Birmingham 3 Huddersfield 3 Sheffield Wednesday 2
  3. Our next 4 games are Ipswich h Sunderland a Southampton h Bristol city a We could easily lose all 4 in a good season. If we do that this season we will be looking at Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday at home and Leeds and Leicester away from a relegation place. Realistically we need a win at either Bristol or Sunderland.
  4. We certainly can go down this season. Our run in looks the most challenging on paper. That is different from expecting us to go down. In the end,, we will be incredibly grateful for the much derided draws is my expectation.
  5. The market for football clubs below Premier League level has radically changed since I wrote there were unlikely to be buyers. There are undoubtedly potential buyers out there willing to lose substantial sums.
  6. All season we have been waiting for Ipswich to fall apart and it hasn't happened. They did have a wobble but Russell Martin in the Southampton dug out came true to form at the same time and nobody is taking much notice of the Leicester current form which is w1 d1 l3. Everyone is assuming Leicester have a cake walk to the title but the reality is any 2 from 4 for automatic promotion (Southampton have 2 games in hand on Ipswich) and as the fixture Gods would have it, we have to play all 4 in our last 8 games. So Ipswich are going to be good practice for Rovers attempt to save ourselves by puncturing others' automatic promotion dreams... This in my view is Eustace first real game- the previous fixtures came so quickly in succession he could only do band aid jobs but now he has a 12 day period of player recuperation and intensive work with his coaches at Brockhall. The only downside is Sigurdsson and Szmodics will probably play twice internationally so the two most knackered looking members of the squad don't get a break. That said, training ground and international injuries permitting, Rovers will have as close to a full squad to chose from as is normally possible at this time of the season- Barnes, Fleck and Leonard the only certain absentees from the senior group. The match day squad will see three from yesterday dropping out with the inclusion of McFazdean, Carter and JRC. For once, the kit man won't have to include nappies for the bench in his dressing room supplies... Ipswich can score from all over the pitch, have real dangers from the bench and have lost fewer games than anyone else in the Championship this season. Travis is only a bit part player for them so will be no loss being ineligible to play against us while Hirst is out with a hamstring injury which required surgery and unlikely to be ready by Good Friday. This is a MUST WIN for them which means they will be attacking us from the get go backed by a vociferous following from Suffolk. Under JDT, these were the circumstances we tended to thrive under. We conceded early and often at Portman Road but still gave Ipswich a footballing lesson at times, pulled it back to 3-3 and were only undone by a late Pears flap. At the very least, I am expecting Ipswich to know they have been in a game at Ewood and if Eustace gets us uncharacteristically willing to shoot on sight, we might avoid defeat. The 5.30pm kick off means we will know how Millwall v West Brom, Huddersfield v Coventry, Norwich v Plymouth, QPR v Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday v Swansea have gone. In the worst case we will be worrying that a thrashing will drop us into the bottom three but hopefully it will be a free hit for getting further from trouble.
  7. the highlights reel obviously missed the 5 Boro blocks in their 6 yard box near the end
  8. Based on recent form, Birmingham Huddersfield and Stoke are both below us and are in bad form which is reassuring. 5 clubs have to perform better than us in points and 4 clubs in goal difference. Yes we have a tough run in but at this stage of the season clubs at the top can get the yips.
  9. I like the way he has dropped Moran after the way he cost us 3 points at Swansea. A bit of ruthlessness. Jury very much out but JDT is a very hard act to follow and for me JE is doing ok in the circumstances . The fanbase is massively demoralised so the players would equally be feeling down after the January farce.
  10. Great and astonishing to have Isaac Whitehall back after 1,000 days and three fractures in the same place.
  11. Positive: first game for Eustace with a manageable list of absences and we looked a much more controlled and footballing outfit. Looks like a pragmatic mix of JDT ball combined with a willingness to find Row Z if needed.
  12. Very decent performance from a Rovers side which didn't look to be struggling perhaps except in front of goal. Results elsewhere meant we inched forward a place and added a point advantage over the four immediately below us although we remain 3 points above 22nd. I had thought Sheffield Wednesday would extend their good run to getting themselves out of trouble but that 6-0 drubbing must be hurting. Tronstad, Hedges and Pears returns all had positive impacts. Szmodics looked more knackered than usual and Gally frustrated as usual. Getting Carter and JRC back will add a level of class which we are missing. On today's game, one side looked short of the necessary to make the play-offs and the other looked comfortably a class above a relegation outfit and at times it was hard to tell which was which.
  13. Strange how Wharton is Palace player of the match every time I look at. the ratings yet not good enough for England under 21s
  14. If an Indian Court is warning this might take a long time....
  15. You don't need Jerome to find them a buyer. I know of two potential buyers. But you wouldn't want them at Rovers because the club would just be a feeder in an international stable of clubs.
  16. The only clarity we have at the moment is there is precious little. They misreported the acquistion of Neville's house and Balaji's birthday party a dozen years ago or so and about 12 months ago the Indian authorities got wise to what happened and caused the funds transfer restrictions and Court cases. WTF are billionaires doing misreporting such relatively trivial sums? Are they systematic grifters? Was one family member hoodwinking the others? Next question- is there a systemic problem in India for transferring funds abroad for less than commercial purposes (nobody could claim Rovers are a for-profit investment) or is the restriction of funds transfers specific to Venky's and their tax misreporting? Then, what is going to take time and what is the finality about August's final hearing?
  17. Great to see Brum kept deep in trouble and Venus sounding clueless but 3 wins have taken Boro from the edge of the relegation race to the edge of the play off race. And Brum was a walk in the park. So that screws my assessment of three games on the trot against fellow strugglers... Hey hoe still have to go to the Riverside (Tees not Darwen) with a winning game plan. Over to you JE...
  18. I am waiting until after the international break to see what Eustace does with our full first team squad back available after injuries. Last season and the start of this season they were substantially competitive with the top clubs in the League. Let's see if Eustace can replicate that form in the league in the way he raised them against Newcastle in the Cup.
  19. Ben is a lovely lad by all accounts but daft as a brush and was chosen by his Rovers colleagues as the last friend they would call on Millionaire... Unlike them, he is now a millionaire... every season of his lengthy contract.
  20. Hopefully now the under 21 long term injuries have reduced from 8 to 4 and the team has gone from losing nearly every game to winning nearly every game, some of this will rub off on their training mates in the first team. Risen to 15th place which means Cup games next season if we stay in the top 16.
  21. While we are waiting for an Indian Court, likely to be heard in a Maltese Court, yet another football corruption case here https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/sports/football/128059/mfa_police_investigating_alleged_corruption_by_premier_league_club_
  22. None of the current injured and unavailable players are expected back for this one. So pot luck and hope for the best.
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