Our under 21's got smashed 4-0 by Sunderland. The performance was poor, lacking in energy and intensity from what is normally an industrious group of players. Sunderland could have indeed won by more and only Leo Duru comes out with any credit although he fell below his recent standards. The next few days will be interesting for some of these players as contracts expire.

55 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

It will almost certainly have been Venkys who decided how much to sell him for. Like they did for other players, notably Brereton by setting an unrealistically high price tag with no flexibility and when no one got near it they chose to stupidly let him run his contract down instead.

I really don't believe that the owners have any idea on player valuations. Of course the deal for Adam was done with their approval but putting a price on him? Similar with Brereton as again they wouldn't have and idea of his worth. The unqualified idiots at Rovers are the ones who put the prices on players I believe. The fools in Pune are just going along with them and in the case of Adam get some money into the club to save face after their court appearances.

This is funny. Watch Chansiri's reaction and the security guard too. It reminds me of the Rovers can who asked Kean for a picture and when Kean stood next to him the lad shouted 'Kean out'.

No one likes us they proudly sing. Do they ever wonder why? This f****** can expect a knock on his door soon.

7 hours ago, den said:

“We got an offer that matched our valuation, so we sold him.”

That pretty much sums up Waggotts explanation. 
 

I can’t tell you how much that pissed me off. Ambition? None whatsoever.

And what qualifies the likes of Broughton and Waggott to put a valuation on him? They are both under qualified and took the first offer that came along. But the sensible Rovers fans know they sold the family silver to keep the lights on due to the owners nefarious business dealings.

I think we had as many shots today than we have had in any other game this season and not scoring from one is the real disappointment for me but I wasn't unhappy with our play in general. There was an immeasurable amount more effort and intensity that last Sunday and some decent play. In fact today reminded me of a few games early on this season under Tomasson when we battered teams but couldn't score. You'd have put your mortgage on Szmodics scoring in the first half as most of his goals have come from more difficult chances. In the first half we looked a threat from corners but that threat waned in the second half as they were poor. I really thought we could have got one from a set piece today. Is the point enough? Who knows as next Saturday will see lots of fans nervously looking at their phones and watching how the table changes with every goal. I still think Eustace left us light in midfield again today as Rankin-Costello and Tronstad worked manfully but the effort required when the opposition have an extra man in there took its toll on JRC and Tronstad looked weary after an hour. I think everybody knows we need wholesale changes in the playing person next season if we stay up. The real fear for many is that it just won't happen.

I've just seen a fleeting glimpse on Twitter of the players arriving for today and it looked like one of them was Leo Duru.

I'm quite worried today about the system and tactics Eustace will use. I think he will go with a back five and set up not to lose as he did on Sunday. That went well 😁. We really can't afford to be overrun and need to play with a higher intensity level and match Coventry. As ever the first goal will be important and it should be us on the front foot trying to get it. We need something to defend if that is the mindset of Eustace.

Szmodics will be receiving his POTY awards before the match from Colin Hendry. Hopefully there are plenty of people in their seats to give him the accolade he richly deserves. As for the lap of appreciation I'll more than likely be sat on the bus ready to go home when the players come out.

8 hours ago, JHRover said:

I know he's done a good job. Point was what happens next. JDT got zero backing and undermined in 3 transfer windows, forced to sell his best players and offered nothing by way of reinvestment. 

I bet QPR's board don't do that to their manager this summer.

Our January transfers were nothing short of laughable. Just because we signed 6 does not mean they are remotely good enough or that the manager has been backed. 

And out of the six we signed there probably isn't 20 starts between them. And the likelihood is that only one will be here next season. It was an awful January window which followed an equally bad Summer window.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/april/26/we-want-to-prove-the-doubters-wrong--says-sammie/

Szmodics trying to create a siege mentality for tomorrow. If more of the squad had his mentality and attitude then I wouldn't be as fearful of going down but sadly there are too many surrender monkeys for my liking.

Hopefully by tomorrow evening I am eating my words.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/coventry-city-predicted-team-blackburn-29064082

An article which contains Coventry's predicated team. Having seen some headlines about them having to play Academy players Eustace and his players should not fall into the complacency trap. That predicted team is a good one with the likes of O'Hare, Ellis and Wright included. Tomorrow is going to be extremely tough and if we don't match their intensity and desire we won't get anything from the game. Anything resembling the lacklustre second half last Sunday and relegation beckons. And Eustace has to earn his corn by picking the right team and tactics.

8 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

I don’t agree they’re to blame for the Philips situation but I do agree a business model which is difficult/impossible to achieve (due to the current system) is a flawed one.

And the Broughton/Venky model will become increasingly more difficult I believe. The likes of Wharton and Phillips were given a platform by Tomasson and the big clubs began to take notice. But I honestly can't see any young home grown players being given the same opportunity under Eustace who certainly seems to trust the senior players rather than youngsters. A big thing was made of Broughton getting lots of deals done with quite a few youngsters but in reality how many of these would be deemed good enough to break through to the first team. The likes of Gamble, Batty, Vale and others will possibly be released soon. 

17 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Not sure about other teams but we've won a paltry 6 home games this season:

V WBA (2-1)

V Boro (2-1)

V Cardiff (1-0)

V Brum (4-2)

V Bristol (2-1)

V Stoke (3-1)

10 Losses to Hull, Sunderland, Leicester, Swansea, PNE, Leeds, Watford, QPR, ipswich and Sheff Wed.

6 Draws against: Rotherham, Hudds, Norwich, Millwall, Plymouth and Southampton.

It's all a bit horrific tbh.

Edit: looks like we have the 2nd worst home record in the championship (joint with, QPR and Watford (24 points)), Rotherham with the worst (20 points)

Leeds, Leicester and Ipswich (no surprise) have more home points than we have points (53, 52, 51) Southampton, Norwich and West Brom aren't far off either (48, 48 & 46)

Good analysis and the numbers really do tell their own story. Out of a possible 66 points thus far we have garnered only 24 points. And to think Ewood used to hold some fear for visiting teams.

The intensity has gone out of our game under Eustace so I don't think that the amount of games Coventry have played will be any advantage to us. We aren't a pacy team by any stretch of the imagination but under Tomasson the intensity made up for some of this. We really look like plodders and as such easy to play against.

8 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Was Eustace there watching the game? 

100% agree

I didn't see him. Benson was though.

6 hours ago, Southside Rover said:

Batty at CB even in a 3 doesn't seem to make sense? Doesn't suit his game at all. How did he get on?

He did well. He still got forward on the left side when he could but was disciplined in his defending. Cirino though was predominantly forwards in a proper conventional wing back role so most of the time Batty was in a defensive three rather than the rigid five Eustace plays.

A really entertaining match tonight at Ewood as the under 21's came back from two goals to draw and for long periods in the second half looked like we were going to win. Sheron played three centre backs with in Whitehall, Gamble and Batty but it was the wing backs who really excelled. Cirino and Duru were great examples of how to play that position and the forward runs they consistently made were a real strong point for us tonight. I have said for a few months now that Duru has been excellent for six months and in my view he should at the very least be in the first team match day squad. 

These games are free for season ticket holders and in the past I have just scanned my season card and gone in as I would for a first team match. Tonight everyone had to go to the ticket office, show your season card and get given a paper ticket. In light of the reasons for the farcical Digital Day and the EFL Environmental Award how does that make any sense. Another day in the crazy world of Blackburn Rovers.

43 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

Didn’t the Forest keeper do that earlier this season? 🤔

I don't remember Ian.

4 minutes ago, superniko said:

Out of curiosity, what do you think the ref was saying to him afterwards? It seemed a bit strange he ran over to him and they had an arm round each other. (appreciate that's a very open question)

I honestly don't know and found it strange. At the time I just thought he was consoling him. I always found it safer to keep out of a players way for a while after they had dropped a bollock.

15 minutes ago, vyeo said:

It's been so depressing over the last 4-5 months that I have not been able to muster the energy to post my thoughts about our farcical season. But after watching that s-show yesterday, I feel that I need to let it out.

I'm in the Eustace = useless camp. I did not like his appointment from the start, because I thought his good spell at the start of the season was a purple patch and not indicative of his normal standards. But I did not want to pre-judge him and certainly hoped that he would come good. Given our constraints, we need our head coach to be able to get the team to produce at 110% of as a collective, and I just don't think he has the tactical and coaching nous that we need to be able to do so. Eustace's initial comments about togetherness sound like an empty soundbite recycled from JDT, who in contrast, meant it when he said it. 

In fact, Eustace lost me on day 2 with his dramatic entrance in the second-half of the Stoke game. I thought he saw that we had a safe win, and wanted to claim credit for it, though I'm sure one could argue that he genuinely wanted to shore the team up. For me though, it was more performative than substance given that he had not had any training session with the team before that. The fact is that the Stoke game was one of the few positive games that we've had in the last six months, and Eustace did not set the team up.  

Since then, I've not been impressed at all with Eustace's contribution. Sure, he shored the defence up somewhat, but the team as a whole looks disjointed. For all the players' complaints about JDT and our poor results this season, we could see a plan and a method to the madness - there were indications that the players knew what to do, what patterns to play, and were well-drilled. Whether they could do it or not is a different story, but on balance, I would argue that JDT extracted more from them than they otherwise would have been able to produce. In that sense, our current situation is just a reversion to their normal standards. 

Going back to statements and how he presents himself, Eustace has also proven useless. No clear communication, hides in generalities, and as yesterday's comments show, does not pursue accountability and certainly does not set the right standards. These are basic leadership traits which you would expect a good coach/manager to possess. I hoped he would prove me wrong; after all, who expected Gary O'Neil to turn out so well? Unfortunately, Eustace is more in the Ince/Coyle/Appleton class.

On JDT, I lament what could have been everyday. I think he's the best we've had in the last decade, and could have done something special with us. It pains me but objectively, I definitely hold JDT responsible to some extent for this season's mess too. In this regard, I think his broken relationship with the board is the key factor. 

There was no trust after the Lewis O Brien incident last year and no alignment of vision, and I think JDT found it difficult to be motivated in such a demotivating environment. If Maggot had been more professional, if the board had been straight with JDT, if they had set more ambitious targets despite the financial difficulties - tell JDT we need to ride it out this season, that we still want to have a good go despite the limitations, find a way to do it - we might have had a better outcome. (Remember, JDT showed that he could deploy tactics to shut the shop and play the dark-arts when he first arrived - I remember this well during our win/loss sequence in the first half of last season, when we barely conceded when we won, and it looked like we were playing some form of 90s Italian tactics.) Instead, Maggot obfuscates and publicly says that mediocrity is ok, sets no targets except to develop players - well, my assessment is that JDT decided to work to rule and gave Maggot exactly what he asked for by playing an expansive game at all costs and giving kids like Adam Wharton and Harry Leonard (too) much game time, even when it might have been better to rest them at times. 

In the end, JDT's departure was inevitable. That said, if we got relegated, I would still have more trust in JDT to create something with a youth squad in L1 - in fact, I would be pretty confident of a reset and our chances of winning the league by a clear margin, given how we regularly spanked lower league sides with youth-heavy teams over JDT's reign. 

Now with all the above said, the root cause of our woes is still Maggot and Venky's, no doubt about that. I don't know how involved or uninvolved the Venky's are on a day-to-day basis, but if we had a competent CEO who can set the agenda correctly, aim high, and maximise what he can within his remit, we may have a fighting chance. Instead, we have a chancer, more than happy to settle for the mediocre, so we get what we get. Put it this way, if we sign Coventry rejects (both in the boardroom and on the pitch), we get Coventry-standards (the terrible version from a couple of years back, not the heroic one at Wembley yesterday).  

Finally, our prospects this season - we're certainly doing our best to snatch relegation from the jaws of safety. I've had a foreboding feeling all season. Too many similarities to our relegation in 2016/17 - massive cost-cutting, terrible signings (Telalovic - Stokes, Moran loan - Emnes loan, Greer - McFadzean etc), the same type of FA Cup draw (good effort and near upset against a big PL team - Man Utd then in the freezing cold and Newcastle this time), freakish results in the run-in (I remember thinking that we had done enough when we beat Villa(?) was it, and Brentford on the last day), but the other relegation candidates fought hard and chalked up enough points elsewhere. I'm praying for a miracle in our last two games, but am not optimistic. 

If we somehow survive this, I pray that we can somehow reset in the summer. But back to the start of this post and the theme of this thread, Eustace is not the man to get us there.  

 

Post of the season.

2 minutes ago, the original david brent said:

Seen a Facebook debate about this. Someone, claiming to be a qualified ref, is saying that it wouldn’t have been a foul if he had used his hands. The reason being is he made a genuine attempt to clear the ball, it then became a new phase of play and so he could legally have then used his hands. 
 

Said person is claiming this is why the ref came and spoke with him after. Ie telling him he could have used his hands because he made a genuine attempt to clear. It was a bit unusual for the ref to speak with him at that point.

Appreciate you reffed at the highest level. Is there anything in what our FB ref is claiming or is he talking nonsense?

It's an interesting take on it but in my view and my most recent knowledge of law then Pears would have been penalised for deliberately handling the pass to him irrespective of his swipe and touch of the ball. For the life in me I wouldn't consider that a new phase of play. I don't know for sure but I couldn't see the referee consoling him by saying he could have used his hands and prevented the goal. That would have made Pears feel even worse in my opinion.

4 minutes ago, Gav said:

You’ll struggle to find a more 1980’s player picture than this, any guesses who it is?

 

 

Is it Eric Winstanley?

53 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

won't O'Riordan be playing tonight? 

He probably will but he wasn't signed to play for the under 21's. We signed three centre halves in January and between them they probably haven't reached double figures in first team appearances.

6 minutes ago, Ghost7 said:

Could someone help me understand what the consequences would have been if Pears had clawed the ball away with his hands after the miss kick.

Is it a yellow card and an indirect freekick or would he have walked? 

Indirect free from ten yards out, no yellow card.