arbitro

One incident summed Kargbo up today for me. In the first half on our right side Norwich were going forward and Ribiero went to the ball but Chrisene was going on the overlap. Kargbo was drawn to the ball instead of going with the runner that was Chrisene (who was Kargbo's man anyway) and he got in behind. Ribiero tried to point this out but Kargbo was having none of it. It took Hyam to come over and explain to Kargbo. It's difficult to put some football intelligence into players but it can be done. Alas in Kargbo's case I think it will be a forlorn hope. He is essentially a one trick pony in my opinion.

It really was a case of after the Lord Mayors Show today as I fully expected us to be doing the same things as we did so well at Hull namely intensity, aggression and a high press. In the first half we got none of these with Norwich being the dominant team as we put in our worst performance of the season in that period. The goal was no surprise but the way the penalty was conceded was awful. Just before that I was thinking I would have been delighted to go in level at half-time but that notion disappeared quickly and we were one down and had to play the second half with the men. Ironically we were better with ten men in the second half and started to do things that we should have done in the first 45 minutes. The two gilt edged chances we missed highlights to me were we really need to strengthen as I believe a natural goal scorer would have notched there. I think Ismael got it wrong today as for me he left Morishito on the bench for too long. We were crying out for some creativity and in my view he should have been on for the whole of the second half. Another but disappointment for me was the poor decision making by far too many players in the first half. Misplaced passes, poor choices of pass and so many with the wrong weight on them. We have a lot to do in the next couple of days in terms of bringing in the right quality of players and beyond that having them ready for Watford in a fortnight.

Whilst Boro have been wasteful Sheffield United had the best chance but they do appear to be in a bit of disarray. Hamer, who I think is one of the best Championship midfielders has been anonymous and looks like he doesn't want to be there. Louie Barry is a talent but his defensive work is shocking. And Peck should have been sent off.

Under 18's lost 7-3 to City.

It's one of these copy cat trends that prevail amongst football clubs under the guise of 'safety' Mike. Watford were the first club to do this and I think that most clubs will follow suit. At most away games I am told to remove the cap from my plastic water bottle as it is deemed throwable with the top on but not without it. I always have a spare top secreted away and it gives me satisfaction to put one over the pettiness and frankly stupidity. The new rules at Ewood forbid the taking of food from other sources into the ground. However they will allow you to take In food bought in the Fanzone according to this the rule below. They are doing their utmost to discourage fans from enjoying the match day experience. There have been several surveys recently about enhancing the experience but decisions like these are still taken. In accordance with common practice, entry to the stadium with fast food and beverages purchased at restaurants, takeaways, public houses and other retail outlets away from Ewood Park is prohibited.

Not many do these days Tyrone. Travis is another who accumulates lots of yellow cards but the majority are for petty, technical offences.

It's a real shame about Harry Leonard leaving as I really thought he was destined for the top but injuries have impeded his progress. I hope he stays fit and I really hope we have inserted buy back and a healthy sell on clauses in the deal.

I only saw this for the first time in an announcement from the club on their website. It's about supporter behaviour but contains the following: Supporters should also be aware of the club’s bag policy when entering the stadium. To make Ewood Park safe for everyone, restrictions are in place on what you can bring in a bag into the stadium. Each supporter can only bring one small bag and it must not be bigger than A4 size. I know lots of supporters particularly in the family stand who take drinks and snacks in bags bigger than A4. For the life in me I can't see any logic behind a decision like this. Why don't they just say what the restrictions in the bag are. It's almost like we have appointed a 'Head of Pissing People Off' whose job it is is to annoy supporters.

And booked!

This is a strange move and is bound to upset the Norwich supporters. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cz0yz8grknlo

I've only seen him play fleetingly (two substitute appearances) but I know for sure that he is expected to be the shining star from the current crop of first year scholars.

Injured.

The under 18 team were excellent in the first half as they scored six in a real display of clinical finishing. The second half proved to be a bit of an anti climax on the goals front although several chances were created but the Fulham keeper made some good saves. I don't know anything about the Fulham team but they were chasing shadows for most of the game against a rampant Rovers team. From my vantage point I could hear the Rovers coach, Paul Butler shouting to the players and was really impressed with what I was hearing. I was speaking to someone I know connected to the Academy who told me how much the youngsters enjoy his coaching and felt real improvement through this. On an adjacent pitch the under 16 team drew 1-1, also against Fulham.

I really like him but he is way down the pecking order now with Hyam, McLoughlin, Carter, Wharton and Miller ahead of him. He played against Everton under 21's last Monday but was nowhere to be seen on Friday. Perhaps a loan deal might be in the offing for him.

Just looking at the starting eleven on for our three league games so far only Travis has come through the Academy. With a reported three new signings imminent I think it further reduces the possibility of home grown players becoming first team regulars or even squad members which is a huge turnaround from recent times when we regularly had over half of the squad coming through our Academy. It's a slightly worrying situation for me as, with a couple of exceptions I can't see any of the current crop of youngsters making it at Championship level.

Maybe, maybe not but after the inconsistencies over the two penalties in the first two games we were due a decision. 😂 I thought the referee was poor yesterday. His recognition of foul play was erratic for both teams. His performance was summed up when he got in the way of play twice in about thirty seconds.

This clip is so good. Yuki is miffed that the scoreboard hasn't accredited him with the second goal. He tells everyone exactly that including the fourth official and one of the substitutes actually pats Yuki on the part of his body that out the ball in. 😂

This is from yesterday's under 18 match against Burnley. Difficult to tell what is happening from a still but the bloke with the cap on doesn't look like he should be on the pitch.

Boos once again ringing out loud at St Mirren as Rangers go one down at half-time.

Completely agree on the value of Japanese players. They have a great work ethic and they seem to assimilate really quickly which is probably a reflection of Japanese culture. And from Rovers perspective they don't cost a fortune. 😂

The second goal yesterday was so clever and I can only appreciate how good it was after seeing a replay this morning. The way Cantwell gives the Hull players the 'eyes' and plays Hedges in is absolute quality. The weight of the pass was perfect. And if that is a training ground routine the much maligned Ben Benson should take great credit.

Personally I take all these twitter accounts that espouse 'inside info' with a pinch of salt. If you want to believe them that is perfectly your right.

You are making an assumption and trying to turn it into fact based on what you want to believe. I posted earlier that yesterday reminded me of the West Brom game last season when the players responded to Eustace leaving with a show of solidarity. Maybe some of the players believe that Travis has let them down and behaved in a disrespectful manner to them and wanted to prove a point.

Repeatedly called him out? There are many sticks to beat Rovers with but I just don't think this is one of them. As far as I recall Ismael said Travis wants to leave. That is absolutely true so as far as I'm concerned it's better that we, the fans know things like that. The other stuff is just what some ITK is putting out there and as with most ITK 'revelations' people will believe it if it suits their own agenda.

It was around the time of the late equaliser so my assumption would be that we 'over celebrated' and wound up the cavemen. A friend said Wonstencroft is a Blackburn lad so he will know what it really means when we play that lot 😂. Or perhaps something after the final whistle.