arbitro

You don't need to be a football genius to see what the problem was tonight. We probably created more chances than we have in any other game this season but couldn't score. Fair enough their keeper was inspired (he usually is against us - I'd have loved him here) but the number of good chances we failed to convert was our downfall. Hedges, Ohashi, Leonard and Gueye should all have scored but when you don't you are susceptible and when you have the sloth like centre halves we do then you are at risk. Eustace disappointed me tonight with his changes and the timing of them. It was clear early on that Stoke were happy with a point and we didn't capitalise on this with another striker on the pitch at half time to try and get the all important first goal. Instead his change was Ohashi off for Gueye. When he finally brought Leonard on with six minutes to go and we got some decent balls into the box we looked far better and Stoke were rattled. I guess that's the price we have to pay for a cautious manager. After the last three games we need to get back to basics and with that in mind I believe he should go five at the back on Saturday and try to grind a result out to get some confidence back. Oh and Stoke were the worst footballing team I've seen at Ewood this season but their shithousery was good. Some of our lot take note.

Mike Sheron looked deflated by the performance. I can accept bad results and even performances if the basics are there but last night there were no positives to draw. With two games coming up next week (Athletico Bilbao and Burnley) there needs to be a huge improvement. I wonder if Eustace will use them games as a opportunity to give some first team squad players some game time.

It was the worst performance I have seen for a long time from the under 21's. Perhaps only Litherland can come out with any credit as we continually gave the ball away, made wrong decisions and some of them looked almost disinterested. Having seen Barrett a good few times I honestly don't know what anybody saw when he was on trial to give him a deal until 2025 with the option of another year. When we equalised just before half time I thought we would come out really strong in the second half but it was the opposite. Rochdale were first to the ball, won tackles and headers and fully deserved their win. And whilst we had a young team it appeared that Rochdale did too with one exception. Another worrying aspect was that probably our brightest prospect, Igor Tyjon looked knackered. Having been away with England and playing three games in quick succession Rovers have to be careful with him and manage his game time.

I have booked my tickets online but had to sign up with Rochdale to do that. There is only one stand open according to the seating plan.

Waggott is making hay while the sun shines then. With Burnley coming here on January 4th he will be orgasmic. Are the FF going to put pressure on him to reduce the Dingles allocation again?

Sheffield United should be a template for us. They haven't spent a great deal of money, have a pragmatic manager and play an effective style of football for the Championship. I look at them and think would Dolan, Brittain, Hyam or Hedges get anywhere near their team. The answer to me is no and whilst we have weak characters as first team regulars we will tread water. I do think Eustace could deliver this given some money (but the realists know this isn't going to happen).

Millwall reminded me of Sheffield United. No frills, big, strong and street wise. Burnley looked out of their depth as their passing game was suffocated by Millwall.

I missed that - thanks. By my reckoning then they have sent around £19m since the case came to light for which they will have had to have matched under the terms set by the court.

Sheffield United showed yesterday what is needed to get out of this league. They were physically strong and we couldn't handle it. I look at us and see Hyam, Brittain, Sigurdsson, Dolan, Hedges and others. Sigurdsson and Dolan should absolutely be sold in January - the former has contributed next to nothing whilst being one of the top paid players at the club and Dolan right now doesn't justify a new deal.

Can anybody confirm if they have sent any money over apart from the back end of last year and to settle a tax bill earlier this year? I can't remember them doing so which effectively means we have been surviving on transfer instalments, the pittance brought in on season ticket money and a failing commercial department.

It was advertised but no follow up from what I can see. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/october/20/eustace-looking-forward-to-meeting-supporters-at-q-a---tickets-are-still-available-/

It was organised by the Community Trust and there were many questions to Eustace about his career, aspirations and that sort of thing. There was a question which referenced the owners and Eustace said he had never spoken to them (I seem to remember Tomasson saying something similar) and that his dealings are with Waggott and Suhail.

Someone suggested that Ohashi can play in Dolan's role and I agree with that. His prodigious work rate and ability to find pockets of space would be a huge improvement. For me Dolan's race is run as a Rovers player. His insistence on pirouettes, step overs and flicks coupled with poor decision making is more than enough for a spell in the bench. One good game in five simply isn't good enough.

I said after Gueye's performance at Watford that he needs a spell in the under 21's. I was at the Q&A with Eustace last week and he was asked about what he wants in the January window. He said a goal scoring striker. I think he is aware of the limitations we have up front but, apart from the options of Leonard and Tyjon is hamstrung. Personally I have mentally prepared myself for another window of disappointment so expect nothing with these wretched Punekars.

And meanwhile, our best right back (in my opinion) is going to stagnate in the under 21's. Eustace seems to have a blind spot when it comes to playing home grown youngsters. Gueye coming on ahead of an in form Leonard yesterday was simply the wrong decision.

Pears dealt with a venemous first shot well from Campbell and didn't have a chance with the second. Rather than criticising Pears what about the players who let Campbell have two free shots. Pears is the absolute least of our problems right now.

That was an eye opener as we were dominated all over the pitch by a well organised Sheffield United. They were everything I think we should aspire to be. Big, strong, organised and a clear tactical plan to execute. To be truthful 2-0 flattered us and the fact I thought Pears was by far our best player speaks volumes. That said our play was so pedestrian it made us easy to play against. Not just pedestrian but at times too predictable especially in defence and midfield. The sideways and backwards passing was never going to hurt Sheffield but we persisted with it and so often barely got out of our own half. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises to me was that on Sheffield's corners Travis was picking up Soutar. Now I might be old fashioned but surely against their two biggest players two of our biggest players should be marking them. Our set piece coach should answer for that one. Also every player back for their corners is poor. Three times in the second half we cleared the ball from corners only for it to come straight back with their players having all the time and under no pressure. That wasn't the reason we lost though. Eustace has more selection problems for Wednesday and the non functioning attacking side of our game needs to be addressed. I would start Harry Leonard although Ohashi was one of the best of a bad bunch today. I also sensed that Cantwell is becoming frustrated. Several times he made runs to get in behind but wasn't seen. His body language told me everything. And I'm becoming disenchanted with Gueye. What does he offer? The hope I have for Wednesday is that Stoke aren't Sheffield United but Eustace has to earn his money here. We have to be more progressive in possession and score first. At least if we are going to sit in it would give us something to defend.

What a great story.

I thought that but without checking I'm sure the ticket ordering page will be £13.

Our of our twelve league matches so far only five have been 3 o'clock Saturday kick offs. And in November we only have one 3 o'clock game out of the six scheduled. On Tuesday last week there were 31 games shown live by Sky. I'd love to see the viewing figures for them.

Tickets have gone on sale for the Portsmouth home game and there is a clear error which hasn't been corrected for some time now. The copy and paste hasn't worked too well but the £3 is for under 12's in the padded seat area of the JWU which is considerably cheaper than an under 12's holders anywhere else in the ground. I wonder what would happen if somebody went to buy tickets and insisted on paying the advertised price. JACK WALKER UPPER CENTRE £32 £27 £22 £17 £3

I'm sure the £10 allowance isn't true. It was a flippant remark after I said I saw five Rovers players at Knutsford Services on the way home last night. I did explain that they had been dropped off there by the coach and were waiting for their lifts to arrive.

It's free for season ticket holders but you will need it with you. Otherwise I think it's £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.

I fixed it Ian. God knows how but I pressed a few buttons relating to cookies (I still don't know what they are) and it worked. if you ever need and technical help just contact me 😉😁

Agreed. All this new fangled technological assistance they now have and we still see the same errors. I stood behind a linesman at an under 21 game and the nonsense they come out with over the comms was eye opening. Things like 'he's onside' and 'goal kick' when it's bloody obvious would have driven me crazy. The use of the flag used to tell me.