roversfan99

This is another problem with this modern day approach that supposedly has "improved" football. You get a director of football (in our case a total novice) with grand ideas of how football "should be played." Eustace played in a way that he felt gave us the best chance of getting results and he very much did that. Now Gestede wants us to play a certain type of football because its popular, irrespective of the fact that the squad are not suited to playing it and the players we could get on a limited budget wont be able to either. Its a backwards way of running a football club. Often ends in tears.

Even if we won all 4 games (obviously we wont) it would take us to only 68 points which I doubt ever has been enough for the top 6.

Bell was crap. Still is based on Saturday. At one stage he let a soft pass roll under his foot and back to us. I looked to see their team pre match and their fans werent keen on him playing.

Could he play centre back very well? Seldom if ever did. Brittain has really improved defensively this season.

I think Ohashi is better and more suited at being the actual striker. He leads the press well, he likes playing on the last man (although is offside far too much) and he can finish.

Really? The one weve missed the least. Massively overrated and upgraded.

Indirectly, it has something to do with Rovers.

Spurs fans calling for Ange to go after another defeat. United, keep up the good work. Hilarious.

I think the quality as well as the type of player makes it a questionable signing.

We dont. And if we did, we wouldnt have a sub. Just seems a poorly thought out signing.

We need a better plan A first. You dont just sign all different types of players.

If that is the idea, it was a poor use of resources to spend a big chunk of the budget on someone with such a limited use.

A lot of what you say is true but why analyse it if you think the club will cease to exist in the very near future?

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right. I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands. A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense.

I agree with the comments about Gueye's cameo, I thought he was really frustrating and his body language and application was really poor. He has had cameos where most things have stuck to him and hes led the line well but often you see what we saw yesterday. He has been a bit of a strange signing to say the least. He has never felt like a fit with the rest of the squad and I know people will say things like its good to have him as an option but I dont see much logic in signing 2 strikers who are so different because when you change one for the other you have to totally change your style. He seemingly was a Gestede driven signing, I dont know if its just his inexperience showing, recruiting without a particular plan or pattern. Or if hes seen a bit of himself in him, but it feels like if we went forward trying to plan around him, it wouldnt suit anyone else, and if we dont he will be nothing more than an option as a late battering ram. Ohashi has his limitations and has had long spells without a goal but he feels like a player who perhaps wouldnt start every game ideally but who could slip in without having to rework everything around him.

When you say does it matter whether it was back to the walls, of course not. Football as much as modern hipsters try to convince people otherwise is purely a results game. But obviously on here we look at things beyond just the result. The red card of course skews things because especially having the lead its always going to turn into attack v defence and it made the work of the defenders even more impressive. We have been a soft touch under Ismael so defensively it was certainly a step in the right direction. Luton were appalling, so many unforced errors and wild attempts to cross or shoot but the players worked so hard, dealt with what they had to and looked more of a Eustace team in terms of organisation as you said. But before the red card, from an attacking perspective I am just saying that I didnt see a side with any confidence and I didnt see a side "on the front foot." We were passive and in the first half, we only had one shot and that was a speculative one from Ohashi that went nowhere near. The goal was an exception in terms of a fantastic bit of quality from Ohashi to make the finish look easy. The standard of the performance I think has been exaggerated but the key to the win was going back to some of the principles that Eustace so impressively instilled before sadly we made his job untenable. Ismael does deserve some credit for at least going back to basics as it was likely to be a scruffy win to get us another win although its too late for it to mean anything much more than pride.

Pears isnt going to Man United. I only remember one shot on target near the end straight at him. Pears would have also kept a clean sheet, a mixture of Pears is really poor but Toth has not shown enough to suggest that he is "several levels better." He has only played 4 games, against Boro he was fairly untested although did set them up for one chance with a terrible kick, yesterday again fairly untested but did nearly concede by charging out and totally missing the ball on a few occasions, and in the other 2 games v Wolves and Coventry he made terrible mistakes that led to goals.

Come on, I am not having that anyone is disappointed that we won. Understand why people feel so flat. We have won a game long after a significant tumble from being in the play offs to totally out of contention with a number of games left, accelerated by the appointment of Ismael. A win is always satisfying but it does have a feeling of far too little, too late. Regarding the performance, it was very much a smash and grab. It was a back to basics, backs to the wall performance but its fair to suggest that going forward we were very poor in the main but thankfully Ohashi took the one reasonable chance we did create superbly.

Its about patching up the squad with a lorry load of loanees and cheapos each season to make up the numbers and slash costs wherever possible.

Thatll be it, lots of loans and cheap signings. And Nixon doing the propaganda.

I dont think we were on the front foot nor did we break with purpose. The goal was very much the exception in a game where we sat back in and very rarely got near their goal. We were certainly far more well organised and defensively strong today and the centre backs in particular were outstanding. Was a smash and grab away performance. I also am not having that Dolan is an "exceptional talent." No questions about his work rate or application, no doubts that we probably will end up with worse on our budget today, and not doubting that he will almost certainly get another Championship club when he leaves. But he is a very inconsistent player who has ability and works very hard but still frustrates more often than not. I think in an ideal world we would have him, Kargbo and 2 new signings next season. As it is, it will probably be Kargbo, Hedges and some random loanee.

Is this based on Radio Lancashire audio? "Willing to come for the ball" is a hell of a way to turn a glaring weakness into a positive.

There is confirmation bias here in that you understandably are so desperate to not have Pears in net, as we all are, that you seemingly will give far more grace to anyone else who comes in. Toth barely had anything of note to do because Luton in attack were so poor but he was flying out for routine crosses and getting nowhere near them. When he has played he has looked nowhere near good enough. He isnt the answer. We need to get rid of both but will likely get rid of neither.

Not felt as flat after a win for as long as I can remember. Feels totally worthless but still at least we won and showed good character to hang on. Going forward we played as if we had no game plan and barely mustered a shot on goal, one of the very few was put away expertly by Ohashi. Defensively much better, Hyam and Batth both outstanding and dealt with everything and Tronstad was much better too. Toth is an absolute bomb scare, constantly flapping and missing. Gueye coming on didnt help us at all, his body language was very poor losing the ball a few times and stropping. Harsh red card but Montgomery looks like a young midfielder playing at right back unfortunately. Luton are absysmal, how many times did they randomly slash the ball out of play? Bell hasnt improved either, very poor. They seem destined for League 1.

This has again been absolutely painful to watch. The standard from both teams in a supposedly good league is horrendous, youd find better quality games down at Pleasington. We are absolutely dire. No sign of any supposed game plan so a poor set of players is somehow made to look even worse than they actually are. No pressing, no pace, no skill, one solitary shot which was barely a half chance put into row Z.