roversfan99

If a manager sees his team perform so badly in the first half amidst a rotten run of form as is true in both cases, if the team then improves and wins, he deserves credit regardless of any in depth analysis of how he acts on the touchline, and even if it doesn't eliminate doubts about how we will go from here on in.

Is this on par with Mowbray "sulking" and then the players coming back against Derby last year "in spite" of him?

As bad a first half as you are likely to see and the second half wasn't particularly good but just much better than the first half. The formation and tactics far too cautious and negative against a poor and predictable side, but the most important thing is the win and good to see some spirit with a rare late goal. There was a response in the second half but the game seemed to be fizzling out prior to Ayala's winner. The injuries to Brereton and Dack could be catastrophic, the forward line looks bare without them. I really do worry if one/both are out for a decent period of time. Lots of people on social media in particular seem keen from their keyboards to want to criticise the fan base. Can only presume there is a big correlation between those and people who watched from home as I felt that the boos were understandable but the fans were dying to see something to get behind and even at a glimpse of something to cheer, everyone got behind the team to see them over the line.

Yes, not too positive at this specific moment. We are in poor form and have been since the World Cup Break, 10 points from 10 games and boring football to go with. That is how people feel at the moment, just as when we got to March say last season, we was still "in a good position to secure a top 6 finish" and our position was above some expectations at the start of the season, but we all still felt negative about the situation. Because for a decent period of time, performances and results had dropped off. What is the need to ram this superfan nonsense down peoples throats? At the ground, people back the team. On here when we are playing poorly, people will criticise. Nothing to do with backing the team.

Dack dropped. I did feel he was one underwhelming performance away from being dropped. Seems quite a defensive side.

Utter nonsense. They would happily spend time and money watching their team do poorly just for a bit of self justification and to say I told you so on an internet messageboard?

I am looking at the last 10 games because you used the same 10 games as justification that we should continue with 4231, saying that Tomasson has used that formation since then. My point it that it is a strange justification for your stance that essentially nothing should change when our points tally in those games has been in line with a relegation struggler, not as a side that went into said run in third place! Like I keep saying, I am not necessarily saying that we should change formation but it should be considered considering how poor our recent results have been since we changed tactic. A 3 at the back formation would be a reasonable suggestion IF it meant Dack behind Brereton and one other, as it would potentially allow a third attacking player, in recent weeks the wingers have been so pinned back that we have only had one striker (who has been either the useless Vale or Dolan who is not a striker in a million years) and Dack in attack. Especially with Wharton out (our only left footed competent centre back) I would not personally choose this, I would just swap Dolan and Brereton around.

The main blame lies in India.

Who said that? Clearly nonsense and a one off. People are IMO understandably not too positive at the moment, we have won 10 points from 10 games in the World Cup. Performances have also been poor and we have seen basically the same set of players nosedive in the new year only 12 months ago. The 2 latest draws in isolation are solid points away at 2 play off contenders but amidst the run we are on they feel less important. I don't get the constant insinuations that people take pleasure in their team not doing well.

Davenport was one of those players who became better when he didnt play, as was often the case. When he did play he was unremarkable and the main reason he didnt was injuries. I did think at times he was used as an example as a stick to beat Mowbray with, as if he was hard done by. He just was not reliable fitness wise nor particularly good as can be seen post Rovers.

Yes, undoubtedly a poor spell of results.10 points from 10 games since the World Cup, 9 games if you go from Norwich away when I think we started playing 4231. And the aforementioned slip down the table. Around 1 point a game is bottom of the table fare. Im talking specifically about your strange justification that because Tomasson has stuck with 4231 recently, that no changes should be considered. Our recent run of results has been factually crap, as have performances which is subjective but most would agree. I am not even saying that we definitely should change formation. But change in general must be considered because our recent results using this formation have been shite.

Why would people who spend so much time and presumably money supporting Rovers take pleasure in us struggling? Never made any sense.

As @bluebruce sums up better than me, some of them are really stretching it. For a start, Clarkson went back in January and Poveda got injured before that, so we havent lost those 2 AND say Giles and Zeefuik because we only ever had 2 of them at a time available, although all 4 were ineffectual squad players anyway. Davenport barely ever played and Johnson was past it. The number of loanees going back will be no different to last season, indeed Morton, Mola and Hirst (who obviously has already gone) again wont be missed, Thomas might be. Lenihan and Nyambe have been successfully replaced with new replaements. Venkys prevented us from replacing Rothwell in January which made things harder and the choice to buy Szmodics and move Buckley has not worked out but that is not to do with what was left. Kaminski, Pickering, Wharton, Brereton, Buckley, Travis and Gallagher were all regulars, Dolan played very regularly too and Dack would have if not for injured. It is most of the side that finished 8th.

Was it a shambles of a squad, considering that the majority of it finished 8th? And has the work done in the transfer market this season (more than 50% being loans) any different an approach?

Yeah, why would you even consider a change after a poor spell of results and performances that have seen us slip from 3rd to 8th?!

Presuming Wharton and Rankin Costello are injured, if not I would probably keep Rankin Costello in. Wharton played well last night bar one lapse so he could feel hard done by. Pears Brittain Carter Hyam Pickering Travis A Wharton Thomas Dack Dolan Brereton

I always felt that relegation was never a realistic prediction personally, the majority of the side finished 8th last season. I have assumed that Rankin Costello is injured for a bit, otherwise he can alternate with Thomas. The wingers at the moment are playing like second full backs so im not sure they could end up with any more defensive responsibility. It was just an idea to try and change things up a bit. Your logic that Tomasson has stuck with it since Christmas would only make sense if our results have been good during that time, and they havent, nor have performances, so change should at least be considered, whether that is a new formation or at least tweaks within it.

I'm sure the delay is down to the EFL thinking about streaming matches in years to come.

In which time, we have lost more league games than we have won, winning only twice. I personally think that 4-2-3-1 can work with various tweaks (notably Brereton and Dack being the main 2 attackers with the formation often leaving the wingers working back) but I am not sure that the fact that Tomasson has stuck with it since Christmas is justification of its success. I do wonder if something like this could work: Pears Carter Hyam Wharton Thomas Travis A Wharton Pickering Dack Dolan Brereton Brereton closer to goal as a third attacking player and an extra centre back giving Thomas in particular more license to push on.

I don't think there is much in Dolan and Hedges but I would be happy to see the same 4 attackers start with a change of positions between Dolan and Brereton. It won't happen but I would like to try it. Thomas started taking Townsend on last night and having Brereton in the box would be a much better target for his crosses.

I think Dolan wide and Brereton would make more sense, we have no presence up front and Dolan is at his best running at players out wide.

He has shaken his head pretty much everytime he has been subbed, always followed by a hand shake with the manager. So hardly a full case of throwing his toys out of the pram, he is clearly happy to be back playing and wants to play longer. I don't think its a poor reflection of him as a person or as a leader. He quite visibly is a leader on the pitch and has been the one functioning member of an otherwise dysfunctioning attack since the World Cup, not only with his goals but with him having the ability to play one touch passes and flicks in dangerous areas that Szmodics is simply not capable of doing. We started the second half pretty well but once him and Thomas went off, we were shite.

He offers no goal threat and does his best work in wide areas. We have a big, strong and quick attacking player who can run in behind, who can pick up goalscoring positions, who can bring others into play and does offer a presence in the box. He has spent the last couple of months spending most of his time defending, miles away from goal. He hasn't played there very often but in the absence of other options, it surely is worth a go.

Even if the appeals succeeds, surely that extra week would only mean missing the QPR game as he would be cup tied for the Leicester game?

Dolan was ineffective as a number 9, he is not a striker in a million years. Most number 9's don't have to put the word "pressing" in front of it to justify their place. He is better out wide, he doesn't hold the ball up, he doesn't really run in behind and he doesn't offer a goal threat or a presence when we get the ball wide. He is at his best fronting up full backs and getting past them. Broughton fucked up both in the summer and in January regarding a striker so I don't doubt that our options are not as they should be, but Dolan and Vale cannot be the main 2 options. Brereton and Gallagher should be. You can't be entertained by Tomasson's Rovers, surely? The double sub on the hour seemed pre-planned to me and with no flexibility to how the game was going. I suppose we have to try and justify the outlay on Szmodics but he is such a downgrade on Dack who also came off with 15 to go at the weekend. Thomas was just starting to really test the full back and like Dack seemed unhappy to have to go off. The double change massively weakened us after we had started to look threatening, poor changes by the manager.