SuperBrfc

Johnson's legs might be going, but he is a leader and still has that fire in his belly. Fair play for giving it a go in the first half last night. He wasn't going to say no, but there's only so much nonsense anybody can put up with. These lads will hate seeing us throwing away the opportunity before us. A couple of years ago Johnson was doing a live interview on YouTube with a new podcast channel. It was pretty low key, as it was with a small channel, not well known. There were only around 5 of us Rovers fans in the chat. It was one of those very rare occasions where any question or comment (within reason) could be put to a player. We were playing Luton away the day after. I basically said to him "we have the quality to out play and beat Luton tomorrow and should go there with no fear, there's nothing to fear in this division". He sat up as the comment was read out to him and was nodding in agreement. The type of nodding that says "damn right". Obviously, I'm not putting myself forward as some kind of motivational speaker, just saying that some of the players might agree with us and will appreciate hearing that kind of talk. Bigging up these average opponents as if they are Bayern Munich every week, worrying about the opposition and tinkering accordingly won't go down well with the players. Especially if we're dropping points. It looks like Johnson at false 9 was the final straw for the lads last night and I'm glad they took matters into their own hands at half time.

Apparently, Travis shouted "why the eff have we got a defensive midfielder playing upfront" at Mowbray. That was on twitter from a fan sat near the dugout. If true, that's an indicator of what went on at half time.

Relieved to get the win in the end as things were looking bleak at half time. The idea to play Johnson as a false nine was alarming and I'm glad that got binned off at the break. He can't be given more time to try out these bizarre experiments. Enough is enough. Going off the angry look on Mowbray's face for all of the second half and his post match interview, I think it's fair to assume that the players took things into their own hands during the half time break. It sounds like something went off as he didn't look happy at all. Dack and Gallagher were the key men for us in that second half. Quality cross from Dack for Dolan's goal, it was instinctive and right on the button. What I liked was seeing us pile the pressure on them for a spell and break the door down with two quick goals. That hasn't happened for a while. Winnable game to come on Saturday. Let's hope he decides to stick with Giles on the left and Gally down the middle for that one.

Yes!! Good header from Gally. Excellent work from Giles down the left. Playing players in their proper positions actually works!

The pressure has told!! COYB.

Get in! Brilliant header.

His logic will be that Johnson is good in the air. To anybody else it's as desperate as you can get.

We've been lucky to see so many quality strikers at Rovers over the years. I love how we just seemed to pick up the next one and go again. Plenty that I was fond of, but I will go with Bellamy as second to Shearer. He was explosive and could win games on his own. Boro at home springs to mind. Also, that goal at Portsmouth where he ran from the halfway line, beat two or three defenders and fired it left footed into the far top corner from a narrow angle. Wow. Quality. His pace gave us an edge that had not been seen before, nor has it been seen again since his departure. On the subject of Rovers strikers, I really liked the Yak too. He was a good finisher, strong and difficult to knock off the ball. The awful state the club was in when he was here means memories of him at Rovers are somewhat tainted. I wish we had got him earlier when the club was in a better place.

How we could do with such an appointment today. So many good memories of Rovers under his management. The main thing about him was that he was a winner and that was evident in our results under him, particularly from 2000-03. Big wins against Bolton and the dingles in the promotion season. Away wins at Chelsea and Arsenal, a double over that frightening Arsenal side containing a prime Thierry Henry, United put away at Ewood more than once, winning the League Cup. It all feels like a dream now, but I'm so glad I experienced it all! Shame things soured a bit towards the end, but there was a lot more good than bad under Souness. In a recent interview, he said him and John Williams would push each other on to do better. He also said everybody in the boardroom was on the same page and all they wanted was for the club to succeed. The latter point is the reason why I get so angry at the situation today. No winners, no will to win, no boardroom to speak of, yet they will talk bullshit for England while their actions say something else. Fantastic memories of Souey's time here, though.

Something that I noticed when looking around twitter last night is that the same arguments that were being had years ago are still being had today. That in itself should say enough is enough and we need a reset. There are tweets from 2018/19 consisting of naive drivel like "if you want Mowbray out you ain't a proper fan", "what do you expect". Then there are other posts complaining about Mowbray playing players out of position, concern over a lack of wins and posts arguing why Mowbray should go. The very same things are still being said today, so what exactly has changed three or four years on from the above? Two years ago we went to Wigan on the back of a decent win against Bristol City. Mowbray inexplicably decided to play Holtby as a false nine and Gallagher on the right. We were bullied out of the game, got beat in a soft manner and subsequently went on a four game losing streak. Again, what's changed? It's 2022 and all of these things are still happening. We might not be going on losing runs, but the manager's stubborn refusal to learn from past mistakes is costing us crucial points in the race for promotion (for us fans, it is, anyway). His time here has shown us, that even though we may go on a little run here and there, it always reverts back to a spiral where we end up slipping down the table. Why would that change if he was to get a new contract? It won't. Action is needed now to save our season. That won't be happening though, but come the summer he has to go.

I'm expecting us to finish 8th or 9th from here. Just watch Mowbray try to dress it up as being a brave, gallant effort from a set of young lads who just fell short in the end against clubs who had bigger budgets. Oh and the injuries to Markanday and Diaz at a key moment in the season will be thrown in there somewhere. We aren't ever going up with him as manager. He has just thrown away our best chance in years as he doesn't want it. Years of repeated mistakes and a stubborn refusal to change his ways should tell you that. Let's not waste any more time with him. We've already wasted enough.

Since when was it acceptable for Blackburn Rovers to have a manager who doesn't give a damn about promotion? A manager who has been talking shit for years, stringing us along in the process? A manager who looks down at the fans and talks the club down? Is all of that excusable and forgotten about because he isn't Coyle? Because of two good months of form this season? Is it ok because we used to struggle in the '80s too? Get a bloody grip! We will never get our Rovers back with these attitudes. Mediocrity is so deep rooted within our club and parts of the fan base it hurts to see. Fuming at what we have been turned into.

That's exactly what I've been telling anybody who will listen.

Forget it. It's not happening. Time to accept that the good times won't be back until all the losers at the club are removed. That includes Mowbray, Waggott and Venky's. Sick of this crap. We will never prosper for as long as Venky's remain here.

A reflection of the manager.

From what Mowbray has said today, it sounds like Giles is going to continue playing on the right of the attack. I would like to see Dolan and Khadra start as their pace can trouble Bristol City's big lads at the back. I suspect Khadra will be on the bench though with him being strapped up in training yesterday. I'm hopeful of a comfortable win tomorrow against a side who are struggling. We were dominant the other night and were only let down by poor finishing. Sooner or later these chances are going to go in, surely? 2-0 Rovers win.

"Give him the ball and watch him dance inside like Riyad Mahrez". That needs to be included in the dictionary under the definition of delusion.

A crap result. We dominated for large parts, didn't give Millwall a sniff, but are so awfully blunt upfront. Only one man to blame for that. If we had a manager who actually wants promotion, we would have got a striker in January. Mowbray, Waggott and Co are happy with a mid table plod. Promotion to the Premier League is not their game, nor has it ever been. The January window should tell you everything!

How has that not gone in! Unbelievable.

JRC is the favourite for that role tonight. Though, we can't rule out something silly like Buckley getting a game there.

Lenihan is ok to play tonight. He is on nine yellows. Not sure if he can hold out until after the Bristol City game though. Massive game tonight. It's a must win. A draw would be deflating.

Yes, I want to see him start. From the little we have seen of him so far, I thought he looked ok. It's too early to say either way, but he had some nice touches and showed a bit of skill down the line a couple of times. Let's see him over a couple of games. Hopefully Giles is at left wing back tomorrow. Playing him on the right of the attack is unnecessarily complicating things. He's no Salah or Robben. I can see us nicking a 1-0 tomorrow.

They've got the measure of those down at Ewood. Would these strong arm tactics be happening if the club had real operators in place? I doubt it.

Nobody expected a result today, but it doesn't make it hurt any less seeing how comfortable Fulham were throughout the game. We had a bit more of the ball in the second half, but I think Fulham eased off and were happy for us to have it. What were those tactics about today? Giles on the right, Gally on the left when he came on, putting crosses into the smaller attackers. It truly reminds me of some of my old Champ Man/Footy Manager saves when I'd try any random tactic in the hope something works. Our lack of a goal threat is a worry. Khadra and Dolan have plus points, but are so frustrating to watch on the ball. They huff and puff, they look busy, but more often than not, produce nothing at the end of it. Proper coaches would get a hold of them and tell them to cut out the needless step overs and tricks. We already knew, but today shows how far away we are from being a top side in this division. If we did make it to the Premier League we would need a major overhaul of the playing squad and a new manager, none of which I see happening under these owners. I still think we have enough about us to see off some of the 'easier' fixtures coming up. The next three games are pivotal and we need to take maximum points from them. 2nd is beyond us now, imo, as Bournemouth are unlikely to throw away three games in hand, but the play offs are still on.

I think Conte is going to walk in the summer. His comments and demeanour after the Burnley game were of a man who realises he has been brought to the club under false pretences. It was only a few weeks ago that he was complaining about their business in the January transfer window. There is no way Levy is going to give him the money he needs to turn Tottenham into title challengers. Conte isn't interested in 4th place. This season, yeah, but he wants to be fighting for titles and winning cups. It's far too big of a rebuilding job to turn Spurs into that. Boro were deserving winners tonight. The more games for them to fit in, the better.