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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 21:15:08 GMT
Both of their goals were avoidable. First one was appalling. The second one they just pinned us in and just kept peppering the goal. As others have said, before the stoppage things were good. I’m just resigned. JB was the only manager who I hoped would have the connections to get us some better players. If we go back to AN other manager with this ground, we might as well resign ourselves to league 2 as we can’t survive in league 1. Absolutely terrible given we have a fan base comfortably to support league 1 football but repeated failure and inability to get a ground, it’s just perpetual rubbish. We could always try to do what a lot of other clubs do and just hoof it to remain mid table. I’m seriously at the end of my tether with rovers. It’s been 25 years since we were any good. It’s like this club has a curse while the club next door gets a revolving door of cup ties and money men. Probably at a bad point but I’m close to say “fk it” I obviously won’t but it’s how I feel. I can’t get the energy to hope or care anymore. Chin up mate we’re on a bad run but have been more league 2 than league 1 over the last 20 odd years and although it’s dreadful at the moment we are league 1 and 9 points above the drop so it generally has been a lot worse . It’s hard to see where the 4 or 5 wins we need are coming from but if we can get them ( I think we will just ) then we’ll start again in league 1 next season with a clean slate . This season was always going to be difficult I said when the final whistle had blown at the end of last season that “ this team would make top half next season maybe top 6 but it won’t be the same team because we won’t have Taylor, Thomas Anderson or Connelly” Well we got connelly but he’s lost without Taylor and our squad is much weaker than it was and add to that the Barton / Belshaw fiasco we’ve got problems yeah. But overal this seasons points tally so far has been what most expected so it’s not like we’ve been in the relegation zone all season. All is not lost but Barton needs to turn around the terrible form or he’ll either get sacked or we’ll go down or both. Hopefully he’ll sort it. Dunno why he didn’t go with what he did Tuesday , it was back to 433 today and very poor.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 20:57:42 GMT
No bones about it, we are in big trouble. Burton were dreadful, worse than anything we played last season on league 2. They had a game plan, zero football, free kicks, throws, everything in the box to expose our soft center and it worked a treat. Don't get me wrong they deserved the win, but boy were we bad. Connolly and Quansah at the back will relegate us. Both Burton goals suspect for offside but don't let that destract from one of the poorest displays I've seen in the last 5 years or so.... I thought they were better than half of the sides we played last season but other than that I agree with you. The poor sides in league 2 were woeful the poor sides in league 1 are streetwise and know how to grind out results when they know they won’t have much of the ball.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 17:54:37 GMT
Should have strengthened in the window with experience. Didn’t. Brought in kids on loan and dropped our experienced very good keeper who has been brilliant for us for one of those kids and we’re in free fall. Todays performance was awful but the most worryingly thing is that it fell apart after a great start and scoring first . When you play well first 10 minutes , score and then completely disintegrate you know you’ve got big problems.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 17:24:42 GMT
I wasn’t expecting too much today but I thought we’d get at least a point and once we scored I was confident we’d get that but that was fecking awful.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 14:44:15 GMT
Maybe JB sees him as more of an impact sub for this one, he put in a great shift on Tuesday. Bit harsh on Gordon to be benched after a good performance. I'm disapointed Anderson doesnt start today. I feel he is needed more from the off to put us on the front foot, as he is one of the few that seem to want to attack the opposition If there’s an illness in the squad then the changes probably aren’t down to choice as much as forced.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 14:09:29 GMT
Kinell it’s hard to say what that formation is we’ve obviously been hit by this illness quite badly.
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Post by socrates on Feb 18, 2023 12:46:59 GMT
“Your only as good as your last game” , hopefully.
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Post by socrates on Feb 17, 2023 15:31:02 GMT
I think Burton will set up extremely defensive and we’ll need to use the whole width of the pitch to try and stretch them to create clear chances. Anderson and Sinclair hugging the touch lines either side of Evans with Collins in front of them. Bogey and Ward in the middle. Overlapping full backs when Sincs and rhino cut in and overload them looking to switch the play across the pitch to stretch what will be a very compact burton side. The movement will need to be decent as well as the width and like Barton said we might have to stay patient. Looking forward to this one after missing the Ipswich game. UTG.
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Post by socrates on Feb 17, 2023 14:55:55 GMT
Too narrow and too predictable, our full backs will get overrun on the counter attack also. I’d be happy with the same team and formation as Tuesday but a higher line 10 yards further up the pitch. Collins looked slightly lost on his own up front Tuesday until Coburn came on. He did which is expected when your three most attacking mids don’t get forward much as that’s what happened because Barton set us out to not get beat. V Burton I’d expect it to be more of a 4231 than 451.
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Post by socrates on Feb 17, 2023 13:12:30 GMT
Line Up for Saturday (JB has said there is some illness is the group but no names mentioned) for me: GK: Ellery Balcombe RB: Luca Hoole (Gibbons Suspended?) CB: Lewis Gibson (Back from Injury?) CB: Jarell Quansah LB: Lewis Gordon DM: Paul Coutts (if fit) CM: Antony Evans CM: Grant Ward AM: Aaron Collins CF: Josh Coburn CF: John Marquis Too narrow and too predictable, our full backs will get overrun on the counter attack also. I’d be happy with the same team and formation as Tuesday but a higher line 10 yards further up the pitch.
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Post by socrates on Feb 16, 2023 21:05:27 GMT
That’s right , it is also where the saying “ back to square 1 “ comes from. Square one was the penalty area so that meant the keeper had the ball. the balls with Jones, 20 yds from keeper Nigel Martyn....he looks and finds Holloway who finds Mehew.........mayhew runs' is blocked but finds Holloway again who finds Andy Reece... Rovers in thete quartered shirts white shirts and blue socks.......Reece' avoids the challenge' finds Purnell.....runs down the flank, dodges one then another.....CROSSES.....MEETS GARY PENRICE' HEADER....Oooooh what a save from ******* ****** 's Goalie. My favourite team.
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Post by socrates on Feb 16, 2023 14:31:12 GMT
A million years ago when football was first broadcast on the 'Home service' there was a chart in the Radio Times dividing the pitch into numbers and as the commentary went on a hushed voice would whisper the number of the square where the play was actually at thus giving fans an idea of where the ball was. Simpler times with no weird handball rule-intentional only. That’s right , it is also where the saying “ back to square 1 “ comes from. Square one was the penalty area so that meant the keeper had the ball.
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Post by socrates on Feb 16, 2023 12:18:29 GMT
Last week I think JB hinted that Gibson may be fit for Saturday. He can then play his favoured 3 at the back. Please god no.
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Post by socrates on Feb 16, 2023 12:17:29 GMT
Stick with the same formation with this one and most others going forward. It’s no coincidence that Evans had his best game since last season , it’s because he was playing further up like he did last season. It’s no coincidence Sinclair had one of his best games for us it’s because he was playing as a winger / inside forward for the first time , not bloody wing back ! It’s 451 without the ball and 4231 with the ball , it’s balanced from front to back and across the pitch. That 433 with three strikers is so narrow we get dominated in wide positions just the same with 352 , outnumbered out wide all the time because we don’t have natural wing backs and there’s no link between defence and attack. It will probably work in some games but Barton threw our chances of the play offs by using that as his default formation for so long recently. So bloody frustrating but hopefully he / we’ve turned the corner. agree with evans. Pushed further he looked like the player of old.him sinclair and Anderson finally played in their best positions with a energetic defensive midfield two who snapped and chased everything down without commiting fouls and playing on the toes of the back 4. Exactly. The frustrating thing is that Barton discovered this last season and we went on to win promotion yet it’s almost like he forgot over the summer and started again tactically from scratch. He seems to always want to try other things first like 3 central defenders with wing backs , or very narrow 433 with three strikers. What works seems to be his fall back formation when everything else fails rather than his first choice tactic. “Football is a simple game complicated my coaches “ Can’t remember who said that but it does ring true a lot of the time.
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Post by socrates on Feb 16, 2023 8:27:32 GMT
I'm not sure playing just Collins upfront against Burton at home is the best approach, even if it would bring out the best in Evans. Not sure when Gibbons case will be heard, will that be before Saturday's game? With Evans , Sinclair and Anderson all around him in attacking positions ( when we’re attacking ) I think it’ll work just fine. It’s basically what we did last season from Christmas and it was a winning formula then. I know this is a higher division with better teams that are also a lot more streetwise so I don’t expect us to go on a run and make the play offs but I think we’d get to 52 points in plenty of time. Coburn is good but needs to learn how to manipulate defenders to win free kicks , he reminds me a lot of Harold , he’s big but rarely wins the tussles or free kicks.
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Post by socrates on Feb 15, 2023 22:03:50 GMT
Stick with the same formation with this one and most others going forward. It’s no coincidence that Evans had his best game since last season , it’s because he was playing further up like he did last season. It’s no coincidence Sinclair had one of his best games for us it’s because he was playing as a winger / inside forward for the first time , not bloody wing back ! It’s 451 without the ball and 4231 with the ball , it’s balanced from front to back and across the pitch. That 433 with three strikers is so narrow we get dominated in wide positions just the same with 352 , outnumbered out wide all the time because we don’t have natural wing backs and there’s no link between defence and attack. It will probably work in some games but Barton threw our chances of the play offs by using that as his default formation for so long recently. So bloody frustrating but hopefully he / we’ve turned the corner.
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Post by socrates on Feb 15, 2023 21:56:52 GMT
When Greasy Joe ran past with a tray of burgers at Twerton Park. To this day I don't know if it was him, the burgers or probably both. I loved that smell at Twerton when I was kid. When I think of Twerton I can still smell that lush combination of tobacco smoke and Burgers.
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Post by socrates on Feb 15, 2023 15:10:24 GMT
It was always going to end this way after JB made a scapegoat of him in his last few performances. Was only a few months ago he was saying he’s the best English keeper outside the top league and warranted a statue etc. And this is why most don’t seem to like Barton the person. Got to say I’m in that camp too thing is it’s all about results and if he’s successful while he’s here then that means Rovers are successful so I’ll take that. The way I see it is the manager ain’t our mate I don’t have to like him or go for a pint with him, but if he’s doing well for Rovers that’s good enough. Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough weren’t that likeable to a lot of people but they were highly successful so they got it right.
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Post by socrates on Feb 14, 2023 21:53:50 GMT
Look, Joey, there might be a reason why we pick up points against the top sides and get thumped by the crap ones. We set up deep and defended resolutely. No tippy tappy. Modify your style for league 1 Joey, it’s great we can play the ball out but it needs to be done at the right times. Just dial down the possession football 15% and increase the pragmatic football 15% and we will be just fine. I started to think last week that maybe we were trying to play championship football, maybe a case of trying to run before we could properly walk. Maybe the giddy heights of nearing the playoffs put us a little bit above our level mentally. Great performance tonight and great performances all over the pitch. Was really pleased for the back four and especially the keeper tonight. Bogarde looks like he will be some player Tonight was 4231 it worked last season and it worked tonight, he did change it a bit and went 541 towards the end but we looked solid throughout.
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Post by socrates on Feb 14, 2023 20:40:27 GMT
Well I was delighted to see us at last set up 4231 when I looked at the team sheet and so far it’s worked well. Having that 5 in midfield in front of a back four is working well and I think it’s a must for us against the majority of sides in this division with the standard of players we’ve got. 3 central strikers is for when you’re chasing a game and Barton was throwing matches before they’d started with that tactic. we haven’t been great but we’ve been solid , I’d like to see us get it to Sinclairs feet more in the second half though , at last he’s being played in a position that suits him but he’s mostly fed off of high passes and scraps . Come on Gas we can do this !!
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