Is it just me or does anyone else

[khmerblue]

Think there is a play-off place up for grabs.At the moment we have 43pts from 29 games averaging nearly 1.5pts per game.Out of the 7 teams above us we play Norwich away,Boro .Derby and Bristol City at home,if we can up our aveage points total to 2pts a game i think we will make the play offs,only twice has 77pts not made the play-offs.
I know Drog will remind off about the 19pts we have lost from winning positions if we had half off them we would be 3rd.Squad players such as Rodwell and Travis have been superb in the last month,if we can sign 2 more players i can see us pushing all the way for the play-offs
Just as we have won 4 we could easily lose 4,but i think we are pass that stage now,with the team we are playing atm i can only see Mulgrew coming in to making the team stronger,midfield for me.

 

[Drog]

Of course we can waggy. This division is dog eat dog and anybody can beat anybody. The turnaround has been amazing since Mowbray let Travis off the leish (he should have done it much sooner mind and we might have avoided that rubbish through Nov/Dec). There is always one team that comes with a late run so it may as well be us. However we've seen the rovers show promise many times and been disappointed almost as many. A couple of signings perhaps and no injuries especially to key players like DG, Lenihan, Reed and Travis might be the key.

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

When you see that our fellow promoted teams from last season occupy the first two places above the drop zone, it shows how well we are doing in our first season back.
We are pretty much safe, which was always the main priority.
That should mean that we can all enjoy the next 17 matches and see if we are able to turn a good season into a great one.
Just a pity our goal difference is so woeful but a few more results like yesterday will work wonders for that

 

[OnlyOneTugay]

Our recent results have been terrible , but 3 successive games against top 4 sides was always going to be tough . Just wish we hadn’t messed up against Birmingham .,

We weren’t as good as some thought we were before this tough run of games and we aren’t as bad as some think we are , on the tail end of it . I’m going for a home win

Famous Blue and White Halves 2

The Baggies 1

Up the Rovers

I posted this after our hammering at Sheffield Utd. Since then, in the league , we’ve played four, won four . Three clean sheets , nine goals for , one against.

I felt the results against Sheffield Utd , Leeds and Norwich were a tad unfortunate . The quote from Kipling's ‘ If ‘ came to mind then and TM did just that:

“ If you can keep your head ..........”

I have a good feeling about the way he’s building this team . Yesterday they were full of pace , intensity, physicality and a fair degree of skill in ultra tight situations . Really happy about the defensive turn around . Hopefully they’ll be no more Bristol City , PNE , Wigan type defending debacles from now on . Some of the short passing yesterday was sublime . As good a Rovers performance as Ive seen for some time .

KB asks is there a play off spot up for grabs . I’ll look at that again when Rovers get to 50 points . In the meantime I’m enjoying this great run which has more than repaired the damage of those defeats against the top teams .

Up the Rovers

 

[khmerblue]

Drog wrote he chatted to a ex rover who blamed Mulgrew for our defensive problems,watching on river darwens mostly without sound in the last few games i have studied this and we are a better defensive unit with Rodwell than Charlie.When he is fit Bonnie Prince Charlie for Evans will give Travis the potential to get forward even more.If he continues as he is at the moment we will be lucky to keep hold off this young man.

 

[Drog]

I wouldn't look for Travis to score many waggy. He's more a midfield general / enforcer. He gets to the edge of the box OK but eases off and looks around for a pass whereas the likes of Reed, Armstrong and Rothwell always look to score and only pass if their route to goal is blocked.

 

[khmerblue]

yes but he can play the killer pass ie at millwall and make goals something Evans has forgot and smallwood

 

[Gav]

Think there is a play-off place up for grabs.At the moment we have 43pts from 29 games averaging nearly 1.5pts per game.Out of the 7 teams above us we play Norwich away,Boro .Derby and Bristol City at home,if we can up our aveage points total to 2pts a game i think we will make the play offs,only twice has 77pts not made the play-offs.
I know Drog will remind off about the 19pts we have lost from winning positions if we had half off them we would be 3rd.Squad players such as Rodwell and Travis have been superb in the last month,if we can sign 2 more players i can see us pushing all the way for the play-offs
Just as we have won 4 we could easily lose 4,but i think we are pass that stage now,with the team we are playing atm i can only see Mulgrew coming in to making the team stronger,midfield for me.

Its certainly a possibility, Mowbray is working wonders with a limited side that was plying its trade in league 1 only last season, but I think we'll fall away again over the next couple of months and finish comfortably mid-table, job done for me.

Its all about gaining experience at this level, we should be looking to emulate Sheff Utd who are by far the best side to come to Ewood this season for me, now seasoned in this division and looking to push on.

Its clear with the signing of a luxury player like Chapman, that Mowbray thinks he can sneak into the mix this season, so lets see what happens.

Its good to be talking about positives again.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

Yes it can happen. As Gav says ToMo has been working miracles, even the V’s are doing the right thing, it is about time they turned up again and I cannot see them getting a negative reaction.

The fans need to turn up however. The team are doing their bit, it is about time we had another 3-4K on the home gates.

 

[geedog]

At the start of the season I had us down to finish around 14th to 17th and would have loved that, as gav just said we were in league 1 last year league 1..... We got up and hoped to Stay up, and now we are taking about premonition!!! I just hope if we don't go up we can keep form next year and stay in the running for going up next time but its this that I'm scared of as the second season is the hard one the next two game should be easy and then its hard again, I say that as if reading dont win tonight there in a dog fight and teams in trouble are hard to play, then its two of the bigger teams with Middlesboro one of the top so its the next five we need to be still on form for.......

 

[geedog]

I

Yes it can happen. As Gav says ToMo has been working miracles, even the V’s are doing the right thing, it is about time they turned up again and I cannot see them getting a negative reaction.

The fans need to turn up however. The team are doing their bit, it is about time we had another 3-4K on the home gates.

Know this sound shit but wins will bring fans so in the play offs or prem we will be full again...... But parking will be shit, ill have to wait forever to get a coffee ( which is slow at the min ) and people with no clue shouting through the whole match lol

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

The Boro match will be moved if they win their Cup replay at Newport.

My advice......copy the JW Upper and take a flask, many of them add a wee dram or two of Scotch (I prefer The Lakes Distillery myself).

 

[Drog]

I
Know this sound shit but wins will bring fans so in the play offs or prem we will be full again...... But parking will be shit, ill have to wait forever to get a coffee ( which is slow at the min ) and people with no clue shouting through the whole match lol

I wait forever for a coffee now! Always have come to think about it.

 

[Drog]

Its certainly a possibility, Mowbray is working wonders with a limited side that was plying its trade in league 1 only last season, but I think we'll fall away again over the next couple of months and finish comfortably mid-table, job done for me.

If you are still in the midlands I'm guessing that you don't watch the rovers very often Gav? If you did you'd see a strong team spirit and an equally strong 'purpose' in the players. I know that I'm still bouyed up by Saturday's demolition of Hull because I believe that we would have beaten every other team on Sat but I'm starting to see signs now that the best X1 jigsaw is nearing completion. Travis and Rodwell making a significant contribution to that. Also there is real strength on the bench and the players appear to be starting to believe they can give this a real go (injuries / suspensions / cup commitments not entering the equation). Psychology plays a massive part in the season run in and the signs that I am seeing from the players are mainly positive I have to say. They look to have the wind in their sails although a couple of bad results can easily change that.
Kiss of death coming up.............. If I'd to put my opinion in a nutshell it would be 'cautiously optimistic'.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

The Boro match will be moved if they win their Cup replay at Newport.

My advice......copy the JW Upper and take a flask, many of them add a wee dram or two of Scotch (I prefer The Lakes Distillery myself).

Father always brings a flask of coffee made with a milk/water split with a quantity of Rum mixed in, beautiful. The smell is one of my lasting memories of my first game at Ewood with him in 1971 in the Riverside upper tier.

 

[geedog]

It's there for the taking and we've got nothing to lose. There's probably a dozen clubs who fancy their chances if they can put a good run of form together. Rovers being Rovers, I'm taking it one game at a time. We all know how quickly things can turn.

O yes we do rovers the only team that can be winning 2-0 at half time and lose the match 4-2 at the full time whistle...... O the joy of rovers

 

[Drog]

Or that can go 2-1 up on 89 minutes and concede two in injury time!

Part of the reason for our brittleness I feel is the sometime reluctance to play the ball along the back line and work it out of defence. On Sat v Hull (and yes I know their CH's were weak) but Raya persisted in lumping it forward in the 2nd half when Hull had retreated to the half way line and there was oceans of space for either full back to drop deep and get the ball to feet. Doing that, if the other team are allowing us the space enough, wastes precious seconds and retains possession as opposed to a lump forward which 75% of the time ends up with the other team gaining possession. Also playing along the back forces the other team forward and space opens up for our midfielders to receive the ball. I will admit that it does need practising with everyone taking part.

 

[geedog]

Bell, was screaming for the ball at times and Raya hoofed it up the park, dont get me wrong we won but it was a clear and straight path to him and then a clear path to Armstrong it would have been such an easy ball o play but instead it went over everyone and straight to the other keeper

 

[Gav]

If you are still in the midlands I'm guessing that you don't watch the rovers very often Gav? If you did you'd see a strong team spirit and an equally strong 'purpose' in the players. Psychology plays a massive part in the season run in and the signs that I am seeing from the players are mainly positive I have to say. They look to have the wind in their sails although a couple of bad results can easily change that.
Kiss of death coming up.............. If I'd to put my opinion in a nutshell it would be 'cautiously optimistic'.

I probably see more games now than I ever did when I lived in Bburn to be honest, I'm certainly not sat in the stands at Ewood as often, but with todays technology Ewood is never that far away.

Team spirit is massive for us, we've had non since the idiots bought the club, but Mowbray has created that in abundance. But we all know confidence, team spirit and togetherness only takes you so far, and I think we're still short of quality in a number of areas to be thinking of the playoffs, just my opinion and I hope I'm wrong.