-
NEXT GAME:no idea
Sometime in August
Kick off unknown pm
No idea where
Definitely the Championship
Rovers v Cardiff City
- Thread starter Wilpshire Blue
- Start date
Old Darwen Blue
Prediction Champion 2021, 2022 & 2023
No need to panic, Cardiff and Neil Harris did a professional job on us today and they’ll be nearer the top than the bottom at the end of the season. A major plus point is that Kaminski kept another clean sheet as I remember all to well thinking that we have to score three to win a game as we were guaranteed to concede a couple of goals.
Onwards and upwards.
COYB
Onwards and upwards.
COYB
khmerblue
Senior Member
After 10mins I would have took a draw Cardiff are a decent side,it's a pity we did not take advantage off our extra man.I thought Buckley was outstanding when he came on,seems to have Filled out a bit.The I follow from rovers was terrible buffering every few mins any one else have the same problem.
Smells Like Kean Spirit
Senior Member
Job done by Cardiff wasn't it. We lost momentum and didn't look like scoring, even after they went down to ten men. Johnson wasn't at the races against such an athletic side and so no one was pulling the strings for us. Travis can't come back soon enough. Brereton was up against a decent defender and struggled as did Dolan. It could have been a Warnock side we were up against if they were a bit more ruthless on the break. On the plus side, Ayala looked steady and Kaminsk looks a good un. We have some of our brightest and best still sidelined and I expect us to get stronger throughout the season. Up the Rovers!
Mine dropped out for a time but only twice waggy,
Anyway Cardiff staffed mainly by Colin Wanker's signings and adopting the tactics and mannerisms of the perennial Millwall model under Neil Harris were always going to be tough to beat. A horrible side but as with all similar club sides they will not win many friends and will almost always be tough to beat. Top teams will usually find a way to beat them though. Best thing about today was that at least we didn't lose to them.
'Every day is a school day' applied perfectly today as some of the Rovers young guns will have learned today what it's like to be up against big men, and big men willing might I add who rely much on the dark arts.
Harris's scouts had certainly done their homework on Dolan as the kid was afforded little space and much close attention, with the Cardiff defenders always pinning him to the line and ready and willing to double up on him should he try to cut inside. Credit to the kid that after just a few games in the Championship that Cardiff obviously deemed him and Adam Armstrong as their main threat. He was subject to much intimidation including a softening up headbutt from Cunningham in the first half. Cunningham ring rusty and short of pace after a season long injury was obviously, in the words of the late Norman Hunter intent solely on 'getting his retaliation in first'.
Referee Darren Bond ran typical to form as Championship match spoiler No1 . He's a crap referee that we had the misfortune to meet up with 6 times home and away last season. Poor against QPR and after the Huddersfield home match I wrote ............
"Darren Bond (Lancashire) 4. Congratulations due here as not many Referees can infuriate both sets of supporters so comprehensively. By the end of the match the Huddersfield fans had joined the Rovers faithful with howls of outrage at this chap. Maybe the fact that he started Refereeing at 15 and has therefore obviously never kicked a ball in anger in his life is a contributory factor. It is my long held view that it is. There are surely enough players whose careers have cut short by injury to recruit to the ranks of Football Referees. *
Born in Lancashire apparently. I wonder if that might have been somewhere between Padiham and Nelsen?"
After the Stoke match this.......
Referee Darren Bond.... 6 Did better than his previous 2 appearances at Ewood this season overall although that isn't necessarily a compliment!
Today Bond gave a foul one minute and waved play on the next for a seemingly carbon copy offence. He also seemed to exhibit a certain bias in Cardiff's favour with a number of decisions or rather non decisions. He did get Tomlin's elbow on Gallagher right but that was hard to miss. Such an obvious red mist incident would be hard to imagine. I am left with the opinion that the overweight and obviously unfit Tomlin was knackered and out of steam and needed a breather. A stronger Ref would have jumped on Cardiff's spoiling and disrupting tactics early on.
So a disappointingly dull and frustrating match and 0-0 result. Cardiff will go home happy with job done whilst the Rovers players will no doubt be sat in a disappointed dressing room looking glum. It wasn't a defeat but it will feel like one.
Kaminsky.... 7 I think we have a 'gud un' here. Looks alert and decisive, he pulled off a couple of sharp saves including a flying tip over from Hoilett. Able to complement the team by acting as sweeper. Failed to come for a ball just once and gave me a turn by attempting to dribble the ball out as last man. He succeeded but he won't every time and needs to cut that out of his game.
Nyambe.. 6. Got forward well but he is too predictable. A one trick push and run to the by-line merchant with unfortunately little end product.
Ayala... 6 Tbh I didn't notice him much, which in itself is a compliment with a shut out for his first match with unfamiliar team mates.
Williams... 7 Battled well and showed good anticipation to snuff out one or two dangerous moments.
Bell.... 6 Decent performance but marred with a couple of indecisive moments. Got forward well but like Nyambe there isn't much end product. Can't be easy playing behind BB.
Holtby... 6 Classy performance and played some good passes and crosses but unfortunately not quite effective enough.
Johnson.. 7 Typical combative performance and against this lot it needed to be! Seemed to have a little 'previous' with some Cardiff players.
Dolan.... 6 Not up to his best but fair play Cardiff had been sent out to stop him. Perhaps, as with all debutants needs to be taken out of the spotlight and start next match on the subs bench. He'll have a lump on his head the size of a pigeons egg tonight courtesy of Cunningham's assault.
Rothwell.. 7 Most danger came from Rothwell and he took the fight to Cardiff at every opportunity, a lack of a productive final ball again let him down. Faded in the last quarter of the match.
Brereton... 6 Reverted somewhat to type with a below par performance. I will at this point give Osei-Tutu much credit here. He looks a very decent full back.
Armstrong.. 6 Fizzed about and looked dangerous but some days they go in and others they don't. Could and should by his standards have won the game for the Rovers when one on one with Smithies the Cardiff keeper.
Subs
Gallagher... 5 Never seemed to be up to speed but this was his first appearance this season and it showed. Should have scored with a sharp chance that was harder to miss than to score.... needless to say he missed.
Buckley ..7 Replaced Dolan and gave a tidy performance with some creative passes. This lad is turning into a decent player I believe,
Chapman... 5 Our last throw of the dice but Harry didn't live up to his promise and had little effect on proceedings.
Tony Mowbray..6 More animated in the last 30 mins than I have seen him for a long time. He will have to get this young team to find a way to win when faced with intimidation and rough house tactics OR we will face them more and more! Best way forward is to find one of the young guns in the U23's to see both Gally and BB relegated to the bench. Today both were our weakest players imo.
Also needs to coach the players how to use the full width of the pitch with plenty of running and fast mid range passing against teams reduced to 10 men. The Rovers wasted possession time and again by playing in ever smaller triangles down the left side too often, the type of football which even 10 men teams find so easy to defend against. Instead we should have been sweeping it out right and stretching the opposition to create room in the middle. I don't think it helped taking Holtby off tbh. With Houlett subbed and just the ponderous Moore up top I'd have taken off a defender for Chapman.
One major plus for Mowbray, the Rovers looked a much fitter outfit than Cardiff who had more than a few players looking like our lot did under Coyle.
Referee Darren Bond.. 4 See above.
Anyway Cardiff staffed mainly by Colin Wanker's signings and adopting the tactics and mannerisms of the perennial Millwall model under Neil Harris were always going to be tough to beat. A horrible side but as with all similar club sides they will not win many friends and will almost always be tough to beat. Top teams will usually find a way to beat them though. Best thing about today was that at least we didn't lose to them.
'Every day is a school day' applied perfectly today as some of the Rovers young guns will have learned today what it's like to be up against big men, and big men willing might I add who rely much on the dark arts.
Harris's scouts had certainly done their homework on Dolan as the kid was afforded little space and much close attention, with the Cardiff defenders always pinning him to the line and ready and willing to double up on him should he try to cut inside. Credit to the kid that after just a few games in the Championship that Cardiff obviously deemed him and Adam Armstrong as their main threat. He was subject to much intimidation including a softening up headbutt from Cunningham in the first half. Cunningham ring rusty and short of pace after a season long injury was obviously, in the words of the late Norman Hunter intent solely on 'getting his retaliation in first'.
Referee Darren Bond ran typical to form as Championship match spoiler No1 . He's a crap referee that we had the misfortune to meet up with 6 times home and away last season. Poor against QPR and after the Huddersfield home match I wrote ............
"Darren Bond (Lancashire) 4. Congratulations due here as not many Referees can infuriate both sets of supporters so comprehensively. By the end of the match the Huddersfield fans had joined the Rovers faithful with howls of outrage at this chap. Maybe the fact that he started Refereeing at 15 and has therefore obviously never kicked a ball in anger in his life is a contributory factor. It is my long held view that it is. There are surely enough players whose careers have cut short by injury to recruit to the ranks of Football Referees. *
Born in Lancashire apparently. I wonder if that might have been somewhere between Padiham and Nelsen?"
After the Stoke match this.......
Referee Darren Bond.... 6 Did better than his previous 2 appearances at Ewood this season overall although that isn't necessarily a compliment!
Today Bond gave a foul one minute and waved play on the next for a seemingly carbon copy offence. He also seemed to exhibit a certain bias in Cardiff's favour with a number of decisions or rather non decisions. He did get Tomlin's elbow on Gallagher right but that was hard to miss. Such an obvious red mist incident would be hard to imagine. I am left with the opinion that the overweight and obviously unfit Tomlin was knackered and out of steam and needed a breather. A stronger Ref would have jumped on Cardiff's spoiling and disrupting tactics early on.
So a disappointingly dull and frustrating match and 0-0 result. Cardiff will go home happy with job done whilst the Rovers players will no doubt be sat in a disappointed dressing room looking glum. It wasn't a defeat but it will feel like one.
Kaminsky.... 7 I think we have a 'gud un' here. Looks alert and decisive, he pulled off a couple of sharp saves including a flying tip over from Hoilett. Able to complement the team by acting as sweeper. Failed to come for a ball just once and gave me a turn by attempting to dribble the ball out as last man. He succeeded but he won't every time and needs to cut that out of his game.
Nyambe.. 6. Got forward well but he is too predictable. A one trick push and run to the by-line merchant with unfortunately little end product.
Ayala... 6 Tbh I didn't notice him much, which in itself is a compliment with a shut out for his first match with unfamiliar team mates.
Williams... 7 Battled well and showed good anticipation to snuff out one or two dangerous moments.
Bell.... 6 Decent performance but marred with a couple of indecisive moments. Got forward well but like Nyambe there isn't much end product. Can't be easy playing behind BB.
Holtby... 6 Classy performance and played some good passes and crosses but unfortunately not quite effective enough.
Johnson.. 7 Typical combative performance and against this lot it needed to be! Seemed to have a little 'previous' with some Cardiff players.
Dolan.... 6 Not up to his best but fair play Cardiff had been sent out to stop him. Perhaps, as with all debutants needs to be taken out of the spotlight and start next match on the subs bench. He'll have a lump on his head the size of a pigeons egg tonight courtesy of Cunningham's assault.
Rothwell.. 7 Most danger came from Rothwell and he took the fight to Cardiff at every opportunity, a lack of a productive final ball again let him down. Faded in the last quarter of the match.
Brereton... 6 Reverted somewhat to type with a below par performance. I will at this point give Osei-Tutu much credit here. He looks a very decent full back.
Armstrong.. 6 Fizzed about and looked dangerous but some days they go in and others they don't. Could and should by his standards have won the game for the Rovers when one on one with Smithies the Cardiff keeper.
Subs
Gallagher... 5 Never seemed to be up to speed but this was his first appearance this season and it showed. Should have scored with a sharp chance that was harder to miss than to score.... needless to say he missed.
Buckley ..7 Replaced Dolan and gave a tidy performance with some creative passes. This lad is turning into a decent player I believe,
Chapman... 5 Our last throw of the dice but Harry didn't live up to his promise and had little effect on proceedings.
Tony Mowbray..6 More animated in the last 30 mins than I have seen him for a long time. He will have to get this young team to find a way to win when faced with intimidation and rough house tactics OR we will face them more and more! Best way forward is to find one of the young guns in the U23's to see both Gally and BB relegated to the bench. Today both were our weakest players imo.
Also needs to coach the players how to use the full width of the pitch with plenty of running and fast mid range passing against teams reduced to 10 men. The Rovers wasted possession time and again by playing in ever smaller triangles down the left side too often, the type of football which even 10 men teams find so easy to defend against. Instead we should have been sweeping it out right and stretching the opposition to create room in the middle. I don't think it helped taking Holtby off tbh. With Houlett subbed and just the ponderous Moore up top I'd have taken off a defender for Chapman.
One major plus for Mowbray, the Rovers looked a much fitter outfit than Cardiff who had more than a few players looking like our lot did under Coyle.
Referee Darren Bond.. 4 See above.
Last edited:
