Here we go again then, back to the League with a home game against Gillingham.
One of the things in football that makes me laugh is the thing that Gillingham fans do.
Think of the word Gills as in, on a fish.
The fans put their hands behind their ears and flick them forward while saying "gills, gills, gills, gills".
It is really funny to see.
On to the game then, Gillingham are four points behind us although they have played a game more.
After having a run of ten games without a win they are now in a run of five without a defeat so they have steadied the ship somewhat.
They are managed by former England boss, the very experienced Peter Taylor.
Our very inexperienced PD will be keen to pit himself against Mr Taylor.
We have played Gillingham 55 times over the years and they have had the better of things with 30 wins to our 12 with 13 games ending level.
They have 88 goals to our 56.
As for the Rovers tomorrow, well i see that Stevens has confirmed his loan extension so i forsee him and Wabbara coming back into the starting line up which will strengthen the back line.
Keegs, Copps and Wellens should also come back into the team.
The big question for me is, if Tyson is fit will he start at the expense of either Theo or Curtis Main?
Main was particularly poor against Notts County and despite his goals recently i haven't been convinced by his general front man play.
I watched him at York before he got injured and i thought his hold up play and movement was fantastic but in the recent games i have seen he has been nowhere near that level.
Theo on the other hand has gone up in my estimation with his hard work and a couple of good goals.
One of our problems up front though is an inability to win balls in the air and have a player who can hold up a ball to bring midfielders into play like Chris Brown did.
This is one of the reasons that we play the way we do, essentially trying to play balls into feet to the front men in the hope that they can move it quickly to oncoming players and make spin off runs.
Pass and move is what we try to do and when it works we look a very good and mobile team.
To my mind Tyson is perfect for this kind of play because his first touch is usually good and he can get into the space behind defenders very quickly.
I would like to see him start if he is fit.
Our recent form has been very good with only two defeats in the last nine games and to be fair, we shouldn't have lost the two that we did.
Big moments change the outcome of games don't they.
If Harry had put the pen away we wouldn't have lost to the Blunts and we all know about the decision in the JPT game.
Can it be a coincidence that in both games we conceded a goal within a few minutes of feeling hard done by?
Both goals conceded were very similar in their making too, with players being allowed to run with the ball unchallenged before putting away very good shots.
It is possible that the players had lost concentration for a few minutes, perhaps thinking of what could have been?
Who knows, but it is my theory.
Anyway, another game comes along quickly for us to hopefully put the cup exit behind us and press on in the quest to climb up the table.
For us to do that i feel that we have to start putting the ball in the net more often because we do get on top quite often in matches but do fail to hammer home our superiority at the time.
Once again i will go to a home game in expectation of seeing us win but the home jinx is becoming a big cross to bear for the team.
I am still waiting for one of you to come up with a "curse breaker".
Xon, is that you?
ROVERS V GILLINGHAM MATCH THREAD
posted on 14/12/14
Donaldo I don't the ref would have gave it if the score had been 0 0
posted on 14/12/14
Lanza, why would we get into a slanging match.
I said the same thing at the game, in that we didn't have any width.
Funnily enough, within a few minutes of us talking about it at the game Copps went wide right and stayed there.
Our biggest problem in my view is the front two.
Neither are very strong in the ariel department and both of them are struggling to get the ball under control when it is fired into feet.
How i miss Chris Brown, he didn't score too many but he was fantastic at holding the ball up and bringing others into the game.
Maybe if he had been made a decent offer he would have stayed.
Donaldo, dont even get me started on just or unjust penalty awards mate.
The one that finished us off last season at Leicester wasn't even a penalty.
Replays clearly show that the trip by Husband was made OUTSIDE of the box so quite clearly things even up over time.
I haven't had look myself yet at the TV replay on the pen yesterday so i will take your word for it that the trip was outside of the box.
posted on 14/12/14
U know my feelings on brownie.
Such a shame the board of our football club just don't care!
posted on 14/12/14
We could still have a fantastic squad and be an established championship team if we'd have spent the money, not just these last 2 years but 6/7. Look at brentford!!!!
posted on 14/12/14
Just look at the players we've let go/got rid of since we came back into the league, just for the sake of spending a few quid.
Now it's the time of "You reap what you sow"
From the top to the bottom, there's something that doesn't add up to me. AKA it's the Richardson crap all over again.
posted on 14/12/14
Our constant complaint during the SOD years was the lack of investment and shedding of the kind of talent that could have sustained us. Unlike Young DIckie who keeps his nose very clean and which may well be the secret of his continuing employment, SOD often took a sideswipe at the Board over resources - "No money" was his frequent refrain. They let SOD's talent pool run dry with the inevitable results.
What we need now is to make the most of what we have and instead of relating our current woes to the uncomfortable proximity of imaginary monkeys, Mr Dickov needs to examine his own management methods because scoring goals is fundamentally physical, kicking a ball into a net. Totally physical is the business of preventing the opposition from scoring and no monkeys and no psychology at all operates there. (Explanations are rarely offered for opposition goals.)
Both of these essentially mechanical processes do have an established range of techniques which can be employed to improve the ability of players of this sport of football. Those who practice this skill are called managers and coaches
If these people are effective their teams win matches by scoring more goals that they concede.
If such people are not good at what they are paid to do, they should not imagine that the fans will be naive enough to accept that it is supernatural forces that are at work. It is nothing to do with fate; it is bad management through and through. In this case it is Dickov and his coaches that have failed, it is they who cannot offer any practical solution to this very practical shortcoming. It’s time for him to resign and take his clueless backroom with him.
posted on 15/12/14
Lanza, Azza, Zigger:
I am glad it isn't just me who thinks that we will never get any investment in the football team with the current owners in charge.
Now if we kicked an oval ball around.......................
Donaldo, you over simplify - any footballer will tell you that the hardest thing in football is to put the ball in the net.
You say that all the players have to do is kick the ball into the net and stop the other side from doing it to us.
Quite true of course.
However there will be eleven other blokes on the pitch trying to do exactly the same thing for another club.
Had you thought of that ??
posted on 15/12/14
I just had an email from a pal of mine who was at the game.
He says that on his way home from the game he was thinking that our performance on Saturday was very much like it used to be in the SOD era.
He says that we moved the ball around patiently and well but failed to put the ball away when we were on top.
He confirms what i was saying at the game myself, that because we lack height in the attacking area we take short corners whenever we can and create more scoring opportunities as a result of that.
The credit for that must surely go to the manager who as donaldo says, trains them.
Most of us on here acknowledge that the team is playing some good football now which must also be down to the manager but to blame him for players not putting the ball in the net is quite harsh.
If we scored some of the many chances that we create then we would be in a much healthier position.
As i said at the start of the thread, for us to move up the table we need to start putting the ball in the net more often because when we are on top we fail to hammer home our superiority.
Azza, i have just thought a bit more about what you said about us being a well established Championship team if the money had been invested in the football team.
You know what, i completely agree with that.
Looking back over the years Swansea did just that and look where they are now and as well as Brentford, look at what Bournemouth have done because their board was foresighted enough to invest in their team.
posted on 15/12/14
My piece was an exaggeration of the reality of course, but have YOU Hound ever thought that managers can always blame players. Equally, you could say that managers of successful teams have nothing to do with what the players do on the pitch including their ability to convert their chances. Peter Taylor's half-time talk seemed to inspire them to come out on the front foot. So what can we deduce about Dickov's?
Managers don't participate on the pitch, but the way DIckov speaks never directly acknowledges that he shares responsibility for what his players do or what they are capable of doing, yet it is he who recruits the players. If height is important he has had considerable opportunity to recruit some tall strikers.
It must be apparent to anyone looking at any of he supporter forums that there is now an almost overwhelming majority that want a management change. And ours are not "sack-the-manager fans.
Are we all wrong?
posted on 15/12/14
First of all donaldo, i have never said that you are wrong.
I also didnt say that we need a tall striker did i?
I did say that it is harsh to blame the manager when someone doesn't put a chance away.
You ask the question "what can we deduce from Dickovs half time talk".
Well can you tell us, because i dont know and neither do you of course.
Peter Taylor DID say after the game "WE knew Doncaster are a very good side and set out to frustrate them" so perhaps all is not quite as bad as you say.
Going back to your point about signing a tall striker, how do you know that he wasn't denied the opportunity to do such a thing by the board?
In my view, the team are playing some very good football and the main thing that is missing is that we just dont seem to be able to score the goals that would finish teams off, just look at the recent matches against the likes of Crewe and Barnsley and Notts County.