Rovers go to Chesterfields' new stadium on Saturday for what potentially could be the best game of the day in League One.
Chesterfield and ourselves are very much form teams right now and up to Tuesday night were level on points and games played, both just two points from the play off positions.
Chesterfield beat Crawley 3-0 on Tuesday to move up there and their top scorer Eion Doyle hit two more to go to 20 league goals so far.
I was hoping that someone would come in to buy him before Saturday but as i write there is no news.
Chesterfield have lost just 2 of their last 10 league matches whilst we have lost 2 of our last 13 in the league.
Both of those records are promotion form and i saw today that no other than Sam Hird has said much the same.
A pal of mine was telling me on Saturday that a month ago he put £100 at 7/1 on Rovers finishing the season in a playoff position.
I would say that is a very good bet.
In the history of games between the two clubs Chesterfield just have the edge, winning 35 games to our 27 with 29 matches having been drawn.
The first ever match was a 0-0 draw in 1901.
Rovers are unbeaten in the last 6 meetings.
Having been promoted from L2 last season Chesterfield are adapting very well to L1 and their attacking style at home and away is very much in contrast to what most of the other clubs in the division have adopted.
At the Keepmoat they came and played a very open game and the outcome was the most entertaining game we have seen there for some time and we managed a 3-2 win.
When i was looking for things to write about for this thread i came accross a post by Donaldo on 10th October which said "I am tempted to suggest that Dickovs' ability to organise a defence in depth would rely on the ability to find a bus plus the knowledge of where to park it".
At the time PD had a threadbare squad and no "Rob Jones" to command the defence and those people who knew that we had next to nothing in the way of available quality defenders recognised what a tough job he had trying to prevent the opposition from scoring.
I am tempted to suggest that the conceding of just 9 goals in the last 13 league games suggests that Dickov didn't need a bus to park in front of the goal at all.
All he needed was Butler and Stevens who have galvanised the back four and proven that with the right players the defence can be organised and very effective.
Praise should also be heaped on Paul Keegan who does the unspectacular role of protecting the back four tremendously well in a system that is proving to work for us.
Most good teams build from a strong defence and win games any way they can.
Sometimes they win by playing great football and sometimes by grinding out a point or three when not being at their best.
When we won L1 a couple of years ago our goals against record was bettered by only two teams in the division and our promotion was built upon being hard to beat.
This is becoming the case this time around and hopefully our new striker can be the man to convert the many scoring opportunities into the goals that turn draws into wins.
CHESTERFIELD V ROVERS MATCH THREAD
posted on 1/2/15
I was making the point about McKay Hound as PD played both Ikpeazu AND Main together. I would have thought he would have gone with Ikpeazu and Tyson, but he didn't.
It didn't work because Main makes the late Arthur Adey look like Clarrie Jordan. ( One for us old un's there Hound).
posted on 1/2/15
You might remember Clarrie yankee but i never saw him play.
The thing that i noted after watching the BBC highlights is that Ikpeazu is built like a BIG heavyweight boxer and looked very skillfull as well.
I cant wait to see him next week.
One thing that no-one has mentioned though is that he was one on one with their keeper and the keeper made a very good low save.
Now if that had been Main.....................
posted on 1/2/15
Donaldo, i know very little about McKay apart from what i have read and from a couple of video clips that i have seen.
However when i compare him in stature to Ikpeazo, despite their being only about a year between them, i see a boy compared to a man.
I don't even know how many goals McKay has scored for the youth team this season because i can't find any stats to give me that information.
Someone said on here a short while ago that Willie McKay will be putting pressure on PD to ibclude him in the team.
IF Willie McKay had tried that (and i doubt it very much) then i can understand why PD will be excluding him.
PD has had many doubters on here but i sense that the tide of opinion is turning as i read comments that tell us how well PD has got the team playing and the like.
I also think that if McKay is as good as some people would have us believe then his chance will come an no-one is better placed than PD to make that decision.
On the other hand, if another club comes in to buy him as an unproven striker at first team level then we should be able to get a nice fee for him as he is under contract.
He could of course make the same mistake as James Husband.
posted on 1/2/15
From odd clips I have seen Hound he is bigger than Tyson, maybe not as big as Main and definitely not as big as Ikpeazu. I watched Arsenal today and a young kid similar to Ikpeazu came on, same size, good feet and strong, Agpon I think.
Guess what he also missed when one on one with Brad Gouzan, must be a trait these days.
By the way Uche's full name is, Karl Anthony Uchechukwu Mubiru Ikpeazu, imagine having to sign that as an autograph.
posted on 1/2/15
Believe me, Uche Ikpeauzu is going to become a fans favourite, he held the ball up well, Chesterfield couldn't handle him, he has quick feet and isn't afraid to take defenders on,No doubt about it he would benefit from the pace of Tyson alongside him.
#FeedUcheandhewillscore⚽️
posted on 1/2/15
Lots of players miss when one on one with keepers.
Always have and always will.
The funny thing is that the keepers often make good save but only get credit for it from their own fans.
Cheltenham - i am with you on this mate.
posted on 2/2/15
I see Mark Duffy has gone to Chesterfield on loan. I was sorry to see him leave us, but he didn't seem to get on with PD, so it would be unlikely that he would want to come back to us anyway. It looks as though Doyle will be departing, 3 days late for us I'd say.
ALF has gone to Bolton on loan
posted on 2/2/15
The Heff has gone from Hibs to Dundee. Free transfer.
posted on 2/2/15
That Uche reminds me of that other player we had. Whats his name, o yes JET, and we all know how bloody rubbish he turned out to be
posted on 3/2/15
Glad heffs has left that shower from the wrong side of Edinburgh! Hopefully he'll get a decent run now at Dundee