Yes pretty depressing! Yet things can change relatively quickly if only we can get that first win. Its a home game and a "big" club we're playing. We don't usually do that badly in these situations. We definitely need to start quicker. I was a bit disappointed Wellens laid the blame on the players for the Accrington result rather than getting his tactics wrong. Not sure I want to be right predicting another defeat but it looks the most likely scenario. But hey let's go 2-1 to Rovers, Rowe, Barlow.

Logic says we should lose, and Pompey have yet to let in a goal, but recently we have often done OK against them, and so this could be the turning point.
A miracle might happen and we score two goals, and so I'll say 2-2 with Close/Rowe the scorers.

Rovers 0 Pompey 2

Hope I'm wrong mind

Yes ... we rely on them being overconfident and with Seaman and Smith hopefully at least on the bench, that will clinch it.

I think I'll stick to my pessimistic forecast though and delight in the victory.

Head tells me we're going to struggle again. Heart tells me 2-1 to Rovers. So I'll go with the heart. 2-1 to Rovers. Rowe with the first.

Not hopeful at all
Rovers 0-4 Pompey
Please let me be wrong.😐

It sounded as though it was a more spirited performance and although Portsmouth might feel a little unlucky it seems that credit is due to Rovers for some good defending. On the other hand there seemed to be signs of potential goal-scoring by Rovers. Seaman obviously makes a difference and Dahlberg is indispensable.

Having now suffered the pain of seeing most of the Accrington game on iFollow, it seemed that it was more than a notch or two up the scale.

Cukur seems to fall over every time that he is challenged for the ball and this seemed to be the most noticeable trait of his game when I saw him against Wimbledon. That no decisions go in his favour suggest that referees are not fooled by his antics and it is sad that one so young should base his game around trying to win fouls. Is it mandatory to include him because so far his is not as good as Bogle?

I find Bostock irritating too, always complaining, often seemingly when he has obviously made a mistake. You forgave Marquis for this kind of thing because he put in so much effort to the cause, but Bostock has a different kind of arrogance.

I look forward to the highlights.

A noticeable improvement - but we have to thank Dahlberg for the point. Two excellent stops in addition to the penalty, but he needs to improve his kicking as too many balls went straight out of play.
Seaman is beginning to look better every game - especially as he had just come out of isolation, and Cameron John looked solid at LB and CB. However, at times Ro-Shaun Williams makes me very nervous.
Personally, I'm getting to like Bostock. He still had "brain fade" on occasions, and is not yet fully fit - and a little arrogance is OK with me. To me, he does not seem to be always complaining, and he was fully justified when he got his yellow. He was shielding the ball very well and was pushed by the Pompey player , fell on the ball and was given a foul for handball whereas the foul should have been against Pompey. In all our league matches the standard of refereeing has seemed poor to me.
While Cukur perhaps falls down too easily, he certainly has had his short pulled several times and the opponent was never penalised - including the the one in an earlier game where he was dragged to the ground by his arm.
It seems Bogle may be on his way out, and that would free up money for the "experienced League One striker" Wellens talks about.

The extended highlights were really encouraging. At last there is evidence of what RW has been telling us about the abilities of the players he has assembled. That there were no goals is a drawback, but for once there was good evidence of potential.

Probably one on the most pleasing aspects was how Cameron John stepped into the boots of Anderson. Not sure about Horton but hopefully he's good enough to allow Tommy Rowe to keep his more forward role. Seaman seems to add a lot too. Things could change dramatically if Oke and Taylor are playing again. Midfield seems to be settling in nicely too. It's just the final 1/3 but it's been like that for months now. A false dawn or new era?

When we get our front three back it really will be a new era with players having to prove their worth to play.
Of course, a big defeat on Tuesday could hurt confidence that might cause a false dawn. RW says he is going to make many changes to freshen up some players and give a rest to some others.
Although I think the Extended Highlights slightly flattered us (whereas the Accrington ones did the same for them), I was encouraged by what I saw RW is trying to do. There were some good periods of play, and all that were lacking was more attempts on goal. That last pass is so critical, and having just watched highlights from all the weekend's Premier League games, even some of the top teams have the same problem!

Any idea who were the two teams Bogle rejected?
I like RW's comment
“At the moment we’re shopping at Harrods with Aldi money.”
I suppose that is the same as "Shopping for Champagne with Beer Money" which Pauline and I have been doing!

I don't think we've ever been capable of shopping at Harrods! More like Morrisons with Aldi money. On the drinks front the best we can hope for is Aldi prosecco. Which is quite good actually. Bogle is a problem but it's not his fault. Why should he be bullied into accepting any offer? I'm wondering if he'll play tomorrow night or will it be a lad from the 18s? Goodness knows what the score is going to be. Whom ever is in goal is on a hiding to nothing that's for sure.

Nookie, I subscribe to Decanter magazine and wish we had an Aldi near us as they seem to have many very good wines at, by USA standards, low prices. Aldi are in the USA, but not in the northwest. We have Trader Joe's that has some of the same ownership as either Aldi or Lidl.
I'm glad the Stoke game is not streamed on iFollow as it could be very embarrassing! I wonder if Jones will be sacrificed as the GK?

Bradford City have been mentioned, but no information beyond that. He has never been popular with the majority of fans, some of whom do not seem to appreciate the finer points of being a number 9. Early on he did really good work in winning the ball, holding it up, but getting little support from team mates or credit from those watching.

Wellens obviously does not get on with him or feels he does not need a player like him.

In the substitute appearances this term, he has been far more useful than Cukur who reminds me of the big men who you used to see upfront for teams in the 60s; all they could do was head the ball - if they could get to it before their marker. I can’t remember him even getting his head on a cross. What skill does he actually possess?

It could have been much worse. However, the same shot problems exists. According to the BBC stats, shots were 15 by Stoke vs. 3 and shots on target 3 vs. 1
Hope Cameron John's injury is not serious.

Asda (formerly part of Walmart) sell very good champagne - genuine authentic French varieties at as little as £13.50 a bottle and to me it tastes just as good as that which is twice or three times as much - it is “brut”, but fairly soft round the edges! I always a make a point of telling people which end of the market it is from and steel myself for criticism, but they usually make a point of saying how good it tastes. I never tried it on my late brother who liked vintage champagne, but personally I found the difference between his and mine marginal, so, dare I say, to me, not worth the higher cost.

I was a little worried that a bad defeat in tonight’s match might damage morale, but it sounds as though two or three of the younger players might have built some confidence in doing well. I just wish some of the goal-scoring chances could be taken, but the capability of converting opportunities is the most demanding and in-demand quality in all football.

Is the injury crisis just bad luck or do Rovers have an issue with player conditioning and treatment? The pre season Scotland trip leading to Covid issues didn't help but its concerning. Some positives did however come out of last night and I'm sure Richie will get there in the end. But whether the end is in League 2 or not is the question now. On the fizz front I'm a Cava fan but there are some great fizzes from all round the world other than over rated French champagne. I've tried them from Brazil, India, Italy, UK, Oz, New Zealand and South Africa and I've a feeling there may well be some in Oregon too? French Cremant and Blanquette are great too. But the Aldi ones are very good here. Cheers!

I'm glad there is interest in fizz! Pauline and I mainly drink Cremants/Blanquettes from France (and the occasional bottle of Champagne!), but are always on the look-out for well-priced fizz from anywhere. We have tried all the countries nookie mentioned except Brazil, and currently have a couple of favorites from Portugal (after going there in 2019). Too many wineries in Oregon make fizz, most of which are way over-priced. The cheaper ones are mainly made by the Charmat process (like most Proseccos), and there are some, gawd forbid, use forced carbonation - i.e. expensive soda pop! Those that use Methode Traditionnelle are priced at Champagne levels, so I do not buy them. There are some very good ones, but they tend to start at about $70/bottle. However, Argyle who were just about the first Methode Traditionnelle producer in Oregon, still have a vintage dated entry level fizz at about $25. They also do one left 10 years on the lees which is excellent - if you have $70 to spend!
I just watched the extended highlights from Stoke and it could easily have been much worse than 2-0. Jones was certainly ar fault for the first as he should have been able to hold on the the original shot, and was a little slow going down for the second - but he may have been somewhat unsighted.
There appear to be some emerging talent among the younger players, but we were cut open too easily.
Charlie Seaman is not bad for a guy originally signed as a back-up right back!
I agree with nookie's question "Is the injury crisis just bad luck or do Rovers have an issue with player conditioning and treatment?" Pauline was asking the same thing last year.

Sean O’Driscoll used to get stick for all the groin injuries we had in his time and some put that down to turning on the unyielding part-artificial pitch we had at the time. I had mused about raising a criticism on the lines of Nookie’s, but I worried that I have been a bit too negative altogether recently. However, I think that proper investigation would never take place in a world in which all events were believed to be attributable to good or bad fortune. And most of the fans still just see it as bad luck. Perhaps Gavin Baldwin is shrewd enough to either already be taking a critical look or has it in mind for future enquiry.