Back from the game..... Donny Rovers

[Pseud O'Nym]

Dull dull dull, and we seemed to have abandoned the passing game I saw on display against Forest, for a more direct but equally devoid of attacking guile approach.

Federici 6 - didn't do a lot or make many mistakes
Cummings 6 - lots of poor choices, but there is at least something there. Pissed me off less than Rosenior would have
Bertrand 6 - some good, some bad.
O'Dea 7 - good display for his debut
Pearce 6 - Ok thought he made a few mistakes and looked shakey at times
Siggurdsson 7 - excellent set pieces, some nice play, but no way is the lad a winger or forward.
Gunnarsson 7 - solid performance, he gives us more bite and strength in midfield.
Karacan 6 - ok, nothing especially good or bad.
Howard 6 - again there's something there but I thought he was largely disappointing.
Kebe 6 - utterly anonymous. No idea why he was moved back out wide right when he's looked best on the left. Can only have been a stupid attempt to accomodate Howard and Siggurdsson.
NHunt 6 - Ok, was isolated. won a lot in the air, but no one to flick it on to.

Rasiak 6 - gave us more threat and made our more direct approach more worthwhile.
Marek 7 - looked dangerous, lots of nice touches, only one or two piss poor simple passes, we actually looked dangerous with him on.
Cisse 6 - mediocre as usual.

Not impressed with Howard but only his first game, Siggurdsson MUST play in the middle if he starts, Kebe MUST play on the left if he plays and we MUST have a genuine forward/winger on the opposite flank to him.

Apart from there being one more dull in there than I would have awarded, that's 100% what I thought but couldn't be arsed to write.

[RoyalBlue]

How do you know he wasn't forced to let Harper and Rosenior go? What price an edict from above: 'Wage bill must be significantly reduced - no signings unless the highest earners are shipped out - preferably sold but if not, on loan.' ?

The pretty obvious reason that wasn't true was the timing of the signings !

We brought players in before Harper and Rosenior went and even the last mnute Cummings deal wasn;t delayed becasue of had to get rid of Rosenior first but becasue we had to fight WBA for him.

That doesn't mean the instruction didn't exist. Don't forget that Rodgers said that the failure to sign Smith allowed him to make those other signings. What's more we were clearly already touting Harper around the market place and the same was probably happening to Rosenior. Their loan deals might well have been agreed in principle before the go ahead was given to conclude the deals for the incoming players. The only thing that happened later was approval from the authorities.

Finally, Hammond is celebrating the success of the transfer window in allowing the club to balance the books. That could only have been achieved if the objective had been set to remove most, if not all, of the high earners.

...I could equally throw that argument back at you. How do you know Rodgers was told to get rid of them by Madesjski...makes Rodgers look even more like a yes man if what you are saying is true.

To be fair, I think it would be very difficult for anyone but 'yes men' to work for the Chairman. I suspect that the last manager to possess any real testicles was the FSB.

[winchester_royal]

Dull dull dull, and we seemed to have abandoned the passing game I saw on display against Forest, for a more direct but equally devoid of attacking guile approach.

Federici 6 - didn't do a lot or make many mistakes
Cummings 6 - lots of poor choices, but there is at least something there. Pissed me off less than Rosenior would have
Bertrand 6 - some good, some bad.
O'Dea 7 - good display for his debut
Pearce 6 - Ok thought he made a few mistakes and looked shakey at times
Siggurdsson 7 - excellent set pieces, some nice play, but no way is the lad a winger or forward.
Gunnarsson 7 - solid performance, he gives us more bite and strength in midfield.
Karacan 6 - ok, nothing especially good or bad.
Howard 6 - again there's something there but I thought he was largely disappointing.
Kebe 6 - utterly anonymous. No idea why he was moved back out wide right when he's looked best on the left. Can only have been a stupid attempt to accomodate Howard and Siggurdsson.
NHunt 6 - Ok, was isolated. won a lot in the air, but no one to flick it on to.

Rasiak 6 - gave us more threat and made our more direct approach more worthwhile.
Marek 7 - looked dangerous, lots of nice touches, only one or two piss poor simple passes, we actually looked dangerous with him on.
Cisse 6 - mediocre as usual.

Not impressed with Howard but only his first game, Siggurdsson MUST play in the middle if he starts, Kebe MUST play on the left if he plays and we MUST have a genuine forward/winger on the opposite flank to him.

I'm sorry, but how on God's green earth can you give Kebe the same marks as Karacan and Howard.....

[Ryn]

For once I agree with you W_R.

Kebe 4 at best, might have been 5 if he hadn't tackled Hunt when he was trying to shoot.

[Tilehurst Mike]

We never looked like losing this game and to be fair Sullivan pulled of two or three ing saves.
I think O'dea could be a class player and Howard had a reasonable debut. I'll reserve judgement on Cummings as he really has no support from Kebe. In fact the absence of any telling wing play or crosses is becoming a prominent feature of the season so far. The 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 or whatever formation it is is clearly not working and I would much prefer a return to 4-4-2 with Rasiak and Hunt given a few games together. I can see us drawing many games this season, which may cause problems if we don't win our home games against 'lesser' teams such as Doncaster.
Predict another low scoring draw on Wednesday although Simon 'fire blanks' Church may be brought back to bolster the 'attack'.

[CMRoyal]

Disappointing stuff - not necessarily because the boys played like a team of strangers (which, after all, they pretty much are), but because of the team selection. Gylfi looked out of place on the left, Kebe is better on that side and could do with getting some continuity with Bertrand and Hunt can't play up front alone. Seems crazy not to pair him with Rasiak from the start.

Fed - 6 - did nothing wrong and had to make one sharp save in the first half
Cummings - 6 - unfair to expect more from him, but he was paralysed by indecision at times
O'Dea - 7 - looks very assured, and can bring the ball out of defence
Pearce - 6 - largely untroubled, but was turned too easily on a couple of occasions
Bertrand - 6 - defensively solid, but we need more from him going forward
Karacan - 6 - battled well, produced little
Gunnar - 7 - got some good tackles in and distribution was good
Howard - 6 - didn't get enough support and hence had to carry the ball up blind alleys too often
Kebe - 3 - rotten
Hunt - 5 - can't play this role, needs Rasiak alongside
Gylfi - 5 - played out of position on the left, but dead ball delivery good

I thought Cisse, Marek and Rasiak all did ok and I like the shape with Howard out wide and Marek in the middle with Hunt and Rasiak up front

[johnnym]

We look like a side who's sold every player from a successful team and replaced them with cheaper, inferior alternatives.

The future isn't bright, the future is dull and uninspiring, as is the present.

If Doncaster had cottoned on to how poor we are and showed a bit of ambition, they would have won comfortably. We are currently one of the worst 2-3 teams in this division and will be hammered by one of the better ones on Wednesday.

Still, at least we got rid of that waster Coppell, who wants win over Liverpool, Spurs, Man City etc when you can have 0-0's with Donny.

RIDICULOUS post. Coppell left us playing Donny...it wasn't Brendan Rodgers who got us relegated, nor was it Brendan Rodgers who got us on this godawful run of not being able to win at home.

[brendywendy]

Whats the atmosphere been like this year?

Sh*te as usual. I took my bird to see the mighty hoops for the first time and she spent the whole time LOL'ing at the half-a*sed clapping. She even said "Don't you have any songs to go with the clapping" ?? I actually felt embarrassed when I realised we didn't. Bring back the South Bank humour and tunes I say.

i wont take people to games any more, cos i spend the whole game cringing

at least on my own i can concentrate on talking to the people around me, so i dont have to watch the dross on teh pitch!

[CMRoyal]

We look like a side who's sold every player from a successful team and replaced them with cheaper, inferior alternatives.

The future isn't bright, the future is dull and uninspiring, as is the present.

If Doncaster had cottoned on to how poor we are and showed a bit of ambition, they would have won comfortably. We are currently one of the worst 2-3 teams in this division and will be hammered by one of the better ones on Wednesday.

Agree with all of this except the worst 2-3 sides bit. My hopes for this season cling to a raft made up of three from Barnsley, Peterborough (we'll see on Saturday, I guess), Plymouth, Palace and Scunny.

[brendywendy]

Not impressed with Howard but only his first game, Siggurdsson MUST play in the middle if he starts

totally disagree
totally agree


with matejovski, howard, sigurdson, davies we are seriously overloaded with attacking midfielders,and i struggle to see sigi getting the game time he has deserved from his performances so far

[Sun Tzu]

How do you know he wasn't forced to let Harper and Rosenior go? What price an edict from above: 'Wage bill must be significantly reduced - no signings unless the highest earners are shipped out - preferably sold but if not, on loan.' ?

The pretty obvious reason that wasn't true was the timing of the signings !

We brought players in before Harper and Rosenior went and even the last mnute Cummings deal wasn;t delayed becasue of had to get rid of Rosenior first but becasue we had to fight WBA for him.

That doesn't mean the instruction didn't exist. .

I think you'll have to try harder than that !

To invent something and then claim nothing proves it didn;t exist is a bit desperate, even from you !

[Royal Rother]

This board is funny. Lots of new players playing and the supporters judge the team as if it is a continuation of the run of form both Coppell's and Rodgers' previous outfits produced.

Forget what has gone before it is irrelevant - this is a new team, it will take a bit of time to gel.

The manager played everyone in the squad in the 1st month or so, he could see what they can do; now he's plugged the gaps he identified and bolstered the squad with experience yet the fans won't make any allowances or show any understanding.

When times are tough and the points are elusive it's tough, but the lack of balls amongst our supporters (or at least, many of the contributors on this thread) is amazing.

Some people just lack a bit of character I suppose.

[brendywendy]

'greed

new players showed real promise
the kids continue to grow

give it time peeps

[Ryn]

When times are tough and the points are elusive it's tough, but the lack of balls amongst our supporters (or at least, many of the contributors on this thread) is amazing.

I'd say it was the lack of balls to the strikers that was the problem.

[Royal Rother]

boom tish

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Football is a game where you can be close to being a very good side and a very bad side at the same time. Some small changes can make a huge difference either way. Pleased to say that we are heading in the very good direction at present but we have a way to go.
Positives = Gradually improving back 5 with O Dea looking a class act. He also brings a more balanced CB pairing in that he is left side. Coordinated pressure on the ball high up the pitch when we don't have possession. Movement of the midfield 4 in open play plus ability to change systems quickly when required.
Concerns = We lack pace in the final third which means the ball in behind isn't a threat. That condences the game in the middle third and cuts down the creative threat of our midfield. In short we are forced to play far too much in front of the opposition back 4 which is why games are a tad boring at present. Also concerned about our two full backs defensively in terms of crosses to the far post. This is standard fare in the Championship i.e miss out CBs with a far post cross to 6ft 2 wide midfield player, and we are going to struggle a bit here.
Changes that might help us move in the right direction = Play a narrow midfield diamond and let the two full backs be our wingers in open play. Bertrand is already very good at this. Also, not the long term road to greatness but we may have to play Long with Ras / Hunt. He is our only real threat in behind in terms of pace. Ras and Hunt will only work if we can figure out how to get more crosses in which I'm not sure can happen based on what we've seen so far.

Lastly, this is based only on games seen so far. The wild card is that McAnuff will add some more pace to the mix in wide areas (and some more crosses !) which could change things again for the better.

[Sun Tzu]

Usual good analysis Ollie

Totally agree re the fullbacks, although Cummings does give us more height atthe back. I also thought that he seems to be of the right type to provide the wide threat. He was trying hard to get forward second half but had no one to play off. I think as his confidence grows we will see him pushing on in the way Bertrand already does.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Usual good analysis Ollie

Totally agree re the fullbacks, although Cummings does give us more height atthe back. I also thought that he seems to be of the right type to provide the wide threat. He was trying hard to get forward second half but had no one to play off. I think as his confidence grows we will see him pushing on in the way Bertrand already does.

It was hard to judge Cummings on Saturday as he looked very nervous. Fully understandable on what was his debut at a new club. My hopes would be that a) he can defend the back post better than Rosenior and b) he can match Bertrand in terms of going forward. Time will tell as it always does

[Ian Royal]

Dull dull dull, and we seemed to have abandoned the passing game I saw on display against Forest, for a more direct but equally devoid of attacking guile approach.

Federici 6 - didn't do a lot or make many mistakes
Cummings 6 - lots of poor choices, but there is at least something there. Pissed me off less than Rosenior would have
Bertrand 6 - some good, some bad.
O'Dea 7 - good display for his debut
Pearce 6 - Ok thought he made a few mistakes and looked shakey at times
Siggurdsson 7 - excellent set pieces, some nice play, but no way is the lad a winger or forward.
Gunnarsson 7 - solid performance, he gives us more bite and strength in midfield.
Karacan 6 - ok, nothing especially good or bad.
Howard 6 - again there's something there but I thought he was largely disappointing.
Kebe 6 - utterly anonymous. No idea why he was moved back out wide right when he's looked best on the left. Can only have been a stupid attempt to accomodate Howard and Siggurdsson.
NHunt 6 - Ok, was isolated. won a lot in the air, but no one to flick it on to.

Rasiak 6 - gave us more threat and made our more direct approach more worthwhile.
Marek 7 - looked dangerous, lots of nice touches, only one or two piss poor simple passes, we actually looked dangerous with him on.
Cisse 6 - mediocre as usual.

Not impressed with Howard but only his first game, Siggurdsson MUST play in the middle if he starts, Kebe MUST play on the left if he plays and we MUST have a genuine forward/winger on the opposite flank to him.

I'm sorry, but how on God's green earth can you give Kebe the same marks as Karacan and Howard.....

For the simple reason that none of them did a great deal wrong or awful, certainly not enough different compared to the others to justify a different score. They simply did nothing of any real note.

[Sun Tzu]

Usual good analysis Ollie

Totally agree re the fullbacks, although Cummings does give us more height atthe back. I also thought that he seems to be of the right type to provide the wide threat. He was trying hard to get forward second half but had no one to play off. I think as his confidence grows we will see him pushing on in the way Bertrand already does.

It was hard to judge Cummings on Saturday as he looked very nervous. Fully understandable on what was his debut at a new club. My hopes would be that a) he can defend the back post better than Rosenior and b) he can match Bertrand in terms of going forward. Time will tell as it always does

There were times in the first half that he worried me - wandering around all over the place, following the ball. Pearce seemed to get hold of him and he did settle.

It's an incredibly young back 5, must be the youngest we have ever put out with Fedrici the old man at 25 and the rest all 22 or younger