BFTG Inspired - Rotherham (A) Match Review

[Hound]

I genuinely see us losing our next 4 now and I don't just say it to be negative. I just don't think our squad is good enough quality wise with the injuries we've got and the next 4 matches are vs teams who are better than Cardiff, Rotherham and Blackpool

Nothing to suggest Boro are better than Cardiff. Can see us losing the next 4 as well mind you

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

[Royal_jimmy]

Nothing to suggest Boro are better than Cardiff. Can see us losing the next 4 as well mind you

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

Hard to judge them when they've played 3 better sides than what we've played

[Lower West]

Nothing to suggest Boro are better than Cardiff. Can see us losing the next 4 as well mind you

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

[72 bus]

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

We amply demonstrated that on Saturday.

[SWLR]

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You're right, it is a lot higher now.

[Stranded]

Nothing to suggest Boro are better than Cardiff. Can see us losing the next 4 as well mind you

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

There aren't really any teams who aren't bang average in this division - if we had a fully fit squad (or just 1 or 2 injuries rather than 11) then our squad would also be bang average. Pretty much every side is capable of going on a run of 4 or 5 games undefeated whilst also being able to not pick up a win for a month. We'll do both this season but the key is minimising the latter and doing more of the former. Knowing us though, our unbeaten run will be 4 draws.

Absolute key though is to stop conceding the first goal and doing it so early, if you keep letting a goal in after less than 10 mins then results like Saturday's are going to happen as confidence completely drops whilst the other side smell blood and go all out to kill the game. That has to be target #1 on Weds - get through the first 15/20 mins 0-0 at worse and if we can nick a goal great.

Then we can start to focus on actually scoring away from home.

[Gus the teenage cow]

A lot of doom and gloom but we showed glimpses

[Lower West]

A lot of doom and gloom but we showed glimpses

At this level you'd expect the players individually to possess talent. Doesn't mean that they are the complete package

[SCIAG]

Boro are nailed on top 6 in my opinion. Same squad but not Joe Lumley in goal holding them back. Cardiff are a mid table side. Not consistent enough

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

[Hound]

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

I think there has been quite a drain of some of the better players to the prem. Bournemouth and Forest hoovered up some this and last year. Watford seem to be selling of their front line at the moment

There were some very strong loan players last year as well - not so many this year yet - that may change

I think the general quality is pretty good - no really poor teams this year I don’t think; but no stand out teams like Fulham and Bournemouth were last year. Therefore a lot in the average category

Early suggestions look like us, Blackpool, Bristol city, Wigan, probably Rotherham, Luton maybe - all be knocking around the bottom.

[Lower West]

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

Rotherham, the eternal yo-yo team, must have improved somewhat then.

[Snowflake Royal]

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

Rotherham, the eternal yo-yo team, must have improved somewhat then.

Well they're unbeaten this season and easily beat us 4-0. Maybe they're back on the up to the glory days of the 90s and 60s.

[Hound]

They’ve played 2 league games, both at home. Drew against Swansea when Obafemi missed a chance I’d have put away, and then came up against us in extremely charitable mood to put it nicely

Wouldn’t start the parties yet if I was them, they’ll be down near the bottom

[Snowflake Royal]

They’ve played 2 league games, both at home. Drew against Swansea when Obafemi missed a chance I’d have put away, and then came up against us in extremely charitable mood to put it nicely

Wouldn’t start the parties yet if I was them, they’ll be down near the bottom

Ive got thwm surviving, so I have a vested interest.

[URZZZZ]

Boro don’t look a particularly good side to me. Mowatt a useful signing and obvs a good manager but nothing else that stands out

Cardiff bang average. Suspect Boro will be likewise

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

Personally don’t think there’s particularly a means of comparison between what it once was to now in terms of the standard

Used to be a very basic template, majority of teams playing 4-4-2, played up into the channels etc, now the game is very much engineered into keeping the ball and “progressive passing”

There are, of course, ways in which quality has gone up, shape, ball retention etc but on the other hand, ways in which it works the other way, less chances created, less cohesiveness within teams

Do feel somewhat though that the Championship is losing its unpredictability factor, still have the odd teams with fantastic seasons, like Luton last year but it’s generally the same sort of teams occupying the same sort of positions, unfortunately us taking the lower end of the table

[URZZZZ]

They’ve played 2 league games, both at home. Drew against Swansea when Obafemi missed a chance I’d have put away, and then came up against us in extremely charitable mood to put it nicely

Wouldn’t start the parties yet if I was them, they’ll be down near the bottom

Yep - I think their home form is generally OK - it’s their away form which is really poor

Think they had one away win combined in the 16/17 and 18/19 season - just 2 points all season away in the first one. Improved the last time they were here but home form was less of an advantage with fans absent

[SCIAG]

The Championship isn't the quality it once was.

You say that every year.

I can’t remember the standard ever being this high.

I think there has been quite a drain of some of the better players to the prem. Bournemouth and Forest hoovered up some this and last year. Watford seem to be selling of their front line at the moment

There were some very strong loan players last year as well - not so many this year yet - that may change

I think the general quality is pretty good - no really poor teams this year I don’t think; but no stand out teams like Fulham and Bournemouth were last year. Therefore a lot in the average category

Early suggestions look like us, Blackpool, Bristol city, Wigan, probably Rotherham, Luton maybe - all be knocking around the bottom.

Fair point on Fulham, they were a really exceptional attacking force and I’d be surprised if anyone comes close to Mitrovic’s tally this season - although the other Championshop bully Dwight Gayle is back so maybe! That said, in general I think departures and arrivals tend to roughly balance out. Lots of exciting loans this year too - the Man City lads for example, Chowdury, Anjorin, Parrott, Morton.

When I watch highlights of old games (when I started supporting Reading I never imagined I would have “glory days” to look back upon!) I’m always struck by how bad the defending is. Most of the goals are down to teams having really soft underbellies. Today if we want to score a goal we usually have to fight for it.