What are Rovers key weaknesses and how do they set things right?

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Ok, shall we describe our season as a failure?  I think that you have to really, I mean, that everything should have been in place to mount at least a serious challenge to the play offs.  Two ace strikers, a balanced squad with accomplished wingers in Marshall and Conway, an accomplished passer in  Cairney and bite in the tackle with Williamson.  Defence wise we had, if not class, then experience in Baptiste, Killgallon and keepers in Steele and Eastwood who were - at worst - competent.

Except things really did not click did they?  Of those teams above us only Brentford have conceded as many goals and each and every team has outscored us.

Last season we scored and conceded nearly the same as this one. (13/14 F70 A72;  14/15 F66 A59).   During that time there has been a familiar pattern of either "not scoring but not conceding" or "scoring but conceding to many".  When we are ahead we let teams back in to the game too easily.  When we are behind we find it difficult to claw our way back. 

What are Rovers key weaknesses and how do they set things right?

1. Rovers need to get more players to score more goals.  Beyond the strikers not enough players score goals with Marshall with 6 being the highest goal scorer being Rhodes and Gestede.    
2.  Rovers need to get their in game defensive management right.  I don't just mean the defenders need to defend.  The team needs to identify how the opponent is attacking and make appropriate tactical adjustments.  This is particularly true when we are ahead in a game and the other team start to attack with greater gusto.

I make no bones about this - this needs to come from the manager. And while I do advocate Gary Bowyer being in place next season, he needs to demonstrate considerable tactical improvement or else I will start to suggest Rovers look elsewhere!

Huddersfield Town 2 Blackburn Rovers 2 25th April KO 15:00

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Hi folks... another game, another let down and it was another time where Rovers have been well ahead in a game and let it slip.  Is it a hoodoo or something more mundane? Check out my full analysis of where our season went wrong after Ipswich at home.

Congratulations to Jordan Rhodes, who became the first Rover since Alan Shearer to score twenty goals in three successive seasons, a feat made more remarkable by the fact that the team doesn't even create much for him.

Farewell to David Dunn, a fine player whose potential has been severly hampered by injury.  Dunny has been a fantastic servant to Rovers down the years, especially during the Graham Souness' tenure when he, Damien Duff and Matt Jansen headed a team of exciting talent who made their mark in Premier League.

Having reviewed the game, it looks like Rovers where undone by two good goals... however that does not mean that there weren't mistakes involved.  The free kick was well struck but I feel that Eastwood should have set up the wall better.  The second goal was familiar as well with noone alert enough in closing down the striker.

In short was another game that showed our season in a nutshell.  Rovers dependent on two good strikers' goals,  switch off a couple of times and are roundly punished

With the transfer embargo likely continuing, Gary Bowyer has to get out on the training field and sort out why these lapses keep occurring.  I think that he may need a stronger pair of glasses as he has yet to identify the problem!

Catch up time Rovers: Tue 14th April Birmingham 2 Blackburn Rovers 2; 18th April Blackburn Rovers 3 Nottingham Forrest 3; 21st April Blackburn Rovers 2 Millwall 0

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Well, it's been a busy little time again and as these games are well past I'm not going to bore you with an in depth recap.  I'd rather talk about the interesting conundrum of why Rovers can have two strikers scoring 19 (Rhodes) and 20 (Gestede) goals and yet be miles (12 points) off the playoffs.

"The defense is sh*t!!!" I hear you cry... but I don't think that you can say that things are that straightforward.  Yes, we have conceded 5 goals more than anyone in the playoffs but Brentford have conceded 4 more.

I would rather point at the lack of goal scorers.  Now, before you storm off  thinking I'm talking piffle just hear me out on this....

If you compare Watford's top six goal scorers to Rover's:

Blackburn Rovers

1 Rudy Gestede 20
2 Jordan Rhodes 19
3 Ben Marshall 6
4 Joshua King 4
5 Chris Taylor 3 1 4
6 Alex Baptiste 0 3 3


Watford

1 Troy Deeney 20
2 Odion Ighalo 20
3 Matej Vydra 14
4 Almen Abdi 9
5 F  Forestieri 5
6 Daniel Tozser 5

After the top two goal scorers you have Watford's team scoring 33 goals to Rover's 17, nearly twice as many.  In contrast, Watford have only conceded 6 fewer goals in defense a far less significant statistic tactically.  The trouble Rovers have is that opponents know that if you stop Rovers' strikers you stop Rovers. And that is something that Rovers need to address next season.

Catch Up time - Rovers v Liverpool (0-1) 8th April and Reading v Rovers (0-0) 11th April

Well, what remains to be said about the Liverpool game other than it was a little heartbreaking given that I thought that Liverpool looked like they were there for the taking?  Rovers, reverting to a very defensive posture, decided to hang well back and prevent Liverpool and space in their own half. 

I was surprised by the lack of energy (you could say even passion) on display from both sides given what was at stake.  Having said that Rovers were organized and determined and kept their shape very well.  Is there conflict between passion and organization?  To a certain degree no doubt, but if there was error here it was to err' on the side of caution.

Oh what I would have given to see a swashbuckling display, throwing caution to the wind and pouring all over Liverpool like hungry lions!  Instead, we got a measured well drilled performance that appeared to lack something of a beating heart...

We can't be too harsh though, as Rovers defended so well throughout with relatively few poor passes putting the defence in trouble -  something that has dogged our play all season.

Rovers also played passages of tidy football here and there without being very fluent or articulate. 

Jordan Rhodes again showed that here doesn't appear to link up terrible well in attack.  To me, Rhodes is a 'fox in the box' but unfortunatately Rovers just don't give him the ball in areas were he can be effective.  Once, in the first half they gave him the ball there and he managed to engineer space for himself.   Rovers need to create more chances in the box if they wish to maximize Rhodes' potential.

Possibly, the  less said about Reading v Rovers the better but to me Rovers went there for a draw.  They created little throughout the game and managed not even one shot on target all game.  Disappointing  given that we played with two strikers - Rhodes and Brown.

Personally, I was particularly disappointed with Chris Brown who, we are led to believe, is battering on the door of the first team.  In the first half he did little but commit a few fouls and in the second he disappeared completely!  

We can say, however, that a third consecutive clean sheet is not to be sniffed at and that Hanley surely now is going to struggle to get his way back in to the team.  Which may, at least, be good news for some fans!

Roll on Birmingham v Rovers and another clean sheet hopefully supplemented with one or two goals!

Leeds United 0 Blackburn Rovers 3 Elland Rd KO 3pm

A fine win for Rovers and a fine performance from debutant goalkeeper David Raya.  It is evident that Bowyer has never been entirely happy with any of his goalkeepers so lets hope we have one to finally fill the gloves of our legendary Brad Friedel.

Although in the end, this was a comfortable win, Rovers still give us nervous moments at the back and let us not forget that Leeds had an early penalty appeal waived away and it took a good save from Raya later on to keep things level before the break

However, this isn't the moment to be negative and their are many positives to take from Saturday's game.  Ben Marshall's performances are difficult to predict at the best of times but he looks like he may be finding a bit of form before Rovers crunch FA cup quater final replay against Liverpool.  Jordan Rhodes (ever since I suggested we sell him) seems to doing his best to prove me wrong with another goal.   And we kept another clean sheet to build confidence nicely.

But the most pleasing thing for me was that Rovers actually performed well against 10 men, dominated the possession (57%) and kept going for more goals when we could have coasted at two nil.  The only slight niggle was that we only had 5 shots on target all game.  This is one area of our game that we definitely need to improve on

Anyway, I can't wait for tomorrows game against Liverpool and all I can say to Brendan Rogers is please play Kolo Toure!  His performance against Arsenal last Saturday warmed the cockles of my heart.... Come on Rovers, fans let's have that Ewood Roar back tomorrow and make our ground a seething cauldron of pressure.  Afterall, Rovers have nothing to fear and everything to gain.  If I was a scouse fan I would be worried!

Give Gary Bowyer more time!!!!!

 Blackburn Rovers vs Brighton Ewood Park 21st March KO 15:00


Well, wasn't that a thoughly depressing match?  A second successive defeat at home (0-1), and surely even the ever-upbeat Mr Gary Bowyer can judge that the 'game is up' and promotion isn't going to happen.. .
Just had a gander at Mr Bowyer's record:

Games: 102
Won:     38
Drawn   34
Lost       30

Let us compare that to Mr Alladyce (Yes, I know, he has managed more games for us already than Big Sam!)

Games:    90
Won:        32
Drawn:     24
Lost:         34

and the record as you can see is not too dissimilar; plus Gary Bowyer has had to deal with turning the club from a shambolic mess into one that can at least hold its head high again.  We need to be patient with him and give him time, another season at least!

Blackburn Rovers vs Brentford 19:45 Ewood Park

Okay I'll get it out of the way - we were stung by The Bees... .  Moving on... . Gary Bowyer said that the emotion uppermost in his mind was frustration -you said it Gary!  Frustration, that despite scoring at key times we kept conceding poor goals, frustration that as soon as we score we seem to lose the initiative, frustration that again, even after our recent burst of form, the team returned to type.  Still, things could have been worse last night - we could have been Arsenal crashing out of the Europa Cup to a vastly inferior team!

Despite many positive attributes, this Rovers team seems to have two negative modes: either freely scoring and freely conceding or not scoring and not conceding but prone to falling behind early doors.  Bowyer's main policy appears to have been playing five in midfield but this has led to the team adopting too defensive an approach.  I would hazard that the reason for this is that we don't have anyone in midfield who can burst past the main striker leading to the team tending to play in front of opposition - particulary at home.

I'm not blaming Bowyer and I don't think that there is too much wrong with the team.  We have to remember that he is very new to being a manager and he is still learning. 

The glaring need is to improve defence. Defence has been poor ever since Chris Samba and Ryan Nelson departed and the case for improving the defence has never been stronger.  Time again sloppy defensive errors and a lack of defensive concentration has cost us.  Bowyer needs to get back to basics and just make us hard to beat - and then we can kick on from there.  

A  solid defense would allow us to play with two strikers up front and would enable us to switch more nimbly between defensive and attacking formation. 4-4-2 whilst much maligned can fluidly switch either to 4-2-4 if you are attacking or a more defensive approach if the the midfield hangs back.

I rest my case for the defence!  Any (clean) feedback appreciated

Michael

Another Win! Charlton vs Blackburn Rovers The Valley 14th March 15:00 KO

Wow! fantastic another win, we are gaining momentum it seems....  Why now?  Is it the absence of Hanley?  Jordan Rhodes finding form?  Or are the Rovers' players been secret readers of my blog trying to show me up for discounting the promotion push and Rhodes' importance to the team?

Well, I'm not getting carried away, afterall we are still eight points away from touching distance with a vastly superior goal difference.  Also, I don't see why after an under-performing season we should suddenly become a championship juggernaut.   We keep losing playing to injury as well (Conway on Saturday) so the list keeps getting longer - that is sure to have an impact sooner or later.

Still, there is something about a football fan, the whiff of ever unjustifiable optimism surrounds us after a few good results, and suddenly we start to scrutinize that table again, to view the upcoming fixtures with opportunity in mind instead of fatalism.

Ok, we have four home games left - we have to win all those to stand even a ghost of a chance starting with Brentford on Tuesday night.  We definitely HAVE to win that or it is auf wiedersen and good night Premiership dream.   We should beat Brighton but then we have Forrest who are one place above us and will surely be out for revenge after we beat them earlier in the season.  Lastly, we have Millwall who may be dead and buried by then.  Beating Brentford and Forrest is a must but also a tall order.

Away from home, we have Reading, Birmingham and Huddersfield who, on the face of it, have little to play for and should all be winnable games.  However, our away form all season has been pretty dreadful.  I know that we have just won back to back away games but Charlton nearly equalized before we scored again.

So we need a motto of WIN WIN WIN! even to get into the play offs let alone come through a tough set a fixtures  there.  So I'm not convinced - still-  that we can go up but at least there are grounds (taking the game against Liverpool as well) for an interesting end to the season. 

Any (clean) comments welcome!

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Let Jordan Rhodes Go!

Hi there!

Blackburn Rovers vs Bolton Wanderers Ewood Park 11th March 2015 19:45

Well, after my first post I'm not afraid to admit it that I'm a little relieved that Blackburn Rovers won their next game, particularly as it was at home!  Where this game sits in your estimation must really depend on where you sit in the optimist / pessimist end of the spectrum.

One the one hand we struggled to score,  were too defensive (again) and were also vulnerable at the back.

On the other, we kept a clean sheet, suffered only one loss in nine matches and beat a side who appear to have a bit of a hoodoo on us, having won six of the last seven meetings.  Let us not forget also, that we had six players out  - Hanley (calf),  Duffy (knee), Dunn (calf), Low (foot) King (hamstring) and Spearing (ineligible) - and lost two players to injury during the game - Evans and Olsson!

I'm inclined to look optimistically at this, and a win, as they say, is a win.

Anyway, my main point is this: we should sell Jordan Rhodes -but not for less than £10 million.  For one thing, with debts of around the £80 million mark we need the money.  For another we need a strike partner for Rudy Gestede, someone with pace who can play off the big man.  Also, it comes down to a hunch I have about Jordan Rhodes.... Before last night goal I was hearing a lot of negative vibes about his performances and his attitude.  Can we be sure that he is happy at Ewood?  All the constant speculation about him is certain to be unsettling for the lad.

I know that some will say that selling Rhodes would send out the wrong message but it is time to be realistic.  Promotion has gone, it went probably back when we lost to Wolves at home.  We need to be looking to next season and rebuilding.  People also need to realize what kind of situation we are in debt-wise.  The days of big spending are over.  We need to box clever, act smart and that means selling high and buying low.

Jordan Rhodes is a wanted man but it is clear from our season that he does not fit into the way Rovers play, after all 14 goals from 36 appearances isn't white hot form is it?

Anyway let me know what you think... any (clean) comment is welcome!

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Lay Off Gary Bowyer!!

 My name is Michael, Blackburn Rovers keen supporter and I'm just getting into this blogging lark.  See below for my first blog entry and let me know what you think.... if you think that I'm talking tripe then let me know! All (clean) feedback welcome!

Ok, I know performances have not been good, tactics have been tooooo defensive, and the defence has had more holes in it than Swiss cheese, but it really is time to lay off Gary Bowyer.  Let's remember that he has had to sort out the choas that Steve Kean and a succession of disastrous management appointments have created.  Lets remember too, that we were heading for Divison One faster than green grass through a goose!  We need to show a bit of loyalty!!

Ok, I understand that we have got used to be certain standard of football but we have to remember that we have a young team who are still learning and the recent booing for sub par performances is just not acceptable.  As, fans we need to be supporting the team once we are in the stadium.  Fair enough, if you are thoughly naffed off with a performance, go back to the pub afterwards and have a good gripe and moan.  But we will never have the ground as Fortress Ewood again if we can't get everyone onside while the players are playing!  So my advice is that the next time someone starts booing near where you are sitting is tell them to shut up!  We have to realize that the days of Steve Kean et al are past and we need to all start pulling together.

Gary Bowyer is a good man and a good coach.  The tactics recently against Stoke and Liverpool are proof of that.  The way he used the pace of  King against a nervous, slow Stoke defence and the way he used the height of Gestede against Liverpool were spot on.  He is still quite a new manager and still learning his trade so let's give him a bit of time.  Let's face it anyway with debts of £80 million it is not as though we are going to have a queue of world class managers ready to take over!

Anyway enough of me gassing, lets hope that the lads can endorse what I'm saying tonight (Wednesday) when it is Blackburn Rovers vs Bolton Wanderers at Ewood 19:45 KO.  We need to get revenge for the earlier loss at the Macron Stadium when Blackburn Rovers completely outplayed Wanderers only for them to hit us with a sucker punch.

Wait for my full review of the game in my next update....

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Michael