Rovers Match - Nothing Positive To Say

[Olé]

I guess it should be possible to avoid complete negativity, even when that is all the performance really warrants... so let's give it a go...

Noble was a class act, but everyone else had stage-fright. Brooker isn't fully fit, there was no fluency in the formation which appeared to be dictated by injuries and availability rather than choice. Rovers, for all their half pikes and triple cartwheels (diving has reached Horfield) actually seemed to have more composure going forward, we were FAR too keen to be cute or play a killer pass when the simple build up and patient approach would probably have achieved more.

On the whole we suffered for having no real understanding in an attacking sense due to injuries, exacerbated by the early loss of Murray. Having a predominantly defensive player like Woodman on the left wing to start with and then losing your most effective attacking right winger early on is always going to play into Rovers preparations, and they were able to build on a consistent formation and organisation that we simply didn't enjoy either in the build up or during the match itself.

It's still disappointing that we didn't find a way to establish our superiority but Lee Johnson had a bad day (makes a huge difference) and the rest of our midfield lacked genuine creativity and had a glaring reluctance to shoot, certainly never seizing moments that count, it seemed more like a routine exercise in participation for some of them. And after Murray left, the challenge from the wings in either 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 virtually evapourated, which made us twice as easy to play.

Ultimately there was too much nervous elaboration and not enough heart from our side. Rovers for all their clear footballing limitations at least had the purpose of thought to attack with pace and conviction, we suffered for a combination of the nerves that seem to beset us of late whenever presented with matches we really should win (how predictable did the result become as the game went on) and a general lack of understanding or routine in our attacking invention.

Johnson has regularly said that it is vital to have as many players as possible who affect a game, and with a crowd as large and passionate as it was, you'd have expected more players to play with that purpose, but only Keogh pushing up from the back, Noble in midfield, and Andrews running around up front really offered us it. I don't really know how to describe a player like Jevons to whom you look for a final flourish in the last ten minutes and see lightweight disinterest.

It's difficult and it's frustrating because with the prospect of a serious 3 or 4 way dogfight for automatic promotion these are arguably lesser matches which we should treat as such and be more relaxed about, but truthfully it was inevitable that the match would take on this critical dimension and with the expectation of comfortable victory added into the mix, this was another high-pressure high-stakes game and worryingly for what lies ahead, we failed the cross-examination.

Perhaps away at the squatters without the intense pressure of a large expectant crowd (though I expected better from them today given such positive support - I didn't hear a bad word all night) they'll produce the goods as they did at Coventry, and Blackpool, the latter a good yardstick for the kind of 'pitch' they'll face. It may also help to have seen Rovers celebrating a stalemate tonight like they'd won the FA Cup, I trust our players feel they owe it to us to reset this perception.

At the heart of that premature self-appreciation was Steve Phillips, who really does still have a tremendous chip on his shoulder, more than I had ever imagined (I thought singing the name of the keeper he refused to compete with - Basso - was a wonderfully positive response and a credit to the City fans). For a man so candid recently about wanting to leave Rovers (fact) the petulant show of repeatedly whipping up 'his new fans' was typical - all hot air and little substance.

Finally on a night when nothing else happened as we were led to believe it would do, what happened to the low key police presence and absence of helicopters overhead that Steve Lansdown had pleaded for? It was so utterly the opposite (complete with conga-line of officers in the Williams) that you can only assume the chief of police was deliberately trying to remind Lansdown and all concerned (as is most senior police officers want) who's in charge.

One last non-footballing point - to compound a disappointing night - the Tobacco Factory: If you're going to sponsor the club in a highly visible fashion at Ashton Gate and place yourself at the heart of the so-called community, why exactly are you not letting any City fans come in out of the pouring rain after the match? And not that it should matter but BS3 residents too, your neighbours. As the saying goes, any old port in a storm... find yourself new customers.

[mossey]

I guess it should be possible to avoid complete negativity, even when that is all the performance really warrants... so let's give it a go...

Noble was a class act, but everyone else had stage-fright. Brooker isn't fully fit, there was no fluency in the formation which appeared to be dictated by injuries and availability rather than choice. Rovers, for all their half pikes and triple cartwheels (diving has reached Horfield) actually seemed to have more composure going forward, we were FAR too keen to be cute or play a killer pass when the simple build up and patient approach would probably have achieved more.

On the whole we suffered for having no real understanding in an attacking sense due to injuries, exacerbated by the early loss of Murray. Having a predominantly defensive player like Woodman on the left wing to start with and then losing your most effective attacking right winger early on is always going to play into Rovers preparations, and they were able to build on a consistent formation and organisation that we simply didn't enjoy either in the build up or during the match itself.

It's still disappointing that we didn't find a way to establish our superiority but Lee Johnson had a bad day (makes a huge difference) and the rest of our midfield lacked genuine creativity and had a glaring reluctance to shoot, certainly never seizing moments that count, it seemed more like a routine exercise in participation for some of them. And after Murray left, the challenge from the wings in either 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 virtually evapourated, which made us twice as easy to play.

Ultimately there was too much nervous elaboration and not enough heart from our side. Rovers for all their clear footballing limitations at least had the purpose of thought to attack with pace and conviction, we suffered for a combination of the nerves that seem to beset us of late whenever presented with matches we really should win (how predictable did the result become as the game went on) and a general lack of understanding or routine in our attacking invention.

Johnson has regularly said that it is vital to have as many players as possible who affect a game, and with a crowd as large and passionate as it was, you'd have expected more players to play with that purpose, but only Keogh pushing up from the back, Noble in midfield, and Andrews running around up front really offered us it. I don't really know how to describe a player like Jevons to whom you look for a final flourish in the last ten minutes and see lightweight disinterest.

It's difficult and it's frustrating because with the prospect of a serious 3 or 4 way dogfight for automatic promotion these are arguably lesser matches which we should treat as such and be more relaxed about, but truthfully it was inevitable that the match would take on this critical dimension and with the expectation of comfortable victory added into the mix, this was another high-pressure high-stakes game and worryingly for what lies ahead, we failed the cross-examination.

Perhaps away at the squatters without the intense pressure of a large expectant crowd (though I expected better from them today given such positive support - I didn't hear a bad word all night) they'll produce the goods as they did at Coventry, and Blackpool, the latter a good yardstick for the kind of 'pitch' they'll face. It may also help to have seen Rovers celebrating a stalemate tonight like they'd won the FA Cup, I trust our players feel they owe it to us to reset this perception.

At the heart of that premature self-appreciation was Steve Phillips, who really does still have a tremendous chip on his shoulder, more than I had ever imagined (I thought singing the name of the keeper he refused to compete with - Basso - was a wonderfully positive response and a credit to the City fans). For a man so candid recently about wanting to leave Rovers (fact) the petulant show of repeatedly whipping up 'his new fans' was typical - all hot air and little substance.

Finally on a night when nothing else happened as we were led to believe it would do, what happened to the low key police presence and absence of helicopters overhead that Steve Lansdown had pleaded for? It was so utterly the opposite (complete with conga-line of officers in the Williams) that you can only assume the chief of police was deliberately trying to remind Lansdown and all concerned (as is most senior police officers want) who's in charge.

One last non-footballing point - to compound a disappointing night - the Tobacco Factory: If you're going to sponsor the club in a highly visible fashion at Ashton Gate and place yourself at the heart of the so-called community, why exactly are you not letting any City fans come in out of the pouring rain after the match? And not that it should matter but BS3 residents too, your neighbours. As the saying goes, any old port in a storm... find yourself new customers.

well said, but it's crazy really, considering why we are in the league, the amount of games this season that

I've come out of, with a feeling of , is that it, and could do better, as i said in another thread sometimes I think we try to play to much football, doesn't hurt odd times to be a bit more direct, and have a shot at goal, always feel as if we are trying to score the perfect goal,