Let's talk about the Portsmouth game.

[NewDonny]

  A prophetic post by dknward2, my thoughts entirely when I heard that Ennis  was not playing my heart sank a little, and we do seem most seasons to get decent teams out of ruts on a regular basis, both things I pointed out before this game, either on this thread or another during the week. We are not as good in front of goal as most teams fnacied to do well in this division.
  Luck deserting us,lack of natural goal scorers, silly mistakes, combined to bring about the result, and lots of pretty football although mainly in areas of the pitch that a team is quite happy for us to have the ball, and help to pull our side out of shape and cover players, all were on show.
  In a game of football, you can do what you want on the field with a ball within the rules of the game, you could run around with the ball stuck to your forehead for 90 minutes if you want to, the only thing that counts is putting the ball in those two onion bags at each end of the field.
  The team we fielded yesterday don't have a player who does that on a regular basis, and is the reason we should have beaten two top sides in this division in the last two games and have only got one point from six.
  Whatever else this club does,  the main thing we have to do is try and address this situation  if we are to have any success this season and get a couple of goal scorers in.

Luck deserting us,lack of natural goal scorers, silly mistakes, combined to bring about the result, and lots of pretty football although mainly in areas of the pitch that a team is quite happy for us to have the ball, and help to pull our side out of shape and cover players, all were on show.


Selby, we have a team full of goal scorers and we were camped in their half for most of the second half, the 18 yard box for good portions of it so I really don't see that as "pretty football in areas of the pitch that the opposition were happy for us to have the ball."

[DonnyBazR0ver]

You only have to watch the extended highlights to see the clear chances created through incisive play. Yes, on occasion we seem to overplay it when players are in good positions to get a shot off but we're talking fine margins between brilliance and a nil points return!

[Michael Shaw]

Could have, should have does not win games and only winning will get us into the playoffs, which in itself does not guarantee us promotion as we saw last year.

The defence of Moore’s failure to adequately replace Marquis much sooner has sunk into apathy amongst fans who say we are playing good football but losing and that is ok. We are 10th in the table with no guarantee that the games we have outstanding will be won. As long as we have Moore in charge we will not reach the playoffs at the end of the season because he procrastinates too much.

[Chris Black come back]

For the record - Moore signed two strikers who are considered at the brighter prospects in the English game. Last season we had one and one alone. He not only replaced Marquis as a central striker but did it twice. That they both got injured is unfortunate, but Moore had put the pieces in place arguably in a manner that McCann did not last season.

[NewDonny]

Could have, should have does not win games and only winning will get us into the playoffs, which in itself does not guarantee us promotion as we saw last year.

The defence of Moore’s failure to adequately replace Marquis much sooner has sunk into apathy amongst fans who say we are playing good football but losing and that is ok. We are 10th in the table with no guarantee that the games we have outstanding will be won. As long as we have Moore in charge we will not reach the playoffs at the end of the season because he procrastinates too much.

What absolute "nicker wetting" rubbish, so now you want to get rid of the manager. What is this comedy hour? Christ the man has picked up a threadbare squad, built on it, got us playing excellent football, in the top half of the league with games in hand after just playing 10 games and you want him out - lol, only on here would you find such absolute rubbish.

[bobbymax]

Could have, should have does not win games and only winning will get us into the playoffs, which in itself does not guarantee us promotion as we saw last year.

The defence of Moore’s failure to adequately replace Marquis much sooner has sunk into apathy amongst fans who say we are playing good football but losing and that is ok. We are 10th in the table with no guarantee that the games we have outstanding will be won. As long as we have Moore in charge we will not reach the playoffs at the end of the season because he procrastinates too much.

You are trying hard to prove yourself a d**k or really are a d**k - I can't work out which.

[drfchound]

Uncalled for words in the last two posts.
Just because you don’t agree with MS you don’t have to resort to abuse.

[selby]

Newdonny' we may have a team full of goalscorers, but on the day they scored more than us, we did play pretty football, mostly in front of their two banks of four, we were unlucky with the two shots that hit the bar, and we were caught out on a breakaway goal when we lost shape and cover.
  Add the fact that they fielded three strikers who have probably scored more goals in a season than most of our team has in their careers, and I would say that they as a team had more goals in them.
   

[NewDonny]

Newdonny' we may have a team full of goalscorers, but on the day they scored more than us, we did play pretty football, mostly in front of their two banks of four, we were unlucky with the two shots that hit the bar, and we were caught out on a breakaway goal when we lost shape and cover.
  Add the fact that they fielded three strikers who have probably scored more goals in a season than most of our team has in their careers, and I would say that they as a team had more goals in them.
   

I think we must have been at two very different games yesterday Selby. Fore me we played some lovely linked up football that cut them open time after time, our only issue being is that we did not convert the chances we created and that extends right across the team, from Coppinger to Whiteman, to Taylor etc, not just Sadlier with his one glaring miss. Putting aside all that though, we controlled the game, playing measured clever football that Portsmouth had no answer for and as you have already said we got caught on the break and ended up losing a game that at worst we should have come away with a point and at best should have won.

Portsmouth for all their goal scoring arsenal, as you would have us believe, rarely threatened our goal. Have you checked our players goal scoring stats, I suggest you do as you seem very fond of putting down our own players.

[scawsby steve]

  A prophetic post by dknward2, my thoughts entirely when I heard that Ennis  was not playing my heart sank a little, and we do seem most seasons to get decent teams out of ruts on a regular basis, both things I pointed out before this game, either on this thread or another during the week. We are not as good in front of goal as most teams fnacied to do well in this division.
  Luck deserting us,lack of natural goal scorers, silly mistakes, combined to bring about the result, and lots of pretty football although mainly in areas of the pitch that a team is quite happy for us to have the ball, and help to pull our side out of shape and cover players, all were on show.
  In a game of football, you can do what you want on the field with a ball within the rules of the game, you could run around with the ball stuck to your forehead for 90 minutes if you want to, the only thing that counts is putting the ball in those two onion bags at each end of the field.
  The team we fielded yesterday don't have a player who does that on a regular basis, and is the reason we should have beaten two top sides in this division in the last two games and have only got one point from six.
  Whatever else this club does,  the main thing we have to do is try and address this situation  if we are to have any success this season and get a couple of goal scorers in.

Good post Brian, and I agree with most of it. The part I don't agree with is when you say we should have beaten Coventry. I know they equalised late, but I thought they battered us for much of the game, and missed more chances than us.

I was grateful to come away with a point.

[NewDonny]

  A prophetic post by dknward2, my thoughts entirely when I heard that Ennis  was not playing my heart sank a little, and we do seem most seasons to get decent teams out of ruts on a regular basis, both things I pointed out before this game, either on this thread or another during the week. We are not as good in front of goal as most teams fnacied to do well in this division.
  Luck deserting us,lack of natural goal scorers, silly mistakes, combined to bring about the result, and lots of pretty football although mainly in areas of the pitch that a team is quite happy for us to have the ball, and help to pull our side out of shape and cover players, all were on show.
  In a game of football, you can do what you want on the field with a ball within the rules of the game, you could run around with the ball stuck to your forehead for 90 minutes if you want to, the only thing that counts is putting the ball in those two onion bags at each end of the field.
  The team we fielded yesterday don't have a player who does that on a regular basis, and is the reason we should have beaten two top sides in this division in the last two games and have only got one point from six.
  Whatever else this club does,  the main thing we have to do is try and address this situation  if we are to have any success this season and get a couple of goal scorers in.

Good post Brian, and I agree with most of it. The part I don't agree with is when you say we should have beaten Coventry. I know they equalised late, but I thought they battered us for much of the game, and missed more chances than us.

I was grateful to come away with a point.

Agree with that.

[Michael Shaw]

Could have, should have does not win games and only winning will get us into the playoffs, which in itself does not guarantee us promotion as we saw last year.

The defence of Moore’s failure to adequately replace Marquis much sooner has sunk into apathy amongst fans who say we are playing good football but losing and that is ok. We are 10th in the table with no guarantee that the games we have outstanding will be won. As long as we have Moore in charge we will not reach the playoffs at the end of the season because he procrastinates too much.

You are trying hard to prove yourself a d**k or really are a d**k - I can't work out which.

If you are happy being in 10th bully for you, and even winning the game or two in hand we will still not reach the top 2. As things stands we don't have the firepower to push us significantly up the table. McCann was right when he said if you are in top 6 within the first 6 or so games it is much easier to stay there. I don't think we should look at any game as an easy game in this league.
You show your lack of intelligence when you resort to outright insults.

[Jonathan]

Amazing how differently people can see the same game. To dismiss it as just pretty football is really insulting to the work that went in. We moved them about and got into the channels behind their back four so many times it was incredible. So many good positions and openings, but few could argue that we lacked the cutting edge to make the most of them. At the end it looked like we’d run out of ideas a bit. They sat in and it was all a bit bunched up. But still we created constant pressure around their 18 yard box. It absolutely was not just pretty passing for the sake of it.

We’re putting together an excellent team that still desperately needs a fit and available striker.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Best comment on a Pompey forum. "We got thrashed and won 2-1"

[Campsall rover]

Could have, should have does not win games and only winning will get us into the playoffs, which in itself does not guarantee us promotion as we saw last year.

The defence of Moore’s failure to adequately replace Marquis much sooner has sunk into apathy amongst fans who say we are playing good football but losing and that is ok. We are 10th in the table with no guarantee that the games we have outstanding will be won. As long as we have Moore in charge we will not reach the playoffs at the end of the season because he procrastinates too much.

What a load of tosh. “He procrastinates too much” Michael he has rebuilt our squad in a 5 week time span, which is all he had before the first match. If that’s procastinating then he can carry on doing it.

Look we all know we need another couple of players, DM knows it. It is not easy to get the right player at sensible wages which will fit in with our wage structure.
We are not going to bring someone in on twice the money of most of the others. All that does is upset the team ethic and spirit which this squad obviously has in abundance.

Your going to have to be patient as are the rest of us.
Yes it’s frustrating losing a game which we should really have won by a 3 goal margin such was our superiority.
I am sure we will get our man if we haven’t already. Maybe Thomas is going to be the striker we need.

[since-1969]

Finances are at the bottom of what makes clubs function and when you rebuild a side , you are reliant on vision and experience. Both will guide you through the market place of buying , selling and loans.
 DM has used all his best attributes to attract good players and get the best out of what he’s got . If a club is to invest in players it has to know “Why” “Who” and Where from . We let players go because to keep them was to maintain a high wage bill for older players .
We sold because the price was right . Rovers are 140 years old and if we want to keep going it’s one step at a time . Grow our own players and invest in them,  to get the best value on the pitch and in the market , if and when the go it’s not for nothing !!

[NewDonny]

Amazing how differently people can see the same game. To dismiss it as just pretty football is really insulting to the work that went in. We moved them about and got into the channels behind their back four so many times it was incredible. So many good positions and openings, but few could argue that we lacked the cutting edge to make the most of them. At the end it looked like we’d run out of ideas a bit. They sat in and it was all a bit bunched up. But still we created constant pressure around their 18 yard box. It absolutely was not just pretty passing for the sake of it.

We’re putting together an excellent team that still desperately needs a fit and available striker.

Great post, spot on Jonathan, well done.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Man City got the same as we did yesterday. Everything but score. Even the best can't always get a clean strike or whn they do, either the woodwork or the keeper get in the way..

[selby]

Newdonny. I have seen us batter teams before many times on the past playing football, doing the things you describe to other teams that I am not denying we did yesterday to Portsmouth. 
 In fact The best football I have seen us play over a long period of time was the first season in the championship, we battered most teams every weak up until playing Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. And playing so good a football had got us about 18 points to that point in the season, and we were bottom of the league and every ones favourite for relegation,because we didn't have a striker, although we did have Heffernan, who ODriscoll ignored up to this game.
  If we had had played a goalscorer before Christmas we would have got into the Premiership that season, we were a far better football side than Blackpool and other teams we finished behind.
  The difference was they all had goalscorers, instead of taking one chance in six they took one in three, and this team needs more cover in the striker department, and playing easy on the eye means nothing to your league position if the other side scores more goals than you do.

[since-1969]

Let’s talk about the Portsmouth game !!!*\|!!!*** We lost !!!  We got beat !! We threw it away !! I hate loosing !!! *~_^*# !!

[selby]

  Since 1969, I would love to hear your reasons why you think all those things happened.

[sha66y]

We have 2 strikers on loan from Premiership teams
We have 2 strikers injured

If we had bought 2 strikers before the transfer deadline...
Both of those 2 strikers would be injured,

And we would have to throw Sadlier into the lone striker role ( pretty much has we are doing now!)

Unless of course the 2 strikers we bought before the transfer deadline ( hypothetically speaking). were made of some synthetic substance that wasn’t prone to injury or damage!

Now can anyone just name “a striker “
That is available
That won’t get injured
That will guarantee goals
That won’t be castigated every time he fails to score!

I can only assume most Rovers fans arrive at the ground on Unicorns....
It’s a paradox,