We know this

[oggycompton]

Sean Grehan is a good young player. He works hard and has a good attitude. But he is not and never will be a right back. He struggles positionally and gets exposed far too often. That’s not criticism of effort, it’s about role and suitability. Playing him there hurts him and the team. we know this, there’s a player in there for sure though.

Harry Clifton has to start every game when fit. Our record with him in the team is miles better and that isn’t coincidence. He sets the tempo, covers ground, presses, and never stops working. He does the jobs others won’t. we know this

When Clifton doesn’t start, we look flat and disjointed. Midfield loses energy and control and simple things stop working. He might not grab headlines but he gives us balance and intensity. You don’t leave that out. we know this

Brandon Hanlan has to start up front. He competes for every ball and gives us a platform to play from. That allows us to push up and compete properly for second balls in midfield. Without that, we get pinned back too easily. we know this

Hanlan also works hard out of possession. He presses, hassles defenders, and sets the tone from the front. He might not be perfect, but he gives us structure and fight, which we badly need. we know this

Lo-Tutala is not good enough. He can’t catch cleanly, his kicking is poor, he doesn’t come for crosses, and his touch is heavy. Every time the ball goes near him it creates panic. That fear spreads through the defence. we know this

Goalkeepers are meant to bring calm. He does the opposite. He has directly cost us around 11 points this season through clear, individual errors. That’s not bad luck or tactics. That’s mistakes at the worst moments. we know this

Recruitment this season has been nothing short of awful. O’Riordan is the only clear positive. Lo-Tutala has been awful. Pearson is inconsistent. Crew looks like he doesn’t want to be here and is lightweight. Gotts works hard but offers little else. Middleton doesn’t want to be here. Ajayi is miles off it. Olusanya offers so little it’s embarrassing. we know this

We’ve also ended up with an overfilled squad packed with players who haven’t appeared or contributed anything across the season. Numbers mean nothing if they add no value. It’s poor squad building. we know this

You could get rid of Hurst, Westbrooke, and all the loanees and replace them with one or two players who actually improve us. Quality beats quantity every time. The budget we did have has been totally wasted. we know this

We are in a relegation fight now. One win in thirteen makes that unavoidable. The table doesn’t lie. Continuing to rotate the squad when some players are clearly not good enough is a massive concern and could cost us. we know this. Pick the best 11.

January is huge. Trim the squad. Get rid of players who don’t play and loanees who aren’t good enough. We have to gamble to stay in the league because standing still isn’t an option. we know this

I love this club. We all do. That’s why this matters. Going into a new campaign with a squad significantly weaker than the one before is not acceptable. Lessons have to be learned on recruitment. we know this

We are all Rovers, aren’t we. We turn up, we back the club, we spend the money, and we stick with it when it’s hard. That’s what supporting Rovers means. we know this

[GazLaz]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

[redarmi66]

Agree with all of that

[redarmi66]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Well he got skinned in the right back position today and it led to one of thier goals. Didnt have the presence of mind to concede a foul to snuff out the danger. Was better when he moved central later in the game. He was equally poor in the right back position v Barnsley.

[Ye-Aul-Tavern]

Agree with most of that although I'd give Middleton a bit more game time. A decent player.

[Jimmydee]

If only we had put our chances away, it would obviously have been a different story today.

[redarmi66]

If only we had put our chances away, it would obviously have been a different story today.

tbf we put 3 away. That should have been enough.we cant defend well enough

[Pliskin]

Plenty has been said about our lack of firepower, and yes it is a massive problem. We absolutely do need a striker and a winger who is an improvement on Gibbo, Middleton, Ajayi.

However, only two sides have conceded more goals than us (Plymouth and Orient). We're needing to score 2 or 3 just to get something out of most games. We have to become more difficult to score against than we currently are.

Even though the players are still playing for the manager and performances are generally OK, we're just not good enough at both ends of the pitch.

We just didn't add the necessary quality and physicality to the team in the summer. McCann to me seems to have misjudged the capability of this squad vs. the rest of the league. His confidence at the start of the season e.g. “not being here just to make up the numbers“ sounds a bit daft right now.

Unless we get January recruitment spot on then we're going straight back down, no doubt about it in my view. To his credit, McCann has improved us in January in the previous two seasons. Can he do it again at a higher level? We have to hope so.

[Chris Black come back]

Hanlan despite a few people writing him off, is now scoring and performing in what is objectively a poorly performing side. He’s coming good.

[Lesonthewest]

Sean Grehan is a good young player. He works hard and has a good attitude. But he is not and never will be a right back. He struggles positionally and gets exposed far too often. That’s not criticism of effort, it’s about role and suitability. Playing him there hurts him and the team. we know this, there’s a player in there for sure though.

Harry Clifton has to start every game when fit. Our record with him in the team is miles better and that isn’t coincidence. He sets the tempo, covers ground, presses, and never stops working. He does the jobs others won’t. we know this

When Clifton doesn’t start, we look flat and disjointed. Midfield loses energy and control and simple things stop working. He might not grab headlines but he gives us balance and intensity. You don’t leave that out. we know this

Brandon Hanlan has to start up front. He competes for every ball and gives us a platform to play from. That allows us to push up and compete properly for second balls in midfield. Without that, we get pinned back too easily. we know this

Hanlan also works hard out of possession. He presses, hassles defenders, and sets the tone from the front. He might not be perfect, but he gives us structure and fight, which we badly need. we know this

Lo-Tutala is not good enough. He can’t catch cleanly, his kicking is poor, he doesn’t come for crosses, and his touch is heavy. Every time the ball goes near him it creates panic. That fear spreads through the defence. we know this

Goalkeepers are meant to bring calm. He does the opposite. He has directly cost us around 11 points this season through clear, individual errors. That’s not bad luck or tactics. That’s mistakes at the worst moments. we know this

Recruitment this season has been nothing short of awful. O’Riordan is the only clear positive. Lo-Tutala has been awful. Pearson is inconsistent. Crew looks like he doesn’t want to be here and is lightweight. Gotts works hard but offers little else. Middleton doesn’t want to be here. Ajayi is miles off it. Olusanya offers so little it’s embarrassing. we know this

We’ve also ended up with an overfilled squad packed with players who haven’t appeared or contributed anything across the season. Numbers mean nothing if they add no value. It’s poor squad building. we know this

You could get rid of Hurst, Westbrooke, and all the loanees and replace them with one or two players who actually improve us. Quality beats quantity every time. The budget we did have has been totally wasted. we know this

We are in a relegation fight now. One win in thirteen makes that unavoidable. The table doesn’t lie. Continuing to rotate the squad when some players are clearly not good enough is a massive concern and could cost us. we know this. Pick the best 11.

January is huge. Trim the squad. Get rid of players who don’t play and loanees who aren’t good enough. We have to gamble to stay in the league because standing still isn’t an option. we know this

I love this club. We all do. That’s why this matters. Going into a new campaign with a squad significantly weaker than the one before is not acceptable. Lessons have to be learned on recruitment. we know this

We are all Rovers, aren’t we. We turn up, we back the club, we spend the money, and we stick with it when it’s hard. That’s what supporting Rovers means. we know this

Post of the week right there, can't disagree with any of that.

[sedwardsdrfc]

We might regret the period where Grant seemed determined not to pick Hanlan. We’re obviously better with him and maybe could have a couple more points now.

[grayx]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Did he not?

[GazLaz]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Did he not?

We played three centre halves with Mols and Maxwell wing backs.

[grayx]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Did he not?

We played three centre halves with Mols and Maxwell wing backs.

Fair enough, but Grehan did seem to get done for speed in the right back position a few times.
Perhaps Mols wasnt helping him out enough?

[Filo]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Did he not?

We played three centre halves with Mols and Maxwell wing backs.

Fair enough, but Grehan did seem to get done for speed in the right back position a few times.
Perhaps Mols wasnt helping him out enough?

Mols was doing what wingbacks do, upfield when we are on the attack, everytime Grehan was exposed it was from a long ball over the top, Grehan couldn’t cope with the lads pace, and I was surprised they took him off at HT. The one job Mols failed at big time defensively was not covering the Cardiff LB who scored the winning goal

[selby]

  Two games in five days six goals against, it will get us relegated if it carries on.

[i_ateallthepies]

How do we know Middleton doesn't want to be here, has he said this publicly?

[GazLaz]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

Did he not?

We played three centre halves with Mols and Maxwell wing backs.

Fair enough, but Grehan did seem to get done for speed in the right back position a few times.
Perhaps Mols wasnt helping him out enough?

The wide centre half positions in a 3 are specialist positions. Can’t just throw any centre half in there on two days training.

[selby]

  Grehan has played international football at u21s as a wide right of a three for northern Ireland v Andorra i wtached it they lost 4-0 and were terrible.
  And the u21s play all sorts of formations as part of the players upbringing, he will be no stranger to the position, just the left winger yesterday who was too much for him.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

I've heard several people say that, but it looked very much like a back four to me in practice.

Whatever the theoretical formation, Grehan regularly got faced up 1-on-1 with their left winger, who got round him easily.

[ncRover]

Grehan didn’t play right back.

I've heard several people say that, but it looked very much like a back four to me in practice.

Whatever the theoretical formation, Grehan regularly got faced up 1-on-1 with their left winger, who got round him easily.

I wasn’t at yesterday’s game, but a few seasons ago when McCann had Molyneux at right wing back on paper it was a lopsided 3-5-2 where essentially he got a lot further forward than Maxwell so the other 4 defenders shifted to the right a bit to make up for that.

[Draytonian III]

  Grehan has played international football at u21s as a wide right of a three for northern Ireland v Andorra i wtached it they lost 4-0 and were terrible.
  And the u21s play all sorts of formations as part of the players upbringing, he will be no stranger to the position, just the left winger yesterday who was too much for him.

You can’t of watched very closely because Grehan plays for the Republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland

[Ldr]

  Grehan has played international football at u21s as a wide right of a three for northern Ireland v Andorra i wtached it they lost 4-0 and were terrible.
  And the u21s play all sorts of formations as part of the players upbringing, he will be no stranger to the position, just the left winger yesterday who was too much for him.

You can’t of watched very closely because Grehan plays for the Republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland

He’s just looking for a reason to bash someone who plays in saint Bobbys position

[selby]

  No I am not,  I am watching someone who is not ready for this level of football who will more likely be lost to us as a future first team player if he isn't handled better than he has been.
  He needs to go and play at the places Bobby has had to to develop sink or swim, not be thrust in like yesterday and get the run around in a struggling team at a level he is not ready for. If you were the Plymouth manager who would you point out the one to put pressure on; admittedly a choice of more than one.
  Burton, Stockport, Peterborough, Chesterfield before they went down to ten men and now Cardiff, disregarding any of the results they have all had forwards that we have struggled to cope with pace and strength wise, if it doesn't worry you it does me.
   Unfortunately for Bobby and the club even if he was not injured he would not be able to play for the Rovers until January anyway and is cup tied anyway so realistically takes us to the middle of January if we want him, what I will say after watching all the players at  the club as central defenders and him in at least ten games,  he is the best one and the decision to let him out on loan without even watching him play, which I know they have since and other clubs too higher up the pecking order than us, has probably cost us points in the first half of the season we could do with now.
  We are in serious danger of losing him anyway, and good luck to the lad if he goes, he owes our club nothing.