Have we...

[BillyStubbsTears]

...scored a goal from open play yet?

[Askern_reds]

does bury count?

[the vicar]

yes on wednesday

[les@donr]

avalanche of goals tomorrow

[Askern_reds]

yes on wednesday

see you there Vic hope your right

[Copps is Magic]

What's all this malarkey about open play anyway? Surely as soon as you kick a penalty it's back in open play?

Only thing that is not open is a penalty shootout. Couldn't really care if we won the league only scoring penalties as long as we won it.

[steve@dcfd]

No not yet but tomorrow we need to score  whether it's from open play or off some bodies back side who cares. At the moment only Wigan and Southend have scored same or less. The good thing along with Oldham we have the best defensive record in the league.

So a good 2 or 3 nil win would be  nice and then we could ask did we score from open play.

[Askern_reds]

No not yet but tomorrow we need to score  whether it's from open play or off some bodies back side who cares. At the moment only Wigan and Southend have scored same or less. The good thing along with Oldham we have the best defensive record in the league.

So a good 2 or 3 nil win would be  nice and then we could ask did we score from open play.

ci was saying that sunday we just need a fluke of someone's shin arse owt

[BillyStubbsTears]

What about now? Have we scored one yet?

[Surrey Rover]

Technically yes, and should the last promotion place be decided on the fact we have scored one more goal than the team in fourth place come the end of the season then "that" goal will count!!

[Yorkiered]

Not doing too bad only conceding 1 goal so far. Especially with having what some on here would say is a rubbish right back ;-)

[Capmeister]

Abart time you produced some ball achingly dreary stats on the issue of open play goals Stubbsy! ;o)

[BillyStubbsTears]

Cap

P3. Scored 1 dubious one.

Happy to oblige mucker.

[belton rover]

Billy. Leaving out the dubious one, did we not score any goals more in the first or second half of the first three games? Also, how many weren't scored by strikers?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Belton

I've no idea. Worrying int it?

[RedJ]

If we've not scored by 7:46 I'm walking out.

[Drover]

If we've not scored by 7:46 I'm walking out.

Thats what I use to say that on a Friday night in the Black Bull!

[steve@dcfd]

had a shot on target in the first half tonight?

[glosterred]

Looked like scoring?

COYR

[idler]

Southend did.

[les@donr]

Had to wait until the 56th minute for the first shot on target, not good enough and embarrassing.

[pib]

No we haven't. And we won't any time soon either based on the home matches so far.

[RedJ]

Looked like scoring?

COYR

That's what I used to say on a Friday night in the Black Bull!

[Capmeister]

I hate being right. It's such a heavy burden to bear. Dickov is way too defensive. We really do not have a natural goalscorer in our ranks. I cannot see us scoring regularly the way we are currently set up. The build up is usually quite rapid but we tend to check back rather than press on in attacking midfield positions. Need to make the most of Williams ability to run at the opposition by playing balls in behind defenders. Oh well. Here's hoping. Onwards to Vale Park. Good test that.

[idler]

When you get a throw in ten yards outside your opponents penalty area and within making three passes it is back with your keeper we obviously have a problem. I couldn't believe that move.

[dickos1]

In those last few games under sod, our goalie I think it was woods touched the ball more than any player on the pitch.
Same with a lot of prem teams, it's the way the game has gone, not much blood and thunder around anymore

[BillyStubbsTears]

Stat-o-phobe alert!

I think Dutch Uncle noted last year that in L1 over the last few years there have been many sides who have had worse home records than the historical averages would suggest. Certainly we weren't alone in having relatively poor home form and strong away form last year.

http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1388

I wonder if there has been some tactical development that has made it easier to play away recently. Like a football Ashley Madison.

[Dutch Uncle]

BST - that was the subject of the article I wrote in the first fanzine of this season just a couple of weeks ago. My conclusion was that Rovers are simply following Football League trends. Article with a huge number of charts attached. Excerpt from text:

I have trawled all the Football League tables back to the 1958-59 season, which was the first season with a Division 3 and Division 4 rather than two parallel regionalised Third Divisions. In those 57 seasons I investigated, the 228 League Tables provide only the 24 examples of a team ending with a negative home and positive away record.

   The first instance was not until Brentford in 1981-2, followed eventually by Wimbledon in 1989-90 and Darlington in 1992-93. There were two more examples  in 1993-4, and then none until Notts County in 2006-7. Then the frequency changes dramatically, with instances in all of the last 7 seasons from 2008-9, with progressively 2, 2, 1, 2, 4, 2 and no less than 5 last season. The 24 teams all finished mid-table with league positions which varied from Bradford City (7th last season) to 16th (Blackpool in 2008-9), as long as we ignore Crystal Palace's 21st position in 2009-10 when they were deducted 10 points. Clearly the mid-table successful away side away with a poor home record is a new and increasingly frequent phenomenon, and Rovers pattern would seem to fit into this overall trend. This assertion that a particular club's style of play over a prolonged period is not the most important factor is backed up by the fact that the 24 instances of home negative combined with away positive records are shared over 22 teams and only Palace and Morecambe have 'achieved'  this twice.