Let's talk about the Bradford City game

[selby]

  Quite a few times CBcb, and lot's of teams do it, and the funny thing is nearly all including Manchester City who move the ball about tactically most of the time, they nearly all resort to lumping the ball into the box if losing in the last ten minutes, you know why? it is because it takes defenders out of the game and goals are scored that way.
  Why they persist the rest of the game farting about and than suddenly change tack in a panic to lump it to  score always confuses me.

[ncRover]

https://youtu.be/nmkfZrDwvPo?si=qKt2f5tkVahQ4tNN

Bradford looked to play direct in their last game.

Look at Cook winning everything. I was questioned on here post-Salford when I said we wouldn’t face another target man like remotely Smith until Cook. Olowu best be feeling brave and aggressive or he and the team will be made mincemeat of.

Halliday lucky not to be suspended for Friday’s game IMO. That looked like a red card challenge. He also looks a threat but as we know he is defensively suspect and will vacate space.

[Barmby Rover]

They are strong down the wings and are converting the crosses into goals, we may well be in trouble. I hope not.

[selby]

  Our weakness's are in mid field when we lose possession and straight down the middle of defence who are alright facing the ball but let balls behind them and in Anderson's case has no pace to recover and Olowu is prone to getting caught out positionally or making a complete silly mistake.
  We are better going forward and need to play as much of the game as possible in the oppositions half of the field and put them on the back foot.
  Bradford will no doubt try to start fast attack and try and get that early goal that generally results in  our heads going down, and body language showing it.

[mushRTID]

Absolutely dreading tonight!

[drfchound]

Absolutely dreading tonight!

Wear some gloves Mush, it will stop you biting your finger nails down too much.

[Nudga]

This IS a must win game to keep our faint hopes alive.
Can't make it tonight but got tickets for Notts and Mansfield so need a result to boost confidence for those tough games

[Pancho Regan]

Living half an hour the other side of Bradford, I'm surrounded by lots of Bantams fans where I live. My teenage daughters are both Donny ST holders so have always been the only Rovers fans in school, again surrounded by Bradford fans.

So this fixture has always had an added edge for me and my family.
Please Rovers, don't let me down tonight.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Clean slate tonight. Time to put all the anxiety behind us and cheer the boys in red n white on. Every won ball, throw in, corner, spur them on and make them feel they can run that extra yard!  Plus, this ref owes us one.

COYR.

[Chris Black come back]

Don’t mind drawing or losing but please no more soft as shite goals conceded from balls into box and Cook bullying our lads to bundle home. Surely we must know that is going to be their tactic and we’ve prepared a plan? Surely.

[ncRover]

Would anyone start Kuleya or Goodman tonight? I would go with one of them depending on the shape as they brought a lot of energy when they came on

[Campsall rover]

Would anyone start Kuleya or Goodman tonight? I would go with one of them depending on the shape as they brought a lot of energy when they came on

Not me.
Who would you leave out?

[selby]

No way, we have better players, two to go out on loan in January if we can find a club for them.

[Sammy Chung was King]

If you can’t stop Cook once it gets to him, then you need to cut out his service. You double up down the flanks, play two full backs on each side, if you have enough fit that is. You pick a nice solid team. Protect the back four and get it up the other end as much as you can. We need to be intelligent to win the game. Can we do that, I hope so.

[Campsall rover]

If we spend all the game worrying about Cook we are not going to play our own attacking game.
Yes he needs watching obviously but as said cut off as much supply to him as possible.
We need to be at it for 90 + mins. Win the 50/50’s earn the right to play. Need big games from our midfielders tonight.

I do hope we play a flat back 4. We don’t need GM falling into the trap that DF did and insist on playing a system that quite clearly isn’t working against some teams. We are leaving ourselves wide open with a 3 centre back system.
Also will GM bring back Lawlor now. He brought him in as no 1 played well in most games then got injured. Louie looks very unconvincing to me and has too many facets to his game which are not good enough imo.
We will see what GM does but if it goes badly wrong tonight we could be perilously close to the drop zone at 9.40 pm on 29/12 after the Mansfield game.
We need a confidence boosting performance and result tonight.
Over to you Grant and the players to produce it.

Come on the ROVERS 

[drfchound]

If you can’t stop Cook once it gets to him, then you need to cut out his service. You double up down the flanks, play two full backs on each side, if you have enough fit that is. You pick a nice solid team. Protect the back four and get it up the other end as much as you can. We need to be intelligent to win the game. Can we do that, I hope so.

Such a simple game.

[monkeytennis]

After the last game I’m not hopeful tbh. I really hope I’m worrying for nothing but if that’s the kind of performance we can expect until we are over the worst of the injury crisis I can see us scoring zero points until about mid January.

[Chris Black come back]

Lawlor starts tonight. Jones on bench.

Close and Rowe start. Looks like back three of Olowu, Anderson and Senior.

[Iberian Red]

If you can’t stop Cook once it gets to him, then you need to cut out his service. You double up down the flanks, play two full backs on each side, if you have enough fit that is. You pick a nice solid team. Protect the back four and get it up the other end as much as you can. We need to be intelligent to win the game. Can we do that, I hope so.

Such a simple game.

Such a patronising post,but you wouldn't do that would you?
Not after accusing others of the same.

[ncRover]

Lawlor starts tonight. Jones on bench.

Close and Rowe start. Looks like back three of Olowu, Anderson and Senior.

I would make it Bailey Anderson Olowu back 3. Nixon and Senior wingbacks ?

Looks like he’s going defensive to start with attacking options on the bench

[Chris Black come back]

They have won their last 5 games on the trot in all competitions and kept 4 clean sheets in that run. Their away form in the league is play off form (7th) and much better than their home form (19th).

They have if fit Andy Cook, Tyler Smith, Vadaine Oliver and Matt Derbyshire to choose from up front against our highly porous defence. You would imagine there is a very high chance of a cross into the box and a headed goal from some of those lads.

Cook and Smith start.

Oliver and Derbyshire on the bench.

Likely to be a tough evening.

[normal rules]

Cracking goal from Joe

[Colemans Left Hook]

Cracking goal from Joe

 I presume that that translates into 1-0 to us   Gnatts County are also 1-0 down

I am still trying to find the Highlights from The Morecambe match ( I know there weren't any)  no lucky pint either

[Metalmicky]

1:1

[normal rules]

Non existent defending again from a set piece. The hall was so high in the air, it had snow on it when it came down. So much time for a rovers defender to position themself to defend it.

[Metalmicky]

1:2

[Metalmicky]

They have won their last 5 games on the trot in all competitions and kept 4 clean sheets in that run. Their away form in the league is play off form (7th) and much better than their home form (19th).

They have if fit Andy Cook, Tyler Smith, Vadaine Oliver and Matt Derbyshire to choose from up front against our highly porous defence. You would imagine there is a very high chance of a cross into the box and a headed goal from some of those lads.

Cook and Smith start.

Likely to be a tough evening.

 

[Chris Black come back]

Don’t mind drawing or losing but please no more soft as shite goals conceded from balls into box and Cook bullying our lads to bundle home. Surely we must know that is going to be their tactic and we’ve prepared a plan? Surely.

Every. Single. Time.

[In the box]

We have no midfield worthy of the effort. I’d sooner play long ball and play the percentages in the Bradford box than try playing through them !! Cook is just too good for our defence .

[mushRTID]

Midfield is pathetic.
Instruction is clearly to bypass it but still, when they do get it, it’s horrific.