Let's talk about the Bromley game

[dickos1]

Football doesn’t work like that! There have been games this season when we’ve been lucky to get points, evens itself out

[scawsby steve]

The worst EFL team I've ever seen. Completely devoid of any quality, and a set of absolute cheats; yet they've done the double over us.

Couple that with Chesterfield, 15th in the league and 19 points behind us before tonight, who also did the double over us, and that's 12 points down the pan that might easily cost us promotion.

[Pliskin]

To be fair to Chesterfield, they turn into prime Barcelona when they play us.

[ForsolongaRover]

Should’ve won tonight and we did have all the play but the lack of composure cost us big time tonight. Whether it was the final pass or the finish it was very rushed.

When you dominate possession you should have the confidence not to be rushed by anxiety into just trying to shoot every time the ball comes to your feet. Perhaps there should have been half as many attempts, with the wild ones eliminated. Bromley managed to remain relatively composed, faced with over-exuberance from what ought to have been a more mature opponent.

[scawsby steve]

To be fair to Chesterfield, they turn into prime Barcelona when they play us.

Against 9 men in one game, and against defenders who keep falling down in the other game, there's no wonder they played like that.

[TheFunk]

Fair play to the fans that travelled. Cheltenham and Salford took less than 30 to their games and Harrogate less than 50. Please can we get out of this dreadful league.

[In the box]

Ive been watching Rovers 43 years and i cant believe ive seen a game like this during that time. Astonishing how we didnt win it nevermind lose it.

Tactics Tactics etc .. teams like Bromley have just ONE .. score first and and defended with everything you have .

[Donnywolf]

Tbh ... They started time wasting and tactical cheating before they scored

That includes the first game if I remember rightly ( I rarely do )

Last night where Street was chopped down in first minute , they got a throw . Webster picked it up by corner flag and bowled it 15 ish yards to a team mate to take the throw

Ref made him go back , but he went back 5 yards. Lino joined him instead of waving flag and standing where it went out ( they never do )

Later Street was judged to have fouled by corner flag on near side. The keeper eventually came to take the free kick ( took about a minute ) but eventually he managed to move the ball through crafty moves to well outside the 18 yard line , and in the process moved ball infield as well. So instead of a kick by corner flag he took the kick 25 yards from where the "offence" was given and a good 10 yards from the touchline

This has to stop . Also how many times do you see Offside given and the CB looks like he will take the kick . The Lino is stood level with where the player was flagged off side. The CB gets the ball upfield of that point by tapping it 5 or 6 yards forward

Then he changes his mind and calls on Keeper to take it. You know what I am going to say already ! It's so obvious

He comes out fiddles with the ball , bounces it , tests the pressure ( anything ! ) before spinning it forwards as far as he can get away with.

Finally he is about to kick it some 10 yards forward from where it should be .... so ....

... Which of these happens most ?

A) the Ref sends them right back to level with the Lino

B) The Lino waves his Flag like **** and makes the Player go back to where he is stood OR

C) the Lino simply runs from where the Offside happened and goes to where the kick is eventually going to be taken

[Thorney]

The worst EFL team I've ever seen. Completely devoid of any quality, and a set of absolute cheats; yet they've done the double over us.

Couple that with Chesterfield, 15th in the league and 19 points behind us before tonight, who also did the double over us, and that's 12 points down the pan that might easily cost us promotion.

You are doing bromley a massive disservice.

They arnt 9th by luck. They have taken points off many teams, including walsall (that was the only game walsall dropped points during 11 games), notts county and done the double over wimbledon.

You talk like they are the whipping boys of this league. A team very much within the playoff mix.

[drfchound]

Tbh ... They started time wasting and tactical cheating before they scored

That includes the first game if I remember rightly ( I rarely do )

Last night where Street was chopped down in first minute , they got a throw . Webster picked it up by corner flag and bowled it 15 ish yards to a team mate to take the throw

Ref made him go back , but he went back 5 yards. Lino joined him instead of waving flag and standing where it went out ( they never do )

Later Street was judged to have fouled by corner flag on near side. The keeper eventually came to take the free kick ( took about a minute ) but eventually he managed to move the ball through crafty moves to well outside the 18 yard line , and in the process moved ball infield as well. So instead of a kick by corner flag he took the kick 25 yards from where the "offence" was given and a good 10 yards from the touchline

This has to stop . Also how many times do you see Offside given and the CB looks like he will take the kick . The Lino is stood level with where the player was flagged off side. The CB gets the ball upfield of that point by tapping it 5 or 6 yards forward

Then he changes his mind and calls on Keeper to take it. You know what I am going to say already ! It's so obvious

He comes out fiddles with the ball , bounces it , tests the pressure ( anything ! ) before spinning it forwards as far as he can get away with.

Finally he is about to kick it some 10 yards forward from where it should be .... so ....

... Which of these happens most ?

A) the Ref sends them right back to level with the Lino

B) The Lino waves his Flag like **** and makes the Player go back to where he is stood OR

C) the Lino simply runs from where the Offside happened and goes to where the kick is eventually going to be taken

I remember that “25 yards forward” thing too Wolfie and was ranting at the telly about it as it happened.
As you say, surely the officials can see that.
Another, that you haven’t mentioned is the Moly free kick which hit the bar.
When Gibson placed the ball the defenders lined up about four yards away.
When the ref decided to pace out the ten yards they should go back they made it difficult for him by not moving back and in the end they were ten smallish steps away from the ball, so maybe eight yards only.

[GazLaz]

Bromley are 9th due to two reasons. Their defensive structure and clarity without the ball being one. They also play with a physicality and intensity that is what you would expect from teams in a higher division. The intensity possibly being more important than the headline physicality.  L

[DRFCCOLSY]

our finishing all season has been piss poor, that game summed up the season so far.

[graingrover]

I have not felt so supportive of a Rovers’ performance in defeat for a long long time.

[Reg of the Rovers]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

[sf9944]

Wow! Not as I saw the game but fair enough

[dickos1]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

That is absolute nonsense I’m afraid

[ForsolongaRover]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

Well dickos1 has labelled this nonsense, but it reflects the sentiments which I felt in writing my comment after the match. These players do show ability and the way they dominated possession is evidence that they can play skilfully, but the strategy is haphazard and improvised. Good management brings together a bunch of people with different attributes and blends them into an effective force. Molyneux and Sterry have this ability to combine powerfully and we see it in Olowu, but so many of the team seem to operate as individuals. You don’t know what to expect and it’s not obvious that they know what to expect of each other. You have to look at McCann and wonder if he sees how self-defeating this lack of organisation, this strategic failure and want of mutual understanding is. We saw in the individual performances last night that he’s got enough individual talent in his squad but he is not using its combined force to its potential.

[sf9944]

I understand your point and it could be argued that chucking everyone up front as we did at the end of last nights game is a bit thoughtless and haphazard. However….it could also be argued that it was opportunistic because Bromley were offering literally nothing at the other end. Also when we did this we created numerous chances and still (to me) looked quite organised and dangerous

[Plumbster]

We were very unlucky last night, we dominated a good side and never took a backward step.  That said, as with most games this season I can’t say I really enjoyed it.  We are short of style, class and fluency. Midfield has created very little all season so we have relied in the main on Luke, Gibson and Sterry to make something happen (the Maxwell of last season has been a big miss).  Luke in particular has been great but even with Luke you have to endure several clangers for every good cross or shot. Our defenders are good at their jobs but their distribution is either ultra safe or hopelessly optimistic, and if we all had a pound for every time Ironside has been locked in a tussle where we ultimately lose possession that would be our season tickets paid for. It’s a tough league but there are plenty of teams, including us in years gone by, that have footballed their way to promotion. At least we are no longer pretending we have the players to do that and the direct style is proving more effective but I don’t find it an easy watch.  I really hope it gets us promotion. but I also hope we can add a bit more class next season.

[dickos1]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

Well dickos1 has labelled this nonsense, but it reflects the sentiments which I felt in writing my comment after the match. These players do show ability and the way they dominated possession is evidence that they can play skilfully, but the strategy is haphazard and improvised. Good management brings together a bunch of people with different attributes and blends them into an effective force. Molyneux and Sterry have this ability to combine powerfully and we see it in Olowu, but so many of the team seem to operate as individuals. You don’t know what to expect and it’s not obvious that they know what to expect of each other. You have to look at McCann and wonder if he sees how self-defeating this lack of organisation, this strategic failure and want of mutual understanding is. We saw in the individual performances last night that he’s got enough individual talent in his squad but he is not using its combined force to its potential.

Well it is absolute nonsense, and what you’ve written confirms that.
If you watched that game and thought oh well this means we’re not going to get promoted then you’re absolutely clueless. We were terrific, but we just couldn’t finish.
It was one of those nights, but the performance was superb

[roversdude]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

Well dickos1 has labelled this nonsense, but it reflects the sentiments which I felt in writing my comment after the match. These players do show ability and the way they dominated possession is evidence that they can play skilfully, but the strategy is haphazard and improvised. Good management brings together a bunch of people with different attributes and blends them into an effective force. Molyneux and Sterry have this ability to combine powerfully and we see it in Olowu, but so many of the team seem to operate as individuals. You don’t know what to expect and it’s not obvious that they know what to expect of each other. You have to look at McCann and wonder if he sees how self-defeating this lack of organisation, this strategic failure and want of mutual understanding is. We saw in the individual performances last night that he’s got enough individual talent in his squad but he is not using its combined force to its potential.

Well it is absolute nonsense, and what you’ve written confirms that.
If you watched that game and thought oh well this means we’re not going to get promoted then you’re absolutely clueless. We were terrific, but we just couldn’t finish.
It was one of those nights, but the performance was superb

I think just about everyone who was there agreed with that, seldom have I seen the team clapped off like they were after a defeat

[Chris Black come back]

We’ve got a settled side and are now putting together consistently good performances. We’ve come a long was in the last month or two.

[Padge_DRFC]

Sharp should have scored twice. The volley from 8 yards out he normally scores that 9 times out of 10.

[donnievic]

The worst EFL team I've ever seen. Completely devoid of any quality, and a set of absolute cheats; yet they've done the double over us.

Couple that with Chesterfield, 15th in the league and 19 points behind us before tonight, who also did the double over us, and that's 12 points down the pan that might easily cost us promotion.

really,both games they had a game plan,actually thought at our place they got their tactics spot on and were very good defensively and didn’t actually turn up and defend,yes Tuesday night we was way on top but for a new efl team for their 1st season on no doubt a low end budget by no means are they they worst efl team,I can think of 6 or 7 teams worse even us a few times this season

[Reg of the Rovers]

It's the most demoralised I've felt all season, it finally sunk in that we won't be getting out of this awful league with this lot. We looked like headless chickens last night, terrible defending for their goal, and just desperate, rushed, structureless play throughout.

Grant's team selections and formations have been wrong for a while. It's either 4-3-3 or throw more forwards on and see what happens. That't not a plan B.

And some of these players aren't good enough. Has Broadbent shown marginal improvement? Maybe, but he's still slow and can't pass, and makes far too many mistakes. Sbarra is a joke. Ennis is even worse. We've made our standout striker last year in to a benchwarmer. We're entirely reliant on whether Molyneux can make something happen. That's our one tactic. McCann told us he wanted to win the league and get us promotion. He needs to come good on that promise or pack his bags.

Well dickos1 has labelled this nonsense, but it reflects the sentiments which I felt in writing my comment after the match. These players do show ability and the way they dominated possession is evidence that they can play skilfully, but the strategy is haphazard and improvised. Good management brings together a bunch of people with different attributes and blends them into an effective force. Molyneux and Sterry have this ability to combine powerfully and we see it in Olowu, but so many of the team seem to operate as individuals. You don’t know what to expect and it’s not obvious that they know what to expect of each other. You have to look at McCann and wonder if he sees how self-defeating this lack of organisation, this strategic failure and want of mutual understanding is. We saw in the individual performances last night that he’s got enough individual talent in his squad but he is not using its combined force to its potential.

Well it is absolute nonsense, and what you’ve written confirms that.
If you watched that game and thought oh well this means we’re not going to get promoted then you’re absolutely clueless. We were terrific, but we just couldn’t finish.
It was one of those nights, but the performance was superb

I think just about everyone who was there agreed with that, seldom have I seen the team clapped off like they were after a defeat

I completely respect those people who are feeling positive at the moment, and truly admire anyone who thought Tuesday night's performance deserved a standing ovation.

Tuesday for me was a culmination of just not having enjoyed any part of this season; it's been terrible crooked refs spoiling games, playing against time-wasting cheating teams with absolutely no interest in playing football, and in my opinion we've been poor - lacking leadership and quality throughout the season. The Moly goal on Saturday was the first time this season I'd though - wow, that was decent.

This management team and playing team, in my opinion, is disappointing. We were disappointing for 2/3 of last season, and ultimately disappointing when it counted most, and we've been very disappointing this season, in a crap league with bad refs and awful opposition, so I can't help feeling like we're going to be disappointed again. But I hope I'm wrong, and wish I was in the group of you that still believe!

[ForsolongaRover]

I won’t recycle all the comments again Reg and I can see your point of view, but I cannot accept that Tuesday’s was the competent performance of a TEAM playing to its strengths. It was obviously more than “huffing and puffing”, but it was not measured and cohesive.

Well-managed, this could be the start of a surge to the top, but  let’s have more composure and less rush.

[Michael Shaw]

We started the season being told we have  good budget, great manager, the best we could keep from last year and some great signings, with Sharp beyond our expectations. We should have expected to come flying out the starting blocks and an explosive season. 35 games in and we are still waiting for the good run of results to drive us up to league one. Certainly it hasn’t started yet and I don’t expect much from the last 2 games which will see us drop places. We have limped through this season and only where we are because there are so many poor sides in this league.

Just saying …. I have an opinion like everyone else.

[Michael Shaw]

Well-managed, this could be the start of a surge to the top, but  let’s have more composure and less rush.

35 games into the season and still waiting for that surge. We are running out of games and that train of thought is looking unrealistic especially after Tuesday. With each game I hope the surge is going to start but it gets tiring waiting. 11 games to go and we face 5 teams in the top 7 also fighting for promotion. Anyone paying attention should be worried.

[Dutch Uncle]

The worst EFL team I've ever seen. Completely devoid of any quality, and a set of absolute cheats; yet they've done the double over us.

Couple that with Chesterfield, 15th in the league and 19 points behind us before tonight, who also did the double over us, and that's 12 points down the pan that might easily cost us promotion.

really,both games they had a game plan,actually thought at our place they got their tactics spot on and were very good defensively and didn’t actually turn up and defend,yes Tuesday night we was way on top but for a new efl team for their 1st season on no doubt a low end budget by no means are they they worst efl team,I can think of 6 or 7 teams worse even us a few times this season

You have to credit Bromley with the perfect away performance against us - in both games

But in general the game is dying from all the cheating, feigned injuries and time-wasting. The rule makers need to do something other than awarding a corner if the keeper holds the ball for 8 seconds. 

Edit: the things that come to mind are Donny Wolf's oft mooted suggestion of a time keeper stopping the clock when the ball is dead, and playing 2 real 30-minutes halves, and my suggestion of an extra medically trained member of the match officials to make calls on feigned injuries (any player clutching head has to leave pitch for 10 minutes and be assessed, interim concussion sub hauled off if injury feigned and offending player not allowed back), and more retrospective action if video evidence show player cheated to win a penalty/foul/yellow card for opposition player etc

[dickos1]

Well-managed, this could be the start of a surge to the top, but  let’s have more composure and less rush.

35 games into the season and still waiting for that surge. We are running out of games and that train of thought is looking unrealistic especially after Tuesday. With each game I hope the surge is going to start but it gets tiring waiting. 11 games to go and we face 5 teams in the top 7 also fighting for promotion. Anyone paying attention should be worried.

We are sat in the automatic promotions spots and you say results haven’t been good.
Crazy