Brighton 3-0 Tranmere

[roverstillidie]

Awful result that puts us back in the relegation zone - quite frankly we deserve to be there:

9 Goals away from home so far this season is embarrasing, pathetic and awful - the team should be ashamed of themselves for that pitiful record.

A Goal difference of -28 sums up our problem, most of the goals conceded damage was done under Barnes but we don't have the firepower to make up for it.

Robinson getting sent off today gets him a 3 game ban I think depending on the offence, possibly one if the ref is lenient.

Barnes ruined this season and has left Parry with a nearly impossible job which he should never have been given in the long term. I'm not giving up but unless we win at least 3 of our remaining home games and pick up at least 2 wins on the road we're going down bar a miracle.

Must Win Games:

Exeter (H)
Wycombe (H)
Millwall/Norwich (H) We need to win at least one of those games
Stockport (A)
Walsall (A)

Brentford, Colchester and Swindon make up the other 3 games (all away) I only see Brentford as a realistic chance of getting a result.

We should give Mahon a game in place of Robinson as we need some kind of spark in the final 3rd and drop McLaren for this WBA lad. Hopefully Edds will be back for Friday to replace Broomes at right back with Bakayogo back in at left back.

 

[tea for two]

i know les is doing the best he can but i think at times the team isnt good enough. it been good getting players in on loan thanks to the les aid but why should the fans have to fork out the money when we got a chairman thats got the money.they say easter time can be a crucial time but with the 2 games we got coming up against norwich and swindon it going to be very difficult.i hope we do stay up but its going to a real struggle.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Because the chairman doesn't want to spend the money, which is fair enough really because it's his.

Robinson being sent off on his debut is quite funny. Don't really care too much whether we stay up or not tbh, I just long to be entertained, at least vaugley.

 

[Sparky]

Pretty dire result this to be honest. Brighton in good form but to be 2-0 down after 30mins isnt good.

WIth Exeter winning it makes the daunting task of Norwichs visit on Friday even more scary!

Although in saying that, I would say anything from that game will be a bonus - but 6 points from the Wycombe/Exeter games is a must. Those 2 games will define our season once and for all.

As for the team selection, personally, I still dont think Savage is up to it and would prefer Gornell down the middle.

Secondly - Robinson IMO may not suit the wide role of a 3 man attack as I think when he was at Swansea he was a wide man in a 4-4-2. Curran works hard but isnt contributing enough.

We have enough quality in reserve with the likes of Shukes, Barnett even Mahon could be given a go - so some changes must be made for Friday

 

[DIW]

Scary times. Since the Southampton game we have looked crap. Desperately need ITM back in if only for his experience and football brain. As someone else said, 6 points from Wycombe and Exeter at home are a must. If we can beat Stockport away as well, we might just have a chance. We will not beat Norwich next week in a month of Sundays so lets just avoid getting absolutely trounced.

 

[bigmart]

The lack of goals and creativity is a uge problem 3 goals in our last 6 games is awful and will lead us to relegation.

We keep playing 4 3 3 which i dont like especially when we use 3 defensive minded midfielders, so the chances of being entertained are fairly slim sonkerly. Les just seems to want to stick to the same system and wont change it and is reluctant to change the personnel, how mclaren gets picked is just beyond belief. Surely the time has come to drop him and try mahon or barnett.

We need to try be bit more bold and go for it a bit more as lets face it we will be relegated as it is. As for the easter games i hope im wrong but i cant see anything but 2 defeats

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I think I'm the first fan who was at the match to get to a PC, so here's my report. It was a bit surreal at first as the rain lashed down on the Withdean Stadium. Three sides of the ground is uncovered, but the stewards gave us all coloured ponchos, depending on which end you were. This meant that the far end looked like a Ku Klux Klan convention. The SWA looked like we were auditioning for Little Red Riding Hood.

We started well and were the better side for ten minutes until Seb Carole, playing on the right wing, made space and crossed for Brighton's first goal. We were never in it after that. Carole blasted over with a good chance soon after, but then he laid on a second after half an hour. Somehow we held on till half time, when the rain stopped.

One of the Brighton stewards said she'd heard Les's half time talk and implied his language was a bit rich! At first, the second half was more even, but we failed to raise our game and never looked like scoring, except when a Robinson free kick was tipped over the bar by their excellent keeper. He caught everything we threw at him in the air.

I did not see the sending-off incident well enough to comment. It was the other end of the pitch and we were fifty yards away from the pitch anyway, as there is a running track and shot put net between the away end and the goal. I can only asssume that Robbo, who had worked hard with no reward all afternoon, mistimed his tackle.

Soon after, our new full-back, Ben Gordon, totally fluffed his kick and handed a third goal to the home team. In his bright red boots, he looked like the thought he was a great player, but all three goals came down his side of the pitch and the third was a gift.

Our other new loanee, Josh Labadie, came on in the second half. He looked comfortable on the ball and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Despite the margin, our best players were Ian Goodison and Luke Daniels. Goodi never put a foot wrong and even had time to join the attack towards the end. Daniels could do nothing with the goals and pulled off two fantastic saves late on to prevent a more embarrassing scoreline.

Despite being up against his old club, Bas Savage was really disappointing. His first touch was even worse than usual and he never got a second one! Curran tried hard without effect.

The midfield never got going. I can't remember any effective passing move in the ninety minutes.

It was a dreadful display and I can't understand why Les used only one sub, even when we were down to 10 men. A mate who supports Brighton said it was the best he'd seen them play this season, but our midfield and our forwards made it easy for them. Even the SWA were as quiet as I've ever heard them.

Brighton are now almost safe, while we are back in the bottom four. If we go down, at least we won't have to visit the Withdean again.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Cheers for the review Sir.

 

[Boz]

Thanks for the report BBTC. Interesting that Carole was instrumental in our downfall, he never showed similar form when playing for us under Barnes. I was at the Swansea game today and talking about Robinson. The views in S Wales are fairly divided, wide-left probably his best position. We won't be seeing him for 3 games after the sending-off. Time to ditch the 4-3-3 and pick some creative players in midfield. While relegation's looking likely, we should go down fighting.

 

[bigmart]

Thats part of our problem boz a strange reluctance to change the system and tactics ie an over reliance on hoofing the ball up front and also a reluctance to use subs.

We should switch to 4 4 2 and have a good go at teams, you never know we might even score a goal or two, surely its got to be better than the drivel that we are trying to play now

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I would say the major reasons for our defeat yeterday were as follows:

i) The enforced changes to the defence. Gordon was awful at left back and contributed directly to at least two of the goals, while Broomes was equally poor. On a number of occasions under Les we have played very little football in an away match but still battled our way to a point, but there was little chance of that yesterday as we defended so poorly.

ii) The inability of the midfield to keep possession of the ball for more than ten seconds. I am generally supportive of the direct approach Les favours butr we, particularly Taylor and Welsh, repeatedly launched sixty yard balls forward rather than passing ten yards to a man in a lime green shirt. As we continously gifted possession to a good passing side, high in confidence, we never managed to hold on to the ball long enought to build any kind of attacking momentum.

As regards the loan signings, Gordon was very poor, Labadie showed some nice touches and looks a decent player, and Robinson was excellent, with good touch and vision, while being dangerous from set pieces: our only shot on target came from his thirty yard free kick.

Which brings me on to another negative, as his ridiculous two-footed challenge means we may as well have taken £4k of the Les Aid money and simply poured it down the drain.

In all, this was a terrible performance, and it seems that our form has gone south at the worst possible stage in the season, as the last three or four games have been as poor as any since Barnes got the boot.

That said, I am still fully supportive of Les, and regard any suggestion of replacing him now as pretty offensive: our form under Les game for game has been good enough to finish in mid-table but the damage done in the first quarter of the season may simply be too great for us to survive.

 

[Ian]

Which brings me on to another negative, as his ridiculous two-footed challenge means we may as well have taken £4k of the Les Aid money and simply poured it down the drain.

Excellent point, and piss poor really. Disciplinary record stands at 7 reds this season.

The situation is precarious.
We head into our most important month, and it's full of fixtures. Seven in total with four away games and a home game on Friday to the best team in the division.

Our current form is poor. Just one win in the last five games and no goals scored in the last three.

I think this is going to the wire with a result needed against Stockport. #-o

 

[roverstillidie]

I think this is going to the wire with a result needed against Stockport. #-o

On our current form we will be dead and buried by then.

 

[SCooperSomersaults]

All your comments make for interesting reading. It's a terrible result, was (for some reason) actually quite confident of at least a point from this game. But it wasn't to be.

The defensive changes are a big blow. Sounds like that lad from Chelsea isn't quite up to it yet, although bit harsh to throw him into such a big game on his league debut with the other changes made too. Broomes is just dreadful full stop, surely the youth team full back would be a better option than him at right full back.

It goes to show how much we miss one player. In the last couple of games we've created about 1 shot on goal. Zoom is the only one who has a go and gets down the line and puts crosses into the box. The rest of the time we're relying on aimless hoofs to try and 'create' something and it simply doesn't work.

It makes the Norwich game much bigger than we should make it. We really need a result to stop the slump of poor performances and results of the last 4 games and get back into some sign of form ahead of a massive last 8 games of the season.

If there's anybody to choose to come to Prenton Park, we couldn't pick a worse fixture than Norwich. Fingers crossed, pray, anything. Hope springs eternal they say....

 

[Boz]

Afraid that I agree with RTID. Depending on how other results go, by the time we play Wycombe and Exeter, Rovers could be almost dead in the water. We need something from either Norwich/Swindon and a win at Walsall now to keep us in touching distance. Chance would be a fine thing...

While we miss Zoum, I don't entirely agree with SCoops that his absence is a big cause in our failure to find the net. He didn't offer much in attack v Leeds and I can't immediately think of a situation where one of his crosses led to a goal? Broomes did well at right-back at Norwich, but by the sounds of it only Chris McCready had a half-decent game defensively yesterday.

It's easy to slate Robinson, but by the sounds of it, he was one of our better players, despite not being played on his best position yesterday. My impression was the red card tackle was borne out of frustration, but the consequence that we lose him for 3 games is hard to stomach.

It's unclear how much involvement Shaun and Chief have in team selection/tactics, but given the activity on the bench during matches seems to feature them, presumably it's not minimal. Clearly the current situation is unacceptable, so time to get rid of the sacred cows, be they McLaren or 4-3-3 and try something different

 

[Sparky]

This could come under the Parry Out thread but personally I wonder whether Les is finally being found out in terms of his lack of experience/know how as a manager.

True there have been a few highlights, i.e. beating Southampton but whilst I accept he took over in very difficult circumstances, to me it seems the initial enthusiasm etc from when he took over, and the fact that he is a likeable guy with a sense of humour and a great sense of loyaly at the club - is slowly becoming not enough to keep us up.

Little things like his lack of subs, i.e. on Saturday, or making them too late, i.e. against Hartlepool when he brought 2 on with 8 mins to go including Sordell which was far too late for a game we needed to win.

Secondly his relcutance to change the formation when things clearly arent working at the moment. Whatever he has done so far, we need to score goals and playing 3 defensive midfielders away from home (and at home against Hartlepool) is too negative IMO. Savage had a nightmare on Saturday and hasnt got enough to keep us up. His goals/game ratio is shocking and he has played for about 10 different clubs, and whilst last season it didnt matter so much with Kay etc chipping in, we are relying on front men who clearly arent up to it.

On paper we have enough back up in the squad at present to make changes and at this level, replace quality with quality. But he seems to have no idea of a suitable plan B or plan C.

I will always be a fan of him and obviously its too late now to change anything, but I really hope whether we stay up or not, that we have someone else in charge next season.

 

[Ian]

Winnable games this month would have to be the home ones against Wycombe and Exeter. I don't have much faith in the away games as we travel to Swindon (4th), Walsall (14th), Brentford (12th) and Colchester (6th).

I don't agree Boz. I think the table will be just as tight come those home games you mentioned. There's not a great deal of movement down there, it's really tight and has been for weeks.

In true Rovers style, I'm still sticking to what I've been saying for a few weeks. It comes down to that last game of the season, I can just feel it.

 

[Ian]

personally I wonder whether Les is finally being found out in terms of his lack of experience/know how as a manager.

Come on Sparky, you've got to cut him some slack. It's not like he came into the job bigging himself up, unlike a certain Mr Barnes. He took over when no-one else would.

We can't really criticise any of his choices. He's doing the best he can under the circumstances. I'm sure he's making mistakes along the way, but that's not his fault. He's a physio, not a manager. I just hope he can get us out of the mess others have created.

And this also brings me back to the situation mentioned on here a few months back when Les took over. If we do go down, Les leaves the club and leaves under a cloud. Hardly a fitting way for a Rovers legend to go. Will people blame Parry as they already seem to be doing?

I fully respect Parry for having the balls to take the job on, I just hope he doesn't regret it in a few weeks time. Football is a very fickle game.

 

[Sparky]

Ian - I have nothing against Les. He is a legend. I just dont think he is up to it. Your right when you say it isnt his fault but when IMO he is picking the wrong players / formation who else is their to blame ? Barnes is history now and whilst Les inevitably inherited a lot of rubbish to sort out, we are in a position to get out of it but wont unless he changes his ways. Les has been able to put his stamp on things with all the loan signings so if things dont work out, he must bear some criticism. Whilst he is a legend, that can only prevent him from criticism for so long.

I agree that the last thing we all want is that we go down and he leaves under a cloud. He would probably wish he had stayed a physio and the job security that brings having done the job for so long.

I really hope he keeps us up, goes back to being a physio, and will be remembered as even more of a legend.

He has got us into a decent position considering where we were when he took over, and I applaud him for that - however I dont know if he has what it takes to see us over the line.

 

[White_Magic]

Result

:-k So a 3-0 loss to relegation rivals wasn't the best tonic for Rovers however maybe this is the kick up the backside we needed. We got outclassed by Huddersfield before we beat an in form Southampton and its a big ask to do the same against the best team in the league, but as we know with the unpredictability with Rovers anything can happen.

Could be Les' first back to back losses since taking over. 9 games left and 5 of these could be seen as must wins to keep us in the division. Tough ask but with our unpredictability you never know and im still standing by my claim we will be playin League 1 football next season.