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Rovers v Wycombe (FA Cup)

ONIGP

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A lot of rain up here at the moment. What's it like on the Wirral? Are we at risk of another cancellation?
 

Ian

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It's certainly not dry!
 
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ian goodison
purely selfish reasons I know (bones are aching) won,t be upset it ,s called off comes with being 70+
 

bigmart

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There has been a lot of heavy rain during last night and most of today, dry Friday but could be very wet with snow and rather cold on Saturday so unsure if pitch will be fit or not.

Morgan Ferrier is in the squad and with Payne being back there are more options now
 
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aldo
its gonna be dry tomorrow and cold and dry on sat , keep it unchanged and give them a good go . leave the others on the bench and see how it goes 1-0 or 2-0 with murth getting at least one and the ferry man getting a late one
 
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It has stopped raining now and is due to stay dry until 9am on Saturday, so hopefully we will be ok. We don't want another postponement.

Micky has a few selection problems ahead of this game. While he might be tempted to stick with exactly the same line up as last week, will he really want to play Wilson out of position at left wing back and Morris in centre midfield ? I think the core of the team will remain the same and we will stick with 532, but there might be a few changes. Potter is available and from Mellon's interview it sounds like Ferrier had a great week on the training ground and is likely to start.

Wycombe are having an excellent season following their major US investment, and have some familiar names such as Joe Jacobson and Adebayo Akinfenwa. They might be tempted to rest a few players given their success in the league.

The third round tie against Spurs played a major part in our promotion last season and we know the financial benefits a cup run can bring. If I was forced to choose between a victory in this game and the league match next week, I would prefer to progress in the cup.

Prediction: I think the gate will be around 4,000 with 3-400 from Buckinghamshire, and I think we are capable of getting a result.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Interesting point you make, RLC, about targeting cup success over league points. I share your confidence about our survival chances. We won't go up this year but the cup is our only chance of a windfall cash boost.
 

Boz

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I'm conflicted on the question of how strong a side we put out for this one. We get money for progressing to the next round, but should be get there it might be something like Peterborough away and there's obviously no guarantee that we (i) make the 3rd round and (ii) get another plum tie should we get there. A different situation entirely to resting some first teamers at Notts County, knowing that if we beat Southport in the replay, a money-spinning tie v Spurs was next. Whatever happens in the Cup, it sounds like there will be money available from the Indonesian investment for the playing budget, so arguably our need to progress is not so great. At this point, I don't think anyone can be confident our priority of L1 survival is a given.

I'm not entirely sure what Wycombe's approach will be to the tie. While they are the benificary of some American investment, their squad depth isn't great, so might they be tempted to rest one or two in favour of their greater goal of promotion into the Championship?

My inclination would be to hold back Ferrier, maybe give him time from the bench and stick with Jennings behind RHM up front. The reports last week suggested Kane did better at left wing-back than when he moved to a more defensive role on the right. Maybe deploy instead of Caprice at RWB, which would mean a return for Ray and using Ridehalgh at LWB or using Morris as LWB. Perhaps rest Perkins, who still doesn't seem back to full fitness, in favour of Potter.

While the ticket prices, even with the £3 match day hike are reasonable, a combination of weather uncertanties and a repeat fixture next weekend will keep some away. I'd go for a crowd of 3.5k. No idea about the result.
 
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I'm conflicted on the question of how strong a side we put out for this one.
It is quite a simple decision for me: we need to play a full strength team.

While there will be some Indonesian money available for squad strengthening in January, I don't get the impression that the sum involved will be huge. We are nowhere near the level financially where we can afford to turn down progression in the cup competitions, and tomorrow's game is very important to us. Rather than hindering our progress in the league, an FA Cup run could greatly improve our chances of survival this season.

I would agree that we should not risk Ferrier and co. if they are not one hundred percent fit, but then I would say the same if it was a league game tomorrow.
 
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Ian

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I'd be cautious about starting Ferrier due to the length of time he has been out. Last thing we want is for him to be crocked again especially considering our striking options at present.
 

bigmart

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According to MP 20% of the investment will go into the playing budget, so any extra money from a cup run will be beneficial.
 
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to be honest never been a huge fan of caprice so either play him at f/b or play Wilson also keep nelson/monthe together in a back 4
 

Boz

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Ray and Mullin don't even make the bench. Not so surprised about Mullin, but think only Borthwick-Jackson on the bench leaves us a bit short of options at the back. The Chairboys seem to have put out a fairly strong line-up, though Akinfenwa is only a sub.
 

ADD

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Yes agree re defence but on the other hand that is as close to a first choice match day squad as we have had all season!
 
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Boz

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Will await the reports, but it sounds like an error from Scott Davies got Wycombe back into the game after a good start and there seem to have been more of those than usual from Scotty lately.
 
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A good performance from Rovers and a very entertaining game of football. A draw was a fair result, with Rovers the better side in the first half and Wycombe in the second, but the manner that we conceded the first goal was really frustrating. Wycombe had not had a sniff at that stage and it looked like we could add to our lead, but Davies inexplicably punched when he should have caught the ball, and Wycombe equalised from the resulting free kick. In fairness to Scott, he made a superb save in the last ten minutes to make amends.

The real positive was the quality of the football we played for the majority of the game. With Wilson, Danns and Morris established in the side and in good form we look a strong, inventive League One side and Wycombe did not really look a class above us at any stage of the game today. The performances of the trio I have mentioned seem to be lifting the standards of several of the players around them.

Individually, there were some very good displays. Kieran Morris added goals to his already impressive general contribution, and I thought Danns and Perkins were very good, with the latter looking much more like his old self. There was one occasion in the first half where Nelson was turned and run by their left winger, but other than that he and Monthe were very solid, albeit sloppy in the lead up to the second Wycombe goal. Ridehalgh was solid once again. In attack, RHM failed to repeat last week's performance and struggled to impose himself, as often happens with youngsters, but Ferrier was lively when he came off the bench. If only Morgan could have picked out CBT in the breakaway in the 93rd minute, we might be through to the next round.

The real revelation was Kane Wilson. He notionally played left wing back, but continually drifted into midfield and actually dictated the play for long periods, ghosting past players and showing real invention. It was an outstanding performance and he looks like a player that can go to the very top.

Now to try and get to Buckinghamshire on a Tuesday night.......
 

drwhoman

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Well done Rovers. Wilson was a Guardian ‘one to watch’ in 2016 so maybe we have a gem for the season!
 
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