League Two Swindon (3) v Rovers (1)

[Ian]

Next up for Rovers is a trip to the County Ground to take on Swindon Town. Michael Flynn is the latest manager to lose his job after winning only two games in their last ten games which also included a 2-1 defeat to Rovers on the 23rd December.

However, this will be Swindon's first game since Gavin Gunning took charge as interim head coach so we could be playing them at the worst possible time. Rovers will want to bounce back after two defeats in a row and it will be interesting to see what tactics Adkins will use. Will he go for another cautious approach and let the opposition dictate play and hope to catch them on the counter or will we attack from the start and be a bit more positive now that we have Apter back in the squad?

We have also lost pace up front with Saunders out for a couple of weeks so will Adkins make changes up top or stick with Jolley and Jennings or make changes to allow Dennis back into the squad?

Swindon sit 15th in the table just a point ahead of Rovers but Rovers would overtake them with a win or a draw on Saturday.

Former Rovers loanee Paul 'sicknote' Glatzel is set to make his home debut after his recent transfer to The Robins alongside the evergreen Charlie Austin and those two can be a threat up front. Another former Rover Rushian Hepburn-Murphy may also feature.

 

[drwhoman]

This is the same Gavin Gunning who played a few games for Rovers on loan around 15 years ago. I hope that Glatzel does not get the same long term reputation as a sicknote that Darren Anderton had!

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Some difficult decisions for Nigel, as a third defeat would be a worry and undo a lot of the recent good work. Nearly all our games this season (even in the Dawes era) have been decided by fine margins (shots hitting the woodwork, 50-50 penalty claims, lucky deflections, dodgy off-sides etc.) resulting in single-goal margins either way. I think this will be another case.

The County Ground has not been a happy place for us, so maybe we are due a change of luck. Can we nick a result? Maybe by the only goal?

 

[Sparky]

Yes a third successive defeat would hard to stomach after our recent good run of form around Xmas. Glatzel is bound to have an impact and Charlie Austin is still a good goalscorer at this level. The temporary manager will want a reaction especially with the robins at home so this will be a test. Nigel does have some decision. I’d be tempted to bring McAlear in the middle as walker wasn’t great last week although the same could be said for a few of them. Wonder if Dennis may come in for Jolley

 

[dollar'sbloke]

Nigel likes his structures, Jolley has had the one start in a match the offence didn't get much of a look in. O'Connor should return otherwise unchanged for me, then subs as things evolve

 

[Boz]

I'm not totally convinced that the Milton Keynes game was one of right line-up, wrong tactics. We will have to see if there are any new fitness concerns and whether O'Connor is ready to return to the right-back role. While Lee is the best right-back option we have, the way we set up last weekend made the job for both full-backs harder. Our own sicknote candidate Brad Walker has been below par since returning from his latest injury, but think he'll get the nod to start, fitness permitting, for his game management ability, If Dennis isn't fit enough to play some part in the game, he shouldn't be on the bench.

Bit surprised that Gunning's got the caretaker role at Swindon. Mad Gav didn't seem the sharpest as a player, got wound up by Jay Harris and sent off in our play-off semi win over FGR. Reading the Swindon fan forum, Glatzel seemed to have had a promising debut there was some comment about how willing he was to get stuck in given his injury record. Hope he has a quiet game and comes through unscathed.

 

[ADD]

Agree re Dennis - if he wasn't fit enough to come on last week he shouldn't have been on the bench. Will Adkins look to Taylor? Faster and better than Jolley? Likley not.
Glatzel is a big concern given he will have another week of training/ squad integration under his belt- at this level he like Apter is far too good and could give Davies and Turnbull a massive headache.
We were poor last weekend and as others I felt Adkins set us up too defensively and over thought it - when we had our recent great run he was far more gung ho.
Ultimately, how Apter plays may well determine the result - can we get him into more space - will he tone down his efforts a touch and not go for the impossible every time.Something out of the game is a must as otherwise confidence which 3 weeks ago was soaring will quickly derail. Would take a point if I am honest.

 

[drwhoman]

It is probably heresy but I wish we had taken a risk with sicknote Glatzel rather than sicknote Norris. Given his age will the latter be ever injury free again? He is 30 now, 8 years older than Glatzel. Still all conjecture. What is done is done.

 

[Am on mobile]

Looking at the way its so quiet in this window have they settled for what we got. As we need help for connor up front

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I still don't rate McAlear and I would always start Walker ahead of him. Brad had a poor game last Saturday, as did several others, but he is still a key player for us due to his ability control possession. McAlear is not in the same class in my view.

It will be interesting to see what Adkins does up front. Dennis probably deserves a recall after a below par display from Jolley last week, and the only way he will regain match fitness is by playing. However, Charlie gives us legs and energy away from home and I think he might be preferred.

Hopefully O'Connor will be available, given the really poor showing from Pike against MK Dons.

Swindon are very beatable, but to win the game our performance level will have to be better than last week irrespective of the opposition. It is difficult to predict the outcome, but I agree that another defeat would represent a mini-slump.

This is another ground where we have a very poor record. However, Adkins has broken a few hoodoos in recent weeks.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

It is probably heresy but I wish we had taken a risk with sicknote Glatzel rather than sicknote Norris. Given his age will the latter be ever injury free again? He is 30 now, 8 years older than Glatzel. Still all conjecture. What is done is done.

Very harsh to call Norris a sicknote seeing as he’d been a regular 30-40 game a season man until he did his foot at Stevenage. Iirc it was reported to be a metatarsal, and an impact injury rather than something inherent (say, related to the way he runs or kicks), so it should’ve been straightforward, if time consuming, to heal. Whether the diagnosis was incomplete, or we didn’t do our due diligence sufficiently, or we rushed him back or whether it just didn’t heal properly who knows but, having now had surgery, you’d expect a problem of that nature to now be fixed properly.

Now watch that come back and bite me!

 

[bigmart]

Pitch inspection tomorrow at 1pm.

 

[Keith Hill (Bolton)]

Pitch inspection tomorrow at 1pm.

Isn't it supposed be to be about 8 degrees by Saturday. You would think it could be off for the rain forecast?

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

They’ve had the frost covers on since Tuesday night so hopefully it is, as they’ve said, only precautionary.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Match postponed.

 

[Boz]

Bit surprised given the warmer wetter weather forecast, but at least the early postponement stops unnecessary travel

 

[Ian]

Disappointing but at least it was an early decision.

 

[Am on mobile]

Ahhhh well mid season break for the boys they can't complain for tired

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Ah well, better it’s postponed than it’s abandoned when we are winning. ☹️

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Morecambe score a stoppage time winner at MK Dons (!) so the gap to the play-offs remains nine points.

I don't think we will make the top seven, but it is good to still have it as a possibility.