COME on Rovers.
Not sure we need Houghton.
I would rather spend the wages on a CB

2-1 to Rovers. Marquis to score first. 7967.

Rovers 3-1 Blackpool
Marquis to score, if not playing Rowe.
Crowd 7,654

King Chomprrr on holiday says
Rovers 2-1 Blackpool
Marquis to score, if not playing Kongolo.
Crowd 7321.

Small Azza on holiday says
Rovers 2-2 Blackpool.
May to score, if not playing Marquis.
Crowd 7,123

C'mon Rovers

Yes Blackpool are a bit of a bogey side. So I'll say 1-1 , Rowe to score and crowd of 7026

Rovers to win 2-1 cops to score crowd 8541

Just got up in time! 2-1 to the Rovers, Whiteman to score, crowd 8001

1-1 butler to score crowd 7777

afternoon gentleman!! - im over the road at the race meeting today. (excessive drink situation taking its toll!!)

hope all well - good to see that DPL is back. hoping to improve on last seasons backmarker performance!!

1-0 rovers to win
butler to score
6886 crowd

Cracking game and some amazing goals. When they equalised for 3-3 I could not believe some of the comments about the defence being directed at the bench. I only saw it once of course, but it looked like a scrappy goal that on another day wouldn't have gone in. Yes - annoying - but why do some fans always want to moan? After being the better side in the first half we did have a wobbly period in the second, but if we play like that for the rest of the season it will suit me.

I would have settled for the current position after three games at the start of the season.

I thought we were far from our best today.
After Cullen went off Blackpool packed the midfield and made it hard for us to play through a congested space.
Our first goal came about after a screamer from Rowe.
They levelled with one just as good.
Marquis scored after Blackpool failed to clear their lines and then unbelievably, a second worldie levelled it up.
No way could the defence be held responsible for their first two goals.
When Ronaldo scores one like those two no one blames the opposition defence.
After May made it 3-2 following another defensive error I thought we would go on to win because at the time we were well on top but it was the type of game where the unexpected happens, and it did, 3-3.
May contributed more in his twenty odd minutes than Mandeville did in an hour.
Generally I thought we were fairly solid in performance without the usual attacking flair or threat.
We had a good spell in the last 10 minutes or so but overall we're not much of a threat, but then again, neither were Blackpool.
A draw was probably fair.
Oh, and the officials were shocking.
Some decisions given against us were baffling to say the least.
Still, as has been said, we are in a good place, unbeaten in four and I am quietly confident that we can do well over the season.
My man of the match is Alfie May for giving the team a big lift when he came on.

Can I put in a word for Rodney Kongolo? In the time he was on the pitch he played perhaps one bad pass. His touch is amazing, he sees passes and when the ball is played to him no-one on the other side can get it off him.

I agree about Kongolo.
The cross that he put over the bar very late on is the first time I have seen him NOT find one of our players with a pass.

Thanks albi n hound.
Could get yesterday but full lanza turn out Tuesday.
Was 26 as bad as all his normal fans say he was.

No mate, just not his usual high standard.

He did really well at Blackburn hound.
Just baby lanza sed on social media they were saying he was poor and was subbed

TBF it is commonplace for Copps to be subbed now as they are obviously trying to keep him as fresh as possible for the following game.
I don't expect him to take part against Hull, probably Kongolo to come in for him.
Leading to our first goal the turn, run and pass by Copps is first class (he actually looked really quick too).

Interesting to hear DF blaming his midfield for a goal where none of our players even touched or even challenged for the ball which was passed via the byeline back into the heart of the defence and thence into the net. Obviously, the defence were there in numbers, watching mostly. Ironically, he might have blamed the midfield for allowing the first two Blackpool goals. The first scorer showed more determination to take control of the ball than the two Rovers in attendance who offered no meaningful challenge. The second scorer cruised past two Rovers players who made no attempt to tackle him. I would argue that there is an answer to the 30-yard shot which is that the freedom to shoot should not be given by the midfield/defence.

We seem to concede a lot of these and no one is believed to have done anything wrong. There is a myth that the “wonder-goal” is unstoppable, but the space and freedom that is required is capable of being restricted and we seem poor at doing this.

Don't forget that our first goal came about in similar circumstances.
All goals are preventable aren't they Don?
Our second came when Blackpool failed to get the ball away and the third because a defender made an error allowing the ball to break to May.
Very obviously, in a perfect world, players would not give opponents the room to shoot, but it happens.
I mentioned Ronaldo in my post earlier in the thread.
He scores plenty of goals from distance and he plays against defenders of a much higher class than L1.

Do we really concede a lot of goals from 25 and 30 yard shots, i can't remember too many.

You would have to analyse a lot of material to be sure about the long distance goals, but my point is that in this game at least the scorers got unchallenged possession and space. Ronaldo is clearly exceptional and perhaps the imaginative coach would look at how the top Spanish defences work to restrict his opportunities. That leads you to the point that in some teams there are players who are good from long range and your defence should go into each match knowing who they are and do everything they can to restrict their opportunities.

It is inescapable that in this match the two goal scorers were not properly challenged.

Having re examined the Rowe goal, he hit it first time before the nearest Blackpool defender could reach him, but even then the defender managed to get closer with his attempted block than any of ours did to their scorers.

I know all managers blame goals on defensive errors, but some are recoverable and not all errors are of equal severity.

Having said all this, I was impressed by some of our attacking play; we have certainly upped the standard from where we were in so many of the final games I saw last season. Indeed I reckon (comparing these matches with the ones I saw at Southend last season) that we can challenge around the top of the
League provided we can improve the security at the back.

Rob Jones might make a good defensive coach!

Well, i guess that even the top Spanish coaches can't stop Ronaldo scoring from long range and they have top level players to work with.
In my view, if players of that quality struggle then L1 players will too.

On the Rowe goal, yes the defenders did get closer to him than our players did to the Blackpool scorers but the fact is, they didn't get close enough to stop the shot did they.
A yard or two difference didn't make any difference, he still got the shot away.

As has been said, on another day all three shots would have hit the supporters behind the goal.

In most games there are attempts on goal from 25 yards but rarely are they hit as well as those three.

In my view, defensively we are similar to last season although we were much better January to May than we had been August to December.
It is the Ferguson way, we're gonna score one more than you.
In his own words of last season, "i don't build defences".

I spoke to Andy Butler last March about what his thoughts were on how goals were conceded.
He reckons that most conceded goals come about after two errors in the same passage of play.
For example a bad pass followed by someone diving into a tackle to try and save the situation.
Funnily enough, since then i have taken that on board and he is more often right than wrong with that comment.

Thanks Hound. I suppose you speak as one with quality experience of real football coaching whereas I probably sound more like a Management Consultant!

I suspect that the Rovers defence would have difficulty in restraining Ronaldo and I doubt whether I would be as critical if we were up against him, but perhaps we will look more closely at long - range shots from the lesser talent of League 1 in future and see what pattern emerges.

Ha, Ronaldo ?
No problem for Andy Butler.

On the long range shot thing, well i bet we end up conceding loads of them now.
Sods law and all that.