14-10-2020, 08:42 PM
Blackburn v Forest Pre Match Comments....
I broke my duck of starting match threads which produce a win with our 3-2 victory at Cardiff in the twilight zone in May so I hope I am not resurrecting previous perennial bad luck by starting this thread...
Being a contrarian..
Forest changing Managers at least means TM won't have spent two weeks obsessing about what Forest are going to do and disappearing up his own tailpipe producing a team and tactics that totally bemuse the out of position Rovers players. Unless he is Mystic Mog, he won't know what Hughton is going to conjure up from that huge Forest squad which will most likely include at least two new signings making debuts.
His only option is to concentrate on what Rovers are going to do and hopefully formation and tactics are a given. We will have 4-3-3 with players in their natural positions again please Tony.
However, choice of Personnel could be a bit more tricky.
Hopefully we will only have Travis, Dack and Butterworth unavailable which means Stergiakis, Rankin-Costello, Lenihan, Ayala, Evans and Gallagher should all be available and that is without reckoning on one or more AN Others signed before the transfer window cut-off to be available for selection.
Established players are not going to be in the matchday 18, quite apart from getting a starting slot. It would be really cruel to see Buckley and Chapman not making the bench but that would seem likely for at least one of them.
Big decisions will need to be made selecting between Nyambe and JRC, Ayala, Williams and Lenihan, whether to bring Evans in especially if he has two more good games for Northern Ireland, and one from Gallagher and Dolan. I suspect if an AN Other signing is a left back with a sweet cross in him, Gallagher will get that nod in the expectation he will nod in a cross or two coming in late at the far post... Equally I expect Gallagher will be ineffectual and replaced by Dolan before the 70th minute.
I just hope Mowbray doesn't overthink permutations and starts saving players for the journeys to Watford and Coventry which happen within seven days of the Forest game.
We know Forest will come to Ewood all fired up wanting to start their season five games late under their new boss. We know they have some very good players. We know Kaminski is going to have to be outstanding to keep his run of clean sheets going. We know Rovers are going to have to be at their best in taking their chances to win this one.
Deep down we also know if 20/21 is going to be a very special season for Rovers, this is the sort of game we have got to be winning.
Rovers have shown what they are really capable of but Forest have a new manager and TM has wobbled with his most recent substitutions.
Does he have the intelligence to move us forward?
As ever I think not but am desperate to be proven wrong.
I'm not sure what "wobbled with his most recent substitutions" means.
We lacked penetration throughout the Cardiff game, Armstrong having missed our best chance. Mowbray actually introduced three attack-minded players as subs, so he certainly didn't go negative.
Dolan was finding things much more difficult than in the two comfortable victories. Frankly, we are just not very good at breaking down nine/ten-man defences, full-stop! That's where someone like Dack can make the difference.
I wouldn't be surprised by any score against Forest, but I am a bit less worried about the defence now, and it looks as if Evans will be available to play as an extra "holding" player in midfield, if required.
New manager bounce,along with a possible new centre back pairing.
I am not up for this game at all.
1-4 loss
Streuth, Robin - that's a bit gloomy!
I'm going 2-1 to Rovers.
4-1 to Rovers ..
Sorry aucks,I didnt fancy this game before the manager change,even less now.
We could have Williams and lenihan out against a quality team,fired up to impress the new manager.
3 - 1
I broke my duck of starting match threads which produce a win with our 3-2 victory at Cardiff in the twilight zone in May so I hope I am not resurrecting previous perennial bad luck by starting this thread...
Being a contrarian..
Forest changing Managers at least means TM won't have spent two weeks obsessing about what Forest are going to do and disappearing up his own tailpipe producing a team and tactics that totally bemuse the out of position Rovers players. Unless he is Mystic Mog, he won't know what Hughton is going to conjure up from that huge Forest squad which will most likely include at least two new signings making debuts.
His only option is to concentrate on what Rovers are going to do and hopefully formation and tactics are a given. We will have 4-3-3 with players in their natural positions again please Tony.
However, choice of Personnel could be a bit more tricky.
Hopefully we will only have Travis, Dack and Butterworth unavailable which means Stergiakis, Rankin-Costello, Lenihan, Ayala, Evans and Gallagher should all be available and that is without reckoning on one or more AN Others signed before the transfer window cut-off to be available for selection.
Established players are not going to be in the matchday 18, quite apart from getting a starting slot. It would be really cruel to see Buckley and Chapman not making the bench but that would seem likely for at least one of them.
Big decisions will need to be made selecting between Nyambe and JRC, Ayala, Williams and Lenihan, whether to bring Evans in especially if he has two more good games for Northern Ireland, and one from Gallagher and Dolan. I suspect if an AN Other signing is a left back with a sweet cross in him, Gallagher will get that nod in the expectation he will nod in a cross or two coming in late at the far post... Equally I expect Gallagher will be ineffectual and replaced by Dolan before the 70th minute.
I just hope Mowbray doesn't overthink permutations and starts saving players for the journeys to Watford and Coventry which happen within seven days of the Forest game.
We know Forest will come to Ewood all fired up wanting to start their season five games late under their new boss. We know they have some very good players. We know Kaminski is going to have to be outstanding to keep his run of clean sheets going. We know Rovers are going to have to be at their best in taking their chances to win this one.
Deep down we also know if 20/21 is going to be a very special season for Rovers, this is the sort of game we have got to be winning.
Rovers have shown what they are really capable of but Forest have a new manager and TM has wobbled with his most recent substitutions.
Does he have the intelligence to move us forward?
As ever I think not but am desperate to be proven wrong.
I'm not sure what "wobbled with his most recent substitutions" means.
We lacked penetration throughout the Cardiff game, Armstrong having missed our best chance. Mowbray actually introduced three attack-minded players as subs, so he certainly didn't go negative.
Dolan was finding things much more difficult than in the two comfortable victories. Frankly, we are just not very good at breaking down nine/ten-man defences, full-stop! That's where someone like Dack can make the difference.
I wouldn't be surprised by any score against Forest, but I am a bit less worried about the defence now, and it looks as if Evans will be available to play as an extra "holding" player in midfield, if required.
New manager bounce,along with a possible new centre back pairing.
I am not up for this game at all.
1-4 loss
Streuth, Robin - that's a bit gloomy!
I'm going 2-1 to Rovers.
4-1 to Rovers ..
Sorry aucks,I didnt fancy this game before the manager change,even less now.
We could have Williams and lenihan out against a quality team,fired up to impress the new manager.
3 - 1