Perspective.

[Saxo1man41]

Great result v Leeds.. A really positive start to the season.. 7th place.. Level on points with 5th place.. Only 4 points short of top spot..

But..

Also only 4 points above 17th spot..!

Its a crazy congested league. My feet remain on the ground.. For now at least.

[robinrover]

Absolutely saxo
Most of us expected around mid table and despite this good spell of form I will still stay with that prediction.

[AucklandRover]

And this is exactly why the Championship is so much more interesting and exciting than the PL.

[alfinyalcabo]

And this is exactly why the Championship is so much more interesting and exciting than the PL.

Totally agree with you on that one Aucks..You are far better stopping in the Championship that getting promoted to the Premier league again,that's about Rovers level..,( And Burnley's)

[AucklandRover]

Totally agree with you on that one Aucks..You are far better stopping in the Championship that getting promoted to the Premier league again,that's about Rovers level..,( And Burnley's)

I've banged on about this before, Alf, but I really do think a European super-league would make more sense than the current system.
How can clubs like ours be on a level playing-field with the likes of the PL top six? I know the counter-arguments, in terms of finance and "testing yourselves" against the best, but there would still be cup competitions, and the big improvement would be that the PL would no longer be about a dozen clubs battling against relegation from day one!
The way the Championship is, if Bolton (to take a random example) were to go on a run of three wins in a row, they would probably move from their current 18th place to the borderline of the top six!
That's why I like this Division - but it's also why I take nothing for granted: three defeats...and we would shoot off in the other direction. Saxo's words of warning on this topic do make sense, especially because these very close games can turn on a moment of luck or a poor refereeing decision.

[champs95]

Great result v Leeds.. A really positive start to the season.. 7th place.. Level on points with 5th place.. Only 4 points short of top spot..

But..

Also only 4 points above 17th spot..!

Its a crazy congested league. My feet remain on the ground.. For now at least.

To balance that. I don't think we played that well yesterday. And I thought we looked more dangerous than Leeds. Teams can't break us down. We are solid. That won't change overnight, unless say we sold Dack. Which wint happen this season.
I still think we are improving every week. I still think we will get better, there is much more to come. And we have a superb squad who all fight for their place.

We caused Leeds lots of problems yesterday. They didn't cause us problems.

The main thing that sets us aside, we have a better, more assute manager. Who is tactically better than Leeds manager etc etc etc etc etc. Who pulls off masterstroke such as signing Rodwell. Who clearly wants to be part of this group.

We have a special group of players, with a team ethic and band of brothers attitude. Who will die for the cause. And a manager who has a plan which normally works.

We will be safe from relegation by about Dec/Jan. Ipswich have 9 points.

But believe me when I say nobody at BRFC is thinking about relegation. It was never discussed, nor will it even be something that affects us. We will lose the odd match, and have the occasional bad run for a game or 2 but that will be it.

There is only one direction this club is heading and it's been going that way for over 12 months now.
In that time we have lost about 4/5 games of football. One of them was after we'd won automatic promotion.

[AucklandRover]

To balance that. I don't think we played that well yesterday. And I thought we looked more dangerous than Leeds. Teams can't break us down. We are solid. That won't change overnight, unless say we sold Dack. Which wint happen this season.
I still think we are improving every week. I still think we will get better, there is much more to come. And we have a superb squad who all fight for their place.

We caused Leeds lots of problems yesterday. They didn't cause us problems.

The main thing that sets us aside, we have a better, more assute manager. Who is tactically better than Leeds manager etc etc etc etc etc. Who pulls off masterstroke such as signing Rodwell. Who clearly wants to be part of this group.

We have a special group of players, with a team ethic and band of brothers attitude. Who will die for the cause. And a manager who has a plan which normally works.

We will be safe from relegation by about Dec/Jan. Ipswich have 9 points.

But believe me when I say nobody at BRFC is thinking about relegation. It was never discussed, nor will it even be something that affects us. We will lose the odd match, and have the occasional bad run for a game or 2 but that will be it.

There is only one direction this club is heading and it's been going that way for over 12 months now.
In that time we have lost about 4/5 games of football. One of them was after we'd won automatic promotion.

I agree that we did a very good job of handling Leeds, but I was still quite impressed with them, and I would expect them to be in the top six in May. That was a superb goal they created, and they do have a few players out.
I don't think we are going to play many teams off the park. That's not the nature of what TM has created. As you say, Champs, it's all about effort and spirit, allied to the flair and excellence of a couple of individuals.
I don't think we should underestimate the importance of Graham in all this. He didn't take the eye - like Armstrong, Reed and Evans - against Leeds, but he doesn't give defenders a moment's peace, and he creates all-important holes and gaps.
There seem to have been very mixed reactions to Brereton's performance. I thought he did all right, actually, with his inexperience showing up a couple of times, as you'd expect. I'm still not convinced he's an out-and-out striker by nature, though. All the clips I've seen of him, and his outings with us so far, suggest he likes to pick up the ball a bit deeper and run at people. Nothing wrong with that, but I wonder if he can be converted to play as a "target-man" type, when required.

[champs95]

I noticed the comments about the two full backs Aucks. The only 2 Leeds players missing.

I was a bit baffled. I'll tell you why.

Our normal LB Williams didn't play?
Neither did our RB Nyambe.
We had a makeshift midfielder playing RB.

Not a mention. But they had 2 who cost them the game? They must be absolute world beaters?


And I thought Leeds passed the ball about. And ran. And created 2 chances.
I thought we caused them loads of problems. Especially Armstrong. Not one of their players caused us the same problems.

We had spent 2 weeks practising corners. The reason being David Lowe had noticed Leeds keeper doesn't come off his line. He is also poor. We beat them because we knee how to beat them. Due to our manager and backroom staff.

And I thought Dack had an off day. And we didn't play that well. But looked a better side.
We invite teams who like possession, like Derby, Leeds etc to come attack us. And we play a counter attack style. And are very strong on set plays. That's why we have a better away record. Our style is better suited away.

Leeds have won 1 in 5 and are faltering. I think we will finish higher. And I don't think we'll quite make the play offs.

Hmmm, ok ...Maybe we will sneak in? But I don't think we will go up. Not this season.

Leeds are no better than us. They where 10 points ahead recently. 2 now

[AucklandRover]

I noticed the comments about the two full backs Aucks. The only 2 Leeds players missing.

I was a bit baffled. I'll tell you why.

Our normal LB Williams didn't play?
Neither did our RB Nyambe.
We had a makeshift midfielder playing RB.

Not a mention. But they had 2 who cost them the game? They must be absolute world beaters?


And I thought Leeds passed the ball about. And ran. And created 2 chances.
I thought we caused them loads of problems. Especially Armstrong. Not one of their players caused us the same problems.

We had spent 2 weeks practising corners. The reason being David Lowe had noticed Leeds keeper doesn't come off his line. He is also poor. We beat them because we knee how to beat them. Due to our manager and backroom staff.

And I thought Dack had an off day. And we didn't play that well. But looked a better side.
We invite teams who like possession, like Derby, Leeds etc to come attack us. And we play a counter attack style. And are very strong on set plays. That's why we have a better away record. Our style is better suited away.

Leeds have won 1 in 5 and are faltering. I think we will finish higher. And I don't think we'll quite make the play offs.

Hmmm, ok ...Maybe we will sneak in? But I don't think we will go up. Not this season.

Leeds are no better than us. They where 10 points ahead recently. 2 now

Some Leeds fans are saying they are in their usual decline, after a good start, but they might just be going through a bad patch. What I liked about them was their willingness to keep passing, even when under pressure. I think they might well outplay quite a few teams who don't have our work-ethic.
I think it's very hard to suggest favourites in this Division. I picked out Deby at the start of the season, and I'd probably stick with that, but I wouldn't rule Leeds out of a top-six place at all. I thought their manager's reaction was very thoughtful and balanced. He sounds like a man who knows their weaknesses. I reckon he will be looking for an Evans-type in January.
As for us, if we can hang around the top eight places until Christmas, who knows? I reckon coasting along in about eighth - just below the radar - is quite a reasonable option. We have four quite winnable games (on paper!) in January. A good run then could give us just the boost needed for a play-off place.
At some point, though, we are probably going to lose two in a row. That's when the fans will need to rally.

Incidentally, Champs, what did you think of Rodwell? I was quite impressed, but the phrase "red card waiting to happen" did cross my mind!

[champs95]

Some Leeds fans are saying they are in their usual decline, after a good start, but they might just be going through a bad patch. What I liked about them was their willingness to keep passing, even when under pressure. I think they might well outplay quite a few teams who don't have our work-ethic.
I think it's very hard to suggest favourites in this Division. I picked out Deby at the start of the season, and I'd probably stick with that, but I wouldn't rule Leeds out of a top-six place at all. I thought their manager's reaction was very thoughtful and balanced. He sounds like a man who knows their weaknesses. I reckon he will be looking for an Evans-type in January.
As for us, if we can hang around the top eight places until Christmas, who knows? I reckon coasting along in about eighth - just below the radar - is quite a reasonable option. We have four quite winnable games (on paper!) in January. A good run then could give us just the boost needed for a play-off place.
At some point, though, we are probably going to lose two in a row. That's when the fans will need to rally.

Incidentally, Champs, what did you think of Rodwell? I was quite impressed, but the phrase "red card waiting to happen" did cross my mind!

I have been impressed with Rodwell since his first game. He is next seasons Charlie Mulgrew for us.
He will actually be one of the catalysts for us going back into the Prem next season when we mount our serious challenge.
He had no right to even go for that ball down on the touchline (it was right in front of me in the Walker-steel) but he won the ball and also crunched the man. It got the crowd going, and also much more crucially, the players around him. He did give the ball away once, but other than that he was superb.

The one thinks Aucks I feel we lack in these final 10/15 mins Harry Chapman coming on.
He would have ripped Bolton and Leeds apart at that stage of the game. I still believe we will go back in for him.
And Danny needs help centrally. I don't like it when we play with Dack up top last 10 mins. The ball just keeps coming back. This goes back to your instance in the summer that we sign a player of Graham's mould. If we got that and he scored goals (like say Grabban) we'd probably go up this season. Which I feel is way too early.


...........At some point, though, we are probably going to lose two in a row. That's when the fans will need to rally........

I totally agree Auks. This is where I need help form the likes of you and Robin and Saxo. Before it happens.
The last time we lost I was defalted with all the negative comments. Hence I got all crappy with everyone.

We HAVE to be more realistic guys. We lost one game. There was talk of Mowbray losing his job and a slide down the table.

The times we really need support and belief are when we don't get the result we hoped.
The next time we lose, I do hope we react differently than the previous times.


I'm unconvinced by Leeds. I feel there is a bigger chance he will be sacked by Feb/March time when they will have completely fallen away. They quickly turn that lot with their big fan base. They just started well, like last season.
A side with a defence like that, who we caused problems for, and a very average keeper wont get promotion.
They aren't as good as us.
But the main thing, they don't have as good a manager.