Brighton(home)predictions

[robinrover]

A much braver performance but sadly the gulf in class will be very apparent
1-2 loss

[alfinyalcabo]

Rovers 3 Brighton 1

[AucklandRover]

I have an uneasy feeling about our ability to keep the ball, but as every game seems to throw up the unexpected, I'm going for 1-1.

[Despair]

Very, very sorry guys but my head says 0 - 2.

Just need to point out that when I pretty much slaughter us re sat tea times game - yes we did put up a good fight second half. And yes in that period it was a 'good old fashioned EL's derby.
But that's as far as it goes for me ie it's not the 70's / 80's, so nostalgia for me doesn't come into it .
We are in serious financial difficulty under the behest of poor owners and living on drip feed.
That's the reality for me, so every single point is valuable and that means the outcome of games is the paramount concern.

[Turfmoorspirit]

2-2.. Trying to predict your scores is a phuckin pain in the &rse.. I will get one right one day..

[alfinyalcabo]

A bad night at Ewood as Rovers lose 3-2 ... Robin wins the predictor again .. A man sent off plus a couple of injuries as Rovers drop into the bottom three.. KTF lads

[AucklandRover]

Soon...we're going to win one, 4-3!

Has anyone else noticed that since our first two League games, all of our defeats have been by ONE goal?!

[Despair]

Soon...we're going to win one, 4-3!

Has anyone else noticed that since our first two League games, all of our defeats have been by ONE goal?!

That's a little spooky, as that very same observation I was about to make re last nights defeat.

There are two ways of looking at this really, one is 'result's: small margins' (which OC and the players spout a lot about).
Then there is the observed overall game/s and our league position.
Last night (given who we were playing) we were marginally better. But that margin falls some way short in illustrating we are learning / getting better. We're not.
Brighton were just what I expected, a very well drilled cohesive side. Not as dynamic as Hudds maybe, who were more 'in your face'.
However, we put up the same 'trying our best' challenge, which yet again was not enough. So in that respect I have no real qualms ie we are only as good as we are. And that's insufficient.
My scapegoat for last night is I'm afraid Evans, he's going backwards at an alarming rate now.
Like most others I'm pretty fed up with reading 'we're better than our position shows'. 'We are a match for anyone'. 'We fear no one'. Given 1-1 vs Hudds and 2-3 vs Brighton you could get to thinking just maybe that's true.
Well sorry but watching the game play out; we are as bad as our position shows, we are not improving, we are not 'matching' the opposition, we are very 'scared' in our approach, none more so than midfield.

Downbeat? Yes, because we are deservedly where we are right now. They players are pretty much drained of any optimism they may have had. They are playing as a team that fears the worst.
Yes managers and players have to remain upbeat in the media, but sometimes it can be self defeating and simply in some ways a smokescreen. That eventually 'wears them down'.
They can come across as taking to the park in the mindset that 'we'll keep playing as we do, because it's good enough' and eventually all will be alright and we'll climb the table.

Is some kind of turnaround going to happen? I hope so. Can I see signs of it ? No not really. Do we need a re-energised influx to the squad ? yes for certain. Is removing OC the answer? That's the tough one, I am neither for, or against it.
We may get lucky and find a messiah, but then again?

[AucklandRover]

That's a little spooky, as that very same observation I was about to make re last nights defeat.

There are two ways of looking at this really, one is 'result's: small margins' (which OC and the players spout a lot about).
Then there is the observed overall game/s and our league position.
Last night (given who we were playing) we were marginally better. But that margin falls some way short in illustrating we are learning / getting better. We're not.
Brighton were just what I expected, a very well drilled cohesive side. Not as dynamic as Hudds maybe, who were more 'in your face'.
However, we put up the same 'trying our best' challenge, which yet again was not enough. So in that respect I have no real qualms ie we are only as good as we are. And that's insufficient.
My scapegoat for last night is I'm afraid Evans, he's going backwards at an alarming rate now.
Like most others I'm pretty fed up with reading 'we're better than our position shows'. 'We are a match for anyone'. 'We fear no one'. Given 1-1 vs Hudds and 2-3 vs Brighton you could get to thinking just maybe that's true.
Well sorry but watching the game play out; we are as bad as our position shows, we are not improving, we are not 'matching' the opposition, we are very 'scared' in our approach, none more so than midfield.

Downbeat? Yes, because we are deservedly where we are right now. They players are pretty much drained of any optimism they may have had. They are playing as a team that fears the worst.
Yes managers and players have to remain upbeat in the media, but sometimes it can be self defeating and simply in some ways a smokescreen. That eventually 'wears them down'.
They can come across as taking to the park in the mindset that 'we'll keep playing as we do, because it's good enough' and eventually all will be alright and we'll climb the table.

Is some kind of turnaround going to happen? I hope so. Can I see signs of it ? No not really. Do we need a re-energised influx to the squad ? yes for certain. Is removing OC the answer? That's the tough one, I am neither for, or against it.
We may get lucky and find a messiah, but then again?

Good points, Despair. Confidence is nearly always a key issue. In addition, of course, we haven't been able to play a settled defensive line-up. In our situation, it was always going to be hard to replace Duffy and Hanley, and injuries have made matters worse.
All the same, it come back to a problem we have had for about five years now: the inability to boss a game from midfield, especially for the whole 90 minutes!
Interesting what you say about Evans. I remember him getting worse as the season progressed before.
How we could do with a Robbie Savage. It's sometimes more a question of character than ability!
(Incidentally, another irony is Duffy scoring AGAINST us. Remember how many sitters he missed in a Rovers shirt!)