Defence.

[Saxo1man41]

WTF was that first half all about?(yes champs you were right). If tony cannot sort it out, then maybe somebody else could. NO EXCUSES.. We have the players.. it has to said the only thing you can question is the manager..

[seventwo]

They look like they'll score every time they get forward. Our long term defensive problems still remain.

[robinrover]

Sad thing is everyone thought Douglas was the answer to the left back problem but in my eyes he doesn't seem any better than bell.

[seventwo]

His 20 and 30 yard back passes are awesome

[Saxo1man41]

Sad thing is everyone thought Douglas was the answer to the left back problem but in my eyes he doesn't seem any better than bell.

hes so slow clumsy and unambitious.. bell FAR better..!

[champs95]

It's all a connection. 3 in midfield leaves us wide open against good teams. And we struggle to break down average sides who pack midfields. It also offers no protection to a poor defence.

But it then exposes the already poor defence and it looks all the world kind its just the defence. It's not. For me its the system. And the midfield not being good enough. The goals conceded tonight where shocking. And I'm not even talking about the freak first goal after 9 seconds. William's got the ring around from that Joao who was nothing but average for us. He looked a world beater tonight.

We scored 2 decent goals and played some ok stuff going forward. But like at Watford we ship all these goals. We arent good enough to overcome so many basic errors. 7 goals in 2 games vrs 2 decent sides. 3 defeats in 4. 1 win in 5. Basically we beat 2 newly promoted sides with 10 men for half the game. And a woeful Derby side. And lost to everyone decent or average. And where unable to break down a sold average Cardiff.

Tonight was a real test vrs a decent in form side. Nothing has changed really. Poor defensive errors. Not quite good enough despite little spells. Poor in midfield where we lost the game.

[Saxo1man41]

It's all a connection. 3 in midfield leaves us wide open against good teams. And we struggle to break down average sides who pack midfields. It also offers no protection to a poor defence.

But it then exposes the already poor defence and it looks all the world kind its just the defence. It's not. For me its the system. And the midfield not being good enough. The goals conceded tonight where shocking. And I'm not even talking about the freak first goal after 9 seconds. William's got the ring around from that Joao who was nothing but average for us. He looked a world beater tonight.

We scored 2 decent goals and played some ok stuff going forward. But like at Watford we ship all these goals. We arent good enough to overcome so many basic errors. 7 goals in 2 games vrs 2 decent sides. 3 defeats in 4. 1 win in 5. Basically we beat 2 newly promoted sides with 10 men for half the game. And a woeful Derby side. And lost to everyone decent or average. And where unable to break down a sold average Cardiff.

Tonight was a real test vrs a decent in form side. Nothing has changed really. Poor defensive errors. Not quite good enough despite little spells. Poor in midfield where we lost the game.

I think he HAS to return to 4-2-3-1(with 2 sitters) at the expense of our attacking potency. there`s no other solution. i think we`ll suffer for a few games though before that works out. if he doesnt, yes, we`ll entertain, but for me football isnt about that.

[AucklandRover]

I think the most startling statistic is that Reading had only five goal attempts, and scored four!
Until we find the best blend in defence, I suspect we have to accept that we are going to be beating the weaker teams, while struggling to keep the top six at bay.
Of course, when you have the start from hell against the table-toppers, confidence drains immediately.
Come on, though, we've been here before.
We can't write a player (Douglas) off on the basis of one game! Look at his previous achievements.
How long have we all been watching football?

[seventwo]

Long enough to recognise that TM simply can't set a team up to defend.
Long enough to know Venkys will pull the plug one day.

[champs95]

I found last night very interesting to gage how far Rivers have come. Heartening ti see a side vastly improved from last season. We beat Reading bot long ago. 4-3. Did the double over them. Pretty average mid table side. Now they look like a decent side. A strong outfit. Good defence. An attack that caused us problems all night. A solid organised midfield.

A complete change to how they where last season. A much improved side. And consistent.

Rovers? 3 years in the Championship and not improving. A joke defensively. Non existent midfield. Poorly set up.

What excuses can we use? They used to be Prem side last season? Nope.
Spent more than us? Nope.
Scored 4 world class goals? Nope.
Looked better than us. Yes.

We are set up for failure. Keep TM. Nice bloke. Midtable at best. Going absolutely nowhere. Painful watching.

And before shout at me Aucks for not being enthralled at another 90 debacle. It simply isn't fun for any fan to see his side ship goals for fun most matches. No genuine Rovers fan could watch that and enjoy it. I watched through my fingers every attack they had. William's got the run around all night.