Little hope for cannon fodder BLUE-EYED BOY’S VIEW
EVEN in the act of throwingng us the mildly comforting trinket of a League Cup win at home e to a Fourth Division outfit, Owen Coyle’s Roversers insisted on causing maximum discomfort and nd embarrassment to the pitiful handful of fans who could be bothered to pay to see the dismal spectacleacle as they comprehensively sively displayed most of the faults and weaknesses ses that have made them cannon fodder for all and sundry thus far this woebegone gone campaign.
“Nowhere near as completelyely awful as I feared d but nowhere near the standardandard we’d need to be to survive,” said one mate who, like me, had managed aged to miss the horrorsors of the defeats to Norwich,wich, Wigan and Cardiffdiffffffff as we emerged from mthe the 2- 2-22 draw at home to Burton on Saturday whichi h left Rovers rooted to the foot of the Championship table.
After a match which both managers claimed their sides should have won, both with a sliver of justification but with little conviction, there were more causes for concern than shafts of light from the end of the tunnel.
ThThThThThThThThThe The repeated habit of conceding, failure to see out a matter of minutes with a precious lead, disjointed square-peground- round-holehole selection, the usual lack of dynamism or mobility in central midfififield midfield were only partly compensated for by a fine debut from a local lad who looks calm and measured beyond his years in an important position, a belter of a goal from the oft messedaround but rightly restored Conway and a decent full debut for Gallagher, the one loan signing showing signs of making a significant impact.
Any half- half-fullfull glasses were of course tipped netherwards and emptied within 40 minutes against Crewe as our modest EFL Cup opposition galloped into a two- two-goal goal lead you could hardly argue they didn’t merit.
ThThThThTheir Their scouting report proved their undoing however. Surelyl thy had bargained that, as for the last four years, no Rovers player would saunter into the penalty area to try and get on the end of a move and when Hope Akpan defififififififieddefied club policy to do just that, the confusion and disbelief in the visitors’ ranks was plain for all to see.
Even then, only a flurry of fififififinefine saves from Raya, making up for a sorry but all- all-too-predictabletoo- predictable earlier howler (“he’d have expected to save it on another day,” said the manager rather pointlessly ) and the woodwork saved Coyle’s men from falling even more humiliatingly behind.
Having then established some kind of territorial superiority, mainly after withdrawing jury- jury-outout pair Byrne and Stokes, goals from corners, including a joyous fifififififirst first for Wharton and another fine Conway effffffffffort, effort, and that ought to have been that until a blunder by another who has done little to impress, Hendrie, gave the excellent Alex Kiwomya ( (nephewnephew of a doughty adversary from years past) the opportunity to set up Dagnall, a prolifififific prolific and clinical marksman.
While Rovers always looked d the he likelier extra time winners, Kiwomya looked exactly the kind of player we should have been looking to loan in – busy, quick- quick-witted,witted, bright and inventive right up to minute 120.
Credit to Crewe who launched their first long ball of the game with the 120 minutes up on the clock.
It was inevitable that the winner would come from a corner and almost as certain that it would come from Duffffffffffy, Duffy, a big bloke who is good at heading. Lazy ““fromfrom zero to hero” headlines of course ensued but in truth, a senior defender who has been part of a unit which shipped three in 90 minutes to a League Two side ought to be looking at more than replays of a scrambled goal as he analyses his performance.
A reliable source told me that 7,400 was the number through the turnstiles on Saturday rather than the 10,000 offiffiffiffifficially officially given out so it stands to reason that a glamour-free cup tie would be similarly woefully attended. If season ticket sales and league attendances are at their lowest for 20- 20-oddodd years, ditto for prosaic all-payll pay games.
Talk of a “boycott”” seems a little romanticised in my view. I might well not h have bothered myself butb for a last-minutelast- minute decisio decision but I don’t really class op opting not to bother as som some form of righteous insurrection against Venkys.
One wonders if Coyle can harness what miniscule positivism he found in Tuesday’s win into a home game again against Fulham who have made a fine fifififine start.
A small chink in the London side’s armour emerged at weekend when their manager complained subtly th that a stats guru had vetoed a couple of likely signi signings, Ben Marshall amongamon those Jokanovic co coveted but has been refu refused the go-ahead to sign.sig
On this sea season’s displays, yo you have to say the stats g guy might be spot on, and the Cottagers have instead r recruited James Wilson andan Ragnar Sigurdsson this we week with talk of a couple mo more to come.
One wonders in what obscure bargainbasement marke markets Coyle will look to bolst bolster a squad which is p plainly and painfully in inadequate with days of the window to go.