Coaching gets deserved prize
OLD BLACKBURNIAN’S ROVERS VIEW
HOW wonderful to welcome the return of an old friend, a victory, at last ?
It wasn’t especially aesthetically pleasing, neither was it comfortable; but it was deserved and welcomed with gusto, following two sub-optimal performances that punctured premature, pre-season predictions of promotion.
Coming the day after the passing of a beloved, versatile, all round entertainer and national treasure; Rovers’ performance at Bradford City in front of 2,000 travelling fans, owed less to flair, a soft-shoe shuffle and stagecraft and much more to graft, grit and determination. Not so much “Give us a twirl dear…” as “Give us three points dear, by any means.”
The transfer window doesn’t close until the end of the month of course, so more new faces may yet be added to this squad; but the cheque book is not and cannot, be seen as a panacea to resolve all difficulties.
Of the signings made so far by Mowbray, the jury seems to be struggling to reach a decisive verdict on all except Richie Small- wood, who has been the recipient of the most authentic fan tribute possible, a bespoke song in his honour and very well done to whoever adapted Earth, Wind & Fire’s September for this very purpose.
The welcome evidence of Saturday’s encounter was that some actual coaching had taken place in the week leading up to the game.
This correspondent is firmly of the opinion that the coaching prowess of Tony Mowbray and his team is every bit as important as his ability to spot a player; especially when the verdict on his recruitment ability is currently “case unproven”.
Mowbray had claimed after the dismal Doncaster defeat, that the formation was not to blame.
He then undermined his own assertion by changing to a flat back four at Valley Parade (no sponsor plugs here), who responded by delivering a season’s first clean sheet at a ground where the away team had not won in the league for the best part of 18 months.
It was not without concerns, that would not be the Rovers’ way; twice in the first half Bradford had players in the penalty area with sufficient time and space to receive the ball with backs to goal, control, turn and shoot, all with no Rovers defender close enough to even attempt a block.
That the shots were feeble was a blessed relief. The second half saw a couple of those “I’ve seen ‘em given” handball claims but the referee waved away the City protests.
The midfield seemed to be more structured and steely, with Smallwood launching himself at opponents.
This feature has been lacking for a while and having a player who harries the opposition forcing them to move the ball on just a little quicker and with less accuracy than they would like is an asset to any team.
It was a distinct pleasure to see Conway return after injury and he is to be credited with the assist for the goal.
Following some typically tenacious work by Bennett, Conway crossed to Samuel whose header found the Bradford net. Watching on TV on Saturday night and with the benefit of about 53 replays, I think the final touch might just have come off a Bradford defender’s armpit, which helped to wrong foot the keeper, but no matter; another goal for Samuel who has deservedly moved ahead of the lethargic Graham in the striker pecking order.
The next home fixture of course was a low-key cup tie the outcome of which I’m unable to comment on as deadlines dictate I write this before the Wednesday derby date.
Whatever the outcome, the league is paramount this season, no question and given the choice I’d gladly have sacrificed the derby for three points on Saturday when a rather more prosaic visit of the history-stealing franchise bandits Millton Keynes Dons offers the opportunity to really get some bread’n’butter momentum and climbing of the fledgling League One table going
I feel Ewood will be have played host to its lowest ever gate for a “senior” fixture next week when something approximating to a First XI plays host to Stoke Under 21s in a Checkatrade Trophy glamour tie.
Diminishing returns at the gate over the week, no doubt, but as long as performances and results point to modest progress on the field there will be cause to look back on August with more satisfaction than looked likely at one point.
KAT LEE’S CLARETS VIEW
SATURDAY’S match was a tale that we’ve become all too used to against West Brom – Pulis outsmarts Dyche. Although, I’m not sure passing it around the back counts as outsmarting, so maybe outDOING is the better word here.
Robson-Kanu’s sending off has to be some record for quickest goal scored to being shown a straight red, and it’s a typical Burnley trait that we can’t beat a ten-man West Brom, but can the champions.
In the first half we seemed to just be unlucky in the final third but it wasn’t for want of pressing.
You could see the clear disappointment on each player’s face. Again, it’s so typically something Burnley are capable of, two drastically different scores in a matter of a week.
It’s clear that we are missing some quality up front, and having just signed Chris Wood from Leeds is he the man to do it?
I’ve said from now on that I would always trust Dyche’s decision, as he makes some that leaves us scratching our heads until they score beautiful goals or