Minority Report - Blackburn Rovers

When I first decided to write pieces about our home games, I wanted to make them different, to write about areas not covered by other contributors, so I decided to write about systems and formations. My reports are becoming less about systems as the season progresses but for the record, Barnsley used 4-4-2 throughout and Blackburn used 4-4-1-1, then 4-4-2 then 3-5-2 and finally 3-4-2.

The game divides neatly into two uneven parts, before the opening goal… and after. Before the goal, we dominated possession and Blackburn looked a poor side. Just how poor was illustrated by the goal. Hourihane received the ball 40 yards from goal and came under no pressure at all. He was allowed to look up and measure his pass to the unmarked Winnall, who scored easily. If we had conceded in such fashion, I would not be incandescent with rage, I would be in flames.

From then on, the teams exchanged roles. Barnsley became the away team and Blackburn the home team. Blackburn had the lion’s share of possession, whilst Barnsley played on the break. Blackburn exerted the pressure, as measured by 9 corners and Barnsley had no corners. The Barnsley goal led a charmed life as a succession of crosses led to a feast of second balls bouncing around in our box, but it was those in Red who fell upon the feast and cleared everything off. As I said to my companion at half time, we will need at least two to win this.

And yet we continued to get all the rubs of all the greens that were going. We dropped deeper and deeper and gradually our midfield lost contact with our forwards. When the changes came, they were more about saving players for Saturday than securing the game. But we always posed a threat. Whilst Blackburn tried to beat our door down, we tried to pick their lock. When we won back possession in a decent position, it was like hearing a starter firing his starting pistol as four players in red tried to beat those in Black to the other end. It was rapier versus battering ram, brains versus brawn, and youth versus experience. Blackburn had been unjustly reduced to ten players when our rapier struck home once more, this time through substitute Marley Watkins, and the game was won on the break.

It matters not how you win the game. The only thing that matters is the final score. We had won again and the 3 points had put us on 34 points in 9th, 14 points clear of Blackburn in 22nd place. But I am old school, and to me, football is more than just the final score. Once again I have watched my team win a game and create many chances to score more, but have less than 50% possession. There will be those who will try to convince me that that sort of thing does not matter. Just enjoy it they will say. But that is the point! With only 43% possession, I do not enjoy it. I like to watch us play with the ball, not the opposition. I will always be a Jacob Marley and never a Tiny Tim.

 

Not really sure how you can say it was unjust he went in two footed and caught his man, about as just as you could ever get

 

I can only assume every back pass is considered as possession , and every long punt is counted by the second as possession from the moment it leaves the boot , no matter where it goes .

 

We are absolutely superb on the counter, we don't need the ball. We can defend and break like a rapier. If you don't enjoy, and therefore don't enjoy us winning, why go?
Stay at home, you might enjoy it more.

 

As I say, I am old school. When I began watching almost nobody got sent off, and challenges were far worse than you see now. I enjoyed the game more when more physical contact was allowed, and I enjoyed the game more when they were allowed to finish 11 v 11. I was critical of the sendings off of Watkins and Hammill and if I am to approach my review in an even handed way, then I must once more criticise. I have seen the incident again since I wrote these words and I still think it harsh.

 

Having seen a replay (seen as I was in the loo when it happened) I'm not entirely convinced that it was a red card. He does seem to leave the ground for a split second but it doesn't appear to be a 2 footed tackle. That said, everyone around me at the time were convinced that it was a shocker and the referee had an easy decision to make. It's strange how an incident can look so much different from a replay. Like the shot we had in the first half (by Bradshaw I think) which I was convinced had hit the post; having seen the replay, it doesn't even get within 5 yards of goal.

#TeamsLikeBarnsley

 

If you only enjoy reading stuff that you already agree with and you do not want to have your preconceptions challenged, then I suggest you do not read Minority Reports.

 

It's a decent assessment as usual Red Rain, although I can't understand your final comments. Of course it's your personal preference which you're entitled to have, but I just enjoy winning games of football regardless of the 90 minutes prior. Sometimes it isn't pretty to watch but the final result can make up for that. For the first half hour or so today, and intermittently throughout the game, we played some incredible passing football, albeit at times on the break away after a spell of Blackburn possession. We rode our luck for sure, but when all is said and done, we won 2-0 and that for me is the defining factor of my enjoyment of watching our side.

#TeamsLikeBarnsley

 

Do you remember when Lee Johnson was manager and we had a primary focus of dominating possession but would lose every week and only score set pieces?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I suspect that I saw Lee Johnson's time in charge differently to the way that you did.

 

I saw it is mostly keeping the ball, playing players out of position, and losing every week.

 

So it's not enough to have 34 points at Christmas with wins earned mainly against clubs of much larger stature and with players experienced at a higher level than our lads, we should also out football them, beat them at the stats game and be faultless tactically.

Sorry and all that but it's the easiest thing in the world to criticise. Anybody can pick fault, can do a forensic examination of the 90 minutes and find reason that we were lucky or didn't deserve to win and so on and so forth.

This squad fights its knackers off for every break, every chance , every goal and every opposition chance denied. Do we have the best technically gifted squad ? No, but I would wager that we have least experienced squad at this level. Sometimes they have to make up for not being a £15k per week player by grafting. Some weeks it won't be enough, some it will.

But I will tell you one thing. As it stands now I wouldn't swap this squad and manager for any other. With nurturing and development they might attain such status that they satisfy the self styled arbiters of what constitutes the correct way to win football matches. Until then they've earnt enough slack from me to learn and develop and make mistakes as they do.


Sent from the darkest recesses of a poisoned mind.

 

I could spend an awful lot of time trying to explain to you what my views are about Lee Johnson and why I hold those views, but I suspect that you are not a listening kind of a guy. In fact, I suspect that you are the sort of guy who just wants to argue. So I will just wish you well, and be on my way.

 

The OP must have hated Leicester's premiership winning performance last season.

If I was a Leicester fan, would I have preferred having more than 50% of the ball?

Or perhaps being champions might have a more satisfying feeling associated with it.

 

There was no other way to see it...

 

I saw it similar to some of these fellas; http://www.otib.co.uk/index.php?/topic/181464-i-would-sack-johnson-now/

Johnson was an absolute charlatan. Just like Oldham fans warned us. And just like we warned Bristol.

No doubt he will be off to Premiership club when he gets a few more losses on the bounce!

Any manager who wants to play tippy tappy 60% possession football in conditions like that today would need their heads examined. Leicester won the premiership averaging 35% possession. Fast, attaching, lethal football over boring back passing any day of the week. Especially when you actually win games that way rather than losing.

 

It matters not how you win the game. The only thing that matters is the final score. We had won again and the 3 points had put us on 34 points in 9th, 14 points clear of Blackburn in 22nd place. But I am old school, and to me, football is more than just the final score.

Make your bloody mind up!

 

I'd probably agree with 90% of that as I do most weeks. The 10% is an important 10%.

Seems strange for an old school guy to place such emphasis on possession. That seems a Sky sports fans view of football. 946 backpasses between centre halves and a big hoof up field to nobody gets you good possession stats. It achieves nothing.

It's why when we were getting hammered ever week under Lee Johnson it looked like we were dominating matches when the opposite was true.

Not a sending off though and we definitely rode our luck.

 

Minority Reports are my own personal opinions. I am an old stager. Someone who was brought up in a different age, watching a different game. I have opinions about how the game ought to be played, which are mainly out dated and unrepresentative to younger readers. But they are my opinions. I try to write in an entertaining way about entertaining subjects, but more than anything, I do not want to tell others how to think and what to believe. Today, I have written about what I saw, And I hope that it is a fair representation of events, but we all have our own interpretation of events, that is coloured to a certain degree by what we wanted to see, and what we wanted to believe. I believe my view is less coloured than most, but I would say that wouldn't I.

As for the players, they will all move on eventually, as players always have done, and players always will do. That is why I support the team.

 

Possession isn't everything , and when you can counter attack like us it's not a big problem to have less possesion