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Match day thread: Bristol Rovers

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  • @NorsQuarters said:
    I’ll have a five thousand word essay ready for you by tomorrow, after I’ve recovered from the undoubted inertia caused by my increasing prosaic drinking habit ?

    Good man. Will look forward to reading it.

  • Sometimes you have to dig things out. Sometimes you stroll to victory. We've played some excellent stuff this year against better teams in league one. I think the gamesmanship has decreased accordingly but our reputation sticks with the teams we beat. I assume we will improve again once in the championship.;-)

  • I hate gamesmanship, but I must admit I have never felt so relieved as when Chesterfield's last gasp shot sailed over, and I knew that Scott Brown would drain any remaining time off the ref's watch!

  • Oh, and nice to get a league win in the tomato soup kit for the first time since that Chesterfield game!

  • And first away clean sheet of the season, my stats man said to me on the way home.

  • Thanks @bluntphil - a true classic Sido chat. I am glad you elicited the information that he is still allowed to take free kicks.

  • @Malone said:
    Is it just me who didn't particularly see anything particularly gamesmanshippy today?

    Samuel got clogged repeatedly then had a little sit down maybe?

    Malone, I agree with you and would give two examples to add to yours about Samuel. The home fans howled their disapproval when El Abd required treatment early on. Why would he feign injury when he’d gone up for our corner and therefore knew he’d have to leave the field before the corner could be taken?
    They howled again when Kashket went down but he was then substituted because of injury.
    We are sometimes guilty of ‘game management’ as it’s now popularly known, but we’re nowhere near as bad as opposition fans-and some of our own-seem to think.

  • Sincerely hope Kashket’s injury is nothing serious. Having said that, from the few comments I’ve heard, he didn’t exactly set the Thames on fire yesterday.

  • GA has said that Scott Kashket has tweaked his hamstring. Let's hope it is not too serious. He has confirmed that he is hoping to sign 2 players on loan for the rest of the season.

  • Yep, fans do get caught up in things, and surely must see when a player then goes off injured it wasn't fakery!

    The stupidest one I ever saw was when Sergio Torres back in the day brought a high ball down with an incredible turn and skill, only to be utterly destroyed by a goon full back. He was down for ages, their man got sent off, Sergio was hobbling for 5mins after, and still their fans were moaning!

    Kashket and Samuel wasn't a front 2 I thought we'd see together to be honest. Although Bristol Rovers centre halfs aren't the most physical in the league.

  • I don't really see any issue with time-wasting. To an excess, possibly that's a bit far - but, by getting the goal, you've earned the right to find a way to get the win.

    Fans see through pretty tinted spectacles in that it's awful when another team does it, but it's all fun and games when you're holding on for 3 points.

  • I personally think feigning injury is worse than taking ages to take a goal kick or throw in. With the injuries, players are being deceptive, whereas with the delayed kicks or throws, you are not trying to fool anyone, and it is up to the ref to speed it up.

  • I think it's often less "time wasting", and more sensibly taking time to make sure you don't make unnecessary mistakes.
    Stuff like don't take risky quick free kicks or be in too much of a hurry, that you end up messing it up

  • @micra Scott walked off unassisted and didn't appear to be limping, so hopefully nothing too serious.

  • "Abrasive"? We're hardly 90s Wimbledon!

  • Journalism at its finest!

  • Exactly. With Samuel and Kashket up front, Freeman/Paris, 2 diminutive centre mids, JJ, Sido, McCarthy, we're hardly some sort of pack of hardmen!

  • Who are our hardest players do you reckon?

    I'm going:

    1) Bayo
    2) Thompson
    3) El Abd

    On the subject, it was really encouraging to see that when it kicked off against Doncaster last week every single one of them got stuck in. Great to see.

  • Adam El-Abd.

    A lucrative career in door security awaits after he hangs his boots up.

  • Bayo is by far the strongest, but I don't think he has the aggression to match it, so i'd agree with @bluntphil there on El Abd.

    Thompson has to be pound for pound the toughest though!

  • @bluntphil said:
    Adam El-Abd.

    A lucrative career in door security awaits after he hangs his boots up.

    Tescos have already made preliminary contact. Hopefully he has another year with us though.

  • Maybe a thread for Wanderers 'Hard nuts'
    No list would be complete without Gary Smith and Jason Cousins.

  • Martin Blackler as well

  • Didn't Graeme Souness say that Terry Reardon was the hardest player he had played against? Graham Bressington and Andy Graham weren't slow to square up to opponents, but Gary Smith was the hardest tackler I have seen, reckless in fact. I winced every time he launched himself.

  • Pound for Pound Micky Simpson and Josh Scowen would be up there. Jamie Bates,Paul McCarthy,Anton Vircavs and Dave Burgess were tough centre halves. The soon to be in the news Andy Harman liked a tackle !!

  • @eric_plant, Blackler was probably the scariest of the lot. You wouldn't want to mess with him, on or off the pitch. Great footballer though, career blighted by injury. I'll also throw in Tony Sorrell.

  • I played against Graham Bressington in the Wycombe combination just over a decade ago... I don't particularly remember anything about him, but not often you play against Ex Wycombe players!

    Steve Brown was a tough, yet at times silky mid

  • Guy Branston, never my favourite Wycombe player, is probably worth a shout. I'm sure he was some sort of undiagnosed psychopath.

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