Match Thread: vs Portsmouth (a)

[ram59]

1 hour ago, TheTinMan said:

 Matt Taylor came in early doors last season after Warne came here and he kept them up which Warne hadn't managed to achieve. Would Warne have kept them up? We'll never know. 

I think that you need to look closer at Rotherham's results last season. They only stayed up because of Warne's excellent start to the season and points deducted from other teams. Under Matt Taylor, Rotherham were comfortably the worst team in the championship last season on points per game and have continued this season.

When Warne left Rotherham last season, they were 8th and had a game in hand, which had they won would have put them in the play off positions.

[sage]

16 minutes ago, Crewton said:

Same here.

The difference being I'm not trying to close down your opinion. 

[DRBee]

10 hours ago, ap04 said:

In the game I saw we scored 2 goals and created nothing else of note in 90 minutes.

Portsmouth on top of their 2 goals missed an open goal, had a 1v1 saved by Wildsmith's legs and the penalty incident at the end. Calling the above an even game and a fair draw is a bit of a stretch.

Its very simple .... football matches are scored by goals.   This post coming after your Bolton posts shows your real motivation.  You could surely have gone to the trouble of including some dodgy stats in your response. You are getting lazy.

[Caerphilly Ram]

1 hour ago, BatRam said:

Morning chaps , i didnt get chance to watch the game. Now everyone has had chance to sleep on it , what do you reckon? personally i would have bitten ya hand off for 1 point against league leaders but i am concerned with the chasing pack. Who performed well/bad and what do you think should of been done differently 

Disappointed we didn’t hold onto the win but content to come away with a point. If you’d said to me last Thursday we’d come out of the Easter games with 4 points from the two games, still second and things very much in our control going into the final 4 matches I’d have taken it.

Good performances for me last night were; CBT for his attacking intent and drive, assisting the first goal. Ward for scoring 2 great goals, allegedly from something planned during the week and worked on in training 👏. Adams and Smith who were both effective in the middle of the park and look a good partnership in there. Collins for his CF play, and helping in defence (apart from his tired attempt to tackle Moxon) and setting up the second goal.

Everyone else solid enough in being organised and executing a gameplan, though Wildsmith gave me a few jittery moments.

The big plus for me last night, and some will no doubt counter this, was the mentality. Not that we “dominated” the game, but just that we didn’t blink. I thought the lads were organised and committed, not phased by the occasion or the weather. I said it last night and I still feel the same today, I think if we’d had deeper strength on the bench we’d have seen it out. I felt Collins should have been off earlier after his efforts….BUT another good away performance and result for me, and another decent performance against a “top” side in this division, something we didn’t manage as much last season. 
I’m happy and optimistic for the rest of the season 🐏 

Edited April 3 by Caerphilly Ram

[Blondest Goat]

1 hour ago, RoyMac5 said:

They looked happy to settle for a point,  I think their manager even said that, and so did we.

We play better football with a back four, will Warne stick with it though?

Would imagine that he will just try and recruit the players he thinks will suit playing 3 / 5 at the back.  If he thinks that system works best I think he will always gravitate back to it.

[angieram]

1 hour ago, Crewton said:

Of course it is, but maybe the match thread isn't the place to air those doubts?

But he can't help himself.

This, for me, is the problem.

There are so many threads to post in, I wish that match day threads could just be about the game. Then I could ignore all the other dross elsewhere. 

(Including this post, which I wouldn't have made if the matchday thread hadn't been taken over yet again.) 

[Eddie]

3 hours ago, i-Ram said:

Still seems like a good point this morning. No, not the draw against Pompey. Bris’s viewpoint that we will struggle next season 😂  Lighten up you guys. It’s one Mexican’s opinion. No need for a stand-off.

[RadioactiveWaste]

Perhaps the mods could create a Democratic People's Republic of Korea thread and certain dissident posters could be exiled there with only the ability to post within that thread, until rehabilitated?

A bit like the way they keep the forest reservation for Dawnie and others afflicted by forest affiliated conditions?

[VulcanRam]

2 hours ago, BatRam said:

Morning chaps , i didnt get chance to watch the game. Now everyone has had chance to sleep on it , what do you reckon? personally i would have bitten ya hand off for 1 point against league leaders but i am concerned with the chasing pack. Who performed well/bad and what do you think should of been done differently 

It was an excellent first half, I thought we played really well and carried a greater attacking threat than Portsmouth, even though they had more of the ball. Smith, Adams, CBT and Ward all excellent.

Second half imo was, in complete contrast, a dirge and such a missed opportunity. Decided from the very start of the second half to just sit in our defensive third and not even bother coming out and trying to attack. It's such a dangerous tactic and one that ultimately failed. Very negative, the pace slowed, the game became boring, and no-one on here will ever be able to complain about teams coming to PPS and parking the bus, time wasting or playing "anti-football" as some call it. 

Would I have taken a point before ko? Absolutely. But watching our first half performance, I thought Portsmouth were vulnerable at the back and we chose not to exploit that further. So ultimately, a decent point, but felt afterwards and still feels to me like two points dropped.

 

[TuffLuff]

Think this is a good point by Punjabi rams. It’s not necessarily the point we should be happy about it’s the level of confidence we played with. We looked like a promotion side  against the best side in the league. We kept our shape and had a focus and a bit of swagger without it looking like we were playing above ourselves. We were willing ourselves to get a result. 

Although we’ve been consistent I don’t think we’ve looked assured, and that’s why we’ve had our Warne out/in debates and so much fluff surrounding the club this season. Last night was a step up for me, we looked a top side and I dare say even under Mac1 we didn’t look like ‘top 2’. There’s still a long way to go, and it’s not all wrapped up, but it’s been a long while since I could sense that confidence from a derby side on the pitch. 

That’s not me saying promotion is secured or anything like that, I just thought last night was a big step forward in the right direction performance wise.
 

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

3 hours ago, sage said:

He had 3 good seasons in 12. 3 seasons when everything he hit went in.

We got our money back but wasn't a good signing. Like Ince his figures look better than the actual experience 

Both were good players.  They scored goals and we made 10 million profit in fees.  A lot more than we made on the other donkeys we spent millions on.

[Crewton]

Here's what the xGBots have been waiting for. I wonder if AP04Bot knows what those big circles right infront of goal mean?

[Srg]

6 minutes ago, Crewton said:

Here's what the xGBots have been waiting for. I wonder if AP04Bot knows what those big circles right infront of goal mean?

Negligible difference then. So... a draw.

[kevinhectoring]

3 hours ago, angieram said:

Can't underestimate the conditions they played in, either. As well as the rain the wind was swirling around, making judgement of bounce and pace so difficult. 

We were ten rows back and still wet through. 

The touchlines were borderline unplayable and I did fear it might be called off at times during the first half. Luckily the rain eased off enough to continue. 

 

 in the players ratings it’d be helpful if the bespectacled members of the travelling faithful could add an ‘at the game’ footnote so their votes can be disregarded 

[Elwood P Dowd]

14 minutes ago, Crewton said:

Here's what the xGBots have been waiting for. I wonder if AP04Bot knows what those big circles right infront of goal mean?

That's where the puddles were 🤣

[rammieib]

Few people on this thread being critical of NML. Think this is a tad harsh for a few reasons:

1) He's being played out of position. He's not a CF - he's a winger. He's being fitted into the team as he offers more flex than the other wingers.

2) He's working within different formations of the team. Is it five at the back, is it four at the back etc

3) He's had different partners up there with him - Collins, Wash, Waggy etc

For me - as soon as he went onto the right last night for the final 10 minutes - he looked better. He got the ball, took players on etc. HE's not really able to do that from a central position.

We have the luxury of having plenty of wingers but not enough central players. We don't have a number 10 in this squad (maybe Sibs?).

He is still one of the first on the sheet for me - and for anyone suggesting give him a rest - there are only four games left!!!

[Ken Tram]

Quite a few people are frustrated that we seemed to play too defensively in the second half.

But, when I asked the other day if we want Bolton to beat Pompey, to increase our chances of winning the league - or Pompey to beat Bolton, to increase our chances of finishing second - everyone seemed to want Pompey to beat Bolton.

Therefore, as fans, we are taking a defensive position - but at the same time, lots seem to be criticising Warne for taking a defensive position.

[trappatoni]

14 minutes ago, Ken Tram said:

Quite a few people are frustrated that we seemed to play too defensively in the second half.

But, when I asked the other day if we want Bolton to beat Pompey, to increase our chances of winning the league - or Pompey to beat Bolton, to increase our chances of finishing second - everyone seemed to want Pompey to beat Bolton.

Therefore, as fans, we are taking a defensive position - but at the same time, lots seem to be criticising Warne for taking a defensive position.

I don't think that follows - it just means we care a lot about going up and not much about winning the division.  

Re the tactics - I think they worked reasonably well but we'll never know how we'd have done had we adopted a more attacking strategy.     

   

[HorsforthRam]

25 minutes ago, rammieib said:

Few people on this thread being critical of NML. Think this is a tad harsh for a few reasons:

1) He's being played out of position. He's not a CF - he's a winger. He's being fitted into the team as he offers more flex than the other wingers.

2) He's working within different formations of the team. Is it five at the back, is it four at the back etc

3) He's had different partners up there with him - Collins, Wash, Waggy etc

For me - as soon as he went onto the right last night for the final 10 minutes - he looked better. He got the ball, took players on etc. HE's not really able to do that from a central position.

We have the luxury of having plenty of wingers but not enough central players. We don't have a number 10 in this squad (maybe Sibs?).

He is still one of the first on the sheet for me - and for anyone suggesting give him a rest - there are only four games left!!!

Only thing I’d add to this is that NML gives the ball away in dangerous positions when he isn’t on the wing. He can’t hold the ball when running back to our goal to receive it. His touch often lets him down.  He also runs square across the pitch and telegraphs passes leaving us on the back foot if the ball is intercepted. Safest place for him and the team is on the wing. Even if that means 30 mins against a tired defence 

[Leeds Ram]

Having watched the game I was really happy with our performance. In the first half we were absolutely excellent and deserved to go in ahead overall. We pounced when needed and looked menacing on the break. In the second half, we sat back a bit more which is understandable but our shape was generally excellent. I've been really critical of Warne but overall he got this pretty much spot on and we deserved a point. If I had one criticism, I would have subbed Collins 15 minutes earlier for Washington and took off Smith for Thompson a tad earlier too. On their second, having looked at it, I do think Wildsmith could have done a bit better too. 

But we're now in such a good position! If we beat Wycombe I really fancy us to finish this off. I can't see the chasers picking up maximum points so I'd guess we're allowed one more draw and win the rest. We can do this Derby!!