Really want to highlight the work made by Konsa and Aribo.
Dont think I've ever seen such composure from a player before... Prior to our third goal, Ezri had the ball right on the edge of the our area, usually the ball would be punted away yet instead he kept hold of the ball and ran almost the length of the field before being fouled and so creating the Free-Kick which led to the goal, felt strange seeing him in an advanced role yet playing Right-Back and Centre-Back feels as though he was being held back and he's now been released to express himself.
As for Aribo where has he been hiding... Slight nervy start but am more impressed with him than I am Lookman, the latter has pace, can take players on (if he's lucky) and score whilst Aribo doesnt appear to have much pace he just lets the ball do the work - Anyone else feel that when these two went off (and we reverted to the squad that has played most often this season), the pressure dropped massively.
Just addition to make to my comments above
Was disappointed to see Ulvestad | Foley | Ajose the subs today... Felt at 4-1 we were in total control and in no threat of throwing it away - Because of that thought that bringing on Ahearne-Grant (According to those who went, he had a good cameo at Southend) and DaSilva would have been better run outs to give them experience and potential confidence
Obviously pleased to win, but their defending was dreadful and I am amazed they are where they are in the League. Some standout performances today, particularly Mac, Tex and Solly. Aribo seemed to look tired at first and I wondered whether another game so soon after his debut was too much. However the peach of a cross for the first goal seemed to renew his confidence and he suddenly became a better player. I know it's against most of the comments already posted but I thought Konsa looked totally lost first half and was constantly out of position and never quite sure where he was supposed to be. When he had the ball he contributed but good midfielders need to be good off the ball as well. He did improve second half though to be fair. Still unconvinced about Crofts and if I was KR it would be central midfield I would want use my resources to strengthen still.
That's more like it. Thanks to the community trust for the six free tickets.
What a difference having mobile midfielders makes.
Solly back and back to his aggressive self.
First half hour we were poor though.
Bad mistake from the BFG. He owes the others a drink but otherwise defence was sound.
Cant see how Rovers are/were top six and shows that if we can get any sort of consistently going we can be but also worth remembering that that was the first home league win in a long while.
Thought that when Botaka pushed further up after 30 mins there was more space which Aribo and Konsa exploited well. Both look skillful and willing to run at people and won free kicks from which we scored the first two goals. They left Crofts to sit and he was comfortable in that.
Botaka was a nuisance and more, Tex immense and scored, Fox solid, Bauer good bar the obvious, Philips sound, Chicksen worked hard without shining.
Which leaves Big Josh. Not been on it in the games I've seen recently and was still very isolated for long periods but took all three goals well especially the third and hit the bar twice. He was furious with Aribo for not playing him in too. Worked hard so very pleased for him.
Sure there will be harder games, starting with Millwall, but there is potential there.
Shame not to see Desilva at the end and we settled for the result with 10 to go but hey, we won.
Shame so few there to see it but we know why that is. No point some claiming all is well and please come back.
Only 5% of the Lookman fee being given to Robinson to spend and that includes wages.
If correct regards the 5% it suggests to me a few loan signings. Again.
5% of 4m, which is the absolute max Everton will give us this year, is £200,000.
So yes, that will pay the wages of probably max 3 players on typical Div 3 wages, until the end of the season.
Absolutely pathetic, if true. Trouble is, I can well believe it is true.
Dire start to the game with Bauer gifting Rovers a goal. Fortunately Rovers cant defend and Aribo is far better at set pieces than Lookman. Big Josh was outstanding and Phillips again looked assured.Konsa did well after a nervy start and impressed me in midfield. Botaka apart from the odd trick contributes little and doesn't seem to have a footballing brain. This is a poor league yet we're still outside the playoffs - says a lot about our underperforming squad.
Sat behind the dugout, 4-1 up ball played wide left for BR. No tracking back.
KR went mental f'ing and b'ding at the bench, saying that's how we f'ing play. We don't f'king stop. He then punched the seat where he was.
He then calmed down looked back at the bench and pulled the culprit out to sit with him. None other than Solly. They had a little laugh and he went back.
Away game at Bristol, we went with my niece's husband who's a Brizzle supporter. He was very nice about it and didn't make us sleep in the garden shed.
Home game, he came up to see it with us and was very calm again. I'm not sure I could have been as accepting if they'd put nine past us.
As to the game itself, if Rovers want to get anywhere this season, they need to sort out their back four. They might look quite neat going forward but their defence is completely pony.
If we could start a game at full speed instead of taking a half-hour to get going, we'd have been close to double figures.
Great second half performance albeit against a poor Rovers side. I was really impressed with Konsa in midfield & Aribo. Come on Duchtape if you are not going to sell the club you could help to build a very good side around Phillips, Aribo & Konsa. If Baeur hadn't slipped it would have been a comfortable 4-0 home win.
The stereotypical game of two halves, we were pretty poor for the first 45, the big mans goal just before HT set up a brilliant second half though.
It would be remiss not to mention what a shower Bristol Rovers' defence is, I was at the away game and they were shocking then and seem to have learnt nothing in the intervening month. But we had to make the most of it and we did, Magennis final goal was Mendonca esque.
Konsa was great in the middle, I do worry however that his versatility will stop him getting game time in his strongest position and developing there.
First 40 mins shambles....got a goal at the right moment second half different class. Went to both games and in both games could and should have got more. I am puzzled to see where they are in the league.
Saw Rovers on NYE comfortably beat Wimbledon, but with a quite different side from today. I wasn't at their today, but the front and middle pairs were second string - in fact the front 6 players were changed. Rovers cant really score without Taylor up front or play without Lines and Clark pulling the strings.
Great result nonetheless. It seems KR has worked out the pace problem - perhaps it took him a few weeks to find his feet/ delete button.
Worst defending I've seen in a long time - they were statues for our third, but you can only beat what's in front of you. Let's hope this gives us the confidence to press on.
That's more like it. Thanks to the community trust for the six free tickets.
What a difference having mobile midfielders makes.
Solly back and back to his aggressive self.
First half hour we were poor though.
Bad mistake from the BFG. He owes the others a drink but otherwise defence was sound.
Cant see how Rovers are/were top six and shows that if we can get any sort of consistently going we can be but also worth remembering that that was the first home league win in a long while.
Thought that when Botaka pushed further up after 30 mins there was more space which Aribo and Konsa exploited well. Both look skillful and willing to run at people and won free kicks from which we scored the first two goals. They left Crofts to sit and he was comfortable in that.
Botaka was a nuisance and more, Tex immense and scored, Fox solid, Bauer good bar the obvious, Philips sound, Chicksen worked hard without shining.
Which leaves Big Josh. Not been on it in the games I've seen recently and was still very isolated for long periods but took all three goals well especially the third and hit the bar twice. He was furious with Aribo for not playing him in too. Worked hard so very pleased for him.
Sure there will be harder games, starting with Millwall, but there is potential there.
Shame not to see Desilva at the end and we settled for the result with 10 to go but hey, we won.
Shame so few there to see it but we know why that is. No point some claiming all is well and please come back.
Only 5% of the Lookman fee being given to Robinson to spend and that includes wages.
If correct regards the 5% it suggests to me a few loan signings. Again.
5% of 4m, which is the absolute max Everton will give us this year, is £200,000.
So yes, that will pay the wages of probably max 3 players on typical Div 3 wages, until the end of the season.
Absolutely pathetic, if true. Trouble is, I can well believe it is true.
What also worries me is this sort of thing falling under KM's remit. I bet she is absolutely shit negotiating judging by her tenure in charge of us so far
First 40 mins shambles....got a goal at the right moment second half different class. Went to both games and in both games could and should have got more. I am puzzled to see where they are in the league.
Saw Rovers on NYE comfortably beat Wimbledon, but with a quite different side from today. I wasn't at their today, but the front and middle pairs were second string - in fact the front 6 players were changed. Rovers cant really score without Taylor up front or play without Lines and Clark pulling the strings.
Great result nonetheless. It seems KR has worked out the pace problem - perhaps it took him a few weeks to find his feet/ delete button.
But I'd like to see Aribo before he goes.
Were those second string players playing a month ago when we smashed them 5-1 ?
Got a ticket as a present, so went without much expectation. Tut tutted my way through the first 40 minutes at the sparse crowd, the woeful quality and the cold. However, dreadful defending from Brizzle and a couple of free headers got us rolling. The second half was much better. Congrats to Josh McG, a bit of quality on the pitch and IF Robinson can find us a midfield we might make a charge.
I get most of my Charlton fix on here and have heard plenty about our lack of midfield speed and nous. I was actually shocked today at the lack of any midfield, or is the fact that I have not seen us play in the third division for 40 years?
Bristol Rovers fans certainly get plenty of goals. Since the 5-1 defeat, their league results have been 2-3, 4-2, 0-2, 4-1, 2-0, 1-4.
A strange game, we were poor for the first half hour, then put Rovers under real pressure and their defence couldn't cope. Magennis was awesome today
Was surprised to see Konsa in midfield, and not in a Kante/Dier type holding role either. For the first half hour he roamed around looking a bit lost, but got better and better as the game went on and showed real energy with the ball. After Lookman's hopeless dead ball delivery, great for Aribo to come in the team and really take his chance against Southend and Bristol.
A curious formation at the end, he brought on Foley as a holding midfielder and instead played Chicksen at RB, where he was all at sea, but that's a minor quibble.
“I’ve just bought them all a beer in the dressing room. I know it’s not a modern thing to do but they didn’t have a drink over Christmas. So when they went in, there was a beer by all their places to say Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and well done from myself.
“Some of the young lads, and I don’t think they’re old enough to drink yet, wanted all those silly alco pops but they’re only getting a good old pint of beer from me. The players mentality today was outstanding.”
Just to counter those saying don't get carried away, sod it, I'm going to get carried away, I've got two weeks to savour a 4-1 (9-2) on aggregate) victory. If I am morose and depressed the Millwall will be no different from if I'm up beat and thinking we are on our way to the play off final. So yippee we're on our way to Wembley and I deserve to be exalted after watching us away to Millwall and MK and hone to Coventry!
Good to come home feeling positive, enjoying the display, granted the last 10 minutes of the first half plus the remainder was the best. Crofts looks better with 2 energetic midfielder's around him. Josh, simply superb.
That's more like it. Thanks to the community trust for the six free tickets.
What a difference having mobile midfielders makes.
Solly back and back to his aggressive self.
First half hour we were poor though.
Bad mistake from the BFG. He owes the others a drink but otherwise defence was sound.
Cant see how Rovers are/were top six and shows that if we can get any sort of consistently going we can be but also worth remembering that that was the first home league win in a long while.
Thought that when Botaka pushed further up after 30 mins there was more space which Aribo and Konsa exploited well. Both look skillful and willing to run at people and won free kicks from which we scored the first two goals. They left Crofts to sit and he was comfortable in that.
Botaka was a nuisance and more, Tex immense and scored, Fox solid, Bauer good bar the obvious, Philips sound, Chicksen worked hard without shining.
Which leaves Big Josh. Not been on it in the games I've seen recently and was still very isolated for long periods but took all three goals well especially the third and hit the bar twice. He was furious with Aribo for not playing him in too. Worked hard so very pleased for him.
Sure there will be harder games, starting with Millwall, but there is potential there.
Shame not to see Desilva at the end and we settled for the result with 10 to go but hey, we won.
Shame so few there to see it but we know why that is. No point some claiming all is well and please come back.
Only 5% of the Lookman fee being given to Robinson to spend and that includes wages.
Ben....are you satisfied that your source re the 5% comment is kosher? Surely this can't be true.....if it is, then it's absolutely outrageous. I am sitting here stunned.....l can't believe KR will have agreed to that when he was over in Belgium recently .....after all, he has indicated several significant signings are in the pipeline. In which case 5% is absolute peanuts and if correct it's simply impossible to sign one player of the quality required, let alone several! I honestly feel the figure you've been given must be either a mistake or a wind-up by someone!
I could not see us losing that game even when Bauer gifted Brizzle their goal. They were knocking it around in the first half and their number 22 controlled the midfield but they weren't doing anything with it. As soon as we equalized with our first shot on target I was pretty confident we would not lose it. Taking the lead early in the 2nd half with an exact replica of Mags first with Aribo providing another peach of a cross and it was one way traffic from there on in apart from a couple of straightforward headers directed down Phillips throat. The Brizzle defence then all decided to run into the middle like someone had stopped the music and the chairs were getting filled while Aribo collected the ball and casually waltzed into the box to set up Tex to stab in the third. The best was left to last as Crofts pumped a long ball down the middle for Mag to control Mendonca-esque and with one touch set himself up to hammer beyond the keeper for his hat trick. Beautiful. They were terrible at the back but you still have to take the chances and we took nearly all of them.
Comments
I'm disappointed he wasnt taken off afterwards though as he deserved his own standing ovation
Was disappointed to see Ulvestad | Foley | Ajose the subs today... Felt at 4-1 we were in total control and in no threat of throwing it away - Because of that thought that bringing on Ahearne-Grant (According to those who went, he had a good cameo at Southend) and DaSilva would have been better run outs to give them experience and potential confidence
I know it's against most of the comments already posted but I thought Konsa looked totally lost first half and was constantly out of position and never quite sure where he was supposed to be. When he had the ball he contributed but good midfielders need to be good off the ball as well. He did improve second half though to be fair.
Still unconvinced about Crofts and if I was KR it would be central midfield I would want use my resources to strengthen still.
So yes, that will pay the wages of probably max 3 players on typical Div 3 wages, until the end of the season.
Absolutely pathetic, if true. Trouble is, I can well believe it is true.
Big Josh was outstanding and Phillips again looked assured.Konsa did well after a nervy start and impressed me in midfield.
Botaka apart from the odd trick contributes little and doesn't seem to have a footballing brain.
This is a poor league yet we're still outside the playoffs - says a lot about our underperforming squad.
KR went mental f'ing and b'ding at the bench, saying that's how we f'ing play. We don't f'king stop. He then punched the seat where he was.
He then calmed down looked back at the bench and pulled the culprit out to sit with him. None other than Solly. They had a little laugh and he went back.
Home game, he came up to see it with us and was very calm again. I'm not sure I could have been as accepting if they'd put nine past us.
As to the game itself, if Rovers want to get anywhere this season, they need to sort out their back four. They might look quite neat going forward but their defence is completely pony.
If we could start a game at full speed instead of taking a half-hour to get going, we'd have been close to double figures.
It would be remiss not to mention what a shower Bristol Rovers' defence is, I was at the away game and they were shocking then and seem to have learnt nothing in the intervening month. But we had to make the most of it and we did, Magennis final goal was Mendonca esque.
Konsa was great in the middle, I do worry however that his versatility will stop him getting game time in his strongest position and developing there.
Great result nonetheless. It seems KR has worked out the pace problem - perhaps it took him a few weeks to find his feet/ delete button.
But I'd like to see Aribo before he goes.
Mcguiness took his goals very well but the marking was terrible.
Aribo looks classy with bags of potential.
Let's see what gets spent of the Lookman money before building up any hope.
Was Pinnochio around today, I couldn't see her.
I get most of my Charlton fix on here and have heard plenty about our lack of midfield speed and nous. I was actually shocked today at the lack of any midfield, or is the fact that I have not seen us play in the third division for 40 years?
Well done Charlton.
A strange game, we were poor for the first half hour, then put Rovers under real pressure and their defence couldn't cope. Magennis was awesome today
Was surprised to see Konsa in midfield, and not in a Kante/Dier type holding role either. For the first half hour he roamed around looking a bit lost, but got better and better as the game went on and showed real energy with the ball. After Lookman's hopeless dead ball delivery, great for Aribo to come in the team and really take his chance against Southend and Bristol.
A curious formation at the end, he brought on Foley as a holding midfielder and instead played Chicksen at RB, where he was all at sea, but that's a minor quibble. Quite right too, they need proper educating!
I can go back to depression after 14th.
the last 10 minutes of the first half plus the remainder was the best.
Crofts looks better with 2 energetic midfielder's around him.
Josh, simply superb.
Surely this can't be true.....if it is, then it's absolutely outrageous.
I am sitting here stunned.....l can't believe KR will have agreed to that when he was over in Belgium recently .....after all, he has indicated several significant signings are in the pipeline. In which case 5% is absolute peanuts and if correct it's simply impossible to sign one player of the quality required, let alone several!
I honestly feel the figure you've been given must be either a mistake or a wind-up by someone!