He scores when he wants…. but he does so much more

Rovers currently sit 10^th in the Championship, just 1 point outside of the play-offs, as we head in to the second International break of the season, and have lost just two of their opening 12 games. If you’d offered me that I would have snapped your hands off. It is a great start, but in the Championship, the 3 games-a-week slog means that you can quite easily fly up, or down, the table in the space of 7 days, so Rovers fans shouldn’t get carried away. However, having said that, Rovers have conceded late on more than one occasion this season to change 3 points in to 1 – if we’d held on to leads against Ipswich, Villa and Forest we would have another 6 points tallied up and be sitting in second place; but we mustn’t be picky, 10^th place with only 2 losses in the opening 12 games in a fantastic return for any team, let alone one only recently promoted in to the division. What is a concern though is how reliant Rovers are on a 33 year old Danny Graham.

I’ll be honest – I didn’t think he would stay when we dropped in to League 1; and when we started the season with a flurry of goals from Dominic Samuel, I thought he would be surplus to requirements, too much of an expensive luxury. But he has proved me wrong. Instead of sulking about being on the bench in a league below what he had become accustomed to, he dug deep, gained his place back and became a key part of that promotion season, and is again showing his value to the club this season.

Looking at his career statistics, he has never been a phenomenal goalscorer, averaging a goal every 3 and a half games over his 475 game career. What he brings to the Rovers side is an incredible work-rate, especially for a player of his age. At 33 he chases down every ball, every goalkeeper passing out from the back and he challenges for every header. When a team plays against Danny Graham they know they have had a game. How he lasts 90 minutes at the intensity he does, at least once or twice every week is incredible – he must be cryogenically frozen after every game and then defrosted again ahead of the next. The work-rate he brings to the Rovers side is key to the way we play – he presses the defence and hassles every ball to win it back higher up the pitch; he wins the headers; and he drags defenders out of position, providing the gaps for the likes of Dack and Armstrong to capitalise. If you look at Nuttall, the 21 year old has showed some much promise for the Development Squad and in flashes for the first team last year, but he is a completely different player to Graham – he doesn’t chase balls down and you get the impression he needs the ball to him in front of goal to do something with it, he’s 12 years younger than Graham but he does half as much running. Dominic Samuel was very much the same at the start of last season but he was adopting the 100 miles an hour approach when he was ruled out for the season. We don’t really know what Brereton is like or capable of at the minute given we’ve only seem him in small chunks. If a 33 year old Danny Graham experiencing an Indian Summer isn’t enough to get inspire the younger players to follow the same approach, I don’t know what will.

What this does mean though is that Rovers have become somewhat dependant on a player who is aged 33 years and who no-one else in the squad is currently. He affects the way we play so much through his effort in chasing balls down, challenging and winning headers or free-kicks moving us up the pitch, and his efforts to bring other players in to the game. He doesn’t get the goals himself, but without him, we’d struggle to get goals from elsewhere on the pitch. When Graham doesn’t play and we have to rely on the likes of Armstrong or Nuttall up front on their own we don’t get the same hold-up play and it becomes and easier day for the oppositions defence, and an easier day for them to control games and start attacks – home or away – as shown in the Derby away game. Brereton isn’t mentioned here again because I don’t think we have seen enough of him to get a representative sample of the way he plays and what he can offer the team. Maybe he is another Danny Graham-type warhorse, but from the glimpses we have seen we will have to play a different way to get the most out of him, and for him to bring the most out of the team. At the minute Brereton is the Plan B when Mowbray wants to try something different, or when Graham just has nothing left in the tank – saying he is the Plan B is critical because ‘he’ is the Plan B, not the system we play we he comes on; that stays the same as had Graham still been leading the line, and the evidence shows Brereton is a different type of player.

Ben Brereton is not Danny Graham. That doesn’t mean he is a bad player, he is just a different player. He hasn’t been helped by the £6m loan-to-buy deal, which saw him become one of the clubs most expensive players in history, and he hasn’t been helped by being thrown on to win games – he is still only 19 after-all. I’ve seen enough though to think that he can work for Blackburn and that £6m will turn out to be money well spent. The shouts from the stands that he isn’t good enough and that we need to send him back are not needed and they help no-one. He isn’t Danny Graham and at 19 years old he offers a lot more movement than Graham off the ball when we have it. Graham is very much a target man – get it up to him and he will make it stick, he isn’t the type of player to latch on to a through ball and beat defenders. Brereton’s game, from what I’ve seen, is about movement but movement off the ball, creating space, getting in behind players – this is a totally different proposition to Danny Graham. If you are a player that is used to playing with a forward who is going to be relatively static and expect the ball in to feet or head, changing this to a player who wants the ball played in to space is a completely different way of playing football. Expecting a change like this to be seamless from week to the next is a challenge, to do it mid-way through a game is a massive ask. Brereton also hasn’t benefited from being thrown on as an extra forward but put out wide – he isn’t a winger, the same way Samuel isn’t a winger. He’s put a shift in when he’s played there, but the more game time he gets out of position with less chance to score goals, the greater the weight of not having scored is going to become – I don’t have many criticisms of Mowbray, but player Brereton out wide is one of them, especially when we have the likes of Palmer, Conway, Armstrong, Bennett, Bell etc who could all do a better job.

What Brereton could have done with was an extended run in the League Cup where we could play him instead of Graham and get used to the way he plays, and the best way to get the best out of him and the team in a competitive environment. Without this he is likely to play second fiddle to Danny Graham and continue to be asked to play a way he isn’t used to, or for a team to adapt the way they play mid-game. Neither of which is ideal and doesn’t make for an immediate impacting Plan B.

Although it was ultimately fruitless against Sheffield United, Brereton’s introduction showed glimpses of his movement – he never stopped trying to get in to good positions, he almost tried a bit too hard. The problem we had was that we weren’t getting the ball to him quick enough and by the time we got the ball, looked up and seen the pass it was too late. This lead to Brereton finding himself out wide chasing touches of the ball – this isn’t were we want him, we want facing goal within the width of the 18 yard box. In many ways he reminds of Niko Kalinic who never got a fair crack of the whip at Ewood but showed glimpses when he was given a chance – I only hope we don’t give up on Brereton too soon as we all know what happened to Kalinic (despite missing a World Cup Final due to a falling out off the pitch he has played for Fiorentina and AC Milan since leaving Rovers and currently plays for a small Spannish team called Atletico Madrid). The fans need to stick with him and get behind him and I think the goals will come, along with a return on the investment.

But for now, we have Danny Graham. A player who not only scores when he wants – which is about once every four games – but he creates the opportunities for Dack and the rest of the team to shine.

VAR… And why you should never slap a sign

Despite the best efforts of the most incompetent referee I have seen at Ewood in many a year, Blackburn came away from the top of the table clash with Shrewsbury with the much needed 3 points to keep the pressure on the top two in League One. On a weekend when VAR (Video Assistant Referee) has been a big talking point – is it the answer to a long-lasting problem, or does it just take the higher echelons of the game even further away from jumpers for goalposts.

Blackburn where by far the better team on Saturday and deserved to be leading by a goal to nil following another superb free-kick from Chico Mulgrew, when the worst decision I have seen at Ewood in a thirteen years was given. A Shrewsbury through ball to Carlton Morris was chased down in to the area when David Raya came off his line, got a firm two hands to the ball pushing it away for a corner kick, before the player followed through, tumbled over Raya and went to ground. The Blackburn End cheered the goalkeeping efforts – the referee, John Brooks, couldn’t wait to put his whistle to his mouth. Raya was booked in the aftermath arguing his innocence. Despite the referee’s poor view of the incident from behind Morris, he seemingly didn’t consult his linesman who was on the touchline on that side – even though he would have had a clear view of the incident. Without doubt it is the worst decision I have seen since Gerald Ashby sent Henning Berg off and awarded a penalty in a 4-2 home defeat to Manchester United in 1994 – despite Berg clearly getting to the ball first.

Brooks’ incompetence didn’t stop (or start) there – Shrewsbury’s full back Beckles looked like the last  man when he brought Dominic Samuel down to award the free-kick Mulgrew scored from, he was given the benefit of the doubt, and then given it again later in the half when he cynically broke up a Rovers attack – if he hadn’t been booked it would definitely have been a yellow, but he was just given a stern word, again. I’m still unsure what Paul Downing’s goal was disallowed for in the second half, and although it’s easy to say when you’ve won the game, I’m not convinced Rovers penalty in the second half should have been awarded. In comparison, the referee took an age to give that decision – the complete opposite of his actions in the first half. Brooks lost complete control of the game with 50/50s seemingly being awarded on the basis of a coin toss, despite neither side claiming a foul. The result of the growing frustration was me open palm slapping a metal sign mounted on a concrete wall – not the brightest of ideas, but at the time I needed a release from the madness that was the referees performance. Evidence of how far the game had slipped in to mayhem was the Shrewsbury keeper Henderson giving grief to the front rows of the Blackburn End when the second goal went – baring in mind the front rows are usually occupied by children – and then returning items thrown from said crowd when the third goal went in, with at least double the venom and force. The referee left it to the players to sort the mess.

I’m not saying that the Blackburn fans are blameless in the Henderson incident, but it would never have escalated to that level had the referee maintained control of the game.

So where does VAR come in to this? Well, at the minute it is being trialled in the cup competitions, and then it will be brought in for the Premier League – it will take some time before it can be used in the leagues below the Premier League, as seen in the fact that the League Cup Semi Final at Ashton Gate can’t use the technology, and it will almost never be used in non-league and Sunday football. Much alike goal-line technology.

The beauty of football is that it is simple and can be played anywhere by anyone – the concept is the same: an even number of players on either side, two sets of goalposts, a field of play, and a ball. You could play it on the beach of Brazil and you could play it on a car park in Grimsby, the game would be the same. Introducing technology takes the game even further away from that played by school children and by pub-goers on playing fields every night and weekend, another reason children would rather watch football on the TV or play it on a games console. Another reason the top leagues are breaking further and further away from the pyramids below them.

It is an inverted approach which doesn’t make sense. The top league in England is home to the best referees – full time, well paid, athletes in their own right. In theory they should be the ones who least need the assistance of VAR and goal line technology. The technology should help those who need it most, further down the divisions – before, if Darren Ferguson gets his way, shoots the lot of them.

On the face of it Ferguson’s comments are outrageous and indefensible – but I have to agree with him to an extent. The standard of officiating below the Premier League and the Championship is often sub-standard and this is where the stakes are the highest with bad decisions ultimately potentially leading to a club going bust, players not being paid, and normal everyday people losing their jobs. To add insult to injury, what happens when a Premier League referee makes a bad call? They are demoted to the lower divisions, further adding to the poor standard of referees down the leagues.

To put this in perspective, lets take the Blackburn Vs Shrewsbury game on Saturday as an example – if Rovers lost the game they would have been 8 points behind Shrewsbury and potentially at the mercy of the play-offs which ultimately, could have resulted in another year in the third tier. Now, yes, Rovers have been mismanaged and that is why they are in this position, but to not go up could be crippling given that investment has been made to get out of this division – especially if the reason for not going up was due to no fault of the players or club, but down to poor refereeing decisions.

This may sound like a rant against referees but it isn’t, it is a rant against the system for introducing the new technology, and ultimately, a rant at the technology itself. If it has to come in, use to help those who need it most, but if it was down to me I would leave football as it is without the technology. What makes the game so brilliant and what makes fans so fanatical is the decisions, right or wrong, and how they affect the outcome of a game. The last week has even shown that the technology isn’t fallible and its implementation isn’t to the benefit of the fans at the ground, whilst it’s also another reason for managers to moan about the referee anyway (“why didn’t he consult the VAR?”). If we look at the NFL, for example, they have got to a stage where every touchdown is reviewed by a group of people sat hundreds of miles away in New York. In some instances, a player may score a touchdown, celebrate and get ready to kick the extra point, before the decision is overturned and the play re-played. Quite often, a touchdown is scored and even the TV commentators don’t know why replays are being shown and what could possibly be being challenged. All goals are being reviewed in football under VAR, so it is only a matter of time before we get to that stage.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, that’s what I say. Unless we are talking about my hand, which has been in agony since the Shrewsbury game – imagine the shame of having to tell a doctor that the reason I’m sat in his A&E ward is because I slapped a sign? She actually asked if I meant punched – “no, slapped”. The shame. Luckily an X-Ray showed no brakes or fractures, just the loss of my dignity.

Onwards to Fleetwood away and hopefully another three points to keep the pressure on.

International Breaking in League One

For as long as I can remember, Blackburn Rovers have always had good strikers leading the line, scoring the goals. I have been somewhat privileged by some of the goalscorers I have seen grace the turf at Ewood in Blue & White – Shearer, Sutton and Jansen as a starter for ten.

As the season takes a break for Blackburn Rovers for the International fixtures over the weekend (Rovers have retained some sense of pride whilst being in the third tier by at least still having enough players on international duty to warrant the postponement of fixtures – 3, the bare minimum), it is a good time to reflect on the first month of the season and to provide an update on my previous post “False Start or False Dawn” which questioned whether the poor start to the season (two defeats in two) was a reflection of how the season was going to be yet another disappointment or whether it was a slow start owing to new faces and systems not having settled yet.

Four games in and the table looks a whole lot healthier for Rovers. After defeats to Southend and Doncaster in the first two fixtures, the following two saw them beat Bradford City on their own turf with a narrow 1-0 win, and then a first home win of the season beating MK Dons 4-1 – we’ll not mention the League Cup defeat to them down the road, our season does not need a cup run!

Although performances haven’t necessarily been fantastic, it does seem that some of the simple mistakes have been cut out and we have a degree of creativity – at the end of the day, the sole purpose of this season is to get out of the division. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just needs to be effective. If it takes another 42 1-0 wins with balls bouncing off backsides to go in, I’ll take it now, yes please sir.

With the International break came the end of the Summer Transfer Window – the end of the biggest period of spending in English Football history, and the end of the madness; just how can Kyle Walker command a transfer fee of £50m when Leonardo Bonucci cost a seemingly resurgent AC Milan just £37m?! At the end of the last season I thought there would be an exodus at Ewood with the likes of Graham, Mulgrew, Lenihan, Lowe, Akpan, Bennett, Mahoney, Guthrie and Stokes all leaving the club. There needed to be exits to balance the books given the decrease in TV money for the League 1 season, but Mowbray needed to keep us competitive. The fact the majority of players leaving the club were those out of contract, and that we have managed to retain the services of the likes of Graham, Mulgrew and Bennett, whilst adding to the squad (even spending some money we must’ve found down the back of the sofa at Brockhall) is a good sign for the season to come, and also a sign that Mowbray’s wishes are being heard by the Venkys – it would have been easy to sell our best assets to balance the books and leave us struggling for the season.

One of those players brought in during the Summer window was Dominic Samuel, purchased from Reading for an undisclosed fee. In the opening 6 games of the season (4 league games and 2 cup games) he has found the net 3 times, and is managing to keep the experienced Danny Graham out of the side. I’ve said in previous blogs that I thought our style of play at times so far this season hadn’t suited Graham, but what hasn’t suited Graham has definitely worked for Samuel – he has looked sharp off the ball, put himself about, and has taken his chances. At this moment in time, he has to be our first choice striker.

Three goals in six games is not a bad strike rate for forward at any level (maybe with the exception of Ronaldo and Messi), but having decent forwards has always been a strong point for Rovers – over the past few seasons with the likes of Rhodes and Gestede leading the line, with a better – or more consistent – defence, we could potentially have pushed harder for promotion. After the defeat to Doncaster after the first home of the season a friend said to me that we didn’t have a commanding centre forward to dominate the opposition; someone who when the ball came in to the box would kill if it meant he got his head to the ball first. Samuel isn’t the finished article yet, but he has the attributes and the desire to become that one day. What also helps, is that he puts himself about, chases down lost hopes, pressures goalkeepers – all things that get the crowd going, something that has been lacking from Ewood in recent seasons – Richie Smallwood must also get a mention here as another who gets the crowd going by pressuring the man on the ball and putting a tackle in. He doesn’t do much different to the much maligned Jason Lowe, but instead of standing off the opposition, he puts a foot in and rushes them in to playing the ball, pressuring the pass, forcing mistakes. 

I’m not getting carried away, but Samuel is heading the right way towards becoming a fan favourite at Ewood – especially if he can keep getting the goals and propel the sifde towards promotion. Looking at former strikers to have graced the turf like Speedie, Shearer, Jansen and McCarthy, he has plenty of good examples to follow if he wants to reach that goal.

 

Image source: http://www.rovers.co.uk