Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Unimpressive performance
Unbelievable result!

By Santosh   Benjamin  ::  28/08/2011   12 Comments (»Last) I watched in amazement as the players walked off the field at Ewood Park after the first win of the new season. I don?t think I can remember a game in the last few years that we have been less worthy of winning. Having said that, the talking points of the day would surely be the penalties that Lee Mason awarded.

The team line-up was as expected with the resources available ? the lack of a wingers being overcome by using central midfield players. Good to see Arteta and Fellaini starting with a strong bench that included the likes of Cahill, Beckford and Bily. Blackburn were looking to avoid 3 successive losses in a row to start the season and they started the brighter of the two sides.

Roberts and Hoilett up front immediately started to pose a threat to our centre backs with their pace. Our midfield players were all within a few yards of each other and the lack of width allowed the Blackburn defenders to easily deal with our attacks. Barkley providing the lone spark with some skillful play and a shot on goal, sadly it lacked the power to trouble Robinson.

Blackburn looked sharp when they attacked and Jags was found wanting a few times. One of those times needed a last-gasp sliding tackle and clearance by Baines. David Dunn made some space and had a great shot on goal and with Howard beaten, was unlucky to hit the upright.

We had a free kick in a great location, just outside the Blackburn area and both Arteta and Baines looked keen on taking it. I prayed that sense would prevail and Baines would be allowed the honours. Instead Arteta proceeded with his version of the Pink Floyd hit, Another Kick in the Wall. I have lost faith in his set pieces and yet, Moyes allows him to be a part of them even now.

Referee Lee Mason was kept busy, especially with defenders like Salgado and Samba on the loose. Salgado?s high boot on Anichebe, prompting a strong reaction from the Nigerian and both sets of players got involved in separating them. Blackburn then lost two influencial midfielders in a space of minutes as Pederson and Dunn went off with injuries to be replaced by Formica (anyone else think he looks a lot like Kaka?) and Petrovic. The rest of the half played out without too much controversy,probably the calm before the storm that was to come in the second half.

Half-time and I felt like we needed to make changes before we went a goal down. Possibly Beckford and Bily/Cahill to replace Osman and Heitinga. Sadly, we returned unchanged after the break and paid the price soon after the restart. Blackburn started the second half just like they did the first with the ball almost entirely in our half. Then came the first of the three penalties that shaped the game. Formica was inside our box with Barkley trying to close him down. As he went past Barkley,he flew up into the air like someone had lit a rocket under him. Instead of getting booked for diving, he was awarded a penalty by Lee Mason. Hoilett proceeded to take it and tried to place it to the left of Howard, who was up to it and made a great save and the rebound was duly taken care of by the defenders.

Blackburn continued to pummel our goal and Howard was kept busy. Another free kick to Blackburn was thankfully wasted by Olsson to ease the pressure on us temporarily. Cahill came on for Barkley, since the youngster needed ?protection?. Bily then came on to try and further add fresh legs to the midfield. We were playing like we were up by three or four goals ? short passes and delicate flicks which went nowhere. A rare mistake by the usually dependable Distin allowed a great cross from the right from Goodwillie which was directed goalwards by Formica, but Howard managed to get a foot to it and smothered the rebound too.

The bookings continued as the game went on and then came the second penalty. Formica again, and this time his turn inside the box was greeted with an outstretched leg which he duly used to throw himself to the turf. Another penalty and I figured that our luck must have run out with the last one. I was wrong as Formica himself stepped up this time (still looking like Kaka, by the way) and sent Howard the wrong way but his shot was so precise that it hit the upright and was cleared.

Beckford came on with a few minutes to go and I was hoping it be an inspired substitution. Anichebe was getting man-handled by Samba, as was Cahill too, yet the fouls kept going against us. The game seemed to be headed for a draw when injury time provided the third penalty. A ball into the Blackburn box was directed towards Fellaini who seemed to have Samba sitting on his head. The two of them landed in a crumpled heap and much to the amazement of all watching at the ground, at home and possibly at work too, Lee Mason chanelled his guilt in the form of a penalty for us.

I was up and dancing until I saw Arteta step to take the penalty. All those wasted set pieces flashed before me as my heart sank. Maybe Baines would rush in and take it as Arteta was on his run up, maybe Beckford or even Phil Neville would get a brainwave and take the penalty before anyone else. Sadly it didn?t happen and Arteta strode towards the ball and calmly proceeded to send Robinson the wrong way and slot the ball into the corner of the net. Cue stifled celebrations among the players, wild celebrations among the travelling Blues and even wilder scenes in front of the TV at home as my family and me ran around yelling. Did we deserve to even get a point from this game based on our performance? No. Do we deserve to not be able to buy/loan a single player? No. Sometimes two wrongs do make a right.

WBA in the Carling Cup 3rd round which is pretty good considering the big teams are also in the fray now. Hope we can build on this. The most important thing in the next three days is to hold onto all our players as the transfer deadline approaches. Even if we don?t sign anyone, losing one of our players would be the final nail in the coffin.

ps: Hope we don?t lose any players to injury during the international break...

Player ratings:

Man on the match: Tim Howard

Tim Howard: Brilliant game, showed why we are lucky to have one of the best keepers in the league in our side.

Neville: Poor passing, average game at best.

Jagielka: Unusually high number of mistakes. Mind elsewhere???

Distin: Better of the two centre halves but also made too many mistakes.

Baines: Good game, needs to be held onto by us for dear life.

Heitinga: Hardly involved.

Osman: Poor game. Good chance with a header when unmarked.

Fellaini: Very poor game. Hardly moved, wasted a great chance on the edge of the area when payed in by Anichebe. Got us the vital penalty though?

Arteta: Looked lost for the most part. Gave the ball away too cheaply for my liking and must be taken off set piece duty.Took the penalty well though.

Barkley: Not as involved as the QPR game but still looked lively in midfield. Love watching his fearless runs.

Anichebe: Decent game to be honest. Has played much worse in the past.

Subs:

Cahill: Not involved enough. Nice shot with his left foot, after using his hands though.

Bily: Scared and lacking confidence.

Beckford: Not enough time for an impact.

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