Rovers vs Hammers 1-4

By: David | September 2nd, 2008

Sorry for the late report but I was looking for something interesting to happen to us on deadline day, and unless Mark Bunn turns out to be the next Petr Cech, well, yeh….

Our defense is a bit of an enigma at the moment. It was shocking on Saturday in a 4-1 defeat to West Ham - lazy and incompetent. However, I wouldn’t say the personnel are inadequate, so Ince needs to get them sorted and in gear for us to get anywhere.

Although the scoreline flattered West Ham, we should not have been 2-0 down after 10 minutes. Robinson was nowhere for a corner and then Samba made himself a fool by directing Mark Noble’s shot in.

Roberts took a great turn to bring it to 2-1 and showed that he can be a great player when he finishes well - which is rarely. This was shown later on when his poor penalty was saved by Rob Green. Roberts has what I call Henry-itis (after the Arsenal legend): always looking to pass the ball past the keeper, and it looks great when you pull it off. Sometimes I just wish Roberts would blast it.

Two late goals finished us off after some horrendous defending, especially by Warnock. Surely players are taught when they are kids that you keep going untill the whistle goes. No matter, I’m sure Ince will have words.

So some thoughts:

-Although Roberts has scored twice in two games I’m not sure if he gives us enough all around. He misses a lot of chances. Tough action may be needed.

-Hence I ask - where is Benni Mac? We are paying this guy far too much to sit on the bench. Ince seemed adament that he couldn’t leave, so lets get him on the field.

-If not, I think Villanueva needs some EPL time in a 4-4-1-1 formation behing Roque. Could be deadly….

Highlights can be found here:

What do you guys think about Roberts, Benni Mac and the defense?

Oh, and the new kits looked great.