Thetownend.com

Game tomorrow night. Third and final group game, we can't qualify for the knockouts so nothing to worry about there.

Hopefully see a bit of fringe players like Devine, Laivinier, Brennan, Roberts, Adeloye and er... Reed.

Assume no Dabre and Cowmeadow as they're still out on loan, but think Parsons, Massey and Minturn are back. Expecting something like:

Brynn
Devine Minturn Brennan Lavinier
Reed Aguiar Iandolo
Roberts Adeloye Parsons/Massey

isn't Massey out on loan, or is he back/elidgable anyway?

it'll be parsons for 70 then Adeloye for 20

Massive game this, chance for everyone to stake a claim*
*may not be factually correct on both points.

I think we will see a weak side, as the competition deserves, as long as we avoid the fine for playing a weakened team.

Is Harries back from his suspension?

Dabre is still out on loan at Banbury and Cowmeadow at Slough.
Minturn, Parsons and Massey have returned to the club after loans at Gloucester, Banbury and Hungerford respectively.

I would like to see...

                      Brynn
Lavinier  Brennan  Harries/Minturn  Devine
        Aguiar     Reed       Iandolo    
  Shade          Parsons                Roberts

Subs: Brann, Adeloye, Massey, (Minturn/Clayton), Hart, Fox, Kanu


Not sure he will risk Brann in goal as we are still looking for a backup keeper so may well go with Brynn again.
If Harries is not available then go with Minturn rather than Harries. Also this depends on if Devine is fit enough to play, I expect Adeloye to come off the bench 2nd half.

This could be THE most pointless fixture ever in our history today.

I will still watch it though to see the progress of our youngsters in a first team environment.

Is it on ifollow though ?

Thought the previous ones weren't but not sure as I went to the actual games !

Yeah, it will be, and not require any overseas trips.

I'm a bit far behind catching up on the LS podcasts but I'm sure they said on one of the Presser ones that his loan deal at Hungerford had been terminated. I'm beginning to wonder whether his actual name is Milan Massun.

Masseys loan wasnt terminated it ran its natural 1 month course, from 12th September to 12th October as did Minturns, Dabre is out on loan until the end of October.

Unlike Milan Misun - Massey has actually played a game for Swindon coming on as sub at Supermarine pre season :)

Speaking of Milan Misun, he is still playing football in the Czech Republic! last season he was at FK Baník Sokolov in the Bohemian Football League.

Didn't he play in the league cup game as well?

Isn't Paul D's lad a striker, is he still at the club?

Tom Wynn-Davis? He came off the bench against Palace under 21/23s and looked one of the more promising kids.

Cowmeadow is playing according to Lindsey’s presser

Looking forward to seeing the fringe players on Ifollow stake a claim, and to follow the training pattern as they did in previous matches.

Nope never played a game, turned out he never actually signed a contract with us.

https://thewashbag.com/2012/02/10/milan-misun-has-been-found/

Yes Tom Wynn-Davis, the only current Swindon player who I have built a PC for :)

I meant Massey.


Good stuff!

A sorry crossed wireage :)

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfXd7VwXoAQYxm4?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)

Harries served his ban then, looks like Iandolo at LB and Brynn starts in front of Brann, nice to see Reed get a game ;)

Strong team out considering.

                      Brynn
Lavinier  Brennan  Harries      Iandolo
        Aguiar     Reed       Darcy    
  Shade          Parsons                Roberts

Not a bad guess just 1 player different in the line up with Darcy for Devine.

Who is Keyes?

Definately on iFollow as every one in this tournament have been and as Nemo says available to UK subscribers too.

Hes there to unlock their defence later in the game.

Midfielder, youth teamer, Josh Keyes.

Fortunately for Town Rovers don't have new signing Scott Sinclair (a player we were rumoured to be looking at signing, ex Chelsea and Celtic winger) available tonight after his signings yesterday.

Rovers start with just the one starter from Saturday playing tonight, on loan Burnley defender Bobby Thomas.

But, conversely every player on the bench started in Saturdays win at Cheltenham.

As it should be for a pretend first team fixture

So Cowmeadow and Minturn are back as well. Was this part of the plan, or have none of our loans really worked out?

TBF I am surprised we have started with 2 starters from Saturday, I expect Darcy is playing because Devine wasn't fit so Iandolo moving to LB and for whatever reason they don't thing Brann is ready to start so playing Brynn in goal, the game is unimportant so give the lad his first game in goal.

Why the fuck do Rovers play the Rocky theme when the players run out? fucking tin pot.

Oh great, Dave Hockaday on comms.

…he started at Rovers didn’t he?

He did and left them for Chelsea after a couple of games as a young teenager for a £750k fee.

Our full backs are playing incredibly far forward.

We are almost playing 253 at times.

I love it, i would(when fit) like to see us try the 3 5 2 with FBT wide of the 3

TBF both Brennan and Harries are playing very well at the moment so either of those could be an option if we ever went the 352 option.

Reed is really sloppy so far.

Harries absolutely noped out of a tackle there, which isn't exactly what you want from a centre-back. Played a couple of nice balls though.

Hockaday super critical of Harries😀

Town dominating the game early doors.

Bloody hell that tackle was heavy. Brennan absolutely flew in. Reminiscent of the Sheehan early game red for Leeds against us years ago.

I know it is only a kick about, but the first 13 mins have only underlined the fact he is an awful defender, really awful.  Not sure why he ended up back there rather than trying to be a midfielder.

TBF Harries did pull out of the tackle and jumped over the player instead of tackling him.

Terrible isn't he. Thankfully i think the club have seen enough too, nowhere near the squad in the league now

He might be worth moving into midfield, his passing has been much better than Reeds so far today but his tackling, a little less so!

I didn't see it but not sure if you heard Hockaday's comments which made me laugh.

Harries just has no interest in doing the grunt work of a defender.  Makes Conroy look like Terry Butcher.

1st 10 mins he looked good then he stepped out of 2 tackles and his head seems to have dropped now.

Not sure what Garner and Chorley seen in him

That kind of pulling out of tackles looks like a player who has had bad injuries and is now gun-shy. Not sure if that's the case with Harries but that was my first thought.


He's played a couple of really tidy long passes. You can see that you could see him as a ball playing defender in a three. Just never, ever in a two. Conroy is a reasonable comparison to be honest, left footed diet Conroy.

I do wonder why we brought him here as he's unlikely to get a game.

Even in the first 10 he utterly misjudged a ball down his side and ended up stretching to concede a corner.  There is no defensive urgency in him.  Try and convert him to a midfielder if we can, to save a wage if nothing else.  I certainly wouldn't wan him anywhere near the central defence of a promotion chasing team.

Garner liked him.

Their attacks get within our six yard box, ours don’t get within their penalty box.

It's not exactly full intensity, but this is much more of a first team football match than the first two group games were so far.

I’m taking a guess here but probably his passing.
I expect the plan was to slot Harries in at CB and play the role of passing it 5 yards back and forth with Reed so certain fans could wank over our possession & pass completion stats…

Iandolo has again showed why he isnt a left back, far better going forwards and sloppy defensively, fit or not hes givebn the ball away a few times at the back so far.

 :D :D

It is, no idea what the possession stats are but we must have 70%+ so far, Rovers are sitting back and letting us have the ball. Just little in the last 3rd other than a few crosses.

It sounds like Lavinier is getting a few decent crosses in.

Pretty sure Harries was garners last signing for Town before he left.

Reeds corners show why Gladwin is taking corners now.

(Not just you but more widely) Reed gets a fair bit of criticism for stat-padding short passes sideways and backwards, but he also throws in quite a lot of seriously ambitious long passes out to the flanks which are much lower % completion. What he doesn't seem to do much of is anything in between - short to medium passes forwards. It must be managerial instruction, I can't see any reason he wouldn't be capable of them.

44% - 56%

Roberts really should have got a shot on target then with the keeper to beat.

Roberts’ touches have been a bit non-league so far.

I wonder what's happened to Reeds effective free kicks this season🤔

Nice bit of play from Aguiar to play Roberts in there, best bit of individual play so far. I do like Aguiar, although he's probably quite a similar player to Darcy.

That surprises me, its been almost all Swindon so far, keeping the ball well (FWIW) as posession means fuck all really.

I prefer to play a left footer on the left and right footer on the right, he looks a bit lost at times on the right and being a right leg stander.

v Stevenage recently 70% possession no shot on target!

Also Stevenage in the bottom 3 for possession in L2 yet are top of the table.

For all the criticism of Harries, Brennan has been just as bad. And is now off. At least Harries can pass, Brennan just looks a proper clogger.

Stupid Brennan. Terrible challenge.

Brennan sent off, shame hes been playing ok. 2nd yellow.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I thought he looked every bit as bad as Harries without the passing. Thought his first yellow could have been red as well, and absolutely unnecessary.

Well that puts him out of the first team picture for the foreseeable. Dick.

Are the bans in the Pizza cup transferable to the league?

That was a ridiculously stupid performance from Brennan. Let everyone down. Let him go back to Wed.

Trying to think back when possession stats became noted, any ideas?

I meant he’s a liability.

I would for once agree with Hockaday, get Darcy off to protect him for Saturday and get Minturn on.

When Sky TV thought they were a thing and made stats for the sake of stats sake.

Probably when Barcelona changed the game and everyone tried to copy them.

TBF barring injury he is not anywhere near the first team anyway at the moment. He will go back to Sheff Weds in January.

Pleased to see Minturn on. Think he’s a much more promising prospect anyway.

That makes sense now they've become an obsession for some!  

Been watching Minturn play for about the last 5 seasons and hes always been bigger than most of his team mates and has always impressed against the players in the same age bracket as him.

1st team is a huge step up for a youngster though, I hope he makes it.

Switched on to see Brennan get sent off. Didn't look as if the right person was penalised and didn't look a sending off. Have I missed anything else?

Lavinier is playing well for me so far.

Both those facts I’d say.

Not much, been mostly Swindon all 1st half, some poor defending by Town but not too bad really all things considered. Other than Brennan being a tit.

What the fuck happened there?

Red for Aguiar.

Nah that is absolute shite. It's not even a foul.

Never a red, not in a million years.

Never a red. Feckin useless ref.

Is it two more reds for an abandonment?

Fuckit. Let’s just kick them up in the air now.

5 sent off.

7 is the lowest number allowed to take part.

Get 'em lads!

Fuck the ball

Red Card (Indecent Exposure)

If our players are going to get sent off make it for a throat kick on Barton!

Jeez Rovers are shite.

HT 0-0

Even with 9 men its almost all Swindon playing the football.

I’d die laughing if we win this.

Well, already far more to talk about than the first two JPT games. Played with more intensity than either, but still not league levels.

Brennan red was deserved, first card was orange. Would be surprised if we see much more of him.

Aguiar's is completely baffling. The camera angle isn't great, ref must have thought there was a stamp or something but everything I can see it just looks like a totally normal bit of play that wouldn't even be penalised nine times out of ten.

Gonna be a fun second half.

Rovers reserves look very bad, in between times.

I thought Brennan and Harries both went in for the challenge. I thought Harries committed the foul. No matter who it was, it was a yellow at best.

PS. The Aguiar sending off was a yellow at best too.

Aguiar jumps up as he comes close to the Rovers player, so reckon it looks like a stamp to the ref at ground level.  I think it was him trying to avoid the player but he just nicked him on the way back down.  From the TV angle it looks obvious is a mistake rather than intended.

The Brennan one was a yellow, it was his second.

Aguiar's red was the worst refereeing decision I've seen this year, and probably any other year. There was nothing in it. Still, I haven't seen a nine man team play for a while, what fun.

Just got in. Was going to watch the 2nd half. Not much point now.

It'll be unique...

Unbelievable. Have to laugh. All I can say is we've dodged an enormous bullet getting this ref in a PJT game.

That was never a foul by Minturn either!

^

Such a pointless stat.

(http://i.imgur.com/aYFRj.jpg)

Thank you

Well, aside from the fact Barcelona were pretty damned good in their pomp of Pep's football.

Parsons has shown a poor touch a few times tonight in good positions.

Roberts again looking better on the left wing rather than the right.

Adeloye on for Parsons who has been poor today.

Glad to see Adeloye get some time. There has to be more to him than we've seen so far.

…well yeah but that’s because they scored goals and won games.

Not much if you listen to many Ayr fans on their forum.

Yep. Even given the circumstances tonight, he doesn’t impress whenever I’ve seen him.

Cross headed away by Minturn, or was it Roberts....no Mr Hawes it was Reed!

Which was not unrelated to how they played the game - which wasn't just about having possession, but it was a central point to Pep 1.0 - the team being told to pass the ball something like 15 times before advancing when they start from the Keeper.  It was part of a broader strategy though, like the high press and trying to get the ball back within 5 seconds and then drop deep.

Unfortunately for me too, Garner said hes the best finisher at the club last season but we have seen no evidence of that in games.

He is still young, but he doesn't look any different to his first game, that's the issue I think.

Boo

Great finish by Rovers that.

Decent finish, simple ball between Harries and Iandolo. Was always going to happen.

Glorious ball from Iandolo.

Long pass from Iandolo to Shade, good run and cut back to Adeloye who is a a yard from getting to it in the box.

Rovers bringing on the heavy artillery feels a bit unnecessary.

Minturn covers Harries who randomly leaves a long ball.

What is Harries for?

On this showing it could be his last game for Swindon.

So only Minturn as CH cover on this showing?

Lavinier blotting his copybook there, he's been okay otherwise. Not really a day for anyone to stand out I guess.

I know he’s not been great, but Hockaday’s just picking on Harries now. It’s not what you expect from a pundit.

Doh 0-2

Wasted on this game, that strike.

Easiliy our best player today, the best of a bad bunch.

Bit harsh in the circumstances.

Oh dont get me wrong its a backs to the wall with 9 men but nobody has really shone for me other than Lavinier. Iandolo good going forwards but not defensively, Shade looking eager but lacking a final ball.

Superb from Lavinier there

Was nearly injured then with high foot from the Rovers player.

0-3

Another good goal on the break.

Minturn outpaced by the scorer.

Can't really blame anyone with the numbers but Lavinier stopped running altogether there. We're ready to get back on the coach and can't really be annoyed about that.

Lavinier pulled up after the kick about 5 mins before the goal, I think his legs have gone too after his first 90 mins in 2 months.

meh. reserve 11 v reserve 9 in a competition we are already out of

but going to ruin my night

FT 0-3

Meaningless game, Lavinier the best player for me.

Result doesnt matter at all, no shots (that I can remember) on target does bother me though.

A few sore legs in the morning. Think there's next to no chance of anyone who played the 90 starting on Saturday. Glad not to get that ref in a league game.

Tosser ref made that pointless. Some of ours way off the first team, but Lavinier very lively, Iandolo fairly decent. That was about it.

Never going to get a result.
You’d have to be pretty rubbish to not win against 9 men….oh wait…

Decided to give this a go last night. Interesting game overall, at 11 v 11 we dominated proceedings without looking hugely dangerous or making any chances. Someone mentioned it earlier on the thread but our attacking play rarely seems to end with a chance in the box however on the few occasions Rovers attacked (in the first half) they seemed to have space in and around the areas. A couple of good blocks from us when they were in good positions. From the off Brennan and Harries looked like a problem. Brennan was in 'take no prisoners' mode and put in a cruncher that another ref might have deemed a straight red. Perhaps young Ciaran fancied a night off as he got wrong side of the Rovers attacker and brought him down for a simple yellow and an early bath. The Aguiar sending off was just wrong, he may well have caught him via clumsiness but there was no malice or stamp and it ruined what had been an even game.

Even with 9 at times we looked the better side, but Rovers weirdly decided to bring on their first team player and eased to a 3-goal win. That said we had a great chance to equalise when Iandolo put Shade through, and his cut back was inches away from Adeloye who rather than put the ball in the net, fouled the defender. Can't help thinking Tomi might have done better. Overall you can't really fault the effort of the team, I thought Shade and Lavinier played quite well, others in patches. I know it's very harsh to judge a player on such little time but I can't see Parsons being here in 3 years, (think he's on a 3 year contract) I hope he proves me wrong and he becomes the next Scott Twine but he's yet to impress.

Oh I had Ed Hadwin on my commentary along with some old Bristol bumpkin, why is his name familiar? (Hadwin I mean)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hEqnEFnQvQ

One of my pet hates with Garner was his constant moaning about referees and decisions (I guess this was to take attention from his players or whatever) so it's refreshing to hear that SL barely made any complaint about the referee, even though he would have been perfectly entitled to.

Ed Hadwin did wilts sound for years around early 2000's

Of mild interest, if you include Pizza Trophy Games (which is a stretch, obviously), we're now on an eight game win-loss-win-loss pattern going back to Doncaster away. No draws at all since drawing 5 of our first 9 up to Gillingham.

The good news is we're on for a win at the weekend!

Interesting.

FWIW Hartlepool are current L2 whipping boys who are bottom of the table and have conceded 25 goals in the previous 14 games and only have 1 win so far this season and just 9 points with 7 defeats.

Also they were turned over 6-0 at home by an Everton U21 side last night.

Let's hope we get some shots on target.

Good summary Bob's Orange. Me and you clearly see the game in a similar way! In which case, think you'd like the Loathed Strangers podcast looking back at the game - I was on with JR Williams.

And yes, Ed Hadwin was the BBC Wiltshire sports reporter and STFC commentator for years in the early 2000s. I worked with him briefly at BBC Wilts in 2008, when I was on a work experience placement at BBC Wilts. Lovely chap, good commentator too. Think he's been doing the Bristol Rovers stuff a long while now as well.

Cheers Dan. I've got the LS Podcasts stored up for when I go to the gym, I am a little behind on my listening so hoping to catchup this week - I'm only on the end of the Newport at the moment so I have some catching up to do :)

Ed Hadwin was pretty good last night I thought, fairly un-biased overall and didn't get too carried away with the win, which was clearly all down to the 2 reds cards.

Might help us score some goals if we do :)

Just watched the goals; the first two were very good finishes! Will Aguiar be banned for 3 league matches now? I wonder if we can appeal. The matchday video footage really didn’t seem to get the best view of the incident.

no, league/other cup punishment for the red cards in the pizza. What goes on in the Pizza cup stays in the pizza cup.

So the competition is exactly the same as going to some sleazy back street strip club just outside Vegas.

Well, we got spanked.

you're more likely to score in Vegas