If we were playing them today what would your team be. Also what team do you think Dyche will pick?

For me I think we have to pick as strong a side as possible whilst using our fringe players sensibly. Its a must win game in my eyes.

Id go 442 to try out that system with the players we have.

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Mee Taylor
JBG Westwood Hendrick Arfield
Barnes Walters

Heaton. Team captain and also think its important we build up the understanding between him, mee and tarkowski.

Bardsley. Full backs one area we seem blessed with adequate reserves. Bardsley has plenty of experience and is as capable as Lowton.

Tarkowski. Think its important he gets as much game time as possible. Especially alongside Mee and Heaton.

Mee. See above.

Taylor. Needs to get some experience and would be useful for him to get it alongside our first choice centre halves and keeper.

JBG. Again needs to get used to playing for us regular. Would have him on the left cutting in. But able to swap if its not working.

Westwood. Our most energetic centre midfielder. Probably most suited to 442. Hasnt done much not to be playing anyway.

Hendrick. Our most physical cm. Him and westwood would be ideal partnership for this game.

Arfield. Knows this game and this position inside out. No need to risk Brady. Arfield should have enough.

Barnes. Think Blackburn will resort to physical tactics. If they will they will have no match for Barnes. Always scores goals in important games.

Walters. See Barnes. Also think he may have a point to prove. One to us and one to Blackburn after they released him.


That side should have more than enough. Wouldnt be awful against some premier sides if we were short. Would ve nice to see Agyei feature and get a goal. Cant see Dyche risking Heaton, Mee and Tarkowski though. Think he will go 451 in a slightly different set up than saturday.

Dyche will pick imo

Pope
Bardsley Tarkowski Long Taylor
JBG Arfield Westwood Walters
Hendrick
Barnes

I'd go for...

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Mee Taylor
JBG Cork Westwood Defour Brady
Walters

I think it will be:

Pope
Bardsley Long Mee Taylor
JBG Westwood Hendrick Arfield
Barnes Walters

I'd go for...

Heaton
Lowton Tarkowski Mee Ward
JBG Cork Hendrick Defour Brady
Vokes

I think it will be:

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Long Taylor
JBG Westwood Cork Hendrick Arfield
Barnes

Strongest possible. I can see your case for swapping the full backs and to be fair I don't think it should weaken the side.

They shouldn't need a rest yet and most will get one for international break in 3 weeks anyway.

Heaton
Bardsley Tarks Mee Taylor
Westwood Cork
JGB Hendrick Brady
Vokes

Looking back to why we lost the Accy and Lincoln games was lack of creativity and not scoring. We need our best attacking players out there.

rather we didn't pick up any crucial injuries against the league one cloggers so only mee and hendrick to start from our first choice 11 thanks.

should still have more than enough to tub them.

Pope, Taylor, Tarks, Long, Bardsley, JBG, Westwood, Hendrick, Arfield, Agyei, Walters.

Would Go / Will go:

Pope
Bardsley, Long, Mee(C), Taylor
Arfield, Westwood, Cork, Hendrick, Walters
Barnes
Subs: Legdzins (sp??), Tarks, Lowton, Defour, JBG, Agyei, Vokes

He's not going to risk the whole first team, and nor should he.

Thats why we have a premier league squad, all busting a gut to be first choice when we play in the premier league.

Won't happen but...

Heaton
Lowton Tarkowski Mee Ward
JBG Hendrick Cork Defour Brady
Vokes

I want 5-0.

Dyche would have to have us finish in the top 10 if we got beat off this lot. To save face.

It would be a game talked about for 50 years by them lot if they won with two divisions between us.

Barnes would get a red card within half an hour in this game

Quickenthetempo wrote:Dyche would have to have us finish in the top 10 if we got beat off this lot. To save face.

It would be a game talked about for 50 years by them lot if they won with two divisions between us.

i'm more than happy to let them harp on about a first round league cup win against our reserves for 50 years.

quoonbeatz wrote:i'm more than happy to let them harp on about a first round league cup win against our reserves for 50 years.

Im not. And most of the rest of us wouldnt.

I want to beat them at any opportunity. I want to win every game and I want to win this cup!

Thats ******** guys.

Cup shocks happen, and if you think that this is somehow going to change the current status quo then you've really let them get to you.

All you have to do if it gets too much is just ask "I'm sorry, what division are you in at the moment?"

(assuming we lose of course)

If you have a twinkle in your eye and a half smile while you deliver it as well, that helps.

Full strength for me. Don't take anything for granted, remember Accrington.

cricketfieldclarets wrote:I want to beat them at any opportunity. I want to win every game and I want to win this cup!

same here but if a 1st round league cup win against our reserves is all they've got to desperately cling on to for the rest 50 years, i can live with not winning.

I'd love us to hammer them out of sight, but not at the cost of an injury like JBG suffered last season.

We have 11 players who didn't start on Saturday who could, and should, sweep the League 1 relegation fodder aside in some style.

quoonbeatz wrote:same here but if a 1st round league cup win against our reserves is all they've got to desperately cling on to for the rest 50 years, i can live with not winning.

It's the 2nd round.

Right lads lets get one thing straight, anyone who witnessed the 5-0 april fool massacre at Ewood will not get over that sick feeling inside until we get revenge. Yes the odd goal wins have been great but this is our chance to get that 5-0 revenge, to wipe the slate clean.

If you think it's a nothing reserve game then just don't bother going.

I was there at the 5-0

The 2-1 at Ewood and the 1-0 at the turf finished any feelings of inferiority that I had left.

I was actually chatting to a Rovers fan about this, yes, it is probably the most important game you look out for, but its now a much more "normal" rivalry.

I still hope we smash them out of sight, but I know that we are not inferior to our neighbours anymore and more importantly, they know it too.

I love the holier than thou brigade at times like this ''Yeah but what league are we in and where are you?'' is the usual tripe spouted when we get knocked out. There is more than a next round place at stake here.

I didn't attend (fortunately) the 5-0 game, but I recall the town being demolished in the wake of the result.

They'll be putting out a full strength team and we should do the same. We shouldn't be looking at anything less than giving them a good hiding here.

i forgot its the second round! thats how much better we are than them, we don't even have to bother with round 1.

and i'm not going. i don't think its a nothing reserve game, its a cup i want us to do our best in. i'm just saying that if they beat what will likely be a reserve side, i really won't be giving much of a toss, especially if thats all they've got on us for 50 years.

Imagine we win this cup and the first win of the journey was at ewood. I would be gutted if i missed it.

Lancasterclaret wrote:I was there at the 5-0

The 2-1 at Ewood and the 1-0 at the turf finished any feelings of inferiority that I had left.

I was actually chatting to a Rovers fan about this, yes, it is probably the most important game you look out for, but its now a much more "normal" rivalry.

I still hope we smash them out of sight, but I know that we are not inferior to our neighbours anymore and more importantly, they know it too.

In 5 years time roles might be reversed again, lets not waste this opportunity.

Yes cup shocks do happen as well, but Accy, Lincoln and then Blackburn in succession would lead to a lot of managers getting sacked.

It's not about the team you put out, it's about the mentality. Against Lincoln it was basically a first choice team apart from the full-backs, and we were still useless. Taylor, Bardsley, Walters and Barnes will be well up for it anyway so I don't see why they shouldn't start.

Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Mee Taylor
JBG Hendrick Westwood Arfield
Barnes Walters

Oh and there's a small matter of keeping that run of them not beating us going. Is it 7 years now?

I'll be fuming if he rests players and we lose this game. It was bad enough after the Accrington game.

UpTheClaretsFCBK wrote:I'll be fuming if he rests players and we lose this game. It was bad enough after the Accrington game.

I don't know why UTC but that made me chuckle

Largely with Quoon and Lancaster here. I'm quite sure our players could cope with the extra game, but Dyche was angry enough at some of Accy's tackling last season and Lincoln knobbled one of our most creative players for the rest of the season - Rovers will no doubt be up for the game and no doubt a sizeable proportion of their support will have a similar view of injuring our players as many of our fans did when Kevin Ball launched in on Dunn all those years ago. The importance of winning the game both because its Blackburn and because we want to progress does have to be balanced against the risk of key (or more vulnerable) players getting injured against alehouse opponents.

If Rovers beat us, I'll just laugh and ask them to remind me what division they are in, and point out they were playing are virtual reserve team. I know it will be more damaging than that to some, and so perhaps winning becomes more important than it was at Accy, say. But still I think we can afford to leave out anyone we'd struggle to replace if they were unavailable.

My team:

--------------Heaton
Bardsley Tarkowski Long Ward
JBG Westwood Hendrick Arfield
--------Walters Barnes

There's plenty in that team to win the game, and it doesn't involve risking any of Mee, Cork, Defour, Brady and Vokes, who we can least afford to lose. If we were playing Morecambe, say, we might have tried a couple of kids like Agyei. Perhaps this isn't the night to go that far, but fortunately we are strong enough to field a virtual shadow team full of senior, experienced professionals with a lot of Premier League pedigree.

On that basis why would you not rest Ward? We havent seen Taylor and in my eyes Ward is one of the first names on the team. Similar we wouldnt be able to afford to lose Heaton!

cricketfieldclarets wrote:On that basis why would you not rest Ward? We havent seen Taylor and in my eyes Ward is one of the first names on the team. Similar we wouldnt be able to afford to lose Heaton!

Well, I think its important that given everything that surrounds the game, we keep a couple of our experienced heads in the team. With Long and Tarkowski at centre back to protect Mee, I think having 2 experienced players at full back to talk them through might be important, and whilst we haven't yet seen Taylor in competitive action, he's been signed as a serious challenger to Ward. As for Heaton, you're right, but the risk of a keeper getting injured is obviously much lower.

But yes, you could certainly go further if you wanted to.

This is Blackburn.

First choice in every position.

No messing.

Put them to the sword.

Streams of no dad's walking off down the front if the Riverside at 75 minutes.

Pope
Bardsley, Long, Mee, Taylor
Gudmundsson, Westwood, Ulvestad, Arfield
Walters, Agyei

The five at the back should cope, leaving plenty of options on the bench should we need to shuffle things around a little.
Bstrds demise and our progression has given this fixture a completely different outlook to what it would otherwise have been. It's one of those, if they win then it was only our reserves, if they lose then they can't even beat our reserves. A no lose situation for me.

For me, its none of this 'its only the League Cup' nonsense. Its THEM, and we owe them big time.

For all:

their smugness and arrogance/ their benefactor funded years/ the ridiculous 34 years thing (when we hardly ever played) they banged on about/ their horrible half n half rugby top/ Simon Garner/ the 5 - 0/ they way they were pampered for years, whilst we struggled/ the annoying way they say 'roverrrrrs'/ for their criticism of our Cricketfield Stand (do they not remember the shed of a ground they used to have)/ they way many of their 'fans' have no idea that down the decades they were ALWAYS in our shadow, etc, etc.

Feel free to add your own dislike. And yes, you're right, I don't like them very much.

UTC NNN.

For me it's a must win. A few of my mates of rovers fans and I work with a few also who would give me years of dogs abuse. Simply not worth the risk.

I would rest a few but start with some real power as well and take them off as the game went too far away from them. Make sure I had enough on the bench not to lose!!!

It's also them, our greatest and fiercest rivalries, I'm mid thirties and remember their horrible domination over us. We should never forget that and slam the door shut at every opportunity. I'd like to grind them into the ground.

Mee seems to love this fixture and loves our club. Both he and Heaton really know what this is about first 2 names on the sheet.

I go for

Heaton
Bardsley Mee Tarks Taylor
Jbg Cork Westwood Hendrick Arfield
Barnes

Subs
Walter
Vokes
Agyei
Defour
Brady
Pope
.........

Edit sorry put Long instead of Taylor at LB.

Heaton

Bardsley Tark Mee Taylor

JBG Westwood Cork Hendrick Brady

Barnes

I think Bardsley, Taylor and Westwood will play, which is fine as it won't weaken us massively.

The only other player i would excuse leaving out completely is Defour. We do not want an injury to our best player as a result of their likely thug tactics.

Heaton

Bardsley
Tarkowski
Mee
Taylor

Arfield
Westwood
Hendrick
Brady

Barnes
Walters

Subs: Pope, Long, JBG, Agyei, Cork, Vokes

No Ney Never wrote:Pope
Bardsley, Long, Mee, Taylor
Gudmundsson, Westwood, Ulvestad, Arfield
Walters, Agyei

The five at the back should cope, leaving plenty of options on the bench should we need to shuffle things around a little.
Bstrds demise and our progression has given this fixture a completely different outlook to what it would otherwise have been. It's one of those, if they win then it was only our reserves, if they lose then they can't even beat our reserves. A no lose situation for me.

Dead right, NNN.............with the exception of JBG who I'm pretty sure Rovers would target and injure Lincoln-style.
We should not only insult the Rovers by playing a weakened team but also laugh at them grasping at straws if they beat us and, if they don't, enjoy the ****-storm heading their way.
We simply cannot afford any injuries or suspensions. Maybe take the FA Cup seriously - we'll have a better idea of our prospects by then but not this cup.
For God's sake, we could buy the whole Rovers' squad for the amount of money we're going to pay for our next player ! Priorities.

Its not the cup it's the opponents.

I think we're going to go for it. Especially with the club paying for coaches. They want us there to make some noise!!!!

Utc

This is proffesional football. I do not like them either, but we cannot expose our best players to thuggery for a halfpenny comp when it may jeprodise a hundred million pound windfall.

my team would be,

Pope
Bardsley
Long
Mee
Taylor
Arfield
Westwood
Cork
Brady
Barnes
Agyei

keep defour away from these thugs, and give long , bardsley and taylor a run out...otherwise leave it be......id prefer we won this.

The 5-0 defeat angrified me, so I'd like to see us win big.

They will all want to play in the derby match of football.

Same team that played against Chelsea.

Defour would be a must for me. He has experience in playing in fierce Derby games, worse than the east lancs

I didn't want this game but now we've got it to play I want to win it. So let's not fart about with starting a weaker team, let's put the best team out and swap some if we start doing well.

Heaton
Bardsley Tarks Mee Taylor
Westwood Cork Hendrick Arfield
Barnes Walters

Subs
Pope
Long
Lowton
Ward
Defour
Brad
Vokes
Agyei
Think that might be too many subs
.........

B0110cks to risk. Life's a risk.

Full-on attack. First team names in every position.
Just steamroller the mothers. We'll cope with any adverse ill fortune.

Full strength for me!

Success breeds success and beating Rovers is a must!

Plus I fancy our chances of winning the Cup this year! Now that would be the final straw for the Rovers ! Humiliated by us on the way to us lifting the cup