The Football.....

[PaulSB]

This has got 0 - 0 or match abandoned on 89 minutes with Rovers 1 - 0 up written all over it!!!!! 🤣

Without a last minute lapse in concenttation by PNE's defence and an excellent header 0 - 0 was looking like the outcome.

We got exactly the game you'd expect in this situation. The poorest Rovers squad I've known in 45 years having an abysmal season against a PNE side that, based only on last night, is a typical Championship team enjoying a good season but realistically not promotion contenders - if Rovers were in the position I, as PNE fans do, would see us as contenders, it's what fans do!!!

The best Rovers performance at Ewood for a year. Hard work, determination, grit and looking more confident. That's all the fans have asked for. We don't have the talent to produce much more. PNE looked solid but offered very little threat despite hitting the woodwork twice. If they scored first they would have won, we didn't have two goals in the side.

The big thing for me was the buzz. Match day buzz has been missing at Ewood for a year or more. No one wanted or liked Ismael, he didn't experience the atmosphere Ewood generated last night once. His name was never sung.

Driving to the ground and the ten minute walk from our car park, had a real match day feel. We were expecting something, "up for it." Two weeks ago the remaining few thousand faithful trudged to the ground out of a sense of duty expecting nothing more than a silent ground, sullen defeated coach and a team without a clue how to follow his "system."

Official attendances are always counted in ticket sales, not turnstile clicks. In recent weeks thousands have stayed away and the true crowd has been a disastrous 6 - 7000. With 20,000 on last night, 6000+ from Preston, it looks like every missing Rover returned. They gave their support to the team and manager. We got the response.

Last night may be the turning point. If Leicester and Oxford lose to today we're six points clear. A win on Tuesday and we have 41 points only nine away from the minimum of 50 to avoid relegation.

A very different picture at Ewood than it was two weeks ago.

 

[PaulSB]

This afternoon hasn't quite gone according to my script, Portsmouth obviously didn't read their copy!!! 🤣 Five points clear of the relegation zone is a good weekend.

 

[StuAff]

Pompey, in form at least, seem to be having a repeat of last season…struggling in the first part of the season, then turn it around rather nicely from January (the thumping by Bristol City, and the other losses since, nothwithstanding). New signings doing well- Adams already been talked of as our player of the season, Alli & Caballero also performing nicely, the latter got his first for the club today. A 3-1 win at Charlton (to complete one double) followed by 3-1 at the Den (completing another). Six points clear with a game in hand, and that's with a long injury list. Looking OK for a nice boring mid table finish again.

PS: Our sporting director, who seems to be doing quite a good job I think it's fair to say, is Richard Hughes. Not to be confused with sporting director of Liverpool FC, also rather good at his job, Richard Hughes. Who, of course, used to play for Pompey....

 

[gbb]

Posh today, 3-3 against Exeter City.
First Peterborough goal was really well deserved, Patryk Sykut (name corrected) held up the ball, flicked it up, all while being harried by two Exeter players at really close quarters, turned and scored...it looked impossible.
Exeter got 1-3 ahead, posh fought back, Leonards second goal a lovely full diving header .
13 goals in my last two home games, that's some going in itself ?

 

[Dave7]

I watched the Forest v Lpool game on TV. Gawd, as a Lpool fan....they were awful. Boring.
They won with a scrappy goal in extra time so im sure the travelling fans will be happy but it's really not good enough.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I watched the Forest v Lpool game on TV. Gawd, as a Lpool fan....they were awful. Boring.
They won with a scrappy goal in extra time so im sure the travelling fans will be happy but it's really not good enough.

Great result 👍 but i bet you won't play that bad next week 😑

 

[gbb]

I watched the Forest v Lpool game on TV. Gawd, as a Lpool fan....they were awful. Boring.
They won with a scrappy goal in extra time so im sure the travelling fans will be happy but it's really not good enough.

Listening to a Forest YT channel, it sounded as though, as is often the case, Forest played well but again, failed to convert to what matters..equally if Liverpool were that bad, they maybe.made Forest look good.
Results around Forest were probably as kind as could be

 

[StuAff]

I watched the Forest v Lpool game on TV. Gawd, as a Lpool fan....they were awful. Boring.
They won with a scrappy goal in extra time so im sure the travelling fans will be happy but it's really not good enough.

Playing badly and winning? First world problem, that. Pompey have managed to play well and lose a few this season. But yesterday, they played well and won. PFC's edited highlights (of the second half only for some reason) is worth a watch. Caballero's goal was absolutely fabulous (and he can sprint as well...), but all three others (including Millwall's) were pretty good.
https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2026/february/22/highlights--millwall-1-pompey-3/

 

[PaulSB]

I feel sorry for Sheffield Wednesday as a club, the players and fans. There seems little doubt the points deductions were deserved thanks to the serious financial "mismanagement."

It feels wrong in a sense they should be relegated this way but then with one win this season they clearly are bad.

 

[StuAff]

I feel sorry for Sheffield Wednesday as a club, the players and fans. There seems little doubt the points deductions were deserved thanks to the serious financial "mismanagement."

It feels wrong in a sense they should be relegated this way but then with one win this season they clearly are bad.

Quite (and the one win was at Fratton Park....Pompey won the reverse fixture). Bannan and others being sold or leaving on free transfers certainly didn't help. Fingers crossed that Wednesday don't suffer the same fate as Pompey and suffer from yet more dodgy owners & poor administrators, they might end up dropping into non-league. Mr Bord doesn't inspire confidence....

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I feel sorry for Sheffield Wednesday as a club, the players and fans. There seems little doubt the points deductions were deserved thanks to the serious financial "mismanagement."

It feels wrong in a sense they should be relegated this way but then with one win this season they clearly are bad.

Sheffield Wednesday will always be a "big" club in my eyes.My first ever match at Upton Park in 1963 was against the owls.
It just shows what can happen when you get the wrong type of owners in.

 

[Mike_P]

Sheffield Wednesday will always be a "big" club in my eyes.My first ever match at Upton Park in 1963 was against the owls.
It just shows what can happen when you get the wrong type of owners in.

Especially when it looks very much like they will be facing Bromley next season.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Especially when it looks very much like they will be facing Bromley next season.

I don't want to diss Lincoln City but we could very well be playing them next season

 

[ianrauk]

Especially when it looks very much like they will be facing Bromley next season.

To be fair to Bromley, they are selling out games this season and there are seven clubs below them in average attendances in league 2

 

[Vapin' Joe]

There's nothing really wrong with relegation. Sure, it's nice to be among the big fish but if you're not, so what? You still play every week and provided the club hasn't bankrupted itself trying to stay up you can still enjoy the game. From what I've seen of Championship matches this season they are mostly more entertaining than the PL fare.