VB Weekend Winners and Losers

Happy Monday morning everybody!

This is quite an interesting period for us Rovers fans in that we seemed to have progressed from a side that ships goals for fun to a mean, lean defensive machine.

The flip side of that is that we don't score much either so we are now at a point where we are hard to beat but if we expand our wings and try and open up will we ship the goals again?

It is a conundrum... one that could have a load of answers but that is for another column, another day even.

My job is to pick the 3 winners and losers for this weekend's game, the 0-0 draw away at the KC stadium in Hull.

WINNERS

RYAN NELSEN - This actually seems to have escaped some fans attention but Ryan didn't put a foot wrong on Saturday.

He will always have his limitations, pace being the main one but he, like Richard Dunne of Aston Villa, is a player that knows what works for him and what doesn't and he sticks to it.

For the lack of pace and movement that he can occassionally be exposed to, he makes up for that with as good a display of positioning and strength as you will likely see from anyone.

No more so was this evident than Saturday. Every time Hull were going to whip in a cross, Ryan nipped into position to head away - he even used his body to get back possession when a through ball was played.

Super stuff again from a super captain.

JUNIOR HOILETT - A debut in the column for the Canadian.

Will we keep him? Will he leave to go abroad? Who knows - but what I do know is that he undeniably a cracking prospect.

Playing out on the left wing on Saturday, he was at times left to fight a lone battle but when released and given time to stretch his legs, he looked threatening.

Maybe he could benefit from a more central role in the team?

What is clear though is that belongs in the Rovers first team.

NIKOLA KALINIC - I like. I am really starting to like.

Now I am not blind, I can see he missed one glaring chance but I am getting to why he is here!

In twenty minutes on the pitch he created three chances for himself fighting off ther scraps he was given.

Di Santo made one chance in seventy!

His movement and his strength on the ball will create further chances in future games.

It is easy to take a potshot at the Croatian for his missbut look at the big picture - he IS getting there.

LOSERS

VINCE GRELLA - Very good for 35 minutes but then the usual happened.

And by usual I mean he got injured... can we afford to keep a man that pulls up every two games?

Can we keep the talent if we can't use the talent?

These are questions levelled at Steven Reid also but if we can all ask them about Steve when do we start asking them about Vince Grella (sorry Sas and Retro...)

KEITH ANDREWS - Dreadful stuff from the Irishman on Saturday.

Came on to replace the injured Vince and proceeded to romp around the pitch... doing pretty much nothing for an hour.

For all the energy in the world he didn't offer many tackles and he didn't really offer presence or creativity.

That is like me running round the house for an hour with a hoover not plugged in or a mop with no bucket...

It's just not good enough.

JASON ROBERTS - Normally when bought on as a sub, J-Rob looks like he wants to prove a point.

Against Hull, all he seemed bothered about was picking a fight or arguing witht the ref.

There are three good strikers at the club that cover their own areas of expertise... how is Jason going to get in the side more regularly by standing there, waving his arms around and moaning all the time?

Answers on a postcard please...