Ever get the feeling you’ve been ignored?
At the end of last season, I said Blackburn Rovers had to improve their central midfield in order to progress.
12 months on and Aaron Mokoena and Keith Andrews are starting matches in tandem on a regular basis! It is no coincidence that Rovers, who last season had European aspirations, are now battling relegation.
The fact the team failed to force a single shot on target or create a genuine goal-scoring opportunity at The Britannia Stadium on Saturday is directly attributable to Sam Allardyce’s midfield selection.
Saturday’s defeat at Stoke should be the fourth and final time the terrible twosome are inflicted simultaneously on a Premier League pitch, particularly as Allardyce has three midfielders on the bench, Tugay, David Dunn and Vince Grella, who are of far more use to a Premier League manager.
The unfortunate part is that his foremost midfielders are either injury prone or 38 years old. But all three must be patched up and put out to help drag their team over the finishing line.
Assuming Rovers do accumulate enough points to remain in The Premier League, the situation will have to be re-evaluated and will almost certainly require investment in the summer.
Mokoena’s contract will be up and, while he has had his uses, most notably playing a starring role during the bully boys era under Mark Hughes, it’s time to give him a picture of a spitfire and let him go.
It is not Keith Andrews’s fault that he was promoted beyond his station by a manager, Paul Ince, who was entirely unaware of what it would take to compete in the top flight.
Ince once alluded to Andrews as Rovers' answer to Frank Lampard. The reality is the pass Andrews played to Danny Higginbotham in the build-up to Stoke's winner.
This most one-dimensional of footballers now finds himself getting a gig for Republic of Ireland. Even more incredibly, some of our Irish colleagues (you know who you are) actually think he’s good enough for their international team.
Good enough for Ireland, seemingly, but certainly not good enough for Blackburn Rovers if the Lancastrians have aspirations of remaining a Premier League side.