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Neutral. Pretty sure he's been linked with us several times before and despite his relatively young age he's been round the managerial block a number of times already. Gut says if he was as special as people thought he was at one point he'd have made more of a splash by now than he has. We've been linked with a lot worse already of course.

Pasha would probably appoint him out of spite.

That would be a intriguing scenario admittedly. Would only be viable for Savage if Hughes made it clear he only wanted to carry on managing for another 6-18 months max with a view to Savage taking over thereafter imo.

Easy short term payday, keep us up you're a hero, if we go down its Ismael's fault. Upon leaving cite the boardroom as the real issue to your progress. Its almost a free hit job

Really good post Ian. I would maybe asterix it by saying if you're more interested in 1) it probably needs to be a short term appointment until the end of the season then reassess. If you're more interested in 2) then you maybe make a longer term Will Still type appointment at the possible expense of 1) in the short term. I'm more worried that they might see 2) às more important than 1) rather than the fact they might look at an ex Rover.

Would his big mouth and media connections almost make it worth for us if they went with Savage? Can't see him staying quiet after it inevitably all blew up for him as well.

I remember that big interview, with The Times maybe? For a fleeting moment it felt like things were looking up.

"No one in their right mind would ever come here!!" etc. etc. I genuinely don't think that's how it works. A handful of managers can pick and choose between jobs, but the vast majority will listen if they're offered a step up in the football pyramid and/or better pay, regardless of what goes on at the club. Tony Mowbray once said something akin to that every manager thinks they're special, and think they're the ones who can turn an underperforming club around, get a tune out of a wayward prospect, fix someones' constant injury troubles, etc., and everyone else has just been doing it wrong. I think there's a lot to that. I can however believe that Venkys wouldn't want to pay compensation fees or offer a decent wage, but that's a different kettle of fish.

What do you think of Karl Robinson ?

If it was to a big Championship club under his idol I think he would. Another step closer to a big job.

Savage isn't going anywhere as assistant to anyone I wouldn't imagine.

With the absolute crap we’re being linked with, I would genuinely take Mark Hughes with Robbie Savage assistant manager. Hughes, instantly commands respect from both players and fans. Savage can have a more modern input in his ears and lastly there would surely be a sizeable amount of fans that would come back and aid the new manager bounce.

Same with everyone in that situation I suppose. At worst, if he comes here and does well for 12 months, he puts himself in the shop window.

Cantwell pisses me right off. He's a passenger most games in a side nowhere near good enough to carry him. He can't make a simple pass it has to be a flick or a fucking lob or something that loses possession. I genuinely think we'd be a better side without him in it. Even though we're short on quality. He is not a captain you want in a relegation scrap.

Of course he would come here. It would be moving up 3 divisions.

Do they have much discretion on the number of points they can deduct? Surely it would have to be a fairly standard amount otherwise other Clubs affected would kick off.

Surely if a punishment is imposed from the start of next season any Club who wouldn't have been relegated had the punishment been imposed this season? The EFL must be praying Leicester stay up by more than 12 points. Even if they made a decision tomorrow (which they won't) that takes us into mid March and about 8 games to go. Is if fair on Leicester if they receive a deduction with say 3-4 games to go and all of a sudden they have to perform miracles to stay up when previously they thought they were completely safe? Maybe, maybe not but you can bet they'd be suing the EFL as well if that happened.

He bicep Trouser Boy to the moon within a week of landing the job, to be sure. It has a certain sentimental appeal, but Savage is a clever bloke, and he would definitely be able to see way past the gloss & hype to the realities of working under the bumble brothers. Same goes for Damian Duff.

Now confirmed by Rovers https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2026/february/03/sol-makes-premier-league-move/

This got mentioned a couple of times yesterday, but since Shebby pushed for Berg, when have they appeared to do anything to "placate the fans". Coyle was exactly the opposite. It will start with cost and contacts, and then they may make a pick of the best candidate from there.

If I was a recruiter/headhunter taking the brief to find the next manager I'd insist on a job specification that clearly stipulated the competency/capability requirements & the expected length of the contract because I think there are two (possibly conflicting) sets of requirements that lead to two quite different candidate profiles. 1. Urgent & Important Keep Rovers in this division - so need someone who understands the division & with as much knowledge of the Rovers squad as possible A motivator An organiser A communicator - not just internally but also with the fans 2. Important - but not quite as urgent Willing to work in a given hierarchy with limited influence, to a budget Proven coaching ability Proven ability to develop players for resale Tactically flexible Proven capability to learn to operate in a new division, new country You'd perhaps go Gary Rowett for 1. & someone like Will Still for 2. I fear Rovers will be driven purely by cost & the need to appoint someone to placate the fans...a former player?

Its not harsh - he routinely makes bad passes and runs, surrendering possession time after time - across the last two months. When he was doing the basics right back at the start of the season he wasn't attracting criticism. Baradji has similar issues. We cant keep on shooting ourselves in the foot in good positions, we do it time after time. Id take Cantwell out of the XI for a bit.

Cantwell does tackle, wins corners and free kicks (check Opta). If we had a decent set piece coach and a decent set piece taker (I know, he takes a lot of them) then his contribution would be more evident.

Well there'd be a lot more media attention on a 'big' club that was in the PL last season going straight down to League One as a direct result of FFP / points deductions. Much more than there would if Rovers/Oxford/Portsmouth just disappeared 'naturally' into League One. I'm sure their owner would be willing and able to throw big money at challenging it which could kick up all sorts of trouble and fuss and be covered in the news, and if he succeeded it would make a mockery of the league table and of the whole FFP/points deduction process. I just think they'll much prefer it if any deduction is 'accepted' by Leicester whereby it can be successfully imposed on them and they accept it because it wipes the slate clean and doesn't directly lead to relegation. Everyone wins that way, Leicester survive and accept their punishment and can start afresh and the EFL can show everyone they've dealt with the issue seriously.

I think if last night showed anything, it's that Forshaw has suddenly become a very important player for us (what a bloody state of events!). Baradji has some abilty, but I don't like him next to Tronstad in midfield. He's very erratic and doesn't have the discipline to be a holding midfielder. If Cantwell needs a break, I'd be tempted to play Baradji further forward and see if he can't cause a bit of chaos further up the field.