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A coach at U21/U18/U16 etc level is there first and foremost to progress players until they are capable of playing at the next level up

First team signings are often done a day o so before they are announced, to give them time to sort photos, social media nonsense etc, but it seems like a couple of weeks in this case, which seems odd, also still waiting on official confirmation of Finlay Wilkinson joining from Accrington, which apparently happened in July and he has appeared a few times for the U18s since

Consistently underwhelmed by the lack of game savvy from Sherron- perhaps a Coach at his level isn't there to win games? It was late 30s against boys and the boys didn't remotely try to run the legs off Rochdale. At the end the veterans looked fresher than our kids did.

Weird they're only just announcing it. When I posted it already had a photo of him that I thought was of him signing. Waiting for a slow club news day perhaps.

Propaganda/informative piece (depending upon your perspective) from the head of Rovers academy https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/september/17/bringing-players-through-is-just-what-we-do--says-paul/

Have we been given an update on Tronstad's injury? He's so important in the middle this season.

I have not read the article, but what does "all in" mean . All in behind him or all in against him ?

I don't know about "all in" but VI has a certain charisma which is more brooding presence than the brilliance and sparkle of JDT. Eustace had the charisma of a flat tire but I will own up to finding that sort of Midlands accent uninspiring. At a guess and being a long way removed from the scene, I would imagine Ismael is more straightforward to work for than either of his predecessors. I loved listening to JDT, admired how JE got Rovers to gel, applauded both for telling the club to F off, but Valerian is growing on me. No certainty in football, of all industries, but there are grounds for optimism in the Franco-Hungarian-Australian-Irish-Portuguese-Norwegian-Belgian-Japaneese-Icelander-Congolese-Sierra Leonean-Polish qualifying-Swedish-Welsh-English melange in blue and white, green and gold.... Valerian's football is pragmatic, willing to be flexible and easier on the eye than much of Eustace's output. JDT definitely would have had us in the Premier League by now, Eustace was in with a possibility, Ismael- the jury (as Jimmy Armfield described Ewood crowds) is in session.

I still don't rate Dolan and I don't think I ever will.

Not even in goal? Pears played 40 games!

Not comparable at all. But Im sure you know that. 🙂 For starters, Eustaces's job was to avoid relegation and keep us in the Championship - he succeeded. Ismail's job was to maintain our position in the play offs - he failed. And he did so in spectacular fashion - basically took him his first game plus eight minutes of the second. Not seen much this season either to suggest anything will be any different either. Im not having him at all, happy to be in a job and go along with the Club of jettisoning the higher earners imo. We'll see where it all ends, I suspect not well.

Coyle won 5 of his first 18 league games. (And won in the cup) I often see people point to the likes of Szmodics and Brereton when people question anyone to suggest that they dont rate a player early doors. But equally, there are far more examples of players who struggle early doors who go on not to make the grade. I think personally to say outright that Ismael is shit and deserves to be sacked, or similar, would be over the top. But equally I dont see much evidence to be "all in" on him. Not that it matters much as hes here for the duration either way.

Eustace only won 4 of his first 18 league games....

He's got a long way to go before he convinces me he's any good. Only 6 wins in 18 games, with 9 losses. He's got his squad now, or so he says, so we will see if results improve. Based on his history, i can't imagine it will improve much. And like Mowbray, he seems to be a streaky manager. What was it, 6 losses on the bounce when he arrived? followed by 5/6 unbeaten.

Chicarito ex united wants a championship club ahead of the world cup. Let's stick him and Rhodes up top together for the last 30 of every game

I see that Elliott Jackson is today pushing a narrative that the fans should be "all in" on Ismael. Where do people stand on him at the moment? Amidst the shit storm of what happened off the pitch in the summer, the only thing that really seems to be discussed (understandably) is whether he is truly genuinely happy, whether he can be happy or whether hes towing the party line sat on his long contract. He has obviously had some big difficulties as do all of our managers under these twats. But how convinced are people that he is the best man to take us forward? I certainly am not "all in" on him personally, obviously I back him and desperately hope he does well as he is the current manager but I would say I am 30-40% convinced that hes any good. There have been glimmers of promise and a lot of mitigating factors but a lot to do to fully convince me personally. Hopefully he can really change my mind by putting a run of results together starting from last Saturday.

Can you imagine not being able to take a Rovers bag onto Ewood.

If I’m being scrupulously honest…slightly bigger (A4 is 30x24 - but they are soft shell so can easily be squashed down) so I wont make that claim, but if anyone with the naked eye can tell I’d be amazed. FWIW - I have a small rucksack that I have taken onto the Riverside twice this season that is 2cm longer/wider than this one.

I find it interesting that since Dolan's good start in Spain, certain posters have changed from "let's see where he ends up" to "he was never going to sign a contract". I'm delighted for him.

This dire reading. You can't call it anything other than systematic failure.

It's better on a Monday.

Remains to be seen at the end of the season whether the squad has gotten stronger or weaker given the quality of the players coming in are unknown until they have proven themselves over a number of matches. On paper, it looks weaker due to the loss of Championship experience. Main problem is that the owners and board are treating the club solely as a business and completely disregarding the footballing side of it. We saw in the transfer window that there's no commitment to spend on top of what we recovered in transfer fees (club made roughly £3.5 million in profit instead). There's no real ambition to compete, only to maintain status quo. Stay in the Championship, cut wages, and collect transfer fees for players refusing to sign new contracts or are entering their final year. We keep changing direction and projects because head coaches/ managers walk away when they truly realise the lack of ambition coming from the top. How many times during the past few seasons have we been in or around play-off spots come December only to see it all collapse due to injuries and lack of investment in the following January window? Mowbray (3rd place, season 2021-22), Tomasson (3rd place, season 2022-23) and Eustace (5th place, season 2024-25) all having done a remarkable job to put the club in a very favorable position after matchday 23. What permanent January transfers did the owners and board sanction to push the club to compete for promotion during those three seasons? Markanday, Hedges (season 2021-22), none (season 2022-23) and Kargbo (season 2024-25) for less than £2 million in total. What was the impact of those three players during the remaining half of their respective seasons? Markanday (2 matches, 46 minutes, zero goals/assists), Hedges (11 matches, 396 minutes, zero goals, 1 assist), Kargbo (8 matches, 182 minutes, zero goals, 1 assist). Think it's fair to say that all three managers/head coaches were let down heavily and left on their own to fight an uphill battle. The owners want the club to become self-sustainable so that they can forget about it. They don't know anything about football and have no passion for the sport or the club. They received bad advice when they bought it and are now stuck with their pride and foolish naivety, refusing to sell because they don't want to cut their losses and admit that they made a mistake.

Are they A4 size ?

its conceivable that we might score more goals this season than last. I don't believe we're equal to last season's side anywhere else.