Jon Dahl Tomasson - Officially No Longer Our Head Coach

[cesus]

Big Sam must have a short memory or be a bit skint to think of coming back. He just needs to flick through a few pages of his own book for a reminder ... Jerome Anderson and the list of players to sign.

Venkys refusing him the chance to leave to the Middle East then sacking him a short while later. To name just two!

[glen9mullan]

For me, when someone suggest they want out as per the summer, it ends one way, they usually leave.

Football is a results business and you have to pee with the cock your given. JDT opted to send certain players out, and some that have come in its fair to say are no better than those sent out (Buckley and Travis).

We had a good run second half of last season.

We clearly have financial issues, but despite this half of squad has come through the door.

At 95% of clubs, he'd of been sacked for the run of results, 

I believe he has been somewhat given a free pass, as has the DOF Due to continued circus off the pitch. The circus suits the managers script when results are clearly not there.

I guess the proof in the pudding with be if Eustace can get a tune out of the same squad, only at that point will be really know if we are under/over achieving on the pitch.

I was always taught , concentrate on the things you can control, not the ones out of your control

Edited February 9 by glen9mullan

[Atko's Engine]

4 hours ago, Danishfan said:

Or maybe they are just waiting for Eustace to do all the media stuff, so they can do a double anouncement?

Nah, they've ordered a curry in and are just finishing off their peshwaris.

[Groundhog]

Regardless of our manager, there's something happening with this team even stretching back to previous seasons.

We never come from behind. It's one of the weirdests stat in our recent history.

We did it notably when we came from behind against Millwall, but crucially only when the pressure was off.

Why do we do well in the cups under JDT? It's because the pressure is off in those games. The one we struggled with, losing to Forest 4-1, was at home and ironically we were under pressure, as the expectation was on us to beat them at Ewood. 

Football is all about confidence and dealing with pressure. There's definitely a recurring pattern. 

I think if you are asking Champ level players in a weakened squad to take the ball on the half turn out from defence, and then heaping the pressure on them to make an inch perfect slide-rule through ball each time (JDT always talked about moving the ball forward withing 3 passes and the "3-second rule"), then the pressure mounts when it goes wrong, plus having no real experience on the pitch to keep a level head, you can see why we've struggled. It came off against Sheff Utd at home, Swansea away etc. It nearly come off in the first 20mins at Sunderland at home, but after that our heads dropped - can't keep playing at that level for 90mins with the players we have. 

We need to let this team play to their strengths, play a natural game, stop with this inverted nonsense, stop Brittain having to cut inside each time taking an extra touch for example. 

Edited February 9 by Groundhog

[Tricky]

sorry if this has been mentioned already but did we approach Eustace or has he applied?

getting him on the back of a 'currently 6th place' with brum is as bad as taking rooney on ffs

[Roversider]

So JDT heads for Sweden as national coach, they want him without paying compensation so this is a perfect move for both parties. I wonder how long JDT has been putting together his exit? Absolute shambles on the admin front but wonder whether JDT was focused on Rovers.

Eustace has had some experience (particularly in the Championship) but not a long track record. The plus is that he’s in quickly, that also makes me wonder how long this has been in the pipeline. I suspect JDT has continued to make noises since summer.

As a long suffering Rovers fan we will need to grit our teeth and hope for the best.

Eustace will need some luck on his side.

[CambridgeRover]

1 minute ago, Groundhog said:

We do well in the cups as the pressure is off in those games (the one we struggled with, losing to Forest 4-1, was at home and ironically we were under pressure, as the expectation was on us to beat them).

Who on earth had us as favourites against premier league forest?  Reaching here

 

3 minutes ago, Groundhog said:

We need to let this team play to their strengths, play a natural game, stop with this inverted nonsense, stop Brittain having to cut inside each time taking an extra touch for example. 

Always curious what a natural game means, what is natural and unnatural in football? By natural do you mean play to your strengths or do you mean keep it simple? 

[47er]

27 minutes ago, den said:

Knowing the shit we’re in, knowing that he’s available and knowing Venkys won’t ever go for him doesn’t help my current frame of mind regarding rovers at all.

Sorry Den, wish I could help you!

[JHRover]

31 minutes ago, Groundhog said:

No one is denying that are they? Look at other teams who have sold players, doesn't make you immediately the  defence in the league etc. Just purely looking at the games on their own, we've seen us compete with this team, and then throw things away due to bizarre "in-game management" (hate that term but you know what I mean'. We've also seen us compete and then get blown away in the 2nd half due to the opposition actually have a bench, which is down to the ownership and the leadership.

It isn't black and white, it's combination of a few factors. i'd say every fan was in agreement of the following:

• We all admire JDT and his ambition, his charisma and his honesty.
• We all wished at times JDT would park his frustrations, and deflect and take pressure off the squad. 
• If you asset strip the squad of creativity and leadership, you reap what you sow.
• You treat the manager and fans without care, you disrupt the dressing room and create a toxic atmosphere. 
• You try and play football not suited to the players you have at your disposal, you get what you deserve.

All these things contribute to the perfect storm.

Don't compare this unprofessional disgraceful outfit to other 'teams who have sold players'

Yes it is a fact of life in the Championship that occasionally you will lose or have to sell your best players. Nobody is suggesting we shouldn't. But as others have rightly pointed out the key is what happens next.

Rivals may have reluctantly lost important players, and have responded to that by reinvesting and attempting to improve. We haven't made any such attempt because the owners and stooges haven't allowed it. Improvement was never on the agenda, it was always about cutting back and downsizing.

Our response has been to pocket the cash, reduce the wage bill and force the manager to use kids who aren't ready or scrape the depths of Europe to try and unearth someone good enough.

'In game management' I equate to having absolutely no depth, quality or experience to turn to and being totally hamstrung by a lack of options. I shake my head in bewilderment at Ewood when people around me shout 'make a change Tomasson' or 'sort it out Tomasson' as though we have options on the bench capable of turning a Championship game around. We don't. That isn't JDT's fault.

So I think we agree on a lot of points but I'm sure not holding JDT responsible for this mess we are in. He's had 18 months out of 13 years and of which we spent all of it up to December 2023 in or close to the play-off positions.

They've made his job impossible, he's understandably had enough, and inevitably that has led to an impact on results.

Next bloke will get exactly the same, so it matters not whether it is John Eustace or Jose Mourinho, they might have an immediate short term impact and then Venkys will get to work at undermining them come the summer window when they've no budget and no communication and it will all unravel again.

 

[47er]

8 minutes ago, Groundhog said:

We need to let this team play to their strengths,

Which are? I can only think of one---we create loads of chances.

But we rarely take them and we've lost Adam.

Edited February 9 by 47er

[NeilInBristol]

https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11676/13067307/blackburn-rovers-john-eustace-expected-to-take-over-as-manager-after-jon-dahl-tomasson-exit

 

It's on sky.

Ffs

[Groundhog]

2 minutes ago, CambridgeRover said:

Who on earth had us as favourites against premier league forest?  Reaching here

Always curious what a natural game means, what is natural and unnatural in football? By natural do you mean play to your strengths or do you mean keep it simple? 

Against Forest, out of all our cup games, Forest were the most beatable: newly promoted, struggling and at Ewood - decent crowd due to cheaper tickets if I remember correctly (that never goes well). All other cup games either away, free hits, or against lower league opposition - we played really well in those games. 

I admit this natural game saying is a load of shit, typical football rhetoric - I just mean what has been repeated ad-infinitum on here, stop expecting wonders from kids and players worth £500k (and I agree with the frustrations to the owners of why that is). Play to your strengths and keep it simple. How many teams have we seen do that against us at Ewood?

[RoverInverness]

39 minutes ago, danger19_80 said:

Big Sam's up for it

 

Absolutely the best option available. Would sort out our set piece nightmares and thus save us from relegation.

Probably the only appointment that could save me from the feeling of grief that our only genuinely ambitious manager in 13 years is leaving. Big Sam would be coming here to take us up, whatever the conditions.

Only caveat is that last time he was here though he had John Williams to oversea that financial affairs were above board and honest. Now we have a dishonest snake who is not particularly bright in that role. 
 

It will never happen, I know. Just the thought of this potential redemption is going to make the actual appointment even more underwhelming though.

[Tricky]

7 minutes ago, Roversider said:

So JDT heads for Sweden as national coach, they want him without paying compensation so this is a perfect move for both parties. I wonder how long JDT has been putting together his exit? Absolute shambles on the admin front but wonder whether JDT was focused on Rovers.

Eustace has had some experience (particularly in the Championship) but not a long track record. The plus is that he’s in quickly, that also makes me wonder how long this has been in the pipeline. I suspect JDT has continued to make noises since summer.

As a long suffering Rovers fan we will need to grit our teeth and hope for the best.

Eustace will need some luck on his side.

we could have gone for Heckingbottom, time will tell if we made the right choice

[Groundhog]

4 minutes ago, JHRover said:

So I think we agree on a lot of points but I'm sure not holding JDT responsible for this mess we are in. He's had 18 months out of 13 years and of which we spent all of it up to December 2023 in or close to the play-off positions.

They've made his job impossible, he's understandably had enough, and inevitably that has led to an impact on results

I never held JDT solely responsible, he did a lot of things right, he was hamstrung by the owners, he could have done things differently in hindsight, it's a combination of factors like I said, the perfect storm. 

[47er]

17 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

Big sam wouldn't last 5 minutes here before getting sacked - JDT got his punches in on waggot and the club and hid behind his cheeky little smile. Big Sam ain't got a cheeky little smile. 

I'd have him here in a heartbeat. 

So would I but Venkys won't.

[phili]

48 minutes ago, Gav said:

 

My thoughts on Allardyce are well documented, but I'd have him in right now, he's perfect for the shit we are in.

I think he'd be horrified at what we have become since he left.

[BigBar]

Wonder how long a contract they will offer Eustace? 

I'd take big Sam back with open arms, loved him. Very unlikely I'm aware.

[JHRover]

Allardyce will be the typical outsider looking in and having a view or perception of Rovers based on that. He'll have seen and heard all the usual stuff; owners who have learned lessons, once great ex-PL club stable in the Championship, in need of some slightly better management, two recent play-off pushes, a good season away from promotion. Probably in a drawer alongside the likes of Birmingham, Sheff Wed, Cardiff but just up the road from his home.

For those reasons he and many others would have a look at us, but once around a table with the 'consultant' (NOT a director), the 'CEO' and whoever else gets involved in these things he'd realise that it is amateur hour and run a mile. I think he and Hughes would be aghast at what this club has become having left it in such good condition were they to get beneath the facade and see what it is like after a decade of mismanagement.

[BankEnd Rover]

23 minutes ago, glen9mullan said:

 

At 95% of clubs, he'd of been sacked for the run of results, 

I believe he has been somewhat given a free pass, as has the DOF Due to continued circus off the pitch. The circus suits the managers script when results are clearly not there.

 

So am I reading this that GB is walking also?

[oldjamfan1]

59 minutes ago, Gav said:

He was forced to play academy players nowhere near ready, he was forced to play players not up to the Championship standard, injuries have hit us massively. Look what he did in his first season before funding was pulled and several players walked for free and were not replaced.

He will go on to bigger and better things, its clear he has something special about him as a manager.

Well he'd better learn that it isn't a great idea to go into a live TV interview grinning from ear to ear when your team has just got absolutely dicked by their oldest and fiercest rivals then.

He should have been sacked for that alone.

And he followed that up with a 4-1 home defeat to the other local rivals.

[Ricky]

So tomorrow we have arguably our biggest game of the season tomorrow and the manager is today saying his goodbyes. So we will be going into that game massively unprepared. Lump on Stoke for the win tomorrow! 

[dallydally]

9 minutes ago, BankEnd Rover said:

So am I reading this that GB is walking also?

Hopefully but I'm not holding my breath!!

[NeilInBristol]

16 minutes ago, BigBar said:

Wonder how long a contract they will offer Eustace? 

I'd take big Sam back with open arms, loved him. Very unlikely I'm aware.

That will be very difficult if the club wants to get in the play-offs now, that would be a major achievement. Or trying to get in the Premier League.

"I am always interested in a club that's willing to go to where it needs to go to get back into the Premier League. Yes, I'd take a dabble in the Championship again.

"I really enjoyed my time at Blackburn. I was bitterly, bitterly disappointed when I got sacked. I couldn't believe it."

[RoversClitheroe]

Mental how unorganised Rovers are.