Valérien Ismaël: Blackburn Rovers Head Coach

[chaddyrovers]

19 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Right. So that February 2024. At the time Gregg Broughton was Director of Football and it was another 3 months before he left.

Around that time Rudy Gestede, fresh off the back of a playing career, was 'shadowing' Waggott by following him to meetings etc. allegedly with a view to him pursuing a future role in football senior management. 

Broughton, a bloke employed to run the football operation and presumably the 'knowledge' at the club (to be fair he quickly got us JDT in his first act at the club which in my opinion is the best managerial decision made at this club since 2004) is ignored/sidelined by Waggott, and then within 3 months of appointing Eustace we have Gestede taking up the role of 'Head of'.

You think all this is normal, logical, conducive to anything other than total chaos at the club?

As I said previously I think Rovers senior management lost faith in JDT and GB during that January Transfer window down to results and falling out with players aswell. I think Waggott line Eustace up a couple of weeks before JDT post QPR rant. After that JDT was set to go and after that we witness GB role go less and less. 

Just my opinion. 

We don't know what Gestede is like to work with but him, Owen and Ismael seem to be happy working together

[BRFC.]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

We don't know what Gestede is like to work with but him, Owen and Ismael seem to be happy working together

Happy to be picking up a wage with no pressure at all

Edited August 31 by BRFC.

[metalrover]

https://www.sportscasting.com/uk/news/championship-sack-race-odds-2025-2026/

VI 2nd favorites for the sack 🤔

[RevidgeBlue]

14 minutes ago, BRFC. said:

Happy to be picking up a wage with no pressure at all

Yep, Waggott/Mowbray/Venus were all probably very happy working together as well.

[BRFC.]

12 minutes ago, metalrover said:

https://www.sportscasting.com/uk/news/championship-sack-race-odds-2025-2026/

VI 2nd favorites for the sack 🤔

Hopefully 

[aletheia]

This transfer window has been poor. 
The squad is poorer than last year.
The manager is a has-been that nobody else wants.
The manager will be happy to be employed and pick up a wage.
The chief operating officer (or whatever RGs title is) is unqualified to run this club.
Pasha is totally unqualified to run a football club.
The club is a basket case with a poor reputation unable to attract quality.
The belief that this new model can give us promotion is naïve.
The PR directed at leaving players is very sad and classless.
The new alignment and model is likely to just about keep us in this league at best.
Ismael will see out his contract –it would cost Pasha money to get rid. Having said that, Pasha has 2 fall guys in RG and VI.

Take it lightly. They are just my thoughts. 🙂 

 

[RevidgeBlue]

3 minutes ago, aletheia said:

This transfer window has been poor. 
The squad is poorer than last year.
The manager is a has-been that nobody else wants.
The manager will be happy to be employed and pick up a wage.
The chief operating officer (or whatever RGs title is) is unqualified to run this club.
Pasha is totally unqualified to run a football club.
The club is a basket case with a poor reputation unable to attract quality.
The belief that this new model can give us promotion is naïve.
The PR directed at leaving players is very sad and classless.
The new alignment and model is likely to just about keep us in this league at best.
Ismael will see out his contract –it would cost Pasha money to get rid. Having said that, Pasha has 2 fall guys in RG and VI.

Take it lightly. They are just my thoughts. 🙂 

 

Apart from that.....all good though?

(I agree BTW.)

[aletheia]

Well, I do agree you have to give them time -that is just logical. And when people come on and say 'well, what else can you do, given the budget', you can't really argue with that either. But people are still going to get angry. All very frustrating.

[Upside Down]

7 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

just excuses after excuses for Eustace and Derby Rovers

Who the fuck are Derby Rovers?

If the season carries on as shit as it's started then the only entertainment we've got to look forward to is you tying yourself in knots to justify your pathetic support for anything and everything the club does, regardless of what their actions will yield.

[BRFC.]

59 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Who the fuck are Derby Rovers?

If the season carries on as shit as it's started then the only entertainment we've got to look forward to is you tying yourself in knots to justify your pathetic support for anything and everything the club does, regardless of what their actions will yield.

I’m bored of it me. It’s not even funny either it’s just embarrassing and makes us look quite tinpot 

[OllieNO]

4 hours ago, metalrover said:

https://www.sportscasting.com/uk/news/championship-sack-race-odds-2025-2026/

VI 2nd favorites for the sack 🤔

Makes sense from a rational/normal perspective, but bookies clearly haven’t factored in the current “situation” at Rovers. Equally likely, regardless of results, VI’ll sack Rovers. Will he be sacked if Rovers get relegated?

[metalrover]

Bookie's odds makes sense only if Rovers is operating as a normal football club, but this is clearly not the case.

[OnionBalaji]

18 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

just excuses after excuses for Eustace and Derby Rovers

Pasha, is that you?

[roversfan99]

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.

[davulsukur]

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.

[joey_big_nose]

9 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

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.

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

[roversfan99]

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.

[RevidgeBlue]

5 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

 Eustace only won 4 of his first 18 league 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.

[philipl]

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. 

Edited 1 hour ago by philipl

[rigger]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

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.

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

[JBiz]

@philipl some good points, the one thing we’d disagree on is the potential of JDT. I appreciate that this is impossible to actually “fact check” and is a subjective response, but I don’t think his tactics would’ve ever created consistent enough performances with us. 

 

Whilst it’s a throwaway statistic - Pears and our two centre halves at the time, had the most touches and possession. He refused to change tact at any point of a game, a system change (like the 3 CBs on Saturday) would’ve never happened. 
 

For all the issues he faced, despite the fact that his honesty was refreshing, and that some of our play at the time was excellent, overall - unless you’ve the best sweeper keeper in the league, and the most confident and technical defenders - his approach would’ve never worked IMO.

His stubbornness by the end really irked me too. I fully appreciate that the goal posts moved for him and JE, but at least Eustace didn’t throw the club further under a bus by persevering with a system that simply wasn’t working.

[MarkBRFC]

6 minutes ago, JBiz said:

Whilst it’s a throwaway statistic - Pears and our two centre halves at the time, had the most touches and possession. He refused to change tact at any point of a game, a system change (like the 3 CBs on Saturday) would’ve never happened. 
 

He did this regularly, it never worked and we would usually concede pretty much straight away but he often went to 3 at the back during a game.

[JBiz]

35 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

He did this regularly, it never worked and we would usually concede pretty much straight away but he often went to 3 at the back during a game.

I’m wracking my brain for an example and I just can’t think of one. I remember his game management being shocking though, or at least his response to unforced errors caused by over playing. 

Edited 32 minutes ago by JBiz