Valérien Ismaël: Blackburn Rovers Head Coach

[Exiled_Rover]

4 hours ago, K-Hod said:

If we’ve just finished 7th( we should be then going for 6th at a minimum the next season, not selling all our best players and shrugging our shoulders.

Not here though, save a few quid and hopefully don’t get relegated in the process.

Exciting times, eh?

We have the worst owners in football.

That said we were clearly heading for an iceberg in the summer - all of our assets were heading into the final year of their deals (Brittain, Hyam, Travis) with no intention of extending them (nor should they on the terms offered).

At least now we have young(ish) assets and a future. Even if it's just kicking the can down the road.

[Mashed Potatoes]

32 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

The difference being Ferguson wouldn't just put up with it and bat on as though absolutely nothing had happened.

You don’t get it.Employees here who show dissent lose their job.                                    Ferguson has stayed silent over the United owners putting huge debts on the club.

[GHD]

6 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

what your opinion and post doesn't take into account is the overhaul of the squad and bring in mainly players overseas so you would normally have a drop off in results in that first season

After overhauling the squad like we did, and to be only 6 points behind last season points total shows that we aren't doing as bad as plenty would have thought including yourself 

Overhauling anything is supposed to make it better

[roversfan99]

I think the point is that we have a bloke who knows he was lucky to get a Championship job and therefore will not dissent despite having the piss taken out of him.

[chaddyrovers]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I think the point is that we have a bloke who knows he was lucky to get a Championship job and therefore will not dissent despite having the piss taken out of him.

who says he was lucky? 

wasn't he set to be appoint Legia Warsaw head coach job? 

[RevidgeBlue]

16 minutes ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

You don’t get it.Employees here who show dissent lose their job.                                    Ferguson has stayed silent over the United owners putting huge debts on the club.

You mean people who want the best for the Club here.

Didn't Ferguson win the League at Man Ure AFTER the Glazers took over? From his point of view, what was there to moan about?

(And at this point Im going to try and avoid being reeled in any further)

[roversfan99]

23 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

who says he was lucky? 

wasn't he set to be appoint Legia Warsaw head coach job? 

Are they in the Championship now?

[roverblue]

I think until he starts winning some home games he is still a dud in my eyes. I don't go to away games so what I have seen at Ewood has been largely abysmal to date (this season and last). I also think he talks complete bollocks about the playing staff and covers up for the club when they do things like sell Hyam at the 11th hour with no replacement.

He has a lot more credit in the bank now we have a few away wins though and the formation change to 3 at the back is making us look a much better team. If he wins a few of these upcoming home games I could upgrade from dud to steady. He is way off being anything like good or great in my opinion.

[RTM08]

Away wins are fine, but yet another home game where we do literally nothing, and his subs took all of the little momentum we actually had. Get him binned.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Jury well and truly out on this mon.

[Waggy76]

I think we will be relegated regardless of who the manager is! 

But I do not rate the guy anyway and he should never had been appointed! 

 

[Ghost7]

Other clubs would get rid.

[Waggy76]

4 minutes ago, Ghost7 said:

Other clubs would get rid.

I think, you are right but this is Venky Rovers no logical thinking! 

[MarkBRFC]

Few good away performances and results have masked his season so far.

Going into December with 4 home points from a possible 24 is completely unacceptable.

Get rid.

[MarkBRFC]

On 23/11/2025 at 19:19, chaddyrovers said:

who says he was lucky? 

wasn't he set to be appoint Legia Warsaw head coach job? 

No.

He said himself he had discussions with them; but that was months before he was appointed by us.

Ismael never gets another gig at this level again after us because he isnt good enough.

[DeeCee]

I know it's the old chestnut "who would replace him?" Can anyone see Rovers having a contingency plan or doing any research into a replacement?

They'll be happy with Val, he's taking us in the direction they want.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

The other old chestnut is - who would get a better tune out of these players. Look at who we had missing yesterday, half the first team. Would this team have played so poorly ?

Toth 

Alebiosu, Carter, McClouglin, Wharton, Hedges

Tronstad, Cantwell, Taylor-Hickman

 Gudjohnsen, Ohashi

There were players starting last night that in normal times wouldn’t even make the bench. Let’s have it right.  5 key players with bags of experience all missing.

Edited 4 hours ago by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Commondore]

On 23/11/2025 at 18:31, StHelensRover said:

I don't disagree with any of that. But then it just makes me question why the manager allowed the club to sell Dominic Hyam right at the very last second of the transfer window? He was by far our most experienced and least injury-prone central defender, we didn't need to sell him for any reason. We should actually have been doubling down by giving him a small pay rise and a new contract. VI should have been arguing for this. But we 'cashed in'. If I was VI I would have blocked/vetoed that sale and made it a red line. It was a crazy decision, but he allowed it. Knowing how injury prone our other defenders are and not knowing whether youngsters like Pratt would be ready to step-up made it a massive gamble. Yes we've had bad luck with injuries and suspensions, but that's why you keep the squad as strong as you can and retain as much experience as you can. We didn't do any of that this summer. On his watch. I don't understand what his ambition is for Blackburn Rovers. 

I know I come across as really negative about him,  I would genuinely like nothing better than to be eventually proved wrong, looking a fool and have people saying "cannot believe you wrote him off, you're an idiot". However I cannot see us making any progress as a football club under him. To me, he's part of the cheap, cheerful, mediocre approach which is endemic throughout the club.

I don't think we have any idea about what promises were made or not made during the job interviews. If Ismael was lied to he could have done like Tomasson and Eustace and jumped ship, but you could argue that he's being professional by staying at the club and trying to make the best of a bad situation while JDT and Eustace simply threw their toys out of their prams when things weren't going their way. How much would it have helped us if Ismael walked out on principle when they sold Hyam? I'm not defending the owners or Gestede, but they are who they are and need to be taken into account as such.  

[roversfan99]

9 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The other old chestnut is - who would get a better tune out of these players. Look at who we had missing yesterday, half the first team. Would this team have played so poorly ?

Toth 

Alebiosu, Carter, McClouglin, Wharton, Hedges

Tronstad, Cantwell, Taylor-Hickman

 Gudjohnsen, Ohashi

There were players starting last night that in normal times wouldn’t even make the bench. Let’s have it right.  5 key players with bags of experience all missing.

There is no excuse regarding the centre backs. We knew how injury prone they are yet didnt bother to replace Hyam anyway. Toth, Tronstad and Cantwell are unfortunate, Kargbo is no loss. The squad and starting 11 shouldnt look so weak still.

[wilsdenrover]

His home record (all competitions):

Pl 15 W 3 D 3 L 9 F 18 A 25

 

[rovers11]

I think he's a poor manager but doing an OK job considering the backdrop of what he's got to work with. The fact we're not in the bottom 3 (yet!) is an achievement with this squad of players. 

If we got rid, who would come in? It would be someone cheap, desperate for a job, and possibly even inferior to VI. 

I think we will just have enough to stay up as we've got 5 of our best players missing at the moment and we seem to be able to sneak a win here and there.

Sonny is absolutely key. Huge gaping holes in midfield without him. Such a top player.

[booth]

Subbing Forshaw, Gueye and De Neve on all at once last night was ludicrous. He turned a poor show into a shit show.

[RevidgeBlue]

That hoary old chestnut "who could we possibly get in that's better than him?" raises its' ugly head yet again and it's no more compelling an argument than it ever was in the past.

For me it's quite simple. If a manager clearly isnt working out, he has to go - at least at a normal Club. I liken it to a situation with a broken light bulb, you can come in every day hoping that bulb will suddenly start to work, but it won't. The only alternative is to change the bulb and hope that the new one doesn't go wrong before you expected.

We had this for years when Mowbray was here, "Who could we possibly get in better than him? Errr......predictably as it turned out, the next two guys who came in immediately after him and with Gary Bowyer after which I think most people would say Lambert was an upgrade.

I didn't want VI when he was appointed and I think we're going down if he stays. For me he has no appealing features whatsoever and at a normal Club I think the powers that be would be rolling the dice and taking a chance on someone else.

Unfortunately we know we're not a normal Club and we know results on the pitch are secondary to cutting costs so I suppose he'll be completely safe for the foreseeable. Maybe a token gesture will be made to replace him when it's too late to try and deflect some blame away from the 2 stooges.

Happy Days.

Edited 2 hours ago by RevidgeBlue

[DE.]

25 minutes ago, booth said:

Subbing Forshaw, Gueye and De Neve on all at once last night was ludicrous. He turned a poor show into a shit show.

I don't think there was any better way of telling QPR "we're done, go for it". 

Appreciate we don't have much squad depth, but at least stagger the subs if they're going to be such poor quality. Try to keep the better players on for a bit longer.

[alcd]

4 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

Few good away performances and results have masked his season so far.

Going into December with 4 home points from a possible 24 is completely unacceptable.

Get rid.

Whoever they appointed would probably be at least as bad because nobody decent would want to come. VI probably only came because of the three and a half year contract and he just wanted a job.