Valérien Ismaël: Former Head Coach

[Lancaster Rover]

7 minutes ago, lraC said:

Lots thinking it’s a nailed on win, but like you, I have severe doubts. 

Honestly, I've not seen anything in weeks, nay months to say we've got what it takes to beat them. For all the "we were much better Saturday". We still got beat and if we're honest huffed and puffed a bit without looking particularly dangerous. Hull set up to let us make mistakes that they would then pounce on, which they did. We are basically banking on us being less shit than Wednesday in order to win, Whereas I think it's more likely to be a repeat of the game over christmas where it was reminiscent of two homeless men fighting over an empty crisp packet.

[roverandout]

Bilic would be a massive upgrade.  He's no nonsense.  But there's no way he'd want to work with these clowns

[LeftWinger]

18 minutes ago, Jimmy612 said:

I think we will beat Wednesday. They haven't scored in about 8 games, haven't kept a clean sheet since 29th December

Who were they playing on the 29th December? 

[lraC]

2 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

Honestly, I've not seen anything in weeks, nay months to say we've got what it takes to beat them. For all the "we were much better Saturday". We still got beat and if we're honest huffed and puffed a bit without looking particularly dangerous. Hull set up to let us make mistakes that they would then pounce on, which they did. We are basically banking on us being less shit than Wednesday in order to win, Whereas I think it's more likely to be a repeat of the game over christmas where it was reminiscent of two homeless men fighting over an empty crisp packet.

I agree 100%

[Jimmy612]

1 minute ago, LeftWinger said:

Who were they playing on the 29th December? 

Yeh, hence my "(I know, I know)" comment directly afterwards.  

[AspRover]

The way I see it is this - under Ismael we are going to be relegated, and I have seen nothing to suggest that he's the man to get us promoted again from league one. There is no value in keeping him.

I do think, genuinely, that we have a core of players that are good championship players in the right system - Toth, Alebiosu (assuming he's still here), Ribeiro (not going to set the world on fire but perfectly competent and a victim of the system change imo), Baradji, Tronstad, Andre, Cantwell and Ohashi (both have had poor seasons but again, it's hard to shine under the circumstances - Ohashi of last season looked a double figure goal and assist forward and this season he looked good in a partnership with Gudjohnsen). Possibly a couple of the others like Morishita might look decent under new management/tactics. Supplement with a crop of youngsters who haven't really let us down this year.

What we need is a firefighting manager who can come in, assess what he's working with, hammer together a formation/tactic to get the most out of the squad, make us hard to beat and then potentially walk off into the sunset after 6 or 18 months with a big cheque for avoiding relegation/getting us promoted at the first time of asking. There are a few managers I would trust to do that, but wouldn't really want/trust long term, or wouldn't be interested in managing us long term. You know the kind of names I'm thinking of - Mowbray, Big Sam, Sparky, Warnock, Pulis etc. A competent club would have an emergency plan, some kind of roll of the dice up the sleeve.

It would also buy some time for an actual managerial hunt rather than another emergency appointment of whoever is available on whatever terms they demand ala Ismael.

I do think that there is a chance that if we lose to Wednesday Ismael will go - the timing is spot on for Venkys, just at the point that no more money can be spent in the window, slightly too late to definitely turn it around and providing both a cover for a bad season (managerial disruption) and deflecting a bit of the blame (ie. they tried to turn it around - they changed the manager).

I don't trust them to do any of this. Or possibly I trust them to sort of try to do something a bit like this but to muck it up somehow. Give Mowbray a lifetime contract where he gets to keep Ewood Park as his personal stadium if he's ever sacked or something.

I feel increasingly like that joke about the guy in the soviet union who goes to the shop to look at the front page of the newspapers. I don't the threads much any more, the firings I am after will be front page news.

[davulsukur]

55 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

What would people choose?

Beat Wednesday and he stays or fail to win and he goes?

I’d pick the latter. 

Shouldn't even need to have this conversation. A manager with just 1 win in 15 games shouldn't be given the "easiest" game of the season, in order to try and scrape a win to keep his job. 

Irrespective of tomorrows result, he isn't turning this around. He's relegating us if he stays in charge.

A loss tomorrow and Bilic in on Wednesday, 100% take that all day.

[lraC]

2 minutes ago, AspRover said:

The way I see it is this - under Ismael we are going to be relegated, and I have seen nothing to suggest that he's the man to get us promoted again from league one. There is no value in keeping him.

I do think, genuinely, that we have a core of players that are good championship players in the right system - Toth, Alebiosu (assuming he's still here), Ribeiro (not going to set the world on fire but perfectly competent and a victim of the system change imo), Baradji, Tronstad, Andre, Cantwell and Ohashi (both have had poor seasons but again, it's hard to shine under the circumstances - Ohashi of last season looked a double figure goal and assist forward and this season he looked good in a partnership with Gudjohnsen). Possibly a couple of the others like Morishita might look decent under new management/tactics. Supplement with a crop of youngsters who haven't really let us down this year.

What we need is a firefighting manager who can come in, assess what he's working with, hammer together a formation/tactic to get the most out of the squad, make us hard to beat and then potentially walk off into the sunset after 6 or 18 months with a big cheque for avoiding relegation/getting us promoted at the first time of asking. There are a few managers I would trust to do that, but wouldn't really want/trust long term, or wouldn't be interested in managing us long term. You know the kind of names I'm thinking of - Mowbray, Big Sam, Sparky, Warnock, Pulis etc. A competent club would have an emergency plan, some kind of roll of the dice up the sleeve.

It would also buy some time for an actual managerial hunt rather than another emergency appointment of whoever is available on whatever terms they demand ala Ismael.

I do think that there is a chance that if we lose to Wednesday Ismael will go - the timing is spot on for Venkys, just at the point that no more money can be spent in the window, slightly too late to definitely turn it around and providing both a cover for a bad season (managerial disruption) and deflecting a bit of the blame (ie. they tried to turn it around - they changed the manager).

I don't trust them to do any of this. Or possibly I trust them to sort of try to do something a bit like this but to muck it up somehow. Give Mowbray a lifetime contract where he gets to keep Ewood Park as his personal stadium if he's ever sacked or something.

I feel increasingly like that joke about the guy in the soviet union who goes to the shop to look at the front page of the newspapers. I don't the threads much any more, the firings I am after will be front page news.

I believe as we have seen many times before that certain players are being played, or left out, based on a financial plan/ I hate to pick on individual players and it isn't his fault, but how on earth can De Neve keep on getting game time ahead of the likes of Ribero and Pickering?

[Ferrit]

Interestingly this useless jobber was potted from West Brom precisely 4 years ago to the day.

Make it happen. 

[lraC]

10 minutes ago, Ferrit said:

Interestingly this useless jobber was potted from West Brom precisely 4 years ago to the day.

Make it happen. 

Pot him on a Monday, when we are due to play Wednesday on a Tuesday.

Go for it, at least it makes good headlines, as below.

*super Cally go ballstic Celtic are atrocious

[wilsdenrover]

Just now, lraC said:

Pot him on a Monday, when we are due to play Wednesday on a Tuesday.

Go for it, at least it makes good headlines, as below.

*super Cally go ballstic Celtic are atrocious

There’s a Craig David song in there somewhere.

[Tricky]

28 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

A loss tomorrow and Bilic in on Wednesday, 100% take that all day.

might as well stick with VI, Bilic has no known experience of saving a club from relegation...

however, someone (albeit unlikely) like Allardyce or Warnock could come in and do that.

[Craigman]

Alan Nixon says we are to sack him

[Blue&WhiteArmy]

Yep he’s off 👍🏻

[BankEnd Rover]

Didn't expect that - hopefully a reaction from the players tomorrow night.

[G Somerset Rover]

Don't bloody let us down, just for once, Nixon.

Edited 1 hour ago by G Somerset Rover

[sharpysharps86]

Crikey, he's actually going!?

Presumably a way to mask no other incomings.

[Polky]

I’ll believe it when I see it!

[G Somerset Rover]

Ben Jacobs is usually very credible and he doubled down on the Bilic link earlier:

https://x.com/JacobsBen/status/2018263454210023813?s=20

 

 

Edit: it's not pasted the tweet in, but for those not on Twitter, basically said he's a contender should Ismael go.

[Lancaster Rover]

Bold claim for Nixon to make. That said he claimed Derek Adams had been sacked months before he actually was, so he’s been known to make bold statements that are wrong.

[Tugay-is-God]

Didn't expect this to happen today, to be honest. 

[Cherry Blue]

Do we have a result?

[MarkBRFC]

I'm amazed they haven't given him tomorrow.

I'm even more convinced of a win now though.

[Rogerb]

Smokescreen. Sack the manager last day of the window. The recruits in the window lack championship experience. Doesn't matter who the manager is it's the recruitment and transfer policy that is the problem. How much to pay off the 2 and half year contract?

[rovers11]

That's a big surprise