Valérien Ismaël: Blackburn Rovers Head Coach

[Mike Graham]

23 minutes ago, Lancaster Rover said:

This is my biggest problem with them, he's managed roughly 30 games and I couldn't tell you what sort of team we are? What's the identity, what are we known for, how would you describe our style of play.

It's not like we're tactically flexible or fluid, we have a plan of sorts to start off with (albeit a not very dynamic one) but as soon as the opposition change shape or we lose momentum we fold like a deck chair. As mentioned above, last night we're pinging crosses and direct passes on to Morishita and Kargbo rather than playing over them and trying to turn their back line, which would suit the personnel. 

Kevin Gallacher said on Radio Lancs after the Coventry game that VI still does not know his best formation.  KC always chooses his words carefully so I take that as very critical from Kevin.  He also stated during the game that we “will struggle in the Championship this season”.

[AndyB]

1 hour ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

It is but it isn't being used often enough. I've seen enough from him now to know there's a player in there. He can hold it up, he can turn a man and he has an eye for a pass. He is also decent enough in the air.

All of this is a work in progress but he will get there with the right coaching. 

With the way we are playing, he isn't going to get the right coaching at Rovers

[joey_big_nose]

Given everything about the club at the moment is saving money can we actually fire him? On a 3.5 year contract that is millions more than we have.

With JDT we didn't actually fire him, we came to a compromise agreement once he was offered the Sweden job. So we may be in a similar situation where we wait for Ismael to find a new job so we don't have to pay much compensation. Though I imagine Ismael will have a lot less interest than JDT.

[Dreams of 1995]

5 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Given everything about the club at the moment is saving money can we actually fire him? On a 3.5 year contract that is millions more than we have.

With JDT we didn't actually fire him, we came to a compromise agreement once he was offered the Sweden job. So we may be in a similar situation where we wait for Ismael to find a new job so we don't have to pay much compensation. Though I imagine Ismael will have a lot less interest than JDT.

There will be zero interest in Ismael, and he will want every penny of his 3.5 year contract.

Which makes that contract even more ridiculous.

We had no money to pay for Travis, or Hyam, or Brittain, but we clearly have money for Ismael.

The only conclusion could be that they did not intend to have to sack him. Which is probably why they will now carry on regardless of how we perform 

[davulsukur]

46 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

If they do pot him, despite it being a popular opinion, the subsequent media coverage (especially with the 150th occasion approaching) about appointing a new manager would once again put them in the spotlight, which they don't like.

He'll stay until Pasha decides he needs another scapegoat.

Pasha is well covered as it stands.

Ismael takes the blame for poor on field performances/results

Gestede takes the fall for abysmal summer and the poor squad we've ended up with.

He's got 2 shields to protect himself. He'll be deflecting blame better than Captain America deflects projectiles.

[roverblue]

34 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

There will be zero interest in Ismael, and he will want every penny of his 3.5 year contract.

Which makes that contract even more ridiculous.

We had no money to pay for Travis, or Hyam, or Brittain, but we clearly have money for Ismael.

The only conclusion could be that they did not intend to have to sack him. Which is probably why they will now carry on regardless of how we perform 

Presumably it isn't all paid at once, just a monthly wage for the life of his contract unless he takes up another job?

[Mattyblue]

Longest contract for any manager post Kean, so fairly obvious he’s doing the job they want - to be an acquiescent stooge for downsizers.

[gazzaa2]

Average managerial spell in The Championship is probably what? 12-18 months.

Short of making an ambitious appointment a 3.5 year contract is ridiculous. It's not like even if he did well it wouldn't stop him moving on if he got a better offer.

Edited 8 hours ago by gazzaa2

[MarkBRFC]

3 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Longest contract for any manager post Kean, so fairly obvious he’s doing the job they want - to be an acquiescent stooge for downsizers.

Not quite, Mowbray got a new 4 year deal back in 2018.

Absolutely on the last part though, VI is perfect for this club in these circumstances.

Unless for whatever reason he goes of his own accord he will be here until he is of no use to those above him anymore.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

57 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Given everything about the club at the moment is saving money can we actually fire him? On a 3.5 year contract that is millions more than we have.

With JDT we didn't actually fire him, we came to a compromise agreement once he was offered the Sweden job. So we may be in a similar situation where we wait for Ismael to find a new job so we don't have to pay much compensation. Though I imagine Ismael will have a lot less interest than JDT.

Yep another key reason i can't see him getting sacked. 

 

All tge penny pinching and selling they did in the summer will be well outweighed by what it would likely cost to pay Ismael off

[Mattyblue]

Of course, Mowbray  just wandered off at the end of his deal no idea if he was staying or going, which was very respectful by the ‘honourable people’. 

[Jimmy612]

The only 'logical' justification for offering VI a 3.5 year contract, is that the board view managers the same as players; taking cheap-ish punts on unknowns (or in this case, those with a tarnished record), with the anticipation of them performing well and getting interest from other clubs.  It did actually work quite well with Eustace, not taking in to account it was a very messy affair and probably earlier than they had anticipated.

Problem with the above being, when said manager underperforms, it becomes a sticky wicket, and could become costly. 

I remember @glen9mullan saying in March/April time that he thought there was a 3 or maybe 6 month severance option in his contract, where Rovers could effectively sack him with little or no compo due.  If they had any sense (I know), they might have inserted clause(s) which, after, say 12 months he's only due a proportionate amount. 

In my opinion this is purely academic.  I honestly think Rudy is heavily invested in this 'project', and genuinely thinks we'll turn this around. Whether Pasha is as aligned, probably no-one knows, but he won't be wanting to report back to the family that 1. their choice of manager has failed, and 2. it's gonna cost them. 
 

[joey_big_nose]

1 hour ago, Mike Graham said:

Kevin Gallacher said on Radio Lancs after the Coventry game that VI still does not know his best formation.  KC always chooses his words carefully so I take that as very critical from Kevin.  He also stated during the game that we “will struggle in the Championship this season”.

Tbh I'm pretty comfortable we have found our best shape. The 352 suits us.

What worries me is we can't finish chances, give away soft goals that have nothing to do with shape (just basic marking/closing down), after an hour we run out of steam with nothing on the bench to sustain us, and once we are behind we give up.

None of that is tactical really. The way Ismael treats the players seems very demotivating, we have lost all the experienced players who could lead on the pitch, and recruitment in attacking positions seems poor.

[Jimmy612]

27 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Of course, Mowbray  just wandered off at the end of his deal no idea if he was staying or going, which was very respectful by the ‘honourable people’. 

That really was an extraordinary time.  The Mowbray situation was atrociously managed and very disrespectful to a manager who actually served them very well. Okay, maybe his time was up, arguments for and against etc, but he deserved far more than just pure ignorance.   

But moreover, I cannot for the life of me work out who within the Rovers/Rao hierarchy decided to pursue a Sporting Director model and found Greg Broughton.  It certainly wouldn't have been on the advice of Waggott, Pasha or Mowbray.

Are we meant to believe that Madam dreamt up the idea, or did they seek independent advice? i'd love to know how that very brief chapter in the clubs history came about. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Jimmy612

[joey_big_nose]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy612 said:

That really was an extraordinary time.  The Mowbray situation was atrociously managed and very disrespectful to a manager who actually served them very well. Okay, maybe his time was up, arguments for and against etc, but he deserved far more than just pure ignorance.   

But moreover, I cannot for the life of me work out who within the Rovers/Rao hierarchy decided to pursue a Sporting Director model and found Greg Broughton.  It certainly wouldn't have been on the advice of Waggott, Pasha or Mowbray.

Are we meant to believe that Madam dreamt up the idea, or did they seek independent advice? i'd love to know how that very brief chapter in the clubs history came about. 

I think what has been said is

   - Pasha brought in Broughton who then brought in JDT

   - When that went off the rails Waggott stepped in and brought in Eustace

   - Pasha reasserted his authority and brought in Gestede, forced out Waggott, and brought in Ismael.

Might be wrong, but that's the way I understand it.

Edited 7 hours ago by joey_big_nose

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

56 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Longest contract for any manager post Kean, so fairly obvious he’s doing the job they want - to be an acquiescent stooge for downsizers.

Ismael is their man,happy to take the Venky Rupee do their bidding,will not rock the Boat...perfect Patsy.

The Snake,the Ego and a piss poor Manager at the Ewood Wheel.An utter recipe for disaster.

Edited 7 hours ago by SIMON GARNERS 194

[CaptainBeanfart]

Not everyone connected to the club is a lackey or a stooge. Ismael doing about as well as can be expected with these players.

A huge gamble was taken to replace experienced Championship players with cheap foreign imports and it has failed. The head coach can only work with what he's got. All this anger is directed at the wrong man. 

Edited 7 hours ago by CaptainBeanfart

[Mattyblue]

He accepted the job on those terms, he is happy to do their bidding in removing the higher paid pros, keep quiet about off field matters and be their lightning rod - what does he get in return? A well paid long contract at a level he is out of his depth in. Fair play to him, but lackey he is.

Edited 7 hours ago by Mattyblue

[Mercer]

1 hour ago, davulsukur said:

Pasha is well covered as it stands.

Ismael takes the blame for poor on field performances/results

Gestede takes the fall for abysmal summer and the poor squad we've ended up with.

He's got 2 shields to protect himself. He'll be deflecting blame better than Captain America deflects projectiles.

If I was a 'remote' owner and my business was declining and the brand image was being tarnished, both as a result of so many poor decisions having been / being made, my Chief Operating Officer would not be in post for very long let alone 15 years.  Given Pasha has been involved since our owners bought the club, you wonder if Pasha has 'a hold' on our owners which makes him unsackable / irreplaceable.  IMO, there is something sadly wrong and awry with our club.

Edited 7 hours ago by Mercer

[RevidgeBlue]

56 minutes ago, Jimmy612 said:

That really was an extraordinary time.  The Mowbray situation was atrociously managed and very disrespectful to a manager who actually served them very well. Okay, maybe his time was up, arguments for and against etc, but he deserved far more than just pure ignorance.   

But moreover, I cannot for the life of me work out who within the Rovers/Rao hierarchy decided to pursue a Sporting Director model and found Greg Broughton.  It certainly wouldn't have been on the advice of Waggott, Pasha or Mowbray.

Are we meant to believe that Madam dreamt up the idea, or did they seek independent advice? i'd love to know how that very brief chapter in the clubs history came about. 

I was told at the time that the powers that be had rightly or wrongly decided they wanted to go down the younger Head Coach/DOF model  some considerable time before Mowbray left. Presumably they had independent advice to this effect.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

39 minutes ago, CaptainBeanfart said:

Not everyone connected to the club is a lackey or a stooge.

Who are these people then?......

[JHRover]

They went down the Head Coach / DOF route with Broughton and JDT and for the first 18 months it worked to perfection - we got results, played an exciting brand of football, brought through academy lads by the bucketload and made good investments in new signings.

They smashed that to smithereens after 1 year. Their choice, presumably the Broughton/JDT approach was costing too much and working too well / not greasing the right palms so a different approach had to be brought in.

[Mike Graham]

I just had a text from a Rovers staff member saying the Club have ‘no plans to remove VI’.

[JHRover]

They've no plans full stop, they certainly ain't going to rock the boat and incur a £1 million+ expense sacking off Ismael and Whitehead.

They want life as cheap and easy as possible. A managerial sacking / recruitment process is the last thing they want.

[G Somerset Rover]

The only time they’ll pot him is firstly, when it’s far too late, and secondly if the heat gets too much for them. And that second one will again take far too long with our placid fanbase.