Valérien Ismaël: Blackburn Rovers Head Coach

[RevidgeBlue]

7 minutes ago, StHelensRover said:

I agree with what he's saying, even stinking, doomed teams like Wolves and Sheff Weds this season will get the odd result (an unexpected draw or better), it's just the law of averages, it will happen. Our one win in thirteen was against an in form Millwall team, a result we didn't expect. We will continue to pick up occasional wins between now and the end of the season, because that's just football. The problem is that each one of these results will be held aloft by the club as a sign we're about to change our fortunes, but I'm not convinced we are. I think we'll finish 21st by the skin of our teeth.

The timing of these one-off wins depending on when they fall act like a pressure valve which will probably keep him in the job. Especially if they're home wins. I'm not happy about this, I want him out, but we're probably stuck with him if he isn't getting sacked this week.

Normally I'd agree, but it's a bit difficult to get these occasional pressure cooker type wins when you're generally not even registering a shot on target!

[Dreams of 1995]

They will never sack Ismael. For one, it would mean Rudy Gestede has to admit he has made a mistake.

Nothing about Rudy's character tells you that is possible. By all accounts he is a bit of a bully and is the direct cause of plenty of long standing staff members leaving. His interactions on social media and his interviews with other media really do portray a man weak of confidence - unable to be criticised, learn a lesson or be questioned. It is the very worst type of person to be in management. You often find with these type of managers that nothing is dealt with proactively as confronting the possibility of their own mistakes is more uncomfortable than being judged by others.

Rudy is a symptom of a disease, for sure, but he is a killer. He will take this club down with him and be paid all the way. His character has been questioned many times. Neil Warnock being one of them, after Gestede refused to play and commit for Boro. He had his attitude questioned here and at Villa.

Rudy will go down as one of the worst things to happen to this club during the Venky reign. First, fans will point to his less than impressive success ratio in the transfer market - a man who is wedded to a data driven approach, constrained by a model of low wages, low spend but ultimately completely unable to generate a successful and functional team. More importantly the fans will point to his divisiveness - Rudy has followed a period of relative success for Rovers and has been the 'director' (loosely) responsible for dismantling a competitive Championship side. More than any that has come before him, he has had room within the FFP window to develop a squad capable of that extra mile. Instead it appears Rudy has sought revenge - first, with the sale of players who have supported staff members over himself, and then with the effective freezing out of other players, such as Pickering or Tyjon. To me, Rudy comes across as resentful. He has then hired a head coach which completely went against the style of play our squad has developed since Mowbray, delivered that head coach a series of players not good enough and now shows an unwillingness to act, instead pointing to data and perceived future success which comes across arrogant and stupid in equal measure. All of this is divisive in nature and his contempt for the fans has been very clear. Rudy Gestede is not, and has never been, here for the success of Blackburn Rovers; Rudy Gestede is here for the success of Rudy Gestede. He has been told that if he absorbs the pressure and is a good boy who does not try too hard to be ambitious then he will continue to earn a 6 figure salary here.

All of the above is why Ismael will not be sacked. And if he is, it will be too late. Gestede will not accept he has made a mistake; the mistake will be the fault of the fans, the pitch, the weather. It will not be and never will be Rudy Gestede's mistake to make.

 

[JHRover]

I very much doubt Gestede has the authority to sack Ismael. At the very least he will need the approval of Pasha, and I'm not even sure Pasha has that authority, he'd probably need approval from India or the money men in Pune to terminate such a contract.

Too many cooks spoiling the broth again and too much of a long chain back to a decision, too many arses to protect and jobs on the gravy train to maintain. Too many boats risk being rocked and nobody wants to draw attention onto the comfy setup they've got going for themselves down at Ewood.

Oh no, they want to keep things as they are. If anything the increasing pressure and focus on results and Ismael's performance helps divert attention away from their mismanagement and destruction from the boardroom. They'll probably be enjoying everyone talking about 1 win in 13 and abysmal performances rather than them.

Even if a decision was made to sack him, we aren't capable of sourcing a replacement in a week, and any competent manager would rightly expect latitude to operate in the January window to address this squad as a precondition to joining. All sounds like a lot of hard work, hassle and cost to me. Let's just leave Ismael to it and hope we have enough to preserve the gravy train for another year.

If we go down? Oh well, make a few excuses about referees, injuries and the weather, and then look forward to another revolving door summer and %%%s on trading.