12 hours ago, Mike E said:

Luton with Edwards? Burnley with Dyche? Bolton and West Ham with Allardyce? Stoke with Pulis? Wigan with Jewell?

I perhaps overstated the matter for effect. I'd ignore Stoke with Pulis and Wigan. Dyche is different and would agree but his sides can play too cf Everton, certainly not just a lump it style. A pragmatic combination of style. JDT improved all those players and you could still see it in doses -just smaller doses 😉 And game management of course once 2 ahead, long goalkicks for most of second half, 3 at the back all the time marshalled by a good pro. Needs must.

54 minutes ago, roverblue said:

Forgot what it feels like to win at home. It feels good!!!

Today showed exactly why JdT needed to go, they throw most of his ideas in the bin and we could have been 5-6 by half time. 

They dug in the second half and made some fantastic clearances. Good to see Eustace take charge when it started to go stokes way as well making subs and urging them on.

”How shit must you be, we’re winning at home” 😂

Pragmatically, for the level we are likely to be at and with the shitshow above the manager, you are probably correct. It will keep us at this level or below for ever.

JDT offered a glimpse of something better and with the correct backing and a functional club could have achieved it.

We will never go up with this kind of pragmatism and if we did would be a laughing stock. JDT's brand would not have been a laughing stock at a higher level.

7 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

 

As a young player I went on trips to Europe and played in tournaments against teams from Germany, Italy, France etc. Unlike our lads, their defenders were all comfortable on the ball and played it amongst themselves even then, forerunners of the Guardiola era. It was interesting to say the least and as a forward, I found myself chasing shadows half the time. 

 

 

That's why England were light years behind continental players and have only won the World Cup once (home advantage and a Russian linesman). We couldn't even qualify in 74, 78 and 94.

Plenty to say on tactics, shape, personnel, attitude and so on.
But just a couple of things for now:-

1 Always good to win, well done lads.
2 Any idea that the clusterf**k that is the Rao’s, Waggott, Suhail had anything to do with this win or should take any credit for changing the manager is tosh.

‘reset in the summer’

Really?

1 hour ago, Mashed Potatoes said:

At least he understands the challenge that the Championship presents and has demonstrated some degree of competence in dealing with it. Hopefully supporters will give him a fair crack of the whip - this season is now just about not being relegated and then we go again next season.

Such tosh needs deconstruction.

At least he understands the challenge that the Championship presents and has demonstrated some degree of competence in dealing with it.
He was doing fine last season and the first half of this until the shit show that is SWAG and Rao’s messed up.

Hopefully supporters will give him a fair crack of the whip

Yes we will, it’s the dross above that needs calling out.

..and then we go again next season.
Really? And on what grounds given the last 13 years do you base that?

So move along, nothing to see here. New manager appointed, get behind the lads, renew your expensive season ticket because we need your help, we have acted decisively and are learning.......

Good luck John. You are going to need it.

Hope you are aware of what you are dealing with.

Hope you have a good contract.

Could I just add my thanks to greg mullan for all his work with regards Rovers.

I knew about his sterling efforts a decade or so ago and knew it had taken a strain. I didn't know however the details that he posted recently about the appalling treatment he and his wife had from seemingly some of our own fans. And if it is the case, if I understood correctly that the club paid for people to give him grief and the fact it is documented, that is truly astonishing. Why did it not become a matter for national debate and outrage?

I wish you all the best.

Control of the narrative is where it's at-the atmosphere on Saturday will be telling.

1 minute ago, Gav said:

This will be the narrative in years to come, much like "Lambert was lining up the Celtic job", which was also bullshit.

The owners pushed both through the door with lies a deceit, its as simple as that.

VENKYS OUT - NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

I was saying that a couple of moments ago in a previous post -you were a little more forthright. 😀

The fact you are not sure Jim tells you all you need to know about Rovers under the Raos.

They had to do someting rapidly to divert attention from the pathetic shenanigans of the last few weeks.

Wow -Sam must be desperate. Perhaps he wants to come and stir it a little for the Rao's?

This argument about JDT and where he has left us seems odd to me. It cannot be disputed that we are in a perilous position. But how far is he responsible is the moot point?

I get the ‘we should adapt’ line, be more pragmatic but not sure how far we could have done that with the players we have. We are not Everton –nowhere near the calibre of player. Lump it in the channels? Be more physical (who exactly?) (Incidentally, on Everton –I think they are much more than just a lump it forward team. They can play as well. And I like Dyche).

I will accept perhaps a couple of things. Travis could have been used with Tronstad. We could have played less from the back (not entirely). We could try to have got the ball forward more quickly. We could have cut out short corners earlier. That may have garnered a few more points and perhaps kept the players onside more.

But really, as other have said the writing was on the wall last summer when the Rao’s cut the budget. And since then, JDT has had to face a plethora of stupid decisions (not to mention being lied to), the loss of players, no quality incoming and injuries to what is already a weak and young squad with several players knowing they are only on loan. The squad is simply not good enough. JDT is a smart bloke and his demeanour has shown increasing bemusement at the nonsense that surrounded him. There is only so much shit you can take before you just start to laugh. And remember his brief was to play attractive football, develop youngsters to sell on. If you want big money to sell a player to a top club then they MUST be able to play out from the back and short stuff. It’s a coaching blueprint. You can see every team down to the lowest level doing it.

If his record is so dire, why didn’t the Rao’s sack him? I don’t think they would have at least until the end of the season. Obviously, it would have cost them. So we have an organised shit show (presumably at the hand of SWAG) which forces the issue.

Let us see how the new person does. He will have some advantages. New broom, players might become more upbeat. Players returning from injury. So if he goes on a winning streak, I think that it will be more down to those things –particularly just a change of voice in the dressing room.

FWIW, I think we will have stayed up with JDT but obviously things have gone past the point of no return.

Let’s see how the new person copes when budget is cut by 20-25% next year.

One thing that will be highly irritating, as other have pointed out will be the Rao’s/SWAG’s new narrative. We acted swiftly in appointing a new manager to stop the rot, we have stayed up, the person responsible for the internal admin error has been dealt with, we are still working on the MacGuire deal, we look forward to continuing to support the team and the town…..yada yada…

2 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i think dunny has been drummed out of enough clubs to tell us he`s not a very good coach

Indeed. I didn't say I wanted him but just the kind of appointment we would make.

So, assuming new manager
We all know the drill.
A billion pages on a new thread.
At least 30 names in the hat.
Start with names of most desirable (but utterly unattainable) names, followed by several maybes and at the bottom the desperate and unlikely.
Cut lots of rumours and dithering by the club (this might not be the case here given the crazy circumstances.)
Finally, at the last minute some name out of the blue that has not really been mentioned.

 My money is on Johnson with Dunn, Lowe and Benson.

On the latest shennanigans, words fail me. A disgrace. Keep SWAG and the Raos on the hook.

The Rao rift seems plausible. I remember chat on here perhaps a decade ago along the same lines. That is, the club was something of a pet project and plaything of Balaji (of which he has had other failed instances) but Mrs Desai had little or no interest and was not amused about how the project had gone. Seems reasonable that the rift has perhaps widened and grown more acrimonious.

I hope JDT doesn’t walk –why should he make life easy for the V’s?
I’d like to see JDT hold a press conference to state exactly what happened in this window and while he’s been here, naming names, figures etc. What’s the worst that could happen? The clowns sack him –and he gets compo.
Can we get T-shirts made with the infamous pic of Balaji on it with “V out” underneath?
Or another one: “Wake up Rovers fans.”

JDT resign? I'd make these clowns (V + SW) pay me off. I'd also make sure every media outlet knows my narrative.

Jutkewicz, Gallagher or Ennis?

3 bald men fighting over a comb comes to mind. Sorry if that metaphor is nonsensical.

Can't forsee any incoming.

I'm sure the thread has moved on but just caught up from several pages ago...

 On 17/01/2024 at 16:12, Leonard Venkhater said:
Same here.
One of my Rovers supporting mates, a fan for nearly 50 years told me he had to stop going because it was making him too angry and depressed.
I guess we can all take the natural ebb and flow of football fortune, but this is an abuse.

And
Suprbrfc
That's exactly it. None of this feels natural. It's a terrible situation in the context of a football fan, which nobody understands apart from people on here.

That’s what I was getting at when I posted something similar quite a while ago now.
Zombie club. We can delude ourselves on matchday and get excited from moment to moment but it’s not real -( I do understand it involves livelihoods etc) – but it’s limbo, existing but not existing. Or as Leonard says, fan abuse. You can be a poor club and still feel ok, IF you feel that there is purpose, a heart at the top.
Anyway, I’ll be there tomorrow ;-)

New manager?
Checklist:-

Who is dirt cheap?
Who is desperate?
Who is willing to work with no budget?
Who is willing to bring in none of his own staff and keep present coaches/off-field set up etc?
Who hasn’t heard of the Venky reputation?
Will the numpties pay compensation anyway?

Venky easy option:-
Make it simple and promote from inside

JDT would be a good international coach.