Just come in from some errands. Are Stoke that bad or are we up for it for a change?

Having had a bit of time to digest everything I have mixed feelings. Eustace seems to be living entirely off of the first 10 or so games of this season and has done nothing in his career to suggest he can do anything but keep his head above water, which is perfect for Swag but potentially a disaster for the club. Of course, as Rovers manager, he deserves a chance to prove himself and I'll back him, but this appointment is a major risk.

Honestly unless the owners by some miracle do one or get their act together leagues 2 is where I'd expect to be within 10 years.

I can't see it. Waggott knows full well the reaction would be even more negative than it is already.

Isn't this the exact stunt they played with Brierly(sp)? "Sign him, cock up the paperwork, get a pre-contract deal and then watch as they go literally anywhere else)" It's like they're doing it deliberately to pretend that they're still ambitious.

6th, 2nd, doesn't really matter. We were 7th a month later and look where we are now. There's no guarantee they were going to keep the results they had up. It was definitely harsh to sack him, but we shouldn't be making decisions based on 2 months of games.

Ah apologies - this thread is moving for quicker than my occasional peek in the office can keep up with!

I've said it a few times though, his win rate was never the issue, it's always been the loss rate. For a lot of last year he was at 50-50... if we had the ability to draw more reliably we'd have made play-offs last season and been in less danger this.

If we are moving back to a manager only model I can only assume that the model they had required them to reinvest the Wharton money and now they have no intention of doing so. The next mansger needs to be a miracle worker.

Yep, unfortunately that history makes him utterly unsuitable to turn the club around but perfect for Venky's to keep the circus going.

Torn on this whole situation and there is no real good to come from it. I can understand some of the players' frustrations, as we're expecting a lot of players to make an immediate impact moving up into the first team, but it is fairly standard to hear boos when you put in performances like ours this last month or two. That said, with it out there and the fans making clear the players are not in the firing line, there's no reason why we can't be vocally behind the players and against the owners. We cannot afford to be relegated again so anything we can do to help should be considered.

We were wet under TM as well and have been for years, not to mention the squad has largely been assembled by people who aren't JDT both before and during his tenure. Don't get me wrong, our football isn't physical enough for me either, but this is at least in part due to the "development" model.

On the flip side, they "didn't let Lewis down" by immediately signing someone else and punting him down to the reserves, so hard to say how firm his morals are.

Rovers 0-3 Stoke I don't see where any points come from, and if Sammie is injured and the Americans transfer has collapsed as rumoured we're stuck. I get the feeling it's about to get very toxic.

I think that's a stretch even for them - if that was the case why didn't they do it last time we went down? I think it's more likely complete and utter incompetence.

Sounds like he was happy to walk away for free and they won't let him tbf. Still wants the sack, but for seemingly different reasons. As much as I want him gone, he said as much as he could with what he didn't say there. I get the impression he loves the fans and the players, but the owners are killing him.

Which begs the question: Will we see the post window GB interview at all, or is he trying to escape too?

They came along at a similar time, I expect they both feel the same way about the project compared what was sold to them. This is certainly a problem stemming from further up.

Sounds like he basically did and was told he can't because of his contract. Him not wanting to be here since summer explains 90% of his attitude this season.

JFC - So, so many questions, and I can't imagine any of them will be answered.

Not for me, even leaving out his last few jobs, it would be another person held in high regards by the supporters who would have his Rovers' legacy ruined by Venkys.

He's either not up to it, or he has given up and is trying to prove a point to the hierarchy. In either scenario, the club suffers and a change needs to be made.

No idea to be honest, but we're at 0 wins in 8 or 1 in 11, and JDT refuses to change anything with regards to our style of play. If he is unwilling to change, then imo literally anyone else on a short contract is worth a free hit because we're going down anyway.

Worst part is that we've played a lot of the really bad teams in this league and they've pretty much all battered us. I haven't looked at our fixtures but I'm assuming that we're coming against all the play-off teams in the run-in. We're done for. JDT out, Waggott out, Venky's out. In literally any order.

Sammie injured - there was our only chance of staying up - if you didn't laugh you'd cry.