joey_big_nose

I am not particularly keen on Gestede but surely the main question is how has a guy who joined on work experience and with nothing on his CV about running a football club ended up running ours? I still - even with Venkys total incompetence and disengagement, cant wrap my head around that one. Until we answer that one we can all want Gestede replaced but they will just make another terrible appointment.

What is really worrying is its impossible to pick out a single player who you could say is going to grab the bull by the horns and fight over the horrible next three months or so. We didnt have many leaders before but the ones we did have we sold. Now our remaining good players are either checking out of the club and not that vocal anyway (Tronstad), looking emotionally invested but not composed and organised (Cantwell), perpetually injured, (Wharton, Carter), or so new into an incredibly chaotic environment that they dont really have much of a chance to impose themselves if they even have those skills (McCloughlin, Alebiouso, Toth). We've taken a gamble of massive proportions this summer, and it was very reliant on having a good start and getting the team to settle and build confidence with what effectively is a completely new squad. Now we are on the doorstep of the winter and I am sure Ismael is now looking at the team wondering what on earth he does to stabalise things. He seems quite a one dimensional manager who struggles when his plan A isnt working, and seems to completely lack the people skills of Eustace or Mowbray where they could put an arm around players and boost them when needed. Also stuff that he is supposed to be good at (defensive setup, defending set pieces) are deteriorating which knocks all the confidence out of the players when they can play well for 20 mins, score nothing then give away a goal for free. That isn't helped by all the back five who started yesterday having only 5-20 rovers starts each, and then playing with lots of different combinations of players. I dont think the heads have quite gone down yet but it's in the post.

The one thing I am holding onto with relegation is that if we go down it blows a hole in the new model (pay less than 10k, get ultra cheap players from abroad) so maybe it will be enough for Venkys to just call it a day.

I don't think Potter will be looking for a Championship gig.... even if he was I doubt he would want to come and work at our circus.

We played well in patches through the game. But if you concede cheap goals and struggle to convert it's a recipe for disaster. A few other points As much as we never recover in a game when we go behind we rarely manage to lose when we go ahead in recent seasons. But today is the second time we have managed to lose after leading already this season. While Ismael seems to have us well organised in our initial shape (though we look sloppy defending set pieces) whenever we try and do anything different - add subs, chase a game etc - we look really disjointed and fall apart. We really look like we don't have leaders when we are up against it, which is not surprising when we sold Hyam, Baath and Travis all in one fell swoop We haven't even started to get into the mad rush of games through the winter yet and already we look really dependent on a few key players who are already starting to look knackered. What happens if Tronstad, Alebiousu, Cantwell go down injured? I thought Morishita was quite good when he first arrived, but he's really struggled last couple of games, and Kargbo has been absolutely diabolical. The main ray of sunshine is Alebiousu who is fantastic. Gudjohnsen looks willing but not sure he is really going to add many goals. We have to not concede like we did today. Should have got a draw minimum, but lost to two really really sloppy easy goals which Ismael whole brand is about not conceding from.

I am usually one of the more positive ones on here but this is a performance that now has me worried about relegation. Soft goals put you down, and we look full of them.

Well, as I have said before, life in the Championship is when all is looking lost suddenly out of nowhere you pull out a great performance. And inversely you begin to get a bit of hope and it kicks you in the nuts. We've had a few of each already this season. Anyone who tries to predict anything (hello Merce!) is a hostage to total fortune. I'll watch tonight expecting the worst, but knowing there is a decent chance I will be surprised again. I guess that's the addiction of football. The championship is a particularly virulent concoction of the unpredictable.

Id swap Morishita and Yuki over I think.

I get that having a left footer and right footer may help in an ideal world. But life is about trade-offs , and surely having a make shift full back who is getting skinned alive by their winger is worse than it being a bit more tricky to pick passes into the right side of the pitch from centre half... I can accept that Ismael didn't realise that TGH was going to be taken apart at RB. But what I cant accept is bringing on Tavares who is no competitor at all, and not changing the RB again after 10 mins when it was obvious we had completely lost control of the game. Very interesting to see how Ismael responds now, especially if Alebiouso is out for Swansea. Ive got an awful feeling he might be the sort of manager to double down on his mistakes, hope I am wrong.

Kargbo maybe but he didnt need to bring Tavares on. He had Montgomery or pulling Cantwell deeper into midfield. Or could have just left TGH there, moved Miller to RB and brought on McCloughlin. The environment at the club makes things difficult but Ismael really shot us in the foot today. Ive been pretty happy with how Ismael has set us up most games, we seem really well drilled. But if we go behind and need a way to find a goal he seems to have few ideas - which is consistent with how we have been for years.

Yeah - I think the Tavares on to CM, TGH to RB may be the worst sub (as in negatively impacting a game) ive seen as a Rovers fan. It led to total capitulation across the putch.

Hes got some talent but not anywhere up to the pace of the English game and seems to think he doesnt need to play the defensive side of the gane. Sort of player I could see improving over time and being useful next season once hes adjusted his mentality and fitness but in the trenches this year he's the opposite of what we need.

Really hope Abeliousu is not out for the next game. We really need him. As soon as he went off we couldn't get out at all. Reckon Miller would be able to do it but for some reason its a legal requirement for one of our CBs to be right footed...

We've been utterly abysmal since the subs today, but im not too worried about relegation as our plan A looks okay. Championship is a massive league with 24 teams and you have to go some to be in the worst three. Really worried by how much Ismael managed to mess up his plan B with more obvious changes on the bench.

What worries me the most is how poor Gudjonsen has looked as well. I was hoping he was a good one. Really think a lot of today is on the managers subs. The Tavares CM and TGH at RB changed us from competitive but edged out to totally overrun. Kargbo also totally horrendous when he has come on which is also a shame.

Looks decent as a centre mid but hes not a right back.

We're quite lucky its only been 2-0. What is it about us that makes us so bad after going a goal down over the last five years? Its been for a very very long time now. Four managers and virtually every player in the squad had changed in that time. But still as soon as the goal goes in we just cant get back in 95% of games.

Since hes gone off nothing has stuck up top at all.

Ismael has really made a dogs dinner of this

Really feels like weve made the wrong subs here. TGH at right back is not physically able to do that job, Tavares just adds mistakes and removes cover in the middle third, and ohashi while not threatening was linking up quite well so why bring him off?

I would have thought bringing on McCloughlin and playing Miller at RB would have made a lot more sense? Basically can see TGH not being able to get out at all?

Not a fan of Tavares and Alebiouso absolutely critical how we play out.... Not feeling good about this.

Looked okay until the goal went in then from that point really struggled. Definitely have to change something. Gudjonsen does look ideal as he will play up against the last man.

Gudjonsen on at half time for sure but id take TGH off, put Cantwell in midfield, and play both Ohashi and Gudjonsen up top.

Really simple goal, no way we should concede that. Guess it gives Ismael the chance to address our two biggest issues over the last five years - getting back into games, and winning at promoted sides.