joey_big_nose

I am intrigued if Waggott has lined up Eustace or if it's Gregg. Waggott has always struggled to find managers, so I wonder if GB has set it up.

Did well at Fulham too, but then binned them off in quite an arrogant way as he thought he would get a bigger job. But then didn't... ended up at QPR a year later. To be fair to him he did well at Stoke too. He's worked for a lot of mad owners (City, Fulham with Al Fayed, QPR) and I don't think he enjoyed it. So I would be very surprised if he had any interest in working for the Raos.

I like this bit from the Athletic "Their well-drilled, defensive style has them closer to the play-offs than the relegation zone and the early success stories are growing."

In the circumstances I wonder if McGuire is thinking about just getting back on a plane no matter the outcome. I guess Eustace may have reached out to him though to settle him down?

Tbh if we get Eustace that makes a lot of sense as he got Birmingham out of a relegation battle last season. So despite not being that experienced he has the right experience.

If JDT is off does that automatically mean Rene goes or is he knocking about? Part of me is quite curious how Damian Johnson does - hes had a great record with the under 23s.

Yeah think he will, but I will be surprised if its somewhere bigger than Rovers. Probably a sideways move. I can see another championship club going for him. If hes left in the summer he would have been in a much better position and might have been able to get a club a step up to give him a go, but the last two months has torched that.

Yeah I think probably Waggott just felt he had to do something and this was his best idea. @J*B- did it sound like the players were genuinely impacted by the boos or that just theyd been called to this meeting and raised some general points since they were there?

"set to come to a close this week" so not resigned/sacked yet. But it's coming...

It's weird that out of region journalist has heard it and then the club have denied it. Feels like maybe JDT's agent has told people he is about to resign?

We are often described as a zombie club. JDT has joined the legion of the undead!

And outside of the transfer window I think by mid Jan with utterly horrendous results he was beginning to get on sticky ground anyway... Given where we are and what we need for a relegation battle JDT leaving may not be the worst thing - provided we have someone competent lined up. I am however worried the options we have been looking at are not experienced Championship battlers who know you stay up by ultimately being defensively solid, but are instead young aficionados of the gegenpress and silky triangle football.

Can't see how we justify Sigurdsson starting? Dolan looked a lot brighter when he's been in. Sigurdsson has been a total passenger. From my perspective Sigurdsson doesn't have the pace or workrate to play wide, plus he looks to always come inside very early anyway. If we play him he needs to be at number 10 for me. Think if we went 4231 we could maybe play Sigurdsson at number 10 and Szmodics wide left. But do we move our top scorer excelling and scoring goals out of number 10 wide to accomodate someone (Sigurdsson) who does not seem to even be putting the basic level of effort in. I would probably go : Pears Hyam Fadz Wharton JRC Tronstad Garrett Chrisene Szmodics Gallagher Dolan

I assume it didn't go in because of further blocking/delaying by Venkys, that seems more likely than another paperwork error. I am looking forward to hearing what Gregg says in his post window interview...

Agreed - something the incoming football regulator should be allowed to do imo. No idea if that is in the scope of its proposed powers though.

Absolutely agree with this... We need back to basics. I know JDT will say if we are not ultra offensive we wont score goals as we lack quality up top.... But whats the point in being ultra offensive if you ship goals at the rate we are??? We really should be going back to playing deep and hitting on the break. With the like of McFadz and Fleck they are not going to be running around anyway. Id go 343 and just look to make it very difficult for the opposition by sitting deep and look to Gallagher, Szmodics, JRC and Dolan to make the most of counters. Don't over commit. Pears Hyam. McFadz. Wharton JRC. Tronstad. Fleck. Chrisene Dolan. Gallagher Szmodics. If fleck isn't fit put Garrett in there. Main instruction is forget about overloads, nice one twos etc. Win the first ball and the second ball in the air or on the ground. And break quickly.

If fit I can see the likes of McFadz and Fleck making a big difference in terms of competitiveness.... But is JDT going to be telling them to focus on running the channels to make overloads? As we seen far more worried about that (several times yesterday I saw four rovers players in the small stamp of territory between edge of the opponents box and the touchline) than being solid in the centre of the pitch.

Dont really agree. Going to three at the back has helped a bit but we are still committing 7-8 players to every attack and on the break other teams just walk through us. JDT seems absolutely unconcerned by it. Maybe we will shift to playing more conservatively but theres no indication of it so far

Oh I think he did care, I really rate him as a manager. But I think hes got to the point where its all such a clown show, and the goal post keep moving etc, that hes checked out and feels miminal accountability for how the team is performing. We've been dragged into a relegation battle in a death spiral which puts Mowbray in the shade but you wouldnt guess it from his demeanor or what he says. Hes been sold a pup so I dont blame him - in his position I would probably react much the same - but that doesn't take away from the fact the manager / coach needs to take accountability and lead. And if hes checked out then that is very very bad news.

In his interviews you can also see he is past caring. The last thing you want from a manager in a relegation battle is someone who doesnt give a shit.

Wrote the above before the deadline day shenanigans and JDTs clear rift with the club. Definitely worried now.

Ah that makes more sense .... Like a player. Hadn't thought of that. I have more sympathy for JDT.

True but hes got a golden opportunity now to get off the sinking ship and blame it on the owners. If he sticks around he could end up with a relegation on his CV. From my perspective I am a bit conflicted - changing the manager with the utter chaos going on does not seem sensible. But on the other hand JDTs tactical instincts are the absolute opposite if what we need in a relegation battle. And he must be pretty low in morale and enthusiasm which is hardly what you want from your leader in this situation.

Watched the post match presser. So weird Surely if JDT has any self respect he'll quit? Alternative is he just hangs around waiting for a pay off which is a bad look for his career.

Indentured servitude finished in the 19th century..... The employee can break an employment contract at their will without penalty. The difference is if you walk you get no comp, if youre sacked your contract is paid up.