Lovely city. Alhambra 😍

The greatest Irish player I’ve seen at Rovers is undoubtedly Duff. Even as a Northern Irish fan I was immensely proud that a countryman of his calibre was on our books. I told all my big club supporting mates about him, then at the World Cup he was truly world class. Probably the most technically gifted Rovers player I’ve seen, he was quick, a good finisher, and held on to the ball like it was glued to his feet. Honourable mention for Keith Gillespie - I thought he’d be one of the players to push us on but I can’t recall if he played much? I know he had gambling problems which must have affected him. Proper old school winger, think he scored against his old club Utd as well 😁 There has always been an Irish/Northern Irish connection at Rovers, even of late I loved DL and I willed Corry Evans on, even though he was only good in short bursts. Sad now DL has left and tbh there aren’t any promising players for Ireland North or South coming through. edit - Steven Reid was class as well. I knew of him as a promising millwall player (same squad as the godlike Cherno Samba) from champ manager back in the day, so I was excited when we picked him up. As others have mentioned, that goal 👏 but sadly another who didn’t feature enough, this time down to injury issues.

Could this explain the volatility in the betting market for new Rovers manager? 🤔

Correct. That would have been a great introduction to the fans tbh, and a sentiment we could all get behind. Your original post came across in a more negative, demanding light IMO. I didn’t see anything wrong with Broughton’s presser, but I don’t attach much importance to these things and am glad to see a sensible and measured approach to his career here 🤞

Oh definitely. How realistic of you to expect a bloke on his first interview, before even meeting the players or staff, with a new boss to build a relationship with, to suggest that he can achieve what nobody else has managed in the last decade and more. I mean it’s silly to have a long term goal, it would have been more impressive if he’d just said “we’re for the premier league next season.” Plans? Sustainable growth? Common sense? No thanks! I see your point, I remember being delighted when the Venkys took over and immediately started with the champions league statements. That was real ambition, never mind that it was unrealistic and foolish to promise something that was going to be incredibly difficult.

From my reading of the article he was moderately successful, poor in cup competitions and unpopular with the fans. The Norwegian Mowbray? Probably suffers in comparison to the stellar job Brendan Rogers did there after him.

G

Couple of Celtic-supporting colleagues told me he got a lot of unfair stick when he was up there and said that he brought through a lot of good players into the first team. Opinions and all that but I was cautiously optimistic when I heard it.

Can’t really argue with your assessment of our form, but I wouldn’t be amazed if we hear wistful comparisons to TM throughout this coming season. We are making a big gamble here, and the ones throwing the dice are unable to count the dots. The managerial candidates we’ve been linked with recently have not impressed me at all.

Totally agree. While their success has come at a level lower than we should be considering, at least they have held the top job and had some achievements while in it. Ferguson being linked is bizarre given his age and lack of experience. While I can see that some hated TM so much that they would support anyone else in the role, I think they are in for a rude awakening this season if we get someone unproved at our level.

Deila has better experience than the three coaches you mention - worked with a top club, succeeded in different leagues, and has managed players of a far higher calibre than Ainsworth and warne have. Didn’t Pep Guardiola start at a low level in Spain before success in the MLS? Barring the entirely unrealistic suggestions of Farke and Carvalhal he is the first coach of any substance that we’ve been linked with. I’d be pleased if we got him in, and I would be completely underwhelmed with Ainsworth, Ferguson, or Warne. Tbh we’d have been better off sticking with TM than that motley crew - his recent record is far more impressive than any of them, hell Ferguson has never been appointed manager and he’s now 50. Sadly I reckon we’ll end up with someone like Woodgate. edit - Guardiola never managed at a low level or in the MLS, don’t have any idea where I got that from! But the rest of my post still stands…

My mate's lad saw a car with tinted windows pulling up at Brockhall with the reg “6RUB 01”, fill yer boots.

“You’re dead to me” is an excellent history podcast. Good guests and interesting topics 👍 After listening to YDTM I got into Peter frankopan, currently reading his excellent book “the Silk Road”. Looks at the Near East, and how the flow of trade, philosophy and culture from east to west has affected world history and cultural development. A very readable overview on historical developments since the Roman Empire. I’ve also enjoyed “genghis khan and the making of the modern world”, a revisionist look at the monghol empire which certainly opened my eyes to a different viewpoint on the period (eg the mongols were incredibly liberal with regards to religious practice and pretty much had full freedom of religious expression in their conquered territories). Great idea for a topic, I’m looking forward to hearing what others are in to.

I’d rather have Roald Dahl. He wrote the book on how to deal with the Venkys.

Good grief. Anybody who pays for the privilege of reading Alan Nixon’s made up nonsense needs their head examined, and deserves to be parted from every penny they spend on the service. You nailed it in your second paragraph - from a logical perspective anything he reports about rovers has to be fabricated, and why anybody gives his gossip and rumour-mongering a second glance is beyond me.

TM has done a good job here so far. People forget about the shambles we were in when he took over, the unbroken succession of clowns, crooks and jokers that had previously managed us, and the general air of depression and futility that surrounded us. However… If we finish outside the top 6 I do think it’s time for a change, 5 years is a long time in football, and the general boom/bust cycle of our form is indicative of a pattern that could repeat ad infinitum if we don’t switch things up. That said, TM could leave with his head held high and should be thought of as the best manager we’ve had post Venkys. If he gets us to the Prem then I’d consider him one of the best coaches we’ve ever had, although that doesn’t seem likely, even a playoff spot would mean he deserves another bite of the cherry as clear progression would be shown. I cannot believe that some here still criticise and claim that they would sack him now or even after a successful promotion.

That is a very depressing read but probably as good a prediction as I have seen.

Thanks for the recommendation, that’s right up my street.

The halftime show was immense. Dre, Snoop, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 cent, and Eminem with a west coast greatest hits show. Great entertainment, Kendrick absolutely killed it 👌

Ryan Giles is unreal putting those crosses in. Brilliant debut, what a left foot.

He’s not great in the final third but so important with his energy and physicality down the right hand side imo. Normally very positionally aware as well but just got away with a dodgy back pass.

Decent debut for hedges, I’m looking forward to seeing more from him.

Looking much better now. Buckley is definitely not at his best today and on a yellow. I’d swap him for BBD and push for the equalizer, we could very well end up with 3 points today.

Nyambe has been excellent today, I’m coming to realize that we’ll really miss his energy and wit if he goes for free. I think we could be winning this game if we had a striker on, Buckley just no good up there. Get BBD on and see what happens.