As longsiders said in relation to the Newcastle manager search it will also weaken Burnley. A a win win. Rovers had that clown Coyle in charge. I'm sure that a few Rovers fans didn't want him because he used to manage Burnley but the vast majority didn't want him because he wasn't good enough, and so it was proven. To digress a little. I listened to the undr the cosh with Ben Marshall. His stories of Coyle loving finishing practice at training was quite funny.

It is. It's not copyrighted either so it's all yours to use as well 🙂 .

Yep. Hazard was one who did it a few years ago at Chelsea. I think that it was Mourinho's last spell. The season after he was player of the season and Chelsea won the league. As a coach once told me football is 90% physical, 10% mental, yet the 10% controls the 90%. In a manager's case it's their job to make sure that the 10% is always focused. I also agree with Chaddy that despite Ronaldo's talent and goals he was a luxury signing. It's hard to argue against playing him as he scores almost every match but makes them rather unbalanced without the ball and he won't be around for long. He along with Fernandes won't defend, Rashford and Greenwood can't which leaves holes everywhere. I've said before that Rashford should go to Liverpool. He'd be a much better player there.

Absolutely correct. Excluding Solskjaer, I will add that they also won't win anything until they get a high calibre central midfield player.

There's the hard part; knowing when a manager is past it or not. You mentioned Mourinho. A manager who was once excellent but has definitely lost his touch. Would his diminishing skills still be good enough to get Rovers promoted? Hughes too. He is a nostalgia name thrown around on here as he was superb 15 years ago.

I can't argue with any of that. You could pick apart every sentence. Sorry for those with sensitive eyes, but here's a few paragraphs with more bull than a McDonald's freezer; His time in charge was chaotic off the field, the Venky's takeover leading to controversial decisions and supporter unrest. Kean became a target, the most visible symbol of the new regime, his positivity at odds with the frustration being felt by the fans. Kean is reluctant to see himself as a victim of the situation. "It was something that made me stronger," he says. But when pressed he acknowledged the difficulty of it all. "I think back to when David Moyes came to a game at Ewood Park and just walked out. I spoke to his wife Pamela not long after and she told me she heard the door slamming and asked him why he was home so early. He said, 'I couldn't sit and listen to that'. "I can understand the media hype and the fan passion but it can spill over. You can see it now with the focus on mental health and how it can affect people. I had that 10 years ago at Blackburn, but there is more awareness now, it is just all more visual. "My family were incredibly supportive and it was tougher for them. I could immerse myself in the job at the training ground, not look at all the negativity in the media and on the forums, but my kids were at school at the time. That can be more nasty. "I know my boy got into trouble a couple of times because of it at school. You know the way that kids are with the cyberbullying. That is when it affects you. I can deal with it myself but when you see it is affecting your kids that is when it becomes really hard. "Positivity" - he was at the helm when Rovers were relegated playing some awful negative football. "A victim" - at his court case for drink driving did he not accuse "fans" of spiking his drink? His defence was that he was a victim. "Door slamming" - Sure. Moysey was still that upset when he got home that he slammed his front door. Utter tripe. Is Moyes's wife actually called Pamela? "On the forums" - did he read BRFCS? "at school" - bringing in his children is always a surefire way to get some sympathy. His kids lived down south. I doubt that there were any teenage Rovers fans at their school to give them grief. I could go on.

Thanks for posting.

I couldn't help myself. I read it. What a load of claptrap it was too. Absolutely. He marked his cards with his shenanigans at Rovers. The game has moved on thankfully without him.

I think that he would too. He can set up a back 4, which has been mind numbingly missing in the Mowbray years. Warnock should retire. McCarthy should too. Neither of them have anything to prove.

Interesting. I had no idea.

To play devil's advocate. If the likes of those mentioned are good managers and not yet over the hill would they not benefit from the Venkys approach of giving them time? If they have the necessary talent they'll work their way out of it. After all Mowbray went from a super death spiral to 7th in a few short months 😁. I also think that Warnock will take another job despite the story that he was going to retire next summer. He can't help himself.

I didn't know where to put this but as it's related to academies I'll stick it here. There was an inquest into the suicide of a young lad released from Man City; https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-59214647 The lad's dad said that City should have done more. Jason Wilcox, City's academy manager, said that they did what they could. I know countless lads who thought that they were going to be professional footballers only to fall by the wayside. They do need help and support. I also think that clubs need to do more especially around explaining the odds of lads actually making it at a Premier League club. If an academy can graduate 1 player per year that is a success, which means that 10-12-14 others don't.

Example 4; Frank Lampard at Chelsea. I'll add that caretakers should never be given the job full time. It doesn't usually end well. Rovers were lucky that they had the best in the business in Tony Parkes, but he was always happy to slip back into anonymity.

A very good result. Typical of Mowbray's Rovers. Abject one game, tremendous the next. A bit of consistency would go a long way. The BBC report said that it was Brewster's first goal for Sheff U. That is poor. He cost them a fortune. Klopp sold them on that one.

Vydra should have won it at the end too. As I said the other day I'd be worried if I was Solskjaer. His 3 games to save his job ended up win-draw-loss. They were light years behind today. At one point City had 70% possession, at Old Trafford. He looked lost making his substitutions again too. He could have sneaked on a 12th man and they'd still have got beat though. Man U are playing for 4th. If that's all the Glazer's need then he'll stay. City, Chelsea, and Liverpool are miles better.

Last night was the first Rovers game I've watched in a while, and what a shambles it was. It succinctly sums up Venkys reign; a disaster. It echoed everything that is written on here after games. No plan, no defence, no positional sense. For Mowbray to say that they were in it before the sending off is laughable. They weren't at the races, couldn't string 2 passes together, and were being pulled apart by a Fulham team with some talented players. As Sparks said; after the sending off Rovers should have gone 4-4-1 with the midfield compact to stop balls into channels. They would have still lost, but would have preserved goal difference, frustrated Fulham, and may even have managed to nick one. The LT should put up the graphic that has been on here showing Rovers results when they start the game 8th or above. It's striking on how bad it is. I would not pay an entry fee to go to Ewood to watch Mowbray's Rovers. Fair play to those who stuck it out last night, and who have done over the Venky years. Whether it's blind loyalty, masochism, hope, or habit you've got more staying power than I would have.

This baffles and intrigues me at the same time. I wonder what pleasure people got from it, or why people would want to go to a football match if this had a decent chance of occurring. I'm glad that those days are over. Watching the Netflix Yorkshire Ripper documentary gives a good idea of what life was like back then so I can see why it happened.

Ronaldo bailed out Man U again yesterday. 2 cracking goals from him salvaged a draw and left qualification in their hands. Solskjaer threw as many subs on as he could with 20 minutes to go and hoped for the best. If reports are true that he had 3 games after Liverpool to save his job I'd be a bit worried if I was him. Spurs were all at sea, They got lucky last night, next up is City.

Blatter and Platini are in the news again; Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini indicted on fraud charges (espn.co.uk) Crooked to the core. This would have been over sooner had Blatter gone to Canada to present the Women's World Cup trophy in 2015. Canada would have arrested him and had him extradited to the USA, where they were ready and waiting for him.

Here you go @El Tombro. I started one last year that didn't make it very far. If anything the environment is worse than it was last year. It's not all bad as people have pointed out, but at what cost? I was listening to a podcast about it all. One of the guests on it was talking about how Facebook's employees can help (of which Frances Haugen was one). Working at Facebook, certainly at HQ in California, is a badge of honour. They are very talented people in their field who also tend to be young, socially aware, and have a higher population immigrant minorities. Could more of them speak out? Another issue that was brought up is that posts that inflame tend to get lots of likes as the echo chambers that read them agree with it. The amount of likes throws off the content moderators, and amplifies the spread. A Qanon devotee isn't going to be fed left wing drivel and report it, and vice versa. I find it all odd, but I am in the minority. I have a friend who spends all day on it, gets all their news from it, and at least once a month comes out with something that doesn't sound true, and once I check I find that it is in fact a load of bull. Zuckerberg had aspirations of running for president in 2020 and went so far as to go on a politician style tour of the US to gauge interest. It didn't last long. He soon found out that he wouldn't get very far.

I'm sure that it has a lot to do with him being mates with Solskjaer. I also reckon that down to his ego that he's more likely to advocate for players to be dropped as can back that up with his record, whereas his only stint as a manager was an absolute disaster on all fronts so if he does call for a sacking he opens himself up to being criticized. I'd give Solskjaer a 10 year contract. He's not a top manager so I'd like to enjoy watching Man U false dawns for years to come. I spoke to a Man U supporting mate of mine. He was of the opinion, as I'm sure many of them are, that the Glazer's aren't bothered about winning, only revenue generation. As long as they make it past the Champs League group stages and perform well enough in cups the money train will keep on rolling. I read today that all signs point to Pogba leaving on a free in the summer. Man U want him to stay, but I don't know why. He has continually underperformed.

I think that a majority of Rovers fans would support it. Weren't Rovers linked with a Qatari takeover at one point? I spoke to a Newcastle supporting mate of mine about it. He's not bothered about the political side of it at all. The Saudi investment fund have fingers in lots of pies including Facebook, Uber, and Twitter. He said that it's too late now to start caring and put the genie back in the bottle. The Premier league is global. With only 20 opportunities to join the club (and then have to deal with a potential relegation), membership is prestigious and hard to come by. The Saudi's are playing catch up. The Emiratis (City) Kuwaitis (PSG), and Qatar (World Cup 2022) all have a leg up on them. Will they be able to get the players? They'll want a new manager too. Bruce is competent yet unspectacular. Conte is free, as is Zidane. I wonder what Man U are thinking?

Dumb luck, and a following. City fell to Emiratis after Thaksin Shinawatra's plan for legitimacy failed. Abramovich bought Chelsea after they finished 4th. Fenway Sports nipped in at Liverpool when Hicks and Gillette were found out. Rovers were lumped with Venkys. Que sera sera. I did find this interesting; Seasons in the Top Flight of English Football by Clubs 1888-89 to 2021-22 - My Football Facts Newcastle have spent 90 years in English football's top flight. The 7th highest. Rovers are 13th.

A generation game perhaps????

I'll guess that the freedom chant is Americans trying to be funny. A new take on the U-S-A one.