Having been somewhat surprised by the recent (yet apparently futile) return to management of the Big Fat Gum Chewer with West Brom, and considering the age of some of the current crop in the top two divisions in English football (e.g. Hodgson, Warnock) I got to thinking about what incentivises managers and how much are they actually paid for their work? I know there appears to be 'an elite' in some parts of the system, but in the same way that many players seem to attract disgustingly high pay compared to ordinary folk in real jobs (teachers, medics, care workers, civil servants, retail workers etc), I wondered if anyone had any insights into the world of football manager pay and incentives. After all, BFS appears to have bitten off more than he can chew this time at WBA (doomed!) and closer to home we appear to be lumbered with a slow-turning dinosaur (depending on which way the fan-wind is blowing)? What makes these people get out of bed in the morning, at all levels in football? Anyone got any reliable insights?

Some interesting ideas there, but the reality is that until the current game-changing conditions for everyone are resolved, there is no point speculating on possibilities, as an endemic pandemic means ongoing uncertainty over facilities where groups of people gather together. It makes me wonder what the future of the game is, when I watch teams playing in massive but conspicuously empty stadia (including Ewood). Ceteris paribus (all things being equal) a return to some kind of normality would be great, and there does seem to be the space to develop the ground adjacent to the Darwen end perhaps for an Academy facility, but in my mind that is a loooonnnngg way off.

We were very fortunate yesterday, against a very poor Luton side. Mowbray was his usual disconnected, apparently disinterested self sitting quietly gurning in the stands for most of the game. Neither side really produced any goal threat until our quicker thinking players fashioned the goal for us. We were also fortunate that the linesman was on the ball when they had the ball in the net shortly afterwards (offside being given for the players at the far side who squared the ball that was eventually hammered in after Douglas' excellent clearance). I watched the entire game and I found it to be mostly a turgid and mind-numbing bore fest. If this is the best the manager can do with the quality of players in the squad, then I reckon even my cat has a chance of doing better. I do think Gallagher has some value to the side, and the substitutions, whilst a bit baffling and balls out at the time, certainly made a difference in the end. Gallagher is often pilloried for not scoring goals, or for having a low goals to games ratio, but how often has he been played on the wing, ffs! (too many, is the answer). So, the Mowbray show rolls on. We are close to the heady heights of the play-off group. We appear to have a mini-head of steam building up... We all know what happens next... I will be happy to eat my words if 'the maestro' proves me wrong. (not holding my breath, due to the clear pattern of rinse and repeat that TM has embedded at the club).

But jeez he was pants today... I'm not sure we can afford such a passenger in too many games going forward. I was shouting at my PC screen, "Are you Buckley in disguise?" at one point 🙃

Douglas earns his corn there,.,

Good man Gallagher! Good man Holtby. Great thinkiing and a great goal!

GET IN!!!!!!

Am I bovvered? Not, fookin bovvered....

How the hell is Travis still on the pitch. A ruddy liabiliity...

We used to share a bag of 'lucky' sarsaparilla tablets on the Riverside and I was convinced for many years that I could influence the outcome of the game by sucking strategically on a lozenge, particularly when Rovers were bearing down on goal... Cost me a tooth eventually, of course! Bit down on one too hard when Andy Craig scored one of his gems, and shattered an incisor! (sugar free?? Like hell they were!)

Yes, none of their team could possibly be good enough to get into the Rovers' set up.. 😂

More likely to be that he isn't quite the quality expected at the highest level, and was brought in as back up by the previous manager. Their rush of blood does provide us with an opportunity though, which I am surprised we haven't moved to take advantage of, particularly as we could get the player in on loan, give him game time and see if he is capable without the risk of a long term commitment...

And Big Sam's judgment on defenders these days is infallible and trustworthy..?? Oh, hang on... West Brom 0 - Man Citeh 5 Look, this lad Kipre did a fine enough job at this level to merit a well established Premier League set up to take a punt on him - I say he is probably kicking himself about having been frozen out without having had any real chance of proving himself at Prem level, and would probably jump at the chance of regular game time here, if offered a way out of his frozen nightmare. So what if the Fat Gum Chewer doesn't like him? We, on the other hand, still need reinforcements in our defensive ranks if we are to progress. Get him in. @notfookingrocketscience.com

Chris Whalley's was better 😉

yes, was at school with Tommy O'Kane the drummer... St. Mary's College. Nice lad, quite quiet and unassuming. I always hoped the Stiffs would make it, but it never really came off for them. This is a great thread, by the way - memory lane it may be, but they can't take our memories away can they?

He'd have got a red card had he kicked him up the arse! It was clearly dangerous play, and merited an indirect free kick. However, with all of the extenuating circumstances (e.g. age and inexperience of the player, the trajectory of the ball, the fact his view of the attacking player was obscured by another player, the speed at which play was moving, the slo-mo fall to the ground that their lad had) it would have been mighty harsh to red card Branthwaite. Red cards are for when a player recklessly jumps in in the full knowledge that their action could injure an opponent. Branthwaite was just doing his job as a central defender and looking to clear a dangerous cross. He is a bit Bambi though, isn't he. Oh, and Warnock is a prize knob.

Karma says it is time to repay the favour..

A few days before the end of the transfer window, and here we are, contemplating our managerial navel... Just about sums up the quagmire that is the reality of our club at the moment.. endless going round and round and sinking imperceptibly deeper into oblivion at each cycle. Transfer thread? Glug, fooking glug,glug..

Roversfan99 for manager 🙂

At which point, Citeh score 😞 Arse!

Oh my word, I am loving Cheltenham Town FC right now..

Pitch might still be an issue.

He can't even hold himself up in the dugout for a complete game these days, lying there gurning like a chump instead, with his hands over his ears and eyes..

Yes, but then again, there seems to be someone upstairs at Cardiff who actually understands the game - quote from Vincent Tan (Owner) re Harris and David Livermore: "..Their efforts to propel us towards a fifth-place finish and play-off position last year are recognised and appreciated, although sadly we are in a result-orientated business and our on-field results of late and progress this season has been very poor". It appears the only results that seem to matter at Ewood these days are how much can be shaved off operating expenses by not undertaking routine stadium upkeep, skimping on pitch maintenance, reducing support staff to a low-cost skeleton. Venkys don't give a shit, do they, as long as they can off-set losses against other profitable assets in their dumb-ass portfolio?

I see Cardiff have shown some cojones and got rid of Neil Harris.. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jan/21/cardiff-sack-neil-harris-after-run-of-six-straight-defeats-football Why can't we have a normal club..(one with some cojones and ambition) ?