Paul Mani
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Posts posted by Paul Mani
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A terrible offensive performance but nevertheless a first clean sheet since November and a point on the road are huge positives. As are 5pts in 4 games since the managerial change vs 5pts in the previous 11.
If Dolan pops that chance away and we win 1-0 then it’s a peak Allardyce style win. But the more I watch JE, the more I get Hughes vibes. Hughes focused initially on being hard to beat, creating a togetherness ‘us against the world’ and deploying a pragmatic approach. Then once the base was set, added those attacking patterns and suddenly you have a very capable team.
For as long as the lads are behind him, JE has the chance to turn the ship around. I said a week ago that I didn’t expect to see a Eustace style team until we were safe and most likely not until next season. I stand by that…
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Here’s how I would line up…
Pears
Hyam. McFadz. Wharton
Brittain. Sondre. Ayari. . Hedges
Dolan. Szmodics
Gally
Subs - Leo, O’riordan, Chrisene, Buckley, Garrett, Siggy, Moran, Telalovic
I quite liked the look of Ayari in the cameos I’ve seen. With the injuries mentioned plus the form of Garrett and Bucko not ready to start, I’d give him a chance. Although, the player I think JE was talking about who may play out of position, in there is Chrisene. When he first arrived, I remember reading that he had played CM and a few Villa fans actually saying it was his best position.
My heart says 1-2 to Rovers but my head says this has a draw written all over it.
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Argh come on, give the guy a break.
He’s into a new job, post January window and he needs another 4 wins in 15 from a group who had won 1 in 11 prior to him turning up. He doesn’t have a great chance to coach them or change anything in terms of style.
This gig, until the summer is 100% man management. It’s ensuring that every single player is having you and is dialled in.
From a media point of view, he’s being asked the same questions over and over and answering them the same, because the only thing he can do, with games coming every Saturday and Tuesday is bring the group together and send them out to war. I don’t expect we’ll see anything in terms of style of play until next season.
On a side note, weirdly I have a lot of family connections in Birmingham and they’re never shy of chatting shit about Rovers vs their beloved blues and to a man, they love Eustace - “brilliant man manager, tactically sound, we scored goals and kept them out”. Every single one of them want him back and two of them are tipping him to get us promoted next season!!!
So let’s not write him off yet.
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11 hours ago, J*B said:
I don’t think Gregg is going based on what the staff in the lounges were saying against Stoke.
I have no problems with GB.
My assertion of his situation is based on the change in behaviour from everything recruitment based being about him, to the plug being pulled on the McGuire deal, Mcfadz and Fleck turning up and then Eustace. All of whom smelled nothing like data driven, Nordic based Broughton and reek of Swag. I’ve since heard that ‘the club’ were aghast that GB had agreed to pay £5m for Mcguire and this set off a chain of events.
GB has not been pictured or seen anywhere publicly (other than the games). His only outside communication on his personal LinkedIn.
Swag has moved to hush the constant yapping of JDT and completely emancipated GB. Now all there is, is for Swags boys to pull this around and ‘save’ the club from relegation and it’s mission complete.
The LET article on his position is very telling…
The only way Greg stays is if he agrees to be Swags errand boy. My guess is he’s already officially gone and working his notice until the summer or they’re letting the dust settle before it happens.
Let’s see…
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13 hours ago, roversfan99 said:
And why would any of them leave to be honest. This idea of leaving out of shame or whatever is so naive, none will get a similar job.
Until Venkys go, we will continue to be a shambles. The hope wouldnt return with even them 4 going.
Greg is done. My guess is that he’s working an extended notice period to hand over / end the several aspects of his role.
The writing was on the wall as soon as the McGuire deal got pulled and then Waggot started signing players and a manager from his little black book
IF they keep the DOF role, it wouldnt surprise me to see Jonty get it. That’s what he’s aiming for.
Lets see…
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Ahhh so it turns out, Greg IS on shaky ground and in spite of his role, it was indeed Waggott who hired Eustace and based on what we’ve seen, also brought in McFadz and Fleck whilst stopping the McGuire purchase.
Who would’ve thought!! 👀🤣
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On 11/02/2024 at 08:01, KentExile said:
There isn't any link there either
Yes all three were at Coventry at one point or another, but none of them were there at the same time as any of the others.
Eustace was at Coventry 1996 - 2003 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eustace
Fleck was there from 2012 - 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fleck_(footballer)
McFadzean was there from 2019 until we signed him the other week https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_McFadzean
* Waggott was there from 2013 - 2015, which means he never signed or sold any of these people, and his only overlap was with Fleck, who was already there when Waggott rocked up, and was still there when he resigned 2 years later https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/FKc4o-maeIjThZF3QPcISHHYkS4/appointments
I really do not see it as any kind of stretch to think that all three of those were the work of Broughton (seeing as that is his job), Based on the comments of both JDT, & Broughton himself about how the squad would benefit from more experience
JDT - https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/24023305.tomasson-discusses-happiness-blackburn-rovers/
I am not suggesting you are against JDT, GB, or anyone else, I just think that on the basis of all evidence, that your hunch (which you seem to have formed on the basis that 2 new players, our new head coach, and Waggott were all at Coventry at one time over the past 30 years) is wrong.
This didn’t age well mate 🙈🤣🤣👍🏼
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1 hour ago, KentExile said:
There isn't any link there either
Yes all three were at Coventry at one point or another, but none of them were there at the same time as any of the others.
Eustace was at Coventry 1996 - 2003 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eustace
Fleck was there from 2012 - 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fleck_(footballer)
McFadzean was there from 2019 until we signed him the other week https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_McFadzean
* Waggott was there from 2013 - 2015, which means he never signed or sold any of these people, and his only overlap was with Fleck, who was already there when Waggott rocked up, and was still there when he resigned 2 years later https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/FKc4o-maeIjThZF3QPcISHHYkS4/appointments
I really do not see it as any kind of stretch to think that all three of those were the work of Broughton (seeing as that is his job), Based on the comments of both JDT, & Broughton himself about how the squad would benefit from more experience
JDT - https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/24023305.tomasson-discusses-happiness-blackburn-rovers/
I am not suggesting you are against JDT, GB, or anyone else, I just think that on the basis of all evidence, that your hunch (which you seem to have formed on the basis that 2 new players, our new head coach, and Waggott were all at Coventry at one time over the past 30 years) is wrong.
Yeah….because we only EVER speak to people we directly work with during a specific time. We don’t form our network from long-standing relationships in the places we work and talk to people afterwards about how this guy is doing or how that person is to work with. Oh wait….
It’s fine if you don’t agree with me, or believe it. I’m ok with watching how it unfolds going forwards. As I said, it’s just a hunch, fingers crossed, GB will come out very soon (as he does after every window) and tell us all about how he instigated those signings and the targeting of Eustace. 🤞🏽
Q - Is there no part of you that thinks GB is inconspicuously quiet?
Oh, and as far as I can see, Gregg, who never misses a chance to do the PR ‘standard’ welcoming handshake piccy with new signings, was last seen doing this with McGuire, (the one that “fell through”) and maybe it’s me, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen a single picture of him welcoming McFadz? Fleck? Eustace? Probably just a coincidence, let’s see…. 👀
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16 minutes ago, Upside Down said:
Why wouldn't they be the egg's signings?
His job is finding the players.
He found and lined up Danny Baath in the summer and the owners pulled the pin on the deal.
His remit is to find the players that the head coach requests. He has to work within the constraints placed on him by the owners.
Hard to find a top striker when all you've got is a pocket full of buttons and a manky banana skin.
Like o say, just a hunch…I for one have never been against GB and JDT. I just felt a wind of change in the couple of weeks before this came to a head and Gregg has been nowhere to be seen.
IF those late signings and Eustace were the work of GB then great..hopefully we’ll hear from him very soon, right? I just don’t think they are…
Either way, the two older lads do seem to trace back to Eustace which shows an element of forward planning. But, then was it Eustace who pulled the plug on McGuire preferring to spend any cash they do have, himself in the summer?
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4 hours ago, KentExile said:
I am still am not sure why you think that?
Swag left Coventry 4 years before McFadzean arrived there, and it is very evident from Rovers social media videos that Broughton is still very much in place.
Genuinely interested if they are fishing buddies, or that they were once in the scouts together, or that there is something to link them, in even the slightest way?
duplicate so deleted.
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16 minutes ago, KentExile said:
I am still am not sure why you think that?
Swag left Coventry 4 years before McFadzean arrived there, and it is very evident from Rovers social media videos that Broughton is still very much in place.
Genuinely interested if they are fishing buddies, or that they were once in the scouts together, or that there is something to link them, in even the slightest way?
Just a hunch..but put it this way, they weren’t Gregg’s or JDT’s signings and I’d put my mortgage on them never being on our shiny new scouting teams list either.
I will go one further and say, knowing JDT was going a couple of weeks ago, Swag spoke to Eustace about taking the job and HE chose McFadz and Fleck. Conspiracy theory or not, this happens in businesses everyday.
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16 minutes ago, KentExile said:
I thought he was one of Swags boys?
😉
He’s defo a Swag purchase…but that doesn’t mean he isn’t EXACTLY what that team needed. 🤷🏽♂️
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2 hours ago, BlackburnEnd75 said:
There will be a reason why Coventry dropped him months ago but I didn't see it today.
He had the exact qualities that we've been lacking. He's a proper organiser. That left hand side of the back 5 is pretty shaky defensively on paper but he was organising and talking the whole game. It stood out a mile as we haven't had that since ayala left in the summer. It looks like we will play with a back 5 and sit back more with a deeper line and look to play on the break a bit more which shouldn't expose him much.
From reading comments from the Cov fans, McFadz stopped being picked when they switched from 3cbs to a flat 4.
Hes exactly what we need as far as I can see!
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Fantastic result! McFadz made a huge difference…was constantly talking and seemed to be in the right place.
I thought Stoke were decent. There’s been much worse teams at Ewood this year.
Special mention for Pears who gets a lot of shit and continues to do well. The penalty save was huge today.
Final mention for Eustace. Coming down and rolling his sleeves up when we were under the cosh. I like that. You’ll do for me, John!
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4 hours ago, arbitro said:
An interesting theory about the power struggle and one I'd never thought of but it might have some legs. If so it puts me in mind of the Shagnew and Singh time which saw us ridiculed as they battled each other, much to the detriment of Rovers. Alongside Waggott I'm assuming will be Suhail whilst Tomasson and Broughton were in the other corner. Didn't Tomasson name check Waggott and Suhail in his very last public interview last Saturday?
Of course I'm joining the dots here but this makes more sense than any theory I've heard for some time.
Heaven help us 😞
Absolutely - Waggott & Suhail vs GB and JDT.
When you look at the course of the last few weeks. Everything has gone Waggott way.
McFadz, Fleck and Eustace are Swags guys. Ergo the writing is on the wall for Gregg and Swag has fortified his position!
The one shred of hope I have is that everything I’ve read about the recent Coventry jolly boys reunion is that their character is not in doubt.
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1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:
Dolan at wing back with JRC further forward would be bizarre. Dolan isnt a wing back under any circumstances.
Moran is poor albeit in a season weve had players like Wahlstedt and Telalovic, not the worst player weve had in years.
Just opinions.
I quite like Dolan at wing back. I’ve seen him play there a couple of times and it helps him focus on what he’s good at, getting up and down. Again, just my opinion but I’d like to see JRC further forward. He has more goal threat than any of our wingers or forwards bar Szmod.
As for Moran, I’m just not having him. He’s weak, slow and for a technical player seems to struggle placing 5yrd passes. He’s played a lot and not delivered. Another who’s probably dodged more criticism because of the off field stuff.
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Here’s how I would line us up…
Pears
Hyam. McFadz. Wharton
Dolan. Sondre Fleck Chrisene
JRC Szmodics
Gally
Subs - Leo, O’riordan, Billy K, Buckley, Garrett, Ayari, Sig, Leonard, Telalovic
Get the experienced lads into the team, extra man at the back and focus on the win at all costs. JRC anf Szmodics breaking from Midfield on the transition and the wing backs providing the width. Plenty of numbers and bodies between them and the goal. A game we must not lose…
1-0 to Rovers.
Note - I’ve purposely left Moran out because I’ve genuinely not witnessed a worse player than him for Rovers in years. Might be a good un one day, but wouldn’t get a game on my watch.
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Here’s my take…
JDT had to go. He’s far too outspoken about his bosses to last, especially in a run of 1 win in 11. It’s a shame because I think he’s a top manager, who with the right budget and support would’ve taken us up. But you can’t throw your bosses under the bus weekly, and survive. Best of luck to him, a chance missed by Rovers!
Eustace is a sound appointment on the face of it. The Birmingham fans seem to love him, a good young manager who didn’t deserve to be sacked. I’ve heard nothing to suggest we’ve got a dud. Though, oddly for me, at this stage I just don’t feel much, either way..
The plot thickens when you start to look at the board and I for one, see a huge power shift that’s happened. GB, for me is a dead man walking and if he’s not already gone, will have soon.
*Reaches for tin hat…
Swagg is at the wheel! If you look at the end of the transfer window it’s more evident than ever. The club sold AW to fund its operational costs, brought in McFadz and Fleck (ex Cov old boys), pulled the £5m signing set up by the DoF and replace JDT with Eustace, an aspiring young manager who, you guessed it, is an ex Cov lad.
I deduce that GB is in fact a goner, hence why he’s posting on his personal LinkedIn and not our official website. Every action above has Waggott sticky paws on it. He’s going nowhere, he just brought in trusted lieutenants at every level and emancipated Gregg Broughton.
We can only hope that by some stroke of luck, Mcfadz, Fleck and Eustace are as honest and hardworking as their reputation suggests because this is another huge moment in our history.
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Seems a well balanced article about Eustace.
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For anyone wondering what type of guy, style, manager Eustace is…seems positive overall.
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Pears
Hyam. McFadz. Wharton
JRC. Sondre. Ayari. Chrisene
Dolan
Gally. Szmodics
subs - Wahlstedt, O’riorden, Billy K, Siggy, Fleck, Moran, Garrett, Leonard.
Rovers - 3-1
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1 minute ago, AllRoverAsia said:
I have him as the Scottish Morsy, he could play a bit and was a major part of SU kicking their way up the leagues.
Like McFad, who is a genuine thug, and maybe Maguire, he adds much needed physicality to what was a soft team.
It may ease the load on Garrett to be the hard man and allow his football skills to develop more.
I messaged my Sheff United mate this morning about Fleck and McFadz on the back drop of us needing to toughen up, manage games better and drag the young lads through.
His reply “🤣🤣🤣…well you’ve nailed that brief then! Fleck and McFadzean are hard as fuckin nails. Not sure they’ve got the legs anymore but trust me, no one will mess with ya now!”
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For the record, i am going to hang my hat on Ayari being a good un. Defo see something in him, not necessarily sure it will be with us but watch that space…in 2yrs time 👍🏼
v Norwich City (h) - 24/02/2024
in Blackburn Rovers Fans Messageboard
Posted
Most likely, though I can see us playing and extra man in midfield like Chrisene and starting Dolan on the bench.