Transvision Vamp - Landslide of Love

(I'm on a roll!!)

Transvision Vamp - Velveteen

Stevie Winward - Higher Love 

That's made my day that has, I had Wendy James all over my bedroom wall as a lad, and they were my first ever gig, Manchester Apollo, remember it well!!

Queen - One Vision

Soul Asylum - Runaway Train

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Madonna - True Blue

Alison Moyet - That Ole Devil Called Love 

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies

11 minutes ago, JBiz said:

I am looking it as a whole, it was mainly boring and tepid. Some of the games got me off my seat - the Sheff United game in the league and the cup stuff but ultimately;

He got the same amount of points as the much maligned Mowbray. With a style of football that bored me to death. Each to their own.

JDT did as well as the very experienced Mowbray in his first season at this level (compared to TM's 5 seasons with us and 20 odd more at this level elsewhere) with only half a pre season & an exodus of first 11 players to replace.

There were so many missed opportunities last season to get into the playoffs, the margin was that narrow. Hirst's missed penalty, Cov's handballing keeper, Hedges' rush of blood, Hyam's knee, Dingles' 1-shot 1 goal, the obvious handball by whatshisuglyface. They're what stopped us achieving playoffs, not JDT.

JDT did great overall IMO, I am v looking forward to this season. Individual mistakes happen, like A Wharton's crossfield pass straight to Millwall's goalscorer. Cut those out & score more goals, there's no reason we can't go at least 1 better this season.

6 hours ago, rigger said:

It's the agents that matter.

Very often one & the same at younger academy level. I agree for 17 years upwards, but again having a good reputation with agents is no bad thing (sadly).

10 hours ago, philipl said:

Agreed but they are getting the chance when most clubs would have ejected them by now.

Add Barnes to the list of contract extensions when injured.

Sends messages to the players themselves but also for Academy recruitment. 

Rovers are a club that sticks by you in rough times and takes a longer view.

Hopefully helps the case for the Rovers Academy when talking to top developing talent and who knows, might even help with retaining players we want to keep.

When you factor in that compassionate element to our academy system alongside of a clear & proven route into first team football that is well-established, you'd think that would count for a hell of a lot in the minds of potential players' parents, if not the players themselves.

https://trainingground.guru/articles/premier-league-2-to-switch-to-swiss-style-format-from-next-season

This seems to be being reported in a number of places, so guessing it's true, but I can't see any mention of it from Rovers' perspective.

It seems like we would've been the only PL2 div 1 side not to have had a say in this, wonder if there is an ulterior motive to it besides those stated? 

Less games overall, with more games being against middling teams, doesn't sound to me to be as beneficial for our younger players & marks a massive shift in the goalposts I'd say...

Sad day, but inevitable in the circumstances & probably best for all concerned.  He was the brightest spark that helped lead us out of some very dark times, and for that I'll always be grateful. 

To suffer two such horrendous injuries consecutively like he did was so unlucky. He was on the cusp I think of helping us to better things, either as part of a team challenging at the top or as a sold asset, realising some 2000%+ of his purchase price.

Easily Mowbray's finest moment for us.

Good luck to him in the future wherever he ends up,he deserves some good news.

7 hours ago, Upside Down said:

I'd say its a U for the backroom but a B- for the playing side. Played some good games and ground out some results but threw far too many games away with not turning up. 

D overall. 

If it was C then we'd be in the play-offs. 

I'm not disagreeing, those scores are definitely in range.

But a D is a failure in old money (I.e. not accepted at college & university) and I think, given the goal on his appointment last summer, JDT and his coaches have done well overall despite the admin cock ups, and in the main the players were left exposed to making physical & mental errors due to the lack of depth in the squad that 2 or 3 more decent players could've brought (O'Brien, one or two experienced strikers & / or Brierley).

As for the backroom team it would be a U but for the fact that most young players with promise or who have broken through already are on long term deals. If the stated aim was long term stability & self reliance then that's the main big step achieved IMO. Of course, that has to be realised by their ongoing development, contribution to success on the pitch & / or being very saleable assets (much to prove), and that just cannot mask the shambles that was January which, imo, ultimately is what caused us to miss out..

B+ for me for JDT,  coaching staff & players. Didn't expect us to be in contention at all back in summer.

But it's an F for the backroom team who let everyone down very badly. Just when we needed them to perform, they failed.

So overall it's a C for me.

Hurts like hell right now but, being objective, that has to be the score.

I've sent another email to SW, hopefully he will reply to this one rather than just have his assistant acknowledge it & say it had been passed on.

7 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

Gallant failure in the end, is what it is. It will likely be dressed up as being a terrific effort from a young side, who just missed out, in some quarters. If we had finished in this position after occupying a mid table/lower half position for most of the season, I would agree with that. But not like this.

The reality is, it was in our hands, and we threw it away. Yes, they did well to get into that position in the first place, but personally, I can't look at the way the season ended and hold a "nobody expected this in August, what a great effort" outlook.

Brereton disappeared when it mattered over recent months, we conceded late goals when it mattered over recent months, we squandered many great chances, Hyam turned nervy at pressure moments, the Sheff United cup defeat was a body blow. All of that is what did it for us, not today.

It was a good second half performance today, we looked better without Travis in the middle, and we could go on to achieve something if JDT is backed with the right signings. The latter is the entire issue though. He might have seen enough already in January with that fiasco, to think "I'm out". We aren't far away, but the running of the club is a mess and is what is costing us over and over again.

It's a sickener to see us come back from two goals down to win a game TODAY, on the final day, when it ultimately counts for little. Where has this been all season?

It's a sickener that BBD turns up today to score twice after months of no shows. Where has he been for months on end?

It's a sickener to think that simply holding on to a 1-0 lead against either one of Preston or Coventry would have been enough for us to make the top 6.

It's a sickener to see Mowbray sneak a 6th place finish and for us to help him do it. 

Sickener is the word.

I'll tell you what else is pissing me off. The thought of somebody sitting in his office hoping that the January debacle is soon forgotten about by the fans.

We won't forget.

Silvester out. Waggott out.

Can't argue with any of this.

I do think today will prove to be a bitter lesson for everyone at the club. It's a combination of things that have left us in this position, I'd say in this order of significance.

1. Mistakes in January

2. Invisible / disinterested owners.

3. Individual player errors / decision making

4. Poor substitutions

5. Poor team tactics

6. Bad luck / poor officiating.

4 of those are remediable at dressing room level.

The bit in italics above I typed before the game but failed to send as I was out. Couldn't be more true imo after this afternoon.

Gutted is not the word. Given the margin of missing out we can point to any number of individual incidents that have proven costly, but the overall issue is mismanagement above JDT (I.e. 1 & 2 above).  I hope to God he stays despite that, because I believe he can take us further given the right support.

Time for my another email to Steve Waggott; hopefully he actually responds to this one, rather than leave his assistant to acknowledge it & confirm it had been passed on.

1 hour ago, DE. said:

Keeping in mind the context was the likes of Coventry, Millwall and Luton above us, and the teams at the lower end of the league, do you think we're facing a significant disadvantage based on that? Remembering that as far as the academy is concerned, we have a very good one that is highly funded relative to a lot of other clubs. 

If you do then fair enough, for the record, it's all about opinions... but I don't think there's good reason to say we're way above where we should be in this league. I think if we finish 8th - 10th that's an average position based on what we have available.

Coventry, Luton & Millwall are all punching above their weight granted,  much like we did under Souness & Hughes. Those 3 benefit from having solid foundations playing staff wise; JDT inherited a squad bereft of half a dozen first teamers, inc the player of the season.

Doesn't mean we can't still be punching above our weight in this div given what we have. W Brom, Norwich, Watford to name 3 should be ahead of us in terms of squad value etc. 

53 minutes ago, DE. said:

We're on a winless run of 8, one of if not the worst run of form in the division, and we've gone from 3rd a few months ago to 8th now with an outside chance of getting into 6th - the second season in a row in which we've let a golden opportunity slip. How can one not understand a generally pessimistic outlook with those facts in mind?

As far as us being way above where we should be - why? Are there that many  teams below us with significantly more budget, better players or a better overall setup than us? Past history would suggest not. We've been upper mid-table for the vast majority of the season two seasons in a row now, so it only makes sense to place us in that bracket in our current state. Are Coventry, Millwall and Luton in a much healthier place than us in terms of budget and players? They aren't using these issues as an excuse not to excel. It's Luton's second season in a row in the top six - 6th last year and likely 3rd this year. 

We don't need to accept mediocrity, and we shouldn't accept it either. We have a £7m and £5m strikeforce. We were close to signing a PL striker in Undav on loan and prepared to pay O'Briens PL wages in January, before our recruitment team ballsed up the paperwork, so we haven't exactly been shopping in the bargain basement over the years.

 

Today's likely 11:

Pears £300k (or TK, free?)

JRC - academy

Carter - academy

Hyam - £1.6m

Pickering - free

A Wharton - academy 

Travis - academy

Hedges - free (or Thomas, loan)

Dolan - free

Dack - £500k (or Szmodics £1.6m?)

BBD £5m - £7m (or Leonard, academy)

Let's face it, the big fees are outliers, in many people's eyes costly mistakes.

Factor in the likes of Buckley (academy), Morton (loan), S Wharton (academy), Ayala (free), Garrett (academy), Phillip's (academy) plus of course Gallagher, and the frugality massively outweighs the splurges.

With a new management team w/o Championship experience, hamstrung by a dysfunctional admin team & disinterested owners, and it puts things a little more into perspective IMO.

No, just £12 extra!!

6 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Unfortunately there’s a booking fee.

Stop peeing on today's parade, that doesn't fit the narrative, so is irrelevant.

Jeez, the negativity on here...!!

Blowing my own trumpet, I also donated a small amount to the Trust, but didn't count that either.

So, starting today off on the positive note I intend it to continue, I've just booked my early bird season ticket for 23/24 then I don't forget in the excitement / anguish of post-match mentality.

£379 for 19 matches works out at £19.95. That's surely an omen right, 1995??

C'mon boys, don't make me feel instant regret!!

5 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

It's not me that needs belief, it's the players and it's up to them to show some passion, get the job done by hook or by crook, and prove me wrong

Whoever's name is above the door, whatever incompetence has occurred on & off the pitch in the last 12 years or 12 weeks, this club is OUR club and this is still the best chance we've had of returning to the Prem since we came down.

It's in our hands, however we might have struggled to get points on the board these last few games, we'd all have taken this in summer.

The players have shown passion IMO, they've shown desire; what they've lacked is killer instinct, experience & no small amount of luck. 

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

The ship has long since sailed unfortunately.

No, the ship's still at the quay side waiting for late arrivals, but the captain's revving the engines & about to tell his crew to cast off.

I want us to be sprinting now to be on that ship, I presume you do too & if so you need to find some optimism & belief for tomorrow night.