10 minutes ago, J*B said:

Says Nicko or someone credible?

In fairness he’s got a lot right over recent times 

Farke interested in the job 

It really is a sad state of affairs when we are in April and for the second time since we came down 10 years ago we are still very much in contention for the top 6 and yet it feels like our season is over, normally by this stage there is nothing to play for, just slow dead rubber games not even an affirm to give it everything to make the final league position more pretty and give us something to build on. 5 games left we should be full of excitement in a final push for the 6 but no.. fraudbray has completely sucked the enthusiasm out of the supporters and even players, we should have paid out the remaining months of his contract and got rid weeks ago to give us a chance, I would have installed Johnson as caretaker for the rest of the season cause that way we would have more of a chance of qualifying for the play offs under an intelligent respected coach than this boring old sod who doesn’t seem to care about what is the last chance of putting a real achievement on his cv, we would do no worse. 
 

we can all talk lineups all we want… common sense lineups… but it’s a waste of time cause fraudbray doesn’t do common sense, he seems to think he’s clever by Doing the opposite when he’s been sussed out with the same baffling formation and tactics since the turn of the year. 
 

I cannot wait to have a proper manager who atleast does the basics of players in their actual positions 

On 09/04/2022 at 20:56, Athlete said:

Reasonable..lol..he gave the title to Wigan FFS

TBH his tactics actually relegated us in the 1st instant ok blame Coyle and the unprecedented points required..but anyone not looking from rose tinted glasses remember Wolves away the 2nd to last fixture when we didnt have a shot at goal when one goal would have kept us up..the guys a fraud remember his Celtic record or his devon loch collapse from 2nd twice at boro

Agree Ince and  kidd excepted he is pound for pound the worst Rovers manager I remember including coyle and dare I say it king rat himself

Well said, wolves was 3rd from last and my wolves friend said all the fans around him had to check we wasn’t already safe cause we played like we was on the beach and they literally had nothing to play for and we’re awful so mowbrays negative ways have always been here, he’s an absolute fraud 

On 08/04/2022 at 14:40, toogs said:

People seem to forget this. He should have kept us up despite the mess Coyle left us in. 
 

 

Exactly! He had plenty of time we was hardly 20 points adrift when he took over. 
 

We beat forest on good Friday then played Barnsley at home the bank holiday Monday and lost badly, we barely went forward we was there for the taking yet the forest win got us out the drop zone then went to wolves and played a heartless draw before the last two games we won wasn’t enough plus villa pretty much let us win as they had newt to play for and wanted Birmingham to go down, so mowbrays negative crap has always been a thing yet I took abuse on social media from the start cause I called him out and everyone thought he was a hero 

Fraudbray at his best, struggling against a side beaten by a poor Preston team who have little to play for yet we still have a chance of 6th and we still don’t turn up, what an utter waste of a solid at team under this fraud manager 

Not at the game cause I’m on nightshift but I feel for my cousin who’s took my 5 game ticket for the night cause this looks pathetic! 
 

bad enough we’ve seen Buckley at false 9 but now Johnson ? An over the hull cdm? I swear fraudbray is doing this on purpose to piss off his rightful haters. 
 

pay off the remaining months of the  frauds contract and install Damien Johnson as caretaker for the rest of the season.. we can only get better and it may just save our season. 
 

yet there are still happy clappers who like Mowbray the man is a retard and a genius in his own mind 

It really annoys me how much stick people give to Gallagher and Buckley when they are both out of position and Mis managed by a crap manager, a better manager with knowledge will turn them to gold 

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I think if we fail to get into the top 6, then we need a change of manager. If we go up, Mowbray 100% deserves a new contract. For me the grey area (many seem to have already backed themselves into a corner and want the manager out no matter how well/badly the season ends which seems illogical to me) is if we finish in the top 6 but dont go up. To me that would still be a very good season under the circumstances and would signify progression and warrant a renewal. Im not convinced that we will finish in the top 6 although one thing we can be sure about is that Venkys will not act logically no matter what happens. 

Assuming we are in the Championship, the playing squad overhaul would be very difficult. Lenihan, Nyambe and Rothwell will all leave after seemingly a couple of years of failed negotiations, and along with the loanees will leave big holes. Had the manager been allowed autonomy over transfers in January, we would now have 2 further assets into next season and beyond, but Venkys allowed their stubornness to overrule business sense. An almost certain Brereton sale should allow us not only to sign a replacement for him (we will struggle to get an equal replacement of course) but also replacements for Nyambe and Lenihan, should Venkys allow funds for reinvestment which there is no excuse not to do especially considering the unspent Armstrong millions. I doubt that they will though.

Dacks return to fitness will be key, Markanday and Carter are more uncertain. The former is a rookie at senior level and the latter impresses at League 1 but has always looked shaky in the Championship.

Unfair to say that about Carter when he’s out on loan for that purpose 

2 hours ago, Upside Down said:

If we are not in the Premier League by the summer then Mowbray should definitely be gone. Whether that happens or not is yet to be seen. 

The question is of course, who would be his replacement? 

Firstly, there is not likely to be a big wage on offer. 

Then there is the reality of attracting someone who will have something about them that can offer us more than just meandering around in the second division. They will have to do a total squad rebuild, likely with little to no funds.

What can Rovers offer to anyone coming in? We are a club with no ambition, no drive, no desire no heart, no soul and no purpose. We are marching into our second decade of disgrace.

We are a joke, a shadow of what we used to be and the owners have shown no ambition to do anything other than potter about in the middle of this piss poor league. 

It’s not that bad all we are lacking is a manager with sense attleast. We are in the same boat of a lot of championship clubs when it comes to budget and ffp stops the owners investing 

3 hours ago, Waggy76 said:

Be no surprise if they just gave it to Venus instead......

I had similar thoughts , god it is scary !!

That would finish me off and I would end up spending the season ground hopping instead

4 hours ago, JHRover said:

Lots of good thoughts in there.

In terms of Mowbray's future, if I was running the Club it would be as follows:
 

- Gets us promoted = 1 year extension and substantial bonus, given the summer and early next season to see how we start but with a contingency if we are struggling to roll the dice on a top manager

- Gets us in the play offs and we lose = a conversation to be had, slightly ambivalent tbh and much would depend on what the owners had planned budget wise, who else was available and what the senior players were thinking. I know it isn't something that will happen here but yes at other clubs the owners and directors listen to noises coming from the dressing room and factor those into considerations.

- Miss out on the play-offs = off you go, thanks for your efforts, time for someone else to have a go

 

I say 'if I was running the club' because I think we all know that there will be no such considerations here, and I firmly expect that Mowbray will stay if he wants to. Venkys will not take him to India to sack him and I very much doubt they have any appetite or interest in axing the coaching staff, embarking on another recruitment process and then having to 'get to know' the new man who won't bring a CEO with him.

The only issue might be whether Mowbray wants to stick around. I don't buy the whole family man, long commute, hard life talk from him. He's got a great job, is effectively his own boss doing what most people in football would love managing a good club how he wants. He's been doing it for nearly 20 years straight so obviously loves it and during that time has worked in Ipswich, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Coventry so he's obviously happy to commute and move around as most in football have to do if they want to last in it.

One thing that occurs to me is that maybe he will throw in the towel due to being fed up with Venkys. It is obvious there was a serious issue around this time last year. A surprisingly good run up to January seemed to overcome that and reignite things with him but after another shambolic transfer window he might be at the end of his tether, especially if there's no money in the summer and the players leave on frees.

Then again if they offer him a deal and some sort of backing I don't think he could resist.

 

If this run continues and we miss out and then Mowbray gets another contract I think we will be looking at a further drop in season ticket sales, especially with idiotic pricing and sales windows again.

As for who to replace him with most of the obvious names have been snapped up by rivals. People like Steve Bruce, Chris Wilder, Alex Neil, Danny Cowley and Mark Hughes would have been on my list but all now employed elsewhere. Gary Rowett another who consistently overachieves.

There are options like Slaven Bilic, Daniel Farke, Valerien Ismael tried and tested at this level and available but likely to cost. 

But of course when paying people the money Venkys are there is a big wide world out there to explore and recruit from rather than limiting ourselves to familiar names or the lower leagues. 

If we were to look down the divisions I'd like to consider poaching Evatt from Bolton, or looking at Liam Manning at MK Dons, or Mark Bonner at Cambridge, all of whom have done very well in short managerial careers. Ryan Lowe would have been another before Preston moved for him.

But I think it will be the agency scrapheap to find someone without compensation who will work with the existing setup. So come on down Nigel Adkins or Tony Pulis, 

Oh no 

With mowbrays contract running out this summer makes it an interesting summer indeed. So what’s your views on it ? Should he be offered a new deal or let go ? 
 

I for one only think he should be given a new deal is if he manages to get us up, a 1 year deal max as a reward, but I cannot see that happening nor do I think he will wanna stick around in the championship when he’s expressed clearly before he misses his family time. promotion as of January was there for the taking, no other team look like they are good enough apart from Fulham, Bournemouth are there by default and the rest simply not good enough excluding forest and boros rise of course, it says it all when a mediocre team of journeymen and cloggers like Luton are knocking on the door, but also says a lot about their manager as much as I dislike him cause of how he is I wouldn’t be against recruiting him as our boss if he gets the best out of his team like he is doing now, he certainly doesn’t lack passion and would be a refreshing site on the touch line compared to sleepy Mowbray who looks lost when it’s not going well.

SQUAD TURNOVER: this summer should rovers do the likely and fail to win promotion will be the biggest transitional squad building process since 2013 so whoever the manager is will need to Recruit smoothly, so many key departures with loans and contracts expiring, khadra and JPVH going back to Brighton and lenihan, nyambe, Rothwell all leaving with their deals up which again falls back on Mowbray and waggot for leaving it so late to start negotiations, aswell as other squad players who are unlikely to get new deals. BBD will also be sold, coming down to the last year and will not be short of suitors and will probes be sold due around 16m like Armstrong, which will be needed to rebuild the team. Of course it all changes if he do manage to work a miracle and get promoted.

NEW MANAGER IDEAS?: I know there isn’t a lot of available managers out there who could definitely do a better job nor can we be too fussy given our budget, but it’s not as though I for one expect us to be in a promotion battle every year, it’s not like I want Mowbray gone cause he’s bottling it when I’ve not wanted him for years cause of the same shite every year, the only thing making this one that little bit more stand-able is cause of that November to January run we went on that shot us up the league and the new system he stumbled upon that payed off until we was inevitably sussed out, mowbrays lack of Plan B and square pegs round roles mentality is what’s drove rovers fans with an eye site bonkers for a good 3 years at least, I couldn’t care less if the new man comes in and play's football that but kore uglier as long as it gets us the results and makes us a tough dude to beat and brings back the basics. You look at Sam Gallagher and john Buckley as examples of being victims of mowbrays stubborn and bizzare ways, being thrown under the frustrated and angry fan bus by playing them completely out of position, Buckley who is a sit deep type of playmaker beijg thrown up top as a false 9 expected to score goals, 6 foot 3 Sam Gallagher thrown out on the left wing expected to cut in and smash in a curling 25 yarder, it’s absolutely awful and Others will no doubt judge the lads on the performances they put in while being mismanaged like this but I know there is two good players right there if implemented and managed properly that’s why it’s key to bring in a manager who doesn’t using square pegs for round holes, and doesn’t fancy himself as some smart arse tinker man thinking he can outwit and outsmart every manager with his predictable dull system like he’s pep or klopp!. I won’t claim to know of anyone we can bring in from abroad as I don’t know much about any league outside of Britain anymore as I haven’t payed much attention for a good 10 years, plus they are a gamble anyways and mostly turn sour but my options would be 👇and of course please give me your suggestions too.

 garage ainsworth: done a fantastic job on a budget, gets the best out of what he’s got, would bring us back to basics and a respected figure who will maintain a tight knit dressing room, and it’s a local lad and rovers fan through and through will certainly not lack passion and enthusiasm like we’ve seen with Mowbray at times when things go sour. 

nathan jones: working miracles at Luton, currently in the top 6, full of passion, and as said above he’s getting the best out of a crappy squad, only signed loans, and journeymen and look at where they are ? Very hard team to beat with a never say die attitude and I don’t think it would take much to bring him away from that shithole. 
 

THE SQUAD FOR 22/23: looking at the squad we have left after the likely departures should we remain in the championship this is what we have left in terms of first team players 

GK’s: kaminski, pears 

Defenders: Wharton, Ayala, Carter, Pickering, JRC, edun, brown 

Midfield: travis, Buckley, Garrett, 

Attack: Gallagher, Dolan, hedges, mackanday, dack, burns

this squad is of course thin and lacks depth in every department but with sensible recruitment and more promotions in the academy and a system implemented to get the best out of the players we have and will have it certainly does not lack the foundations to rebuild a solid team again. Also expect to see the likes of ash Phillips come into the mix soon.

I look forward to reading all your opinions. 

20 minutes ago, BigBar said:

He's not without his flaws but anyone blaming Tony for that needs to vent their anger elsewhere. Look at John Buckley who did sweet FA and has done for months, Khadra who took a shite penalty and looked nervous over it from the moment it was on him to put it away. Gallagher at nothing and brushed off the ball like a schoolboy. We are carrying passengers and lads hiding away from responsibility. Shameful the way that went tonight.

It's on the players end of story. Grow a set lads and stop hiding. The saw where they were in January as a successful season. Weak mentality.

Credit to Daragh, Van Hecke, Wharton and Nyambe at the back. Rothwell and Trav played well. The rest need a good hard look at themsleves because youre letting the side down massively.

It’s Mowbray who is playing Buckley out of position so he’s responsible 

Poor first half struggling with the basics giving them too much joy in the middle but by god you can tell they are a side built by wilder dirty insidious tactics like Luton 

Awful so far giving the ball away like a bunch of nervous kids 

2 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

MGP is still playing so should be one of the fittest, therefore would surely start.

Impact sun plus you play min 3 games so starting lineup will change 

As we all probably know the good old masters football is returning with regional tournaments starting next year. If you have a r recollection of the old tournaments 2003 - 2011 rovers never did well so hopefully our modern veterans can do better. 
 

if they stick to the old format that sees 8 teams compete in groups of 4 which will likely be man United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, rovers, Bolton, Burnley, and between Wigan, Preston and blackpool for the last spot, after not getting round to attending the old tournaments I’m pleased myself that I will get the chance again, hopefully being a yearly thing. 
 

who would be in your rovers squad ? Must be 35+ 6 a side three subs also take into account they need to be a fit as poss 

GK friedel 

DEF hendry 

DEF samba 

MID dunn

MID tugay 

ST Jansen 

subs nelsen, MGP, Johnson 

Glad I won’t be there to witness it 

I decided on Saturday that I wasn’t even gonna pay £14 for sheff United I wouldn’t even pay 14p, mowbrsyvis careless and out his depth he doesn’t fear the sack he even appointed his own boss ffs, he couldn’t care less if he was sacked he just won’t leave even though he said he wouldn’t wanna be a burden cause he wants the pay off. Sick to death of him no enthusiasm, shite tactics, poor man management.

says it all that he’s already thrown away 2 half time 2-0 leads from the exact same tactics against two mediocre at best teams who was here for the taking. The mans ab arrogant wanker but unfortunately he’s here till may atleast but the big problem is the club needs all round change all the first team management team need clearing bar Johnson and the whole board room especially the owners.

I was picking and choosing games before now I ain’t gonna bother, I ain’t swimming in cash and there is no way I’m parting with 25 quid plus train or bus then food and drink plus my brothers ticket and even my partner for that crap when I can be spending the day doing something worth while

11 hours ago, Miller11 said:

We have a dirty ground in an ever worsening state of disrepair. Instead of fixing broken speakers all around the ground we turn them off. We have scrapped the programme due to the cost of it. Staffing costs are being cut left and right in all areas on and off the pitch. That’s just to name a few things, and let’s not forget fans are still refused refunds they are entitled to. However, we can buy a new scoreboard despite the old one appearing to function perfectly adequately and having a fucking massive screen in one corner of the ground.

I thought why have they bought that one which shows the team lineup and that when the big screen can be used for that ? The ground is a mess not along ago a proper premier league ground now we’ve fallen behind the times cause it’s been neglected 

Same old same old from borebray Christ almighty does the absolute bonehead not learn from his mistakes ? Second game I’ve been at home this season and it is the same result 2 up at half time sit back invite pressure abs inevitably concede an equaliser from 2 piss poor goals that’s not 4 times off the top of my head we’ve blown 2-0  leads at half time Wigan, Preston, Luton, now Coventry not to mention the times we’ve  just nicked it from 2-0 leads like at mk dons and Walsall. It’s pathetic and it’s not good enough all I saw the clown do was clap like a seal hands on his head then sits down soon as they equalise when any proper manager would be going ape sh*t 

makes me ask myself if I wanna bother now, I’m not a season ticket holder so I pick and choose my games and it’s just not wiry spending 25 quid plus, travel as I live in Preston aswell as food and drink and when my brothers ticket for this shambles and to be coming home fuming. Don’t care if sheff United is only 15 quid a ticket it ain’t worth it for this absolute garbage. 
 

we need a manager that will get the best out of his team and go for the kill, Luton, blackpool, Coventry all poor quality sides who have taken points off us from conceding pathetic school boy error goals I’m absolutely sick to death of it 

If brereton and gally are both out then front 3 of Dolan butterworth and khadra (if that’s how you spell his name) might not be the best on paper but would provide pace and something cov won’t be prepared for especially with butters having something to prove or another option is give burns a run out maybe off the bench, he is the next Adam Armstrong, I’ve said since I first watched him in 2020 youth cup he’s very similar to Armstrong abs will be his long term replacement just like Gallagher was supposed to replace graham until Mowbray saw him as the next beckham 🤣🤣🤣

21 hours ago, 47er said:

Rubbish! Not a single poster on here hated him. On the contrary everyone desperately wanted him to succeed but despaired that he ever would.Now he has we probably won't see much more of him!

  We haven't got an administration worthy of the name so ironically he could see his contract out and leave for nothing. Since this was allegedly Balaji's own money and investment I suspect he'll be flying over with a crowbar in his pocket should this occur!

But let's not reinvent history. This was not a good signing. If we had spent £4 million say, on a decent striker to play upfront with Armstrong and spent £8M on the defence, don't you think we might have gone up?

I'm willing to admit I never thought he would make anything of himself and after 3 bloody years he has. I wonder if his mother had been English would things have turned out this way? But it doesn't changed the fundamental point that ,at the time he wasn't what we wanted. Neither was Gallagher.

He was getting all sorts of stick all over social media I know case I always defended him