In theory, yes, I would take McDermott, but I just don’t get how you still have faith in a positive outcome from anything put in place under this ownership. If they don’t sabotage any chance of success when there are promising signs, Waggott does. We just go round and round in circles.

Surely it’s far more than , and is about the football philosophy of a club and recruitment . Secretary and finance are administrative roles. Ideally, yes, but which experienced , self respecting director of football will come here? It simply doesn’t matter who comes, because Rovers are riddled with gravy drinking rats in the boardroom who run riot in the owners’ absence. I remember saying to you about a year ago that Broughton would be replaced by another goon in a year or two, when you were lauding the club for appointing a director of football. It’s a conveyor belt of hopelessness.

Someone with more experience of senior level football would be preferable, eg an ex-manager, but the reality is, no matter who they hire, it’s simply a case of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. There’s been an ever changing list of personnel in senior positions ever since these owners took over. If we get someone competent, Waggott will soon see them off to protect his own position. It’s all futile.

Agree with much of this, and my gut feeling about Broughton has always been that he is out of his depth. Broughton had no previous experience at this kind of level, (he had various youth roles), and was reportedly the second choice for the job. That said, he has clearly been undermined by a much bigger culprit, the grotesque Mr Waggott. Good luck to the next poor sod who replaces Broughton. Even if he is any good, he’s got no chance at Venky Rovers.

It's actually Gallagher they're after 😉

I had to leave the debate yesterday evening, to be rested for an 05:45 book on today 🙂 I think it had got to the stage where all the ground had been covered, anyway. I absolutely understand why JDT was upset. Re - the stats, I’m certainly not doctoring the fact that we had the worst defensive record in the league towards the end of JDT’s reign. That tells it’s own story and fully exposes the mess we were in. I just think that keeping us up was no mean feat, no matter the margin, and the fact that was built on better defensive performances is telling. Anyway, we can now focus on the ever shifting circus of Venky’s era personnel, as Mr Broughton becomes the latest to stand on the trap door. It just never ends.

I certainly haven’t described Eustace as a “Messiah”. He has a lot of work to do next season, and probably in difficult circumstances once again. I’m crediting him for a job well done in retaining Championship status.

I’m basing my opinion on the sequence of results and performances (hopeless) leading up to JDT leaving. Rohl has done a great job, but was appointed in October, so had much more time to turn around Wednesday’s fortunes.

I dispute that it’s cherry picking stats. We were losing heavily on a regular basis and the direction of travel was one way only. The worst defensive record in the league. In my opinion, the only reason JDT never had us as close to relegation was because he was removed, (probably in the nick of time). He was doing the same things week in week out, with the same results, (either insanity or stubbornness). I accept that others have a different opinion, but mine is that Eustace did very well to help maintain our Championship status. He walked in to an absolute mess, on and off the pitch, and instilled a fighting spirit into a squad of players which had previously appeared to be waving the white flag. We needed a pragmatist and we got one. Yes, we slipped a little further, but the straight down trajectory was arrested, and that was crucial.

JDT did well at Malmo, but that’s hardly an indicator of a successful career in a tougher league. On the whole, JDT’s full season was good, but we didn’t get in the Play Offs, so I wouldn’t describe it as being near to promotion. I think the second half of the season slump was a fair warning of what was to come. At the business end of the season we certainly did not have the look of a side heading for promotion. JDT was let down by the powers that be, but still has to take some responsibility for the predicament he left us in. You have carefully omitted a mention of JDT’s relegation in Dutch football. JE’s career is still in it’s formative stages, but he’s shown enough in brief stints at other, equally troubled clubs, together with a successful relegation fight with us, to suggest he has something to offer. I think Sam Allardyce probably hit the nail on the head when he described JDT as a coach, not a manager. I think JE is a better fit for us, rather than someone on a puritanical crusade, often at the expense of results.

The results improved enough to keep us in the Division, and that is all that matters. 29 goals conceded in JDT’s last 12 matches. We were hurtling towards League One. The change in mentality discussed in the podcast was from “victims to fighters”, not about liking the new head coach. With regards to the playing careers of JDT and Eustace, that has got b*gger all to do with their abilities as head coaches / managers. A good player with pedigree does not necessarily make a good manager (they very often don’t), and an average player can still be a very good manager, (countless examples). Eustace is a pragmatist, as Big Sam said, and he opted for safety first. We didn’t lose any of those games, and Millwall and Plymouth were also fighting hard against relegation. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. That’s why Birmingham and Huddersfield fans would love to swap places with us.

What’s most interesting are Big Sam’s observations, ie calling JDT a coach not a manager and describing Eustace as pragmatic. Even the praise given to JDT by Szmodics is more from a coaching perspective. The interview also confirms that JDT was stubborn and had no Plan B. Just because Eustace gives them a couple of days of doesn’t make him a soft touch. Szmodics confirms a mentality change when Eustace arrived, and in my view that is why we stayed up, (more clean sheets etc).

He's managed to get Gardiner and Downing through the door, which is no mean feat, so Lowe is probably head of cones and bibs by now.

Broughton is responsible for transfers. JDT was quoted as saying he was consulted to give a final "yay" or "nay", but he did not source the players. Eustace will be the same as he is also the Head Coach, not the Manager.

We attracted him by telling him what he wanted to hear, but he could’t bring success amidst the reality and that’s why he’s no longer here. The only type of manager who’d have the slightest chance of success would be one who favoured a more direct style of play.

Amen. If it's the same budget as the season just gone, success will be staying up again.

He’s also dependent on the agreement of the Director of Football with regards to transfers , (and that’s before the finances come into it), Personally, I wish that wasn’t the case and he could just get on with it.

We all heard what the Coventry fans think about him after his man of the match award last weekend. He’s a leader, and we badly needed one.

Agreed, but we were a sinking ship and needed a pragmatic, temporary fix to keep us afloat this season. Eustace was successful to that end, and that’s all that matters. Yes, we need to be braver at home from the start of next season, but at least we will be starting it in the Championship.

Utter nonsense. How did getting rid of Eustace work out for Birmingham? I’ve just seen an interview with him on ITV and he had the class to say he is sorry they have gone down, (as a local lad he obviously supported them). He walked in to a total mess here, on and off the pitch, and please don’t bother with the seven point gap stuff because the direction of travel was firmly downwards. It’s not been a bed of roses, but he has achieved the objective and that is all that matters. There isn’t a manager on Earth capable of suddenly turning us into a good team, capable of winning week in week out. We had the worst defence in the league and he addressed that. The real problems lie further up the food chain, meaning any manager / head coach will have his work cut out.

Yes, the bottom line is that they have generally fought hard since his arrival. Once that became evident I started to become more confident about survival than I was before he arrived.

We all do, Chaddy, but midtable would be utopia, unless there is a seismic change of direction. This lot are running the club into the ground.

I’d rather aspire to be balanced than always positive. I’d love it if Venkys suddenly started running the club properly, but if it was going to happen it would’ve happened by now. Next season will likely be a fight for survival, at best.

Fair enough, and get well Tony, but still funny 😂

Where is this parallel universe, Chaddy, and please can I come too? 😉