Some captain pulling a sickie.

But his pragmatic football has not led to an improvement in results. You cant just dismiss a third of the season as not the time to work on how to attack. You would think we by now should clearly be able to see how he wants to attack and then that could be refined going forward. But nothing. Just the defenders and at times central midfielders just aimlessly twatting the ball forward to no one in particular. You wouldnt be able to tell me what style he is trying to play and if you did, its not a style that shows signs of working from an attacking sense. Weve scored 2 in our last 5. I dont think he did VERY well at Birmingham either. I just cant fathom what you have seen to suggest that he deserves a summer to bring in his own players etc. But I suspect its just because you know he will get the summer so may aswell pretend that its going in the right direction.

Nobody would prefer specifically to play really defensive and negative tactics. Youve confused that with people being willing to play that or thinking that we would be better off playing like that in order to get better RESULTS. And playing like that HASNT led to good results, the results have been terrible. Even if he "only has faith" in 4 or 5 attacking players. We dont play in a way where it looks like the team has been coached in how to attack, everything is aimless. We do often play direct but its not even a case of him playing off Gallagher, its often just punt the ball forward to no one in particular and lose it. I dont see any patterns of play at all. I think its pretty desperate clinging onto a run of 1 win, 2 draws and a defeat back to back where we saw slightly better performances, especially when that was 4 or 5 games back. Youve still not said what green shoots you have seen whereby you still have total faith in him and would even if we went down. Aside from keeping a few clean sheets. I think its a case where you know he WILL be here so cant possibly accept that he might not be the man to take us forward.

Weve got 8 points from 7 post international break so any improvement has been marginal. Ultimately people just want results, they dont want to play more pragmatic football, they just would accept it if it meant better results. Which isnt the case under Eustace. I dont know how many points exactly would quantify him a success. I just know that less than a point a game certainly doesnt give me any hope. And I dont even see green shoots. We dont play like a side that is coached at all in how it should attack. The club is rotten and Eustace clearly isnt THE problem. The problem is, has been and always will be the owners. (Who never refuse to sign off a cheque) So you are right about that. But it doesnt mean that we cant judge Eustace at the same time, as long as you acknowledge those difficulties. Doesnt really matter how supposedly well regarded he is in the game, or what the mighty Kiddiminster Harriers fans think of him. His results now over a reasonable period even considering those difficulties is shocking. We dont play like a side that is coached or has a game plan in how to attack. We continue to waste every attacking set piece. Weve not won a single home game over him. As an aside, I dont think you can compare United to us. They certainly arent rotten like we are, and Ten Hag has had the luxury of a number of signings for huge fees that he has worked with before, so he has no excuse for underperforming.

Dewsbury Hall is out of tomorrows game.

Id like to think that even armed probably with a small budget, that we woul Sigurdsson and Markanday are wingers, just not very good ones, having played all their football for us there. And Dolan either plays wide or up front, I bet you could count his games as a number 10 on one hand. Id certainly have zero faith in any of them effectively stepping up to replace Szmodics.

Im not convinced we will ever find out because it would take the manager changing their position to do so.

Whittaker doesnt play that position even if he was remotely realistic. But 3 players who will have played minimal football in that position between them in their career and all players of varying levels of questionable effectiveness to be kind to them are not adequate cover.

In the 15 league games weve failed to score in 7 and only scored 1 in a further 6 of those. And I havent seen any plan in terms of seeing how we are trying to attack, I cant see one, plus we havent improved at all on attacking set pieces. All this being said, wins, losses, goals for, goals against. 14 points from 15 games is all you need to know. Shite.

On no planet is that happening.

Not a clue. I dont think he is the man to take us forward. His results havent been good enough and I think deep down even you know that hence your desperation to tag on the Stoke win to make his points per game seem less shit. Even beyond that, do I see green shoots of going in the right direction? No. I have seen no gradual improvement in line with more time on the training ground. We have spurned numerous attempts for him to get even one home win considering some favourable fixtures. I have seen absolutely no patterns of play in terms of attacking, we just lump it aimlessly forward so often. Dont mind the football being more pragmatic if its effective, but its just boring and ineffective, not a good combination. We had real issues with attacking set pieces under Tomasson, I read that he could improve us there, no improvement whatsoever. I acknowledge the difficulties in taking the Rovers job, but I don't think hes done well enough even taking that into account. But he will be here, and would be even if we went down. 2 years on his deal, Venkys wont pay him up. I know youll say we wont go down, and I dont think so either, other results will keep us up. But for you would his job be safe even if we went down? Im still to see specifically what you have seen to warrant continuing with him.

I think at Birmingham, obviously he left them in 6th but it was somewhat misleading in that it was so soon in the season, there was about 2 points between them and something stupid like 17th, and they then had Middlesbrough, Hull, Southampton and Ipswich in the following 4 games following his departure, so I suspect they wouldnt have stayed 6th.

If he had a reasonable record otherwise, there wouldnt be this discussion. With or without that game, still to see WHY he warrants the privelidge of being able to take us into a new season based on his work so far. I know he will as Venkys wont pay him up, but I dont think he should really.

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/february/09/eustace-appointed-rovers-head-coach/ Rovers’ first team coaches David Lowe and Damien Johnson will take charge of tomorrow’s home game against Stoke City, with new Head Coach John Eustace in close attendance.

The sources you see online usually just regurgitate wages from football manager, and it will be based on his Sheff United wage. He may have been on that there, but he wont have just continued on that same wage here.

No, it wont be 4 wins even if we beat Leicester. Unless we beat them twice. Still not seen any theory behind what has been seen to suggest he has done enough to see something to work with. Repeating give him a summer and give him some players doesnt tell me what he has done so far to give us any confidence that hes the right man. Adding a win that he wasnt officially in charge of suggests that you know his record his shit, it is shit, less than a point per game is relegation form. So you are trying to make it seem less shit.

Id be amazed if Fleck was on near £20k, he will have been paid up to leave Sheff Utd. Either way, whatever we spent on a guy with a plate in his leg was a waste.

Hes done nothing to suggest that he is the man to take us forward. Will it be 2 wins in 18 if he fails to win at the weekend?

I cant believe that anyone genuinely looks back at loaning out our captain and thinks yep, that was a logical move.

Everything seems immaterial as opposed to new owners. But imagine what a squad fit around what Eustace wants would look like. We need to accept that Eustace has not shown anything to suggest success will come with him at the helm and make a change. Wont happen as the owners dont care and also wont pay him off.

Or more likely lose but scrape over the line due to the other results.

Why would Eustace suddenly become a different character and become really positive and attacking? Itll be a back 5, sit in job trying to grind out a nil nil. Leicester will win but other results will almost certainly get us over the line.

He definitely would not have hindered us.

You can pick flaws in the managers in both seasons, Mowbray's use of Giles, Tomasson picking Morton over Wharton/playing Mola at Burnley. Not really relevant to the point I was making. Both Januarys, minimal money spent, no autonomy to trade, seasons petered out.

Do all the other Championship fans praise their owners for offsetting the losses they make which they have to do to avoid the club going into administration? Nothing they have done suggests theyve ever cared about the quality of the squad.