Miller11

While there are some player links with HSH (Smallwood, Joao, Watt) the fact our last 4 managers have come from there is very real. Bowyer was in situ, when he was sacked he was swiftly replaced by Lambert who is with HSH. Lambert walks due to not receiving the financial backing he was expecting. Cheston gets to work trying to find a replacement, interviewed several candidates fans were speculating about... the we got the “outstanding candidate” that was Coyle. Another HSH client. When Paul Senior managed to get rid of that idiot, what did we do? We employed another HSH client who was firmly on the scrap heap. Again, it wasn’t an inspiring appointment, none of us saw it coming, but in hindsight it was fairly predictable. That situation is bizarre enough, but without going into too much detail, HSH is Sheron, Honeyman, Horner. Do a quick google search... maybe throw the name Jerome in there too. I asked Steve Waggott about the relationship between HSH and the club last February. He wasn’t very happy, quite taken aback but it was undeniable the link was there. After some talk about how much he hated agents he said If and when the time comes to replace Mowbray (the way he worded it was ‘If Tony comes to me and tells me he’s had enough’, make of that what you will) he will go to market, do his due diligence, and get the best man for the job. I told him I didn’t doubt his intentions, but Venky’s May have a different idea.

This. This. This.

That chance where Nyambe crosses for Armstrong... Armstrong is wide of the near post, Brereton is on the outside of the far post. Ideally you want that ball put right in the middle of the box for an easy finish or easy header... nobody anywhere near. Our positioning in the box is always terrible!

It might be a good crossing position, but when there’s nobody to put a cross into, you need to look elsewhere for where the problem lies.

The prevailing opinion seems to be that this is all the fault of the evil EFL and poor Rovers are just a helpless bystander. I am no lover of the EFL, but I think it’s highly unlikely they have sent Steve Waggot an email this morning telling him they’ve just decided today is a bank holiday in their eyes. At the very least Rovers are guilty of selling something based on assumptions without bothering to check things thoroughly. And as for knocking a tenner off next season being the only solution. Bollocks. Just kicking the can, hoping people forget. There’s still fans who forked out for tickets to away games last season waiting for some form of recompense. That’s borderline robbery. But of course, none of this can possibly be poor on the clubs part!

I guarantee this will happen tonight... Nyambe busts a gut getting to the byeline, and a gap opens momentarily for a cross. Our left sided attacker is hovering around the far corner of the box, fairly static, being marked by their right back. One of the central midfielders is 4 yards behind him. Our central striker is dodging around the edge of the box trying to shake off his marker. He makes sideways runs without actually setting foot beyond the penalty spot. He will make a dart towards Nyambe looking for a cut back. Our right sided attacker is stood on the touch line, 8 yards behind Nyambe giving him an easy out ball, having got in his way initially. The ball will inevitably go to him, then to one of the midfielders who is in the middle third, then back to Lenihan... and we start again.

And Waggott a ready made excuse to milk the ever decreasing hardcore.

Hoping not to see Gallagher or Douglas on the pitch tonight. Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Bell Dack Trybull Rothwell Elliott Armstrong Brereton

Yeah. That was the one where I thought maybe they had learned their lesson. Ha! It’s funny how Mowbray’s appointment is reimagined as some sort of coup. He was absolutely on the scrap heap before he came here and I bet he couldn’t believe his luck. Not a single Rovers fan would’ve appointed him if it was down to them, it was completely out of left field and the thing that set him apart from anyone else in the eyes of Venky’s was the agency that represent him. It’s worked out ok, to a point, but he should be just as grateful to us for the chance he’s had to rebuild his tattered reputation as we should be for the job he has done.

Brilliant, brilliant post! There are a lot of people asking “Who would you replace Mowbray with?” That’s a really lazy argument for keeping him. There are dozens of options out there. If the question was “Who are Venky’s likely to replace him with?” It becomes a much more valid argument.

That just sounds stubborn Chaddy. Would your position change if we lost the next three games? 5 games? 10 games?

Absolutely awful news. Sounds like he was a fantastic human being by all accounts. Seeing the best and the worst of the wrestling community today. Representatives of both AEW and WWE have been superb, from Vince and Tony Khan down. Very respectful tributes paid, and I’m sure his family will get all their support. Sadly some of the fans are showing a complete lack of humanity and decency and trying to score points off the company they don’t like.

I’d agree with this being our best team, except I’d bring in Wharton for Lenihan. I think for the moment we have to stick with the 4-3-3. Brereton has found his role in this formation. The subtle change to a 4-2-3-1 really doesn’t suit him. Dack has all the attributes to play there, his role will be very different as goal scoring would be a less important aspect of his game. The thing is, if we go with him and Rothwell in there we HAVE to have Travis fit alongside them. Someone to do the dirty work who has enough of an engine. This won’t be a popular opinion, but Bennett would be my choice to deputise if/when Trav is unavailable. For all the depth in our squad it’s still very unbalanced.

Maybe not so much on here, but Twitter is full of it. Local journos seem to like that particular narrative.

For all the mentions they are getting, Armstrong, Nyambe and Elliott are not the problem here! Gallagher playing wide in the front 3 has never worked, has never looked like working, and I’ll say pretty confidently, will never work. A defence built around Darragh Lenihan will always be susceptible. Douglas is worse than Bell by some margin. Out best defender is expected to be one of our primary attacking threats. Our movement once we get anywhere near the oppositions box is dire. Every player seems to want to hang round the edge of the box... we often lack a target and ball retention above all else Seems the priority. This improved with Dack and Brereton coming on today. The snobbery around Wednesdays approach is as annoying as it is baffling. Presumably all those fans prattling on about “anti-football” had every sympathy with Arsene Wenger when he used to cry at us bullying results out of Arsenal under Hughes? No? I’d be really interested to see our possession stats broken down a bit... how much of that 70 odd percent was in the final third? That was boring, uninspiring and infuriating. Think Mowbray’s “journey” has stalled. At a functional club with a proper structure and competent owners in place his time would be up.

Haven’t watched it yet, but it looks completely ridiculous from the bits I’ve seen online. The WWE downturn since Bruce Prichard got back tight with Vince has been remarkable. I like Bruce and have been a big fan, but it’s undeniable at the moment.

Khan and Jericho (and Meltzer and Alvarez) have made no secret of their desire to hit a million rating. Throwing Sting and Shaq at it was pure hotshotting for me. While Omega and the Bucks May have not won all their matches, I don’t think they have put anyone else over in the slightest. They were always at the very least well protected, and even if they didn’t GO over, they made sure it was them who GOT over. I haven’t given it a lot of thought, but I can’t think off the top of my head of anyone who has been elevated working with them. The way FTR were used, for example has been a massive missed opportunity. Cody is a different kettle of fish... however, the positioning of his wife is ridiculous. Jericho, though not an EVP is the worst of all. Signing the likes of Luther, Cutler, Nakazawa, Reby Hardy and others, for no other reason than for them being friends/significant others of their big stars is a complete waste of money. None of them is even near Beefcake’s level. Christ knows what he’s paying Sting and Shaq. They’ve also expanded their roster a lot in the last 6 months or so... some good additions, some piss poor. On the flip side of that, they are burying JR every time they do something stupid (which is alarmingly frequent) and expect him to call it. Taz ripped into the Gunn boys on Dark for something stupid and contrived... I think JR does very well not to do similar. Expecting him to call an Orange Cassidy match? I don’t see how that happens without someone getting buried.

My view of AEW is a lot less positive. Recent weeks it’s been hotshotting to try and hit that million viewers, but many of the long-standing issues remain. Tony Khan makes Eric Bischoff look like a cross between Scrooge and Bill Watts. The EVP’s are on ego trips. Jericho and Hardy are even worse. The booking is illogical and so many of the wrestlers are sloppy and celebrate the fact they are untrained. The whole reaction to JR’s very valid comments recently sums the whole thing up. Boys club mentality. This is by no means an endorsement of the current WWE product. That’s unwatchable for different reasons.

Just catching up on this thread for the first time in ages. I hate Omega. I find him absolutely insufferable and fundamentally bad in the ring while he self indulgently moves from spot to spot.

I really want to give you the benefit of the doubt, however your avatar suggests you should be old enough to know better. You are likely just taking the piss, but if you genuinely believe this, I suggest you have a listen to the 10 Years of Venky’s episode we put out with @glen9mullan https://roversradio.airtime.pro/# And just do a few google searches.

I was happy when we sacked Allardyce. I naively assumes we would bring in someone better... That experience Is the main factor preventing me from fully endorsing the idea of getting rid of Mowbray. Judging by recent appointments our next manager would certainly be coming via HSH. Take your pick: Steve Cooper Mark Robins Craig Bellamy Gary Holt Tony Pulis Graham Wesley Micky Mellon Dave Challinor Dean Keats Tony Philliskirk

Brilliant post. People looking down their noses at Stoke need to really think about whether they’d rather be dragged kicking and screaming to get in and around the top 6, defending proficiently and winning games narrowly, OR finish somewhere between 9th and 14th playing “nice football”, which roughly translates to ball retention above all else.

Buckley again failing to grasp the opportunity. Maybe a loan is the answer... I desperately want him to push on, but how we make that happen is the big question. Gallagher should be used sparingly as a centre forward. Can’t fault his effort, but Dolan in for him on Saturday please. Lenihan with another poor showing. Douglas with another dire showing. Bell back in. Downing showing he still has an important role to play. Elliott was lively all game and showed a touch of class. Armstrong doing the business means he can be forgiven for some pretty poor decision making for the previous 96 minutes. Feel for Davenport. That goal looked like it could be the catalyst to kickstart his Rovers career. Still appears to be about 10th choice in that midfield. Nyambe is class. Best player on the pitch by some distance.

Nyambe and Elliott fantastic. Most of the rest mediocre. Lenihan and Douglas woeful.

I’ll be furious if we lose any of these on a free/tribunal. Each and every one of these contracts should’ve been a bigger priority than bringing in Pears, Trybull, Downing, even Elliott and possibly Douglas.