[Archived] Do You Approve Of The New Manager?

[AndyC]

I have to say this in (in my opinion) a disaster.

Ince was a fearless player and would fight his way out of a corner. He'll need more than that to get the better of O'Neill, Hughes, Redknapp, Moyes and others. Sadly, I fear a struggle this year.

There's no doubt Ince's repuatation would have commanded him respect at both Macclesfield and MK Dons, but he will have his work cut out at Rovers.

I'm sure Santa Cruz is delighted at the prospect of Keith Andrews playing in the same team.

I don't feel Ince has done enough to earn this job. Suprised with JW.

The coming season will be the first year for 9 seasons that I have not had a season ticket. I can't say, at this stage, I'm worried about missing anything.

hey martin, did you enjoy the dross in the 2nd half of the season? don't get me wrong - i would have loved hughes to have stayed, but we can hardly say the football was exciting now can we!

[JAL]

You should work for your favorite political party, the way you try to spin things.

Eh! Dont have a favourite political party American, they all seem to ###### in the same pot for me.

Just making a point from the chart above no spin.

For the moderators on this site a big thank you for an EXCELLENT POLL ...well done to all involved.

[American]

Here's a point then - more than 2x as many people are optimistic than are devastated...

[b12_simon]

As soon as Paul Ince's name cropped up I had a feeling he'd be the winner.

At times I was scathing of Ince as a player but I'm delighted he's our manager. His managerial acheivements are all at a very low level it's true but his work with both clubs has been extremely impressive. The Dons called him the Britain's hottest young talent and IMO they're right.

Ince is a gamble and I think he's a very good one.

Once again it's well done JW!

[tonyoz]

Well said Hasta (post114) - that sums it up perfectly for me.

[JAL]

Here's a point then - more than 2x as many people are optimistic than are devastated...

Less than 3% of Rovers fans think hes the top man!

Thats a small amount, surely this should be a lot higher.

[Whyoy]

I've read the threads, absorbed the views, even seen the style of football played by MK Dons and have got to say this is a brave and potentially cracking appointment.

We'll play high tempo football next year and as long as the quality of squad remains good enough we will surprise alot of people with just how good we can be.

For those of you who have long enough memories it will be football from the Jim Smith era. There were no household names then but the football was a delight to watch

[my_name_is_Earl]

First things first, I have previously appealed for anybody other than Ince in recent days in the hope of attracting someone with experience. Since that hasn't happened i'm gonna apologise for being hypocritical and have now voted 'top man' for Ince.

I just feel that you cant (shouldnt!) be cynical about an incoming manager ever. The club is our priority and thats why I cant honestly believe how many plastic fans there are in this forum. I genuinely hoped Ince didn't get the job, but he has and therefore I'll support him all guns blazing. JW has never let us down and I feel this has continued. Ince will have his own way and his own style and sure, thats gonna mean over time that some of you dont like him (I never liked Hughes although I do admit he did a great job, he just looked like a sheep to me and that always btohered me for some reason :S) but the fact of the matter is that we should be excited.

I'm sure once he announces a decent backroom, manages to keep Roque (who cares about Bentley!?) and starts getting good results in pre-season that he will gather lots more support especially with current players commenting on how good they feel his appointment is. By the time the new season kicks in, there'll be plenty of optimism in this forum.

We know nothing that went on behind the scenes, the other candidates obviously didn't want it that much so get behind the new man. PAUL INCE'S BLUE AND WHITE ARMY!!!

[Hughesy]

But thats with fans thinking - it could have been bilic or laudrip. Take them out of the equation and the views would change significantly

Less than 3% of Rovers fans think hes the top man!

Thats a small amount, surely this should be a lot higher.

[neekoy]

Den, no offence, but the polls on this messageboard are getting more and more absurd Why so many options?

- He'll be a success

- He'll be a failure

- Not sure

Is all you need.

I've voted that I feel positive about this one. I admit to not knowing much about Ince the man or Ince the manager. However, he has achieved success with MK Dons and previously did a good job at Macclesfield and on the bits and pieces I've heard about his achievements, I have a good feeling that he'll be the right man.

Bring on the Ince era.

No, I think devasted sums up my feelings very well

To be honest when you are a top half team gunning for a Champions League spot this appointment simply isn't good enough.

This smacks of "English Manager" syndrome and it sickens me to the stomach. When the other people supposedly interested in his services were Leicester, Derby and Wigan (prior to signing Bruce) then I fully expect a tough relegation battle next year.

You hire a lower league coach you should be prepared for lower league football.

[benlloninho]

I sure hope the board are keeping expectations in reality. Cos a lot of people on this forum are not.

To the people expecting to challenge for Europe next year, do you not realize that Mark Hughes was going to have a hard time achieving that had he stayed?

Tottenham have a damn good team on paper. Ramos will have also had some time to settle.

Everton has a good team, and they seem to be able to spend money when they need to.

Man City will probably have a better squad than we will, it won't take much, but I guess we'll have to see how Hughes does.

Aston Villa lacks depth much like we do, but they seem to have plenty of cash.

And pretty much everybody else has more money than we do, with very few exceptions.

My point is if we do bad, it's not necessarily Paul Ince's fault. Not saying Ince will be perfect and we'll still finish 15th, but next season was going to be difficult, Sparky or no.

[neekoy]

My point is if we do bad, it's not necessarily Paul Ince's fault. Not saying Ince will be perfect and we'll still finish 15th, but next season was going to be difficult, Sparky or no.

Well let's get all the excuses out early then FFS

The fact is for the board to have made the right appointment he has to improve the squad from where Sparky left it, if he doesn't then the appointment was the wrong choice

It is the same arguement we pile of Liverpuss when they go on about how good Benitez is

[tony gale's mic]

hey martin, did you enjoy the dross in the 2nd half of the season? don't get me wrong - i would have loved hughes to have stayed, but we can hardly say the football was exciting now can we!

This age old argument about the quality of the football...

To produce attractive football you either need players with flair/creativity, players with pace or both.

We don't really have either. When we played well under Souness we had Duff, under Hughes we had Bellamy and to an extent last season's Benni, and under both managers for some time at least we had Tugay playing to a high standard regularly.

Our two best players last season - Bentley and RSC, are neither particularly fast or particularly creative, however good they are at what they do. Bentley is great at delivery, passing, has a degree of skill but isnt a flair player. Neither is RSC, however great he might be at finding the target.

The types of players that would give you attacking football cost a lot of money, they generally generate a higher profile too etc. Hughes instead chose to spend his limited budget on players who did a great job but werent amazing to watch. You can hardly fault him for that now can you?

We'll see if we're still maintaining the same position as Hughes did last season and playing great football. We'll need at least one or two new signings with flair or pace for a start, as you sure as hell won't be able to get our current bunch to play pretty football and be successful at the same time.

[Zulu]

Wait and see - surely?

[QOTSA]

Our two best players last season - Bentley and RSC, are neither particularly fast or particularly creative, however good they are at what they do. Bentley is great at delivery, passing, has a degree of skill but isnt a flair player. Neither is RSC, however great he might be at finding the target.

I agree with what you say about our lack of pace but you can't say Bentley isn't particularly creative. He's our only genuinely creative player in the team! Although he had a poor end to the season, Bentley will be a bigger miss next season than Santa Cruz assuming both go.

[tcj_jones]

Den, no offence, but the polls on this messageboard are getting more and more absurd Why so many options?

Have to say I thought the same thing Rover6. No offence intended, of course, but three of those options are basically expressing the same opinion!

I'm disapointed that we didn't get a higher calibre manager and that, seemingly, we were turned down by both Laudrup and Shearer, but I think Ince has what it takes to succeed. Therefore I'm relatively optimistic about the coming years.

Paul Ince's Blue and White Army!

[benlloninho]

The fact is for the board to have made the right appointment he has to improve the squad from where Sparky left it, if he doesn't then the appointment was the wrong choice

Ideally we would be in such a situation to demand that of a new manager, but I don't think that's realistic. How many proven, quality managers are out there that wanted the job? I think it's unlikely that, for example, Laurup or Bilic wanted the job under the terms offered by the board. And I'm referring to the rumors about Laudrup's get out clauses. Had one of those guys been serious contenders in the eyes of the board, I seriously doubt Paul Ince would be the manager. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have faith that the board got the best manager available.

[steverovers]

Time to get behind him guys. He's here, that's it! Choice made!

We need to make the most of the situation if we can. not undermine him at the earliest opportunity.

He will be here for a long time if we are succesful and that's what I'm hoping for.

[brfc4ever]

No, I think devasted sums up my feelings very well

To be honest when you are a top half team gunning for a Champions League spot this appointment simply isn't good enough.

This smacks of "English Manager" syndrome and it sickens me to the stomach. When the other people supposedly interested in his services were Leicester, Derby and Wigan (OH MY GOD !) then I fully expect a tough relegation battle next year.

You hire a lower league coach you should be prepared for lower league football.

Very well put. Sums up my fears.

[LeChuck]

No, I think devasted sums up my feelings very well

I do think Rover6 has a point though.

Prepared to wait and see, might be good, should be ok...they are all pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

Devastated, Disappointed, Not sure, Happy, Delighted...that would have done nicely.

Or maybe I'm just moaning about the poll because I'm trying not to moan about Ince...

[RoversFanUSA]

Me, well im disapointed . Not all that happy about it as i read a post that he said that he would sell bents and santa to give money in the transfer window. NOT HAPPY!!! . I just dont want him selling our better players to bring in Div 2 "stars".

I guess ill have to wait and see if he disapoints,

[Rover Down Under]

Going back 15 years to when I loathed Man U (the Scum as we knew them then) there were 2 players who really made my blood boil every time I saw them.

Their constant whingeing, thuggishness and play acting made them the two most vile players I had ever seen. With the benefit of hindsight and aged wisdom I misconstrued their behaviour, it was merely that they were passionate, giving 110% in every game and never-say-die winners.

Three years ago we appointed one of those 2 as our manager. I had mixed feelings. Mark Hughes had played for us already so I had developed a likeing for him, but playing for and managing a team are two different things. My feelings turned out to be correct. The passion, 110% and winning mindset transferred itself to our beloved Rovers beautifully.

Yesteday we appointed the other one.

Again I am torn so I will wait and see...with a tinge of optimism.

Good luck Guv!

[neekoy]

Ideally we would be in such a situation to demand that of a new manager, but I don't think that's realistic. How many proven, quality managers are out there that wanted the job? I think it's unlikely that, for example, Laurup or Bilic wanted the job under the terms offered by the board. And I'm referring to the rumors about Laudrup's get out clauses. Had one of those guys been serious contenders in the eyes of the board, I seriously doubt Paul Ince would be the manager. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have faith that the board got the best manager available.

I find it hard to believe that we couldn't find a better Manager then Ince. Bilic and Laudrup aside, there seemed to be no approach made by the board to anyone else

Hughes had quite a high profile position as coach of Wales, Souness had quite a decent resume, Kidd was an abomination however at least was number 2 to SAF, Hodgson took the swiss to two major tournaments and won league titles, Harford at least sat next to Kenny and KD 's record spoke for itself.

Even for a club of our size we have always attracted at least some managers with pedigree

Bruckner? Zico? Rijkaard? Perrin?

I know some managers are going to be out of our reach but at least aim high then come back to the field.

As I have stated, this smacks of English Manager mentality and one that will backfire in our faces.

[philipl]

Having slept on it I am still feeling not sure but I am not sure and fearing the worst.

It is clear that JW regarded Souness as a success- which he was for the first period of his time with us, but I am concerned that his bullying manner might have been an aspect that was seen as a positive.

The other concern is that if PI is a rigid adherent of 4-5-1 then we have a lot of rebuilding to do in the team this summer which is a recipe for a disaster with a manager who has been out of the top flight for several seasons.

That said, what Ince did at Macclesfield is one of the managerial achievements of the past decade.

[Paul]

I'm prepared to wait and see. I didn't want any of the candidates discussed on here though I think Laudrup would have brought a buzz with him. I don't see Ince as an exciting appointment and his lack of experience could prove disatrous at this level. We'll just have to sit back and see what happens.