[Archived] Paul's Progress

[Athlete]

Nathan Blake who signed that waste of space ?????????/

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Nathan Blake who signed that waste of space ?????????/

He was Hodgson's last signing

[gillibrand]

It's Sam Allardyce!

He thinks his only chance of getting another Premier league job is by getting other managers sacked

You are a real piece of work, with what we have got for a manager!

[John]

Hope Vogel gets a look in once fit. Considering how little football he played prior to joining us, he made a decent impact when he played last season (showed some nice touches).

He is also a rare breed compared with our other midfielders, he can pass and keep possession of the football.

[Hasta]

Nathan Blake who signed that waste of space ?????????/

We overpaid for Blake but people make him out as far worse than he actually was.

His scoring rate was one goal for every 2.8 starting appearances which wasn't bad. He was far better than people like Kuqi, Ostenstad or Fat Kev.

[DingleBaiter]

We overpaid for Blake but people make him out as far worse than he actually was.

His scoring rate was one goal for every 2.8 starting appearances which wasn't bad. He was far better than people like Kuqi, Ostenstad or Fat Kev.

Doesn't N'a'tan have the unfortunate statistic of being relegated from the Premiership the most times? Think he shares the record with Herman H'dson?

Just for devilment, what's his record against appearances (sub or from start?) - probably worse than 2.8 as you would have quoted it, I guess?

[JAL]

Yes he has, and he played surprisingly well in his two appearences so far.

You have got to be having a laugh!

Hammered in both games not even a close second in either game thats go to be some kind of dark humour your employing here.

[waggy]

the anti -ince brigade are in full flow at the moment,is it because he is BLACK?,is it because he played for MANUTD?before JW we used to have to dulge into the lower leagues for our players and managers.most anti-ince posters seem to forget it takes time for managers to bed in.i ask you all,were you happy to watch the dross at ewood last season,safe but poor football,give ince a chance

[BuckyRover]

the anti -ince brigade are in full flow at the moment,is it because he is BLACK?,is it because he played for MANUTD?before JW we used to have to dulge into the lower leagues for our players and managers.most anti-ince posters seem to forget it takes time for managers to bed in.i ask you all,were you happy to watch the dross at ewood last season,safe but poor football,give ince a chance

A rational poster!

Great stuff

[Bennisfromheaven]

I know its very early days but just thought id let everyone know Henk Ten Cate's Panathanaikos lost 2-0 to inter in the champions league & after 2 league games has won 1 & lost 1, So would we be much better off at this early stage?

I am far from happy with recent results but Ince should be given time! remember chelsea & boro put 4 passed us in hughes' first couple of games!!

[gumboots]

A rational poster!

Great stuff

I don't like the idea that some of our fans are on Ince's back because of his skin colour or his previous clubs or even because of perceived arrogance towards us in the past, and I hope those aren't their reasons. I'm not 100% convinced by him based on the only Premiership match I have seen so far this season but I'm still prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. It takes time even for established managers to get going sometimes. He doesn't strike me as anywhere near as bad as some seem to think and I would just like those who are having a pop to be quiet for a few days and stop trying to persuade those of us who are a bit more open-minded about this appointment that we are somehow deluded or whatever when we simply think it's too soon to know.

[CrazyIvan]

I don't like the idea that some of our fans are on Ince's back because of his skin colour or his previous clubs or even because of perceived arrogance towards us in the past, and I hope those aren't their reasons. I'm not 100% convinced by him based on the only Premiership match I have seen so far this season but I'm still prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. It takes time even for established managers to get going sometimes. He doesn't strike me as anywhere near as bad as some seem to think and I would just like those who are having a pop to be quiet for a few days and stop trying to persuade those of us who are a bit more open-minded about this appointment that we are somehow deluded or whatever when we simply think it's too soon to know.

That's exactly how I feel. I'm giving the guy a chance to prove himself. I will never judge anyone based on hearsay, education, colour, religion, or sexual preference. I've heard people accuse him of being uneducated, arrogant and any number of insults but since I've never met him or have any idea what he was like at school, I'll judge him on results and performance. Let other people do the rest, I choose to make my own mind up. Meanwhile, he's Rovers manager and this is Rovers so he gets my support. If, in the fullness of time, he proves to be inadequate or a downright failure then I'll call for his resignation. Until then though, he gets my support. I'll judge his worthiness to be a premiership manager myself thanks.

[DingleBaiter]

That's exactly how I feel. I'm giving the guy a chance to prove himself. I will never judge anyone based on hearsay, education, colour, religion, or sexual preference. I've heard people accuse him of being uneducated, arrogant and any number of insults but since I've never met him or have any idea what he was like at school, I'll judge him on results and performance. Let other people do the rest, I choose to make my own mind up. Meanwhile, he's Rovers manager and this is Rovers so he gets my support. If, in the fullness of time, he proves to be inadequate or a downright failure then I'll call for his resignation. Until then though, he gets my support. I'll judge his worthiness to be a premiership manager myself thanks.

Some good thoughts & opinions on this guys, keep up the good work.

It seems pretty clear to me there is a strong element of anti-Ince feeling before he's done anything for us, that is clearly and unequivocally prejudicial in it's formation. Whether it's too simplistic to suggest it's his colour, his Man Utd past, or any other number of reasons isn't the point - more worryingly is the predilection to jump on relatively insignificant things to 'justify' their stance.

For instance, he's been criticised for his suit, his nervousness, his PR skills (it's pretty clear to me he is 'growing into his role in this aspect), his accent, his background, his education, his notebook, his demeanour and numerous other inconsequential guff.

I can't stand Jade Goody, Sam Allardyce or Kerry Katona - but if in some parallel universe they became managers of Rovers I would first, support them until something catacylsmic beyond doubt proved them to be counter-productive to my ideals & values on the club. Secondly, I'd give them a long enough period on which to undertake a clear, unbiased, fair, reasonable & objective review of their perfomance and - no matter what happened in that time, given their would likely be ups and downs - would have the temerity to hold to that patience. Lastly, if they were successful I wouldn't care if I liked or disliked them.

[T4E]

the anti -ince brigade are in full flow at the moment,is it because he is BLACK?,is it because he played for MANUTD?before JW we used to have to dulge into the lower leagues for our players and managers.most anti-ince posters seem to forget it takes time for managers to bed in.i ask you all,were you happy to watch the dross at ewood last season,safe but poor football,give ince a chance

I'll take safe but poor football over conceeding 4 goals a game every day of the week.

[BuckyRover]

I'll take safe but poor football over conceeding 4 goals a game every day of the week.

Hughes managed to turn it around. There is nothing to suggest Ince cannot do the same

[T4E]

Hughes inherited a squad that needed 'turning around'. Ince most certainly did not. Ince inherited one of the best squads in the country. The fact that there is even the need to rescue the situation tells you what sort of job he's done so far.

[BuckyRover]

One of the best squads in the country would not lose to Larissa, Coventry and relegated Birmingham on the last day of the season.

Problems were already there for everyone to see, thats why he left.

A manager needs time to build a team. If Hughes was such a good manager why did he lose 4-0 in his first few games then make them play better later on in the season. Why didn't they play well as soon as he came in??

BECAUSE HE NEEDED TIME TO WORK OUT WHAT WAS REQUIRED TO TURN THINGS AROUND

[DingleBaiter]

Hughes inherited a squad that needed 'turning around'. Ince most certainly did not. Ince inherited one of the best squads in the country. The fact that there is even the need to rescue the situation tells you what sort of job he's done so far.

Harsh, and certainly not exactly true (putting it mildly).

Some stretching of the facts there regarding the squad for instance. Was our squad better than the top 4? No, so it's out of the top 20% bracket for a start - not exactly 'one of the best' then, I'd suggest? How many of our players were truly coveted by other clubs? We had a squad/team that probably functioned more as a whole than the sum of it's parts, more than anything. What the Taffia did do well was to get the said players performance levels as high as possible, and arguably same could be said for it's results.

Given Hughes was held in such high regard by so many people, where was he at a similar stage into his Rovers career? At least Ince got through the league cup round.

However, it's far from sweetness & light I admit, there ARE negatives although time will tell how valid your interpretation of the 'situation' and the degree of 'rescue' it needs. I think there is a fair degree of hypocrisy, panic and general maliciousness around when it comes to people's wishes for Ince.

People claim to want the best for the club, and have decided - or consider in their judgement - that is best served by undermining Ince at every level. People should be more careful for that they wish for. There is a massive difference in wanting Ince to fail (or not be given the chance to repay the faith in him people who are better placed to make decisions for the benefit of the club) and taking some backwards steps in the short term for (hopefully) long term benefit.

Myself, I'd set 10 league games as my review period, and I'm fair enough to respect that whatever happens in the interim, no matter how negative it seems - it's simply short-sighted, unreasonable, and panic-stricken otherwise.

As they say in the film "Whatcha got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."

[RevidgeBlue]

Hughes inherited a squad that needed 'turning around'. Ince most certainly did not. Ince inherited one of the best squads in the country. The fact that there is even the need to rescue the situation tells you what sort of job he's done so far.

That's a fairly exaggerated description of our four points from four games - there are another seven? clubs in exactly the same position so should they all sack their manager as well?

I recall in one of Souness's seasons we started with six points from six games and no-one appeared to be panicking unduly then, also in three out of four of Hughes seasons we were hanging around the bottom three averaging not much more than a point a game until mid December.

I know it's a different scenario with a new manager but it's by no means as if we've always been in and around the top six or eight throughout the season with the present squad.

[CrazyIvan]

Hughes inherited a squad that needed 'turning around'. Ince most certainly did not. Ince inherited one of the best squads in the country. The fact that there is even the need to rescue the situation tells you what sort of job he's done so far.

Rubbish, after 4 games there is nothing to 'turn around' because hardly anything has started! Too early again!

[tonygreenbank]

My predictions for the first 4 Rovers games were- defeat to Everton; defeat to West Ham; a win against Hull and a defeat to Arsenal so I am one point up so far! Paul`s progress is satisfactory up to date.

[gumboots]

There's always the need to rescue the situation if you're in the bottom 3 but it's the fact that too many fans seem to think it's not a situation that can be rescued without serious surgery that bothers me. Cut out the defensive errors and get the midfield defending too and we will start to move upwards. Both of those things can be done. We were prone to give away stupid goals last season too.

[only2garners]

Alas, the current weather is an accurate reflection of the gloom surrounding Ewood Park at the moment.

Presumably things have been looking up in the last couple of days eh Jim

[T4E]

Harsh, and certainly not exactly true (putting it mildly).

Some stretching of the facts there regarding the squad for instance. Was our squad better than the top 4? No, so it's out of the top 20% bracket for a start - not exactly 'one of the best' then, I'd suggest? How many of our players were truly coveted by other clubs? We had a squad/team that probably functioned more as a whole than the sum of it's parts, more than anything. What the Taffia did do well was to get the said players performance levels as high as possible, and arguably same could be said for it's results.

That's a fairly exaggerated description of our four points from four games - there are another seven? clubs in exactly the same position so should they all sack their manager as well?

I recall in one of Souness's seasons we started with six points from six games and no-one appeared to be panicking unduly then, also in three out of four of Hughes seasons we were hanging around the bottom three averaging not much more than a point a game until mid December.

I know it's a different scenario with a new manager but it's by no means as if we've always been in and around the top six or eight throughout the season with the present squad.

Rubbish, after 4 games there is nothing to 'turn around' because hardly anything has started! Too early again!

I shouldn't have said "fact". The "turn it around" comment wasn't mine - I was merely pointing out that if Ince is having to rescue something at this stage, he has gotten himself there from a far stronger position than Hughes was in, which was the original posters comparison, not mine.

As far as one of the best squads in the country goes - there are 92 clubs, 20 in the top league, we finished 7th. If that's not amongst the elite then what is?

Myself, I'd set 10 league games as my review period, and I'm fair enough to respect that whatever happens in the interim, no matter how negative it seems - it's simply short-sighted, unreasonable, and panic-stricken otherwise.

If the board function was still around that allows you to look back through someone's recent posting history, you'd be able to do so with mine and find that I mentioned the exact same timescale as you have above just recently. I'm certainly happy with waiting that long. If we carry on picking up points at the same rate as we currently are, then we seriously need to act at that point. If Hughes had started the season with us in the same manner, we'd have been more willing to give him time because we know from history what he is capable of. Ince is a total unknown quantity - that's what makes this situation so precarious.

[JAL]

One of the best squads in the country would not lose to Larissa, Coventry and relegated Birmingham on the last day of the season.

Problems were already there for everyone to see, thats why he left.

A manager needs time to build a team. If Hughes was such a good manager why did he lose 4-0 in his first few games then make them play better later on in the season. Why didn't they play well as soon as he came in??

BECAUSE HE NEEDED TIME TO WORK OUT WHAT WAS REQUIRED TO TURN THINGS AROUND

The seasons started Bucky Rover, weve not replaced our most creative player from last season what are you waiting for May next year.

Hughes changed the personnel around after the 4-0 defeats can Ince manage to do the same?