[Archived] Steve Kean

[Steve Moss]

Well done Steve.

You won't get it but you deserve a bit of respect for today's result.

The Rovers deserve respect for the draw and I, for one, am ecstatic about the result. Whether Kean was the inspirational or tactical leader who engineered the result remains to be seen.

And to be clear, Kean MAY be the goods. I doubt it, but it is possible. So I will retract my condemnation of him if:

1. We end the season 11th or better; or,

2. He gets his win percentage above 35%.

Until then his appointment was a needless, reckless risk which has proven to be not jusitified looking at his results as a whole, as opposed to this one (VERY) positive match.

Despite my continued pessimism I will be cracking open a bottle this evening.

He did from Sam Allardyce on ESPN.

@ 19:29 on Saturday 2nd April ... "Blackburn - tactically - did exceptionally well"

@ 19:37 ... "they played a very very good tactical game" - SA again

Well said, Sam. Sam has a bit more class than his detractors will ever give him credit for.

[jim mk2]

Hats off to the manager - looks like he got it right defensively today. Is he finally learning how to organise and manage a football team ?

Now he has to set up the team not to lose to (and preferably beat) Birmingham. Every point counts now.

[Billy Castell]

Credit where it is due, we played well apart from the start. Hopefully this will be when Kean's career at Rovers is launched, and we'll fly up the table.

[Stuart]

C'mon Steve (Moss). You're better than that.

Your two replies contradict each other, btw. You congratulate Sam for saying the tactics were spot on, yet don't give Kean any credit for coming up with said tactics.

Let your ire settle for the rest of today at least. I'm not saying he's the next Clough or Ferguson but today was a good day at the broom cupboard.

[rebelmswar]

...

Best thing you have written this week.

[RovertheHill]

He did from Sam Allardyce on ESPN.

@ 19:29 on Saturday 2nd April ... "Blackburn - tactically - did exceptionally well"

@ 19:37 ... "they played a very very good tactical game" - SA again

Good, and fair play to Sam too

[booth]

Refresh my memory, didnt he "stab Sam in the back"?

Sam did suggest that very thing on ESPN before the match.

[rebelmswar]

Good job Kean.

Build on this and make me eat every word.

I will do it too if he brings success.

[ada2020]

Sam did suggest that very thing on ESPN before the match.

What did he say?

Did he say Steve Kean screwed me?

[RibbleValleyRover]

Kean live on Talksport

[patrickvalery]

Hats off to the manager - looks like he got it right defensively today. Is he finally learning how to organise and manage a football team ?

Now he has to set up the team not to lose to (and preferably beat) Birmingham. Every point counts now.

And hats off to you Jim. I hope some of Kean's other vocal critics are big enough to congratulate him for his part in todays remarkable result.

One swallow doesn't make a summer and all that, but today was excellent and Kean deserves much of the credit for that. As you say, maybe he is learning. Its no surprise really. In any other walk of life we'd allow someone time to learn a new job.

I think all those people who criticised his pre match interviews should listen again in hindsight. The way he has chosen to remain positive and seemingly ignore the relegation dog fight surrounding us can be construed two ways. Naive or inspirational. Perhaps he has taken away some of the pressure and allowed the lads to keep up their spirits. Or perhaps i'm talking a load of old toss. But today's result was just the tonic. Lets hope the feel good factor transcends into the Brum game. A win against them followed by a result at Goodison could give us the momentum to stay up.

Well done lads and well done Steve Kean.

[booth]

What did he say?

Did he say Steve Kean screwed me?

Not directly, as you would expect but he obviously thinks so.

He said something about his agent being part of the agency pulling strings at brfc and putting 2+2 together he felt that Kean would have been given a heads up about his dismissal. He said it was disappointing.

[ada2020]

Not directly, as you would expect but he obviously thinks so.

He said something about his agent being part of the agency pulling strings at brfc and putting 2+2 together he felt that Kean would have been given a heads up about his dismissal. He said it was disappointing.

I don't think anyone would dispute Kean benefited from Allardyces untimely and unnecessary dismissal, but I do not believe he masterminded it like some have suggested.

Allardyce would be right to be disappointed if Kean knew of his imminent dismissal, though it's not quite the same as some on here suggesting Kean masterminded the whole move.

Anyhow, it's all been said before so pointless covering this ground again.

[nicko]

Best thing you have written this week.

I couldn't type for laughing.

Lack of spirit? Player muntiny? No organisation? Tactical no-mark?

Yeah.

If you hadn't lost Phil Jones in Kean's first game and had ever found a striker this season you would be sitting in the top eight.

[Mattyblue]

No we wouldn't. With Allardyce we would be sitting there right now.

Fair play to a manager learning his trade getting a result like that but we are 7 games without a win and just outside the relegation zone.

[Kelbo]

I couldn't type for laughing.

Lack of spirit? Player muntiny? No organisation? Tactical no-mark?

Yeah.

If you hadn't lost Phil Jones in Kean's first game and had ever found a striker this season you would be sitting in the top eight.

I respect many of your views but that is just tripe, the team were not set up correctly and not only I but many top coaches have commented on the same thing, people who have been in the game for 30 years.

Today Kean set it up correctly and the team responded accordingly, we played a good tactical game and I felt if we had have had 11 players towards the end, may have even snatched a win!

[G Somerset Rover]

I couldn't type for laughing.

Lack of spirit? Player muntiny? No organisation? Tactical no-mark?

Yeah.

If you hadn't lost Phil Jones in Kean's first game and had ever found a striker this season you would be sitting in the top eight.

You said Jones isn't and never will be a midfielder in a million years? So how would him playing there propel us into a top 8 team in your eyes? Point taken on the striker.

[Roversider]

I couldn't type for laughing.

Lack of spirit? Player muntiny? No organisation? Tactical no-mark?

Yeah.

If you hadn't lost Phil Jones in Kean's first game and had ever found a striker this season you would be sitting in the top eight.

I'm not certain about a top 8, however some of us on this board hadn't written Steve Kean off. Admittedly a small percentage.

Tonight I am enjoying the result and a feeling that I am not without some basis in my hopes for the manager.

[rebelmswar]

I couldn't type for laughing.

That explains it.

It was a good result though but one can does not make a sixpack.

Good tactics though.

[DE.]

Let's wait for the Brum game before we start getting too giddy, eh? Good result tonight and credit to Kean for it, but there's a long way to go yet and we still sit only 2 points above the relegation zone with plenty of tough games coming up. Kean will prove his worth as a leader and a manager in the next 7 games, starting with Birmingham next week.

[bazza]

One swallow does not make a summer.

However, if Keano can produce good displays and/or results in the remaining games, I shall begin to believe in him.

[booth]

Let's wait for the Brum game before we start getting too giddy, eh? Good result tonight and credit to Kean for it, but there's a long way to go yet and we still sit only 2 points above the relegation zone with plenty of tough games coming up. Kean will prove his worth as a leader and a manager in the next 7 games, starting with Birmingham next week.

Indeed. I'm reminded of the Liverpool game. We all got excited then as well.

Had it not been for some poor Arsenal finishing today, the knives would have been out again.

Although I do agree with Nicko that Kean has had some bad Injuries to deal with and a terrible run of refereeing decisions.

[Steve Moss]

C'mon Steve (Moss). You're better than that.

Your two replies contradict each other, btw. You congratulate Sam for saying the tactics were spot on, yet don't give Kean any credit for coming up with said tactics.

Let your ire settle for the rest of today at least. I'm not saying he's the next Clough or Ferguson but today was a good day at the broom cupboard.

Jisty, I don't view myself as contradictory at all.

Acknowledging that Sam was classy in his comments does not equate to an endorsement of Kean.

Kean may be a Napoleon of football. I personally doubt it and will continue to doubt it until he demonstrates some consistently positive results. This is one positive result. And even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Let's see how Kean does over the next game or three. If he can build on today and deliver 8-12 points between now and the end of the season, I'll consider acknowledging that he might be or become a suitable manager, or at least was not an utter disaster.

And if Kean can lead the Rovers to 11th or better, I'll even reconsider my ire over Sam's dismissal and will not chalk this up to an utterly wasted season fraught with unnecessary risk. I could (and would) even eat my own words and consider becoming a (probationary) member of the Kean fan club.

But so far Kean's overall record does NOT inspire confidence. I hope I am proven wrong, but in the meantime I don't intend to get carried away. I still would much rather have someone more experienced and with a proven track record at the helm of the Rovers. And unless Kean performs well beyond my current expectations (i.e. he actually concludes the season at 11th or better, as opposed to stumbling across the safety line which is what I expect of him) than I will be hoping that he is replaced.

Regardless of cause, it was an excellent result. And I'm off to buy a celebratory bottle of something wet, good and with a high alcohol content.

[vintageadidas]

Fulham - unlucky not to get a point(awful decision by the ref)

Blackpool - unlucky not to get all three points - (awful decision by the ref)

Arsenal - played very well as a team (awful decision by the ref)

I stated last week that we should start seeing the kean way of working now as he has had plenty of time with the players and his new staff. It is starting to show now and if the last three games are to go by we should be okay.

However, 2 points from 9 is very poor.

Onwards and upwards.

[47er]

I couldn't type for laughing.

Lack of spirit? Player muntiny? No organisation? Tactical no-mark?

Yeah.

If you hadn't lost Phil Jones in Kean's first game and had ever found a striker this season you would be sitting in the top eight.

I said at the time Sam was sacked that whatever the outcome, this was an unnecessary risk not worth taking. I stand by that and remind you that we still only have 3 points from the last 21.

However that's irrelevant tonight. I'm not going to do what the Sam-haters did and only come on here when we play badly. Well done Steve and the lads for an amazing point I did not expect. It certainly can't be said that he's lost the dressing-room, that's been evident for the last 3 games. 3 games which should have brought us 5 points not 2 but for referees.

So, the fight is there, the players are good enough,C'MN!!

(just noticed I had us down for 3 points!)