[Archived] Next Manager Part 2

[Kai]

It is a tough choice no matter who you go for. I think the main thing to consider is actually staying up after promotion is achieved. Let's face it, the Championship is a dire league and with the squad we have we should be going up - no arrogance on my part, just what I (and probably many others on here think).

So, from the possible candidates, each have their pros and cons:

Sherwood - Highly rated, yet no experience. Would probably get us up with the 'feel good factor' but when up against the big boys will he get found out?

Holloway - A likable guy and provides a good soundbite every now and again. Has shown that he can do well on a tight budget and knows his way out of this league. Again, problem is our owners probably won't invest too much more once we're up and so he might have a feeling of déja vu if he takes us on.

Keane - Again, can get his way out of the Championship by banging a few heads together. He reminds me a lot of Souness but as history showed us, he got found out in the PL and lost the plot a bit despite huge backing from very generous owners (which we won't get)

Solskjaer - Unknown quantity as a manager, won the Norwegian League but had good backing from by all accounts great owners. Didn't Henning Berg also do well in Norway? Not saying it's a mickey mouse league but it doesn't directly compare to the English leagues.

Shearer - Doesn't seem to possess the required managerial traits. Will probably get us up á la Sherwood but I just have a feeling he will most definitely get found out in the PL.

Karl Robinson - Been here before so the settling in time will be reduced. Other than that I don't know a huge amount about him other than that he's young and is doing well at MK Dons. Then again, didn't Ince do well there before?

Keith Hill - I know absolutely nothing about him -- ergo I think that Venky's are even less likely to know about him. Not exactly a great reason not to appoint someone I know but I reckon this is probably part of a crazy way of doing things that our owners do.

Schuster - Know that he managed Real Madrid and won La Liga. Also know that he did quite well at Getafe. Again, unknown quantity as the Spanish Leagues is again very different from the English leagues. I can think of very few spanish managers who've done well for a decentish one like Benitez, you've got a Juande Ramos(!)

McCarthy - Looks like Bert from Sesame Street - maybe his face reminds our owners of someone which is why he's in the frame. A good, old, honest type. Unfortunately he doesn't know what he's doing once he reaches the higher levels. Doesn't seem to play any kind of inspiring football but he did keep Wolves up for a season (after promotion too).

Of all the above, I would be leaning on towards Holloway to be honest. Hopefully he's learnt a fair bit from his first experience in the PL - Blackpool certainly didn't disgrace themselves in the PL under his stewardship) and plays some decent football. He's also fairly local, so no huge uprooting to be done. can start straightaway and would probably weaken a promotion rival to boot. As much as I hate to say it, the 2nd choice is Bert McCarthy as he has just that little bit more experience than Holloway.

[jim mk2]

I always considered the crass decision to appoint Kean was what consigned us to the Championship

Shows what you know.

With regards to Holloway I read somewhere he'd sold his house in the North West and moved his base back to Bristol. Can't see him being in this area long term so I doubt he would entertain an approach from Rovers.

[Veevs]

Still trying to work out why people on here want Hill (Has a 28% win percentage at Barnsley and has not done as good a job as his predecessor Mark Robins), Shearer (Very limited management experience and the charisma of a turnip), Keane (Who has an awful transfer record and has fallen out with our star striker already) or Robinson (last time we decided to go down the MK dons route we got the 60% win percentage Ince... so lets go and grab ourselves Karl...).. please please can someone tell me what they have done in their careers that makes them quality championship managers?

I am sure if Sherwood really wanted the job he would be here now.. starting to get the feeling he is one to avoid.. hell its not like he has any management credentials behind him.

This whole having to go for a British manager is doing my nut in.. Schuster and OGS.. far better candidates especially given the large number of foreign nationals in our squad.

Still would not mind Holloway if we could get him (given he is on 400k atm it might just be possible).. would at least be nice to see some entertaining football.

[SydneyRover]

I think McCarthy is our best bet. If he's on the list and will come then we shouldnt be looking any further than a man who has won the league we are in twice.

[chaddyrovers]

Can you see Holloway suffering fools like Singh, Shaw and Agnew?

the blackpool chairman. who has veto 3 or 4 players he wanted to sign in the summer. also wouldnt back Holloway losn bid for dj campbell.

i cant believe fans wouldnt want Holloway as manager.

[booth]

McCarthy - Looks like Bert from Sesame Street - maybe his face reminds our owners of someone which is why he's in the frame. A good, old, honest type. Unfortunately he doesn't know what he's doing once he reaches the higher levels. Doesn't seem to play any kind of inspiring football but he did keep Wolves up for a season (after promotion too).

NONSENSE!

He looks more like Sam the eagle

.

[sjsbrfc]

With regards to Holloway I read somewhere he'd sold his house in the North West and moved his base back to Bristol. Can't see him being in this area long term so I doubt he would entertain an approach from Rovers.

I thought he still lived in Barley? And that it was rented anyway. Will check tomorrow at work

[Mercer]

How's this for a sobering thought ?

Lose next Saturday and we could be down as low as 14th and 8 or 9 points off the auto promo spots - season could be over !

Singh, Agnew, Shaw - stop p1ssing about.

Even Burnley have a three man shortlist after just 2 or 3 days.

[G Somerset Rover]

How's this for a sobering thought ?

Lose next Saturday and we could be down as low as 14th and 8 or 9 points off the auto promo spots - season could be over !

Singh, Agnew, Shaw - stop p1ssing about.

Even Burnley have a three man shortlist after just 2 or 3 days.

It's a joke Mercer, but some of our fans would still be content if we lost to Derby and were still no closer to an appointment. Show some urgency FFS.

[Mercer]

A bit dramatic. Not even into November and you're hypothetically claiming our season is over because we could be 8 or 9 points behind the automatic promotion spots. Twaddle.

You must live in a nice world then !

[BuckyRover]

A bit dramatic. Not even into November and you're hypothetically claiming our season is over because we could be 8 or 9 points behind the automatic promotion spots. Twaddle.

Agreed. 8 or 9 points could be made up in a couple of months let alone six

[Veevs]

One thing I am curious on is why so little backing for someone like Grayson.. ex Rovers player, knows Rhodes style of play, looks like he has a decent eye for players, has got three clubs promoted (albeit from league one) in what 5-6 seasons all on fairly low budgets and is doing well at Huddersfield despite a tiny budget and them just being promoted.

[roverandout]

nicko reckons its an 8 out of 10 chance of us getting holloway

[G Somerset Rover]

Good shout Veevs - I'd be right behind Grayson, he'd be able to build the team around Rhodes as well.

[Doug]

I thought I'd read that Holloway was very dissapointed in himself the way he left Plymouth, and, given his time again would have stayed. Did anyone else read or hear that? He also seems to enjoy his working relationships at Blackpool, something I doubt he would have at Rovers. Has there been any indication that he is interested in us?

[67splitscreen]

Ollies article in the Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ian-holloway-column-why-all-football-managers-1377893

[67splitscreen]

It's doubtful whether Venkys would have kept Sam whether he was liked or loathed.

Never in question, that's if you believe what an ex player had to say.

Andrew (Andy) Cole said:

"From the outside, the decision does not make sense. Sam may have a big ego, but he brought Premier League stability to Rovers. That should not be taken for granted at a club which loses money each season and where the average crowd is less than 25,000.

The new Indian owners clearly see things very differently and sacked him almost immediately.

Everyone, including Sam, is stunned. I'm not, because a trusted little bird told me two months ago what was going to happen.

He said that the club would be taken over by an Indian company and that Sam would be pushed aside, to be replaced by the coach Steve Kean. If Keano does well then he keeps the job."

This article has been on the web since 24/12/2010, if it was inaccurate I'm sure a certain agency would have had it removed.

[John]

What are the next steps for Singh/the board - the longest time ever to compile a short list (perhaps a record), do they know what to do next.......guess it has only been 15/16 days since Kean left.

[chaddyrovers]

I thought I'd read that Holloway was very dissapointed in himself the way he left Plymouth, and, given his time again would have stayed. Did anyone else read or hear that? He also seems to enjoy his working relationships at Blackpool, something I doubt he would have at Rovers. Has there been any indication that he is interested in us?

he is very frustration with the lack of money available this summer at Blackpool.

he was unhappy not being able to sign DJ Campbell either loan or permanent.

[Hasta]

My only problem with Holloway is that if he had abandoned his lunatic attacking philosophy in the second half of the Premier League season they would probably have stopped up. Look at this quote from early April 2011

"I’m sick and fed-up of people asking me am I going to change my principals. All that matters is are we good enough to play open and attacking football in the Premier League? We will see by the end of the season."

He's basically admitting that he's naive / stubborn enough to keep playing the same way even if it's going to cost them their Premier League place. Surely good managers have to adapt their gameplan to achieve the best possible outcome - like when we drew 0-0 at Arsenal in the FA Cup and Fabregas accused Hughes of "not playing Barcelona football". We then went on to win the replay.

[John]

he is very frustration with the lack of money available this summer at Blackpool.

he was unhappy not being able to sign DJ Campbell either loan or permanent.

Wonder how he would react with all the experienced best players being sold or not played due to appearance fees/contractual obligations.

[chaddyrovers]

Wonder how he would react with all the experienced best players being sold or not played due to appearance fees/contractual obligations.

last season mate.

[booth]

Ollies article in the Mirror. http://www.mirror.co...anagers-1377893

So he's got a new house in Fylde Coast, not Bristol as someone said earlier in the thread. Looks like he's staying up North.

But someone should remind him that Kean walked, he didn't get sacked.

Wonder how he would react with all the experienced best players being sold or not played due to appearance fees/contractual obligations.

Wonder how he would react when told he couldn't have DJ Campbell but could have £8m to spend on Jordan Rhodes.

[blueboy3333]

It's frightening the amount of ignorance surrounding Holloway. The man basically took a club to the Prem playing open attractive football on one the LOWEST BUDGETS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. His wage budget in the Championship was small, the budget he had in the Prem was the smallest ever, around £10m per annum. Compare that with the £50m p.a. Kean had last year. His only big outlay in the Championship was Charlie Adams for £500k, who he then sold for £7m. He got Phillips very cheap from Wycombe who is now worth upwards of £8m. Tom Ince he got for a snip from Liverpool, who again is worth millions. His defence is basically made up of league 1&2 players because he's never had the budget to improve it. He improves EVERY SINGLE PLAYER he signs, most of whom are from scotland and the lower leagues.

While he was out of the game for a while he spent time in Holland learning how to improve as a coach. He completely changed his style of play and his approach to management. Hence the dutch-style system he now plays. I'd love him at Ewood and we'd be lucky to get him.

Just one more thing before i finish ranting. Can people not see the difference between what someone like Keith Hill can do at Barnsley (small budget) to what he could do at Rovers (big budget). I'm not saying he would be the new Messiah but a 26% win percentage at Barnsley does not equate to the same thing at a bigger club with better players.

[den]

I always considered the crass decision to appoint Kean was what consigned us to the Championship

I bet you were one of those fans who thought we'd get someone better than Sam. It might be an awful long time before we get someone anywhere near as good.