[Archived] New Manager Part 3

[AdamRochina]

The first set of talks they ever had with Berg were on Monday night, this appointment stinks of desperation from Singh who so badly needed a puppet in for Wednesday.

He has spent the last 5 weeks managing down expectation with ridiculous rumours like Flitcroft whilst also systematically sabotaging approaches for proper managers.

The fact that some people are actually happy with Berg shows a) how brilliant a job Singh has done and how gullible some fans really are.

Groups such as BRAG who have been totally nullified by Singh really need to look at themselves, for the last 5 weeks they have completely failed to represent the cause for which they were formed.

Henning Berg is no better than Eric Black, that says it all for me.

henning berg is no better then black? berg hasent even walked into the club yet so how can you possible know this? seriousley berg wasent everyones choice but as pointed out he knows this club and he knows the championship he is a decent appointment.

we are not gullable we wanted someone with more experience but that isnt going to happen, so we are willing to give berg a chance.

[BRFC95]

The mans not walked through the door yet Kean me.... your all boring, damp and depressive... simple answer if you don't like it, don't turn up to games, close your account on this board and go support city, utd or chelsea!!

This is a messageboard for fans to express opinions, I said I would be underwhelmed. If you don't like reading opposing opinions to your own, I suggest you should be the one stearing clear of the messageboard.

As for turning up at games, I always have and always will, I have my Palace, Huddersfield and Peterborough tickets in my wallet, have you got yours?

[PAFELL]

The first set of talks they ever had with Berg were on Monday night, this appointment stinks of desperation from Singh who so badly needed a puppet in for Wednesday.

He has spent the last 5 weeks managing down expectation with ridiculous rumours like Flitcroft whilst also systematically sabotaging approaches for proper managers.

The fact that some people are actually happy with Berg shows a) how brilliant a job Singh has done and how gullible some fans really are.

Groups such as BRAG who have been totally nullified by Singh really need to look at themselves, for the last 5 weeks they have completely failed to represent the cause for which they were formed.

Henning Berg is no better than Eric Black, that says it all for me.

Since kean has gone. Black has not done that bad a job. Although Black is not the answer. The team has looked more organised in a few matches than in nearly two years under kean.

[Kamy100]

Looks like the new man is going to be Berg.

The whole process has been mishandled by Shebby, it has turned into a farce.

BUT this is not Henning Berg's fault. I know many of you are underwhelmed but we MUST get behind Henning from day one.

[braddock]

Will Ibrahimovic become the new Luca Toni, given our Scandinavian connections if Berg takes over?

I hope so.

[forumquizmaster]

The first set of talks they ever had with Berg were on Monday night, this appointment stinks of desperation from Singh who so badly needed a puppet in for Wednesday.

He has spent the last 5 weeks managing down expectation with ridiculous rumours like Flitcroft whilst also systematically sabotaging approaches for proper managers.

The fact that some people are actually happy with Berg shows a) how brilliant a job Singh has done and how gullible some fans really are.

Groups such as BRAG who have been totally nullified by Singh really need to look at themselves, for the last 5 weeks they have completely failed to represent the cause for which they were formed.

Henning Berg is no better than Eric Black, that says it all for me.

How is anyone meant to take the rest of your post seriously when you begin it with a comment like that? Everyone who has actual knowledge of Henning Berg, without exception, has stated that he is most certainly not one to suffer fools gladly. To therefore glibly describe him as a puppet is ill informed and is sadly typical of many modern Rovers fans, especially on this forum.

[Majiball]

bleep test, never in a football match do you run continuously. time at high intensity as a min. fitness comes in many forms.

[neophox]

Ill give Berg my support and backing, at least he's better than Kean. It will be an interesting day. Is there any press conference today?

[braddock]

Looks like the new man is going to be Berg.

The whole process has been mishandled by Shebby, it has turned into a farce.

BUT this is not Henning Berg's fault. I know many of you are underwhelmed but we MUST get behind Henning from day one.

Sounds about right.

Shebby appears to be an idiot.

Let's try and achieve some harmony at the club, at least through the 90 minutes. It might take a while but hopefully things may progress for us, as much as they can potentially do under the current ownership.

[rovers11]

Many people will be underwhelmed by berg but I believe it's a very shrewd appointment. His teams play in the way I like - solid at the back, passing football with pace throughout the team. He's also good at bringing the young players through which is important for our club.

He also loves the club and won't tale any nonsense. I'm pleased and think many will in time.

[arbitro]

bleep test, never in a football match do you run continuously. time at high intensity as a min. fitness comes in many forms.

It is used as a way of measuring fitness levels. I think that was the point.

[True Blue & White]

Still not believing anything until it's up on the Rovers website and confirmed. In these last 5 weeks we've been nailed on and close to signing a whole host of names and none of them came to fruition so I don't see why today should be any different.

[Sverre]

roverfoxy wrote:

Not from me just something my mate sent from a Norweigan fan In hennings bergs first season at lyn they finished 3rd. his team got a wrong penalty against them in their second last game of the season. If that had not happened they would probably have won the league that season. To put that achievement in perspective. Lyn to finish third in tippeligaen is equivalent to finish third with a club like Sunderland budget wise. No one really expected him to top that table position with the economy they had. The gap up to the big spenders was just too big.

The following season they finished 7th, 9th and 7th, which were decent, the season after he left lyn got relegated and then they went bankrupt. He was signed to take over lillestrøm after the 2008 season but due to them being only 3 points over relegation zone he started his jobs two games before the season ended. In his first game in charge they beat Rosenborg (which won the league by clear margin that season) and secured top flight football. When he took over Lillestrøm they had the oldest squad in the league, and a lot of high earners. He had to clean up their entire squad and in his first season everyone expected them to struggle which they did. The other seasons they were predicted to be higher up, and he had lillestrøm around 5th 6th place until the summer window which due to economic recession in the Norwegian league between 2008-2011 he had to sell his most talented youngsters. So to sum up he has managed a midget budget wise and had decent success with them, then he managed a sleeping giant from the 80s which were and are in complete in turmoil.

In terms of formation he usually sets his teams up either in 4-4-2 or in 4-4-1-1. He likes to have players with a lot of pace, especially on the wings and the wingers he has used tend to be good to challenge 1on1 (so I guess he has some shopping to do in January). His teams have been rather solid and organized defensively. He is a die-hard fan of zonal marking. He plays an attractive possession oriented style with a lot of short passes and mostly passes on the ground. He has also liked to play with two holding midfielders. I think he is very inspired by arsenal and arsene wenger when it comes to playing style and transfers. In my opinion he was very unfairly treated at Lillestrøm. He did all their dirty laundry, brought in young players and got rid of high earners and when they finally got stable economy they sacked him. The sacking was also a farce. Basically he had the boards support, but then an extern investor contacted the board and said “I will invest xx millions but only if you sack Henning”. So they went for the fast option. Lillestrøm is now a Norwegian QPR version. They have signed 18 new players this season (many of them Norwegian internationals who didn’t play for their foreign clubs) but this has not materialized and they are basically at status quo in terms of league position and their attendance are plummeting.

His ex assistant managers will probably not join him. His first assistant manager is assistant manager at Aalesund and the other one just got relegated as manager for Stabæk after failing to get the job at Lillestrøm. I think he would want to bring his own staff in, and then he will bring people who share the same football philosophy as himself and people he can work with. Maybe he can work with black and Hendry, but if not I think he will get other people in. I’m obviously a big fan of Henning Berg as I suggested him over 5 weeks ago when he wasn’t even remotely linked with us. I don’t agree with someone saying “5 weeks and we end up with henning berg, what a disaster.” The reason for this is if this had been a quick appointment I don’t think he would even be considered by Shebby and Shaw. If he gets the job I think he will have impressed them with what he has presented to them and they think he is the right choice. I hope shabby and shaw have done a thorough job in talking with potential managers but of course I don’t know if this is correct.

[RitzyDelandro]

Looks like the new man is going to be Berg.

The whole process has been mishandled by Shebby, it has turned into a farce.

BUT this is not Henning Berg's fault. I know many of you are underwhelmed but we MUST get behind Henning from day one.

If it is Berg I am quite happy with that. Has played under some top managers in his time, knows the English game and seems to have done a good job in difficult circumstances in his previous roles.

[EgyptianPete]

The mans not walked through the door yet Kean me.... your all boring, damp and depressive... simple answer if you don't like it, don't turn up to games, close your account on this board and go support city, utd or chelsea!!

Just a bunch of whining keans, I can't be doing with people like you...

Granted Berg wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm not gonna moan about it I'm going to support him and the team 110%. We've gone through all this with Kean we don't need it again, especially without giving the man a chance!

Rant Over

+1000 i agree

[Batman.]

bleep test, never in a football match do you run continuously. time at high intensity as a min. fitness comes in many forms.

Never in a football match do players lift weights but they spend plenty of time in the gym building strength.

[unsall]

If it is Berg,he flew back to Norway last night,someone who works at Manchester airport asked him if its true and he just laughed, he said he didn't give anything away.

[Muddboy]

Berg may not look like an exciting appointment on paper, but there are a number of positives in my view:

1 He has managerial experience

2 He loves BRFC

3 He has no association with Steve Kean or Jerome Anderson

4 He isn't a Venky's puppet

5 His arrival signals a fresh start for everyone.

We therefore have to give him our full support. It's imperative. If people don't like his appointment then stay away. Simple.

This whole recruitment process has shown that Shabby will not entertain anyone that he thinks wil be hard work or will undermine his authority. Hence the reason Holloway and Harry were not serious contenders.

[dubdubdub]

Two questions that should have been top of the list for Shebby when appointing.

Will this bring the crowds back?

Does this man have credentials to win promotion?

I don't think either of those have crossed his mind. It seems this was the main dilemma for him.

Will this person still allow me to get in the way?

I hope if Berg is announced he makes life very difficult for Shebby, even though Shebby obviously believes he can still do what he wants with Berg in charge. This is the reason he didn't want experience, because experience wouldn't take his crap and told him so.

Sadly I don't think Berg will get us promoted, or bring the crowds back. Perhaps if we are lucky and other teams really stumble but I think we will be mid table at best. Is that good enough to sustain our wage bill? Who knows. Big gamble on the clubs future that needn't be.

And for the record Bergs one of my favourite ex Rovers. I just don't think it's the right time for experimenting right now with so much at stake.

There only needs to be one question for me.

[CapeTownRover]

Just for those who said Hughes had managerial experience with Wales, and that is why he turned out well at club level. Well, no, that is not right. The 2 are completely different, as you only spend a few days or so with the players at international level say once every 2 or so months, whereas you spend the entire week with the players at club level every week. Hughes was a novice in terms of club management, whereas Berg has had a few years managing at club level.

So for those of who that are unhappy with Berg, why exactly is that? Is it because he had no degree of success in the Norwegian league. Imo, if I look at the likes of Holloway, Grayson, Poyet, etc they have all had very little success imo, in fact I wouldn’t even class that as being successful. Winning trophys, etc that is the measure of real success. We were technically successful in getting into Europe, staying in the PL, cup semi’s etc under Hughes.. But Dalglish was a successful manager having won the league for us, and Souness was successful having won the League Cup or Worthington Cup.

Our aim is to get into the PL yes, but there is no guarantee that any of these managers you would want to put your house on them to get us promoted, not even Redknapp. Kean put us in position, where the next manager should have an easy task of identifying exactly how to clean up his mess. In some way, Eric Black did just that, by ensuring that we tighten up at the back. Remember, if you keep a clean sheet, you are guaranteed at least 1 point, so Coco should have seen that, but he failed.

Will there be protests again, or will the fans stand up again, united, and get behind Henning Berg if he is appointed. If you don’t like the fact that he is bald, we can always ask him to grow some hair, or get a wig, if you think he reminds you of a certain ex pretend manager

[braddock]

There only needs to be one question for me.

McCleish got Birmingham promoted didn't he?

[Steve Moss]

Berg is apparently one of 24 managers who played under SAF. This can only be a good thing.

Does anyone know if there is a past relationship of any sort between Black and Berg? I'm curious as to whether Berg would have an aversion to working with Black.

[Tom]

I'm happy enough with Berg just not the process that has been undertaken which makes the appointment seem underwhelming

Shebby came out saying he was surprised at the quality of the applicants then approaches Fulham for their coach and 5 weeks later appoints an out of work ex Rovers player it just seems like a panic appointment

I hope Shebby gets lucky with it for all of our sakes

I imagine Henning will get the full backing of the fans and the anger may be directed elsewhere if it doesn't work out

This appointment could get so much better by replacing the global advisor with someone with a clue (beg Tom Finn and John Williams)

[Dunnfc]

Berg over mccleish!

Wel see, why would berg fly home if hes appointed today?

[The Gull]

All those writing Berg off already just do one FFS.

Have a think about the position the club is in, the owners, the negative publicity the fans have had, who the hell do you think would manage us? Would you rather they got a big name like Maradona in with no affinity to the club or fans?

One of the main gripes most fans had with Kean was that he didn't undertsand, or plainly ignored, the fan base. We have a man in Berg that knows the club and fans inside out, including when we last got promoted. His record in Norway is not outstanding by any stretch, but he has a record and knows the club. Could be better, could me worse.

Give the guy a chance, give the club a chance. If you believe it is already dead leave it to die in peace and await the resurrection. The constant bickering, both in media such as this and in the stands is tiring and quite frankly counter productive to what we all want, Rovers promoted this season.

I'm "satisfied" with the appointment of Berg as I feel I have a connection to him having watched him play for the club, after Kean that is something which I was concerned would never occur again. Like I said earlier, it could have been much better or much worse, but it is what it is so accept it.

Despite all the ITKs we really don't know what has happened over the past 30 days or so, sure it has taken too long but we can only speculate, and many of you do far too much of this, as to why. The end of the story is, if confirmed, that Berg replaces Kean as manager, that makes me smile.