[Archived] Henning Berg - Rovers Manager

[Oklahoma]

It has been 3 days since another defeat and after calming down and refllecting a little, I think there are many factors that contribute to what has happened in the club in the last 2 years.

The owners - what could be done should have been done when they were authorized to buy the club. Since then, the V's managed to destroy the best structures and get rid of highly qualified personnel. Unfortunately, there is little to be done to change this and it will take a while for any effective change to happen.

The manager - Kean was terrible, Berg hasn't started very well. He is not qualified for the job but since he is here, we have to support him until he finally gets a chance to have his team.

The players - bad bunch of players, poorly selected and out of depth in the Championship. Many need to be sold or loaned out. And hopefully 3 or 4 will enter in January (2 CM, 1 CB, 1 RM)

What worries me the most is that Berg hasn't been able to change the formation to suit the best players he has currently. The central midfielders are too poor so you either use 3 there or change the formation in order to "forget" them. Maybe a 5-3-2 formation could work in this case. He insists in the same formation and players dispite the bad results we had so far. In the last game, we were only a real oposition to Cardiff for 20 minutes, more or less. The rest of the game was terrible. They are top of the league but, if you want to get promoted, anything less than a win at home is not enough...

[martonrover]

Good post.

Some need to calm down a little.

The counter argument is that some need to wake up and smell the mustard.

Last Friday evening was a sad but enlightening exhibit of where we are, both on and off the pitch.

Let's hope Henning comes up trumps in the end but any talk of the play offs on current evidence is blind faith and nothing else.

I think even the current squad is capable of better results than we've been getting.

The backroom situation should've been long sorted to help Berg hit the ground running.

If his hands are tied that's not his fault but again does not lend itself for a reversal of recent fortunes.

Let's hope it finally gets sorted this week and we have a tremendous transfer window.

Most of all let's hope Berg soon shows some signs that he may make a decent manager and that he, and not that clown Singh, is actually running the show.

[DE.]

Whilst the current squad are very much a bunch of losers in mentality there's enough quality there to compete with any team in this league. We may not have the best squad in the league but much like 95% of the teams in the Championship we're average, and thus with an experienced manager there's no reason we couldn't compete accordingly.

McCarthy inherited a far worse Ipswich team and he's doing alright. That's the difference a proper manager can make in this division. I want Berg to succeed more than ever but it seems now that Kean is gone far too many people are willing to shut their eyes, put their hands over their ears and pretend everything is going to turn out alright in the end. Everything we've seen so far this season, let alone for the short time Berg has been in charge, suggests the exact opposite.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

My memory is very good actually. I'm not after somebody to guide us to 6th in the Premier League and our first Major Domestic trophy in over half a century, just somebody to get a bunch of under-performing second tier players playing to their potential, and with a few adjustments, back into the top flight.

To hopefully show that things can turn around - even after having since the previous March to mould the squad as Souness wanted it - early 2000 season we had this series of results :-

D, W, L, L, D, L, L

Following this we went on 6 straight victories.

Struggle to remember - but from what I remember Hughes was the catalyst to the winning run - prior to that we looked anything but promotion candidates.

Anyone remember this sequence of results :-

L, L, L, L, L, L, D, W, D, W

A certain K. Dalglish seeing his team limp into the play offs.

[david_daft]

actually samuel isn't correct at all. I don't remember one voice calling for berg. that's not to say that when he was appointed we didn't try to make the best of it and give him the support we could never give kean. We almost all wanted an experienced manager, someone with a proven track record of getting teams promoted, but we'd have settled for a less experienced guy with a decent record elsewhere. and we'd gladly ditch not only the global advisor but the defensive coach, the owners and most of the other sorry crew who currently run our club. we didn't ask for any of them.

Thank you, Gumboots. A great post in a sea of kean.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

He only gets to use it in the first place because the many, many fans that rejoiced at his arrival don't wanna admit they were barking completely up the wrong tree.

I don't remember many fans deeming our squad far too poor to even challenge for promotion from the Championship before Berg arrived.

Me , I've been saying they're not good enough all season. Too many people on this site watch games through blue and white spectacles. The sort of people who go to games and only watch one team.

[blueboy3333]

a mate a mine with no particular allegiance to either team was at the game on friday. He was near the dugouts and said that Cardiffs manager was hammering the 4th official all game, constantly in his ear. Berg by comparison never uttered a word to the 4th official and stood there with his hands in his pockets. No surprise we didn't get a decision all game off the ref and cardiff got everything. These things matter, Berg doesn't seem to have any presence. It probably is too early to judge him but it doeasn't look good at present. Things have got worse not better and it's not as if the tactics or personnel on the pitch are majorly different than before Berg's arrival. He certainly needs to bring his own players in, and staff, but he should be doing a lot better with what he's got.

[booth]

To hopefully show that things can turn around - even after having since the previous March to mould the squad as Souness wanted it - early 2000 season we had this series of results :-

D, W, L, L, D, L, L

Following this we went on 6 straight victories.

Struggle to remember - but from what I remember Hughes was the catalyst to the winning run - prior to that we looked anything but promotion candidates.

Anyone remember this sequence of results :-

L, L, L, L, L, L, D, W, D, W

A certain K. Dalglish seeing his team limp into the play offs.

Of course there's a couple of significant differences because under both of those managers we had witnessed good form before the bad run. Also both of those managers had plied their trade in English football. Berg's an unknown quantity at this time.

[jim mk2]

So to sum up:

1) When we lost matches under Kean it was because he was a rubbish manager and we had a decent squad that was being badly managed.

2) Now we are losing even more matches under Berg he is in fact a good manager but the squad is rubbish.

Time to face the truth:

Shebby the idiot Global Advisor (sic) has appointed another lemon as manager.

[Puffsan]

3) we overestimated the quality in our squad due to kean being in charge, closing our eyes and blaming everything on him.

Our squad lacks is unbalanced and lacks confidence now. It takes time to build confidence, sometimes a manager can turn things around quick, sometimes he can't. Harry redknapp who is perhaps rated as one of the best motivators in the game is yet to win a game with qpr, and in the three games he has been in charge they have played 16th, 17th and 18th place. Sometimes it just takes some time.

I am very confident henning will turn this around, and we will at Least finish top 6. People are over dramatizing this bad run. Championship is not a walk in the park, it's a marathon and still a lot more games to play.

We are still ahead of both wolves and Bolton despite our bad performance this season.

It it not impossible to catch up with 12 points in this league. Not easy, but not impossible. Stranger things have happened in football

[jim mk2]

I am very confident henning will turn this around, and we will at Least finish top 6.

Head in the sand.

He's only here because he's a former player and Shebby thought his appointment would please supporters.

[arbitro]

a mate a mine with no particular allegiance to either team was at the game on friday. He was near the dugouts and said that Cardiffs manager was hammering the 4th official all game, constantly in his ear. Berg by comparison never uttered a word to the 4th official and stood there with his hands in his pockets. No surprise we didn't get a decision all game off the ref and cardiff got everything. These things matter, Berg doesn't seem to have any presence. It probably is too early to judge him but it doeasn't look good at present. Things have got worse not better and it's not as if the tactics or personnel on the pitch are majorly different than before Berg's arrival. He certainly needs to bring his own players in, and staff, but he should be doing a lot better with what he's got.

Really good points made here. Being a nice guy in the horrible world of football will get you nowhere. Referees will see Rovers as an easy touch if our manager never gives them a hard time. When the referee didn't send off Hudson on Friday Berg should have been screaming from the roof tops but from my vantage point in the Family Stand he stood there impassively.

[chaddyrovers]

Alan Nixon in the Daily Mirror today is reporting that Black, Brunskill and Mimms will be leaving and Hendry moving to the reserves.

Berg will be bringing in fellow countryman Andre Bergdolmo and Craig Short. he is also hopeful the Friedal will come as player/ gk coach.

[Ewoodbhappy]

Head in the sand.

He's only here because he's a former player and Shebby thought his appointment would please supporters.

I would add to that - he's an ex player who Shebby thinks he can manipulate. How many times has Berg had to apologise for the remarks he made prior to joining? That may show a weakness that can be exploited by the likes of Shebby.

[martonrover]

Alan Nixon in the Daily Mirror today is reporting that Black, Brunskill and Mimms will be leaving and Hendry moving to the reserves.

Berg will be bringing in fellow countryman Andre Bergdolmo and Craig Short. he is also hopeful the Friedal will come as player/ gk coach.

Hardly awe inspiring but at least he's finally imposing his own regime.

[broadsword]

Hendry for the reserves? Presumably this is a clever piece of psychology to get players playing out of their skins in teh reserves just to get away from him.

Bin Black and keep Hendry?

I'm starting to think that the only difference between Berg and Kean is that Berg doesn't talk as much nonsense. Oh, and the results are worse.

[USABlue]

Berg's comments are hardly Keanesque. He acknowledged that Cardiff was the better team across the board but he also asserted that we weren't far off. Until Formica missed a sitter, his comments seem to accurately encapsulate the game.

Berg hasn't attempted to turn fan against fan, as did Kean. Berg hasn't referenced a "dew" factor in the failure to score. Berg hasn't compared journeymen players to world class players. Berg isn't Kean and is no where close.

Some opposed Berg from the start. Some are taking an admitedly poor start as an indicator of his lack of managerial skill. Beating the drum about only one win in eight matches misses the point. We are an unbalanced, unfit, and demoralized squad. With that underperforming team, Berg has managed to get a result in four of the eight matches. I believe results will improve, and dramatically so, as he molds the team into his vision.

We need to give Berg until the end of the season. Let's see what he does vis-a-vis his backroom staff and the January transfer window. I'm no expert, but I think Berg will deliver a playoff spot, provided we keep our eye and hand steady. Don't panic, lose our nerve, and pull the trigger on him prematurely.

As to Kean, his time here was marked by the occassional lucky win which kept him in a job. It's far better that we leave him were we left him, in our rear view mirror.

Stop it now you'll have everybody in a tizzy. If ands buts and all that but had Formica scored then who knows.

[Jimmy612]

I think one of the reasons people are flapping so much is because promotion is an absolute must from a financial point of view THIS season, time is ticking away and the sense of urgency intensifying by the day.

There's been very little lately to suggest we can mount a play-off challenge, its VERY worrrying and causing panic amongst the fans for obvious reasons.

Although true, I would suggest that in no way that is Bergs fault. I'm not sure any manager could get this rabble up from what I've seen of them. Perhaps McCarthy might have managed it. Point is, we don't and won't have McCarthy and it is not Bergs fault that he has been appointed as manager over perhaps more outstanding candidates. By the way, as I mentioned previously, not one of us knows what happened during any discussions. For all we know McCarthy, Holloway etc may have all told Singh where to shove his job.

So we land up here. The worst, most inbalanced squad of players I have ever seen, that has been consistently losing for 2 years but for the jammiest set of opening results since t'Dingles began PL life.

Do we have the finances or time to allow us a mid-table finish? Only Venkys know that. At the moment Berg has my full support

[USABlue]

Your memory is very poor imo. Sure Souness got us up but he was taking us right back down again when NUFC suprisingly came to our rescue. The quality of the squad that Mark Hughes inherited was bloody awful and so many of Souness's signings left a bitter taste of corruption in my mouth I'm afraid.

Too right Gordon , wee Souey with the willy he had had gone a bit bonkers. Great for a while but the wheels were starting to come off. As you mentioned, I think, even our golden boy, Mark couldn't wait to get out of Blackburn Hughes took only one victory from his first nine. He did'nt turn out too bad, till the end when he was wanting out. Not saying Berg will do even close to the same but if this lot were running things we'd have never had Hughes and the success he brought.

[G Somerset Rover]

Alan Nixon in the Daily Mirror today is reporting that Black, Brunskill and Mimms will be leaving and Hendry moving to the reserves.

Brilliant, so Black who did a decent job goes, while the alcoholic who has helped to mould our defence into the current shambles stays.

[USABlue]

Not many "top managers" have to watch their team put together a month's worth of bad performances and results,

Ironic as it is given his publicly documented views on the man, Berg's personality is not what we need, Souness' is.

See above under Mark etc Hughes

[USABlue]

Brilliant, so Black who did a decent job goes, while the alcoholic who has helped to mould our defence into the current shambles stays.

Wait a minute, how's that? Was Black coaching the D or HEndry or did Black coach the days we were a bit effective and HEndry the days we were crap. Remeber when Sparky tossed Parkes out on his ear, why do you suppose that was. Not lack of knowledge or commitment on TP's part it's just the undermining of what the new boss is wanting to do, it's natural. Not saying it was anything intentional, just things go that way there will always be a few players that don't like the new boss and they will seek out ones they are familiar with. So clicheing up familiarity and contempt and all that some heads have to roll.

[G Somerset Rover]

Wait a minute, how's that? Was Black coaching the D or HEndry or did Black coach the days we were a bit effective and HEndry the days we were crap. Remeber when Sparky tossed Parkes out on his ear, why do you suppose that was. Not lack of knowledge or commitment on TP's part it's just the undermining of what the new boss is wanting to do, it's natural. Not saying it was anything intentional, just things go that way there will always be a few players that don't like the new boss and they will seek out ones they are familiar with. So clicheing up familiarity and contempt and all that some heads have to roll.

I'm simply going by the fact that Black has been the only one to date who knew how to keep it tight at the back. I'm not doubting the integrity of Short, but it's looking a bit like jobs for the boys right now with Henning if these guys are brought in and Hendry kept.

[USABlue]

He only gets to use it in the first place because the many, many fans that rejoiced at his arrival don't wanna admit they were barking completely up the wrong tree.

I don't remember many fans deeming our squad far too poor to even challenge for promotion from the Championship before Berg arrived.

Rejoiced?? I don't remember rejoicing, I remember most being let down but deciding to give the bloke a fair crack of the whip. Remember this was all not too far removed from many crowing that they would take a blind one armed monkey on the sidelines over Kean. As we got results with turdbreath many said we were more than a tad bit fortunate yet now Kean was a genius.

[Kelbo]

Do you think Black would have moved down to the ressies?

No, he is too good for that, Berg wants his own men who he both knows and trusts, simple!!