[Archived] Henning Berg - Rovers Manager

[alexanders]

Shaw confirms that Berg did an impressive interview which led them to the decision of appointment

[roversfan1]

Wasnt my first choice if Im honest but Im happy to give Henning a chance.

I dont know why but Im cautiously optimistic that he will do well for us and I hope that all fans get behind him from the off! Remember one of the (incorrect) criticisms levied at Rovers fans by the media was that we never got behind Kean and they will be watching fans reaction to Berg with interest!!

[Roversider]

Henning Berg - model professional at Rovers and had a great career with us and also with United, huge array of international appearances and has some management experience under his belt, albeit in Norway. He knows us and we know him and I can't think of any reasons to have a bad memory of him at Blackburn.

Will he be a great manager at Ewood, I hope so. As fans it is imperative we give him our whole-hearted support to give him the best chance to become that.

I am 100% behind Henning.

[DannyKeg]

I hope this is not derogatory to our Norwegian friends, but tomorrow will be "Bagge Torsdag" at Ewood.

When I lived in Sweden I had a good friend from Bengtsfors in Dalsland, who told me a story about Norwegians. Every year there is one day in the calendar when there is a public holiday in Norway but not in Sweden. On that day many Norwegians cross the border to shop, it is known as "Bagge Torsdag".

So welcome back Henning "Bagge" Berg !

[The Rover of Finland]

Will Black continue?

[AspRover]

Wouldn't have been my first choice, but that's not his fault. Now that he's here we have to back him 100%

Henning Berg's Blue and White Army!

[riverkiller]

Happy with this appointment. Good luck Henning Berg. Oh, and well done Derek.......

[Stuart]

Question: has Shebby's master plan about appointing an ex-player to appease fans succeeded?

[scotty_beam_me_up]

The more I read and think about Berg the happier I am. If it doesn't work out I'm pretty sure he could still give Bradley Orr a run for his money at right back. Henning Berg's blue and white army.

[Josh]

Much rather Berg than someone like Keane or Southgate. At least Berg actually cares about the club and it's fans and whilst he may not turn out to be a great manager, will always try his best to help Rovers succeed.

[m1st]

For me, the club comes first.

Berg wouldn't have been my first choice and I think that there could have been many less suitable people appointed to the post.

He is now in post; he comes across as more impressive than either Ince or Kean and, as such, we should be lining up to support him in getting the club into a position to return to the Premier League. I'll be at Selhurst Park on Saturday cheering him on.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I can only repeat what others have said...get the right experienced backroom staff around you Henning!

Onwards and upwards hopefully

[miqaayil]

Congrats Berg ..... now shall we start thread on who will be asst.manager ??

mods ...can we stop having kean's name in this forum ....we have to start forgetting him .....

[A cup of beans]

Henning Berg - model professional at Rovers and had a great career with us and also with United, huge array of international appearances and has some management experience under his belt, albeit in Norway. He knows us and we know him and I can't think of any reasons to have a bad memory of him at Blackburn.

Will he be a great manager at Ewood, I hope so. As fans it is imperative we give him our whole-hearted support to give him the best chance to become that.

I am 100% behind Henning.

Sums up exactly my feelings!

Welcome back, Henning!

[Joar]

My two cents on the appointment, and the non-appointments (more or less realistic managers linked to the post):

Henning Berg: Maybe not my first choice manager, but I couldn't really find any stand-out prospects. Ex player, old favourite of mine, but in my view that is irrelevant. Decent, if unremarkable, track record. 2 previous managerial jobs, allthough I believe the role in norwegian clubs in general are slightly different from the Manager of english clubs, maybe more similar to in Germany. More a head coach who also is responsible for team selection. I might have the wrong impression on this though, and the difference is probably minimal. First club, Lyn. A traditional club, playing second fiddle to Vålerenga in Oslo. Relatively few core fans, meager budget, topped with gross mismanagement of funds (on the brink of bankruptcy at least twice the last years, saved by benefactors), made mid table finishes a decent achievement. In my view the 3rd place Lyn got with Berg in charge was nothing less than sensational. Second club, Lillestrøm. Sleeping giant, but complete shamples for many years. Noone has gotten much out of that team for ages. Read Puffsan's post for deeper analysis of his managerial record.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær: Good prospect, I'm sure, but in my view less experienced than Berg. Why? He has some seasons as a reserve team coach for Man Utd, similar role to Gary Bowyer I suppose. 2 seasons (soon) as manager of Molde. Molde came 2nd in 2009, almost relegated 2010 with mostly the same squad, he took over in 2011. Won the league, is leading the league now. I do however rate the 3rd place with Lyn as more impressive than winning the league with Molde. Why? Molde has a wealthy benefactor who has given OGS money to spend, incidentally I believe one major reason OGS didn't go to Aston Villa was the financial backing he'd gotten thus far in his tenure (i.e. paying back by staying). The squad was fairly good when he took over. And the norwegian league at present is completely up for grabs, as it has not been this unpredictable and evenly contested in my lifetime.

Ian Holloway: I must admit it would have been entertaining watching the press conferences, but other than that I don't see what the fuss is about. Got Blackpool promoted, yes, a fantastic achievement. Also got them relegated. Relegated and promoted with QPR. Relegated with Leicester.

Harry Redknapp: Has won one title (FA cup 2008), and 2 promotions (Bournemouth and Portsmouth). Took Tottenham to the Champions League. Relegated with Southampton and Bournemouth. I've not quite understood why he is rated so highly by so many people. For me he seems to start each season with an entirely new squad, having traded basically everyone during the transfer windows. It might just be me percieving things wrong, but I've always assosiated him with extreme player turnover. This is one reason I think he would have been wrong for Rovers, where I think consistency and bringing players up from the youth system is a much better approach.

Simon Grayson: Maybe the one I would have preferred earlier. Managed 3 clubs, promoted with all of them (yes I know it was from League 1, but it's still something). Looks to be doing a good job at Huddersfield. But I do not really know enough about him to know if he would have been a good choice.

Tim Sherwood: Might become a good manager, might not. Has no managerial experience. Good reports, fair enough, but so have others gotten. Complete unknown manager-wise, so what makes him more exciting than any of the others?

Eric Black: Looked to be doing a good job as caretaker, does that mean Kean ignored/overruled him when he was assistant? Honest and straight talking in interviews, gone up in rating in my book after he took over. Would possibly like to see him remain at the club.

Alan Shearer: Legend, but not for me. Similar to Sherwood in my view. Both behind the others experience wise.

Keith Hill: Do not know anything about him.

Bernt Schuster: Surely he was never really in the frame?

Flitty: Same as Shearer and Sherwood for me, Chorley is hardly different from being a coach i would guess.

All in all, I would say it's not a bad choice. Under our circumstances, I don't think we could have looked at any higher profile targets. (Allthough Laurent Blanc is out of a job...)

[A cup of beans]

mods ...can we stop having kean's name in this forum ....we have to start forgetting him .....

Correct. To those who are unhappy with Berg, just think back 6 weeks!

[ABBEY]

Good luck but you need more than luck with shabby and scumky interference !!!

[alexanders]

Berg will know what the cotton mill Derby means!

[Amo]

There's still a cloud over this whole affair. Like the fact it's taken over a month to appoint an unemployed manager who was a mixed bag in his native Norway. I think that had Venky's hired Berg post-haste, eyebrows would be raised, but there'd be some momentum built on the back of Kean's resignation. The whole recruiting process has been as amateur as it gets but I guess we've come to expect that from this lot, haven't we?

All the best to Henning. As with any new manager, he'll get a fair crack from me. He was a model pro at the club and hopefully that professionalism will whip our current crop into a squad worthy of promotion. That won't be forthcoming unless Venky's and their poodle let him get on with the job at hand.

At the very least, this saga is finally over.

[Puffsan]

Now that we have a new manager can we finally consign the last clown to history and remove the swear-changing-thing.....I don't know about everyone else but I'm fed up of still reading his name dozens of times a day......why should we care about him now? We shouldn't give him a moment's thought.

100 % agree. i dont really want to see his name ever again to be honest

[Derbyshire Blue]

A warm welcome back to Ewood Henning, I'm liking the feeling of a manager we can all get behind....Hoping Eric Black as a roll to play

[Ricky]

I'm looking forward to the rest of the season now. Will continue to get to as many games as I can. May even make his first home game.

[roversfan83]

Think this is a decent compromise. Not the vast I experience was hoping for but certainly better than sherwood, black, McKinley. He is afterall a manager and not had one of those since fat Sam.

He knows the club well and has stuck his neck out defending fans "behaviour". So he's right by me.

Ps think its a great idea for mods to block out word Kean as if said Kean.

[chaddyrovers]

Welcome home Henning Berg!

I will support you 100% as manager.

will be very interest to see who will stay on from the current coaching staff now we have a new manager.

Henning Berg Blue and White Army!!!!!!!

[Lathund]

Everything I've heard about the way HB goes about things, his approach to the game and his attitude, makes me feel he's exactly the type of character we need. Now, does that mean he will be able to turn that into results for Rovers? That remains to be seen, but I'm feeling optimistic.

It's going to be nice to finally have a manager who the fans are behind. Doesn't have the icon status of Shearer or Tugay, but I can't recall ever hearing a fan say a bad thing about him. Part of our championship winning side, part of our last promotion winning side, and part of the cup winning team a year later. He knows the club and the fans, and knows what needs changing under Venky's. Model pro who I don't expect will put up with any crap. I can only think he has taken the job after being given assurances that things will be different; or at least I desperately hope so!

Welcome aboard Henning!