[Archived] New Manager Part 2 - With Poll

[thenodrog]

Bit of a moot point anyway as Bowyer is in place till the end of the month and if he carries on in this vein then he deserves to stay until the summer. SGE would be an expensive mistake imo.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

In this league Erikkson is Davies but with less than a fifth of the experience. Plus a much higher salary and a much bigger ego. Plus he's already shafted us once.

[patrickvalery]

I think we've got a decent squad who have been allowed to become unfit (although got a lot of luck at the start of the season - before many teams found us out) then we had the dour Berg unable to motivate and inspire. Now we have a man in the dugout who looks like he's got a Plan A and a Plan B and is animated and motivating. All of a sudden we've started to look like a team that should be aiming for promotion.

I agree we may need some additions although I don't think we need 2 of each as you suggest - certainly not strikers. A central midfielder and a central defender (one of which to be a leader of men) and we should easily survive in the PL - not midtable but survive. Having said that, over the next couple of years (with the new TV deal) it may still cost £40m for those two alone. If that's the case though, we may as well give up now as we cannot compete long term with those kinds of numbers. Not by 'washing our own face' under any fair play rules, anyway.

I can't agree that this squad plus a couple of good standard additions would survive in the PL. We do have some good prospects who play football the attractive way. But the side has no steel at all and that is key for not only promotion but survival. We could go on a run and scrape promotion but it's extremely unlikely. But if that miracle did happen we'd get torn a new one next year amongst the big boys. This current squad under an experienced manager with at least a full pre-season to get across his ideas should have been capable of promotion with one or two experienced Championship players added.

I envy sides like Swansea who have been afforded time to build a footballing ethos and achieve success. But as you rightly stated in a previous post Stu, we hven't got that time. As such we need to do things the West Ham / Big Sam way. Play percentage football and maximise every set piece plus have the best in the league up front. IMO we have the leagues best striker but lack in every other department. I like the fact we have some decent young players at the club but to my untrained eye they consist of a decent keeper in Kean, a decent fullback in Henley and then a whole bunch of 'in the hole' types. Thats not a balanced set of prospects and to be frank the entire squad shares the same problem as a result. We are totally unbalanced. Any experienced manager would see this immediately and look to rectify it. Sadly i think our owners have spent all they're going to spend on targets identified by the most inept manager we've ever had. That said, this league isn't a good standard and a decent manager could get us on a roll. But if we went up we'd be in serious trouble with such a lightweight squad.

[47er]

I'm not sure we are that far away, Abs.

We wouldn't be midtable any time soon but I reckon we could survive with the squad we have now.

I know a Blackpool supporter though who hated the PL experience and wouldn't want to repeat it. It's simpler for them though, they have costs which are within their means as a Championship club. Rovers do not. We probably need a couple of years as a yo-yo club to swell the coffers a bit but failing to go up and we could be in Pompey-esque strife if we can't afford to pay existing players contracts and aren't able to negotiate their sale to other clubs.

I'm surprised by your post. I honestly think we would be slaughtered if this squad played in the Premiership.

[Rover_Shaun]

Me too. This squad would seriously put pressure on Sunderlands record if it was in the Prem

[ABBEY]

Me too 47er

[den]

Be lucky to win a match.

[RevidgeBlue]

Jeez:....... let's worry about that if we get there eh? Players will be queueing up to sign for us if we get promoted.

Bit like complaining that you still wouldn't be able to pull Pamela Anderson if you won 100m on Euromillions!

[47er]

Jeez:....... let's worry about that if we get there eh? Players will be queueing up to sign for us if we get promoted.

Bit like complaining that you still wouldn't be able to pull Pamela Anderson if you won 100m on Euromillions!

I don't think any of us would say "No to promotion we're not good enough" Rev! Just a theoretical discussion based on a comment from Stuart that this squad would keep us up.

[Stuart]

I'm surprised by your post. I honestly think we would be slaughtered if this squad played in the Premiership.

I'm talking about surviving. I'm sure it wouldn't be comfortable but look at squads like West Brom and Norwich.

Jeez, we don't half put ourselves down. We don't need critics in the media!

[ABBEY]

Jeez:....... let's worry about that if we get there eh? Players will be queueing up to sign for us if we get promoted.

Bit like complaining that you still wouldn't be able to pull Pamela Anderson if you won 100m on Euromillions!

You wouldn't pull her if you won a trillion !! Ha

Me on the other a couple of minutes with my silver tongue and my sexy god like looks ... Easy

[AlanK]

Sven was rated as the second most succesful england manager behind alf ramsey, no other manager has taken England to three consecutive quarter finals in major competitions and considering we have reached one final and one semi final in world cups sven taking us to two quarters is not half bad!The fans even did a 'save our sven' campaign when the fa said they were going to release him!

As I stated earlier cant belive people are saying they would not have sven! this is all set up for the next ridiculous name venkys come out with (micky adams probably)and everyone saying ohhh anyone but him!give me sven over ali,macdonald,taylor,kean,berg,shebby any day of the week!

When the name was first mentioned yesterday the majority of their fans were in uproar as his championship record is terrible!they all want o'driscol as he is a wolves fan

You or I could have got that squad in to the quarter finals of a major championship. The fact he could not take then further was a failure.

[rog of the rovers]

Lets get promoted before we start worrying!

Bowyer had a great start and the players seemed to have performed for him.

Always a believer of "lucky managers" and its better to have a lucky manager in charge.

King's deflected goal vs. Barnsley, Rochina's deflected goal vs. Forest and the keeper fumbling Murphy's effort yesterday. 3 massive opening goals in the 3 victories.

Even the best managers need that run of good fortune.

[Ewoodbhappy]

Kean / Berg / Solbakken.

Similarities?

Baldies obviously - inexperienced / odd choices / qualified? / Freakishly bad appointments. WHY?

What are the owners trying to prove? Ask fans of Rovers & Wolves why the men in suits are making such stupid / odd / costly errors.

It's baffling me.

[AndyR]

Wolves have appointed Dean Saunders as their next boss, and O'Driscall has turned down Barnsley

[RevidgeBlue]

I don't think any of us would say "No to promotion we're not good enough" Rev! Just a theoretical discussion based on a comment from Stuart that this squad would keep us up.

I think the reaction is indicative of the general negativity which has enveloped the Club over the last couple of years (with good reason)

A few wins and Shebby not saying anything stupid for a few days and people dont know what to do with themselves, its almost like they have to invent hypothetical situations to complain about.

For the record I don't think this squad would survive in the Premiership but thats completely irrelevant as the lineup would probably look completely different to the current one if we were promoted. I do think we have 4 or 5 young gems we can build a side around, Rhodes, Rochina, Adam Henley, Martin Olsson (if he stays) and maybe Jake Kean. Maybe one or two more will emerge as well. Supplement them with the right blend of player, they wouldn't necessarily have to be world beaters per se and youve got the makings of a useful side.

[Mike E]

You wouldn't pull her if you won a trillion !! Ha

Me on the other a couple of minutes with my silver tongue and my sexy god like looks ... Easy

Which God mate? Buddha?

[Kelbo]

I think the reaction is indicative of the general negativity which has enveloped the Club over the last couple of years (with good reason)

A few wins and Shebby not saying anything stupid for a few days and people dont know what to do with themselves, its almost like they have to invent hypothetical situations to complain about.

For the record I don't think this squad would survive in the Premiership but thats completely irrelevant as the lineup would probably look completely different to the current one if we were promoted. I do think we have 4 or 5 young gems we can build a side around, Rhodes, Rochina, Adam Henley, Martin Olsson (if he stays) and maybe Jake Kean. Maybe one or two more will emerge as well. Supplement them with the right blend of player, they wouldn't necessarily have to be world beaters per se and youve got the makings of a useful side.

Yes Rev, that does make sense, its about the right balance of youth, experience and having a couple of real leaders and a presence in the team, the squad we have at the moment, in my opinion, would really struggle in the prem, however, in my experience, certain players play better at a higher level than a lower one, I know it sounds strange but it is correct!

[USABlue]

Imo Sven was exposed as a conplete fraud when he failed miserably with the most talented group of footballers anyone could wish to manage in 2004.

Since then from what I can see he hasn't been remotely successful anywhere he's been since, but he seems to have an uncanny ability to bs his way into one high paid job after another on the strength of being a former England manager. Before doing a half arsed job and departing with another huge severnce cheque in his back s

He's certainly an extremely smooth operator who seems to thrive by being everyone's friend, never upsettingng anyone, never say anything controversial never rocking the boat. In that respect he'd be ideal for Venky's. He'd sail serenely through any internal turmoil at the Club giving the impression he was barely aware it ever existed and come up smelling of roses.

But a genuine love and enthusiasm for the game? Real football knowledge and insight? You get that impression with other grandees of the game of Sven's age but not him. He's just playing the game counting down the days to the next big pay off.

The fact he left behind one Matt Jansen from the World Cup also still irks me, had he taken him as he should have we would not have been robbed of one of our finest talents.

I was pretty sure Sven Erikkson did well at Manchester City before they replaced him with Mark Hughes, he did the double over Alex Ferguson during his only season in charge. But if Shebby Singh is reading this, he must be throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"First they tell me experience is of utmost importance after the disaster with Henning Berg, and now when an experienced manager approaches us, fans don't want him either and would rather less experienced managers because of Sven's season with Leicester! Can't make up their mind, the bloody lot of them!"

Well, I'm pretty sure no one cares about his opinion anyway, but this ends up justifying his statement, "even you fans can't decide among yourselves what manager you want, what more me?" If it's any consolation, Shebby Singh doesn't rate Sven Erikkson at all, and was pretty critical of him during his tenure at England. Then again, Shebby Singh was critical of everybody when he was a pundit. -___-

It's not hard, experience at our level with a track record of success. That is the package we need.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Regarding this straight back down if we do go up talk, I think thats what being on the wrong end of 2 bad managers does to your confidence. The current squad has had a hell of a lot of critics this season, but how does anyone know how bad it actually is until it gets managed by a decent manager? At no point have any of the players who have been signed or broken through to the first team post-Allardyce actually played under a good, experienced manager. So as far as I'm concerned we really have no idea how good we are at the moment.

[donnermeat]

I think he was supposed to be in a squad in the months leading up to the World Cup but got some sort of illness which made him lose weight (I think?), so it's reasonably understandable why he wouldn't take him, having never seen him first hand.

Mind you he took Walcott four years later so what the hell do I know.

[ABBEY]

You wouldn't pull her if you won a trillion !! Ha

Me on the other a couple of minutes with my silver tongue and my sexy god like looks ... Easy

Which God mate? Buddha?

ALL gods haha....i got told i had a sexy arse on mad friday lol

by a drunk gay bloke!!! in the toilets of a pub an canal st hahahahaha

[DE.]

The current squad would get butchered in the premier league.

Not that it matters, though. If we did go up Venky's would probably sell our best players again anyway. Apparently the way forward is to sell all of your best players whilst in the premiership, then spend stupid money when relegated. Baffling why more clubs don't follow this model.

[47er]

I think the reaction is indicative of the general negativity which has enveloped the Club over the last couple of years (with good reason)

A few wins and Shebby not saying anything stupid for a few days and people dont know what to do with themselves, its almost like they have to invent hypothetical situations to complain about.

For the record I don't think this squad would survive in the Premiership but thats completely irrelevant as the lineup would probably look completely different to the current one if we were promoted. I do think we have 4 or 5 young gems we can build a side around, Rhodes, Rochina, Adam Henley, Martin Olsson (if he stays) and maybe Jake Kean. Maybe one or two more will emerge as well. Supplement them with the right blend of player, they wouldn't necessarily have to be world beaters per se and youve got the makings of a useful side.

It's nothing to do with pessimism, it's a realistic assessment of how far and how quickly we have fallen. I agree there are elements to be optimistic about though like the young players you mention. And I fully accept that the team which is promoted often bears little resemblance to the team that takes the field on the first day of the next season.That's why I said it was a theoretical discussion.

However you reveal your pessimism when you write the ominous phrase "if he stays"......!

[USABlue]

I'm not sure we are that far away, Abs.

We wouldn't be midtable any time soon but I reckon we could survive with the squad we have now.

I know a Blackpool supporter though who hated the PL experience and wouldn't want to repeat it. It's simpler for them though, they have costs which are within their means as a Championship club. Rovers do not. We probably need a couple of years as a yo-yo club to swell the coffers a bit but failing to go up and we could be in Pompey-esque strife if we can't afford to pay existing players contracts and aren't able to negotiate their sale to other clubs.

There's a surprise now they are no longer in it. Ask him if he went to follow his team last time they were i the playoffs and if so why?