[Archived] Michael Appleton - New Rovers Manager

[T.J.Newton]

Ere we go again....another dunce from the back of the class.

I may post some drivel at times! but unless your going to explain what it is you disagree with, keep the insults too yourself tough guy and just ignore my posts, simple.

[imy9]

It's nothing to do with hindsight, you're just devious in the way you post. You say one thing but mean another. I don't really like it. In most situations I say exactly what I think and believe and by extension I expect people to do the same. I don't think you do.

You often claimed you "liked" Allardyce as a manager, and apparently still do, but were the first to bash him specifically for his transfer dealings, whilst very quickly pointing out how much better Souness and Hughes were. If you do like Allardyce as you claim then apparently your idea of a good manager is someone whose signings would ultimately put the club in a "dire" situation, as stated in your own words. Seems strange to me, but it's your opinion and you are of course entitled to it.

Anyway, a few quotes from the good old Steve Kean thread http://www.brfcs.com/mb/index.php/topic/24308-steve-kean/page-1 you're actually not too bad until we achieve survival at the end of the 10/11 season, then suddenly...

I'll be fair here and say you claim you'd fire Kean if you had your way. However you then go on to post...

Are you confident we will stay up next season with Kean?

YES

Do you think Kean has the confidence and respect of the majority of the current squad?

YES

Are you happy with Keans relationship with the owners?

Dont much about it except he goes there for monthly discussions.

Do you think Kean will attract or select players that are quality players or have commitment to the club?

Money talks- if he can get Jones, Samba, Nelsen, Salgado etc to sign extensions then why not others, they will either sign on because of him or the money.

Has he made a substitution that has affected the game yet?

I am sure there have been subs that have made an impact, MGP had a decent 10 minute spell vs Bolton recently.

Have our tactics been much different than Allardyces?

Very different, his major saving grace- we look to play with width- pace and power, with a pre season could be exciting next year.

If you were a fan of a club in a simialar position as us would you want us to continue with Kean or employ a more experienced better quality man?

Probably continue with Kean, I would like an experienced manager.

The answers are yours replying to Plastic Head btw.

The above is probably my favourite quote from you during this period. Nothing to do with hindsight, just a ridiculous opinion that couldn't possibly be shared with anybody that had a working set of eyes and a functional brain.

Anyway, this is a thread about Michael Appleton rather than you so enough. I hope rereading these quotes brightened your dull afternoon.

Wow, I would not normally reply but I have to counter some of your ridiculous comments.

1. You accuse me of being "devious" but have cherry picked quotes to portray a false picture. Prime example: I said "I'll be fair here and say you claim you'd fire Kean if you had your way. You then pick out a few carefully selected quotes to apparently show how much I like Kean. KEY point here is that the points made were after the WOLVES game, last game of the season when we survived- the euphoria of surviving relegation and the way we played that day certainly swayed my opinion. I changed my mind after the Fulham game. It has been consistent since then.

2. All the quotes that you have given were my opinion and I certainly dont think that they were ridiculous, but the fact that you think that says more about you I think.

3. I think Appleton is doing a good job but there are plenty of negatives and things to improve- the same can be said about everyone- again cherry picking my quotes, I NEVER said I wanted Sam gone and have always maintained that he is a GOOD manager.

[imy9]

Indeed. That method has always served me well and proved to be very accurate on any number of occasions in the past. You can put my perception down to instinct if you like. I suppose some have it and some haven't.

the free world would call it being 'prejudiced'...knowing your opinions on certain matters I'd say more but whats the saying 'cant teach an old drog new tricks'

[47er]

I may post some drivel at times! but unless your going to explain what it is you disagree with, keep the insults too yourself tough guy and just ignore my posts, simple.

You also post plenty of insults but can't take it when you get them back.

[DE.]

Imy, you can cry victim if you want but the fact is you requested I pick out your embarrassing quotes. I did that. Of course I cherry picked quotes you daft sod, that's what you told me to do. However, I also gave a link to the thread and put the quotes in context by saying when they were written. You can blame "euphoria" if you want, but nobody else was writing such idiotic drivel after we beat Wolves. Most of us were being realistic whilst you were smugly acting like your support of Kean was totally justified. I would have left this if you hadn't pushed it, so you only have yourself to blame if you feel embarrassed now. I wouldn't blame you because those quotes are absolutely cringeworthy, regardless of whether your opinion changed later.

My whole point is that you have some nerve talking down to Jim or Theno after some of the crap you've posted in the past. Lord knows I don't agree with everything either of them post, but if I had your posting history there's no way I'd even think about smugly referencing "u-turns" and past post history. I'd have deactivated my account a long time ago and reregistered under a new name to try and build some credibility. Other than Braddock, Cruz (whatever happened to him anyway?) and Steve Kean himself I'm not sure you'll find many people willing to back you up that at any point under Kean we were playing amazing football with shape, power and pace... but if you want to believe that then go right ahead.

You only have yourself to blame for people not taking you seriously.

[yoda]

Is this the Michael appleton thread?

or did I take a wrong turn

[eire3382]

As a fan base are we so used to being down and depressed that we must continue to talk about our CRAP former manager and not about our current one?

For gods sack the bald fat one is gone and lets try to forget and give our new man (who does seem to have some skill as a manager) some attention.

Why can't we enjoy being rovers again instead of trying to keep ourselves depressed.

[DanLad]

Being depressed is fundamental to being a Rovers supporter! It's more pseudo-depressed, but in a wry kind of way. If something is going ok we don't want to look at it in case it disappears.

[riverside returns]

Good point Eire. Although there is a lot of mileage in learning from mistakes, there is more in moving on as it is not worth crying over the proverbial.

[Stuart]

Being depressed is fundamental to being a Rovers supporter! It's more pseudo-depressed, but in a wry kind of way. If something is going ok we don't want to look at it in case it disappears.

Very well put!

[T.J.Newton]

You also post plenty of insults but can't take it when you get them back.

You're just another one,

And you are wrong as usual, ive never posted an insult that wasnt either in jest or a comeback(well not in recent times anyway, maybe when i 1st joined the board and didnt know any better)

[T.J.Newton]

Rovers NEVER do things the easy way(under any manager), if we do get into the playoffs, you can bet it will go right down to the last couple of games too decide who gets 6th place.

[G Somerset Rover]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/10242898._/

The above highlights the one worry for me with Appleton. All he talks about is stopping the opposition, not one comment about the lack of chances that we created (1 shot in 90 minutes), or our inability to threaten Hull.

I know they are flying in the league, but we're going to have to show attacking intent in games ourselves as well if we want to somehow keep in the playoff hunt.

[Mark Atkins' Bald Patch]

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/10242898._/

The above highlights the one worry for me with Appleton. All he talks about is stopping the opposition, not one comment about the lack of chances that we created (1 shot in 90 minutes), or our inability to threaten Hull.

I know they are flying in the league, but we're going to have to show attacking intent in games ourselves as well if we want to somehow keep in the playoff hunt.

I know what you mean, although I was happy to read the following from Appleton in that artice:

'The onus is on us to go against Leeds on Saturday and go right at them.'

Let's hope that is the case. As has been noted earlier in this thread, any good manager coming into a club leaking goals will concentrate initially on making the team hard to break down - he's performed admirably in that respect.

The test going forward is can he instill some attacking creativity and keep the back door shut at the same time.

I had a great deal of respect for the way Appleton handled himself at Portsmouth and as a result was not as dissapointed as some when he was appointed. I have had no reason to doubt that, given time and a half decent budget, he can't move us forward.

Can't wait for saturday - I've been saying that alot more in the last few weeks!

[G Somerset Rover]

Good post Mark - fully agree.

[DE.]

As a fan base are we so used to being down and depressed that we must continue to talk about our CRAP former manager and not about our current one?

For gods sack the bald fat one is gone and lets try to forget and give our new man (who does seem to have some skill as a manager) some attention.

Why can't we enjoy being rovers again instead of trying to keep ourselves depressed.

This is nonsense.

Of course it's pertinent to talk about Steve Kean. His numerous mistakes are a big part of the problems Appleton faces. Just because he's gone doesn't mean the damage he inflicted over his two year stay suddenly evaporated too. Appleton's job is in many ways going to be defined by how successfully he repairs the damage caused by Steve Kean. His spectre still looms large over the club and just because he's still discussed doesn't mean people are "depressed", it's just looking at things realistically. I swear some people genuinely think that now we've hired Appleton everything is good again and we'll be back in the prem in no time. There are still so many problems at this club, some of you really need to take your heads out of the sand and realise the nightmare isn't over yet. It's just a little easier to endure at the moment because we have somebody with a clue in the manager's seat.

[Guest Norbert]

For me, if we finish 8-10th, and somehow persuades Rhodes to stay for next season then he'll have done a good job. Our season was knackered during the chaos between nobhead leaving, and Bowyer doing his bit. Black was treading water at best, and Berg was just rubbish. That is not to say Kean should have stayed until Appleton came along of course.

[Joar]

Well, all this is throwing of excrement is very interesting, but my dad is stronger than all of your dads combined! So there, I win!

I am cautiously optimistic still about Appleton. Allthough the last 3 matches have basically been completely rear guard action. I don't have a problem with that against the likes of Arsenal, but I do feel it can be a risky strategy at times. At home we were playing Brighton off the park, away we were under pressure for most of the match. It kind of worked in this instance, but it could have ended like the Hull game. It's been a bit too many last ditch blocks for my liking.

Then again, earlier in the season, noone would have sacrificed themselves to block anything, so we are definatly improving.

I do think the play-offs are too far away, even with Middlesbrough being useless atm. Last time we were in the Championship we needed one season for stabilising before kicking on for promotion. I think that might be the case again.

[Mike E]

I think a big part that many of us are forgetting (and the rest of us hoping to dear God that it'll work) is that Appleton seems to like his wingers. To that end, when fit, we'd have a choice of 2 Olssons, Pedersen, Bentley and KING.

I think we'll see King take the RW berth and an Olsson on the other wing. The pace would be pretty scary, esp' if Best can have an impact helping Rhodes up front.

Though I'd prefer to see Pedersen and Bentley start on the wings and in the course of the game, introduce the pace of Olsson and King to scare the feck out of the oppo.

Thinking out my arse here, but it's better than anything Kean ever did

[Guest Norbert]

It worked in 1995, and whilst football has moved on a lot since then, it still can work.

[darrenrover]

Putting Rhodes in goal is better than anything Kean ever did.

I too prefer pace down the flanks but would favour King on the right, Lowe as is, Bentley central mid replacing Murphy and Pederson left. That would allow Martin to utilise his pace down the left whilst MGP sat deep. I'd play DJ, Rhodes up top, replacing DJ with Best when fit.

[Andy]

It worked in 1995, and whilst football has moved on a lot since then, it still can work.

There was a lot of talk of Rovers 'traditional style' from Singh earlier in the season.

I would argue that if Rovers did have a style, it'd be playing direct football with two good wingers supplying constant balls into the forwards.

[LeChuck]

It worked in 1995, and whilst football has moved on a lot since then, it still can work.

I think Appleton's ideas are a bit more dynamic than that. We play a 4-4-1-1 at the moment, with Kazim-Richards doing pretty much what he wants. I guess that could change when Best returns to full fitness though.

Not worried by Appleton's approach so far. When a team has leaked goals like we have for the last two years, it's only right that he gets a solid base to build from. With signing the likes of Bentley, Campbell and trying to sign Thomas, he's obviously got plans to be more expansive than simply sitting back and hoping to nick a goal.

As has been mentioned a few times before, it's the approach Hughes took as well when he took over a team in turmoil. We didn't see improvements on the attacking side until Hughes' second season when he was able to bring more of his own men in. Given Appleton's recent comments talking about the summer window, I imagine he's taking the same approach. If he can establish us as a solid and hard to beat team for the remainder of this season, that would be an excellent platform on which to build for next year.

[den]

Rovers only improved under Hughes when he brought in quality players. That's the bottom line to any improvement, in any side.

[Mike E]

We must remember that (albeit in the Prem), it took Hughes 2 transfer windows and a full pre-season to get us up to scratch. Like Hughes' first season, a decent finish is priority. Ofc, we can all hope for the Play-Offs, but to expect them (even if we end up a couple pts clear in 6th at any point) is silly given the season we've had.

Didn't Hughes get something like 2 wins in his first 14 games? I really think that if Appleton is given a decent budget (£2/3m in Championship?) we could do it. If he's given as much as Kean was given last summer (doubtful) and we keep our core players, we ought to go up.

By core players, I mean: Dann, Hanley, Henley, Olsson x2 (yes, I would like to keep both in this league), Kean, King and Rhodes. I'd be tempted to put Pedersen but his wages could do with getting rid of, esp if Bentley turns out well. I'd also put Best, as I'm confident of his ability, but that wouldn't be with any real reason.

Next season (if we can keep who we want to keep) we can go for it.