[Archived] Michael Appleton - New Rovers Manager

[arbitro]

Quotes pulled from the @OneRovers twittoh account:

" I won't be able to put that first half to bed for the rest of the season

It answered a few questions with certain people today. I think what happened today has been the problem over the previous five months. It is a division that you can grind results out if you are disciplined and organised and willing to put a shift in. There weren't players in that first half, that, for me, looked as if they were motivated to try and win a game of football."

Well done Michael Appleton. I will now judge his comments on future team selections. What I don't understand though is why he kept picking these 'spineless' wasters.

[USABlue]

I said I would give him 10 games the same as Berg got. Let's be clear I did not approve of his appointment at the start. I did not like his outgoing moves at the window. I was pleased he shored up the back line (albeit temporarily) but I was aghast at how totally toothless we became up front. We were lacking in that area before he came Appleton has now perfected that void, we are now not able to score at all. So, after these 10 games we are just about where we were when he got here, 10 points off a pipe dream playoff spot with less games to play and a worse goal diff. Good job Venky's and whoever is pulling your plonkers, yes I'm sure Mr's D has one she just doesn't have the balls that should go with it. Their skill at appointing the completely uninspiring is, well, uninspiring.

I said at the time of Appletons hiring he has been hired to do a job and that job has little to do with Rovers getting back in the Prem. He's here to do a Portsmouth. Put out a team that can give the resemblance of making an effort while the lunes in Pune continue to rob the very fabric of our lives. To put to death the heart and soul of a once proud club. They will be gone eventually cos we will be no more. Call this an overreaction but this is the worst I hve felt as a Rovers fan in over 40 years of following us and there has been some pretty monumental lows.

As Gav said in a post a little while back, these next two games are the only games left that may put a sheen on our season. Lose either one and I may not even check in again here until the new season is about to start so mad am I at my club. Lose to the Dingles and I may be with Givet looking for a rope. Sorry for the rant I am just so @#/? naffed off and I don't think Mr Appleton is the man to re-float this sinking ship.

Now win the next two games and I might be calling him the next best thing.

[Ricky]

So how are all of those who didn't want Billy Davies feeling right now!

Forest now 6 points above us after being well behind us when he took charge!

[USABlue]

Appleton: We will fight to the end

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/blackburn_rovers/news/10263615.Appleton__We_will_fight_to_the_end/

Yeah we really put up our dukes for Posh huh?

Putting aside the fluke cup win at Arsenal, the past few weeks have seen dreadful league performances at Hull and Leicester, a limp home draw with Leeds and now today's debacle.

There's no point calling for Appleton to depart because the idiots in the boardroom will only appoint another non-entity.

However unless he can show some hitherto unrevealed managerial genius it's as plain as the nose on his ugly face that we have another lemon in the dugout.

As things stand, and assuming he continues to bring in more cheap unwanted cast-offs from other clubs in the summer we will have a relegation battle on our hands next season.

We might yet have one this.

Well done Michael Appleton. I will now judge his comments on future team selections. What I don't understand though is why he kept picking these 'spineless' wasters.

And that is a very very good question. He is the manager, he's seen the same performances we have why then did he. A question I'd like answered

[Majiball]

Yeah we really put up our dukes for Posh huh?

We might yet have one this.

And that is a very very good question. He is the manager, he's seen the same performances we have why then did he. A question I'd like answered

From the BBC:

"They [the players] should feel let down themselves. They should be disappointed in themselves but that's the issue. Are they disappointed? Are they genuinely gutted at the fact that they've come in at half-time 3-0 down?

"Does it hurt them that much? There's certainly a lot of players in that dressing room that are hurting at the minute but I'm not convinced it's all of them.

"That brings a problem and it'll go either one way or the other. They know exactly which way it'll go from my point of view because they've been told. I think if the rules allowed me to make six or seven subs, I would have done."

Quite possibly attitude issues within the squad, it's highly likely the whole squad is in the main like it. He's left to pick the best of the worst if that makes sense. He also clearly feels the players have no pride or passion over their performances and has said so publicly to get a response. He might get one for a period but cementing it will be tricky if their are issues. Not all will be like that but we have injuries at present and players just coming back so not quite ready for 90's.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A rookie manager learing his trade and finding his feet,we've been here so many times...

But we dont seem to learn.

[DE.]

You don't often see comments like that from a manager. I imagine he feels somewhat betrayed. For some reason I do think he actually believed he was going to get a "reaction" from the players today after the no-shows against Hull & Leicester. He was made to look very stupid by the players after his public comments that we would put up a fight and put in the effort. Certain players will now have their cards marked by Appleton and I think come the summer he'll do everything in his power to move them on.

I just don't understand how it took him this long to see what we've all known for months. This should have clicked for him some time ago, I can only assume up until this point the players have been making excuses which he's believed.

[Waggy76]

A rookie manager learing his trade and finding his feet,we've been here so many times...

But we dont seem to learn.

Very True , unless something miraculous happens in the summer , relegation beckons next season ...

[Stuart]

Certain players will now have their cards marked by Appleton and I think come the summer he'll do everything in his power to move them on.

This being the case, we are going to have to trust him when we start seeing the 'quality' leave and replaced with potential and less high profile has beens.

Not aimed at you DE but we need to be realistic when we gave a team filled with players like Burnley and Blackpool, and hope that they can compete.

I can't help thinking though, that the teams that get out of this league don't necessarily have the best players but the best managers.

If we look at the managers we could have gone for: Bruce, Holloway, Davies. Hell, even McCarthy is only one win behind us.

[booth]

A rookie manager learing his trade and finding his feet,we've been here so many times...

But we dont seem to learn.

This is why we desperately needed the security of an experienced head in charge. Kean's reign was ridiculously damaging and that's going to echo through the club for some time.

[Amo]

If we look at the managers we could have gone for: Bruce, Holloway, Davies. Hell, even McCarthy is only one win behind us.

Would've welcomed any of them into Ewood. My only reservation was with Holloway, as I thought Blackpool might have been his comfort zone. And tbh, he's done a steady, if unspectacular, job at Palace.

[OJRovers]

I am failing to see many decisions Appleton has got right since joining. Team selection has been poor, tactics non existent.

[KyleBRFC]

Imo the blame should go on the players. Players such as Murphy, Orr ect.. they just arent upto it and I hope and believe Appleton will drop them both. Ive said since we appointed him that I will judge him when he has a full summer ect to prepare the team I think its unfair to judge him now as hes had to work with the dross we currently have and has only been able to really use the loan market which is a small one at that hes basically scrimping around. Fair enough were on a pretty bad run now but what about the games before? People seem to forget all of that. Every team in this league goes through a rough patch. Yeah weve beenn through a lot this season but its the first under the current manager and I believe we will end it at Bolton on tuesday. Just have a bit of faith ( I know its a lot to ask after what has gone on at the club) I believe appleton can be a good manager for us next season.

[DE.]

This being the case, we are going to have to trust him when we start seeing the 'quality' leave and replaced with potential and less high profile has beens.

Not aimed at you DE but we need to be realistic when we gave a team filled with players like Burnley and Blackpool, and hope that they can compete.

I can't help thinking though, that the teams that get out of this league don't necessarily have the best players but the best managers.

If we look at the managers we could have gone for: Bruce, Holloway, Davies. Hell, even McCarthy is only one win behind us.

Let's face it, there aren't too many players that can come in and be worse than the likes of Murphy and Orr. If we retain our best players (... err, Rhodes?) and bring in some hard workers we could have a shot at the playoffs.

Ah, but what am I saying? We're owned by Venky's. We'll probably reward Murphy with a five year contract at the end of the season and there will be a statue of Orr erected in place of Uncle Jack's statue.

[Ricky]

As I said before, i wanted billy Davies, but in hindsight I fear our squad is so rotten to the core that no manager could sort it in the short term.

I like appletons comments today. I like that he's saying what we have all been thinking. But is it enough? Will they listen? Can he really drop half a team of very high earners?

[chaddyrovers]

I said I would give him 10 games the same as Berg got. Let's be clear I did not approve of his appointment at the start. I did not like his outgoing moves at the window. I was pleased he shored up the back line (albeit temporarily) but I was aghast at how totally toothless we became up front. We were lacking in that area before he came Appleton has now perfected that void, we are now not able to score at all. So, after these 10 games we are just about where we were when he got here, 10 points off a pipe dream playoff spot with less games to play and a worse goal diff. Good job Venky's and whoever is pulling your plonkers, yes I'm sure Mr's D has one she just doesn't have the balls that should go with it. Their skill at appointing the completely uninspiring is, well, uninspiring.

I said at the time of Appletons hiring he has been hired to do a job and that job has little to do with Rovers getting back in the Prem. He's here to do a Portsmouth. Put out a team that can give the resemblance of making an effort while the lunes in Pune continue to rob the very fabric of our lives. To put to death the heart and soul of a once proud club. They will be gone eventually cos we will be no more. Call this an overreaction but this is the worst I hve felt as a Rovers fan in over 40 years of following us and there has been some pretty monumental lows.

As Gav said in a post a little while back, these next two games are the only games left that may put a sheen on our season. Lose either one and I may not even check in again here until the new season is about to start so mad am I at my club. Lose to the Dingles and I may be with Givet looking for a rope. Sorry for the rant I am just so @#/? naffed off and I don't think Mr Appleton is the man to re-float this sinking ship.

Now win the next two games and I might be calling him the next best thing.

You can't judge a manager on 10 games. another pathetic comment!!!

Appleton needs to be after a full summer to overhaul and judge from the start of next season.

[Robert Tressell]

I've got more confidence in Appleton sorting it out than our two previous managers. At least he's calling it as he sees it as opposed to pussyfooting around.

It still doesn't look great for Appleton at the moment but nobody can deny the mess that has been left behind and at least he recognises the reality of the situation. Can he do something about it? I hope so.

To be fair to Berg he got something like 10 games and had no transfer window...and shipped out Orr pronto, I don;t think he had enough time to pussyoot around. People said during Kean's reign that he was setting the club back ten or twenty years by the way he was destroying it and paying lip service to Venky's terrible decisions...I think now we all are really starting to fully grasp that.

[patrickvalery]

Like him or not, comments like that have been needed by a Rovers manager for the past 3 years.

I'm almost at the stage now where i don't care if Appleton is capable of managing a successful football team. I believe he is a decent sort and i hope he is given the opportunity to cut some of the cancer from the club. If it leaves us as an average Championship club at the end of it then so be it. There are too many people at the club making a fraudulent living off BRFC and it seems pretty obvious the dressing room is divided and poisonous in sections.

I only hope that this atmosphere is a result of a few unscrupulous characters taking advantage of our clueless owners and milking the cash cow. If the poison really does start with the Rao's at the very top of the chain then we've had it. I still like to believe they are just dim rather than malicious.

[Dunnfc]

To be honest we've all known for years that the is a number of players who play when they want and for who.

If we can limp on until summer, Appy will clear these and id expect a QPR style summer with allot leaving and coming.

Need a squad revamp, its been comming a long time. Paying the price for Keans ineptness in the transfer market. We essentially have a squad of cast offs which no one else wanted.

I did say DJ was crap! Nice to see Appy experimenting with the likes of a creative midfielder in Jones of whom most wolves fans think of as one of the best mids they've had (Better than O'Hara allegedly), downside is his lack of pace but nowhere near as slow as Morphin. Stewart again is a bundle of pace like King in the wide areas and im guessing that is what we are likely to see next season.

Of the players to keep id have a core of:

J Kean

S Dann

G Hanley

A Henley - Should be first choice Left Back BTW

J King

J Rhodes

R Rochina

J Lowe

Bents

Cut loose Orr, Murphy, Both Olssons, CKR, DJ and anyone else who dosent want to be here.

[Robert Tressell]

Crap owners

Crap administrators

Crap manager

Crap players

Right load of crap.....

pretty good succint summary.

[patrickvalery]

http://audioboo.fm/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=michael+appleton

Appleton interviews (2 parts)

[chaddyrovers]

Wow Appleton stating 'certain players were spineless' I am aghast, there is one thing thinking it but another saying it- lets see if this gets a reaction out of the players.

Appleton's comments were honest and right to the point!!!

Dont think we will see Murphy playing for rovers much till end of season.

I fully expect Scott Dann to become permanent Rovers captain.

[Guest Norbert]

To be honest we've all known for years that the is a number of players who play when they want and for who.

If we can limp on until summer, Appy will clear these and id expect a QPR style summer with allot leaving and coming.

Need a squad revamp, its been comming a long time. Paying the price for Keans ineptness in the transfer market. We essentially have a squad of cast offs which no one else wanted.

I did say DJ was crap! Nice to see Appy experimenting with the likes of a creative midfielder in Jones of whom most wolves fans think of as one of the best mids they've had (Better than O'Hara allegedly), downside is his lack of pace but nowhere near as slow as Morphin. Stewart again is a bundle of pace like King in the wide areas and im guessing that is what we are likely to see next season.

Of the players to keep id have a core of:

J Kean

S Dann

G Hanley

A Henley - Should be first choice Left Back BTW

J King

J Rhodes

R Rochina

J Lowe

Bents

Cut loose Orr, Murphy, Both Olssons, CKR, DJ and anyone else who dosent want to be here.

I'd go along with that list of who should stay and go. If Olsson mk1 could get back his mojo from a few years ago, then it would be great, but if not then we should cash in if possible. Whilst there is something to be said about changing too much too soon (e.g. QPR under Hughes), there does need to be a pretty huge overhaul of the squad. Starting with the likes of Murphy, Robinson and Pedersen thus freeing up some wages.

[DE.]

http://audioboo.fm/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=michael+appleton

Appleton interviews (2 parts)

From the start of the first part of that interview:

"I thought the lads that came in did really really well. Once you go in and do well, sometimes in life you deserve an opportunity to stay and continue to do it. So I'm sure they'll be looking forward to the game as much as I am on Tuesday."

Sounds like confirmation Murphy at the very least won't be starting. Probably Orr as well.

[LDRover]

Quite rightly it's been noted how impressive Jones was in comparison to the hapless Murphy.

However, the performance of Henley as opposed to Orr was far more eye catching. How Appleton has seen fit to start with Orr when Henley has been fit over the past couple of games beggars belief.