[Archived] Michael Appleton - New Rovers Manager

[Rover_Shaun]

A gut feeling is all you can have because their's nothing factual to back up any positivity.

It won't take him long to regret the move once all the cooks enter his kitchen.........not that he'll need the meddling to lose games

[Parsonblue]

They won't be there on matchdays. Just the Rovers Fans and hoodwinked

And those who have seen hard times before at Ewood but support the club through thick and thin

[T.J.Newton]

How can people be so miserabl at this time of day, go for a walk and get some fresh air

[alexanders]

Is it official that he is taking over ?

How can people be so miserabl at this time of morning

In some sort of way Venkys are experts at it.

[Black Burn]

How can people be so miserabl at this time of day, go for a walk and get some fresh air

I'm not miserable, just a little worried, especially with his record of 2 wins in 11. That said, I'm praying he succeeds.

Is it official that he is taking over ?

In some sort of way Venkys are experts at it.

Yeah, it's been announced that he'll be unveiled as our new boss once the talks are over. Though I thought you were relatively happy when Berg was appointed, since he was Norwegian and had some success there.

[CapeTownRover]

surely at some point, one of these young up and coming managers will turn out to be a success, Yes/No? Then again, 2 of our caretaker managers have done well, and they are not deemed good enough. Its easy then to look at it, and say that we know where the problems lie, and tbh its kind of not Venkys imo. Its one of 2 things, either that manager is useless, or the players are choosing who to play for or who not to play for. The only thing i have to say about Venkys on this is, that they should be making the decisions, but because they are clueless, they are still allowing people to pull wool over their eyes

Like CKR said, the players seem well commited to GB, but doesnt like the idea of Appleton or another manager being appointed right now. CKR is either an idiot for making those comments, or he has a point and we should really be sticking with GB until the end of the season.

[alexanders]

Appleton applaus pompey fans:

Aye aye aye appleton

I'm not miserable, just a little worried, especially with his record of 2 wins in 11. That said, I'm praying he succeeds.

Yeah, it's been announced that he'll be unveiled as our new boss once the talks are over. Though I thought you were relatively happy when Berg was appointed, since he was Norwegian and had some success there.

Once the talks are over. I know from my daily job that things can stop in talks even though it looks 99%.

[CapeTownRover]

I'm not miserable, just a little worried, especially with his record of 2 wins in 11. That said, I'm praying he succeeds.

He has 2 wins in 11, but also only 2 defeats in 11, with 7 draws. I would take that, and if he can set us up to be hard to beat and not conceded silly goals, then we have the fire power to turn those draws into wins easily.

[Black Burn]

He has 2 wins in 11, but also only 2 defeats in 11, with 7 draws. I would take that, and if he can set us up to be hard to beat and not conceded silly goals, then we have the fire power to turn those draws into wins easily.

That is indeed some cause for optimism and why I'm viewing his appointment with caution and not despair. Despite that, I probably won't get my hopes too high up.

[Roverthechimp]

Comparing Appleton to Kean is insulting to say the least. He has managed, has been assistant manager to the current England manager and was also a reasonable player until his career ended due to injury and has been involved in english football for 20 years "man and boy" ;-)

Also must say that i am much more excited about this appointment than Berg.

Regarding the board room, i think Shaw and Agnew went to Pune and were told that we are having a young manager and you will do what we say or feel free to leave. At the same time i think the point that Singh had no clue about how to appoint a new manager and was now creating a problem in the media was accepted by the Raos and we will see much less of Shebby in the future and go back to "less is more" regarding communications.

[Wycomberover]

Agree.

Regardless of agent issues, or being underwhelmed by this appointment, I will get behind Appleton, and like every other manager judge him on results.

Our owners are crazy and we can't control what they do, what we can control is the way we support the team.

[Kamy100]

I know people are underwhelmed by the potential appointment of Appleton, but comparing him to Kean is not right. The very least he deserves is to be judged results he gets with Rovers.

[CapeTownRover]

I know people are underwhelmed by the potential appointment of Appleton, but comparing him to Kean is not right. The very least he deserves is to be judged results he gets with Rovers.

Appleton has a nicer bald head as well...

[AndyC]

His first major task, as with any new manager, is getting the players onside and excited about what lies ahead.

How he handles Gary bowyer, will be key to this.

Does he hand him a significant role? Or does he go back to being academy coach?

[The Rover of Finland]

Hope Appleton doesn´t lick his lips and give stupid comments. First time he mentiones taking positives after loss he is done.

[ChrisyG]

One thing I would do if I was Appleton is bring GB into the first team set up. He seems to have the respect of the players and would be a good ally.

[Kelbo]

Without putting words in his mouth, I think he meant that him being a decent manager is all that matters.

Everyone wanted Kean out, but there are plenty that wanted him out purely and simply because his results were awful rather than anything more sinister.

Not just results, he was a liar and declared war with the supporters, a nasty horrible man in my opinion!!

[Black Burn]

Hope Appleton doesn´t lick his lips and give stupid comments. First time he mentiones taking positives after loss he is done.

Watch his after-match comments with Portsmouth and Blackpool, I think you'll find that he is a very dignified man who gives a good presser. Still, Berg was the same but results didn't favor him.

A few points as well, Berg also played under Kenny Daglish and Sir Alex Ferguson, had decent managerial experience in Norway (similar to Appleton, taking charge of crisis clubs and struggling), was a tremendous player, etc. That didn't help us win games. So while those factors might help, they might also prove to be...well, defunct, I guess.

[Mercer]

Seems like Mercerman has got his wish in the new manager (Appleton). I really hope for the fans sake this turns out good. If fail, relegation and another sacking in vain.

Presumably, you have been drinking all night !

Let me set the record straight:

• I have not advocated Rovers appoint Appleton
• WHEN it was becoming obvious they were going for Appleton, I said that there were far worse options
• Folk are dismissing his record. Well, let's get two things straight. Firstly, he walked into a war zone at Pompey and secoondly, he's stopped the rot at Blackpool who had lost 5 of their lasyt 7 under Holloway with just 2 points to show
• Highly respected/rated at West Brom who desperately tried to keep holdd of him. Roy Hodgson, the England manager, is no mug
• Just like Berg, I will give the guy a fair crack of the whip
• I have said the appointment is nothing to do with the players and they should button it. In all my working life, I have never had a say in the appointment of my boss as I am sure 99.9% of us wont
• IF Kentaro are driving this and back on the scene, alarm bells for me are ringing

Can you therefore please tell me how I have got my wish.

Otherwise, stop writing shyte.

[CapeTownRover]

That is indeed some cause for optimism and why I'm viewing his appointment with caution and not despair. Despite that, I probably won't get my hopes too high up.

i think the problem here is, that people were expecting a more experienced manager, which in itself is a fair thing to expect. However, im also of the opinion, that his name doesnt stand out like a Hughes or say some other well known manager. Im not impressed with the potential appointment of Appleton, but i will no doubt give him my support and like with Berg, i will pray that he turns out a success..

[Mike E]

It's an odd appointment on the face of it but there are more reasons to be positive about this than Berg, imo. The return of a dour, defensive-minded manager may do us a world of good after letting the circus run riot under Kean.

I hope Bowyer and McPhillips are recognised for their good work in turning us around, hopefully with roles involved with the first team. I would even look at linking the reserves and 1st team much more closely in training. Bowyer and McPhillips are experienced with the reserves and got the best out of the 1st team. So all with their individual roles, Appleton could have 3 'assistants' rather than only Westwood.

He made B'pool hard to beat after losing 5 on the bounce. Good turn-around! Hopefully he can build on the foundations laid by Bowyer and McPhillips.

[Jimmy612]

Without putting words in his mouth, I think he meant that him being a decent manager is all that matters.

Everyone wanted Kean out, but there are plenty that wanted him out purely and simply because his results were awful rather than anything more sinister.

You mean rather than finding the worst owners in the history of football because a certain agent realised he could make a huge amount of money at the expense of Blackburn Rovers, as did Steve Kean.

I don't hate Steve Kean because his results are awful. I never hated Paul Ince. I hated Kean because of reasons much more sinister. His poor record was just a unfortunate sideshow compared to the complete destruction of this club, dont you think? Manyb good people lost their jobs becasue the fat controller, Steve Kean, and I suspect Paul Agnew, wanted to jump on the gravy vtrain.

[Reedy You're A Star]

richard askam ‏@richaskam

#brfc MD Derek Shaw says meeting Appleton late morning.Expects to be concluded quickly.No need for final rubber stamp from India

[Kelbo]

Just a point on Appleton at Blackpool, I am reliably informed that when he arrived there, Blackpool had done very little defensive work in training and were shipping goals for fun, Appletons first job was to stop that and make the team difficult to beat.

Whilst two wins in 11 do not seem impressive, neither do 2 defeats seem too bad given what had happened previously and the substandard playing surface at Bloomfield Road which I am told is a real problem, whilst I do think there were more experienced candidates out there, there can never be any gaurantees with football managers, Jim Iley worked wonders at Barnsley, came to Rovers and flopped, even Freedmans Bolton record at the moment is nothing to write home about with a 28% win ratio, so as I have said, there can be no gaurantees, we will have to wait and see.

[UpShad]

So it appears Anderson has took it upon himself to fly to India to meet the clowns over there and get his man in AGAIN going over Shagnew & Shabba's backs. Oh dear. One thing maybe is that we might see a couple of new players come in. Might not be any good and massive agent fees will be paid. Wonder if the might Myles Anderson will be re-signed now as a young Allesandro Nesta this time around