[Archived] Appleton Sacked

[cop]

We can't afford to appoint another novice, the last three managerial appointments have shown that a club like Rovers need an experienced manager at the helm.

What sort of experienced manager will even consider the Blackburn job with Venky's shambolic ownership? If an experienced manager joins it will be purely for the money and it will have to be a lot of money.

[K-Hod]

Cue another BRAG press release.

In Celebration? They were against the appointment from the very start.....

[den]

Whether Appleton was the man or not, the club has just taken another huge step backwards.

[Amo]

In fairness he only got his job after they cut Sams throat.

Makes you wonder who's really in charge, doesn't it?

I'm not even shocked by this decision. I think most of us long-suffering Rovers fans have come to expect the unexpected where our whackjob Indian owners are concerned. Appleton said all the right stuff, but like Kean & Berg before him, had seemingly no clue of how to prepare a team tactically or mentally. And that's what you get when you keep hiring people who are grossly unqualified for the job - as Venky's have done at just about every level of the club.

[RibbleValleyRover]

I said only the other week that Shebby would resurface at some point if results like we have had continued:

Andrew Cryer ‏@CryerRovers

Bowyer in temporary charge until the end of the season. Decision made between Singh and owners

[thenodrog]

How can people be pleased he's gone? We haven't seen the true extent of what he could bring to Rovers, for christ sake!

A few facts that can't be ignored:

• Hasn't had a full week of training with the players since he walked through the door.
• Inherited a group of players that were hopelessly unfit
• Dreadfully unlucky with injuries. Players have only broken down because they're now doing the type of training they should have done in preseason!
• Recent results have been poor but that's down to him being forced to select a sub-standard team with compromises all over the pitch
• The players enjoyed working with him
• He installed some much needed discipline in the squad. That's been lacking all season.

I was really looking forward to him keeping us up this season (something I think he would have done) and then having a proper go at shaping us for next season.

The mind boggles at who we're going to appoint next.

We've not lost much have we? His tactics were bloody awful. The team certainly weren't playing for him so he wont be missed by me thats for sure. When Allardyce was binned we lost a top level manager with lots of experience in managing a small club to consistently punch above their weight in the top division. That was an act of absolute madness.but since then every manager has been so poor that they are virtually interchangeable.

[perthblue02]

Has there been no tweets from the agency that can not be named denying any involvement ? as with the appointment

[Andy]

Cue another BRAG press release.

They can shove their press releases where the sun doesn't shine.

If they want to do something useful, find out and expose what is really going on at the club.

[Rover_Shaun]

In Celebration? They were against the appointment from the very start.....

And WOW! how right they were

[Mercer]

Northern Rover‏@Northern_Rover

Looks like decision was made between Shebby and Owners. If true, then we all know who is back incharge! Ridiculous.

[LDRover]

Looks like Appleton not only paid the price for poor results but also his barbed comments on TV towards Shebby.

Honestly, it's like a school f***ing playground.

[Joar]

The club has become a conclusive proof that stupidity knows no bounds

[Tom]

And WOW! how right they were

In your opinion

We'll never know for sure now either way will we?

I have no doubt in my mind Shebby has been plotting this since the day he had his nose put out, absolute cretin and can't wait for the day we get real owners and this guy is out on his overpaid ass

[Mercer]

lol.

It was a joke of an appointment, and now the club has paid off 3 managers in the space of what, 5 months?

Yeah, you're sensible Venkys, real sensible.

Not sure if they have been paid yet apart from Kean !?!?

[windymiller7]

Hmm, as a couple have hinted at already - Maybe Glenn (not Glen) can elaborate on the significance of removing the thread regarding our current shirt sponsors.........

[Rovermatt]

Total @#/? farce. The club is being run by amateurs and fools. I wasn't entirely enamoured of Appleton's results but what on earth do these idiots want?!

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Looking at the fixture list - since Arsenal win - two draws, six defeats in the last eight matches. Combined with further declines in attendances - and some very poor football being played. Still think it was a bit soon - but considering under Bowyer we got 3 wins and a draw with much the same players - I can appreciate why the owners were worried.

[Plastics]

Murphy for manager.

[BigBar]

How can people be pleased he's gone? We haven't seen the true extent of what he could bring to Rovers, for christ sake!

A few facts that can't be ignored:

• Hasn't had a full week of training with the players since he walked through the door.
• Inherited a group of players that were hopelessly unfit
• Dreadfully unlucky with injuries. Players have only broken down because they're now doing the type of training they should have done in preseason!
• Recent results have been poor but that's down to him being forced to select a sub-standard team with compromises all over the pitch
• The players enjoyed working with him
• He installed some much needed discipline in the squad. That's been lacking all season.

I was really looking forward to him keeping us up this season (something I think he would have done) and then having a proper go at shaping us for next season.

The mind boggles at who we're going to appoint next.

Have to agree with this...obviously the results werent great but my god look at the circumstances, he was brought into a circus with absolute filth at his disposal...steve kean should never work again after the 'job' he did here...seen on sky a little comparison between kean berg and appleton, they were quite smug with keans 14pts out of 7 games...do they not realise hes the reason were in an inferior league...absolute joke!!

Go out and get Curbishley...chaps a qulaity manager and has bags of experience, wait and see it will be Robinson, McLeish and the usual dregs being banded about,,,makes me sick!

[thenodrog]

Don't feel sorry for him at all. Been to 6 matches this season and couldn't support what was on the pitch so didn't feel qualified enough to post.. No effort at all at the Milwall game and said no more.

I wonder though if he played Dunn against the Dark Lords instructions and knew he would get the bullet?

.

He deserved sacking for a. picking Stewart and b. leaving him on the pitch for the full game. That lad was lost and out of his depth from the first minute. He gave the appearence of a rabbit caught in car headlights. It must have been as obvious to the coaching team as it was to us in the stands. Why he pitched him into a crunch match like that when relegation had become a real possibility I'll never comprehend. (I know he crossed for the goal but it was never intended for Dunny was it?)

Fact is if Dunny had not scored that 95th minute goal we'd be queuing up to drive Appleton to the station!

[DE.]

I honestly don't know what to say.

I believed Appleton would relegate us either this season or next as tactically he is devoid of knowledge and his signings thus far had been a joke, but I didn't expect this. Part of me thinks "what a bunch of @#/? idiots Venky's are", which is completely true, but another part of me is thankful Appleton is gone because we were only going down under him.

God knows what happens next. I hope Bowyer being in temporary charge until the end of the season signals Venky's will be selling come the summer and this will give our new owners a chance to appoint their own man with a clean slate.

Also, I posted this on the FM thread yesterday:

Just started playing this, now that all the patches are out. Have managed to get promoted with Rovers on the first attempt, came 2nd in the end.

In:

Alexey Eremenko - Loan

Olexiy Gai - Loan

Marcio Abreu - 575k

Alan Tate - Loan

Dani Estrada - 1.2m (Jan)

Out:

Marcus Olsson - Loan

David Goodwillie - Loan

Jordan Slew - Loan

Micah Evans - Loan

Danny Murphy - 100k (Jan)

Fabio Nunes - Loan (Jan)

So not that much change in terms of personnel. Gai and Abreu have been fantastic. In terms of our 'regular' team, Nuno Gomes & Jordan Rhodes have been very good (Nuno playing in the hole behind Rhodes). Dann and Givet have been solid, I've rotated between Williamson, MGP, Etuhu and Lowe in midfield. All have been fine.

Either FM overrates our team even after the 3rd patch, or Venky's should have hired me instead of Appleton. Oh well.

If Shebby read this then this might be all my fault... waiting for a PM.

[sharpysharps]

This is not a football club anymore, it is a children's playground spat between Shebby Singh and Shaw & Agnew that is destroying any trace of BRFC being a football club....

Bowyer will get my support, as the last 2 guys did, he is a really nice guy in football, and there are not many left at Rovers. I suspect he will revert to Rhodes up top on his own with Dunny or someone supporting him.

[EgyptianPete]

This is ridiculous. Whilst I had my reservations about MA, he's only just had chance to clear out the crap left by Kean & bring in a few of his own guys.

Who the hell's going to take this job now! I'd like Adkins but you'd have to be a drumstick short of a family bucket to take this job!

Just goes to show the corrupt goings with Kean, he stuck like sh!t to a blanket!

Di Canio anyone fits the bill as posted as posted above

[The Prof.]

I recall remarking recently that, in the last few games, the players were playing like they new something we didn't.

Did they know that Appleton had already failed his 15 game points target and was therefore a dead-man-walking?

Makes you wonder...

He knew it was coming okay - just did he have a part in it?

The length of the sick list tells you they knew he was out.

Just remember he's got rid of the last few saleable assets too - no fee doesn't always mean no fee never.

Or I wonder if it came to a head because he played Dunny for the last 2 games when he was on the Darklords no play list?

He started sounding like Anthon Cotten off Corrie last week on the radio, so I suspect he knew it was coming.

Next manager - phew - could be Les Battersby!

[Gav]

Strange comment. Appleton was a shocking appointment. Best to cut losses now.

Like others I have no real confidence the owners will get the next appointment right but this is at least a step in the right direction.

Appleton wasn't the best appointment in the world but why sack him? so they can make another shocking appointment?

You know as well as I do Simon that you get nowhere changing your manager week in week out, we should be sacking the idiots that appoint these managers in the first place not the managers themselves.

I have a feeling Appleton has told these idiots whats what and they've sacked him, here's hoping.

Just had a text from a fellow Rover, all it said:

EMBARRASSING